The next day, the weather is good, sunny, and cloudless. It seems like nature is also happy that almost all the problems are solved, and life is getting better every single day and coming back to normal. After lunchtime, Terrence is in a spacious hotel room of the luxury hotel where he is living while being in London at the moment. He is sitting on a comfortable bed, drinking a cup of delicious hot coffee, and slowly turning pages of the newest issue of a magazine that discusses the latest rumors and news from the show business.
At some moment, the man suddenly sees an article with a loud title, "The rich fraud died when attempting on the life of the model", in which Raquelle Cameron's name is mentioned, and in which there are photos of her. Being interested in the title and the mention of the familiar name, Terrence starts closely reading everything written in the magazine.
"[…] We have recently told you that, Raquelle Cameron, 23, was charged with an egoistic behavior and treating her colleagues terribly. We mentioned that the young girl suddenly disappeared after news portals began to publish articles about that case, and nobody could find her and say something about her. However, some time ago, we received news about her current location.
As the checked source told a famous Internet portal, Ms. Cameron is now in London. She is living there with her relative, her aunt, Alicia, who was known as the lover of the late owner of the network of cloth shops ‘The Woodham Shop’ named Gilbert Woodham. His shops are still open throughout Great Britain and are still very popular. We got the news about the location of the disappeared model thanks to the criminal case that happened literally some time ago.
A few days ago, Cameron’s relative was kidnapped by a woman named Eleanor Woodham, 37, the daughter of the late Gilbert, who was killed in May 1998. As Ms. Woodham said, she decided to kidnap Alicia Middleton because she wanted to take revenge for the death of her father, who, as she said, was killed by that woman many years ago. The daughter of the late businessman, Woodham, swore to destroy and take revenge on the killer for the death of her close person and decided to get Raquelle Cameron involved in this case.
As the Internet portal said, yesterday, Ms. Cameron went to meet Eleanor Woodham along with the members of the police staff when that woman called her and told her to go to the meeting at her home. When Raquelle had given the money to the criminal that she told her to take, the police surrounded Ms. Woodham from all sides at once. But the criminal was not going to give up. At some moment, she took a gun and threatened to kill Raquelle. Eleanor refused to give in to the police and said dying would have been much better than giving up to the police.
The opposition lasted for a long enough time – until one of the policemen changed the turn of events. When Eleanor was ready to put the trigger to shoot Miss Cameron down, he waited for some time and shot Ms. Woodham. As a result, the woman got a serious gun wound on the chest. Unfortunately, an emergency came too late, and Eleanor Woodham died due to the massive loss of blood. When doctors came to the destination, they had only to confirm the fact of the death of the daughter of the businessman Woodham, and the police had no choice but to tell her family what happened. One journalist tried to ask one of the members of the Woodham family to give a comment, but they refused to tell more. Even if they say that their whole family is deeply shocked, and that ‘wonderful and good woman would be buried at the nearest time after finishing all the necessary procedures.
Fortunately, Ms. Cameron and Mrs. Middleton are fine now. As far as we know, they came back home and are now coming to themselves after everything they had to get through. The police in London thanked Raquelle for helping them catch the criminal, who, as it turned out, had been robbing honest people for many years. However, her family categorically denies this information and says Eleanor Woodham was always as honest and good as her late, all-favorite father, Gilbert Woodham…" the article in the magazine says.
Terrence does not read the article until the end because reading all of this is enough for him. The dumbfounded man sharply closes the magazine and puts it aside, exhaling slowly and not being able to believe everything he just read.
“So, she was really at that meeting yesterday…” Terrence says thoughtfully. “With Eleanor… Eleanor Woodham… And that woman is already dead…”
Terrence takes a little sip of coffee.
“So, if it’s true, I really admire that girl,” Terrence says quietly with a slight smile. “Admired Raquelle’s bravery. I’ve always admired brave girls, who could stand up for themselves. Who wouldn’t let anyone hurt them.”
Terrence smiles much wider.
“Amazing girl!” Terrence exclaims with admiration. “She didn’t get scared of being under threat. She probably knew what was waiting for her but went to that meeting and met that woman.”
Terrence shakes his head and scratches his temple, drinking some coffee.
“Anyway, even if Eleanor was bad, I’m sorry that she died,” Terrence says thoughtfully. “However, that woman was the one to blame… She should’ve given up when being surrounded instead of threatening to kill Raquelle. It wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t gone too far. She would’ve just gone to prison, and her family wouldn’t have to think of the funeral of her.”
Terrence exhales quietly, rubbing his knee with his hand.
“Anyway, I’m very glad everything ended well for Raquelle, and she and her aunt are alive and healthy,” Terrence says confidently. “If something had happened to her, I would’ve had no meaning to look for her here. My travel would've been worthless.”
Terrence glances at a big window in the room and frowns slightly.
“But now everyone will find out where she is hiding because of that case,” Terrence notices thoughtfully. “Raquelle wouldn’t surely hide from everyone, as she wanted to. Magazines and newspapers already said she was in London.”
Terrence shakes his head.
“Well, she should’ve known people would know it early or late,” Terrence adds. “Raquelle couldn’t hide for her whole life.”
Terrence sighs quietly, later puts his empty cup on the table near the bed, and runs his hand sharply over his little disheveled hair. And then he takes the magazine again and runs his eyes over the article about Raquelle and Eleanor, deciding to read it from start to end.
“Wait…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully, frowning slightly. “It says Alicia Middleton killed the men. Raquelle’s aunt killed Eleanor’s father! She killed a certain Gilbert!”
Terrence shakes his head with his widely open eyes.
“Oh, shit…” Terrence cannot believe it. “Is that true? Did Raquelle’s relative get in touch with that family and kill the father of that woman?”
The shocked Terrence reads the part that talks about the murder of Eleanor’s father, which was committed by Alicia.
“What a twist…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully. “I didn’t expect it…”
Terrence exhales sharply.
“Damn, I don’t even know what to think…” Terrence says quietly. “I can’t believe Raquelle’s family has a killer. I've got nothing to say! Yes, maybe, that woman killed the man accidentally, against her wish. But still… She killed the man…”
Terrence swallows up nervously.
“As far as I understand, Raquelle is aware of that,” Terrence assumes. “Eleanor probably told her why she wanted to take revenge on Alicia. I don’t think she would’ve kept it a secret. And I don’t think her auntie would’ve found the courage to tell her niece such terrible things.”
After reading the article again, Terrence puts the magazine aside and sharply runs his hands over his hair and face, setting his eyes into the distance.
“Okay, I think I should talk to Natalia right now,” Terrence decides. “That girl probably knows the story that happened to Raquelle. Read this article and knows what happened to the family member of her friend. Or maybe, she even knows something about Alicia. Natalia said she had known that woman for many years… So, she could tell me something.”
Not thinking too much, Terrence takes his smartphone from the table placed near the bed and types Natalia's phone number quite quickly. He waits for the answer for a few seconds and then hears the familiar feminine voice:
“Hey, Terrence!” Natalia greets amicably, definitely seeing a familiar number that belongs to Terrence on the screen of her phone. “Good morning!”
“Hi, Natalia,” Terrence exclaims with a slight smile. “Good morning to you, too.”
“Listen, I was gonna call you. I wanted to tell you something.”
“M-m-m… It seems like I know what.”
“Really?”
“Wanna talk about everything magazines and newspapers are talking about?”
“Yeah…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully and puts her cup on a coffee table. “I read something in one magazine… I bought it when I decided to go to a shop near this place.”
“And someone brought that magazine right into my room this morning. So, I was drinking coffee and reading everything that was written in it.”
“Alexis really told me the truth yesterday. Raquelle went to the meeting with Eleanor Woodham to save Alicia.”
“I know. It says Eleanor died after a massive blood loss. Someone from the police shot her because she didn’t wanna give up.”
“Yes, I know.” Natalia falls into silence for a second and sighs quietly. “My God, I still can't believe my friend was trying to put herself in danger.”
“I know, I also feel bad because of this thought,” Terrence nods with sadness in his eyes. “Your friend started a dangerous game and could’ve suffered. That woman was definitely dangerous and determined to destroy your friend and her relative.”
“But thank God, she’s fine now, as the article says, and her aunt is free now,” Natalia notices with relief.
“Hey, did you also read what they wrote about Alicia?”
“About that woman killing Eleanor’s father and about Ms. Woodham reeving on her for that?”
“Yes.”
“I read it! And I’m shocked! I don’t wanna believe Alicia could do that!”
“You think it’s true?”
“I would like to believe it’s not. Alicia is such a good and kind woman, who couldn’t hurt a fly.”
“But since Eleanor didn’t hide that she was revenging Alicia for her father, it might be the truth.”
“I don’t exclude. But even if it’s the truth, I’m sure it happened accidentally. Alicia didn't actually wanna kill him.”
“I don’t know, Natalia, I don’t…” Terrence puts his hand on his forehead. “I can’t decide if I should believe in this story. If I should believe Raquelle’s family has got a killer.”
“It’s probably the truth,” Natalia assumes.
“But I didn’t understand something…” Terrence frowns slightly. “Since Alicia is free now, it happened that she was found non-guilty? Or was she in prison for a little time?”
“I can’t say anything. Nothing is written about it.”
“Maybe, we check the Internet and look for information about the murder? Lexi said the father of Eleanor’s name was Gilbert. Gilbert Woodham… Since his family is known in England, someone could publish something about them.”
“Yes, yes, I’ve been thinking about it. But at first, I wanted to talk to you and get your opinion. Or maybe, you know something about this murder and could make this situation clear.”
“No, Terrence, I swear I knew nothing about that murder,” Natalia protests confidently. “I also got shocked when I read that article. I’ve always known Alicia as a very good woman, who has always been deeply religious and often goes to a crunch.”
“Deeply religious?”
“Yes. For as long as I remember, Alicia has always treated it very seriously.”
“Interesting…” Terrence frowns slightly. “Is this how she is trying to ask for forgiveness for her sins?”
“Maybe,” Natalia shrugs. “I heard many killers become religious at their wish and get deeper into everything about that.”
“Oh, poor Raquelle…” Terrence sighs tiredly. “I’m imagining what she felt when she found out her aunt killed the man.”
“I’m so sorry for her.”
“Who do you think she found it out from? From Eleanor or Alicia?”
“I prefer thinking it could be Eleanor. Alicia would be ashamed of talking about it if it was really the truth.”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Terrence throws a quick look aside and runs his hand over his hair.
“Okay, so what do we do now?” Terrence wonders, running his hand through his hair. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know, Terrence…” Natalia sighs tiredly. “I can’t say anything.”
“Listen, hasn’t the girl you talked to yesterday contacted you yet?”
“Alexis? Erm… No…”
“But you said she promised to contact you when she knew something about Raquelle and her aunt.”
“Yeah, but that girl has told me nothing yet. No call. No message. My phone is always with me, but she hasn’t called me.”
“Damn!” Terrence swears.
“I was also worried and thought something had happened to Raquelle. But since the article said she was fine, it means it’s the truth.”
“Yeah, but why did that girl say nothing to you?”
“I don’t know, maybe, she was busy. Helped Cameron and her aunt come to themselves. And she got so busy with it that she forgot me.”
“Yeah… What a twist…”
“C’mon, there’s no need to talk about it! The important thing is that we know Alicia and Raquelle are fine, and they’re safe and sound now.”
“Right…” Terrence thinks for two seconds. “In this case… You can call Raquelle. You can try to go to the home of your friend’s relative and try to talk to that girl again.”
“Erm…” Natalia bites her lip slightly. “You know… No… I will better do this somehow next time.”
“Do you think you shouldn't bother them now?”
“I think they’d better have a rest… Both of them got through many terrible things. My friend would hardly be able to talk to someone now.”
“I agree…” Terrence nods. “Imposing ourselves on her right now would be a bad thing.”
