Mistress Of Hypnosis Holidazed 〈Limited • ROUNDUP〉

And then there was Cora.

For the first time in seventeen years, the Joule family had a wonderful, peaceful, genuinely happy Christmas Eve. They played charades without cheating. They complimented each other’s gifts. Mark only had one more scotch, and he sipped it thoughtfully, telling Chloe how much he appreciated her. Mistress Of Hypnosis Holidazed

Lila Joule sat at the head of the table, a string of real pearls resting against her cashmere turtleneck. She was the family’s unspoken matriarch of disaster, a woman who could weaponize a compliment about the roast beef. Her son, Mark, was already on his third scotch. His wife, Chloe, was trying to stop their toddler from launching a Brussels sprout into the crystal chandelier. And Mark’s sister, Serena, was glaring at her phone, freshly dumped and radiating bitter, peppermint-scented fury. And then there was Cora

“Just for a moment, Mark,” Cora said. Her eyes locked onto his. There was a flicker of something ancient and patient in her gaze. Mark’s protest died on his lips. His jaw went slack. They complimented each other’s gifts

“And now,” Cora murmured, the pendulum coming to a stop in her palm, “when I count down from three to one, you will all feel a deep, abiding sense of peace. The perfect, simple peace of a silent night. No arguments. No resentments. Just the quiet joy of being together. Three… two… one.”

The chain swung. Back and forth. Tick. Tock. Like a gentle, hypnotic grandfather clock marking a time that didn’t exist.

“Enough,” Lila finally snapped, her voice cutting through the wailing. “This is Christmas . Can we please just… be happy for one hour?”