Page 81 of Unscripted

Chiara was right.

Oh no, indeed.

35

If someone were to ask me for the one, most important piece of advice I would give to anyone looking to go on a reality show, it would be this: never let your guard down.

I had been so caught up in my situation with Callum that part of me forgot there was a television show the producers needed to keep entertaining for six full weeks. Just because we had finally, in our own way, sorted things out, didn’t mean that we could coast along. No, that wouldn’t be good for the viewing public. Drama leads to more eyes on screens, which in turn leads to more advertising dollars spent and more revenue for the network. It didn’t matter what country you were in: money was money, and Bella Amore was the network’s shining profit machine.

As Gemma chatted away in front of us girls, I cast my mind back to everything I could remember about Chateau Desire. Five new boys would be brought into the villa for three days. Our boys would be sent to a new villa—or a “chateau” if you were to go with name of the whole schtick—where five new girls awaited them. Games would be played, boundaries would be crossed, and temptations would arise, testing each Bella’s commitment and devotion to their original match. After three days, the boys would walk back into the villa, one by one, either alone and ready to reunite with their original gal or part of a new match with a new girl. There was always some shocking re-matching that ended up happening: a normally committed guy walks in with a new girl on his arm, sending the girl awaiting his return into a heap of tears. It happened one way or another every season, without fail.

My stomach tightened at the thought of Callum walking in with someone else. Ignoring what that meant on any level beyond the surety of our agreement, I turned my attention back to Gemma, just as she was singling me out.

“Poppy, you and Callum seemed to be getting along really well this week. How are you feeling?” she asked.

I felt all the cameras in the room swivel toward me.

Showtime.

“Cal and I have grown a lot closer and had a really great week, so this is not ideal, but I trust him and I’m not worried,” I said, nodding and smiling and trying not to show that I was freaking out inside.

“Do you think your head could be turned by another bloke?” she asked back.

“Nope, not at all.” I smiled and held my breath, hoping she wouldn’t press me. I was one more question away from having all my doubts and the jumble of thoughts in my head spill out. I needed to get it together, needed a moment to collect myself. But I knew, even as I thought it, that would be impossible.

A million what ifs crossed my mind as Gemma turned her attention to the other girls. Of the five of us, me, Ella and Chiara were in solid matches, Samantha was in a new pairing, and Olivia was in a friendship match. The labels didn’t matter, though. As anyone who had ever watched a Chateau Desire episode knew, it was a time when all bets were off. When anything could, and did, happen.

“Well girls, I think you’ve been waiting long enough,” Gemma said, standing. “Are you ready to meet your new roommates?”

We all stood, Olivia and Samantha the only ones cheering out in excitement. Chiara and Ella were just as subdued as me.

As we followed Gemma down the hall and back out to the garden, I found myself walking next to Ella. Our newfound friendship was tenuous at best, and because I had been trying to sell things with Callum so much over the last week, I hadn’t spent a lot of time around her. Still, I remembered her kindness to me back when Sara was being awful.

So, as we walked out into the garden and the five new cast members came into view, I reached out and squeezed her hand in solidarity. We would get through this together.

Ella squeezed back, and we walked hand in hand toward the night’s new reality.

***

Five new boys stood around the fire pit.

Looking at them, I had to admit that Casting Director Harriet was annoyingly good at her job. I could picture her doing a deep social media dive on each of these men, recruiting the five hottest guys she could possibly find. Each one of them standing before me was strikingly good looking.

I suppose that was why Chateau Desire always caused so much upheaval; drop in five new dreamboats and watch what happens. It was like a volcanic science experiment that would eventually go boom.

“Ladies, please sit between the new guys around the fire pit,” a producer called out through the speakers. Gemma moved to take her mark at the edge of the round deck. The cameramen who were inside hadn’t followed us out here. Guess we were back to the good old hidden cameras.

“All set, Gemma,” the same producer sounded through the speaker. It was as close to calling “Action” as the show was going to get.

Gemma didn’t miss a beat and immediately launched into her dialogue.

“Ladies, I’d like you to meet the brand-new Bellas.”

We looked around, taking in the new faces.

“For the next few days, you’ll get to know each other, and on Sunday, you’ll be faced with a choice: stick with the person you are currently matched with or choose to pair up with one of these guys.” She looked around the fire pit, trying to impress upon us the gravity of our future decision.

The weight of that choice, even though it was days away, hung in the air.