I Have To Let My Guard Down: All The Wrong Reasons Episode Four: All The Wrong Reasons, #5

By KK Hendin

The storm may have passed, and now it's back to regularly scheduled programming.

Mostly.

With the exception of some absolutely ridiculous group dates, budding romances between people contractually obligated to not have budding romances, and just a lot more tea than anyone is used to.

That is regularly scheduled programming?

You sure?

***

Fated.

An award winning reality dating show, or, as the network likes to call it, The Real Last Chance For A Fairy Tale Ending.

You know how this works.

One Prince Charming is picked. He's inevitably handsome, shredded, has a vague enough sounding job to be legitimate, and the ability to lie really well to the cameras. He's looking for his One True Love, and obviously, the best way of finding that person (who always happens to be a white woman, between five foot three and five foot ten, wearing approximately a size zero to four, and preferably blonde) is to have a team of producers round up seventeen women who are all more or less interchangeable, move them into a castle, ply them with alcohol, turn cameras on, and broadcast it all on national television.

Add in a plethora of the most ridiculous dates the producers can possibly think of, too many feelings, real and fake, and an emotional proposal at the end, and you have the highest rated reality show in history.

Everyone is willing to play the game. Some walk in more willing than others, but in the end, they all believe in it. The show, the fairy tale, the happily ever after. Regardless of what's happened to previous 'winners' of the show.

It's not like anyone's ever been there for the right reasons. But never have the wrong reasons been so wrong.

• Language: English
• Publisher: KK Hendin
• Release date: May 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386347118

Book preview

All The Wrong Reasons

All The Wrong Reasons

Episode Four

KK Hendin

KK Hendin

Copyright © 2019 by KK Hendin

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.

Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

The information in this book is distributed on an as is basis, without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Design: Canva

Editing: Christa Soule Desir

Created with Vellum Created with Vellum

Contents

Episode Four

About the Author

Episode Four

Instagram, @fatedshow

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*picture of Prince Charming fixing an enormous airplane engine. He is wearing faded jeans, a dirt and grease-stained white T-shirt, and he has a smudge of grease on his cheek*

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If your carriage breaks down, this Prince Charming can fix it himself. No white horses necessary.

@randynelson OH. MY. LORD.

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@myrnamasonnevre Right into the spank bank. Hot damn, those arms. *heart eyes emoji*

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@barbaraeins93883 When are you going to get another Prince Charming with a more civilized job? Like Harrison—he was an investment banker. I miss the days when Fated was more professional

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@sarahhhhwithfourhs @barbaraeins93883 Barbara. Harrison was indicted for investment fraud. There’s nothing wrong with a man who knows how to use his hands.

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@jaymeee899 @sarahhhhwithfourhs Hell yes. I wouldn’t mind him putting his hands to good use. All over my body. Repeatedly.

The next day arrived, beautiful and sunny. It finally felt like maybe they weren’t going to be trapped in a swamp for all of eternity, which was a nice change from the past few days.

The call had come in from Cala, the only town in

Scotland that sent boats to Eilean. The water was calm enough and they had boats available to start coming to the island again the next day. Cat was thrilled, but the producers were even happier, if that was possible.

Donovan mumbled something about making a phone call and vanished almost immediately after Cat delivered the news. Jennifer sighed with relief, saying something about all the eliminated girls who were just a waste of oxygen would finally be gone, which Cat found all sorts of odd, considering that once the producers agreed the eliminated girls would stay in a separate wing, it was like they didn’t exist anymore.

But, whatever. The more girls left, the sooner this would be over, and the sooner Cat would be able to get back to fixing the rest of the castle, not just the parts that were being filmed.

She was crabby, she was hormonal, she was overtired, but she really had to stop whining.

Just think of the money they’re paying you, Cat told herself as she headed down to the kitchen to see why Regina had said that Moira was at her breaking point, and if something didn’t change soon, she was going to poison all the producers at their next meal.

Oh, the joys of customer service.

This fucking book, Hannah fumed, as she stared at her notebook. She had been sitting on the balcony for the past twenty minutes and had not written a single goddamned word.

Instead, she had watched the ocean, thought about James, and wondered what the fuck she was going to do when she got back from Scotland and had to call her editor and tell her she couldn’t finish the series.

She couldn’t. None of the characters were cooperating, nothing made sense anymore, and the producers kept on barging in on her and asking her to talk about her feelings. And not the feelings she actually had to talk about soon, before she lost her mind. But the "Soooooooo. How’s Prince Chaaaaarming??" kind of questions, which was kind of funny, mostly because she had no idea how he actually was.

Things going that well? Clover asked when Hannah gave a little scream of frustration.

I hate everything.

Same, Ariana agreed from her perch on the bed. Also, can I tell you all the ways I’m not in the mood of getting dressed today?

Me, every day of my life, Clover deadpanned.

You know, I didn’t think I would ever miss my scrubs, Ariana mused. And then I left my last job and I came here, and now I have to do dumb shit like make active decisions about what clothing I’m going to wear, not just pick a pair of scrubs that look like every other pair of scrubs I wear, and go from there.

There’s something to be said about a uniform, Clover agreed. It definitely cuts down time in the morning.

Well, hopefully we’ll all just have to be dressed enough to sit through the opening of the mysterious envelope or whatever, and then we’ll be able to just chill today, Ariana said, riffling through the closet. It’s nice out now.

The grass will still be wet, Clover cautioned.

So, I’ll get a couple of grass stains, Ariana said. It’ll be fine.

We first have to get through the next date announcement, Hannah said. Do we know how many people are going to be going on the date with CR?

They won’t tell us, Ariana replied. I think Jennifer’s mad at me.

Clover snickered. You only think?

Ariana sighed. I literally wouldn’t give a single, solitary shit, but my sister watches this and I have no idea what sort of edit they’ll be giving me. If Jennifer has anything to do with it, probably not a nice one.

Maybe you’ll get a redemption arc, Clover replied.

Hannah smiled. I’ll take one redemption arc to go as well.

I don’t think they’re like fries, Ariana said.

Nah, they’re like guac, Hannah replied. They definitely cost extra.

There wasn’t an envelope waiting for them this time. There was a box.

Here, Donovan said, handing the box to Clover. You can open it.

Clover took the box gingerly. What is this? she asked as she stared at the bow that had tied the box shut. Oh, no. Please tell me this isn’t real hair.

"It’s hair? repeated Selena. Oh, God."

If this is some creepy dead person thing, I’m leaving, Zara said, staring at the bow of hair. Attempting to contact ghosts was more than enough for me, thank you.

Just open the box, Jennifer said