Playing Perfect

02. Serpent

02. Serpent

Snake

Alice stared at herself in the mirror.

She wore a black evening dress her mother had laid out onto her bed earlier that evening. Dolce and Gabbana, she'd told her. Alice had remarked that it was beautiful, and her mother nodded in agreement, muttering that her father had some very important guests tonight—she had to dress to impress.

Her mother, despite being born and raised in Hong Kong, had attended finishing school in France.

She loved telling stories of how she climbed her way to the top of the ladder. How she went from working night shifts after high school to get the money for Paris, to marrying the young Australian entrepreneur—Alice's father. If anyone was to give Alice advice on how to survive the cutthroat world of socialites, it would be her mother.

If anyone was to remind Alice how much she had to uphold, how many sacrifices her mother's family had made for her to get here—to stand in a pretty designer dress all night as old men slipped their wrinkly fingers around her bare shoulders and pretended not to aim any lower—it would be her mother.

And so, Alice pulled it on.

It came in at her waist before flaring out slightly to stop just above her knees. She stepped into a pair of short black heels to match—the type her mother called sensual but sensible. Her dress had a wide Sabrina neckline, so she placed a string of pearls across her collarbone. Her signature black locks were left untouched, only falling to her waist in loose waves.

She stared at herself until her phone buzzed from her bed. Heels clicking against her carpeted bedroom floor with soft thuds, she crossed the room and picked her phone up. She sat delicately on the edge of the bed, trying to keep her dress prim and proper.

How she longed to flop down in her pillows and have a long nap—but she knew her mother would chastise her for wrinkling her dress or messing her hair.

Unlocking her phone, a message popped up on her screen. She narrowed her eyes.

Unknown sender.

With pursed lips, she tapped on it, opening the message.

Unknown Sender: Ugly bitch.

She blinked, then re-read the message, and re-read it again. Who had sent this? The number was blocked, and she'd never received a message like this before. Her heart seemed to skip a beat in her chest, and she gazed around the room.

Emily had arrived hours ago, but she'd quickly gone into the guest suite to get ready, leaving her phone behind with Alice to charge. Emily, being her friend since birth, was probably the only person Alice could think of who would have the guts to prank her like this.

Must be the wrong number, Alice decided firmly, deleting the message.

Almost immediately, her bedroom door swung open.

"Oh, Alice!" Her mother exclaimed, racing forward in her elegant red dress. She pressed a kiss to Alice's cheek before stepping back to scrutinise her. "You look beautiful, dear."

"Thank you, mother." Alice smiled shyly.

Her mother placed her hands on her hips, a determined glimmer sparking in her eye. "The guests will be arriving soon. Come downstairs. Emily is waiting."

Alice didn't have to say anything; her mother knew she'd do as she was told. She simply followed her lead, walking down the carpeted marble steps into the parlour room of the Travers Manor.