“But I madly wanna take my phone, type Raquelle’s number, and find out everything that’s happening to her. And ask her about the story of Alicia.”
“You’re right. I’d really wanna explain everything, but I think we’d really better wait for a while.”
“But the question is, how long would we have to wait? When would Raquelle come to herself and be able to talk to us?”
“I don’t know, Natalia…” Terrence sighs quietly, doubling over slightly. “I don’t know…”
“I…” Natalia falls into silence for two seconds. “Oh, listen, MacClife… Someone’s trying to call me on my mobile phone… I got a message with a plea to call someone.”
“Call?” Terrence wonders. “Maybe, that is the girl?”
“Maybe. Could you wait for a while? I will quickly answer the call and then call you!”
“No problem! I will be waiting for your call.”
“Okay, I will be back now!”
Terrence finishes the call and puts his phone aside. Then he decides to use the moment and put on something good in case he has to go out somewhere. The man opens a closet, quickly finds something he likes, and changes his clothes. And then he takes a black jacket carefully placed on his bed, puts it on, and quickly brushes his black, glossy, luxury hair. A few seconds later, Terrence starts looking at the reflection in the mirror with his head proudly raised, admiring himself again and smiling much wider.
***
Meanwhile, Natalia is in her room at the hotel, sitting on the sofa in her soft, terry white robe, drinking coffee after taking a hot bath. When she finishes the talk with Terrence, the girl closely reads the message she got from the number she does not know. It says someone was trying to call her but did not do it because she was already talking to someone. The author of this message asks her to call them when she gets some free time.
Natalia decides not to waste time and types the number she got the message from, starting to patiently wait for the answer. Which she gets quickly enough.
“Hello,” someone’s feminine voice on the phone pronounces.
“Erm, hello,” Natalia greets thoughtfully. “You sent me a message a few minutes ago and asked me to call you.”
“Yes, yes, that’s me!”
“Excuse me, who are you?”
“It’s Lexi. Alexis Milton. Yesterday, you talked to me. You were looking for your friend, Raquelle.”
“Ah, Lexi!” Natalia smiles slightly. “Yes, yes, I got it. Good morning.”
“Good morning. Sorry for bothering you.”
“It’s okay.”
“Were you talking to someone?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry it happened.”
“Forgive me for not calling you yesterday and not telling you Raquelle and Alicia were fine.”
“It’s fine.”
“You see… They needed my support. I should’ve supported them. And then I left their home at a very late time.”
“I completely get it. Do not explain anything.”
“Do I tell you everything that happened? Or do you know everything?”
“Erm…” Natalia bites her lip slightly. “I… I know something… From newspapers… I recently read an article in a magazine, in which they said about the death of Eleanor Woodham and Raquelle being in London.”
“So, do you already know Raquelle is fine now?” Alexis concludes.
“Yes, I do. Is she really okay?”
“Yes, yes, do not worry. Your friend is absolutely fine.”
“And Alicia?”
“Alicia is fine, too. She already went somewhere this morning and asked me to do something.”
“Do you think they’ve come to themselves?”
“I don’t know. Maybe, they haven’t done it yet. But they decided not to think about it and to keep moving on.”
“Listen, is that true the woman, who was threatening them, died?”
“It’s the truth,” Alexis confirms. “Eleanor Woodham died. In the way they said.”
“Oh, my God…”
“A gun wound.”
“My gosh…”
“She didn’t want to give up. So, the police had to shoot her. But they did it so that she lost very much blood and did not survive.”
“My gosh, I can’t believe it.”
“Anyway, you shouldn't think about it. The important thing is that Raquelle and Alicia are home and absolutely fine now.”
“Thank God!” Natalia exhales sharply. “I was worried for the whole evening and afraid that something happened to them.”
“No, no, Natalia, don’t worry,” Alexis pronounces softly. “They are alright now.”
“Great…”
“So… If you want, you can meet Raquelle, as you wanted to do it.”
“Is she at Alicia’s home?”
“She is not now.”
“And when will she come back?”
“Who knows…”
“Don’t you know where she went?”
“Just decided to walk in the city!”
“Do you think it would be good to impose myself on her right now?”
“I don’t know, you decide.”
“Maybe, I wait for a while before she comes to herself after everything that happened?”
“I personally think it would be great if you gave Raquelle your support. She needs it now.”
“I just don’t want to show up at the wrong time.”
“I don’t think it’s such a bad moment now.”
“You think?”
“Anyway, you can just call her and tell her that you’ve come here. Let Raquelle decide when she wants to meet you.”
“Okay, I will think about when I’d better call her,” Natalia says thoughtfully.
“I’m sure she will be very happy to see you. And Alicia won’t refuse to accept you.”
“Did you say nothing about me?”
“No word.”
“And about Terrence?”
“As you wished.”
“Great!” Natalia smiles shyly. “I’m so happy you did what I asked you about.”
“I am really sorry about not calling you yesterday.”
“It’s alright, Lexi. I didn’t tell you to call me at once.”
“Better late than never. Right?”
“Yes. Anyway, thank you very much, Lexi. I understood you well and am madly grateful to you for everything you’ve done for me.”
“You’re welcome, Natalia,” Alexis pronounces amicably.
“You helped me much.”
“If you decide to visit Alicia and Raquelle, I will be happy to talk to you.”
“Thanks, Lexi. You’re very nice.”
“Anyway, you can contact Cameron without problems and agree to a meeting with her.”
“Thanks,” Natalia thanks with a slight smile.
“In this case, see you soon.”
“Yeah. Goodbye. I hope we will meet again.”
“I hope. All the best.”
Natalia finishes the talk, puts her smartphone on the coffee table, and sighs quietly with a slight smile, not hiding her happiness about Raquelle being alright and finally getting a chance to meet her.
“Oh, thank You, God!” Natalia exclaims. “I’m so happy my friend is alright. I was worried something bad would happen to her. I was worried that woman could’ve killed her. But that’s good everything ended well. My friend is okay, and her auntie didn't become a victim of that woman, who wanted to kill them.”
Natalia put her hand on her heart for two seconds and drinks some coffee, the cup of which she is still holding in her hands.
“Okay, I think I can call that handsome guy Terrence and tell him that Cameron is okay,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “I will call him now, and then we will decide what to do. I mean, I will think about when I could contact Raquelle and let her know that I’ve come here.”
Natalia thinks about something for a few seconds, leaning back in the comfortable, soft sofa. And then she drinks the rest of the coffee that got a little cold and puts the empty cup on the coffee table. Then the girl takes her smartphone again and starts typing Terrence’s number with a wish to tell him everything she just heard from Alexis.
***
While Terrence and Natalia are talking about everything they just found out from newspapers and magazines, Raquelle went to the park that is located not far from her aunt’s home and is now slowly walking there, feeling a little cold even in an outside coat. There are not so many people, who are busy with something and getting ready for Christmas, which they will celebrate in a few days. The streets of the city are decorated for the holidays, and there are even Christmas trees in some places, against which some people are posing for photos with pleasure.
This early morning, Raquelle found the same article that Terrence and Natalia read and closely examined it while having breakfast. Although she is not happy with the fact that everybody knows she decided to go, the girl completely understands that she would not be able to hide and keep her head buried in sand forever. Everyone would know where she ran away, early or late.
However, because she is not worried about what happened to her so much, Raquelle thinks she could start to get ready to show herself and do her best to bring her kind name back.
“So, now everyone knows that I run away to London,” Raquelle thinks, slowly walking in the park and looking at everything she is going by with interest. “Because of the story of Aunt Alicia and Eleanor Woodham that everyone knows about… Newspapers and magazines wrote about it. Even if it’s not even been one day…”
Raquelle shakes her head and glances at a high Christmas tree that is placed in the middle of the park and decorated with various lamps and garlands.
“I didn't think people would find out where I was so quickly,” Raquelle thinks. “But I understood I couldn’t be hiding from everyone forever, and someday I’d have to show myself and try to explain everything. However, every day, I feel that I am ready to fight for my honest name more and more. For my perfect reputation.”
Raquelle glances aside.
“Yes, I still don’t know what to do to MacClife…” Raquelle thinks. “Whether I sue him. But I surely know I’ve gotta do something to defend my dignity. I’ve gotta find a way to prove that I was insolently slandered. So, everyone knows that I am not what that man made me be.”
Raquelle crosses her arms over her chest.
“Anyway, you would not get off me easily,” Raquelle thinks, frowning slightly. “I swear I will make you pay for the humiliation. For daring to slander me and make me literally an enemy of people! If I don’t sue you, I will do my best to ruin your career. I will not let you live quietly. I will not leave you alone after everything you’ve done. I do promise.”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“No matter how handsome and attractive you are, it will not close my eyes to all your disgusting actions,” Raquelle thinks. “And my feelings will not also cloud my mind. I will go until the end and do my best for you to be afraid to raise your head and look into someone’s eyes. I would be laughing with pleasure if all your attempts to seduce a girl led to failure. When every single one would slap you or hit you between your legs as strong as possible. I would be laughing at you with pleasure. I would have much fun!”
Raquelle smiles slyly.
“When I’m back in New York, I will start thinking about what to do,” Raquelle decides. “I will do my best to solve this problem and punish the one to put me under that stress. The one to dare to tell everyone a lie about me. Literally make me run away from shame and hide until everyone calms down. I will not leave this case without my attention. I swear. I will not.”
At some moment, Raquelle decides to get these thoughts out of her mind and not to let them make the good mood she has had since the morning much worse. Besides, the girl is absolutely sure something special is going to happen today or somehow later. Something that might happen at any time and give her some good news that she is waiting for.
Yesterday's events did not make her feel worse, and after the long talk with Alicia, she went to sleep with easiness in her heart and the thought that she did what she should have done. So, Raquelle is enjoying this moment. Because of all the problems, she almost forgot what being happy meant and how to get pleasure from life.
Some time later, Raquelle gets pleasure from watching people skate on a large ice rink that is located far from her. Looking at them, the girl understands she wants to skate a little, as well. Because she has not done that for so many years. She even wants to go to the one and rent a pair of skates, not caring about a long line of those, who want to do the same.
But at this moment, her mobile phone starts vibrating in her purse, which is placed above her shoulder. Raquelle understands it not at once, but when she does, she stops sharply, goes aside not to prevent people from doing their business, takes her smartphone, and answers this unexpected call.
“Hello, I’m listening,” Raquelle pronounces quietly.
“Hey, Raquelle!” the cheerful voice of the man pronounces. “It’s been a while!”
“Erm…” Raquelle bites her lip slightly. “Excuse me, who are you?”
“Hey, don’t you remember me? It's Steven! Steven Appleby!”
“Steven?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
This sudden call becomes a surprise for Raquelle, who did not expect that Steven would call her after everything he said in one of the interviews, in which he let her know that he despised the one he had known for ages.
“Sorry, I didn’t recognize you…” Raquelle pronounces a little hesitantly.
“Listen, friend, finally, I’ve reached you!” Steven exclaims confidently. “Millions of attempts were totally worthless!”
“Erm… Did you call me?”
“Of course! I’ve tried to call you hundreds of times, but your phone was always turned off and not available.”
“Really?”
“And you didn’t answer any of my messages! You know how much I’ve sent! And I’ve never received a reply!”
“You know…” Raquelle pronounces hesitantly with a slight smile. “Honestly, I didn’t expect that you would call me. I… I didn't expect your call.”
“You know, I didn’t also hope you’d answer me. And I literally got used to always hearing a robot that told me the number was always unavailable and asked me to call you later.”
“That’s how…”
“So, my dear Raquelle Cameron,” Steven pronounces confidently. “Now speak out, where did you disappear so suddenly? Where have you been all this time?”
“Erm… I…”
“Everybody has been trying to find you for nobody the hell knows how long and can't do it!”
