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When I wake the next morning, there is a new email from the company. Strangely, I'm quite excited to see it in my inbox.

You have won a free romantic holiday to a beautiful castle in Switzerland.

You will be flown out, in first class and stay in the stunning castle for fourteen days. During your time, you will have the chance to date our eligible bachelors.

You will go on romantic dates, have once-in-a-lifetime experiences and eat world-class food.

You will receive free spa treatments, a hair and beauty makeover and physical training.

All you need to do now, is accept!

Please see the contract attached. There are pictures of our eligible bachelors included. Check the photos and make sure you like what you see.

If you're ready for the opportunity of a lifetime, sign the contract and send the email back to us.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

I stare at my phone screen, wondering what the hell I have just read.

I thought this was a free holiday? Why am I dating eligible bachelors?

Curious, I tap on the contract to open it. The images load and I'll admit, my heart momentarily skips a beat.

The first bachelor is very handsome. He has blonde hair, styled back and off his face. He has a charming smile and pretty eyes.

The second bachelor has brown hair with copper tints to it. He's smirking confidently and has blue eyes that would make anyone's knees weak.

The final bachelor, oh dear Lord.

He has dark hair, dark eyes and a dark smile.

He's handsome. Very handsome. Too handsome to be real.

This has to be a scam, right?

Suddenly, my phone starts ringing, making me jump.

I accept the call when I see Saff in the caller ID.

'Morning! Tell me you got the email,' she blurts excitedly.

'Morning to you, too. Yeah, I did. I thought this was a holiday competition? What's this about dating?'

'Oh, don't worry about that. We're mainly going for the holiday. Although, they are rather handsome, aren't they?' She gossips quickly.

I roll my eyes at her.

'Saff, I'm not doing anything without you explaining further.'

'Ugh, okay. Basically, some rich guy owns the castle and in order for you to go and stay in it, you have to date him and his mates. Apparently, they're looking for their future wives or something. It's kind of like The Bachelor shit, I think they send us home if we don't have a connection any of them.'

'I didn't sign up for a dating experience,' I tell Saff and she scoffs.

'Neither did I! Look, all you have to do is go on a couple dates with them, it's not like you have to marry them. I intend on spending most of my time in the spa. Even if they send you home, you don't go home straight away, you still get to continue the holiday for the full two weeks!'

I bite my bottom lip, silently considering this.

'It's a free holiday, Amity! How many times does something like this come along? I'm thinking we go on a couple dates, smile and make nice, get sent home and then we live it up for two weeks.'

As if sensing my hesitation, she pushes on.

'Plus, they're handsome as hell. And you're the one who said you wanted to start dating and were ready to put yourself out there again, three months ago.'

I sigh heavily, she's right.

'Yeah, I know I did.'

'See! This is the perfect opportunity.'

'You're crazy.'

'But you love me.'

Annoyingly, that is true.

'Fine.'

'Yes! Yes! Amazing! I'll call Winnie and check she has the email, too. This is gonna be awesome!'

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Fast forward three weeks, and the three of us are on a flight to Switzerland.

It was literally that simple.

Once we'd accepted the contract, which simply said we'd give this a fair shot, had some NDA stuff to sign and accept their terms and conditions, we were given potential flight times.

When we arrive in Switzerland and collect our baggage, we find a gentleman in a chauffeur's outfit, holding a sign with our names on it.

I'll admit, my excitement builds as we drive away from the airport and into the countryside. The castle comes into view about twenty minutes before we arrive.

Its turrets stretch above the trees, looking like something out of Disney. The pale, grey stone stands our starkly against the green and white backdrop.

Evergreen trees surround the castle, capped with blanket white snow.

My mouth becomes dry as we pull up at one of the side entrances.

This is insane.

The chauffeur grabs our bags for us and ushers us inside. The décor is not what I was expecting. I guess I had imagined suits of armour and tapestries, but the interior is incredibly modern.

'Please, continue down the hallway, to the foyer,' the chauffeur instructs us.

