Drake and Liam met up for their usual morning workout, but there was palpable tension between them. Drake knew what happened between Liam and Riley, but he didn’t know if Liam knew, or at least assumed, Drake had been with Riley last night. Neither said more than a few words to each other, and nothing really of substance, until Drake couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to know if he and Liam were okay, or at least if they would be in time.
“So…I think we should talk…about Riley.”
Liam put his weights down. “There’s a part of me, Drake, that really wants to punch you in the face.”
“That’s…understandable. I wouldn’t blame you if that’s what you need to do.”
“Of course I wouldn’t do that. I want to be angry with you, but I know you Drake. Riley said you didn’t pursue her, and I believe her. She was a good match for me, but if I’m honest with myself, she’s much better for you. You have gone through so much, and have done so much for me…you deserve to be happy. If Riley is going to be with anyone other than me, I’m glad it’s you.”
“Liam, I don’t even know what to say. I was expecting you might hate me now.”
“I don’t hate you, Drake. As much as I like Riley, we’ve only known each other a few weeks. I’ve know you most of my life, and you are more of a brother to me than Leo ever has been. I can get over this. Just be good to her.”
“I will, Liam. I promise you that.”
~~~~~
When Riley woke up, all the memories of last night’s events came rushing back to her. Talking to Liam had gone even better than she had hoped. Being with Drake was amazing. If that had been it, Riley would be feeling great today. But seeing the camera outside her room had put somewhat of a damper on things. Quitting the show seemed appealing at the moment, but then she would be letting her brothers down. She hadn’t said anything to Drake and wasn’t sure he noticed the shift in her demeanor as they said their goodbyes. She didn’t want to spoil anything for him, especially since she didn’t know if anything would come of it. There were cameras all over the place, but at least these ones didn’t have the ability to record sound. Maybe they didn’t pay too much attention to the footage unless they knew something happened. She was just going to hope nobody from the show saw anything until she heard otherwise. Everything would be fine, right?
Drake escorted Riley throughout the day leading up to apple blossom ceremony, per his job duties. Riley was trying her best to make her relationship with Drake appear solely professional. She avoided eye contact, was careful not to touch him, and tried not to do anything that would hint at the thing that was going on between them. Maybe it was too late already, but she wasn’t going to put anything else on camera that would indicate she and Drake were together. She caught him looking at her with a concerned look on his face, probably confused by her sudden coldness. She had to get away from the cameras and let him know what was going on before he started to think she regretted last night.
There was an hour Break from filming after dinner and before the apple blossom ceremony, so Riley asked Drake to walk her back to her room to get ready. He definitely wouldn’t be coming inside with her, but at least they would have minute to talk on the way.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Drake was the first to speak. “Bennett, is something wrong? Are you having second thoughts?”
“No Drake, not at all, but there is something. You see the cameras mounted all over?”
“Yes, they have been there since filming started.”
“Did you ever notice that there is one right outside my room?”
“I never paid attention, but…oh,” realization washed over Drake’s face. “That means we have been on camera. Has anyone said anything to you?”
“No, not yet at least. I don’t know how much they actually pay attention to all that footage, but we need to be more careful…I don’t know, maybe I should just quit the show. I want to be free to be with you, and not have to keep it a secret. And it’s not fair to you to have to watch me pretend to be interested in Liam for the sake of the show.”
“Bennett, I’ll support whatever you decide. The selfish part of me wants to just take you away from all of this. You don’t owe it to your brothers to help fix the family’s financial issues. This money is only a temporary fix. Bertrand is going to have to figure out a way to keep the estate afloat long-term. But I also understand why you would want to stay and help.” A wistful look flitted across Drake’s face. “I would do…would have done anything to help my family.”
Riley wanted nothing more than to comfort Drake in that moment, to hold his hand, embrace him. “Drake, I’m sorry. I’m glad you understand why I would want to stay. I’m going to try, but if it gets to hard for either of us, I won’t hesitate to walk away. After last night…I don’t want to wait much longer to do that again.”
“Me either, Bennett. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way.”
Another elimination ceremony came and went. Riley spent some time talking with Liam in private for appearances sake. She thought it would be awkward, but she and Liam had a real connection, even just as friends. She wasn’t sure Liam was completely over her, but he was holding up well. Olivia also spent some time with him and had a smug look on her face when she came back. Riley still wasn’t sure how to feel about that, as Olivia had yet to apologize to her. Olivia also didn’t know though that Riley was secretly out of the running, so maybe if she knew, she would warm up to her. It was too soon to tell though if she could trust her with that information. Diana and Anna were eliminated leaving 9 woman remaining: Riley, Hana, Penelope, Kiara, Madeleine, Olivia, Lydia, Sophia, Charlotte.