“Everyone? Find?” Raquelle wonders truly, rounding her eyes.
“Every day, all the local newspapers and magazines are publishing articles about where Raquelle Cameron is now. All the TV shows are talking only about you!”
“Come on?”
“The phones of your managers are tearing from calls, and their inboxes are full of emails! Journalists attack your close people: grandfather, friends, familiars… Everyone!”
“Really?”
“It is! And you know, I literally got exhausted while trying to reach you.”
“C’mon, Appleby!” Raquelle chuckles kindly.
“I’m serious, Cameron! You know how long I tried to find you and find out why you disappeared so suddenly and broke all the contacts with your managers and colleagues.”
“Did someone ask you about it?”
“Not. I was looking for you not only because Serena asked me to find you and let her know when you’d be found. But also because I wonder to know what happened to you.”
“Steven…”
“I do worry about you, friend. And I’m very sorry you got into this story.”
“It’s nice to know someone cares about me,” Raquelle smiles shyly. “If someone doesn’t try to find me to make it a sensation. To annoy me with questions about what I allegedly did.”
“No, no! Everyone really wanna know what happened to you, and where you disappeared.”
“So… Everyone?”
“I do swear!” Steven exclaims confidently. “People are fretting and fuming! Real chaos is happening in New York!”
“Wow…”
“And I’ve finally found you! I’ve reached you!”
“Listen, buddy, I…”
“So, tell me what happened to you! Where are you now? Why did you disappear so suddenly and break contact with almost everybody? Your grandfather and your friends know nothing about you. They all say they can’t help anyone.”
“I disappeared because I needed to do this,” Raquelle replies quietly. “To calm down a little and forget everything that happened to me. Come to myself and be ready… To show me. And let people calm down a little.”
“You did because of the scandal with the false charges for the egoistic behavior?”
“Yup, because of that… But you know it well.”
“Yes, yes, I know.” Steven quickly clears his throat. “Listen, maybe, we meet somewhere? Let’s talk at a café? At any time! Whenever you want!”
“Erm…” Raquelle stutters, embracing herself with a free arm. “I’d be happy to go somewhere with you, but… I'm not in New York…”
“Aren't you in New York?” Steven wonders.
“Not even in the USA… I’m in a different country.”
“But where are you now?”
“Well…” Raquelle thinks for two seconds and bites her lip. “Actually, I'm in Great Britain…”
“Great Britain?” Steven asks. “Come on?”
“Yup…” Raquelle falls into silence for two seconds. “I have a family member here, who agreed to let me live with her. So… I’m living at her home.”
“But where? Which city?”
“In London.”
“In London?”
“Yes.”
“And when are you gonna be back in the USA?”
“Actually, I am planning to stay here until the end of the year. Celebrate Christmas with my aunt… And I will be back in the USA after the holidays.”
“Wait, but how… How did you manage to fly away to another country without getting caught by other people? Paparazzi can't let you go so easily, and they know literally everything about you! How did you keep such wonderful privacy?”
“It wasn’t actually too hard for me,” Raquelle excuses herself with a quiet grin. “Or maybe, everyone didn’t really care about me. The airport staff said nothing when I was passing tests. Yes, I can’t exclude that someone could recognize me, but nobody started a scandal out of that.”
“Wanna say you were just lucky?”
“I dunno. Maybe. But I wasn’t actually gonna run away from the USA secretly and hide until the last day of my life. It just happened.”
“So, as I understand, do your grandfather and friends know where to find you?”
“They do. But I asked them to say nothing.”
“Okay…”
“And I’m grateful to them for doing what I asked them about and saying nothing to anyone.”
“Oh…” Steven exhales sharply. “You surprised me, honestly… You left New York secretly from reporters and didn’t get caught by paparazzi until the end.”
“Maybe, they wouldn’t have found out anything about me if not for the one story that all the newspapers are talking about. At least, it's happening in London…”
“About the death of a certain Eleanor Woodham that threatened to kill you?”
“Do you know?”
“I don’t know what she was, but I’m aware of what she wanted to do.”
“That woman and her family were well known in England. Literally everyone knew them somehow. But now they have much fewer followers. Even if they still keep thinking they are lords of the world and sure that they are loved and respected by all the English people.”
“That’s how…”
“Actually, it’s a very long and hard story. But I can say one thing: everything they wrote is the real truth.”
“And… About the murder of that man?”
“Yes. True.”
“Wow… What a twist…”
“I will explain everything later. When we meet. I promise.”
“Yeah, Cameron…” Steven shakes his head. “I see you didn’t miss when hiding from journalists and reporters.”
“Yeah, I didn’t have a rest…” Raquelle agrees. “But now I can fix it.”
“I got it.”
“By the way, Steven…”
Raquelle frowns slightly, getting confused by the fact that Steven is speaking to her so quietly after standing by Terrence and judging her for what she allegedly did.
“But why did you call me?” Raquelle wonders.
“Why?” Steven rounds his eyes. “What kind of question, my darling? I do worry about you!”
“Come on?”
“You’re my friend! How could I stay indifferent to you and your problems?”
“Yeah? What about all the comments you gave the media about me? About supporting the one, who spread those false rumors about me and thinking I didn’t deserve the fame I got!”
“What?”
“I know everything. I know what you told everyone.”
“Listen, Raquelle, I…”
“You lied to me, Steven,” Raquelle says quietly. “Lied. You always said you admired me and gave me lots of compliments… But behind me, you did bad things and insulted me!”
“What?”
“You also confirmed the words of that anonymous stinker about me allegedly being so bad and terrible and not appreciating those I work with.”
“It’s not the truth, I swear!” Steven protests.
“First, you say not the nicest things about me to the reporters, but now you’re calling me and speaking to me like nothing happened. Asking me what happened to me… Saying you allegedly worry about me…”
“I can explain it all,” Steven says excitedly. “You understood it all wrong.”
“Don’t make a fool, Appleby. I read everything you said about me in the newspapers.”
“Listen to me…”
“I’m really disappointed in you. I did not really expect that from you.”
“No, no, friend, you understood it all wrong!”
“Why did you do that, Steven?” Raquelle wonders, shaking her head. “What did I do to you if you stood by the one to do that and started saying the things that I don’t even want to think about?”
“It’s all slander…”
“I was shocked after opening a site on the Internet and reading everything you said about me.”
“Listen, Raquelle…”
“I expected that from you much less. I considered you my friend. But you did that to me. You insulted and humiliated me secretly. You let me know what our friendship meant to you.”
“I swear, Raquelle, everything the newspapers wrote is an absolute lie,” Steven confesses with pity in his eyes.
“I saw everything well.”
“I didn’t say anything like that about you! It’s not what I said!”
“What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “Didn’t say? What do you mean?”
“I would never say it about my friend that I’ve known for so many years. Who I love with all my heart and respect.”
“Stop, Steven,” Raquelle says quietly.
“I’m not lying to you.”
“C’mon, just confess that you’ve really never loved and respected me. All this time, you’ve been pretending that you admire me.”
“No, Raquelle, it's not the truth! I would never say that a lie is the truth.”
“Steven…”
“Don’t think I didn't read magazines and don't know about the situation… No, I did read absolutely everything they wrote about you! And I swear I said none of what they wrote allegedly on my name.”
“But they did publish your comment about that situation!”
“It's not the truth! I swear! I didn’t also comment on that situation and told journalists to go to hell when they asked me about it.”
“You’re lying.”
“You know how shocked I was when I saw comments allegedly made by me in an article. I thought I wouldn’t get involved in that situation, but I was… An unknown magazine posted that I allegedly had bad thoughts about you and was glad someone ruined your career.”
“I don’t believe you,” Raquelle shakes her head. “You just don’t wanna confess it.”
“I swear, Raquelle, I didn’t say those terrible things about you. Nobody from your surrounding said what they wrote about. As well as your management team.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I swear!”
“Why would I believe you?”
“Somehow, I talked to Serena about you. And when I told her someone allegedly made a comment about you on my behalf, she was shocked.”
“Serena?”
“She let me know she didn’t also say anything, and she wasn’t gonna give any comments without letting you know.”
“As for Serena, I could believe it. As long as I read the news about her, I don’t see her name or comments anywhere. But I’ve got no reason to believe you’re not guilty of anything and didn’t shower me with mud.”
“Listen, friend, do you really think I could say such terrible things about you?”
“I wouldn't be surprised!”
“You know well that I truly love you with all my heart and wish you only the best. I would never go against you and dance attendance upon someone I don’t know. You are my friend and will always be the one. Whatever happens, I will be by your side.”
“Yeah? But what about all those words about you never considering me a good model and being sure my fame was paid by someone?”
“I said nothing!” Steven jabs excitedly. “None of what was written in there is the truth!”
“Steven…”
“It’s all a lie! Someone published allegedly my comment without my permission!”
“And how can you prove it?”
“I have the proof!”
“What kind of proof?”
“I can tell you something very interesting that would help me make you sure about it.”
“Maybe, you also know the reason why someone did that to me?”
“I don’t know why that cowardly anonymous humiliated you. And I don’t understand why they haven’t shown up yet and kept saying bad things about you for a long time.”
“That person doesn’t show up because they understand they would ask for trouble if everyone found out the truth.”
“Probably, that’s right. But I managed to prove to everyone that you were guilty of nothing.”
“What?”
“I did something!”
“What did you do?”
“I will tell you everything in order.”
Steven quickly clears his throat and then, sometimes taking a breath away, starts telling Raquelle about how he did something that, in his opinion, helped him prove the girl’s innocence of what she was blamed for some time ago.
***
A few days ago.
The photographer, Steven Appleby, is excited and nervous because Raquelle suddenly disappeared some time ago and broke all the contacts with those she worked with. The man wants to explain the situation and try to apologize to her for allegedly telling the media that she was a very bad model, who does not deserve everyone’s love she got.
Actually, Steven has never said anything like that to the press. That's why he feels very embarrassed for his friend, who is probably sure he betrayed her. When the man was reading the newspapers and magazines and found out about how the girl was allegedly humbling the people she loved, he was resentful and realized that something was not right about this weird story. He decided to try to find out everything about this story and do his best to open people’s eyes and let them know who they should not despise.
Luckily, Steven got help from his long-time friend, Delancey Spellman, who is working as a stylist on shootings and is responsible for creating hairstyles for models and actors, whom she manages to work with. The girl got interested in that case and also wanted justice to finally be victorious, so people could understand they were wrapped around someone’s finger.
Steven is also doing his best and trying to find an explanation for why someone is doing such a bad thing to Raquelle. Besides, he is also trying to find the girl herself, who was asked to be found by her team. The photograph recently talked to the manager of Raquelle named Serena Oliverson, who did very much for the girl and made her worldwide famous. And he was surprised when he found out that the girl suddenly broke all the contacts with her team and did not answer any of their letters or messages.
Now Steven is sitting at home and reading a magazine that he bought two days ago. Raquelle is showered with mud again and blamed for the disgusting behavior. But he is happy that there are much fewer people, who believe the anonymous and understood that the girl was not so bad. At some moment, he suddenly gets a call on his mobile phone that is lying on the sofa near him. Steve quickly puts the magazine aside, takes his smartphone, and runs his finger over the screen to answer the call.
“Hello, I’m listening!” Steven pronounces confidently.
“Hey, Steven,” the feminine voice says on the phone. “It’s Delancey.”
“Oh, Delancey, hi!” Steven gets instantly excited.
“I hope I didn’t bother you?”
“No, no, you didn’t bother me.”
“Listen, I have a very good piece of news for you! You’re gonna love it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s about the story of slandering Raquelle.”
“C’mon! Do you know something about it?”
“I know,” Delancey replies confidently. “And I can share some things with you.”
“Speak then!” Steven exclaims. “Who did that? Why did they do it? Which goal did they have? I wanna know everything! Everything that could help me bring that coward stinker to clean water.”
