Hinovel
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Summary
The bodyguard was obstinate, so last night, I decided to change my style in dealing with him. Something was intriguing about the man. He was overbearing, confident, and so sure about himself. He acted superior over me, and I hated it very much! Since I had a scheduled meeting with my staff, I got up early than usual. At a quarter to six, I was already prepared and ready to start my day. Before leaving my room, I envisioned myself having a good day at my workplace, but someone’s face ruined my mood when I got out of my bedroom. “Good morning, Madame,” he greeted with a wide grin on his face. In response, I arched my brows at him, but the arrogant man just smiled at me. As I proceeded down the hallway, I stared down the man who waited outside my bedroom and dismissed him entirely as I entered the elevator. “What are you doing, Lee?” I asked him why he was following me when I clarified to him last night that I didn’t need a bodyguard. In reply, he said in a monotone, “I have to be with you all the time.” His response drove me to raise my eyebrow and called him a liar. I responded, “That's crap, Lee!” He didn't say anything until we arrived at the breakfast room, where Aunt Jenny set my favourite breakfast. “Aunt, he is not allowed to eat with me,” I said. “It's essential that you watch your words, young woman!” Aunt Jenny reprimanded me for being rude to Lee, and I was mortified when Aunt Jenny confronted me in front of Lee. “I’m sorry,” I ended up apologising to Lee. “Apology accepted, Miss Selena,” Lee replied before he sat down across from me. I glared at him when I saw him grimaced, and I wondered what had gotten into him. Did he look down on me for acting like a spoiled brat? I isolated myself to deal with my eating issues and heavily regretted my decision in front of Aunt Jenny because the older woman was known for her strictness, and she has a vicious tongue. Since my mother had passed away, she was the one who reared me, loved me, nurtured me, and as a small kindness, I felt obligated to regard her as my mother. “I'm sorry, Aunt Jenny,” I apologised to her. “Not! You should apologise to him!” It seems as though Aunt Jenny stated, and I decided to pound my feet on the floor, but she refused to listen to my grievances and frowned at me. The words we say cannot always be taken back, as some might contend. Thus, I got up and helped the man load his plate with food, and then I sat down next to him. While Aunt Jenny's gaze was upon me, I looked at him in the eye and expressed my regret. The simple phrase “I'm sorry” was enough to provide me with an alibi, as it was untrue. “It's no problem,” he said. With that, he started to devour his breakfast. When Aunt Jenny left the table to check something in the kitchen, I kicked his foot under the table. He looked at me with defiance, but before he could respond, Aunt Jenny returned with two mugs of piping hot coffee. I had no choice but to remain civil with my bodyguard, no matter how I felt aggravated with his presence. “Enjoy your food, alright? I have some urgent matter to attend to,” Aunt Jenny said before she left me again with Lee. As soon as we were alone in the dining room, he stared at me, and the way I saw it, his eyes were full of lust. Unconsciously, I crossed my arms on my chest to block his vision, and he chuckled over my action. In response, I arched my brows towards him, and then I rolled my eyes heavenward. “You are quite nasty, Miss Montes,” he remarked. He said I was nasty, so I showed him what nasty meant, and he jumped in his seat after I intentionally poured my coffee into his crotch. “Oops! Sorry!” “Holy crap!” Lee cursed and snarled at me as he desperately tried to wipe the coffee off his pants. When he scowled at me, my stomach flipped, and I was terrified…for a second! He bore a fierce attitude, which informed me that it was not a good moment to start things up again, so I stood up and readied myself to leave, but Lee was quick enough to seize one of my wrists. “I can't believe you're trying to leave here without apologising!” His eyes had such a menacing glint that I ran away in terror. “Excuse me, sir, but I am in a hurry for a business meeting.” In a timid voice, I told him to let me go. “Please, take a seat,” he requested. At that time, I debated running away, but he appeared threatening enough for me to go for it. He was furious, outraged. “Okay, now talk.” When I finally had a moment to speak with him after we were seated, I showed him who the boss was, even if my nervousness increased the longer I waited for him to speak. “Can we put aside our differences and just focus on the task at hand?” When he asked in a more business-like tone, I felt ashamed for being unpleasant with him. He may have needed a job to support his family, and my disinterest could have harmed his employment. He was still there, though, and that unsettled me. “I don’t need a bodyguard, sir, so please, let's put an end to this discussion.” Even when I had gotten up to leave, he placed his large hands on my thighs to stop me from going. I turned my head away in disgust, but he didn't remove his filthy hands from my body! “I know that you preferred to be... by yourself!” Lee stated, and his statement made me nervous, and that made me fidget in my seat. “For a bodyguard, you are mentally deranged!” I became angry and cursed at him, but he only smirked at me. “Oh, how beautiful! I enjoyed watching your doll-eyes light up when you were glaring at me. I wonder whether that's the bed case as well.” He murmured the last words, and the terms had an unknown effect on me. “All right, then,” I agreed. “If you’re done, please wait for me in the living room,” he ordered and then earned a death stare from me.
PROLOGUE
She just got home when a bursting pain pulsed into and out of her head. It began to feel heavy and she could feel the dizziness starting to kick in. She wanted relief but there didn’t seem to be an end to her dilemmas. She let out a soft moan and grunts ran out of her mouth.
