Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 297

Eileen nearly knocked Egbert's head off!

She shoved him, and said to Ophelia on the other end, “What in the world are you on about?”

Ophelia paused, then asked, “Aren’t you two an item already?”

Eileen shot Egbert, who was lounging nearby, a glare and ground out, “Nope!”

Ophelia sounded uncertain, "Really? You are not kidding?”

Eileen bellowed, “No! No! No!”

Ophelia seemed incredulous, “You’re not just pulling my leg to cheer me up?”

Egbert was speechless, and so was Eileen. She flopped onto the couch and said, “Is this seriously why you called? Just to ask me this?”

After a moment of silence, Ophelia said, “What else? The internet’s going bananas over you guys! But if you’re not together, that couple profile pic must be fake, huh? What’s the deal with your producer, faking photos for the ratings? That’s just low!”

Eileen hesitated, not daring to admit that the photo wasn't exactly a sham; she and Egbert did share a couple’s profile pic. She dodged the question, “Yeah, the producer’s no saint, that’s for sure!”

Ophelia ranted about the producer for a bit, then said, “Alright, if it’s nothing, let’s leave it at that. I’ll get the paid posters to steer the narrative. By the way, there’s nothing too intimate between you and Egbert in the show, right?”

Eileen remained silent.

Ophelia went on, “If there’s no intimate stuff, I can spin it as purely professional.”

Scratching her cheek, Eileen sheepishly admitted, “Well, there might have been some... directed by the crew.”

Ophelia pressed, “Nothing too over the top, right? That we can’t spin?”

Eileen chewed on her lip, then suddenly blurted out, “Ophelia, oh no! The crew’s signaling me, can’t make personal calls during recording. Gotta hang up!”

With that, she hung up the phone and even blocked Ophelia!

After all was said and done, Eileen breathed a sigh of relief and said to Egbert, “Lucky I’m quick on my feet, or I’d have caught an earful again.”

Egbert didn’t reply, just sat down next to her and took her hand, saying, “This sneaking around isn’t working. Let’s go public.”

Eileen silently looked at Egbert, and Egbert returned her gaze.

After a moment of silent eye contact, Egbert raised an eyebrow and asked, “Not gonna hit me?”

Eileen pulled her hand back and pouted, “Forget it. Your skin’s too thick; I’m tired of hitting it.”

Egbert shook his head helplessly.

They spent the next day resting at home.

On the third day, the final task card was delivered.

This card represented the last challenge of the show, Romantic Revelations, which had a total recording time of twenty days.

In those twenty days, three simulated couples got hitched, hosted friends and family, went on exotic honeymoons, played house with kids, snapped wedding photos, and experienced about eighty percent of what normal married folks go through.

But the nature of this final task remained a mystery, as the producers had kept it under wraps.

The next day, at one in the afternoon, the six participants were gathered at the front of a rented-out grand theater.

There, Eileen saw Aurora again.

Aurora had been laying low lately. Even as a neighbor, Eileen hadn’t seen her around, and one might have thought she'd dropped out of the show.

But of course, she hadn’t. The producers had spent a hefty sum to get Aurora on board, and they weren’t about to let her go without a fight. And Aurora herself wouldn’t leave, not with the astronomical breach of contract fee hanging over her head.

Today, Aurora was dressed down, no designer labels in sight, just simple jeans and a jacket, her face half-hidden behind oversized sunglasses.