“It seems like all those notes were published on purpose to humiliate Raquelle.”
“On purpose?” Steven quickly gets up from the sofa. “What do you mean? What do you mean those notes were published on purpose to humiliate her?”
“Someone definitely has a grudge against her,” Delancey assumes confidently. “Someone, who spread those rumors, hates Raquelle and wants to ruin her life and career.”
“Hates?”
“I don’t know why. But as I understand, it was done for a reason.”
“Hey, why are you so sure about it? How do you know all of that?”
“I overheard a talk of a man some time ago.”
“What man?”
“I saw him on the photoshoot, which Raquelle and Terrence had.”
“That’s how! Do you know him?”
“No, I don’t know him. But I clearly remember he was at another photoshoot, in which only Terrence participated.”
“So, does he have to do with Terrence?”
“I don’t know, but I think so.”
“Is that his manager? Or some assistant?”
“No, that’s not her manager. And his assistants accompany him on all the shoots. I know them very well, and I can say the talk is not about them.”
“Are you sure that was the man?”
“Yes, Steven, I am sure. I memorized very well.”
“Okay… And what did that man say? Who was he talking with?”
“I was going somewhere for my business down the hell of the studio. And I heard someone talking about Raquelle. I got interested and decided to hide and listen to what they said about her.”
“What’s next?”
“I carefully looked out of the corner and heard a man talking to someone on the phone.”
“On the phone?”
“He was talking to a certain Kendrick Dixon…”
“Kendrick? Who is Kendrick Dixon?”
“Judging the talk of that man, I guess that one is the editor-in-chief of a magazine that’s barely known in our country.”
“I don’t know him,” Steven frowns slightly. “What did that Kendrick come from?”
“I don’t know. But I understood that in this way.”
“Okay… What were they talking about?”
“In short…” Delancey quickly clears her throat. “I heard that man promising to Kendrick to pay some money if that one agreed to publish all those false notes about Raquelle in the magazine.”
“That’s how!” Steven exclaims.
“He wanted the magazine to have notes about all the friends and familiars of that girl, who would be disappointed in her and say bad things about her.”
“What a twist…”
“All those words were used for quotes for non-existing interviews that Raquelle’s familiars allegedly gave the media. For fake posts of some non-existing people, who show up to tell something about Raquelle’s alleged sins. For example, about how she bullied some guys at school.”
“There are terrible comments from many people in newspapers. Many models, actors, and someone else… They all despise her and openly say they hate her!”
“But it’s all a lie! Nobody said a word.”
“I don’t think anyone didn't do it… Maybe, someone did believe in that bullshit and said a bad word about her. And I must confess that someone commented on that situation personally.”
“And I wanna notice that you were one of those people. In magazines, they wrote such terrible things you allegedly said about her that I don’t wanna talk about them.”
“Yeah, but you know well that I didn’t say anything about that situation,” Steven says confidently.
“I know, Steven, I know.”
“I swear, I even didn’t think of humiliating Raquelle and saying that she doesn’t deserve to be a model. She is a fantastic model and a wonderful girl that I’ve known since that girl was seventeen.”
“Yes, yes, I know it well, and I am not gonna argue with you,” Delancey replies quietly. “But the situation is getting out of control.”
“Right… If things keep happening like this, all the celebrities will allegedly speak out against Raquelle.”
“That’s why we immediately need to prove to everyone that all those notes in newspapers and magazines and reportage on television are lies. We must not let the media keep showering Raquelle with mud for nothing.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know how we’d do it…” Steven replies thoughtfully. “No one would believe our words. I’m sure there would be no meaning in trying to say or prove something. You do know if you wanna tell people something, you have to explain and prove it.”
“Ha, do you think I didn’t care about the proof?” Delancey wonders with a sly smile.
“What?” Steven raises his eyebrows slightly. “Did you find out something yet about that crook, who is still afraid to reveal themselves?”
“Maybe… I’ve got some proof of the fact that someone agreed against Raquelle.”
“Excellent! Now we need any sort of information, any little thing that would help us bring that crook to clean water.”
“Right… That person must go to prison. Whoever they are.”
“You’re right!” Steven agrees.
“We will do our best to do it.”
“Listen, maybe, that man called his name? Maybe, we have just something?”
“I swear, Steve, that man didn’t call his name. I heard only him calling someone he talked on the phone with by the name Kendrick.”
“So…” Steven, frowning slightly, strokes his chin. “Well, at least, we know the editor-in-chief has to do with all of that. That’s just something.”
“Right,” Delancey nods. “And Kendrick definitely gets a lot of money from that man.”
“It would be great to find out whether he has to do with Terrence MacClife. What if that actor has to do with him somehow. Or actually could be the one to blame for those rumors.”
“Terrence is hardly guilty of that situation.”
“But agree, it’s kind of weird that the same man was on his photoshoots and talked to Kendrick about something.”
“Who knows, Steve. I can say nothing. But I don’t exclude that he had a certain goal.”
“By the way, what did you say about some proof?” Steven frowns slightly.
“Ah, yeah, thanks for reminding me…”
“Tell me more about what you have.”
“Well… Actually, I don’t have anything special… I just recorded a talk of that man and that Kendrick, who is an editor-in-chief of a briefly known magazine, on my mobile phone.”
“Come on? Do you have a record of their talk?”
“Yes, I do. I recorded that man saying he wants to humiliate Raquelle on purpose and take revenge on her for all the humiliations and sufferings he had to get through.”
“Humiliations and sufferings?”
“Yeah. But I didn’t understand what that was ‘cause he didn’t say it openly. And there was a moment when he offered the editor-in-chief some money for humiliating notes in the magazine about Raquelle.”
“So, do you have the voice recording, on which that man personally confirms everything?”
“Exactly! I closely listened to that one at home and think everything is clearly heard.”
“Hey, didn’t that man notice you?” Steven shows anxiety.
“Don’t worry, buddy. I hid very well and left before that man ended the talk.”
“You risked much by deciding to overhear him.”
“I know, but as they say, a risk is a noble thing. Thanks to which I got a personal confession of the man, who is guilty of everything.”
“Listen, friend, that’s really great!”
“I think we could use that voice recording. You know that if a sensation is published in a newspaper, magazine, or on the Internet, other sources will publish the same. And the TV may join them, adding fuel to the fire.”
“Did you say the TV would also join them?” Steven frowns slightly, stroking his chin.
“Well, yeah…” Delancey says nothing for two seconds. “And yeah, I almost forgot to say! An issue of the magazine, in which there is going to be a comment by allegedly Terrence MacClife, is gonna be out at the nearest time.”
“What?” Steven rounds his eyes. “Terrence MacClife? The famous actor, who acted in 'American Love Affair?' The one that Raquelle worked with, as you said?”
“Yeah, that’s correct!”
“Oh, damn…”
“That man asked Kendrick to publish something bad, allegedly on behalf of that man. He was also resentful of the behavior of that girl.”
“Oh, that’s gonna be bad in this case… Everyone appreciates and respects Terrence MacClife, and his word means a lot. If everyone knows about his alleged comments, it will destroy the career of Raquelle, her career, and her reputation at all.”
“That’s what I wanna say! Yes, I don’t think Terrence would leave it unnoticed and wouldn’t love to sue Kendrick. But even a false comment from him would put an end to the career of that girl.”
“It would be great if he personally commented on this situation. If he gave a shot.”
“Yeah, but nothing is known about Terrence.”
“What do you mean?”
“The media says he disappeared some time ago and hasn’t shown up yet. He had some shootings scheduled, and I was supposed to work on them. But all of them were canceled at the last moment due to some personal reasons.”
“That’s how… But what happened to him?”
“I don’t know, Steve. Nobody knows where he disappeared.”
“Oh, shit…” Steven puts his hand on his forehead. “It would be great to get his support…”
“I know… But anyway, we must take measures before the issue of Kendrick’s magazine with an alleged comment by Terrence is out. And we have very little time.”
“I know…” Steven thinks for two seconds, putting a finger on his lip, and smiles slightly. “Listen, Delancey, you’re a genius!”
“Me?” Delancey rounds her eyes.
“I adore you!”
“Why?”
“You gave me an idea.”
“Which?”
“I know how we could stop this hell.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I have an idea of how we can prove that man’s fault and help Raquelle get her kind name back.”
“Let me guess…” Delancey says thoughtfully and says nothing for two seconds. “Since you got excited after the word ‘TV,’ do you want to use the voice recorder from my phone, so everyone can listen to it on a TV or play it on some sites on the Internet?”
“That’s what I want to do!” Steven says confidently. “I want to make that record public.”
“Yeah, but how do we do it? How do we encourage people to listen to it?”
“I have a friend, who is working on one of the center TV channels. I could try to persuade him to show a reportage about this story and give him the voice record that you have so they play it on the TV.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” Delancey asks excitedly.
“It will work! I am sure!”
“We don’t have any compromising material!”
“It would already be enough.”
“What if your friend is as dirty as those, who are showering Raquelle with mud thanks to that man?”
“I’m sure I would persuade him! He’s quite a trustworthy man, and I’ve known him for ages. I don’t think he would refuse to help me.”
“Yeah, but we still don't know the name of the one to do that.”
“And what? The important thing is the confession of the slander attempt. The confession of the fact that everything that was said about Raquelle is a lie.”
“I don’t know…”
“Hey, you said everyone would start discussing it if one person said something. So, if your voice recording is played on one channel, all channels will also want to get it and release a few sensational reports. And newspapers and magazines would also start writing about it. I don’t doubt it.”
“So…” Delancey shrugs. “If you think it’s gonna work, I will help you with pleasure. Of course, there is a very little chance, but we can at least try.”
“Great!” Steven pronounces with a slight smile and thinks about what he suggested for two seconds. “Listen, Delancey, tell me, please, where are you right now?”
“Erm, I’m home now. But why?”
“Stay there and wait for my arrival!”
“Do you want to go to my home?”
“Yes. I’ll try to come to you as soon as possible. Maximum in two hours.”
“Wanna talk about everything?”
“Exactly! And I’ll take the voice record from you and give it to my buddy.”
“Alright, I got it,” Delancey smiles shyly. “I’ll be waiting for you!”
“Copy that record to a flash drive.”
“I already did that. I’ve got a copy on my computer, as well.”
“No threat of losing it?”
“Don’t worry, buddy. If it’s lost, we can get another copy without problems.”
“Excellent!” Steven pronounces happily. “I knew I could count on you!”
“I hope it will help us.”
“Okay, wait for me. I will come to you very soon, and we will talk about everything.”
“I’ll be waiting!”
“Good, see you later!”
Steven turns off the call and puts his phone in a pocket on his pants. A few seconds later, the man quickly goes to his room, takes some things with him, puts on a coat, and gets out of his apartment as fast as a bullet, locking the hall door with a key.
The man comes to his car and quickly gets out of the garage, which is located not far from the building where his gorgeous apartment is. After this, Steven goes on the road and goes to the home of Delancey to take the proof that he would need to prove that Raquelle was slandered and let people know that the girl is actually guilty of nothing.
***
“Do you know Delancey?” Steven asks.
“Delancey?” Raquelle wonders. “Who is Delancey?”
“She was supposed to work on one of the photoshoots with you.”
“Ah, yeah, I remember her… She was one of those, who was getting me ready for the photoshoot with Terrence MacClife. We managed to have a very nice talk.”
“She is my good friend.”
“I didn’t think you knew her.”
“Oh, I’ve known her for a long time. For ages!”
“That’s how!”
“That girl didn’t also believe you could do that because she saw everything well and even talked to you.”
“I got it.”
“Somehow, I talked to her about that situation, but I didn’t think she would be able to help me.”
“But she did?”
“She did! Somehow, Delancey overheard the talk of someone, who is the real one to blame for everything that is happening now.”
