Perfection Redefined

Chapter 1

Crack. Came a resounding slap to her face, reddening her smooth cheek.

"Your mother is gone now. You will do as I say Colette." Her father said in an eerily even voice, just the slightest twitch of his ice blue eyes giving away the anger he fostered towards her.

Her brother watched from the corner, not coming to her defense.

And so, she did as he said, for the next fourteen years.

*

"Colette."

She descended down the grand staircase, one step carefully in front of the other, her concentration divided between her dainty stilettos and keeping a straight back. Her chocolate curls, brushed repeatedly bounced with every step she took. Down the twirling staircase stood her father, her blonde, blue-eyed, groomed to perfection, lawyer of a father who was obsessed first and foremost, with perfection.

His manners outside their home were a match for the royal family's but inside closed doors...Colette shuddered to think a moment beyond finishing her descent to the bottom of the endless staircase. Her father's outstretched arm awaited, to escort her to the dining room.

The Addington family was at a dinner party hosted by London's most famous law firm, Pennington & Morgan, desperately trying to coax Alistair Addington to join their already uber- prestigious firm. Colette knew Alistair would never budge for she knew they simply did not match her father's impossible standards or monetary inclinations.

Smiling politely to the crowd watching her grasp her father's arm, Colette walked silently to the vast dining room now buzzing with people. She spotted her elder brother Anthony, a spitting image of Alistair, chatting with his table partners.

"Find your place card Colette and for god's sake straighten your back." Alistair growled at his daughter, all the while maintaining an even face.

"Yes, father, I apologize."

Colette straightened her already aching back and walked around the tables unobtrusively, trying to find a place card with 'Addington, C." She spotted herself at a table full of young men, some of whom she recognized from her father's law firm.

"Good evening." Colette mumbled as the men rose, waiting for her to seat herself.

The five men at the table openly admired the young woman who gracefully made place for herself at the table. Anybody with sight could see that Colette Addington was a beautiful woman who carried herself with utmost grace and humility. Today, she looked sensational in a champagne coloured satin dress, that contrasted starkly with her chocolate waves and striking green eyes.

"Miss Addington, what a pleasure" said the man to her immediate right, who introduced himself as Geoffrey Woods, a junior associate at Pennington and Morgan. He was the first to notice the astonishing beauty who was luckily at his table, and very much single, if the rumour mill was to be trusted.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Woods." Smiled Colette politely, trying to maintain respectable coolness towards the overly eager man seated next to her.

If only he knew he had no chance, none whatsoever. Even now, she could feel the familiar familial gaze boring into her back, watching her every move.

After hasty introductions, the first course was served. The smells of grilled shrimp cocktails tantalized Colette's senses, her stomach growling in neglect. All her meals, when she received them, were overseen by her father, who let her eat only the bare minimum, incessantly watching her figure.