Callea covered her face with a magazine so they won't see her face. "I am not Honey V." They didn't look alike except for the hairstyle. "Excuse me. I need to go."
She was about to stand up but someone took the magazine for her. "Don't go yet, Honey V. Let's have some picture," said a man with a perverted smile. He tried to have a photo with her then flashes from the cellphone cameras rained on her.
She suddenly went still. She didn't know what to do. Every flash of the camera was blinding her. The continuous clicks were defeating. Terror started to creep on her.
Why did Deive bring her here? The people were vicious and annoying. I was not even Honey V yet I felt bad for the woman. How could they judge the person and throw accusations against her?
But unlike the actress, Callea was not a public figure. She didn't like that kind of attention. She wanted to run away. She wanted to go back to her dark mansion where it was peaceful and safe. She didn't want to be with people who worship beauty but they had vicious souls. They were the real evil.
Callea covered her face with her arms. "Leave me alone!"
"Why are you a snob?" the guy complained then put his arms on her shoulder. "You are beautiful yet you are a snob."
The hair on her body rose when she saw how near the man was to her and he touched her without permission. When he grinned at her, he suddenly transformed into something else in her eyes. He became a monster. A monster who wanted to possess her and he would ruin everyone who wanted to get her.
She pushed him away with all her might. "Stay away from me. I am not beautiful. I am not that actress. Don't come near me." Her body was shaking so hard and tear freely fell from her eyes. She hugged herself. She was so scared. Suddenly, the people around her turned into monsters. They wanted to hurt her and there was nothing she could do about it. She sat on the couch and cried helplessly. "Stop it! Leave me alone!"
"What ruckus is this?" The people parted when the guard arrived. "Why are you bothering the customer?"
The guard was followed by Deive. He crouched in front of her and held her hand. "Callea, are you okay? What did they do to you? Did they hurt you?" She only answered him with a sob.
"You are overreacting. We just want a picture with Honey V," said a gay teenager with red and white polka dots hairband as he rolled his eyes. "Are you her boyfriend now, handsome?"
"We just want to take a picture with her!" complained the other men.
"I am a fan of Honey V."
"I am not Honey V!" Callea wailed then ruffled her own hair. She hid her face with her long hair so they won't see her anymore. "Now what? Do we still look alike? Do you still think I am pretty? I am not beautiful. I don't to be beautiful." She was hysterical now and she could help it.
Deive caressed her face to calm her. "It's okay..."
"I am not okay. This is not okay, Deive." She tapped his hand away. "This is your fault. Why did you insist on that makeover? I told you I don't want to be beautiful."
Callea's beauty was a curse. She didn't want to go back to the past. She didn't want to hurt anybody because of her beauty. And while people see her as beautiful, bad things will always happen.
But people didn't want to leave. They kept on taking photos and videos of her breakdown even if the security guards were telling them to stop it and leave the store if they won't buy. It was a circus. Callea couldn't breathe anymore.
The manager came forward. "Sir, you can use the other door. There's a passage for employees only. They can't follow you there. The security will escort you out."
Deive put his arms around her. "It is okay now. We will get out of here. Can you stand up?"
She tentatively nodded and let him help her stand. The security led them out of the boutique with the mob in their wake. His body was supposed to offer protection and warmth but she was numb. She couldn't feel any heat. Not even that giddy feeling that he used to evoke on her had dried up. Ever since he brought back the beauty for everyone to see, he ruined her personality. She was like a vampire that was exposed to the killer sun. Because of Deive, she had tasted the nightmare that she didn't want to go back to anymore.
"Don't touch me," she commanded Deive when they passed the security for the employees' corridor. She pushed his hand away.
"But you are not well..."
"I can handle myself," she said in a chilling voice. She didn't bother to brush her hair off her face. She let her hair hide her from the world. She walked like a zombie. She felt so dead inside. "Let's go home."
"I will bring you to a clinic or the hospital..."
"I want to go home," Callea told him through gritted teeth as she kept on walking. She didn't care about his other plans. If she had to walk back to Villa Celesta, she would do it just to get out of that place.
He held her hand. "Parking area is this way."
She was quiet while Deive silently leads her to his car. There was still security who followed them. They made sure that they lost the mob of Honey V's fans and haters. And it a good thing the few people in the parking lot didn't bother her.
Deive opened the seat beside the driver's seat but Callea opened the door for the backset and sat there. Deive sighed and thanked the security personnel who assisted her.
Deive touched her face gently. "I am sorry, Callea. I didn't know that they would think that you look like that actress. I don't even know her or her scandals. Well, you are beautiful and maybe they saw the similarity."
She moved her face away from him. "Let's just go home," she said while tears kept on rolling her face.