“What man?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“She was going somewhere for her business and heard someone talking on the phone.”
“Who is that man?”
“I don't know, Raquelle. Delancey didn’t manage to hear his name because he never mentioned it.”
“Okay. Who was he talking with?”
“Someone to be an editor-in-chief of a magazine.”
“What magazine?”
“I don’t know. But I heard it wasn’t too popular. Nobody had known about it before they began to publish articles about what you allegedly did.”
“Okay. And what?”
“So, during that talk, that man promised to pay great money to his friend for writing humiliating articles about you.”
“So, did he pay someone to encourage them to publish all those articles?”
“Exactly! I’m gonna tell you more, that man already agreed to get an issue with an alleged comment of the famous actor, Terrence MacClife, released at the nearest time.”
“What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “Terrence MacClife?”
“Yes. He should’ve allegedly told his terrible opinion about what happened in the next issue.”
“Oh, God…”
“Since he is very respected in the show business, his comment might easily deprive you of a chance to renew your career.”
“Did Delancey overhear the talk of Terrence and that editor-in-chief?”
“No, it wasn’t Terrence,” Steven shakes his head. “But that man was on one of the recent photoshoots of that actor.”
“Come on?”
“Delancey said that man was on the photoshoot, which you two worked on. Terrence and you.”
“Wow…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully.
“But we haven’t found out if there’s a collection between those people.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was.”
“You think they’re connected?”
“I’m gonna say more, I’m suspecting that MacClife is the real one to blame. He was the one to spread the false rumors about me.”
“But why?”
“Because we didn’t get on at the first meeting. And when I rejected MacClife, he could get wild and threatened that he would ruin my career.”
“No, Raquelle, that wasn’t him!” Steven says confidently. “Terrence doesn’t have to do with that.”
“I’m sure that man helped him somehow.”
“Do you think he could ask the editor-in-chief to publish false notes allegedly on his behalf?”
“It could be a cover.”
“No, no, that’s not him.”
“How do you know it?”
“That man has a grudge against you. He’s revenging on you for his personal goals.”
“Which?”
“I don’t know. But you can be quiet because the issue with the comment of allegedly Terrence will not be released.”
“What do you mean it won’t be released?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“Delancey and I did our best not to make it happen.”
“Are you lying to me?”
“Not at all. We’ve revealed the lie at the right time and did our best for the editor-in-chief to be forced to stop selling his magazine. It means there will be no comments allegedly from Terrence.”
“Really?” Raquelle wonders. “But how? How did you do that?”
“Thanks to Delancey. She got the great proof when she was overhearing the talk of that man and Kendrick, the editor-in-chief, who agreed to publish all the terrible articles about you and comments from allegedly from many celebrities.”
“And what kind of proof is that?”
“A voice recording. On which that man personally confesses he did all of that and agrees with Kendrick on him publishing false articles about you for money.”
***
A few days ago.
“Yes, Kendrick, I want you to publish an article about Raquelle again!”
That’s what the girl named Delancey Spellman hears, who is going somewhere for her business down the hall of one of the studios where she is working at a photoshoot, in which a famous actor is participating. The girl stops sharply and comes to the source of the voice very closely, carefully, and quietly. She sees a man, who is standing with his back turned to her and talking to someone on the phone.
At this moment, Delancey calls the memories of her talk with her good friend, a photographer Steven Appleby, who is very anxious about the situation that happened to Raquelle Cameron, whom he has known for a long time. He has been trying to prove that his friend was insulted for no reason, and he has never said all the bad things, as the magazine tried to say by allegedly publishing his comment. The man has not actually commented on this situation and has been focused only on the way to open people’s eyes and let them know they are wrapped around someone’s finger.
That’s why Delancey decides to listen to what that man is talking about, starting to think he is very familiar when he turns his side on her.
“It seems like I’ve seen him somewhere before…” Delancey thinks, watching the man, who looks very confident. “His face is very familiar… But I can’t remember where he was…”
Delancey frowns slightly.
“But I’ve got a feeling that he was watching the photoshoot, on which Terrence and Raquelle worked,” Delancey assumes. “Yeah, right… I saw him during that photoshoot! That’s him! That’s the man! But I didn’t understand what he was doing there…”
Anyway, Delancey carefully hides for the man not to see her and starts closely listening to everything he says to the one, to whom he is talking on the phone and hears him asking that person to humiliate the girl named Raquelle.
“I want you to write a few more humiliating articles about that girl,” the man says confidently, comfortably holding his hand on a hip with his head proudly raised. “What was recently published about her alleged mental issues is just wonderful. I read everything and was really delighted. But I want new material.”
“Buddy, tell me, please, what’s actually your goal for what you are doing?” Kendrick asks thoughtfully. “Do you have such strong hatred for that model that you are asking me to publish all those false notes about her not for the first time?”
“Yes, I madly hate that cheap lady!”
“But why?”
“Believe me, there are the reasons why I want to humiliate Raquelle Cameron and turn her life to hell.”
“Are you sure people will believe you when they read new articles about her allegedly mental problems and disgusting character?”
“Be sure about it, Kendrick, as people believed everything was published in the first notes, they will easily believe what is going to be published at the nearest time. Even her own fans turned their backs on the poor girl Raquelle and are now showering her with mud.”
“You know, although you and I are friends, and I don’t refuse to help you, I feel sorry for that girl. She is good and has never done anything bad…”
“I am not sorry for her.”
“You are doing a very cruel thing to her.”
“Believe me, I know people well. When I met her for the first time, I felt she was absolutely false and just pretending to be an angel. So, I want to bring her to clean water and show people all of her weaknesses.”
At this moment, Delancey comes up with the idea of trying to record this talk on the phone, believing a voice recording would be wonderful proof of the fact that Raquelle is actually guilty of nothing. So, the girl quickly takes her phone from a pocket of her warm coat, turns on the recording, and starts to carefully record everything the man says, making no sound and literally not breathing.
“Oh, I don’t understand you, buddy,” Kendrick says thoughtfully. “I don’t understand…”
“Someday, I will explain everything to you,” the man promises. “You will get it. You will understand why I want to do that.”
“You are doing a very bad thing to that girl.”
“Please, do what I’m asking you about,” the man begs with pity in his eyes. “I would owe you.”
“I did say I would not refuse to help you.”
“I promise if you publish a few more articles, which would make that madam ashamed, I will pay you very well. Just do a little thing for me.”
“Well, alright, buddy, alright,” Kendrick pronounces tiredly, “I will tell my team to prepare a few articles.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“But know that publishing a lie like this in my magazine is very unpleasant for me.”
“But thanks to these articles, the sale of your magazine has grown several times more. You said that when an article about the disrupted shootings appeared in the magazine, people started to buy it. And many of them do not get it because it has a low circulation.”
“Well…” Kendrick glances aside and smiles slyly. “Yeah… Right… The sale has grown several times more. I started to get much more money. And I no longer work at a loss.”
“So…” the man smiles slyly. “Publishing all those articles would be a benefit for you. Because people will not stop buying your magazine when it’s out. Because they will wonder what it will say about the model, Raquelle Cameron.”
“You’re right, though…”
“I will be satisfied that people believe she is a bitch, and you will be getting much money and making your magazines, so to say, an exclusive source of information about it.”
“You say, an exclusive source of information about it…” Kendrick scratches his chin with a sly smile.
“Kendrick, please, do a favor for me,” the man continues to insist. “I promise, I will not deprive you of money and will owe you forever.”
“Yeah, I know…”
“Just think, you will get a great benefit and start getting lots of money that you always need. You will spend it on you or think about your own business.”
“I am sorry for that girl. Imagine how bad she is feeling while reading all these articles.”
“Oh, Dixon, give a damn about pity for that gal! Think only about how to boost sales and earn a lot of money. She is nobody to you to care about her fate.”
Hearing all of these words, Delancey gets horrified and shakes her head. The girl does not understand why that man hates Raquelle so much that he is persuading Kendrick to keep humiliating her and trying to make him sure that he could become very rich thanks to this scandal. At this moment, everything they say is getting recorded on the voice recorder on the phone. And every second, the girl is making sure that she did the right thing because she would have wonderful proof of the fault of that man.
“Gosh, what a scoundrel you are,” Delancey gets horrified. “What did that girl do to you to make you hate her so much? Why is it her? Why isn’t someone else? Why did the poor Raquelle deserve it? Such a sweet, kind, and good girl you are treating in a very bad way…”
Delancey shakes her head.
“It’s okay, if I’m lucky, and this talk is recorded on my phone, I will give the record to Steve,” Delancey decides. “We’ll later decide how to prove that everyone was deceived. We will not let that man keep mocking the poor Raquelle and making people believe she is a selfish bitch that everyone made an idol of them for no reason.”
“Alright, buddy, alight,” Kendrick pronounces confidently. “I agree to help you. Agree to publish a few more articles about that girl. Will do it for our friendship.”
Kendrick smiles slyly.
“And for money that I really could earn because of this scandal,” Kendrick adds.
“You’re thinking right, friend!” the man exclaims with a wide smile.
“Thanks to the scandal with the girl, my business finally got better. People discovered the existence of my magazine, which nobody had wanted to buy. And now it gets a sold out for a few minutes.”
“I really like it, buddy,” the man nods. “Keep doing the same!”
“Of course.”
“And remember, you first need to tease people and make them show a great interest in what is going to happen, and then tell them the shocking news that would get them overwhelmed.”
“Our team that is responsible for content on social networks always publishes posts that always keep the interest of people. I’m sure when we mention the name of Raquelle Cameron and post something shocking, everybody will be waiting for the release of the magazine. I made sure about it after publishing the first article about her.”
“Excellent!” the man smiles slyly.
“If you’ve got some ideas for future articles, I will listen to you with pleasure.”
“Don’t worry, I will give you ideas for articles that would make people literally tear each other apart for a chance to buy your magazine and know everything.”
“M-m-m, well, as your idea generator works so well, I will have the pleasure pf listening to all your suggestions,” Kendrick smiles slyly. “Sometimes we’ve got great problems with ideas for content.”
“Glad you appreciate it,” the man says with his head proudly raised. “First, you can publish something about the scandal that has to do with her disgusting behavior and alleged proof of the fact that the girl is mentally sick.”
“No problem!”
“Say that there are allegedly people, who know about it and are ready to give a comment.” The man shrugs. “I don’t know… Examine some articles on the Internet about scandals of celebrities… Maybe, it would inspire you and editors.”
“Interesting idea…” Kendrick agrees. “Maybe, we make ourselves popular thanks to her sudden disappearance? You said that girl ran away somewhere, and nobody can find her!”
“Of course!” the man exclaims. “Do your best to make people sure she got cold feet and ran away from shame, completely knowing everyone found out about her allegedly mental problems.”
“Okay, no problem.”
“You can publish comments allegedly on behalf of her friends and familiars… Just like you did it to the photographer she has been working with since the beginning of her career… I mean, she worked.”
“If you give me some names or even photos of other friends and colleagues of her, comments on behalf of them will be published. You told me only about that photographer… Steven Appleby.”
“Don’t worry, I will surely call a few more names. I will tell you about her friends later, but I will surely talk about her colleagues.”
“Alright.”
“And you know… I’ve got an idea!”
The man thinks for two seconds.
“I want false, dirty comments to be published on behalf of one man,” the man adds. “On behalf of the one, who betrayed me and went to look for that girl.”
“Really?” Kendrick wonders. “And who is that? Call me the name.”
“Terrence MacClife. Also known as Mason Houston from the movie ‘American Love Affair.’”
“Come on! Terrence MacClife? That all-favorite actor that all the girls in the world have a crush on?”
“Exactly, Kendrick!”
“Wait, do you know him?”
“Of course, I know. I’ve known him for ages.”
“Wow…”
“Besides, I know that the guy has a crush on that model.”
“Come on? That man? Fell in love with Cameron?”
