26. Lola Reign
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
P ressure had been gone since yesterday and I couldn’t even lie…
I was feeling a little relieved. Not because I didn’t miss him but because it gave me a chance to breathe without worrying about him getting too close.
I genuinely loved being around him. Hell, I loved it more than I wanted to admit, but the closer he got, the more dangerous things became for me.
I had a secret that could flip this whole estate upside down, and every time he leaned in just a little too far, every time he tried to kiss me, I found a way to pull back, smiling like I was just trying to take my time when really I was trying to protect myself.
He probably thought I was being mysterious or just slow to open up, but the truth was I was scared.
I wasn’t scared of him hurting me in the way most women fear a man.
I was scared of him finding out who I really was.
Now that the days were starting to run together and the group of women was getting smaller, I felt the heat creeping up on me.
I didn’t want to leave. That thought wasn’t even on the table.
I just didn’t know how much longer I could keep the act going.
Every night I told myself I would figure it out.
Every morning, I woke up and told myself to just get through one more day.
Lately, though, it felt like the walls were closing in.
Every time Chanel glanced at me from across the room with that knowing smirk, my chest would tighten.
Every time Imani asked too many questions about my past, my stomach would knot up. I was constantly on edge.
After my shower, the mansion was quiet. I wrapped my towel around me and padded barefoot through the hallway, thinking most of the women were asleep by now.
It was the middle of the night, and usually by this hour the place was silent.
My hair was still damp, and I was looking forward to slipping into my room, putting on my robe, and maybe watching something on TV, until I fell asleep.
The marble under my feet felt cool, and the dim hallway lights made everything feel calm enough that I let my guard down.
However, I should have known better than to do that.
When I reached my door, I felt the air change behind me.
It was that subtle sense you get when someone is too close.
Before I could turn around, the towel was ripped from my body so fast it felt like the air had been snatched with it.
My arms flew up to cover myself, but it was pointless. The damage was done.
I spun around and saw Imani standing there with my towel balled up in her hand. She was smiling in a way that made my skin crawl, like she had been waiting for this moment. I froze, my mind scrambling to process what was happening, but the situation shifted again before I could say a word.
The light in my bedroom clicked on, bright and unforgiving.
Chanel was leaning against the wall inside.
In her hand was the silicon camel toe pad I kept hidden deep in my bag, along with the adhesive strips and surgical tape I used to keep everything in place.
My stomach dropped so hard I felt it in my knees.
I didn’t need to guess how she got it. Chanel had been after me since day one, whispering her little theories, watching me too closely. Now she had proof.
Her eyes traveled over me slowly, taking in every detail, and I could feel my face getting hot. I wanted to grab the towel from Imani, to cover myself, to disappear, but my feet wouldn’t move. Chanel’s smirk widened and she tilted her head, her eyes narrowing just slightly.
“I knew you was a fuckin’ freak, bitch,” she said, each word dripping with smug satisfaction. She was enjoying every second of this.
Heat rose in my chest and my eyes stung.
The tears came before I could stop them, sliding down my cheeks while I stood there exposed.
My voice felt trapped somewhere deep in my throat, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find a single thing to say.
Anger and shame mixed together in a way that made me feel sick.
This wasn’t just about being caught. This was about them stripping me down and taking control of everything I had been fighting to protect.
Chanel let out a short laugh, her gaze dropping lower. “Damn… you got a big dick too,” she said like she was telling a joke, but her voice carried a sharp edge that told me she meant every word to cut deep.
Before I could react, she pushed herself off the wall and took a slow step toward me.
“I’m gon’ tell Pressure exactly what you got going on when he gets back from out of town,” she said, her tone calm but deadly.
I believed her. Every word landed heavy because I knew she had no reason to bluff.
This wasn’t a threat for leverage. This was her power move.
That was when I realized I was completely at their mercy.
My secret was no longer mine. It belonged to them now.
The tears were streaming freely down my face, hot and unrelenting, as I begged them not to say anything.
My voice cracked and shook in a way that made me hate myself in that moment, but there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Chanel crossed her arms and tilted her chin up. “Hoe, is you cool? You really think I’m about to let you anywhere near Pressure knowing what I know?” she asked, her voice laced with disgust.
Imani finally stepped forward, her eyes locked on me with a strange mix of curiosity and calculation.
“If you don’t want us to tell him, you need to…
” She let the sentence hang there for a long second before adding, “Or maybe you should just be honest with him. Who knows, maybe he’ll accept you for who you are. ”
The way she said it made my stomach twist. It wasn’t an offer. It was a setup. Either way, they were going to use this to their advantage. I stayed silent, my mind racing through a hundred different scenarios, each one worse than the last.
Imani walked closer and held out the towel.
I snatched it from her and wrapped it around myself as fast as I could, holding it tight like it could somehow undo what had just happened.
Neither of them said another word. Chanel’s smirk was still in place as she turned and walked out, and Imani followed behind her without looking back.
When the door shut, the silence in the room felt heavier than the confrontation had.
I stood there for what felt like minutes, my heart pounding in my ears, my body still trembling.
My secret was out, and it was in the worst hands possible.
I didn’t know if they would tell Pressure right away or let it simmer just to keep me under their control, but I knew something was different within me.
The ground under me didn’t feel steady anymore.
I pulled the towel tighter around me and sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the floor.
My thoughts wouldn’t stop running. Every laugh I had shared with Pressure, every time he had looked at me like he was curious about what was behind my eyes, every little moment we had built—all of it now felt fragile.
If Chanel and Imani decided to open their mouths, that was it. There would be no coming back from it.
That was when it hit me. Tonight hadn’t just been about exposing me. It was about control, and now they had it.
Another day had gone by and when I heard Pressure’s voice after he’d been gone all weekend, my heart damn near fell out my ass.
I had been telling myself that when he came back, I was going to pull him to the side and tell him everything.
I had gone over it in my head a hundred different ways, trying to figure out how to make it sound softer, and like it wasn’t this big explosive secret.
The problem was there was no soft way to say it.
Either I told him straight out, or it came from Chanel and Imani, and if it came from them, it would be twisted into something ugly.
Since the night they found out, they wouldn’t stop fucking with me, making little comments here and there.
There was always looks across the room, and them walking past me slow and whispering things I couldn’t quite catch but knew were about me.
And then they came to me with another offer, standing in my doorway like they owned the whole damn estate.
Chanel had said if Pressure didn’t get rid of me during the next elimination, then I had to be the one to tell him the truth, but if he did send me home, my secret would stay with them forever.
A small part of me wanted to take that deal and let it be over.
I could just pack my bags, leave and save myself from the embarrassment of it all.
But there was another part of me that didn’t want to walk away.
That part of me was loud and stubborn. It told me that I could still make Pressure see me, and maybe he would understand.
Maybe he would still want me. I had built this whole picture in my mind of what it would be like if we were together, and I wasn’t ready to let that go.
I sat on the edge of my bed for a long time, just staring at the floor and listening to the sounds of the estate.
His voice carried through the walls when he laughed, and I could hear movement downstairs, the shuffle of footsteps and murmur of conversation.
My stomach was twisted into knots, but I told myself to get up and face it.
I had been running from this moment since the day I met him, and now it was right here.