Chapter 11
Oliver
Five Weeks Until Finale
Neil Steel: Things are heating up in the villa this week.
Everyone’s talking about the newest romance in the house, Declan King, champion boxer, and Oliver Wright, ballet dancer!
Oliver Wright: ‘They say keep your enemies close. And if they know how to box, keep them even closer…’
Neil Steel: Apologies, must have read the cue card wrong…
The newest brOmance in the house!
Did I get it right that time?
When Paige asked Oliver to have a chat with her in the Love Shack, he wasn’t sure if it would be his last. He’d successfully avoided Maeve in the days since his conversation with Declan, but he knew his time to form a plan was running out.
‘Perk up,’ Paige said cheerily, indicating for him to sit.
The red light wasn’t on yet.
‘It’s not your execution day yet.’
He tried to remove the worried expression that he was beginning to fear was permanently etched into his features.
‘You sure about that?’
She gave him a look.
‘Where’s quippy Oliver?
I don’t like broody Oliver.
That scowl doesn’t suit you.’
‘Maeve fancies Jack,’ he said flatly.
‘If they couple up, I don’t know what I’ll do.’
‘Right,’ Paige said.
Oliver realised that she, of course, knew that already.
‘Is that all? I wouldn’t worry about it.
You’re in a good position with ratings, and the villa works in mysterious ways.’
He tried for a smile, figuring that complying with her optimism could only help him.
‘You’re not planning my dramatic exit as we speak?’
‘Never,’ she said.
‘The audience likes you, which means I like you. If you hadn’t spent the past day staring into the distance moodily, I would like you even more.
Your bromance with Declan has been massive on socials.
It’s what I told you in the beginning: the audience wants to root for you.
You’re a likeable guy.’
‘Oh,’ Oliver said awkwardly.
‘Um, thanks?’
She studied him, but looked more concerned than calculating.
‘Is that all that’s bothering you?’
He sighed. ‘No, that’s not all of it.’
He cleared his throat, feeling like the walls might close in on him at any moment.
‘I, er, forgot that Declan and I were being recorded when I told him about Sophie. About the break-up. I probably sounded pathetic.’ He’d been doing so well keeping her out of his head to focus on winning, and now the hollow feeling that had consumed him since her departure was creeping back in.
Since his talk with Declan, it had sunk in how long eight months really was.
The fact that he hadn’t talked to Sophie in weeks felt more like closure than their break-up had.
Paige frowned. ‘You didn’t sound pathetic.
Honestly, you gave Sophie a lot of grace, and I assumed it was because you were conscious of the viewers.’
He shrugged, not meeting her eye.
‘It’s how I feel. It wasn’t an act.’
‘You don’t blame her for walking out on your relationship?’
Paige asked, confused.
He’d never been in the situation of explaining his break-up to someone who didn’t know him and Sophie already.
It was like trying to summarise a novel in a few words.
He finally met Paige’s eye and softened at her sympathetic expression.
‘How can I blame her? I didn’t realise how bad things were by the end, for her to feel like she had to do something like that.
It was my fault.’ He said it without thinking, the instinct to defend Sophie automatic.
Paige looked sceptical.
‘She could have talked to you about it.’
‘Could she have?’ He fiddled with his glasses, pushing them higher on his nose.
‘We never disagreed about anything, we didn’t argue.
I don’t think she knew how to break up with me without moving across the world, without making our relationship unfixable.’
‘So you think it’s your fault, because you would have fought for your relationship?’
Paige asked slowly.
The question frustrated him, but he didn’t know if he was angry at Paige for trying to understand, or with Sophie for doing something so difficult to explain.
‘No, it’s my fault because I didn’t see it coming.’
With the distance between them now, Oliver could recognise that people in perfect relationships didn’t break up suddenly and without explanation.
Paige raised her eyebrows.
‘But she moved continents with no warning – that’s on her.
To go from an eight-year relationship to nothing, I can’t even imagine.’
‘Except it’s not nothing.
We talk every day,’ Oliver said, feeling his irritation return, this time in the form of self-loathing.
‘Or we did, until I came here. She broke up with me, and it’s like we pretended it never happened.
But it did happen, she did leave.’
It was like something had finally clicked, something that had evaded him for months.
Sophie had left him.
All the phone conversations in the world couldn’t change the fact that she had walked out.
Even if he moved to New York, even if they got back together, his life would always be altered by her decision.
It wasn’t something he could simply undo.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said after a moment.
‘It’s not something I’ve talked about.
It’s hard to put into words.’
‘What about your mates?’ Paige asked.
‘Haven’t you talked to them about it?’
‘They were her mates first,’ he explained.
It had irrationally bothered him when their friends had immediately sided with him in the break-up, leaving him as the one defending Sophie.
‘It feels wrong to talk about it with them. I can deal with it on my own.’
