Confessional

Three hours later... Confessional room.

"Thank you, Iris, that should be enough for the audience to know you. Now, let's move on to round two, the more personal questions. Ready?" Karen asked, looking at the woman sitting atop a stool in front of a pale pink wall.

Her lustrous black hair stood out against the backdrop, and her distinctly dark brows and expressive emerald eyes highlighted her expressions perfectly. Add to the fact that she had an uncanny talent for switching up poses acording to signals and she was a camerawoman's dream. Working with her almost chased away the exhaustion accumulated from interviewing nine contestants in a row.

Almost.

"Ready," Iris said, pasting on a new smile.

"What are your thoughts on your fellow contestants? Anyone who is your type?"

Iris inhaled. She had been expecting this, and not answering was her safest bet.

"I tend to warm up to others over time, so I only have vague impressions of the other contestants for now," she answered. "As for who is my type... To be honest, I don't have a specific type. I mostly depend on instinct—that 'spark' at first sight, y'know?"

"Ah, love at first sight. So you're a romantic?" Karen probed.

Iris shrugged. "You can say that."

"Next question: What qualities do you look for in a partner?"

Iris pondered for a few seconds. There were so many important aspects such as integrity, honesty, loyalty, kindness... But those were answers anyone could give, and she had to leave a strong impression to gain audience votes. Ultimately, she wanted to give the answer from the bottom of her heart.

Thus, she said, "I want someone who loves me as much as I love him."

"Care to elaborate?"

In the camera, sincerity shone in Iris's green eyes while glimpses of vulnerability peeked through.

"Growing up, my parents always argued over my dad's absence due to work, and how my mom should be considerate of him because she 'just had to take care of the kid'," Iris said. "But there's nothing 'just' about glorified single parenthood. I saw how much Mom struggled to cope at home—her fear of over-reliance leading to losing everything, and her doubt about her husband's feelings towards her. She loved him so much that she ignored all the red flags and shouldered everything alone. And where did that lead them? Divorce.

"I don't want a relationship as imbalanced as theirs," she concluded. "Sure, looks, background, and personality are important factors when looking for a partner, but if a man cannot give me the security a healthy relationship entails—or at the very least, make me feel appreciated, I don't think we have a future together."

"I'm very sorry to hear about your parents... But cheer up, Iris, I'm sure someone as lovely as you will have no problem finding a guy who loves you equally!" Karen reassured her.

Iris thanked her gratefully, blinking back sudden tears as a long-lost bitterness spread inside her.

'You'd be surprised.'

***

One hour later.

Iris stared at the opened messenger app on her phone, wondering what to text Travis.

After Confessionals ended, everyone had turned in early to be fresh for the challenges that awaited them the next day. However, just as Iris was getting ready for bed, Larry's voice came onto the speakers, announcing their last task of the day: Cupid's Text.

Now she had to send someone a message that would no doubt be broadcasted to the whole nation someday. No pressure.

It felt right that she texted Travis though, because he was her blind date and she was "not close with anyone yet".

[Thanks for the date.]

'Is it too curt?'

Her fingers hovered over the backspace key, repeatedly editing her message.

'Too preppy. No, too longwinded. This is too cold... Would he get this joke? Better not risk it.'

Why was one simple text so hard?!

In the end, she settled with:

[Thank you for the memorable date.]

After pressing 'send', Iris dropped her phone onto the bed and sighed.

'Why do I always overthink? I feel lighter after just sending it.'

Ding!

Travis had replied.

[Travis: I take it we'll have a second date?]

A smile crept onto her face. He wanted a second date... Why not?

[Sure.]

A red system notification popped up on their chat.

{MESSAGE NOT SENT}

{Time left until next message: 23:59:39}

Ah.

No wonder Larry hadn't seemed concerned about contestants fraternising offscreen.

Iris set her phone on silent mode and settled into the covers.

'I'll tell Travis in person tomorrow.'

***

In the room directly below Iris's, Skyler pressed his lips together. The glow from his phone illuminated his frown as he read the texts he had received.

Yes, texts.

[Madeline: Did I mention you are everything I imagined you would be?]

[Sabina: See you tomorrow, Skyler.]

[Jean: Hi, I'm Jean! Hope we can be friends!]

