Page 84 of Unscripted

Wanting to end the conversation by any means possible, I nodded and followed her into the pool.

Floating on my back, I willed the cool water to calm my shaky nerves. There wasn’t anything I could do about my feelings for Callum. Nor did I have any control over him being out of the villa and surrounded by five presumably beautiful girls. All I could do was trust in the relationship we built and have faith he would be loyal not just to our deal but also to me.

In the meantime, to help retain some semblance of sanity, I needed a distraction.

So, I swam. I worked out in the outside gym. I made lunch with Ella. I even chatted with two of the new guys, Sam and Tom, who turned out to be lovely. I did everything I could to keep my mind busy and off the tall man with the green eyes I had come to miss.

***

The day slipped along, and as the sun began to set, I was called into the Love Shack to film a confessional.

To my delight, Ben was the producer to interview me.

“Ben!” I cried out, giving him a hug.

“Hello, darling,” he said back, squeezing me tight before letting me go.

I got comfortable on the red loveseat and crossed my legs under me, settling in for whatever interrogation Ben had in store.

“So, Poppy,” he said, a glint in his eye.

“Yes?”

“How are the new guys?”

“You know, they’re all really nice. Very respectful and kind. It’s been weird, obviously, not having our guys around, but the new ones aren’t bad company.”

“Do you miss Callum?” he said, a knowing look on his face.

“I do. We’ve been in here together since the beginning so it’s weird not having him around.”

“You got a bit emotional today with Chiara talking about him.”

I flinched in surprise at the mention of my mini-breakdown and then immediately felt silly for doing so. Of course the producers saw me crying. Of course they were going to bring it up. That was their job, and this was the deal.

But I had forgotten. In that moment earlier by the pool with Chiara, I forgot I was on camera. Forgot, somewhat inexplicably, about the mic dangling around my neck. I had been so preoccupied with my feelings about Cal that it all felt real. Like I was away on vacation with a friend discussing our boy problems and not on a reality show being watched by millions.

I managed to mumble out some kind of reply to Ben and answer a few more of his questions before I was released and sent down the hall to get ready for the night’s cocktail party.

As I curled my hair and did my makeup, all I could think of was how my guard had slipped. How the line between the show and reality, one I had once thought so clear, was starting to blur.

And how maybe, just maybe, I didn’t actually mind.

***

Chateau Desire was designed to tempt, confuse, and lead astray.

While I had experienced my fair share of confusion over the past couple days, there was no temptation or straying for me.

I wanted Callum. It was as simple and complicated as that.

There was still a show to participate in, though, and I had to put on a brave face and throw myself into the thick of things. I sat with Olivia as she debated between spending more time with Tom or Greg. I held Chaira’s hand while she fretted over what Hugh was doing in the other villa. I even found myself spending a lot of downtime with Ella. We seemed to be on the same page in our respective matches.

“I have no interest in any of these knobheads,” she told me as we sat on the edge of the pool, trying to cool off from the oppressive heat.

And so it went, round and round, another day into another night, until we reached the final day.

I had been a bundle of nerves from the time I woke up, wondering if the matching would happen at random. If, at any point while we were laying around the pool, Gemma would walk out and announce it was time.