Drake dropped Riley off at the end of the night with a casual goodbye, as much as it pained both of them. When she got in the room, she saw a box sitting in the middle of the bed. The box was plain with no note or tag. She was a little hesitant to open it, but she did so anyhow. Inside was a cell phone, which was strange as she wasn’t supposed to have one. She powered it on and there was already a text message:
Hey Bennett, I figured if we can’t say what we really want to say in public, we can at least have this for now. I can’t wait until I can kiss you and hold you again. Oh and don’t worry, I had the housekeeping staff put the box in your room. Nobody will think twice about it.
The gift was unexpected but very wanted. Riley got ready for bed and slipped on Drake’s shirt to sleep in. She snapped a picture of herself and sent it to Drake.
I love it, Drake. Thank you! I’ll be thinking of you as I fall asleep tonight.
A few minutes later she got a text back.
Damn Bennett, you are so beautiful. That shirt looks much better on you than it does on me.
The text was followed by a picture that sent heat straight to her core. Drake was lying in bed clad only in his boxer briefs. His perfectly sculpted chest and abs on full display. She had a hard time looking away from the bulge beneath his underwear.
You aren’t so bad yourself.
Drake texted back again:
I’ll show you mine if you show me yours 😉
Riley considered it, but she thought it would be more fun to make him wait.
That’s all you are getting tonight Mr. Walker. Need to keep you wanting more. Goodnight. XOXO 💋
I’m always wanting more. Goodnight Bennett
~~~~~
Jo slammed her laptop shut. “This show is turning into a fucking disaster. More than half of the legitimate candidates to marry Liam are into someone else. That is not how this is supposed to work. Hana and Lydia both would have been great, but now they are more interested in sticking their tongues down each other’s throats than Liam’s. Olivia has proven to be just as much of a loose cannon as we had feared. And Riley…Drake was in her room for two hours last night. I don’t have to know what happened in that room to know what happened.
“Look on the bright side,” Kat interjected. “At least Riley was sneaking off with Liam right before that. I think she’s still into him too. But if things don’t work out, we have that footage of her and Drake kissing we can use. What are we going to do with the footage of Olivia’s outburst…and Hanna and Lydia together? Are we airing any of that this week?
“No.” Jo responded. “Not until Liam lets any of them go. We can’t have anyone looking bad if he eventually picks them. Not likely with Hannah or Lydia at this point, but we will still wait and see. Liam looked pretty chummy with Olivia after he talked to her in his study, so maybe there is something there. And you are right about Riley. She might be playing both Drake and Liam. Liam’s the obvious choice of the two. Who would turn down a literal prince charming? Maybe now that Riley has fucked Drake she’ll get him out of her system. She seemed a little more distant with him yesterday.”
“At least we’ll get some drama from Liam sending Catherine home, so this episode won’t be a total snooze fest. She totally melted down after Liam cut her. What are we going to do about Madeleine? She wants to be Queen more than anyone, but she has about as much chemistry with Liam as a dead fish. However, If all else fails, she’s the only viable option we have. We’ll have to find a way to make her and Liam look believable.”
“We’ll do what we have to do, but let’s cross that bridge when we get there,” Jo replied. We just have to hope Riley or Olivia works out at this point. Liam has already decided on Riley for this next week’s one on one, so we’ll find out how she feels soon enough.”
Just as they were finishing up the meeting, Kat heard a knock on the door. “Were you expecting someone Jo? We already had our meeting with Liam.”
“No, I don’t know who that is.” Jo opened up the door. “Constantine, your majesty, to what do we owe the honor?”
“I know we are all busy, so I’m going to keep this brief. Nobody knows this yet, but at the end of the social season, I am stepping down as King. Due to this sudden decision, I am now much more invested in who Liam chooses as his wife. Madeleine is the only one here I feel is ready to be Queen, and I need you to help make sure that happens. I heard you have some footage on tape that would help take Riley and Olivia out of the running.”
“How do you know about that?” Jo questioned.
“I am the King of Cordonia. How I know doesn’t matter, but it would be best not to underestimate my capabilities, and just do as I ask. I can shut down this show instantly if you don’t cooperate. There are loopholes in the contract. I made sure of that before we signed anything. I don’t need you to release everything right away, as Liam would get too suspicious. I trust you can figure out how to work things out and get Madeleine closer to Liam. I’ll be in touch.”
Constantine left just as quickly as he came, while Kat and Jo stated at each other in disbelief.