The Favorite Girl

After Demi goes back to her room, Conrad comes in. He apologizes, and she tells him not to touch her while backing away. Conrad gets angry, chokes Demi, and slams her head into a cabinet as he sexually assaults her. Daphne interrupts them and chastises Conrad, and he leaves. Then, Daphne gives Demi a lingerie set for her wedding night, which will be in a week, and threatens to harm Bradley if she disobeys at any point. Demi reluctantly drinks the peony tea that Daphne offers, thinking about it having come from the bone garden.

The next morning, Becca does Demi’s hair and makeup for Bradley and Daisy’s departure with Mason. When Demi sees Daphne in the living room for the departure, she asks to feed the caged girls. Daphne says that they have staff to do that and that Demi’s only job now is to please Conrad and have children. Then, Conrad comes in, and Demi admires Daisy’s light yellow dress. Ian gives Mason a receipt and discusses a return policy; this makes Demi nauseous. Mason congratulates Demi for being chosen to marry Conrad. Ian touches Demi inappropriately as he pulls Conrad and Mason into a private conversation.

Meanwhile, Demi tells Daisy that she’s sorry, and Daisy says that she’s happy. Bradley tries to touch Daisy, Conrad intervenes, and Daisy hugs Conrad. Conrad says that Bradley will return for Demi’s wedding and threatens to cage Demi if she misbehaves.

Bradley and Demi are left alone for a few moments. Bradley tells her that he turned off the camera in the room. They talk about the shoes he bought her, and Bradley says that he’ll come back and save Demi. They kiss, and Demi cries. Bradley has become a home to her.

After Daisy, Mason, and Bradley leave, Conrad and Ian say that the house feels better. They joke about Demi being the maid. Daphne tells Demi that they are going to do a bridal gown fitting the next day in the city and that Demi can choose bridesmaid dresses. Conrad gets on one knee and proposes with a large diamond. Demi thinks that Conrad will hurt Bradley if she refuses, so she accepts. Ian takes a picture. Demi remembers her sister telling her specifically to come to the place where the Ivory Estate is located; she wonders if her sister worked with Trent to get Demi to the Ivory family.

The band of the engagement ring is coated with acid and burns Demi’s skin. Conrad says that the branding is a tradition, and Ian tells her to wrap her finger up and go to bed. Conrad shows Demi her new room—Bradley’s old room—and says goodnight. Becca is lurking in the dark room, bald without her wig, and holding a knife. She admits that she was a caged girl and in love with Bradley. As she cuts her own hand, she says that Bradley got her the hair and makeup position but didn’t choose her as his favorite girl. Bradley and Conrad both chose Demi as their favorite girl.

Becca insults Demi’s appearance and pins her against a wall with the knife at her throat. She says that Demi is Conrad’s second choice; Layla was Conrad’s first choice. However, having sex with Trent kept Layla from having to marry Conrad. Layla helped get Demi to the Ivory Estate because Trent promised to marry her. Both Layla and Demi were in the “Virgin Bride Catalogue” (321). Becca scoffs at Demi’s love for her sister who betrayed her. Then, Becca takes the knife from Demi’s neck and uses it to take her own life. Demi calls out for help; the door is locked, and she has to watch Becca die.

Conrad wakes up Demi the next morning. When she asks about Becca, he claims not to know anyone by that name. He says that the hair and makeup girl is named Kim. Demi realizes that Kim cut her hair into a shorter bob and dyed it a lighter blonde while she was sleeping. Conrad is about to tell Demi something, but his mother calls, and they talk about a return. Ending the call, Conrad says that Demi can come see how they process a refund. To her dismay, she starts to have romantic feelings toward Conrad.

In another room, Officer Tate returns his wife, Isabella. She is yelling that she wants to die and bites Tate. Ian injects her with something, and she collapses into Tate’s arms. Tate complains that Isabella stopped letting him urinate on her, so he wants a new bride who will. Ian says that they could do another round of “shock and white-therapy at an intensive level” (328), but Tate insists on getting a new bride. Some of Ian’s employees appear and take Isabella away. Ian follows them, and Demi realizes that he is going to sexually assault Isabella.

