Double take | T. Blyth

14

"Esmeralda Belamour, welcome back to the show." Jimmy Fallon said as he leaned over his table to greet the young woman who sat on the armchair next to it. The woman smiled as she moved her head to face the camera. "Thank you, Jimmy."

"Last time you were on our show, you were promoting "The Selection." But now tonight, you are here to talk about your upcoming projects and you even have an announcement to make." Jimmy explained to inform the viewers about what was going on. Esmeralda nodded along to what was being said.

"Ah, yes. I do have an announcement to make at the end of this show." She slightly changed her posture to sit more comfortably in the chair.

"I am sure that not everyone has seen 'The Selection' yet, so why don't you tell us a bit more about it before we move on further?" Jimmy asked as he took out a printed-out photo of her standing on a staircase in the beautiful gown that she wore in the second season.

"Well, the series is based on the book series, The Selection by Keira Cass. I was casted as Elise Whisks. She doesn't really appear much but she is still the one that manages to stay in the competition for Prince Maxon's heart or crown, mostly due to his father making sure of that. Compared to the other girls, Elise has the advantage of having contacts with New Asia. But it was very fun filming the series, especially with all the dresses that we got to wear." Esmeralda explained as she warmly smiled, moving her hands as she spoke.

"Now, there have been plenty of rumours floating around about you. But I can't help but point out the rumour about your intense dislike for bananas." Jimmy mentioned, laughing as he brought out a banana and held it in front of her. Esmeralda laughed along as she took the banana and held it in the air.

"Yes. Bananas. It's not like I hate the fruit, or berry as people say it is. I just can't stand the taste of it. I don't know why, but it has always been like that." She explained as she handed the banana back to the other man. She leaned forward to whisper a secret to him.

"But tell me Jimmy, what is this I hear about there being other guests tonight other than me?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow towards the crowd.

"Oh dear, we have been exposed." Jimmy said, dramatically leaning back on his chair while he held his hands over his chest. "Well, Esmeralda. You are definitely not alone tonight. Unfortunately, or fortunately for the people in the crowd and at home, we will have another guest here. Namely, Daniel Ricciardo, the Formula 1 driver for Alpha Tauri. I believe you know him quite well, Esmeralda." He continued. After he said that, the sound in the room became quite loud as said driver entered the stage. Esmeralda smiled as she stood up and embraced Daniel.

The Formula One driver greeted Jimmy and the crowd as he sat down on the empty armchair next to Esmeralda. The two of them looked at each other with big smiles while they playfully waved back and forth.

"All of the scandals you've found yourself in nowadays are way more than you've ever been in since I last met you, Esme." Daniel said, his eyes glimmering with joy. Back when Charles and her used to date, he and Esmeralda had managed to form a close friendship with each other. He was happy to see her again. Ever since Charles broke up with her, the appearance of the Belamour woman in the paddock or anywhere near the circuits had gone down to none. In fact, the young woman had decided to cut almost all contact with anyone that was involved in the Formula One world.

"You must be so sad that you did not appear in a scandal next to mine then, Danny." Esmeralda jokes while she looks at him. She could not deny that Daniel had not changed at all since she last saw him. To her he still looked and acted the same as he did three years ago.

"Oh, I am. How disappointing of you to not call me to ask if we could create a scandal together." He replied in the same manner as she did as he put his hand over his heart while he tried to put on his best offended expression.