Episode 9
Florence
I can’t believe this is my life…
And not in a good way. The ‘everything is a fairytale’ way.
No, this is more of a nightmare.
I should have kept my mouth shut beyond muttering ‘no comment.’
My single comment about the failures of the Bravonnian monarchy has somehow become the rallying cry for those that oppose the new laws passed.
Without trying I’ve somehow become the figurehead of a movement in a country that I don’t even live in.
#theydidmeafavor and #regressivetrash have been trending along with #omegareform and #manipulativeomega.
I barely looked at my socials before, but now I avoid them like the plague. Jude hasn’t told me as much. But the contents of my DMs have made his mouth tighten into an unnatural little pinch. Threats and insults from those that support the Bravonnian crown, I suspect.
But there are also messages thanking me for speaking out. Praising me for it, which is beyond bizarre. It’s only the right thing to do. I’m shocked more people aren’t publicly denouncing the Bravonne monarchy for the shady shit they pulled.
Or maybe my words carry more weight given the nature of my relationship with the Ashbourne Pack. Because I’m a public figure. Which again is bizarre. I was a contestant on a dating show and somehow I’ve become a political figurehead.
Of course there’s been backlash because of that, a smear campaign apparently led by the other omegas on the show. Though I have no clue why they’d be so eager to speak out against me and not the laws that, once enacted, will limit their rights as a Bravonnian citizen.
They’re probably getting paid.
Or the queen herself asked for a special favor from them.
Which given what I know of her, wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
Haven and her pack urged me to consider doing an interview. Just one, where I could tell my side of the story, inform the world of my heartbreak in a controlled setting and try to repair some of the damage done to my reputation and integrity because of the outright slander being spoken against me.
It might have been better if I’d done this before things got to this point, but then I never would have thought that the Bravonnian government would have pulled such a shady move.
I honestly thought people would forget about me over time, and I could just go back to my quiet life in Granton.
But one comment spoken against unfair laws in an entirely different country from my own, and it became painfully clear that wouldn’t be the case.
Which has brought me here. To this moment, sitting across from Heather Howle with cameras once again pointing at me.
We’re in a studio set up to look like a cozy sitting room, the chair I’m in is plush and comfortable, but I try not to let myself sink into it. Straight back, chin raised, polite smile in place.
“Florence, thank you for being here. How are you feeling today, really?”
I manage to keep my smile in place. “I’m well, thank you for asking.”
She pauses, giving me a considering look, like she knows I’m lying. I brace, expecting her to push. It wouldn’t have taken much for them to find out I fainted at the airport and had a brief stay at the hospital upon my return.
“It’s been a whirlwind since RoyaLove Getaway ended. What have the last few weeks been like for you?”
Okay, so she’s giving me a chance to come clean about my illness.
But I’m certainly not going to. That’s no one’s business but my own.
“It’s been… difficult, to say the least. It's not easy for anyone to form a connection with someone, to think you might have a future with them, only to be told you aren’t good enough.
I’m sure every omega who's been on the show would tell you the same.”
“You were widely considered the fan favorite. Did that surprise you?” Relief flows through me when she seemingly moves on from a subject I have no wish to discuss.
“Yes. Without a doubt. I would have expected… just about any of the other omegas to be fan favorites. Tristan or Petal. Tamsin was so sweet.”
“Indeed, you certainly seemed to get along with them.” My brow wrinkles at that, not sure if she’s implying it’s a bad thing.
But then she moves on swiftly, like she just wants to get through the approved questions.
“Before everything became… political, what originally made you agree to be on the show?”
I hesitate. Even though I knew this question was coming.
I haven’t decided how much of myself I want to show in this interview.
To the world. “I was going through a rough patch after an accident took my ability to dance and my career from me. Everything I’d been working toward since I was a small child was just gone, in an instant.
And I wasn’t sure how to come back from that.
