Ch. 10

Olandria

Olandria was pissed.

The tears streaming down her face were a mixture of sadness and anger. What did he mean he had more of a connection with Clarke after 24 hours than he'd had with her after a week?

Olandria had invested all of her time and energy into their connection. She'd opened herself up to him and had even dreamed of their life outside of the villa together. She'd reassured him daily that he was it for her, that it would take a lot to turn her head.

And all it'd taken him was 24 hours. He'd known her for 3 weeks. Had spent almost every waking moment with her. She was out of his sight for 24 hours and he was already head over heels for another woman?

She cried harder. Olandria had come on the show because she sincerely wanted to find love. It had been five years since she'd been in a relationship and she was tired of being single. Meeting Taylor felt like her prayers had been answered. What were the chances that a country man, her exact type, would be on the show too? It seemed like fate.

But that video had shattered all of Olandria's hopes and dreams of finding love on this show. She didn't know how she'd be able to go back to the villa and see Taylor and Clarke together. Didn't know how she could move forward with him without that video playing in the back of her head.

Olandria wanted to go home. She wanted to pack her bags, catch the next flight to Alabama, and pretend like this show had never happened.

Nic shifted a little, adjusting to get more comfortable, and the movement pulled Olandria out of her thoughts. She'd been so lost in her anger and grief that she'd forgotten he was there.

She pulled away from his chest and looked at him. His eyes roamed across her face as if he was trying to reassure himself that she was still in one piece before they settled on her eyes.

Outside of the villa, Olandria would have never gone for Nic. She wasn't even sure they would've crossed paths if not for this show. But Nic was right there, sitting on the bathroom floor and holding her as she soaked his chest with tears.

He'd refused to leave her alone, had told her no when she'd asked him to. She'd never had someone do that before–demand to let them be there for her. It was nice, so fucking nice to be able to break and have someone there to hold her together and make sure that she didn't completely fall apart.

"What do you need?" Nic asked and Olandria was once again shocked by him. She hadn't expected him to ask her that. She thought he'd try to defend Taylor and tell her that maybe it wasn't as serious as it looked. But Olandria was reminded of the fact that Nic had been in the villa with Taylor and Clarke and probably knew that it was, in fact, as serious as it looked.

"Tell me the truth-"

"Always," Nic interjected and she believed him. He hadn't told her how serious it was with Taylor and Clarke but he hadn't lied to her either.

She was honestly grateful that he'd allowed her to see their connection for herself. Had he been the one to tell her about it, she would've assumed he was exaggerating so that she'd cut her losses with Taylor and focus solely on him. But that wasn't Nic's character.

"Do you think I still have a chance with Taylor? You saw them together. Do you think she's it for him?" Olandria needed to know and she trusted that Nic would tell her the truth regardless of how it might impact their connection.

Nic was quiet for a long time. She could tell that he was choosing his words carefully. Nic had always been intentional about what he did and didn't say.

He ran his fingers through his curls, "When Clarke came into the villa, it was like a whole new Taylor emerged. I saw a side of him I'd never seen before." Nic didn't say it but she filled in the blanks herself: he'd seen a side of Taylor that he'd never seen before with her.

"Honestly, I don't know if you still have a chance with him or if he's it for her," Nic continued, "but I do know that he likes her a lot and that I don't think he'd stop exploring with her if you came back to the villa."

Olandria considered Nic's words, examining them for what he hadn't said. He'd said that Taylor liked Clarke a lot but he hadn't said that Taylor liked Olandria a lot too. It seemed like an intentional omission and it confirmed what Olandria had been thinking for some time now: Taylor wasn't as invested in their connection as she was.

She'd tried to deny it but there'd been moments over the past week or so where she could feel disinterest radiating off of Taylor. Certain conversations had made her wonder if there was still something romantic between them or if their connection had morphed into solely platonic one and neither of them wanted to acknowledge it.

She couldn't lie to herself anymore after that video though. She had to accept the truth she'd been attempting to avoid: she was probably not leaving the villa with her country man.