Chapter 72 Summary, Analysis, and Key Takeaways

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

⚠️ This page contains major plot details from Chapter 73 of The Favorites, including Bella's pregnancy, Heath's role as the father, and the Olympic team selection. If you haven't finished the chapter, proceed with caution.

Summary

The chapter opens at a press event where Ellis Dean poses a pointed question to Katarina: why do she and Heath deserve to return to the Games? Cameras are ready to capture a defiant, self-promoting response, but Katarina—preoccupied with Bella's condition—answers honestly: they don't deserve it more than any other team competing. Ellis smirks and clears a path for her to exit.

Katarina rushes to Massachusetts General Hospital, where Bella is recovering in a private room. Despite the wires and tubes, Bella is alert enough to scold Katarina for not skating. She then reveals two pieces of news: she is pregnant, and Heath is the father. The pregnancy was unplanned—Bella had even scheduled an abortion before canceling it at the last minute. She is due in May and has been diagnosed with severe preeclampsia, requiring bed rest until delivery.

Bella admits she doesn't love Heath the way Katarina once did. Katarina insists there are different kinds of love and reassures Bella that she'll be a wonderful mother. When Heath arrives with vending machine snacks, Katarina hugs him and privately tells him he'll be a great dad, reflecting that his own lack of parental role models will drive him to do better for his child.

The three wait for news about the Olympic selection. Ellis Dean returns with a Get Well Soon balloon and tells them to check their phones. Katarina and Heath have made the Olympic team for Sochi, along with Gaskell and Kovalenko. The 2014 U.S. silver and bronze medalists have been bumped to alternate spots. Bella insists they compete, pointing out that Garrett is arriving to support her. Katarina and Heath agree to go to Sochi together, making the decision mutually rather than through coercion.

Key Events

• Ellis Dean asks Katarina why she and Heath deserve to return to the Games; she answers that they don't deserve it more than other teams.

• Katarina visits Bella at Massachusetts General Hospital.

• Bella reveals she is pregnant with Heath's child and has severe preeclampsia requiring bed rest until May.

• Bella discloses she considered abortion but canceled the appointment.

• Katarina reassures Bella about motherhood and privately tells Heath he'll be a great dad.

• Ellis Dean delivers news that Katarina and Heath made the Olympic team for Sochi, with Gaskell and Kovalenko; the 2014 silver and bronze medalists become alternates.

• Bella insists they compete, noting Garrett will support her.

• Katarina and Heath agree to go to Sochi together.

Character Development

Katarina shows unusual restraint and honesty in this chapter. When given the perfect platform to argue for her and Heath's inclusion on the Olympic team, she declines to make the case, instead admitting they don't deserve it more than others. This is a notable departure from her typically competitive, self-assertive nature. Her priority is clearly Bella's wellbeing, not her own ambitions. She also demonstrates emotional maturity in how she handles the pregnancy revelation—acknowledging her complicated feelings while offering genuine support to both Bella and Heath. Her internal reflection that Heath's child