Oh My God What Just Happened? All The Wrong Reasons Episode Six: All The Wrong Reasons, #7

By KK Hendin

So.

Uh.

That happened.

Now what?

***

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 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386306771

Book preview

Chapter One

The next morning found Tanya huddled in a small storage room on the other side of the castle, trying to regulate her breathing.

She had slept for shit the night before—her brain wouldn’t stop. Every time she calmed herself down, she’d remember that shoe floating in the moat, and she’d freak out all over again.

Maybe he wasn’t dead. Maybe he had fallen into the moat and had climbed out and his shoe had fallen off. Maybe he was wandering around the castle, looking for her, ready to silence her permanently.

But it was one hell of a drop from his room to the moat. Like, three floors of a drop. And Tanya had no idea how deep the moat was.

He was dead; she knew he was.

Fuck, and now she couldn’t breathe again.

It wasn’t that she was upset he was dead. She wasn’t. And if that made her a bad person, then so be it.

But she was the one who killed him. And yeah, it was self-defense.

Well, minus the part that she definitely had reason to want him out of her life permanently. Hell, there were plenty of people who had heard her say she was going to destroy his life, and there were plenty of police investigators who were going to say that was motive enough for murder.  

Damn, a paper bag would really be handy right about now. Tanya dropped her head between her knees and breathed. She watched far too many crime shows, and she was taking this all way too far.

He fell out a window, she told herself. He was probably taking something—he always was taking something—he lost his balance, and fell out the window. There was nobody with him, the last person who had seen him was Amanda, and she probably wouldn’t want to admit to that either. Or maybe she didn’t care how many people knew she was fucking her boss.

Had been fucking her boss. Past tense.

He had mixed medications, maybe had been drinking; also, it didn’t matter; a girl Tanya’s size couldn’t have possibly shoved him through a window.

Even if the window was as large as the one in his room.

It wasn’t like she was even supposed to be in Scotland, let alone the island, and she definitely wasn’t supposed to be in the castle, and by the time they figured out she wasn’t in the hotel back in the States that she should have been in, it would be too late, because she would have managed to make her way back. Stayed in a different hotel.

Belle wouldn’t say anything about her being there, Tanya told herself. That would look terrible for her if she did. Would ruin her career. Something.

And Donovan’s production company would lie to the police during the investigation. Tanya wasn’t sure exactly who in the company knew the full extent of Donovan’s extracurricular activities—if any of them did know—but they would definitely be lying.

And if Belle did rat her out? Tanya took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. She was innocent; she hadn’t seen Donovan at all since she got to the island, had maybe overheard him because of where her room was, but she didn’t do anything Belle hadn’t told her she was allowed to do; she had been waiting for when they thought it would be a good time to confront him; she was just as upset as the rest of them that Donovan had been found dead; yes, their breakup was messy, but she never wanted him dead.

Every lie should have a little bit of truth, her grandma had told her when she was little. Every story should have a kernel of reality if you want anyone to believe it.

And that was her kernel of truth.

Their breakup was messy, but she never wanted him dead.

Well.

Their breakup was messy.

Because last night? All the way at the end? With his hands wrapped around her neck? When he dropped all those hints about her maybe mysteriously disappearing?

She wouldn’t have minded if he disappeared. Permanently.

It’s another double date! chirped Jennifer, as CR, Nadine, and Rita stood in the meeting room. "Now, we’ve had to do some last-minute rescheduling, with the weather and everything, but don’t worry, we have a great, romantic date planned for you!"

She handed CR an envelope. Now, you know the drill. We’re going to film all three of you walking out of the castle, Prince Charming, one arm around each girl, and you’re going to open the envelope once you cross over the bridge.

She stared at all three of them. The producers will meet you at the secret location. Don’t fuck this up.

And with that, she headed out the door.

Well, then, CR said. No pressure or anything.

Rita laughed, and Nadine gave a tight smile.

Rita looked gorgeous. Well, that was no surprise. They always did. They had walked out of the bathroom after finishing their hair and makeup, and Nadine had almost swallowed her tongue.

But it was just a platonic appreciation of Rita’s fashion choices, she told herself sternly.

Yeah, like she was