“He is so smitten that he really lost his mind because of that.”
The man smirks evilly.
“I’m going to say more,” the man adds. “That man knows I was the one to spread those rumors about Cameron.”
“Knows?” Kendrick wonders.
“Yes, I told him everything.”
“Wow… What if that guy reveals you? What if he tells everyone that you did it?”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have rather done that,” the man throws gloomily. “Because after he found out everything, MacClife got enraged and said he would tell Raquelle the truth and help her stop this flow of false rumors.”
“That’s bad…”
“But I doubt she would believe him.”
“Why?”
“You know how they fought on one of the photoshoots.”
“They worked together?”
“Yes. They had a photoshoot. They worked well by one, but when they were asked to pose together, these two could do nothing. The girl resented and looked very tense, but that man was shamelessly feeling her up right on the set. He almost got his hands into her underwear.”
“Was nobody confused?”
“No, vice versa, Terrence was praised for that. He was praised for becoming more confident. But Raquelle was criticized for being very tense.”
“Wow…”
“And when the photographer took a break, those two went somewhere and fought much more. They blamed each other for messing up everything.”
“But how do you know it?”
“I saw and heard it.”
“That’s how…”
“Yeah… If only you knew what kind of passion they had!”
“Was there chemistry between them?”
“There was! A bomb was literally about to explode.”
“Wow…” Kendrick smiles mysteriously. “What was happening there…”
“So, Terrence could say anything to Raquelle, but she would not believe him. Or maybe, she would even decide he was the one to spread the rumors about her. He kind of got hurt. Resented by the fact that girl rejected him.”
“And he will need proof.”
“Exactly! But he can do nothing.”
“When are you going to reveal yourself?”
“Someday,” the man smiles mysteriously. “Someday, Raquelle will know the name of the one to do that.”
“Listen, you came up with a fantastic idea! To publish a comment allegedly on behalf of the famous actor that is deeply respected by everyone.”
“I do count on his popularity. His respect in the show business.”
“I think I already know what kind of comments would be published in the magazine.”
“Publish something that would prevent everyone from even thinking of that idiot falling in love with her and losing his mind from her beauty.”
“Yeah!” Kendrick exclaims. “I didn’t think that guy would fall in love with someone. He’s always seemed the one not to care about his personal life and to always date girls not for a long time.”
“Yeah, but that girl got him attracted to her. He is ready to run after her like a dog.”
“Many men succumbed to her charm. My son’s age is the same as hers, and he also went crazy with her and dreamed of marrying her. But then he lost interest in her. As they say, he tried and calmed down.”
“I warned Terrence not to get in touch with that gal many times. I said he would not get anything good from her. But that idiot refused to listen to me and wants to do his best for her to belong to him.”
“I believe, you want to ruin his career a little?” Kendrick asks with a quiet sneer.
“Really want. But nobody has lately invited him to act.”
“I know. I haven’t seen him in a good movie lately.”
“He is trying to do something and bring everything back, but MacClife is no longer as popular as he was a few years ago. The peck of his fame is over, and it’s getting down. He has a very little time to sit on the throne.”
“Besides, he is still known only thanks to the role of Mason.”
“Exactly! But on the other side, I want to use his great respect in the show business and among his fans. And as you understood, his opinion is always very important.”
“Alright…”
“Trust me, if comments by allegedly Terrence MacClife are published and shower the name of Raquelle Cameron with mud in your magazine, people will not doubt the trueness of everything written in these articles. If there are still those, who don’t believe it, the word of such a famous actor will make them sure that their beloved Raquelle is by far not holy.”
“Don’t worry, man, I will care about everything,” Kendrick promises confidently. “Today I will tell my staff to prepare a new article for a new issue of the magazine.”
“Great! When will it be released?”
“Next week. Well, if we have some problems, this article will be published in an issue that will be out in two weeks. It’s a maximal term.”
“Thank you so much, Kendrick,” the man smiles slyly. “I knew I could always agree with you.”
“You could do much for your friends!”
“Do your best to destroy Raquelle Cameron and turn her life to hell. So, she regrets standing in my way.”
The man throws a sly look aside.
“Well, a little later, I will also deal with her defender, Terrence MacClife,” the man says confidently. “I will ruin his career to the fuck. So, he’s able to get only a job as a cashier or a loader.”
“Standing in your way is definitely dangerous,” Kendrick laughs shyly. “Everyone better be your friends.”
“Exactly, my friend! Anyone, who goes against me, is going to regret it. And I shall prove it when I show the rotted character of MacClife. Someday, people will know he is by far not an innocent angel, whom everyone considers him.”
“Do you hate them so much that you wanna destroy them?”
“Exactly, friend! Exactly! If I promised to ruin someone’s career and life, I will keep my promise. I will shower that fucking model with mud. And kick that selfish actor.”
“I believe they are worth each other.”
“Oh, they are! I am sure Raquelle would not love to be back in the modeling business and let people know about her after these things are published in your magazine, for which they will literally egg her. And Terrence will lose his motivation to keep doing his business and will withdraw himself, as well.”
“When are you going to stop?”
“When I get what I want. I shall not stop at the nearest time and will go further. Until those two become rejects. Until people understand they are selfish, nasty cads, who actually love only themselves.”
“M-m-m, I feel the two nearest issues are going to be very interesting,” Kendrick smiles slyly. “If comments allegedly made on behalf of the deeply respected Terrence MacClife are published in this article, I will get much more money for selling my magazine.”
“Of course… You will get a benefit, and I will get what I want.”
“Yeah…” Kendrick chuckles quietly. “I feel I’m going to increase print, so all the people can get a new issue of the magazine, in which shocking news will be published.”
“I’m ready to pay you not only to thank you for this but also to give you money to help you increase printing several times,” the man says with his head proudly raised.
“Listen, man, you’re my savior! I will be madly grateful to you if you helped me increase the sales of my magazine.”
“I will surely help you. We will do what we want together.”
“It would be great!”
“We will get the material for two weeks that will get everyone shocked after what they find out about their beloved model.”
The man smiles slyly.
“Who will be destroyed soon…” the man adds confidently. “Who will not renew her modeling career again. And after what everyone finds out, nobody will wish to see her in the show business. And all of her attempts will make people angry. Very angry.”
The man laughs quietly with his head proudly raised, not even suspecting that Delancey has been standing on the corner and carefully recording the talk between him and Kendrick on her phone. She understands she must do something very quickly and must not let a new issue of the magazine be out in a week or two.
“This issue should not be released,” Delancey thinks. “Should not! If they publish comments allegedly from Terrence, people will surely turn their backs on Raquelle and get hate for her. In this case, she would have to run where nobody knows about the show business and wouldn’t know she’s allegedly very bad.”
Delancey shakes her head.
“The opinion of this man has always been very important,” Delancey thinks. “People have always believed him. They will believe that even if he lies a little.”
Delancey swallows up nervously.
“Of course, I don’t doubt he wouldn’t be silent if he saw comments allegedly by him and sued Kendrick or made him publish a correction,” Delancey thinks. “But for Raquelle, it’s gonna be a great catastrophe. Her reputation will be destroyed. She will never be back in the modeling business. Everyone will hate her. Nobody will love to work with her.”
Delancey sighs quietly.
“I need to do something,” Delancey decides confidently. “I can’t waste time and let something bad happen.”
Delancey throws a look at her phone.
“If this record has all the words of this man, and they’re clearly heard, I’ll have proof of Raquelle’s innocence,” Delancey thinks. “I could open people’s eyes and let them know they are wrapped around a finger.”
Delancey cracks a slight smile.
“I’m sure Steven would find a way to use it,” Delancey assumes. “He would find a way to stop this stinker before it’s too late, and Raquelle’s career is ruined because of getting slandered. Besides, Terrence might also become his victim if that man wasn’t stopped… We can’t let it happen. We can’t.”
Delancey continues to stand on the corner for some time and record the talk between that man and Kendrick on her phone. And when they just start to talk about something different and laugh quietly, the girl stops the record, goes aside, and closely listens to what she got. At some moment, she smiles widely because all the words of the unfamiliar man have been recorded excellently. And understanding what he is talking about with his friend is very easy. So, it means she has wonderful proof of the fact that the man did all those things to humiliate the girl and ruin her modeling career.
***
“So, Delancey successfully recorded a part of that conservation on the voice recorder,” Steven says. “It was possible to clearly hear everything that man and his friend Kendrick talked about. So, when I met her, that girl let me listen to the record. And we decided to reveal that stinker, who dared to do such a bad thing to you.”
“Will an issue with Terrence’s comment not really be out?” Raquelle gets nervous, putting her hand on her heart. “Are you sure about it?”
“Absolutely, friend! No comments allegedly from that actor will be published.”
“Would be great!”
“Even if the issue was released, that guy would sue that man and Kendrick. He would one hundred percent tell them to apologize and deny it.”
“I don’t know… I wouldn’t be surprised if that man showed up and said he was the one to do all of that.”
“No, Raquelle, I do tell you the truth, Terrence doesn’t have to do with that.”
“There is no proof for that.”
“I’m gonna say more: that man has a grudge against you and him,” Steven says confidently.
“Has a grudge against him?”
“Yes. He decided to deal with you and him.”
“That’s how…”
“I don’t know what happened to them, but don’t doubt that Terrence MacClife doesn’t have to do with this situation.”
“I don’t know…” Raquelle sighs tiredly. “I don’t believe anything.”
“Do you think I can lie to you?”
“Do you have the record of that talk?”
“Delancey has it. If you want, I can ask her to give me a copy of the record and then let you listen to the one.”
“It would be great. Maybe, I would recognize that man, who, as you said, was guilty of what happened.”
“Okay, when you’re in New York, I will ask Spellman to give me the record.”
“Yeah, but how does that man have money? How could he easily pay that editor-in-chief for publishing those false articles? He probably gave much money.”
“Who knows,” Steven shrugs. “But I don’t exclude that fraud could have to do with it. The editor-in-chief was hardy happy with getting a few dollars for something. In this case, there was a lot of money. Very much,”
“Okay… And what did you and Delancey do to the voice recording?”
“So…” Steven clears his throat quickly. “Delancey and I decided that the talk of that man and Kendrick Dixon that she recorded was an excellent proof of his fault. And after talking a little, we went to Tristan Coleman, my friend, who was working on TV.”
“TV?”
“Yes. He is my old friend, whom I’ve known for ages. Delancey and I decided to ask him to play that record on one channel, so people can find out that you are actually guilty of nothing.”
***
A few days ago.
“This is the real proof of the fact that Raquelle Cameron is guilty of nothing and has just been slandered by that stinker, who is still afraid to show themselves to the whole world,” Steven says confidently.
The photographer Steven Appleby and his good friend Delancey Spellman went to the familiar of the man, who is working in an office of one of the most famous channels in America and is quite an important person.
They agreed to do their best to prove Raquelle Cameron was actually slandered in the worst way. Someone persuaded their friend Kendrick Dixon, who was working as the editor-in-chief of a magazine, to publish false articles that already made her reputation worse.
Thanks to the girl’s determination, the two have proof of that, and they decided to use it, meeting the acquaintance of Steven with the hope that he will agree to help them. But that one takes everything skeptically, even after listening to the recording from start to end.
“Well, I don’t know…” the adult man with light brown hair says thoughtfully, sitting in a chair on the table and slightly knocking his fingers on it with his fingers. “Recording this talk doesn’t mean it’s real.”
“This record is one hundred percent real!” Delancey says confidently, sitting in front of the man next to Steven. “I did listen to the talk of that man and someone named Kendrick Dixon and recorded it on the voice recorder.”
“Excuse me, but unfortunately, I cannot help you in this case.”
“Please, Tristan, help us,” Steven begs with pity in his eyes. “Help us prove that those people insolently slandered Raquelle.”
“I cannot help you.”