‘Well, it gives you a good story,’ Paige said gently.
‘The scene with Declan already aired. There are thousands of people watching this show who have been dumped, and they want to see you find the love of your life.’
‘Yeah,’ Oliver said.
He straightened, conscious of how much he had revealed to Paige, but the camera to her left stood idly.
At the moment, she didn’t look like his producer, she looked like a friend.
He continued, jokingly: ‘So, I’ve already done my piece, then.
Why don’t you pick on someone else for a change?
I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you could make Declan talk about his shit.’
Her face shifted back, almost imperceptibly, to the more calculating one he was used to.
‘You know, that’s not a bad idea.
When he talked about the fight on the beach, that was a good moment we didn’t catch on camera.’
He was alarmed by how quickly she had turned his joke into something serious.
‘That’s not exactly entertaining drama,’ he said carefully.
Paige was unfazed. ‘It’s good for him, too, to be more vulnerable.
People will get tired of his tough jock persona.
He needs another angle if he wants to keep his ratings up, and you could help him.’
Oliver knew Declan had shared that story off camera for a reason, but it would be impossible to avoid playing into Paige’s hand without giving up the game entirely.
He needed the money, needed to win, more than he needed to protect Declan’s feelings.
‘What are you asking me to do?’
She shrugged.
‘Try to find a good moment to ask him about the fight.’
‘Sure, fine.’
Her face instantly looked softer.
‘Thanks, Oliver, that’d be brill.’
‘The fact remains that I could be leaving the villa any day now, and you’ll lose your puppet,’ he said lightly.
‘Well, there will be another elimination tomorrow,’ she said, and Oliver felt a pang of anxiety.
She leaned in conspiratorially.
‘But who knows, there may be someone in the villa who surprises you.’
He smiled tightly.
‘Stranger things have certainly happened.’
Sure enough, Oliver and Declan were interrupted in the kitchen later that day by Imogen.
Paige had all but told him to go for her, but his stomach dropped at the thought of having to share his afternoon with anyone other than Declan.
‘Hello, you two,’ she called, waving.
‘And how’s the villa’s best-looking duo?’
‘Just enjoying paradise,’ Declan said drolly.
‘All alone?’ Imogen asked, looking around eagerly.
Her expressive face had an almost cartoonish effect.
‘Don’t your girls know it’s dangerous to leave their belongings unattended?’
She didn’t seem overly bothered by the prospect.
Someone must have tipped her off to the Maeve–Jack development, and she clearly wasn’t taking the setback lying down.
‘Where’s Jack?’ Oliver returned smoothly.
She shrugged. ‘I have all I need between the two of you, anyhow.’ Not that she had spared Oliver more than the cursory glance – it was clear who she was talking about.
‘Declan’s spoken for, I’m afraid,’ Oliver said, hoping it came out flirtatious.
‘I didn’t realise he was married already,’ Imogen parried, shooting Declan an easy smile.
Oliver felt a stab of annoyance not altogether warranted by a joke, but Declan only laughed.
‘All’s fair in love and war,’ he said, grinning.
‘That said, I am spoken for.’
‘Oh,’ Imogen said, pouting.
Oliver mirrored her surprise – despite what he’d said, it was unusual for contestants to outright reject anyone unless their relationship was serious.
It seemed that what Declan had confessed on the beach, that he liked Zoe, was true.
From his interactions with Zoe, Oliver didn’t think her motivations were quite as pure.
Imogen recovered quickly, turning to look at Oliver.
He realised that it was exactly what he had asked for, but now that she was in front of him, the prospect of going on another date was exhausting.
Still, lazing around the villa wasn’t going to win him the prize money.
Imogen might have been fake, but for now, she needed him to stay on the show.
With Paige’s voice in his head, he pressed on.
‘So… what do you do for work?’ he asked, trying to show interest, realising he didn’t know a thing about Imogen even though she’d been there for nearly two weeks.
‘I know what you’re thinking – a girl this beautiful must be a model,’ she teased.
‘You’d be half right.
I did a spot of modelling in my teens, and content creation is how I make most of my money now, but I’m saving up to start my own brand.’
‘Oh.’ He was having a horrible flashback to his date with Zoe, and from the smirk on Imogen’s face, she’d guessed what he was thinking of.
‘And are you the brand?’ he asked.
She laughed, a tinkling, practised sound.
‘You’re cute. I’m launching a fashion brand.’
He let out a breath.
‘That sounds interesting. I don’t know much about fashion.
Um, obviously,’ he said, gesturing to his outfit.
Imogen gave him a once-over.
‘Fine by me. I happen to enjoy dictating what my boyfriend wears.’
Oliver grinned, appreciating Imogen’s ease in front of the cameras.
‘You can choose what I wear any day.’
