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On our wedding night, Milton Vance's childhood sweetheart walked into the bridal suite with a pet carrier and a grin on her face.
She opened the box, and a corn snake as thick as a thumb hissed and flicked its tongue, and the sight of it made my scalp crawl.
"A wedding's no fun without a little mischief. This is my pet snake, I've raised her for five years. Consider it my gift to the happy couple."
I froze where I stood, my hands and feet going numb.
The snake slid up along the hem of my dress, heading straight for my collar.
Milton leaned against the doorframe and let out an easy little laugh.
"Joy Summers's just messing with you. The snake's not venomous, and even if it bites it doesn't hurt. Just put up with it a while."
"It's a big happy day. Where's the fun if nobody stirs things up?"
My voice shook.
"I'll say this one last time. Take it away!"
Milton frowned and planted himself in front of the door.
"Be good. Don't ruin such a wonderful day."
I dragged in a breath and dialed the snake farm.
"Dad, that batch of nasty infused-liquor snakes at the farm, load every last one and get them to the third floor of the Southgate Hotel. The faster the better!"
...
Before I could even hang up, Milton snatched the phone out of my hand.
He threw it into the trash.
"Frieda Simmons, this is a family matter. There's no need to go calling outsiders, is there?"
He frowned, his whole face set in displeasure.
Joy covered her mouth and sneered. "Come on, don't oversell it. Everybody knows a king python is worth a fortune and you can't even buy one at any price."
"You're not seriously going to have your dad haul one over here just to save face, are you?"
The moment she said it, Milton and his friends broke into laughter, all of them looking at me with mockery in their eyes.
Someone pulled out a phone and aimed the camera at me.
Filming the whole thing.
I clenched my teeth, my shoulders trembling and unable to stop.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw that little silver snake lift its head, tongue flickering, climbing up my wedding gown.
"Milton, are you really not going to do anything about this?"
My shout startled him for a second, then he frowned, his whole face gone impatient.
"It's just a little pet. Do you have to make such a fuss?"
"Today's supposed to be a happy day. So what if Joy has a little fun in the bridal suite?"
He shot me a glance and gave a cold snort.
"Besides, you stepped on Joy's pet on purpose before. She hasn't even held it against you, and that's pretty generous of her."
"And here you are, picking and complaining."
A vein throbbed at my temple.
She was the one who brought that pet snake to provoke me on purpose, and I only stepped on it because I hadn't noticed!
I tried to stand, but that silver-white snake was climbing fast.
It was getting closer and closer.
A shudder ran through me.
The old childhood terror came rushing back.
My dad ran a snake farm, but I'd always been afraid of snakes, so he'd once thought about selling the whole thing off.
There was no helping it. Too many big buyers wanted the nasty stock, and supply couldn't keep up, so he'd just moved to a new place and kept raising them.
I never thought a day would come when I'd be bullied by one of these things!
I worked up my nerve and remembered what my dad had told me once, that you strike hard at the vital spot, and go in without hesitation.
But the next second, Milton grabbed my wrist, quick as anything.
He wound rope around it twice, hard.
"Milton! Have you lost your mind? Let go of me!"
I struggled with everything I had.
But the more I fought, the tighter he pulled it.
His fingers dug into my face.
His voice went cold.
"Consider this payback for the snake of Joy's you hurt before."
The rope chafed my wrist raw until it was a bloody mess, and the pain had tears streaming down my face.
Joy's eyes lit up, and she snapped photo after photo of my face.
She yanked the bow off my shoulder, baring the pale skin underneath.
Milton's buddies egged her on, whistling in excitement.
"Look how white she is! Wonder if snakes are like loaches, if they'll wriggle their way into all sorts of places!"
Every single person in the room laughed, all of them in on it.
Joy raised an eyebrow, pleased with herself. "Only one way to find out, isn't there?"
"That's enough out of you! Milton! Are you really just going to stand there and watch them bully me?"
I bit down hard on my lip, the taste of blood rising in my throat. "Do you people have any idea who I am?"
"You do this, and you're not afraid I'll call the police and have every one of you arrested?"
I thought that might make them back off.
Instead Joy doubled over laughing, like she'd heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Come on, I'm just having a little fun to lighten the mood. Why are you so uptight?"
"Milton hasn't even said anything, and here you are, can't take a joke at all."
She clutched the little snake, that smile never reaching her eyes, a flash of cruelty at the bottom of them.
Then she pinched the snake's head, aimed it at my collar, and shoved it in.