“That man shouldn’t stay unpunished and pay Kendrick for making him publish all those articles.”
“Besides, one of the nearest issues of the magazine is supposed to have a comment allegedly from the actor Terrence MacClife,” Delancey says. “You do know well that he is one of the most respectful people in the show business, and people always listen to his opinion.”
“Yes. If the magazine is out, and people see what’s said allegedly by that man, Raquelle’s career will be ruined. Ruined allegedly by Terrence.”
“But he would be guilty of nothing.”
“Raquelle is already sure I said many terrible words about her. But I swear on anything that I didn’t say anything that many articles said about. I didn’t insult and humiliate Raquelle, and I didn’t say a bad word about my friend.”
“Listen, I completely understand you want to help that model get her reputation back,” Tristan says thoughtfully. “But I can’t help you anyhow.”
“No, you can help us.”
“If it means so much to you, go to the police or somewhere else. May they work on that case.”
“You can tell your staff to make a reportage about it and play the record in a news program,” Steven suggests.
“And what? Would it make sense?”
“Be sure, if people hear the record, they will forget about Kendrick’s magazine that publishes only lies and start watching the sources that are actually true.”
“Don’t think everything is so easy, Steven. Even if the record is played on my channel, it doesn’t mean people will believe it’s real.”
“Listen, Tristan…”
“You two know how progress is developing now: we can put someone’s head on someone’s body and imitate someone’s voice… This record is not the best proof of the fault of that man.”
“My God, why don’t you want to help us?” Delancey asks with pity in her eyes.
“Because I cannot do this.”
“I swear this record is real. I didn’t make it on a computer. I don’t know how to do it. Yes, I can work on a computer, but it's not my level.”
“Alright, let’s think it’s the truth. But your words mean nothing.”
“Yes, I don’t know that man personally. But I heard him talking to another man and agreeing about showering Raquelle with mud.”
“You should’ve gone to the police with it, not to me. If you are so sure that the man really slandered Raquelle Cameron.”
“We will surely go to the police with this record,” Steven promises confidently. “We’ve got a few copies of this record in case we have to give some of them to different people.”
“Go then! Why did you come here?”
“But at first, we want to make people wake up and stop believing the lie that is published in the magazine that nobody knew before. That man paid money to Kendrick, and he would be glad to earn it on the sale and make his magazine popular.”
“Listen, you can make this record public if you want it,” Tristan suggests. “Publish it on the Internet and spread a link. If people are interested in it, they will check a site out and listen to the talk of that man and Kendrick.”
“Yeah, but Delancey and I want this record to be played in a news program on a popular channel.”
“What do I have to do with it?”
“Your channel is very popular. People would see the reportage, in which they would hear the record. There would be a better chance that they would start to believe they were insolently deceived.”
“You see, buddy, I’m not the only one to decide what is going to be translated on the channel. We’ve got a whole team of editors and people, who carefully watch what should be shown on TV. If they don’t like something, it may not be translated at all. Nobody has canceled censor.”
“We completely get it, but at least try,” Delancey begs. “Steven and I don’t want to let that Kendrick publish another article that showers Raquelle’s name with mud. That man must be stopped before he ruins her life and career. And does the same to Terrence MacClife.”
“Listen, Ms. Spellman, I completely understand how much you want to help your friend. But you see, everything is not so easy! Since everyone believes Kendrick’s magazine and is waiting for a new issue with impatience, someone will hardly believe you. They may find those, who want to excuse that girl, liars.”
“I know, but we cannot just sit.”
“Well, who knows, maybe, that girl really has lots of demons. What if that man told the world much about what she didn’t want to make public.”
“It’s a liar!” Steven says confidently. “The real liar! That man slandered Raquelle insolently and turned people against her on purpose.”
“Let her solve the problem with that man.”
“We don’t know why he started to torture Raquelle like this, and he’s silent about the reasons. But it must be stopped immediately.”
“Seriously, guys, forget it. Live your life and don’t think about that girl.”
“If we’d be silent, an issue of the magazine, in which there would really be a comment from allegedly Terrence MacClife, would be out very soon. And then everyone would stand by the side of that coward anonymous. Because that actor really has a great influence in the show business, and his opinion has always meant a lot.”
“Oh, you know, Steven, honestly, I don’t care about that model,” Tristan exhales quietly, leaning back in the chair. “I have nothing against that girl, but don’t go crazy over her as well as many men do. I’ve got lots of familiars, who have a crush on Raquelle. But I think she’s got nothing special that would get someone attracted.”
“Excuse me for my rudeness, but I have a feeling that man already paid money to you,” Delancey says gloomily.
“What?” Tristan rounds his eyes.
“I think if he didn’t agree with you, doing what your old friend is asking you about would be easy for you.”
“Are you serious?”
“We don’t ask you about something impossible. We just want to let people hear the record in a reportage.”
“Yes, Tristan, I have the same feeling,” Steven agrees confidently.
“I can’t believe I heard it,” Tristan shakes his head.
“We don’t ask you about something unreal. Just release a reportage, in which this record would be played. That’s all! That’s what you should do. And then we would decide what to do.”
“I must confess that it’s hurtful for me that you think I was bribed by that man, whom I have never met before,” Tristan confesses with offense.
“Because you’re acting like it’s the truth.”
“Oh, Steven, you do know that I have always been honest and never done something for someone to wish to bribe me.”
“It seems like I was wrong.”
“Yeah… I didn’t know you had such a bad opinion about me.”
“But what’s your problem?” Steven throws his hands up. “Why do you refuse to help us? Do you want us to do something for you? Then tell us, what!”
“I’m refusing to do what you want because I don’t believe this record and don’t find it a right proof of the fault of that man on the false blames.”
“Listen, Tristan…”
“The only proof is the confession of the one to blame. But you will never get it. So, you will hardly prove that it’s all true.”
“My God, Mr. Coleman, we can’t believe it…” Delancey resents, shaking her head.
“Yeah, Tristan, I thought you were my friend…” Steven adds disappointedly. “I came to you, my old friend… To ask for help… I was sure you wouldn’t refuse. But you are doing this…”
“Go to the police,” Tristan advises. “Let them deal with that man.”
“Do you want Delancey and me to pay you much money?”
“I don’t need your money.”
“You know, I don’t believe you’re so honest and would never do something for money. I’m sure you will even sell your soul to a demon if you could get one million dollars.”
“It will all be worthless, Steven,” Tristan sharply cuts off. “I don’t want to even try to do something.”
“Fine!” Delancey pronounces quietly. “If you don’t want it, don’t do it! Steven and I will be looking for another way to get this record played on TV. If you are refusing, we will not insist.”
“Yeah, it seems like we came here for nothing,” Steven agrees in a low voice. “It seems like that man did his best.”
“Most likely.”
“Fucking scoundrel! How did he get so much money? Did he steal something from some honest people? I wouldn’t be surprised if that man was also a robber.”
“I repeat: nobody bribed me, and I did not meet the one to wish to insult and humiliate Raquelle Cameron,” Tristan throws coldly.
“Say what you want,” Steven pronounces. “But we don’t care about it.”
Steven moves his eyes sharply to Delancey.
“Come on, Delancey,” Steven throws. “We will continue to think about how to save Raquelle from shame.”
“Yea, let’s go,” Delancey agrees confidently and takes a CD with the record of the talk from the table and puts it in her purse. “All the best, sir.”
But when Steven and Delancey get up and quickly come to the door, Tristan suddenly changes his opinion and decides to help these two, even if he still believes it’s worthless.
“Okay, okay, wait,” Tristan jabs loudly.
Delancey and Steve slowly stop, look at each other, and turn to Tristan, who gets up from the table and starts to hold the belt on his pants with his thumbs.
“Alright, let’s not be mad and fight,” Tristan says quietly. “Fine, I agree to help you and try to do my best to play this record in one of the nearest reportages.”
“That’s how!” Steven wonders.
“Steve, first of all, I am doing this for our friendship. We’ve known each other for ages, and I don’t want to make our relationship worse.”
“Really?” Delancey rounds her eyes. “Would you help us?”
“Yes, but I’m warning you that a report might not be allowed to be shown. I will do my best for it to be translated on TV, but don’t expect what you want.”
“Well, thanks, at least for that,” Steven says quietly. “We’ve finally woken you up!”
“Leave me the CD with the record. Today, I will tell my staff to prepare a reportage, in which it should be played.”
Delancey opens her purse, finds the CD and gives it to Tristan, who nods and cracks a slight smile.
“Anyway, thank you for agreeing to help,” Delancey thanks shyly. “We don’t hope for a miracle, but we don’t want to be silent when we can tell all the truth about that scandal.”
“When people know about his business, we will do our best to bring that scumbag to prison,” Steven says coldly.
“I hope your effort will not be worthless,” Tristan expresses hope.
“Oh…” Steven smirks quietly. “Who is that man? I don’t understand, what does he need? What does he want to get?”
“Yeah…” Delancey agrees gloomily. “I don’t understand…”
“I would like to know if he had to do with working on photoshoots.”
“I don’t think so. I saw him just walking in circles and talking to everybody. And when it was time for a shot, he went to the studio and watched what was happening as well as other people did.”
“It happened on the photoshoot of Terrence and Raquelle and the one, on which he worked alone?”
“Exactly! That man is definitely very talkative. I never saw him being all alone. He was always talking to someone.”
“Maybe, that is a manager of Terrence MacClife? Or his assistant? Or his bodyguard?”
“As far as I know, Terrence doesn’t use the services of security. Even when it was the peak of his fame, he walked everywhere without bodyguards.”
“Wow… As well as Raquelle does… She’s never hired bodyguards, as well.”
“Anyway, it could be someone from his team. Someone he is working with.”
“Don’t you know someone from them?”
“Alas, I don’t.”
“But you said you had known Terrence for many years.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never talked to members of his team closely and don’t know how often he changes them or whether he does it at all.”
“Sorry… We would contact someone and try to ask about everything.”
“Wow!” Tristan meddles, silently listening to everything Delancey and Steven said. “What a twist…”
“But the most interesting thing is how that man gets money,” Steven wonders. “He is able to pay that editor-in-chief to get articles that shower Raquelle with mud published.”
“Maybe, he has a rich family?”
“Hardly!” Delancey exclaims. “I paid attention to the fact that the man was not dressed up very well. His suit was kind of very old. It was so worn out.”
“Maybe, he is just too economical? Maybe, he won’t like to spend just a couple of cents?”
“We don’t exclude. Besides, he needs a lot of money to bribe his pal. He wouldn’t publish that bullshit for free or just thanks.”
“Well…” Tristan pronounces thoughtfully. “That’s right…”
“Anyway, even if he’s got some money, that man could get it not in an honest way,” Steven says confidently. “A common working man would hardly get so much money to pay someone, who probably requires a lot of money.”
“Right,” Delancey agrees. “As we’ve said, Kendrick would hardly publish those notes for two or three dollars, which wouldn’t be enough for a good life.”
“Listen, guys…” Tristan pronounces thoughtfully. “You got me interested…”
Tristan sits at his working table.
“Tell me more about that man,” Tristan says. “Maybe, it will be a great idea for a reportage that would be very popular and make the rating of our channel much higher.”
“We don’t also know much about that man,” Steven confesses, sitting in front of Tristan as well as Delancey does. “He showed up like out of nowhere and started to spread the chaos everywhere.”
“Do you know how that man got in touch with that model?”
“Sadly, we do not know,” Delancey shrugs. “It’s a mystery to us.”
“Don’t you really know him?”
“Really! I’ve seen him a couple of times. On photoshoots that Terrence MacClife was working on.”
“So, could that man have to do with that actor?”
“Who knows… But that man promised to ruin his career, as well.”
“That’s how! Tell me more about it, please…”
“And he said he told Terrence all the truth about the real one to blame for that situation. When MacClife found everything out, he decided to tell Raquelle everything as soon as possible.”