‘Mate,’ Declan cut in, ‘maybe give Jack a shout before you move in on his girl?’
Oliver tried to meet his eye, to figure out what he was thinking, but he seemed suddenly focused on his tea, and Oliver was left feeling like he’d broken some unspoken rule between them.
The chime sounded and Darcy’s voice rang out.
‘Imogen, you talk a big game, but now it’s time to play the field.
Pick a boy to go on a date.’
She squeezed Oliver’s bicep.
‘What do you say? Feeling sporty?’
Oliver looked away from Declan.
‘Sure am!’
‘Where are the others, anyway?’ Niall asked.
‘Isn’t wardrobe advice part of the contract, or something?’
‘Dunno,’ Oliver replied.
He’d lost track of Declan as soon as Imogen had asked him out, and wherever he’d gone, Jack had disappeared with him.
Owen, the last he’d seen, had been snoozing on a daybed with Holly.
‘I think we can manage to dress me, if we put our minds to it.’
Niall nodded, studying the white shirt in his hands critically.
He was meticulous about his ironing; he said Oliver’s perpetually rumpled appearance gave him tension headaches.
‘You seem nervous, Wright,’ he said off-handedly.
‘Am a bit,’ Oliver confessed, fidgeting with his collar.
Niall put a steadying hand on his shoulder, giving him a soulful look that would make anyone feel like the most important person in the room.
‘You’ve already got an incredible woman.
How come you still think you’re not good enough?’
Oliver grimaced.
It was no secret to the audience any more, so he might as well clue Niall in as well.
‘Declan told me Maeve fancies Jack.’
Niall’s eyebrows knitted together.
‘Maeve fancies… Jack?’ He squinted, as though trying to picture the two of them together and failing.
‘So that’s what this date’s all about?
But are you sure? I wouldn’t put it past Declan to mess with you.
He doesn’t always know when to end the joke.’
A week ago, Oliver would have agreed with him, but now Declan, if anything, felt surprisingly earnest in Oliver’s company.
Declan hadn’t seemed like someone he could expose his vulnerabilities to until Oliver had seen the way his face had softened when he’d talked about Sophie.
But he didn’t want to bring that up to Niall – more and more, his conversations with Declan were something he didn’t want anyone else to have access to.
It was unfortunate that they happened to be watched by an audience of millions.
‘He wouldn’t do that,’ Oliver said firmly.
‘I trust him.’
Niall shot him an incredulous look.
‘What about the thing with Zoe?’
Oliver shook his head.
Knowing Declan was genuinely interested in Zoe had changed Oliver’s opinion of him.
It made sense as to why he’d acted so coldly towards Oliver – he hadn’t known how to pursue Zoe and make friends with Oliver at the same time.
‘It doesn’t matter either way,’ he said.
‘I don’t fancy Maeve.
I mean, she’s undeniably fanciable, and I don’t fancy her at all .
Something must be wrong with me.’
He didn’t know why he was so frustrated; he’d come on the show to win, not to fall in love.
But now that he’d started getting to know the women, single for the first time in his adult life, he realised how much he wanted to fall for someone else.
He wanted to feel like his whole life didn’t revolve around Sophie.
He wanted to know he had the option to move on, that he at least had some choice in the matter.
But frustratingly, the only person Oliver felt like he was developing any sort of closeness with was Declan.
Niall’s eyes flicked to the nearest camera, the contestants’ universal signal for mate, you’re making yourself look a fool on television .
Oliver dipped his chin towards him in a subtle nod, and changed the subject: ‘But who knows, maybe Imogen is the one?’
‘Exactly,’ Niall said.
‘You two could be just like me and Stella. I just know we’re it for each other.’
‘Niall,’ Paige said, stepping in front of the camera and sounding exasperated.
‘What did we talk about earlier? You have to at least pretend to have reservations; it makes for good TV. Sometimes I feel like a preschool teacher with you lot.’
Niall’s face betrayed a flash of annoyance at the interjection, but when he spoke, his tone was even.
‘Isn’t the whole point of this to find love?’
Paige exhaled slowly before responding.
‘Of course the point is to find love,’ she said, with a false smile pasted on.
‘And you’ve already found your soulmate here.
So if you could just keep me in a job, yeah?’
Niall snorted. ‘You’re lucky I’m such a pushover.’
Turning back to Oliver: ‘Well, I dunno, we’ll have to see how it goes, won’t we?’
Paige flashed a thumbs-up in the corner of Oliver’s vision.
When it became clear that Niall was done with his bit, Oliver jumped in.
‘And how am I feeling about my date? I thought you’d never ask.’
Niall chuckled. ‘Imogen is exactly my type on paper. I think we have good chemistry already. And hey, third time’s the charm, right?’
Paige gave Oliver a grateful smile. ‘ Much better.’