"Oh! You'll also be working closely with Linda."
Alice's stomach sank. "Linda... who?" She wanted to ask who Linda was but quickly collected herself and shut her mouth. Maybe Aurora knew who Linda was.
Suzy's face twisted in disbelief, obviously catching her question. "You don't remember Linda? The witch from the Crest's ball who threw her drink on you in public?"
Oh wow. Just wow. This was spiraling into a full-blown nightmare.
"Linda... yes. Linda. I remember the witch."
Suzy looked at her, her face twisting in amusement. "I didn't know you could swear."
Alice could only smile awkwardly at this point.
One week. That had not been enough to know even a fraction of the kind of person her twin truly was.
She felt that at this point, if she breathed a certain way, someone might come tell her Aurora didn't breathe at all.
Suzy didn't comment further and continued flipping through the document. "And for the upcoming exercise day in a week, you're on the Blue team. We are going to be rivals. I'm in yellow!"
"Exercise day?" Alice repeated.
Now, what the hell was that?
"It's this huge sports event to bond as a community. All split into houses. Best house wins."
Okay, it may sound ridiculous, but it wasn't the worst she had heard. Maybe it was the only reasonable one so far.
"What's the prize?" She asked. That was more important right now.
Suzy's face lit up with reverence. "Honor."
Alice blinked slowly. "Ho-Honor?"
"Yep!"
'This is insane,' Alice muttered under her breath as a disbelieving chuckle escaped her lips.
Suzy grinned. "You'll get used to it. Welcome to the Wildfire family, Second Lady."
Alice wanted to cry. She knew she was doomed.
This was far worse than she had anticipated.
Pricillia had assured her she wouldn't do much. Live like a a lonely married woman and disappear after a year.
But this?
Suzy casually dropped the document on the table. "The rest are just rules: don't go out past curfew at 11 p.m., don't leave the estate without permission, and blah blah. You can figure it out."
But Suzy wasn't finished.
"But you should know... the competition here is fierce. As a Wildfire, you need to consistently be number one. Even at balls, gatherings, or parties, we must always look our best. Especially you."
"Me?" Alice blinked. "Why?"
"You're the new bride. Everyone's going to be curious about the woman Hades got involved with."
Hades. Her stomach did a weird flip.
She didn't want to be reminded of him, especially now when she had her mind full.
She didn't want to remember the rude way he sauntered into dinner and also left without so much as another word to her.
Suzy's expression darkened slightly, and her tone lowered as she said, "I must warn you... be careful around him. He's... nasty."
Alice frowned. That was a new description. Not that she was surprised.
"How nasty?"
Suzy leaned in as if sharing a dark family secret. "Hades is no gentleman."
Alice snorted. 'I think I figured that out.'
But she didn't say it out.
Suzy's already low voice went even lower. "He's been living abroad for ten years. He only came back recently, and honestly, I think he's worse now than he was as a teenager."
10 years.
Why did he suddenly return?
And how come everyone was that way around him if he had not been around the entire time?
"Do not annoy him," Suzy added ominously. "You might just... disappear."
Alice looked at her closely. That sounded like it was not a joke.
Suzy's face was dead serious. "You think that gun his bodyguard carries is just for show?"
Alice froze, her brain short-circuiting.
Even Pricillia had told her to avoid him.
At all cost.
Before he was suddenly thrown to her as her groom..
But...
Had she been careless this entire time?
Suzy stood up like she'd just wrapped up a casual coffee chat. "Anyway, it was nice talking to you. Never thought I'd sit with someone as boring as you and still be this entertained."
Boring. Yes. Aurora was boring.
But why was this Suzy interested?
Did she have an ulterior motive?
Though, up till this moment, Alice had not been able to point out any suspicious thing about her.
"I'll see you at the next legal meeting on Tuesday. And please—dress well. Don't forget your shoes this time." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Ciao!"
And just like that, Suzy strutted out of the room, leaving Alice in a dazed stupor.
Alice sank to a squat, her hands on both sides of her head as everything came crashing fully on her.
She was doomed.
She was done for.
Exercise day? Fine, she'd survive.
Vegetarian life? Torture, but manageable.
But legal meetings and environmental conservation?
She let out a strangled groan. "What have I gotten myself into?"