“Are you really not upset with me?” Obiora asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Obiora,” Sophia said, still giggling. “I’m going to be honest with you, I’m a little relieved.”
Obiora couldn’t help but smile, her giddiness affecting him. “Are you now.”
She laughed again. “Obiora, not gonna lie, I was literally going to eliminate you tonight,” she deadpanned.
She laughed even harder at his gobsmacked expression. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but come on! You’re a great guy, don’t get me wrong, but right from the beginning, I could tell you haven’t been here. I felt like—like you’ve been playing a part all this time, and today, I felt—well, it doesn’t matter. This bachelor.” She leered. “Does he know how you feel?”
Obiora could feel himself blushing. “No,” he lied. Well, it wasn’t really a lie. Ejiro knew Obiora wanted him, but he probably didn’t know the depth of Obiora’s feelings.
Sophia shook her head, an amused curl to her lips. “Well, this has been an interesting turn of events. I have nothing against you falling for someone else, by the way. We can’t exactly help who we love, can we? But you know you’re going to have to leave the competition, right? Probably like, right now. It doesn’t make sense to have you stay on when we both know where we stand now.”
Obiora slowly began to panic. “Right, no, I understand.”
Sophia smiled. “I’m glad. Come here, give me a hug.”
Obiora did as she asked.
She pulled away after a moment. “You’re not the only one at fault here. I really like you, Obiora, but Sasha was right on my end; you really do remind me too much of my asshole exes, and even though I’m madly attracted to you, I’ve also been holding back a part of myself as well. I guess, right from the start, this just wasn’t meant to be, huh?”
Obiora laughed a little. “I guess not.”
“Glad we could have this talk, and thank you for being honest with me.”
“Of course, no problem.”
“I guess this is goodbye.”
Fuck. “Yeah.”
They hugged again, saying their goodbyes, then one of the directors and some of the cameras followed Sophia as she made her way away from the mansion.
“Cut!” Ameri yelled when Sophia was gone. “Well,” she said, watching Obiora with curious amusement. “That was a plot twist I did not expect, but I’m sure the fans are going to love. Were you being serious or was it an excuse for you to nobly end your time here? Just between us, don’t worry.” She winked.
Obiora turned to face her, sure his eyes were wild. “I know I’m going to have to leave in a second, but I need a moment, Ameri, please.” His voice broke on the last word.
“Oh.” Ameri’s eyes widened. “You were serious, then.”
“Ameri.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. But hurry, we’re going to have to film you leaving and film the rest of your cutaways tonight, so—”
But Obiora was already turning and rushing into the house, his heart beating so hard he could feel it in his ears.
If Ejiro still needed time, then Obiora was going to give him all the time he needed. And even though he could hardly breathe for the fact that he was leaving—leaving Ejiro, his heart wailed dramatically—Obiora knew he’d made the right decision.
TWENTY-THREE
EJIRO WASN’T JEALOUS, HE THOUGHT furiously, his hand slashing across the page on his sketchbook. He absolutely wasn’t thinking about the way Obiora had watched him with his eyes dark with desire and longing when he’d mentioned his perfect date idea, like he was already imagining taking Ejiro on said date. Ejiro had begun to imagine it, too: the two of them alone, miles above the earth with a picnic spread out before them, nothing but an ocean of sky to see around them.
He’d also imagined Obiora when he’d mentioned his own dream date—bungee jumping—how exhilarating it’d be to share that experience with him. And with the way Obiora had been looking at him as he’d mentioned it, he was sure Obiora desperately wanted it, too.
Then Sophia had quickly burst their bubble, saying that actually, Ameri would be bringing their date ideas to life, but they’d be taking her. Which was … fine, obviously. If they wanted to remain in the competition, then they had to do what they had to do.
Except, Ejiro wasn’t sure he wanted them to remain in the competition anymore. Especially now that Obiora was on his date with Sophia, the thought making Ejiro clutch harder at his pencil, his throat thick with bitterness. Ejiro’s own date was still two days away, which felt like plain torture. If he felt this awful about Obiora being on a date with Sophia, how was he going to feel when he went on his own date with her, and left Obiora behind at the mansion? How was he going to keep up this game of pretence when the very thought of Obiora out there right now, enjoying a picnic in a hot air balloon with someone that wasn’t him made Ejiro feel like screaming and smashing something.
But the thought of leaving this place, of having Obiora out there, in the real world, no pretences, was so—so fucking scary Ejiro didn’t know how to handle it. But if he wanted Obiora, truly wanted him, then shouldn’t it be worth it?
