Dominant Woman Looking for Love - Chapter 25：I don't want to lose.

Charles and I belt out the last note.

The music that used to accompany our wistful and equally melancholic voices reach an end.

All that’s left now is a heavy silence that blankets us.

…

“Wow! That was AMAZING! Your voices just melded together in perfect harmony! My heart has never felt this moved in a very long time. I’m so close to tears, even!” The host pauses when his voice shakes from feeling so emotional.

Some gentle laughter and sniffles could be heard.

Judging by the feedback we’re receiving, we have a pretty good chance at winning this second challenge, the ‘Karaoke Battle’.

The host continues, “What Therysia and Charles have just shown us, it’s almost as if they’ve been practicing together for years!”

“We did not expect this at all!” Bright-eyed, he continues to praise us to the high heavens. “We knew Charles Boet could sing, but who knew Ren Hille’s manager could sing THIS well? My heart still feels torn in two. Give it up again for Therysia Raley~!”

Thunderous clapping now ensues.

Out of breath from speaking so loud, the host muses, “Pleasant surprises like these are what makes it more exciting for us, huh?! THESE are the type of things we LOVE discovering on OUR SHOW! WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?!” He excitedly yells to rile up the audience even further.

‘YEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!’ The crowd goes crazy. Screaming and whistling soon fill the entire set.

Not used to all the attention, I start to fidget uncomfortably.

I’m wondering if this emcee has any intention of stopping any time soon?

It’s nice to be complimented, but it’s becoming pretty excessive, even for me.

I am so distracted that I didn’t even notice that Ren and Jett are right beside me already.

“Both of you seem to have won the hearts of everybody present here. Of course, I’m pretty sure you folks at home agree with all of us as well!”

Ren bends down to my ear level. He covers his mouth partially with the back of his hand and whispers, “Don’t worry, I gotcha.”

After giving me a quick nod, I suddenly have a bad feeling about this.

With a microphone in hand, he pokes the host with his other index finger. “Hey, hey… Have you forgotten us already? I know Ms. Raley’s gorgeous and all, but Mr. Harland and I are starting to feel a bit jealous here.”

“I don’t want to lose. So how about I show everyone something cute so you can show some support to my buddy and me over here.” Ren puts his arm around Jett’s shoulder and pulls him close.

Ren leans his head onto Jett’s, then shows his cutest smile to the audience. Winking with his mouth closed, Ren sticks the tip of his tongue out while doing an OK signal.

Every Ren (and Jett?) fan shrieks and goes ballistic at the eye candy in front of them.

Is he really doing this for me, or does he just want attention?! I can’t help but eye Ren suspiciously but in the end, I sigh in relief as it seems to have worked anyway to my advantage.

If there wasn’t a single Ren x Jett shipper on the internet before tonight, there’d surely be some now.

Jett’s back slumps a little. His posture makes him look a little bit like a wilting flower now.

Pfft! Poor Jett.

My face beams upon thinking of something.

I’m debating whether or not I should do a bit of fanfiction search later so I can tease them about it when I get the chance!

I snicker inwardly. Scheming against both of them has thankfully put me in a better mood.

A little embarrassed, the emcee rubs the back of his neck and laughs awkwardly. “Ahahahaha! Sorry about that, Ren.”

“I have to admit, Therysia is quite captivating in more ways than one! It’s almost a waste that she’s just a celebrity manager.”

I see Jett’s mouth twitch upon hearing more blatant flirting from the host. He grits his teeth and tries to stay calm.

Despite the emcee’s intention of complimenting me, he only managed to annoy me instead.

What did he say…? JUST a celebrity manager?!

Maybe I should give this guy a piece of my mind later on…

Jett has absolutely nothing to worry about.

Anyone who insults my profession like this will never get in my good graces.

The host clears his throat and gets back on track, “As a recap, for our first challenge, Team Jett-Ren won that round! They did a fantastic job with their comedy skit.”

“As for this second challenge, the ‘Karaoke Battle’ winners are unsurprisingly… Team Charles-Therysia!”

“That makes both teams tied with one win each! There are two more challenges left, who will emerge the victors?! Stay tuned after this break!”

This show isn’t live, so we end up having to go to another venue for our third challenge… the dreaded ‘Shark Tank’.

* * * * *

We’re up first, so Charles and I get ready to wear some diving gear.

I don’t want my hair floating all over the place once we’re underwater, so I tie it up into an extremely tight bun.

Stretching out the diving cap, I carefully place it over my head and adjust it to a more comfortable fit.

I sigh and look towards the humongous tank with two sharks swimming about.

The sight of them gives me the chills.

It’s almost absurd that Big Red Studios went out of their way to rent something like this just for this particular episode. They must be confident that it’ll do exceptionally well.

“I’ve never done anything like this before… it was annoying to put all of this on.” Charles makes a face and pinches a bit of the foamed neoprene and pulls on it.

He lets go, and it loudly thwacks against his skin.

Charles looks at me with a slightly solemn face. “You think you’d be alright?”

I put on a brave front and show him a smirk. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? Just a few minutes inside that cage and it’ll probably be over before we know it.”

* * * * *

BAM!

…

BANG!

…

We’re inside the tank, and the sharks are attacking the cage mercilessly.

Why the hell did I think this was going to be alright?!

GET ME OUT OF HERE!

My eyes are filled with sheer horror as I watch the sharks go into a frenzy as they continually slam their jaws at the thick steel bars.

Their sharp teeth scrape against the metal.

Like billowing underwater smoke, blood starts to spread chaotically around us.