A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, Max2013, Cheryl, Erin, Jackie, Caranath, Guest, Red, cameron1812, Leya, Wendylouwho10, and Guest! As a former broadcast journalist, I'm now a little afraid of all of you. Lol Thanks to those reading, as well!

Chapter 10

Iola was stunned. Had she really just been asked…no, told…that she wasn't a virgin? She glanced at Agent Castellano who was looking down at the floor, and Iola knew she'd been set up. Fine. She'd deal with the feds later.

For now, she was going to remain calm and composed. If Dana Stephens was looking for an irate reaction from Iola that would dominate social media and boost the anchor's ratings, she was going to be disappointed.

Iola smiled at Dana. "Yes, that's true. My boyfriend and I did have a physical relationship. Not something I would recommend to teenagers, in retrospect, but we were very much in love, and we were careful."

"So, how were you planning on handling this issue with the king when it arose?" Dana asked.

"Well, they were going to give me a barbaric medical exam before the wedding ceremony was to take place, and I knew that I wouldn't pass their test," Iola explained. "So, I assumed they would hang me."

Dana blinked. "Hang you?"

"Yes. I was living on borrowed time, with no hope of a rescue." Iola smiled. "Until I was rescued."

Iola managed to get through the rest of the interview, keeping her poise, and answering all the questions honestly and politely. Inside, she was seething.

When the cameras stopped rolling, Iola thanked Dana, who complimented her on handling the tough questions, then engaged her in some mindless chitchat.

As soon as Iola could extricate herself, she marched over to Agent Castellano.

"You set me up," Iola accused. "The only people who knew about me and Joe would never have leaked that information to the press. Why did you do it?"

Agent Castellano glanced around, then took Iola's arm and led her into a corner of the studio. "I had to."

Iola crossed her arms in front of her. This was going to be good. "You had to? You had to tell all of America that I lost my virginity in high school?"

"Yes. Listen to me for a minute, Iola. I'll explain."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm listening." Iola didn't even try to keep the anger out of her voice. And at the moment, she didn't care if anybody overheard her.

"You not being a virgin means you're not the one to fulfill the prophecy for the king," Agent Castellano said. "Just having you say you weren't wasn't believable. But having it come up, out of the blue, in an interview, where everyone could see the shock register on your face? Well, that's believable."

Iola paused. "Are you trying to say that having an interviewer 'out' me on this will stop the king from pursuing me?"

"We think so, because it's worked in the past," Agent Castellano said. "Why do you suppose Elizabeth Taylor was married off only two months after her eighteenth birthday?"

Iola's mouth dropped open. Elizabeth Taylor had violet eyes. She was born the same year as the king.

"Are you saying that she got married so she'd no longer be a 'violet-eyed virgin'?" Iola was stunned.

"To put it plainly…yes. And her marriage didn't even last a year," Agent Castellano said. "It didn't have to."

Iola couldn't say anything.

Agent Castellano continued. "We couldn't think of any other way, Iola. With this announcement, the king will longer think you're suitable. In his mind, you're not the one the prophecy was referring to."

Iola nodded. Understanding had dawned. It might be the only way. Then she cringed. Her parents. Her dad was probably on his way to kill Joe right now.

Agent Castellano smiled. "I know what you're thinking. And don't worry. I told your parents that we would have to do this, and why. They understood. Whether or not you want to admit to them that you're really not a virgin is up to you."

Iola shook her head, imagining that conversation. "I think I'll just keep my sex life private. I mean, aside from America knowing all about it, that is. My parents don't have to. I am twenty-one now, after all."

"Good." Agent Castellano smiled. "Then we're on the same page?"

"Yes," Iola said. "We're on the same page. But it doesn't mean I like it."

OOOoooOOO

"What the hell did she just ask Iola?" Joe leapt from his chair in the conference room. He was livid. He'd heard what the interviewer had said, he just couldn't believe it.

Frank waved his hand at Joe to silence him.

Joe paced back and forth as he listened for Iola's response. She looked stunned. And who wouldn't be? That bitch had announced to the whole world that he and Iola had sex in high school. He wasn't ashamed of that, but it was personal. Their relationship had been so much more than something physical. It was special and sacred. It was love. And this woman had cheapened it down to two teenagers boinking each other on a Saturday night.

Joe looked at the TV screen. Iola was calm and composed. She answered the reporter and then moved on to the next question. She never lost her cool for one instant. She was a much better person than he was, because he would have come unglued on that woman if he'd been there. Maybe it was a good thing he wasn't.

"She handled that well," Frank said.

