Chapter 22
CHAPTER 22
RHETT
I can't believe this. My blood is boiling. I can hardly concentrate on the challenge. Connor's words just keep replaying in my mind over and over, each one like a knife, twisting deep into my gut. This humiliation is unbearable. My secret was exposed on national TV, and the one person I thought I could trust betrayed me—Savannah.
I don't know why she thought telling Connor of all people would be a good idea, but there's no other explanation. She's the only person here who knows. We have no access to the outside world, so it's not like Connor could have found out on his own.
This is why I don't trust people, and this is why I don’t let people get close. And now my family knows the truth. They know that I don’t work on yachts with celebrities. They know I work on cruise ships, in the bowels of a ship, feeding thousands of people—not exactly what I hoped to do with my pastry chef education.
Logically, I know working on a cruise ship isn’t a terrible occupation—for most people. But in my family, anything short of cooking for the President himself wouldn’t be good enough. And even then, it would depend on which President.
I shake my head, trying to refocus on my dessert. I'm making a Halloween-inspired cake in the shape of a dark tower with all kinds of spooky things in the windows. I feel unsteady. My usual precision is gone, replaced by blind fury. I continue mixing the dough, but my emotions are mechanical because my mind is elsewhere.
"Focus, Rhett,” I mutter to myself. It's no use. My mind is a storm, and there’s no way to calm it. I glance over at Savannah, who is working on her cake. Lately, she’s been the calm in my storm, and now she’s the dark cloud hanging over me. How could I have trusted her?
She looks frazzled, but she always does. Still, I know she is responsible for what just happened, and I've never been so disappointed in someone in my life.
SAVANNAH
The smell of spices fills the air as I pour my batter into the pans. I set the timer and then turn to my frosting. My mind is still racing with thoughts of Rhett. Maggie's words keep haunting me. Could it be true? Does he have actual feelings for me? And if he does, why would he think that I would betray his confidence like that? It's all too much.
"Come on, Savannah, you need to focus," I whisper to myself. I mix the frosting, the sweet scent of maple calming my nerves, but it's a temporary fix. There's so much tension in this room that it's almost suffocating. Lainey with her smug face. Connor with his sneer. Rhett's anger bubbling under his skin. It's all too much. I don't like conflict. I don't like drama. I don't know why I thought being on a reality show wouldn't have a bunch of both of those.
As I start to frost my cake, the door to the kitchen opens, and Dan steps in with the judges. It must be getting close to time. They usually leave us alone during the competition and then show up later, probably after eating something or drinking glasses of wine. I don't know what they do out there.
A few minutes later, the bell goes off, and we’re forced to stop touching our desserts. The judges start to make their rounds. They start with Lainey. Her Christmas-themed spice cake looks like a work of art. I'm actually impressed. It's beautifully decorated with sugared cranberries and a dusting of powdered sugar that looks like snow.
Of course, hers looks good. She wasn’t fixating on drama like I was.
"This is excellent work, Lainey," Chef Alain says. "This is exactly what we were looking for in a holiday-themed dessert. This is worthy of a magazine cover." Lainey beams, and her recently whitened teeth almost blind me.
Having been her roommate all these weeks, I’ve witnessed her morning and evening routines. These include whitening strips, all manner of face masks, and something that seems to freeze her whole face for a good half hour. I enjoy that time because she can’t open her stupid mouth to talk.
Next, they move over to Rhett. He's made a Halloween-themed cake. The judges taste it and exchange glances. "The flavor is good, but this seems a little rushed. The icing is falling off here, and these detail pieces could be a little tighter,” Marco says. "I have to say, it's not your best work, Rhett."
He looks irritated. I'm sure he was just trying to get through it after the drama with Connor before the competition. It has definitely thrown Rhett off, which is exactly what Connor wanted.
They continue around the room, looking at Maggie's Easter-themed carrot cake and Zara's Diwali-inspired dessert. They find hers lacking flavor and depth and say Maggie's is a bit dry, even though the flavors were spot-on.
Connor made a Valentine’s Day sponge cake with more fondant hearts than I’ve ever seen. Honestly, it’s not his best work and looks like something I’d make from a bag at the grocery store. “I think you went a bit overboard on the hearts,” Chef Alain says, scrunching his nose like he smells something bad.
Finally, they reach my station. I hold my breath as they taste my pumpkin spice cake. "This frosting is wonderful," Tessa says, "but I feel like this cake is a little bit spongy and undercooked."