The three of us do as he asks, taking in everything on the way. Saff grabs my hand and squeezes it excitedly.

Okay, so maybe this was a good idea.

The foyer is huge and stretches up to the height of two storeys. Two curved stairways adjacent to one another, meet in the middle.

A man is stood at the bottom of them, his hands behind his back.

He's very handsome, but not one of the men in the pictures on the email.

He has brown hair, deep blue eyes and a confident smile. He's wearing a white shirt and black slacks. The second Saff sees him, she squeezes my hand even tighter.

'Ladies, thank you so much for joining us,' he greets smoothly. 'I hope you had a pleasant journey.'

He lifts up his arms and gestures to the castle around us.

'Welcome to Swizterland. This is your home for the next two weeks. I will be taking care of you and organising your activities. My name is Spencer and I represent your host, Mr Ardelean.'

'Come, let me show you to your rooms and I will explain a little more to you.'

We follow Spencer up the flight of stairs and down numerous corridors. Spencer fills us in as he guides us along.

'You have full run of the castle. The host's wing is locked, that is the only place that is private and is where your bachelors will be staying. Although, they might invite you to join them,' Spencer says with a wink and I scrunch my nose up.

Our chambers are beautiful. We are each in a row on the corridor, with our own bedroom and en suite. It's like something out of Beauty and The Beast. There's gold filigree on the furniture, the billowing curtains reach from floor to ceiling and the giant, four-poster bed, is bigger than my whole apartment.

Spencer gives us each a key and then ushers us into a room across the hallway, which he calls the common room.

It is an open-plan kitchen and living room.

'This is your living space, where the ten of you can hang out together,' Spencer announces.

'Ten of us?' Saff asks and Spencer nods, his eyes trailing over her.

'Yes. Ten of you were chosen for the competition. The other seven girls are already settled, you three were the last to arrive.'

This is news to us.

To be honest, I don't know why we thought only the three of us were chosen. It makes sense the bachelors might want to date as many women as possible, three doesn't exactly give a huge choice.

'Don't worry, ladies, they haven't met our bachelors yet, either.' Spencer goes over to the kitchen counter and hands us each a folder. 'This contains your welcome pack, which includes another copy of the contract, a map of the grounds and, most importantly, your itinerary.'

'Tomorrow, you will receive spa treatments in the morning and makeovers in the afternoon, all to get you ready to meet your bachelors in the evening.'

'As for now, feel free to explore and be back in here for six o'clock, when dinner will be served. I will see you bright and early tomorrow, ladies.'

Spencer leaves and the three of us remain, stunned into silence.

'Holy shit,' Winnie mumbles under her breath as she studies the itinerary. 'This literally is The Bachelor, there's competitions and everything.'

I open my welcome back and pull out the itinerary. Later on in the week, there is a boot-camp style competition, a baking competition, a library competition.

What is a library competition?

The girls and I go back to our rooms to shower and get the airplane smell off of us. We meet in the corridor an hour later, after unpacking.

With one of the maps in Saff's hand, we decide to explore for a bit. We wander down the corridors, learning where they take us. We work out how to find our way back to our wing from the entrance.

Eventually, we find a door that leads us into the gardens. It's late afternoon and the sun is still shining.

We walk through the gardens, enjoying the fresh air and beautiful blooms. The three of us find a bench by an extravagant fountain and sit down.

'This is crazy,' Winnie says.

She leans back and closes her eyes, enjoying the sun on her skin. I mirror her actions.

'It's so exciting though, isn't it? Just think, what would we be doing if we were at home, now?' Saffron says.

She has a point. I'd be job-searching and wondering if it is too early to crack open the wine.

We decide to get up and continue exploring, seeing as we still have two hours before dinner is served.

I glance up at the castle, feeling someone's eyes on us. I can just about make out someone's shadow as their stand near the window, but the sun is bouncing off the glass and obscures my view.

'You alright?' Saff calls out to me.

'Yeah,' I reply uneasily.

Someone is definitely watching us.

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