The truth? Oh, no. She wasn’t going to…Megan didn’t know. Right? He swallowed.
“After Adam and I had our first date, I found out the website was telling people to stay tuned for our second date. I was furious. That’s when I went down to the station and overheard Adam talking to our producer.”
Everyone in the room froze, and Adam couldn’t breathe. She’d known this whole time.
“What did you overhear?”
Megan turned and pointed to Doctor Lemon. “That she is afake.”
The audience gasped, and the doctor’s face blanched.
Megan continued. “She’s not a real doctor. The machine was a setup. She was controlling it the whole time.”
Doctor Lemon jumped up, her composure lost. “This is an outrage!” Unfortunately, the force of her movement dislodged her wig, making it sit on her head askew.
The audience laughed until Doctor Lemon stormed off the stage. All Adam could do was stare in disbelief. It was then that he noticed the caption showing on the screen. “Megan Holloway Tells All.” His mouth went dry.
Penelope looked like she’d won the lottery. “What did you do, when you found out Doctor Lemon wasn’t real?”
Megan avoided his gaze. “I did the only thing I could think of. I got revenge.”
A clip of Adam’s face reading the karaoke sign flashed up on screen, and everyone went wild. He slid down a little in his seat. Why was she doing this? What had he done that was so terrible now? He’d told her he loved her. Did that offend her so much that she had to retaliate with this ‘tell all’ show?
Penelope turned to him for the first time. “Adam, did you know Megan had found out about Doctor Lemon?”
He blinked. She really expected him to participate in his own public hanging? Everyone waited for his response. He shook his head, because no words would come.
Penelope turned back to Megan. “How did you feel, knowing that you were being deceived?”
“I was upset, of course. But, despite everything, I was also aware that our dates were making our show more popular.” She stopped, looked down at her feet, and swallowed. “I’m ashamed to admit it, but I continued to date Adam because I thought it would further my career.”
The audience murmured, and Penelope held up her hand. “Before you pass judgment, let’s hear the whole story. Megan, what happened next?”
“We went out a few more times. Then he hit that deer in the road.”
Penelope looked up at the screen, and a clip from that night played. Adam watched himself on the screen having an emotional breakdown, holding that dying fawn by the side of the road. What was the purpose of bringing that up?
Megan blinked, and he thought for a second she was trying not to tear up, but when she spoke her voice was steady. “My opinion of him changed that night.”
“How so?”
“I saw a side of him I hadn’t seen. A tender side.”
Adam squinted at her. What was she doing? Why did he feel like he was on a roller coaster, with no way of knowing where he would end up?
Penelope smiled at the camera. “I think we all got to see that.” She turned back to Megan. “Then the next thing I remember seeing was you losing it.”
Another clip rolled, this one of Megan shouting about not ever marrying Adam, even if she were dying and he was the only cure. The audience laughed, and Megan blushed. “Not my best moment.”
“Why were you so angry?”
“Leon was trying to manipulate the show. He was online encouraging our fans to push for marriage.” Megan took a breath, still avoiding his gaze. “I didn’t like being coerced. I felt played. I got angry.”
“But then why would you agree to be on the ABC show, Winning Megan Over?”
Another blush touched her cheeks. “I was told it would be a dating show, and to be totally honest, I did it to further my career again.”
The audience frowned and whispered amongst themselves. But Megan didn’t stop there. “They were also offering us a hundred thousand dollars to do the show.”