I nod. I feel the sting of disappointment, but I can't disagree with them. I wasn't exactly on my game. I knew I could have been. I knew I could have done better had I been able to concentrate.
Once the judges have finished their deliberations, Dan steps forward. They open up the audience voting for about fifteen minutes while Dan stands around chatting and filling time. Finally, when they cut back to him, they are ready to announce the winner.
"The winner of this challenge is..." He pauses for dramatic effect, "Lainey with her Christmas-themed spice cake. Congratulations, Lainey! You are the first person to secure a spot in the finals."
Lainey beams, soaking in the applause. "Thank you. I knew Christmas was the way to go." She eyes all the other contestants who didn't choose Christmas.
Then Dan's expression turns serious as he addresses the rest of us. "Unfortunately, we must say goodbye to two of our contestants. Those who got the fewest votes from the audience and judges combined were…”
Again, another dramatic pause. “Zara and Maggie, I'm sorry to say that your journeys end here. Thank you for everything you've brought to the competition."
Both Zara and Maggie smile graciously, hug each other, and then walk around and hug the remaining contestants. Maggie's eyes meet mine, and she mouths, “Good luck.” I’m going to miss her so much. I never realized how much I craved having a mother figure until I met Maggie. As they leave, Dan gives us a final nod.
"Get some rest, everyone. Finals week starts in just a couple of days."
I try to catch Rhett’s eye as we leave the kitchen, but he’s already storming off. I feel so guilty and frustrated even though I didn’t do anything wrong. This was supposed to be a good time for us to get closer as friends if nothing else, and now it feels like everything is falling apart.
I head to my room, hoping to get a good night’s sleep and wipe this day away. It will be lonely in there without Maggie. Rhett's anger keeps replaying in my mind. Tomorrow is a new day, and I have to find a way to fix this mess.
RHETT
I storm up the stairs as Connor's words repeatedly batter my brain. What he said in front of everyone echoes in my mind as my fists clench involuntarily. I can feel my blood seemingly boiling under my skin.
Savannah was the only one who knew. She had to have told him. How else could Connor have known about my work on the cruise ships? I wanted to keep that part of my life private. We took great pains to ensure our microphones were turned off when I told Savannah away from the prying eyes of national television. Now, it's out there for everyone, including my family, to judge.
I try to push my thoughts aside as best I can so I can go to sleep. I'm exhausted. I didn't do well in the competition, and I really just need a good night of sleep.
Part of me wants to pummel Connor for saying what he said, but I know that’s what he wants. A reaction. He’s probably hoping I get physical and get kicked out just before finals. It’s not happening.
What I feel more than anything is hurt by Savannah, and I hate feeling vulnerable that way. After I get out of this house, I won’t trust anyone again.
Before I can get into bed, I turn and see Savannah standing in the doorway. Connor brushes past her to come into our room.
"Oh, hey there, Savannah. I guess you're coming in here to try to defend yourself?"
"I want to talk to Rhett.”
"Well, I don't want to talk to you," I say, turning over in the bed and facing the wall.
"Seems like your new boyfriend is mad at you."
"I want to know how you found out about that, Connor, because it certainly wasn't from me."
"Wasn't from you? Of course, it was."
"Are you kidding me? You must be kidding me. You're going to sit here and lie and tell Rhett that I told you that?”
"Well, it seems like maybe Rhett only told you, so how else would I know?"
"I don't know how you found out, but you know as well as I do that I didn't tell you anything."
I can hear them arguing back and forth. Of course, I'm not looking in that direction because I don't want to give either one of them the satisfaction of seeing my face right now.
This makes no sense. Why would Savannah have betrayed my confidence, and why would she have told Connor, of all people? She hates him. I hate him. But it doesn't make any sense. She's the only person I told. He would have no way of finding out that information on his own. I'm confused, I'm frustrated, and I'm tired. So I close my eyes and decide that the best thing to do is to go to sleep and worry about all this tomorrow.
SAVANNAH
Somehow, I manage to avoid Lainey like the plague when we go to bed. When I get in there, she's down the hallway with Connor, making out like a couple of high school kids. I can't stand either one of them. The best part of getting out of this house, besides seeing my sister again, is going to be getting rid of these two. Hopefully, I will never see either of their faces again.