My best friend saw that I was struggling and she…
well, she filled out the application for me as a way to shake me out of the funk I’d been in. ”
“Interesting. Were you surprised to be picked as a contestant?”
“Very. Though I didn’t have a clue I was even a contender until I received the email congratulating me on being picked.”
“Let’s talk about the Ashbourne Pack. Did you feel a genuine connection with them?”
“Yes.” The word slips out before I can stop it. I take a deep breath and continue, truthfully. “Yes. I did. I think anyone watching would know that. I… grew to care about them a great deal during our time together. If I hadn’t it wouldn’t have hurt so much when I was sent home.”
“Many viewers believed you thought you might be chosen at the end. Is that true?”
My eyes flick over to the door I know Tic is standing behind, watching the interview, ready to step in and whisk me away if this gets to be too much.
We went over the questions I’m willing to answer before the cameras turned on, and this wasn’t one of them.
“I didn’t. Not at first. It was fairly clear to me that I was the odd one out.
In a crowd of noble ladies, famous influencers and models, I was the one most likely to be sent home first. I expected it.
Was all but assured by the production crew and the Ashbourne Pack that it would happen at some point.
But they continued to keep me. And seeking me out.
And being so damn charming that I started to think there must be a reason for all that, you know?
Beyond the drama of the show. But unfortunately I was wrong. ”
“How did the rejection affect you personally?”
I blink at her. Another unplanned question that feels like she knows about my illness, that she’s giving me the chance to tell the world about it, tell the Ashbourne Pack about it.
“How does rejection affect anyone?” I question back.
“It never feels good, no one wants to be told they aren’t good enough.
And I could really see myself with them, you know?
And I’m not just saying that. It felt like they could be mine, and I could be theirs.
When they sent me home, it…” I blow out a breath and shake my head.
“It hurt. A lot. Shook me in a way that nothing has before, not even losing my ability to dance professionally. But I know they did what they felt was best for their country.”
“Do you believe the pack handled your elimination appropriately?”
Careful, Florence. Be oh so careful here.
“I think,” I say slowly. “That given the limitations placed on them, both by the show and their position as a royal pack, they handled the elimination in the only way that they could. I might have appreciated a heads up that it was coming, but I know they were contractually bound not to give anything away.”
Even though I know they could have said something, if they’d wanted to. Any of them could have pulled me aside and told me off camera that it was going to happen. Instead they let me enter that room with hope, body still buzzing from our activities the night before and they blindsided me.
“There have been rumors that you were only there for the money paid to the contestants of the show. The longer you stayed the more money you made. Is there any truth to that?”
I shift, nervously, glancing around the room.
This is live, Florence. Get it together.
“Not when I arrived. But I was informed almost immediately that I was so poorly matched with the pack, that there was no way I’d be picked.
I’m not like the other omegas on the show.
I worked two jobs and had to take time off from both of them in order to go on the show, only to be told I came for nothing.
I didn’t come for money, but I stayed for it after that. ”
Heather’s brows arch like she’s just broken the story of the century. “So you manipulated them into keeping you longer, so you could have a bigger payday.” She phrases it like fact, not a question.
“No. I told them to send me home, many, many times. They chose to keep me on their own volition. Not to mention I was never actually paid anything for my time on the show.”
“Why’s that?” She sounds genuinely shocked when she asks.
“I was in breach of contract when I didn’t give a parting confessional. They asked me, warned me many times what would happen if I refused. But at the time I didn’t want my heartbreak broadcast. I still don’t.”
I half expect her to follow up on that, to ask why I agreed to do this interview if I don’t want the world to know how they hurt me. But she doesn’t, apparently finding my explanation enough.
“If you could say one thing to the Ashbourne pack now, what would it be?”
I pause, for probably longer than I should given that this is live, streaming around the world.
Are they watching now? Do they regret what they did?
Do they wish they’d picked with their hearts and not their duty?
“I would say… I don’t think any of you wanted to hurt me. I just think wanting wasn’t enough.”