Surprisingly, Sabina and Jean had chosen to send him their daily Cupid's Text instead of their dates. However, he was sure he didn't speak to either of them today, as he had either been with Madeline or avoiding Iris.

Who he would text wasn't even a question.

He selected Madeline's profile and typed:

[And you are more than I imagined you'd be.]

Skyler hesitated before sending it.

Was it too forward? Were they being too cheesy?

He laughed at himself. It wasn't like he hadn't dated around after Iris left, but those weren't relationships built on emotional compatability. They were more like... Distractions.

Until the distractions started feeling more like nuisances, and then he'd stopped feeling that spark which happy people in love were supposed to feel.

Skyler read Madeline's text again. She was obviously interested, and they had many things in common.

He shouldn't forget what he was here to do.

Send.

***

Andrew Chen checked his phone one last time after coming out of the shower.

On it, his message was as prominent as ever: Goodnight, Sabina.

The two ticks beside it signified the receipient had read it.

Larry's voice came over the speaker in his room—and every contestant's room as well.

"Sleep tight, contestants. Breakfast is at 8 a.m. tomorrow. Don't you dare be late."

Andrew switched off the lights and turned off his phone, setting it next to his glasses on the dresser.

No use waiting for a reply that wouldn't come.

***

Larry put down his microphone and cracked his stiff neck. All around him, techies were huddled around computers and tablets, monitoring relevant data. To his right, an entire wall was filled with screens showing real-time footage of the hundred-and-two cameras in this mansion.

The blue light glowing from the army of electronic devices and the sound of incessant typing made this room feel like a depressing potpourri of introversion, stress, and robotic coldness to Larry. And this was just the first day.

Unable to stand the silence, he addressed the techie nearest to him, a chubby young lad with freckles across his nose. "Fred" his nametag read.

"How's our stats looking?"

"Three headlines and five mentions steadily climbing up the ladder of Entertainment Daily. Over a thousand users are spreading our hashtag, LoveLies, on social media," Fred answered, giving way for Larry to see his screen.

{Weston Corp's Bumblebee Drones are Redefining Cinematography}

#breakingnews #Westoncorps #media #latesttech #belovedimposter

{'Beloved Imposter' Superstar Cast}

#belovedimposter #LoveLies #Michaelanderson #michaelcomeback #Brandonhearst #Princeofhearts #Scarlettgrayson #Scarlevi #MJ #QUEENMJ

{Top 5 Dating Shows to Watch this Spring}

#lovegarden #dearsecondfirstlove #forgetmenot #yourloveinapril #belovedimposter

{'Beloved Imposter': First Look at This Mafia Dating Show}

#belovedimposter #LoveLies #Blinddate

{Beloved Imposter Contestant Slaps Realistic Bumblebee Drone}

#belovedimposter #LoveLies #Westoncorps #latesttech #funny

Larry's mouth twitched upon reading the last headline. Thank god the drone wasn't broken and only required a mild recalibration, or else the sponsors would be breathing down his neck now.

'Mental note: Give Mr Weston feedback on the Bumblebee's vulnerability.'

He patted Fred's shoulder. "Not bad for our debut. And what about our socials?"

"Tomorrow's teaser was released at 9 p.m. exactly," Fred replied.

"Good. Keep me posted."

"Yessir."

With that, the first day of filming came to an end.

***

DAY 1 OVERALL RANKING:

1. Madeline Ackerman: 5 pts, 11 CC

2. Travis Beckett: 5 pts, 10 CC

3. Dante Garcia: 5 pts, 10 CC

4. Sara Moore: 5 pts, 10 CC

5. Sabina Seville: 5 pts, 10 CC

6. Iris Tate: 5 pts, 10 CC

7. Skyler Valentine: 5 pts, 10 CC

8. Louis Caroline: 0 pts, 10 CC

9. Andrew Chen: 0 pts, 10 CC

10. Jean Francis: 0 pts, 10 CC

11. Kayla Thompson: 0 pts, 10 CC

12. Christopher Davenport III: 0 pts, 9 CC

***

Beloved Imposter (@Beloved_Imposter_Official)

Stay tuned for our second livestream at 7 a.m. tomorrow! Here's a little hint for the next assignment: 🧑‍🍳🔥🌈