Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

days of privacy and being able to make mistakes without an audience.”
I hold back my eye roll and smile wider. Old people say things like that a
lot, as if the downfall of society started with Facebook.
“That reminds me,” Mimi pipes up again, eyeing my mother, “she needs
to delete her Twitter history, and I want access to any other secret accounts,
Clay.” She pins me with a look. “Don’t think we’re not aware they exist.”
My shoulders slump, but I put them back again, recovering. I’m not
giving her my hidden profiles. She’s the one who told me I could have
secrets.
“I’ve been reading articles,” she tells my mom as Tucker brings the next
course. “And the experts suggest deleting your history every once in a while
to spare any embarrassment down the road. People get fired over a bad tweet
from eight years ago.”
I groan inwardly. I wish my grandmother wasn’t so proactive.
“You need to think of your future,” she points out to me. “Your husband
and children who could be caught in the crossfire of something stupid you
said at this age.”
My mother nods, but Mimi cuts her off. “I would suggest it for you, as
well.”
My mom stills, swallowing her retort with her glass of water. I almost
snort. One of the reasons I love coming to these dinners is just to see my
mom still under her own mother’s thumb just like I’m under hers.
But then I see myself twenty years from now in my mom’s seat and her in
her mother’s, my daughter sitting where I am. Every woman at this table is
carrying a secret. What will my daughter be hiding?
“The foie gras,” my mom says to Tucker. “Amazing.”
“I’ll tell Peggy.”
His wife is the chef, but I haven’t eaten a bite. This dish is inhumane, and
I know my grandmother is challenging me on purpose.
“I have dresses in the den for you to try on for the ball,” she says, cutting
into the duck.
My mom coughs, swallowing a sip of water to clear her throat. “Mama,
we have her dress.”
But Mimi just looks at me.
Fuuuuuuuuuck.
My mom sighs. “What did you do to it, Clay?”
How did my grandmother find out? I’m tempted to throw Liv under the