"How did this woman even know about me and Iola?" Joe asked through gritted teeth.

"It wasn't exactly a secret," Frank said. "The feds know, and honestly, I think they wanted this to come out."

Joe saw red and managed to get out, "Why?"

"Because she's not what the king wants," Frank explained. "She's not a virgin. Hopefully, he'll leave her alone now."

"Did you know about this?"

"No, but I suspected they might go this route," Frank said with a sigh.

Joe swallowed hard. He could see the reasoning behind this, but it still pissed him off. He was so worried for Iola. He knew she was a private person, and this would be embarrassing for her.

It was killing him not being with her right now.

OOOoooOOO

Vanessa froze as the interviewer said that Iola had slept with her high school boyfriend. She was mistaken. Iola and Joe hadn't slept together. Joe had told her they hadn't had sex.

Vanessa glanced over at Callie, whose mouth was hanging open.

"Oh, crap," Callie hissed, lowering her chopsticks back into the Chinese food container.

Iola's face flashed onto the screen. She looked shocked. Then she spoke.

"Yes, that's true. My boyfriend and I did have a physical relationship…we were very much in love."

Vanessa's heart stopped.

"How could she?" Callie shouted at the TV. "How could this woman do that to Iola on national television?"

"Is she talking about Joe?" Vanessa's voice came out in a whisper.

"Of course she's talking about Joe," Callie said, still glaring at the TV. "Who else would she be talking about? Iola never dated anyone but Joe. And she certainly never had sex with anyone but him."

Joe and Iola had sex. Even Callie knew. Probably all of Bayport knew.

Joe had lied to her.

How could Vanessa have been so stupid?

"Wow, she did a much better job with that than I would have," Callie said, picking up her chopsticks again. "I would have made a fool out of myself."

"How long had they been sleeping together?" Vanessa said, in a small voice. She wasn't sure she wanted the answer. In her heart she knew Joe and Iola's relationship hadn't been casual, but until now, she'd been able to push that aside. Now it felt like her heart was breaking in two. She was devastated.

Callie was still glued to the television. "Um, I don't know. Six months, a year, maybe?"

"What were they like together, Callie? Be honest."

OOO

Callie turned to look at Vanessa. She had tears in her eyes. What was going on? Callie set down her Chinese food container.

"What do you mean?" Callie asked.

"I mean, what were they like as a couple? And I want the truth." Vanessa blinked away the tears.

Callie sighed. They'd never talked about Iola and Joe together. It had never mattered before. Well, even if it hurt Vanessa, Callie felt it was better to be honest.

"They were a very intense couple," Callie began. "They're both passionate people, and that showed in their relationship. They loved each other fiercely. And it wasn't the same as other high school kids who loved one person one week, and someone else the next."

Vanessa nodded, although her gaze was downcast.

"They fought, too," Callie continued. "Mostly because of Joe's immaturity. He loved Iola so much, I think it scared him. So his response was to flirt with other girls. Which obviously ticked Iola off. She didn't take any crap from him, and they broke up a couple of times, but Joe always came back to her. To be honest, I don't think he could live without her, and when he had to…it nearly killed him."

Callie reached out and touched Vanessa's arm. "And then you came along, Vanessa. And Joe grew to love you. It's a different love than he had with Iola, but not less of a love. To be honest, Joe and Iola together could be exhausting at times."

"He lied to me. He told me he hadn't slept with her."

"He actually told you they'd never had sex?"

Vanessa's eyes were red rimmed and full of tears. "I…I can't remember if he told me in so many words. But he implied that they hadn't gone all the way."

Callie sighed. She wasn't surprised. Joe was eighteen years old when things got serious between him and Vanessa. He was probably trying to spare her feelings…or say what he had to in order to get in her pants. He was a teenaged boy, after all. And since Iola was supposedly dead, what would be the harm?

"He wasn't trying to hurt you," Callie said. "He was just being a stupid teenager."

Vanessa sniffled. "Then why do I feel so hurt? He lied. About something that was important to me. I feel like our whole relationship is a lie now."

Callie wasn't going to counter that. She knew how awful Vanessa must be feeling at the moment. She hoped that after Vanessa had some time to think, she'd realize that things weren't as bad as they seemed.

"I know this whole thing with Iola is hard for you, Vanessa. But please don't worry. Everything will calm down, and you'll see that Joe is still the same Joe you know and love." She sighed. "Joe and Iola would have burned out eventually. And the end result would have been the same. You would have moved to Bayport, and you and Joe would have found each other. You two were meant to be."

And Callie hoped like hell that she was right.