Page 81 of Knot Her Reality

“But… the SUV on our date? And the other night?” I just can’t reconcile it all.

“I told him I did it for Ronan’s benefit.”

I jerk back, hurt coursing through me. “And was it?”

Natalie’s eyes go wide as she shakes her head. “Hell, no. I like you, Evangeline. I want you. I’m one-hundred-percent bisexual. Everything I did with you was because I wanted it. I promise. I just told him what he wanted to hear. Made him think I wanted him.”

Part of me doesn’t know if I can trust her words. How do I know she hasn’t been lying to me and has told Viktor the truth? After all, there’s apparently already one person here who hates me because of who I love. Couldn’t a second one have slipped through the cracks? I duck my head as I fight against tears. I just don’t know what to believe.

“Evangeline?” Bree says my name softly, but I just shake my head. “Natalie was only trying to help. I believe her when she says she was lying to him. If Viktor was half as smart as he thinks he is, he would’ve noticed she was lying. It was clear on the video. I can show it to you if you want. She went about it stupidly, but I can’t deny her results. We need to decide what we’re going to do now. If it was any day beside Saturday, I would have security escorting him from the premises and bringing him straight to the police station.

“But since the rose ceremony is starting in less than two hours, I wanted to let you decide what you want to do. We could do nothing now and allow you to send him home during the ceremony—but regardless of your feelings on the matter, he will be going home tonight. He’s a danger to you and everyone else on the show. If you don’t want to deal with him, we can take care of it so you never have to deal with him again.”

My eyes snap up to clash with Bree’s, surely flashing with both anger and tears. “Of course, he’s fucking going home. I never really liked the asshole anyway. I definitely wouldn’t keep him on the show after hearing that. You know what? Let him go into the ceremony thinking everything is okay. I want to see his face when I call his ass out. I want the police here. I will be pressing charges for everything with the kayak.”

“Of course, Evangeline. Whatever you want.” Bree squats in front of me, taking my hand in hers. “What else can I do for you?”

I wave her off. “Nothing. Just take care of that. And please send in hair and makeup so I can get ready.”

Bree hums, looking like she wants to say something else but chooses not to as she stands. “Let me know if there’s anything else.”

“I will.” Pushing to my feet, I head for the door to my bedroom. I need a damn minute by myself.

“Evangeline?” Natalie’s unsure voice stops me in my tracks.

Biting my lip, I close my eyes as a tear slips free. “I can’t right now, Natalie. I’ll see you at the rose ceremony.”

“But—“

“Let’s leave Evangeline to get ready. She just had a lot of information dumped on her. Let her process it, and like she said, you’ll see her at the ceremony.” Bree speaks softly, and I’m sure I’ve upset Natalie, but I just can’t deal with her right now. I appreciate what she did—even if it seems she put herself in danger to do so—but I’m just feeling too raw right now. Raw and confused.

Not bothering to wait to see if Natalie puts up more of a fight, I stalk into my bedroom and shut the door behind me. Leaning back against it, I finally allow the tears to spill down my cheeks. I hadn’t been expecting any of this today. At least I know what I’m doing with one suitor tonight. Too bad I have no idea about any of the others.

My smile feels forced as Reginald welcomes back the viewers and suitors alike. I’m not happy to be here right now. I just want to get the ceremony over with, and I’m mad at myself about that. I don’t want to feel like this. I want to enjoy the ceremonies. I want to enjoy my time on the show, but today? Today, I don’t want to do a damn thing except crawl into my nest and sleep—preferably with Koda by my side.

“Our first suitor to the stage will be Jagger. Jagger, won’t you join us on the stage?” Reginald continues talking as Jagger makes his way onto the stage to stand in front of me.

“Hey, Jagger.” With him standing in front of me, I feel my smile morph into a more genuine one. “I had a really great time with you on our date this week.”

He inclines his head. “As did I.”

“That’s good to know,” I say with a giggle, reaching over to snag a yellow rose from the vase. “But this week, I’d like to focus on those suitors that I wasn’t able to go on a date with last week. I definitely want you to remain on the show, but this week, there will be no date for you.”

Jagger takes the rose from me, his fingers dragging along mine for a moment. “That’s understandable. I look forward to group time then since I won’t get to go out with you on a date.” He hesitates for a moment before leaning in to press his lips to mine. They’re there and gone before I can react.

I lift my hand to my lips as he saunters across the stage and back to his place among the suitors. When my eyes catch his, he winks with a smirk on his face. He knows just how much he affects me, and I’m not even mad about it.

“Next, we invite Pack Reyes to join us on stage,” Reginald’s voice calls out, and I watch as the four of them make their way onto the stage.

“As I said, I want to spend this week going on dates with those that missed out this week.” Reaching into the vase, I pluck out four lavender roses and offer them to each of them in turn. “I’m asking the four of you to go on a group date with me this week, but it won’t be with the rest of your pack. I haven’t decided how I’ll split them up as of yet, but Paisley will be with one of her alphas for our date.”

“Splitting us up?” Malachi asks with a grin. “Trying to figure out if you can stand us on our own?”

I snort, shaking my head. “Something like that.”

Since I’ve only dealt with the pack as a whole, I think it’s important to see how they interact when it’s not just them. It ought to be interesting, if nothing else.

“Next, will Viktor join us on the stage?”

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