I get a decently restful night of sleep once I actually fall asleep. Not having Maggie over there snoring is actually making me have insomnia. I guess I got used to her snoring as a white noise machine because I didn't know I would miss it so much. Thankfully, Lainey has moved to the bed on the opposite side of the room, so I no longer have to sleep beside her. I can't believe she won the competition this week. I think it was a fair judgment because her cake was better than anyone else's. So few people are left in the competition that it's almost easier to win.
There are only four of us going into finals week. From what I understand, there will be a series of challenges between now and the end. One person will be voted off in each of the next two challenges, leaving only the final two to complete whatever the final challenge is.
The only thing on my mind today is talking to Rhett. I need to make sure that he knows that I didn't tell Connor anything. I'm not sure how to convince him of that fact, but I will give it my best.
I get up and dressed, put on some casual clothes, and plan to lie around the house today and prepare for the upcoming competitions. I walk down the hallway to Rhett's room, but he's not in there, so I go downstairs, make myself a bowl of cereal, and wait until I see him.
Still, I don't see him anywhere. For a moment, I fear that he has left the competition and quit out of embarrassment. I honestly don't understand why he's embarrassed about working on cruise ships. I've never been on a cruise, but it seems like something that people with money do. People who have the means for that vacation. After all, I had never even seen the beach. I didn't get to go on cruises.
I would consider it a high honor if Rhett cooked for me on a cruise. I value our budding friendship. I miss him. I miss him talking to me, and I would gladly be chained to him again if I could. That sounds so silly when I think about it.
I finish my bowl of cereal and start walking around, looking for people. I see Lainey and Connor sitting in the hot tub and want to gag, but I don't see Rhett. I don't know where he could be. I walk around the house until I finally find him. He's in the side parlor where we originally all met as contestants. None of us ever go in there. It's a stuffy room with bookshelves. It looks like a place where a man would sit and smoke a cigar by the fire.
The lights are dim, and he's just sitting by himself in a chair in the corner. It’s like the first time I ran into him in the bathroom. He likes chairs in corners.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"I'm sitting in a chair," he says dryly, not making eye contact.
"Why aren't you in the courtyard or your room?"
"Maybe I wanted to be alone."
"I get that, but can we talk?"
"Well, I really don't have an exit plan, so I guess I don't have a choice."
I enter the room and shut the two French doors behind me. I sit in a chair on the opposite side of the room. This feels awkward and uncomfortable.
"Rhett, I didn't tell Connor anything."
"That's impossible, Savannah. You're the only person—literally the only person in the world—who knew that information."
"I know it doesn't make sense. He had to have overheard us."
"How? We weren't wearing our microphones. We weren't even standing near the door. We were whispering."
"I know that. It doesn't make any sense to me either, but I can promise you I didn't tell him anything. I don't even talk to Connor."
"I thought that was true, but maybe you and Connor have a separate friendship that I don't know about. Maybe you’ve been working with him to win this competition.”
"Seriously? Connor and me? No. I can't stand him. That doesn’t even make any sense. You know that.”
"I thought I knew a lot of things, Savannah."
"I hate this. I didn't do anything wrong, and now you hate me."
"I don't hate you. I could never hate you," he says quietly. There's something about his voice. It makes me think about what Maggie said, that maybe she's right.
"Then you have to believe me. I didn't do this."
He looks up, a pained expression on his face. "I wish that I could believe you. I wish that I could trust you. I wish that I could trust anybody, actually. I opened myself up to you, and what did I get? Embarrassed on national television. Exposed to my family, who already judges me."
"You have to believe me, Rhett. I didn't do this."
"Can I just be alone?" He says it with such finality that it's jarring, but I want to respect his wishes. I stand up and walk to the door but turn back just before I exit.
"I've really enjoyed getting to know you, and I wish you all the best in the final, but I promise you, you can trust me. I didn't do this. All of this was real to me.”
He says nothing, and I walk out the door, wondering if that's the end of my friendship… or whatever it is… with Rhett.
SAVANNAH
With nothing else to do, I decide to go to my room and start packing. No matter what, I’m leaving this house within a week. It will give me something to do while I worry about the upcoming challenges and what’s happening with Rhett.
Unfortunately, Lainey is in the room, still wearing her bikini from the hot tub. She’s painting her toenails a hot pink color while she sits on Maggie’s old bed.
“I switched my sheets out so I didn’t have to sleep on the old bat’s sheets.”
