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THREE
CINDERELLA HAD SOME SHITTY STEPSISTERS AND SO DID I
"We are here, Miss Mclean."
Piper pushed her aviator sunglasses down her nose to take a look at her mother's new summer home, which had been recently renovated during the winter. It was large and sprawling, reminding her of her own house in Malibu as it faced the ocean.
"Thank you," she said to the driver and clambered out of the car her father had booked to take her from JFK and drive her towards the Hamptons, where her mother, her stepfather and her two stepsisters and one half-sister were awaiting her.
"No problem, Miss Mclean," the driver replied crisply, "I'll help you with your baggage."
She nodded and stepped out onto the cobblestone sidewalk. The driver helped her unload her Louis Vuitton roller bag and set it on the footpath before heading back into the car and driving away. She sighed and pushed her fringe out of her face, staring at the house before her.
The maid had let her in, greeting her cordially and the walls were coated in a shade of creamy beige and bamboo shoots in Balinese floor vases occupied every corner, oriental wooden shades and linen couches with their tasseled velvet pillows and throws in comfortable Indian cotton; her mother's house resembled something that came out of a tropical holiday. She stepped into a large, regal-looking foyer with a checkered marble tile floor and an elegant, diamond chandelier sending spheres of bright light across the room.
"Piper!" her mother cried out. Aphrodite Mclean- as Piper remembered her when she was married to her Dad- or Aphrodite Winchester- as she was now called after her marriage to Ares Winchester; the newest addition to her foray of husbands she had been quite accompanied with- was positively glowing as she strode up confidently in a teal shift dress and strappy green stilettos that clicked upon the wooden floor. "You're back! My darling, baby girl. Oh, you look so good."
"Hey Mum," Piper drew her lips into a reluctant, withheld smile. "Long time no see."
"Well, you should meet your sisters!" cried Aphrodite, "This is Silena-" she gestured to a pretty sweet-faced girl with kind eyes and big dimples, "-Drew," another pretty girl but unlike Silena's sweet natured appearance, Drew was pretty in a way guys liked- with an ample cleavage, a sexy exotic air around her and a toned, slim physique; probably from doing yoga or pilates, "-and Lacey." Lacey was a thirteen-year-old blonde girl with pink braces and a sundress, who flashed Piper an adorable smile when she saw her.
"Hi." Short, bitter and acidic; which should do nicely in suggesting how she felt about this whole thing.
"So," Aphrodite never faltered, glowing like a neon flare, "How was your flight?"
Piper bristled. Almost eleven years she hadn't seen this woman and she acted like everything was okay? But Piper could play along. "Okay," she said, hoping her clipped tone was an indication that she wasn't in the mood for talking and to further the implications she was some sort of spoiled Hollywood bonafide, she flipped out her phone and began scrolling through Instagram, blatantly ignoring them. Her gaze flicked up slightly and her eyebrows arched. "Well?"