Tate threatens to expose the Ivory Estate’s business unless he gets a new bride. Conrad says that there is a waitlist and gives Tate a receipt. Tate demands that Conrad give him Demi. Conrad then threatens Tate and tells him that Demi is off limits. Demi feels grateful, and Conrad kisses her. She realizes that she is “displacing [her] feelings from Bradley onto the next option” and falling in love with her captor (330). Daphne looks proud of Demi.

While Tate, Conrad, and Daphne continue to bicker, Demi walks around the estate. She considers what life would be like if she became Conrad’s wife. Some photos on the wall catch her eye, and she notices a plaque underneath them that says, “The Ivory Graduates” (333). As she walks past Ian’s office, she sees the two men who took Isabella away sexually assaulting her and Ian masturbating while he watches. Demi is repulsed by the smell of popcorn. She believes that she can change Conrad into a good person.

At the bridal boutique, Demi tries on the dress that all the women in the Ivory Estate wear when they are married. She asks Daphne if people will watch her and Conrad consummate their marriage, and Daphne says that there won’t be an audience. She is tearful over the fact that her time with Ian is coming to an end. Demi asks about Layla being Conrad’s first choice until sleeping with Trent ruined her chance to be the favorite girl. Daphne insults Demi, calls her unappreciative, and laces her too tightly in the dress. There are two options, Daphne says: being an Ivory family member or being buried in their garden. Demi agrees to marry Conrad.

Demi is allowed to select her veil. Daphne tells her that she will wear family heirloom jewelry and demands that Demi call her mother. Demi wants to invite Raina, Jax, and Kai to the wedding. Daphne agrees but hints that there is something Demi doesn’t know about Raina. They go back to the house, and Daphne tells Demi that the wedding will be in two days. The following day, she’ll have to get her IUD removed. Demi goes into her room, Bradley’s old room, and sees no trace of Becca’s suicide. She puts on the Nikes, takes off her other clothes, thinks about Bradley, and falls asleep in bed.

Demi is woken in the middle of the night by Ian. He says that he’s taking out her IUD himself and threatens to assault her. Demi begs him not to, and he chains her feet and hands to the bed with chains that Ian added while she was at the boutique. After Ian removes the IUD, he threatens to have sex with her. Demi says that she needs to be “pure” for Conrad. Ian decides to shave Demi’s pubic hair and sexually assaults her while doing so.

Demi wakes up on her wedding day feeling like she’s been drugged. Daphne comes into her room and demands that Demi get in the shower. With her is a woman she calls Becca. The woman looks similar to Becca but isn’t Becca. After Demi showers, she confronts Becca about being a different person, and the new Becca claims to be the same person. Demi is surprised that both Becca and Daphne put red lipstick on her; they explain that red is the color for brides. Daphne asks Becca to leave. She then tells Demi that she was a caged girl. Ian selected her from the catalog, and she underwent the “intensive-white therapy program” (350). She claims that it made her a better person, explaining that women should be like sacrificial birds in cages.

As Daphne helps Demi get into her dress, Demi condemns Daphne for standing by while Daisy and others were assaulted. Daphne says love conquers all and leaves the room. Bradley comes in and compliments Demi, and she compliments him. He tells her to wear her Nikes under the dress because they are going to escape after the wedding. Then, he gives her a necklace containing a pill that she can use to die by suicide, for a worst-case scenario. Bradley says that he’ll spike Conrad’s whiskey with something to keep him asleep after their wedding night.

Once Conrad is passed out, Bradley will send a car to pick up Demi and take her to Charleston, where Bradley will be waiting on a boat. He claims that Daisy is happy with Mason, so she won’t be coming with them. Bradley tells Demi that he loves her, she replies that she loves him, and they kiss.

Demi walks into the garden for the wedding ceremony with a bouquet of peonies. Conrad is excited to see her, and she feels nauseous. Daphne doesn’t allow Demi to have bridesmaids. Ian comes up to officiate, jokes about Conrad picking Demi out of the catalog, and marries them. The wedding ring, unlike the engagement ring, doesn’t burn Demi’s finger. Bradley looks away when Demi and Conrad kiss.

