Please Take A Moment To Say Your Goodbyes: All The Wrong Reasons Episode Twelve: All The Wrong Reasons, #13

By KK Hendin

The final shoe has been given, a mystery has kind of sort of been solved, which means that this season of Fated is finally coming to a close.

All the girls are headed into safe houses, where they'll stay until the season premiere.

What can possibly go wrong?

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ABOUT ALL THE WRONG REASONS:

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 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201246730

Book preview

Chapter One

Somewhere, in the north of Scotland, in a very very small airport, stood a large group of American girls. They were all crying.

Well, this wasn’t what I thought was going to happen when I left, Zara said with a watery grin.

Ugh, tell me about it, said Brennan, who was looking suspiciously teary-eyed. Why am I crying?

Because you’re going to miss me? Hannah offered.

Bitch, muttered Brennan, leaning on Hannah. I will.

Motherfucker, Clover said, pulling out a tissue and blowing her nose. We’re worse than my aunties.

Low blow, joked Megan.

Jennifer glared at them from afar.

D’you think she’s mad at us, or do you think she’s mad because she can’t film us? Etta whispered.

Definitely both, Selena said. You know there’s nothing she would love more than filming us all crying so she can drag us somewhere for an interview and then splice the footage in editing and use it wherever she wants.

Why the hell did you come on this show again? Nadine asked.

Would you believe me if I said I was here to find love? Selena replied.

I absolutely would not, Nadine said.

Selena laughed. You’re not wrong. Career stuff, you know? Age up the audience a little, boost the socials...why else would I have come on this show?

To steal Jennifer’s job? Rita joked.

Well, damn, Hannah said, eyes wide. That’s actually kind of genius.

You could not pay me enough money to do her job, Selena said with a shudder. Absolutely not. I’m going to stick with my current job that I actually like a lot, that doesn’t usually involve network executives, and definitely doesn’t involve emotional manipulation the way she plays it.

Because your emotional manipulation is different? Jess asked with a smile.

Well, yeah. Selena grinned. It’s on a significantly lower scale, and also, it’s just me.

You know, Jess had a really good idea before, Etta said. That we should all film ourselves while we’re stuck in the hotels. Vlog it, you know? And then maybe at the end we can put something together ourselves to release.

Selena’s eyes widened. Holy shit, Jess, she breathed. That’s brilliant. I was planning on vlogging while in the hotel, but that’s my job, but if everyone could vlog? That would be incredible.

Takes back the narrative, Megan mused. Especially because none of us know what kind of edit they’re going to be giving us.

Is that something you guys would be down with? Selena asked.

Don’t think I’ll be particularly good at it, Rita said, but why not?

Quick, subject change, Jennifer’s on her way over, Moneah hissed.

Wonder where they’re going to hide all of us, Dominique mused. Are we all going to be stuck in hotels in the States, or is this going to be some international kind of hideaway?

Probably all in the States, Ariana said, Unless they’ve applied for visas for us in other countries and haven’t told us.

Not sure if you can do that, Zara said.

Can, probably not. Did they do that anyway? At this point, who the hell knows, Lauren said. Honestly, I wouldn’t be that surprised. They’ve already illegally snuck one person into the country.

Jennifer glowered. All of you are going to hotels in the United States, she said. And you’re not going to get any information besides that until you’re on your first flight.

First? Hannah asked. Just how many flights are we going on, Jennifer?

Jennifer smirked. Well, it depends on where you’re being sent, doesn’t it.

A muffled voice over the loudspeaker called for Jennifer to come up to the front of the gate.

The look on her face means we’re definitely fucked, Ariana said. She shouldn’t be that happy about sending us to hotels in random places unless there’s something very wrong with it.

The real question now is whether the hotels themselves are terrible, or the places we’re being sent are terrible, Aless said.

Knowing Jennifer, I’m going with both, Moneah said.

It would make sense that she’d manage to get one last way to make our lives miserable after all that we did over the season to ruin hers, Britt said.

Well, with hotel room vlogs, we’re the ones who will actually get the last laugh, Selena pointed out. And we definitely deserve it.

I’m down for hotel room vlogging, Ariana said, but I don’t think we all have our phones, do we?

Funny you should say that, Brennan said with a smile that could only be described as diabolical. I managed to have a quick chat with CI Glenn last night, and he talked to Belle, and since she thinks us going behind Jennifer’s back is a great idea… She opened the backpack she was wearing and pulled out a handful of labeled Ziplock bags. They weren’t planning on giving us our phones back until we left the hotel and they started airing the season. Belle just did a little expediting of that process.

Brennan pulled out bag by bag, handing each girl her phone and charger back. We should probably still keep off social media and stuff, she said. I’m sure the producers are going to be watching, and until we leave the hotels, they still have ways to make our lives more difficult than they need to be.

Everyone has the list of contact information, right? Hannah asked as she shoved her phone into her bag. As soon as the coast is clear wherever you’re staying, turn your phone on. I guess if there hasn’t been a group chat already set up, someone should set one up.

Already done, Brennan said serenely. Everyone’s been added to a group chat. We’re all set. So as soon as you get to your hotel, check in with the group and let us know where they’ve put you.

A tell-tale click of heels headed toward them. Lauren, Zara, Jess, Jennifer called. Grab your things.

Well, Lauren said, grabbing her bags. I’ll see you guys in the group chat. Reunion for the finale?

Fuck yes, Dominique agreed.

Let’s go, Jennifer snapped. You had plenty of time to pretend to care about each other when we were filming.

My bad, Jess drawled. I guess my emotions were just confused, because technically we should still be filming now, you know, the season ending early and all.

Walk, growled Jennifer.

Megan stifled a snicker as Jess saluted, grabbed her bags, and began to walk.

Belle just didn’t care about giving us our phones back early? Nadine asked.

Brennan shrugged. I think we seriously underestimated just how much she wanted to fuck up this season. I mean, picking all of us for the show should have been our first sign that something was off.

Here’s what I don’t get, though, Ariana said. It’s not like she wasn’t the one behind almost all of the previous seasons, and it wasn’t like any of those girls were treated well. Are we really safe believing that she’s doing this selflessly?

Is it selfless if you’re trying your hardest to burn down every bridge you possibly can? Dominique countered. We’re probably just pawns to her. It’s an added bonus for us that this chess move helps us, too.

Well, it’s not like we don’t have a good long time stuck in a hotel room to contemplate her reasoning for doing literally anything, Etta said. Does anyone really have anything better to do?

There was silence for about five seconds, before all the girls burst into laughter.

Somewhere on a little island in the north of Scotland, a brother and a sister stood in the foyer of their family home.

To say they were exhausted was an understatement.

We’re never agreeing to letting anyone film here ever again, James said.

Never, Cat agreed. Christ, James. What the fuck was that?

James began to laugh. Hell if I know.

Cat pulled her notebook out of the pocket of the apron she had tied around her waist. Finally, she said happily. I’ve been writing this list for days now. Maybe weeks.

What list? James asked, his voice filled with a healthy amount of dread. While Cat loved