Treacherous Hearts

Chapter One: The Letter

It all started three months ago. Three months to the day, in fact, that I found out my boyfriend was fucking his secretary. God, it's so cliche.

It was our anniversary. I had arrived home early from work to surprise him - I worked, at the time, as an executive assistant (read: office mule) for a high level media conglomerate, and I very rarely made it back to the apartment before nine pm. But tonight was special.

I would love to say that I felt something was off from the moment I walked through the door, but that's not quite true. I had kicked off my shoes and made it all the way to the bedroom before I realised.

Standing in the doorway, I watched, agog, as my boyfriend jerked himself off with one hand and spoke into the phone on the other. The things he was saying sounded like they were straight out of a badly written porno - phrases that he would never dare utter to me. And I pride myself on being pretty open in the bedroom.

I waited until he had finished, and watched as he came - I wasn't being considerate, I wanted to see whose name he screamed down the line. Alyna. His secretary. I was about to burst with rage. Until that moment, I don't think I knew what true anger felt like.  He spent another five minutes speaking with her; thanking her, for fuck's sake! Telling her he couldn't wait to see her in person. Mushy, sentimental, entirely insincere stuff. Not once did he turn towards me, not even when I moved to the foot of the bed. He was totally engrossed.

The fight that Jake and I had that night was messy. I was struck by the revelation that I had missed all of the red flags he had thrown my way. (I mean, a J name? Really?). He, on the other hand, was struck by the revelation that he had always hated me, actually, and that he was in love with the stunning, silly twenty-year-old that sat outside his office every day. Shocking. By the next morning I had moved out, quit my job and flown halfway across the country to stay with my sister while I tried to get my life back on track.

I arrived destitute, desperate, and spiralling further and further into depression. I stayed that way for a week. I could hardly look in the mirror; all I saw was the woman who had replaced me. I was just frumpy little Ali Thompson. Fat and ugly and washed up at twenty-three. God, I was pathetic. Red eyes, greasy hair, makeup still smudged on my cheeks. No wonder he didn't want me. I was old news. 

A week later, after a particularly lengthy crying session, I was pushed out the door by my always practical older sister Rita.

"Go!" She urged, "Get some fresh air! Meet some people! Get a coffee! Pet a dog, for fuck's sake. But please, for the love of God, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!! If I have to spend one more minute looking at that tear stained face of yours, I will lose it - and you know that when that happens I can't be held responsible for my actions".

Something in Rita's tone spurred me into action. I couldn't mope around the house for the rest of my life, unemployed and grieving a douchebag. I had to get myself out into the world again. I showered, finally, tied my hair into a messy bun, threw on some clothes (sweats, but at least they were clean) and left. But I never made it past the front porch. Because there, sitting on the welcome mat, nestled between plant pots and electricity bills, was the letter that would change my life forever. 

The gold trim on the envelope caught my eye - my sister and her wife are not fancy people, so this was definitely out of the ordinary. I picked it up and noticed a wax seal; blood-red and gleaming in the bright sunlight. Turning it over, I gasped; because this letter wasn't for Rita. It was for me. 

I almost collapsed onto the porch step in my haste to open the envelope. This was the most exciting thing to happen to me in weeks - well months, really. Ever since I moved in with Jake, I had felt my life stagnating. I became complacent in my job, as well as my love life. I had started to feel myself settle into mediocrity. Could this letter break me out of my rut?

I opened the envelope and slid the letter out with trembling hands. It was a thin sheet of paper, gold embossed just like the envelope and it felt... almost weighty. I somehow knew that it would hold great significance. Holding my breath, I began to read.

 Dear Ms. Thompson,

Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that we accept your application to appear on the exciting new game show, Treachery! We had an overwhelmingly large pool of applicants, but your story stood out from the crowd. 

Treachery! is a game of cunning, mischief and mayhem. Set in a grand mansion against the beautiful backdrop of rolling country hills, twenty strangers will fight the ultimate battle of wits for the grand prize of $1 Million. To win this money, all you need to do is survive.

There is, however, a catch. Though most who enter the mansion are Innocent players, there will be Saboteurs amongst you. These Saboteurs, chosen for their skill and cunning, will Assassinate an Innocent player every night. Those Assassinated will leave the game, never to return. Every night, players will gather to vote for the player they believe is most likely to be a Saboteur. That player is then Exiled from the game. 

If you think you have what it takes, call the number on the bottom of this letter.

We'll be waiting for you.

Signed, The Producers.

I was in shock. I hadn't entered any sort of competition... but I was intrigued. In fact, I was so ravenous for more information that I practically tore through the parchment searching for the phone number. Eventually, I found it.

Steadying my nerves, and taking a long, slow breath, I picked up the phone, and began to dial. 

So... what do you think? If you enjoyed it, if you didn't enjoy it, please let me know in the comments - this is my first ever Wattpad book so be gentle! Will be updating with more chapters later in the week, and publishing some other stuff that I have on the back burner. 

And yes, this is very loosely based on the Traitors, as I'm sure you can tell lol - I just finished the second season of the UK version and I had this idea. Don't worry, though, because my version will have plenty of twists and surprises (as well as romance...).