At the reception, Demi finds Raina and asks about Jax and Kai. Raina explains that they were paid actors and that she works for the Ivory Estate, delivering women. Demi walks away, and Conrad escorts her into the house, away from the guests. Ian and Daphne are strung up with their throats slit, and there are wine glasses filled with their blood. Conrad claims that they sacrificed themselves and threatens to kill Demi unless she drinks the blood. She does and vomits.

After Demi stops vomiting, Conrad takes her to their new bedroom: his parents’ bedroom. He turns on a home video of Ian and Daphne having sex on their wedding night; he claims that watching the video is good luck because Daphne conceived that night. She contemplates taking the pill that Bradley gave her but holds out in order to escape with him. Before getting on the white towel that Conrad lays out, Demi goes into the bathroom and uses tweezers to cut herself internally so that she will appear to be a “virgin.” Conrad penetrates her right after she lies down. When he finishes, he sees blood on the towel and believes that she had never had sex. Demi hopes that the birth control pills Bradley gave her are working. She gives Conrad a glass of drugged whiskey, and he demands more from her next sexual performance and then passes out.

After watching him sleep for a while, Demi cleans herself up. She takes Conrad’s keycard and an outfit from the suitcase intended for her honeymoon, including a large hat and sunglasses. After putting on red lipstick, she leaves his room, goes to the Ossis wing, and opens all the cages. The women inside don’t react. Demi uses Ian’s office phone to call 911, requesting someone other than Tate to come help the imprisoned women. Then, she runs outside. There is a car waiting for her with a driver, who introduces herself as Kealey. She gives Demi some water and says that they are about three hours away from Charleston.

Kealey drops Demi off at Bradley’s boat. She says that she’s the “only caged girl who ever escaped” and leaves (370). The rising sun reminds Demi of the Holi holiday in India. Bradley picks Demi up and cries a few tears as he embraces her. They set sail, and he offers her something to drink and eat. She cries for about an hour, and Bradley gets her into bed, where she eventually falls asleep.

In the morning, Demi wakes up alone and thinks about the horrors she’s witnessed. She gets cleaned up in the bathroom and puts on one of Bradley’s shirts. Then, she finds a photo album, and the photos feature Ian and Daphne with two sons. One of the boys looks like Conrad, and one looks like Bradley. She realizes that Bradley is Ian’s son. She goes up the stairs to the main deck, and Bradley compliments her. He offers a breakfast of white rice, plain yogurt, and the whites of a boiled egg. Demi asks Bradley what his last name is, and he admits that he is the son of Ian and one of the imprisoned women whom Ian sexually assaulted, who is also the mother of Daisy.

Daphne killed this woman in a jealous rage, drinking her blood and burying her in the garden. Bradley says that they can take over the family business, calls Demi his “bird,” and puts a diamond and feather necklace on her. He explains that feathers help birds blend in and that this necklace will help her blend in at the estate. Bradley admits that the drug in the whiskey was lethal: Conrad is dead, and Bradley is the heir to the legacy’s branch in the Bahamas. Demi asks for a drink, he gets a bottle of champagne, and she offers to pour drinks while he gets into bed.

When Bradley is down below, Demi puts the suicide pill that Bradley gave her in one of the glasses of champagne. She goes down the stairs, and Bradley says that she needs to do some of the “white-therapy program” in the Bahamas (380). He starts pulling her into bed, and she asks if they can drink first. He agrees, and Demi realizes that she has forgotten which glass she put the drug in. She guesses correctly, and Bradley reacts badly to the beverage. He pulls off the empty necklace holding the suicide pill.

Demi runs upstairs and puts on a life vest connected to the boat by a chain. Bradley comes upstairs with a knife and knocks both of them into the water. He cuts Demi but is unable to get the vest off of her. Bradley is able to stab her again in the arm and swear at her before he dies. She says that there’s no room for Jack on her raft, referencing Titanic. Demi climbs into the boat and cries.

After a while, she is able to tend to her wounds, eat, drink water, and send off a flare. Another boat sees her flare and comes over. Demi puts on her hat and sunglasses before boarding their vessel. She says that she’s heading to the Bahamas and asks to eat white rice and yogurt. The final line is her asserting that she is, “after all, [the] favorite girl” (384).