“Maggie isn’t an old bat. Why are you so incredibly rude, Lainey? Did someone hurt you?” I say sarcastically. At this point, I don’t care about making friends with her.
She sneers. “Don’t take it out on me because your boyfriend is mad at you. Maybe he’ll take you on a cruise. Oh, but he’ll have to work in the kitchen, so he probably won’t see you much.” She laughs at her un-funny joke.
“Just shut up, Lainey. I’m not in the mood.” I reach for my suitcase and unzip it.
“Going home already?”
“Just getting prepared for next week.”
“You’re never going to win this, Savannah.”
“Again, you don’t need to talk to me, Lainey. I could go the rest of my life without hearing your whiny voice.”
“Geez, so moody. I thought you were all sunshine and lollipops, but Sunny has an edge, apparently.”
“Stop calling me Sunny.” In my mind, Rhett can call me that, but no one else.
“Is that only for your boyfriend?”
I throw my hands in the air. Why am I letting this woman get to me? “He’s not my boyfriend! In fact, he hates me now. Just stop talking to me!”
“I don’t get why he’s so upset Connor found out about the cruise stuff.”
“Because he thinks I told Connor. He thinks Connor and I are in cahoots, I guess.”
“That’s silly. Connor would never be interested in you again.”
I laugh under my breath. “I dumped Connor, not the other way around.”
“Whatever. And anyway, I feel like I need to be recognized in this whole thing.”
I look at her. “What does that mean?”
“I told Connor.”
My heart pounds in my chest. “What? How?”
“I was in the shower when you two numbskulls came into the bathroom.”
I drop my suitcase on the bed. “What? Why were you in the shower?”
“I kept seeing you two sneak into bathrooms all season, so when I saw you pulling him up the stairs after the video calls, I wanted to see what was going on.”
My face feels like it’s on fire. “You stupid little…”
Lainey holds up her well-manicured hand. “No, no, no… we’re on TV. No foul language, Sunny.”
If I were big enough to put her in a headlock, I would totally do it. If I tried, I’d just hang from her neck like a necklace. For now, I’m just happy to know how all of this happened.
Without another word, I run downstairs looking for Rhett. Instead, I run straight into Connor at the bottom of the stairs.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are you going so fast?” He steps in front of me every time I try to get around him. I’m close to kicking him where the sun doesn’t shine, as my grandmother would’ve said.
“Move, Connor! I need to talk to Rhett.”
“He’s in confessional. Probably talking about how you broke his heart.”
“This is all your fault!”
“You’re embarrassing yourself, Savannah. Running after a guy like Rhett? Seriously?”
I put my hands on my hips. “And why is that?”
“Because he’d never be interested in you. He’s obviously just biding his time until he gets out of here. No guy with that kind of family money would ever lower himself to date a girl like… you.”
“You dated me, Connor.”
“And I didn’t have rich parents and more money than I could ever spend. Rhett will leave you in the dust, and you’ll be made fun of on social media for weeks after this. It’s sad. You need to cut your losses now. He’s not into you, Savannah. Can’t you see that?”
“Just shut up, Connor. Honestly, your voice is the most annoying sound on the planet.” I walk past him toward the kitchen.
“Hey, Savannah?”
I stop, but I don’t turn around. “What?”
“I know I joke around, but I’m serious. We loved each other once, and I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
I know he’s trying to play me, but it’s not working. I turn around and face him.
“Connor, if you tried for the rest of your miserable life, you’d never be half the man Rhett is. If you think I’m buying all of this, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“What’s going on here?” Rhett suddenly says from behind me.
I turn and, without thinking, say, “Hippopotamus.”
“Huh?”
“Hippopotamus, Rhett!”
His face suddenly registers what I’m saying. “I don’t understand…”
“I found out how Connor knew about the cruise ship.”
He glares in Connor’s direction. “How?”
“Lainey was hiding in the shower when we were in the bathroom.”
Rhett’s mouth drops open. “What?”
I turn to face him, completely ignoring that Connor is nearby. I place my hands on his chest, look up at him and wink. “See, sweetie? I would never have done anything to hurt you.”
It takes a moment for Rhett to really get what I’m doing, but once he does, I see a smile spread across his face. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, beautiful.” He leans down and brushes his lips against my cheek.
Wow, that felt way better than I thought it would. I decide in this moment that a fake relationship with Rhett for the next week won’t be so bad. I can live in the land of make-believe if I need to for one of us to win. It just needs to be me.