She was tired.
She was frustrated.
What happened earlier pushed the limit of her patience until there was nothing left in her system and cursed at the insecure woman for calling her a slut. Just because she worked as a secretary, it didn’t mean that she was a whore, who was out to seduce the boss.
She was exhausted and she felt sick but there was nothing she could do about it. The voices in her head screamed in unison and told her to find a way out of the misery she was in. She took a moment to gather her thoughts but conflicting ideas corrupted her mind. She tried to fight but she didn’t know if it was worth fighting for! She was hopeless!
It has been an hour since she sat in front of the mirror and eyed the scissor nearby. The mean words from her late father echoed inside her head, and with every second that passed she began to believe him. Blair cursed at the woman in the mirror and narrowed her eyes to check her appearance. She tied her long hair into a messy bun to check every pore on her face.
Everything went wrong in her life! She just lost her job because of a woman’s insecurity! She could probably let it slide but it didn’t happen once! Her longest tenure in a company would only be a week or less than a month. How would she keep on living without a stable income? She would starve to death!
She had no surviving family aside from her mother who abandoned her when she was only four years old, and her excuse for a father was abusive to her until the day he died. Until his last breath, he cursed at her mother and wished they didn’t look the same. As if it was her fault for inheriting her mother’s goddess-like feature!
Maybe he was right all this time!
Blair closed her eyes as her hands slowly inched their way toward the scissor and when her fingers touched the coldness of the blade, she grabbed it! Then, she untied her hair and without thinking thoroughly, she began cutting her hair. Little by little, long strands of jet-black hair fell onto the floor. However, when she stared at her image in the mirror, she cringed at her appearance.
She bit her lower lip as she strode towards the door, and went outside. She recalled that her father always has an extra shaver in his bathroom, and she’s on her way to retrieve it! She decided to go hairless and damn the consequences!
The door to his father’s room creaked when she pushed it slowly. The old man has been dead for several months, but it was her first time visiting his room, and it’s creepy. It was as if his spirit remained lingering in his bedroom, and she had to sprint towards the bathroom.
The sound of her heartbeat was almost deafening as she left and returned to her room, with the shaver in her right hand. She took several deep breaths before she resumed sitting in front of the mirror, and shaved her hair!
Ten minutes later, she was torn between crying and laughing at her appearance. She’s bald and she looked like a monk! She looked horrible without a single hair on her head, and she regretted her impulsive decision to shave it. She stared at the mirror without blinking her eyes, and she almost jumped when someone knocked on her door.
It must be Tracy, her tenant. She regretted her decision when she couldn’t even show her bald head to anyone, especially to her tenant. Tracy has been renting the extra bedroom even when her father was still alive, and they have been friends since then. She searched for a hoodie in her wardrobe and wore it on top of her clothes before she went to open the door.
“Hey,” she greeted the woman who brought a bag of goodies from the bakeshop where she worked. “Is that for me?” She inquired but before Tracy could respond, she took the bag from her, and let the woman in.
“Why are you wearing a hoodie? Don’t you feel hot?” She had been wondering from the moment Blair opened the door because it was thirty-eight degrees outside! She looked around, and when her eyes got a glimpse of black hair on the floor, her eyes widen and aimed at the hoodie on Blair’s head. “Shit! What have you done?” She exclaimed upon seeing her bald head for the first time.
Blair was embarrassed when her bald head was exposed, but she couldn’t do anything about it anymore. It was done, and the only thing she could do was wait for her hair to grow again. “I don’t want to be Blair anymore, Tracy.” She said.
When she first saw her landlord’s daughter, she envied Blair’s one-of-a-kind beauty and wished she would look as great as her. However, Blair has a bad fortune and her father always blamed it for her looks and said that it was cursed. “What do you mean, Blair? Why would you believe your father? He didn’t do anything but tormented you!”
Blair sat down on the edge of her bed, and Tracy did the same. “What if he’s right? Ever since, I was unlucky!” She exclaimed as she recalled how much she endured while growing up.
“But your hair!” Tracy’s hand moved to touch Blair’s head, but the woman was fast enough to block her hand.
“They will grow again,” she smiled while massaging the shiny scalp and both women burst into laughter. “So, how do you like my new look?” She asked.
Tracy cringed while staring at the hairless head of her friend. “What’s your plan?” She inquired.
“Hmmm, I’m not sure, but maybe I should shop for a man’s clothes. Or maybe I should get a tattoo or a piercing to match my appearance, what do you think?” She imagined other ways inside her head how to look manly.
Tracy pouted her lips while she squinted her eyes at Blair. Although she didn’t agree with her plans at all, she wouldn’t stop her, and the least she could do was to support her as a friend. “Oh well, your figure may be slim, but it’s the trend nowadays. It’s painful to have a tattoo, and you know, it’s permanent. Won’t you regret it later?” She asked while eyeing Blair’s blemished-free skin.
“In my current situation, regret is out of the question Tracy. I’m desperate!” She lied.
“I understand. Should I get inked as well?” Tracy suggested, and when Blair smiled, they both wrinkled their noses and grinned.