Love Can Be Chosen

Chapter Three

In the dressing room, the girls were getting ready for the first night's party. The whole room was filled with glitter spray and the smell of sun cream. Alecto pushed her glasses up her nose and studied herself in the mirror, trying to gain back some calmness, despite feeling very overwhelmed.

"I think it will be really nice to have another girl in the Villa. More girls, more power, right?" Hope said. She sounded genuine, which appeared strange to Alecto given the way Hope had treated her and Hannah earlier. It might be her just overinflating things again, but she didn't trust Hope at all. Also her and Ibrahim seemed like a very bad match.

Lottie rolled her eyes.

"Oh please. If the situation was different, sure. But in here? You know if a girl comes in now she'll be the hottest person any of us have ever seen and she'll be out to get what she wants. And what if she wants Ibrahim?" Lottie replied.

Hope's face fell.

"Hearing you say that makes me nervous. I just want everyone to meet their perfect match. But what if her perfect match is the same as mine." Hannah said. She looked nervous, twisting her hands together. She already had to deal with Hope trying to get Noah, never mind another girl possibly wanting him, so Alecto understood her nervousness. But at the same time, attacking someone just because they arrived late really didn't sit right with her.

"We'll have to get used to it, it's all part of the game. Let's just make sure we're the best at playing it." She replied, sounding less nervous than she actually was; she was able to put up a front when needed.

"I agree." Marisol said. She had been fairly quiet during this whole exchange, Alecto had almost forgotten she was there. She could smell a subtle pineapple fragrance to the left of her, which appeared to belong to her.

"It could be a guy, you know. Maybe your perfect man is going to walk through the door, Hannah. He'll have glasses, and a cardigan, and a moustache, and... what else do you like?" Hope said, she seemed to be trying to turn Hannah away from Noah. Alecto looked in Lottie's direction to see if she picked it up, and the other girl gave her hand a little squeeze to subtly signal that she had also picked it up. Alecto moved closer to Lottie and stopped next to her.

"Hannah seems a little happier now. So I don't think it'll be a good idea to intervene here." Lottie whispered in her ear. Alecto tried to act natural, so Hope wouldn't pick anything up, she seemed absorbed in her conversation with Hannah, though. Alecto nodded, squeezing Lottie's hand back in response. She felt herself zone out again, only coming back when she heard Marisol's voice.

"I'm imagining him riding in shirtless. If that happens, you won't be the only one falling at his feet." Marisol said. It was difficult to get a good read of Marisol in particular, Alecto could read the others without having to try too hard, but Marisol was an enigma. The slight air of mystery definitely intrigued Alecto.

"You like a guy who rides horses?" Hope asked, sounding a little confused.

"I like a guy that's shirtless." Marisol clarified.

Alecto picked up a dark purple cuff bracelet, sliding it onto her left wrist. She had always worn a bracelet to cover her soulmate words, ever since Étienne spoke them aloud and started that mess of a relationship. She had forgotten entirely to wear it earlier and nothing untoward had happened, but she wasn't ready to trust people fully yet, especially not strangers, to not look and read her soulmate words.

"My ex back in Australia was always shirtless. He was ripped, so I didn't complain too much, but it was a little weird. One time he came to pick me up for a date and he didn't have his shirt on." Lottie said.