Page 68 of Heart to Heart
I watched him walk away, tears beginning to well in my eyes. A great day had been destroyed by a vicious lie told to the media, and now I may lose everything I’d come here for and so much more.
Laughter sprang from the parlor as the women interacted with Tristan, but I couldn’t bring myself to join them, looks of suspicion and accusation as they gossiped about me behind my back, stabbing me like knives. It was all too much. The end was in sight, but at what cost?
Before I knew it, I was lying on my bed, letting silent tears stream down my face. I’d had the best of intentions in coming here, but in the end, I was being selfish. Maybe Tristan wasn’t here for love, but he didn’t need to be roped into the drama in my own life.
I felt the bed move behind me as someone sat beside me. “I need to quit and go home,” I said, believing it was Sasha.
“I didn’t take you for a quitter,” a voice that did not belong to Sasha answered me. My eyes widened as I shot up on the bed to find Bianca dressed for a day out on the ocean that had turned into maybe an hour if she’d been lucky. Her yellow sundress complemented her tanned skin. “I mean, you’ve been an unrelenting thorn in my side this entire time. Why stop now?”
“Did you come here to gloat? You must have heard the news along with everyone else in the house.” I wiped tears away from my eyes with the back of my hand.
Bianca studied me thoughtfully. “Oh, that?” She made a gesture with her hand as if to convey my public shaming had been no big deal. “Please, Avery. That’s nothing.”
“Says the person whose name isn’t being smeared around the house right now.”
“And do you want to know why they’re smearing you?”
“Because it’s entertaining.”
“Because they’re jealous, Avery.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and from Bianca, of all people. “I’m sorry. I think I just had a stroke. What did you just say?”
She rolled her eyes. “You would make me repeat it, wouldn’t you? Avery, everyone here knows you’re a strong contender. Tristan seems…happy, I guess, with you. At least, that’s the way he looks when he’s around you. I mean, other than with me, of course. You’re my biggest competition here, and I want it to stay that way: a competition. If you leave, it’ll be a cakewalk and everyone will just say I won because, well, duh. If Tristan chooses me, I want it to be because he wants me. Not because I’m the obvious choice.”
“You genuinely care about him, don’t you?”
She looked down at her lap; the first time she’d ever shown any sign of vulnerability. “I do.”
I smiled at her when she looked back up, her blue eyes shimmering just the slightest bit. “If you tell anyone about this, I’ll deny it and they’ll believe me.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Bianca smiled as she inspected her perfectly manicured nails. “It’s not true. Just so you know. I never hooked up with that bartender.”
“I know,” she said, resting her hands in her lap.
“How?”
“Because anyone who would help someone who has done nothing but torment them the entire time they’ve been here wouldn’t do what they’re saying you did.”
“Thank you, Bianca. Really.”
She inhaled sharply and let out a sigh. “Oh, you’re going to make me say it, aren’t you? Thank you, Avery. No one has ever done what you did for me without expecting something in return.” She held out her hand after I started to speak. “And that’s all we’re going to say about that. However, I will say, if you want to be with Tristan, you are going to have to get used to lies being printed about you on the regular. The only thing that sells as well as sex is scandal, and people thrive on that.” She stood up from my bed, straightening out her dress. “Now pick yourself up, reapply your makeup, and get your butt down to that parlor with your head held high.” She took a couple of steps toward the door before turning around, “Oh, and change out of those clothes. Orange makes you look washed out.”
She’d almost made it out the door, when I called back to her, “Did we just become friends?”
“In your dreams,” she called back.
CHAPTER 36
TRISTAN
I hadn’t spokento Avery since the article came out. Between Wanda’s urging to send her home and my fury over the tabloids once again trying to destroy something good in my life, I thought it best to keep my distance. In doing so, maybe Avery wouldn’t be targeted by any more bullshit stories. This was the part of fame she shouldn’t have to be dragged into. It may have destroyed me once, but I’ll be damned if I was going to let it destroy her, too.
“Happy elimination day,” Wanda said, throwing open the door to my trailer without bothering to knock first. In her hands were the results of the audience vote that were always shared with me right before elimination. I’d been impatiently waiting for them to be delivered today, hoping that the whole non-scandal scandal hadn’t affected Avery’s standing with the public.
I snatched the results from Wanda’s hand as she walked by, scanning the list. After tonight, eight women would be left in the house, which meant that the top four would get an automatic pass unless I chose to use my veto.
“A fine hello to you, too,” Wanda said. “You would think the woman putting her heart and soul into saving your career would get a little more recognition when she walked through the door.”