“Is the one to blame not going to reveal himself?”
“Not yet. He says it’s not time yet. She would know his name when he decided to make it known.”
“Alright,” Tristan pronounces thoughtfully. “So, as far as I understand, could that actor confirm all your words and call the name of the one to do that?”
“Yes, he can deny everything that man said about that girl and prove her innocence. He can say who had to do with all of those insults and humiliations of the innocent girl. Who is not as bad as she was made for everyone.”
Steven and Delancey talk to Tristan for a long enough time and discuss the situation of Raquelle, trying to prove that the girl is guilty of nothing and just became a victim. And it should be noted that the more the two speak, the greater interest the old friend of Steven shows. He understands he must promote a reportage about the unknown person, who is guilty of that situation and play the record, the CD with which he has now.
But it not only does it have to do with Tristan's wish to help his old friend. His main goal is the money that he would earn and a rating that would get much higher if he decided to promote himself thanks to the names of Terrence MacClife and Raquelle Cameron and release a few reports about this story, the interest in which so many people around the world are showing now.
***
“It wasn’t easy for us to persuade him to help us because that person believed us not at once and told us to go to the police and explain everything to them,” Steven confesses. “But Tristan eventually agreed to help us. Even if he said he did that for friendship with me. He didn’t wanna fight with me. And I think he was also happy to get promoted thanks to such famous names.”
“And was that recording played?” Raquelle asks.
“Yes. It was played. They translated a reportage, in which they played the voice record of that man and Kendrick. And some time later, that record was played on many other channels.”
“Wow…”
“So, we managed to prove that the man slandered you insolently.”
“I can’t believe it…”
“And when everyone finally found out the truth, they opened their eyes and started to shower that man, who hasn’t shown himself to the world, with the same mud they showered you with. Now he’s become the one everyone hates. They call him an insolent liar and insult him in all possible ways.”
“So, did people find out the truth and believe I was guilty of nothing?”
“Exactly, Raquelle!” Steven exclaims. “Now people know who they should believe.”
“And what happened to the one to blame?”
“That man definitely got scared of shame that he got over him and disappeared after everything was out.”
“Wow…”
“The media stopped publishing his comments. And I guess he would not reveal himself to the whole world. He wouldn't call his name, wouldn’t go to shows and give interviews. He wouldn’t throw a bone for dogs and be happy when seeing everyone showering you with mud. Because if everyone knew his name, they would turn his life into hell. However, people cannot wait to do that.”
“Okay… What about the editor-in-chief?”
“Kendrick also paid much for helping that liar. Some time ago, he actually stopped releasing his magazine.”
“Stopped releasing his magazine?”
“Yes. Sale sharply got worse, and that man lost much money as he paid much money to release it. But all of it was worthless in the end.”
“My gosh…”
“But I personally think he just got scared of claims that are going to be filled by many celebrities, alleged comments from who were published in his magazine. So, he shut his closet down and decided to hide in his hole with the thought that he wouldn’t be punished.”
“That’s how!”
“Yes. Many of them were mad because some negative comments about you were published allegedly on their behalf. And they decided not to leave it unnoticed.”
“Didn’t that man apologize?”
“C’mon! Kendrick didn’t give apologies to anyone and refused to publish a rebuttal in one of the last issues. He preferred silently stopping the release of that magazine and getting rid of his business for a few days. The office of the magazine is empty, all the members of the staff are fired, and the accounts on social networks have been deleted.”
“So, are they gonna sue the one, who spread those rumors, as well?”
“I think so. He was the one to tell them to publish all those comments allegedly by famous people. So, that fraud would have to pay moral damage to you and all the celebrities.”
“Wow…” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“Besides, nobody knows how a common working man got so much money and easily paid to the one to have to slander you.”
“Do you think he didn't get it in an honest way?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Even if that man is working, he hardly gets so much money. So, he could decide to deceive someone.”
“You’re right…”
“That man probably has many demons. I don’t exclude that he has to do with some crimes, for which he might go to prison.”
“Who know…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “Anyway, the one, who slanders me, has a lot of sins.”
“Listen, do you suspect someone else except Terrence MacClife?”
“Nope, nobody.”
“Well, maybe, there is someone, who has dreamed of hurting you? Someone you had a conflict with?”
“No, Steven, I didn’t have a conflict with anyone. Except for MacClife. He’s the only one I fought with.”
“But someone did that!”
“That actor is the only suspect. Who could do that not alone but with the help of some people.”
“C’mon, he’s a good man. Of course, he loves praising himself to the skies, but he’s always nice to everyone and agrees to do something if someone asks him for help.”
“He’s just playing the role of a good man. That man is actually just disgusting.”
“Wow…” Steven laughs shyly. “You’re the first girl, who doesn’t succumb to his charms. Anyone is ready to fall in front of him, but you are not.”
“He is not an heir of a rich dynasty or a member of a royal family to incline my head for him and silently do anything he wants.”
“Don’t you really like that guy at all?”
“No, I don’t like him.”
“And wouldn’t you say he’s ugly?”
“No, he is ugly, but it means nothing.”
“Ah, Cameron, sometimes you make me surprised. Really surprised.”
“That idiot should incline his head for me.” Raquelle proudly raises her head up. “Get down on his knees and ask me for forgiveness for turning people against me.”
“That wasn’t him, I swear!” Steven exclaims.
“Until I hear the record, I will not believe it.”
“Want me to send you to you at your email?”
“Do it if it’s possible.”
“Okay! Today or tomorrow, I will talk to Delancey and ask her to give me a copy of the record. And then I will send it to your email. Or a message… I don’t know, I will see.”
“Excellent! We will see who I didn’t please. And who agreed with.”
“Anyway, now you know there is someone, who personally confessed what he did.”
“You’re right.”
“That man has been revealed, and he will no longer mock you and turn people against you.”
“Yeah…” Raquelle shakes her head. “Honestly, it’s hard to believe it. Will nobody… Hurt me anymore?”
“Nobody will, my darling,” Steven says with a slight smile. “Now that man would fear to show up. Because your fans are impatiently waiting for someone to reveal who he is.”
“You think?”
“When people heard he personally confessed he lied for a wish to ruin your career on the voice recording, everyone literally attacked him.”
“Really?”
“I swear! Check out the comments on the Internet if you don’t believe me. Chaos is happening there! Everyone is showering that man with mud and apologizing to you for believing his insolent lie. Everyone is cursing and hating that cad and literally wishing him to burn in hell!”
“No…”
Raquelle smiles slightly, not hiding her happiness from thinking this story has been almost over in a good way.
“I can’t believe it…” Raquelle shakes her head. “It can't be the truth…”
“It's the truth, friend,” Steven pronounces confidently. “Delancey and I did everything we could to help you. And it brought to success.”
“My gosh…” Raquelle closes her mouth with her hand. “Can I walk on the streets quietly? Can I stop being afraid of people pointing at me? Would people finally stop believing the insolent lie?”
“Exactly, Raquelle!” Steven exclaims. “Exactly! Now everything will be the same!”
“And won’t I have to look for proof of my innocence?”
“Everything has been done! You should only show up and start working again.”
“Oh, damn, that's so awesome!” Raquelle pronounces enthusiastically, shaking her head with a wide smile on her face. “My God… You made me exhale with great relief!”
“You see it! Everything has been solved!”
“Steven, my friend… I…” Raquelle shakes her head with a slight smile. “I don’t know how to thank you… I can’t believe you helped me open people’s eyes and let them know that someone lied to them. I… I didn’t expect you would be the one to help me.”
“I would’ve done my best to get your good name back,” Steven says amicably. “But since that cad decided to get me into that, I was much more determined.”
“Thank you so much, buddy,” Raquelle thanks with a slight smile. “Really. I… I don’t know what to say to show you my thank.”
“I did everything I could, but you should keep working on this business on your own. You should give some effort to make people finally forget about that scandal.”
“I know.”
“But I think it wouldn’t be hard for you. A few shootings, interviews, and events before you’re loved again and starting to get lots of offers.”
“And I’m ready for it… Ready. Ready to get back what was instantly ruined.”
“I think Serena would find a way to help you quickly restore your reputation and get the love of literally the whole world again.”
“My God, I’ve got a feeling that I’m sleeping.”
Raquelle shakes her head with a wide smile on her face, closing her mouth with her hand.
“Yes, I’m sleeping now!” Raquelle exclaims. “About to wake up and understand all my nightmares are still continuing.”
“It's not a dream, my darling,” Steven says confidently with a wide smile. “My word.”
“I still can’t believe the situation finally got clear, and my worst nightmare didn’t come true…”
“That’s good that stinker had been stopped before another issue of Kendrick’s magazine with a comment by allegedly Terrence MacClife was released. He would’ve literally become the one to blame for the end of your career. All of his fans would’ve gone against you and definitely made your life hard.”
“I hope you will be right, and that actor wouldn’t be guilty of anything.”
At this moment, Raquelle sits on a bench placed not far from the place where she is being, not stopping to smile widely and barely holding down her wish to whoop at the whole street.
“And can I stop fearing of being judged for what I have never done?” Raquelle still cannot believe it.
“Probably, the decision to ride out the storm and do nothing was very good,” Raquelle assumes. “I decided to leave the USA for a reason.”
“Maybe,” Steven pronounces thoughtfully. “Anyway, you can show yourself now.”
“Can I really stop being afraid of being judged for what I’ve never done?”
“Of course, darling! You have no reason to be afraid. And you may stop hiding from everyone. Nobody would point at you with a finger and love to insult or humiliate.”
“Yeah, but what about the people I worked with?” Raquelle asks hesitantly. “Would they love to work with me again? And would others like to offer me a job?”
“Oh, friend, believe me, all those people are breaking the phones of your managers and attacking them with emails.”
“Breaking phones?”
“Aha. Somehow, Serena complained to me about her and your manager team having no time to read all of them and accepting all incoming calls.”
“Wow…”
“And yeah, she said someone wanted to propose you a few very good contracts. Someone even wants to make you the face of their brand.”
“Really?” Raquelle opens her mouth slightly. “Does someone still want me to work with them?”
“Not only them! Everybody in the agency wants you to keep working with them. Nobody wants to stop collaborating with such an amazing model, whose love for working has always got them surprised.”
“Well… Actually, I didn’t break a contract with my agency, and I keep working with them and being represented by them. If only… They didn’t break it unilaterally.”
“C’mon! They didn’t even have this thought!”
“But how do you know it? Have you talked to someone personally?”
“I’ve been at your agency several times and talked to all the guys. They all started to be seriously worried when you suddenly left and stopped contacting everybody.”
“Did someone believe in everything that was published in newspapers and magazines?”
“Nobody!”
“Nobody?”
“They know you too well to believe that bullshit.”
“Oh, my God…”
“All this time, your managers refused to talk to the media and never stopped trying to contact you. They often called you and sent you probably millions of letters at your email.”
“Wow…” Raquelle smiles shyly. “I’m still needed… Many people need me…”
“Please, Raquelle, come back to your work,” Steven begs with sadness in his eyes. “Start conquering runways and slaying everyone with only one look in a photo.”
“I would be happy to do…”
“Serena doesn’t want to say goodbye to you and is ready to keep being your manager. She says the agency is ready to take a smaller percent of your income, so you don't leave them.”
“Do the people from the agency still really want to work with me?”
“Of course, my dear! They don’t want to lose such a talented model, who could get much more if she wants it so much. And they are ready for anything for you to stay with them.”
“Everything?”
“Yes! Don’t refuse, friend! Please.”
“Did I say I’d refuse?”
“You wanna become a legendary supermodel and make people remember you at all times. Prove to those, who disliked you, that you are worth much.”
“Very much… I wanna prove that some people underestimated me again and again.”
“Fantastic! You’ve got a wonderful chance to get it! You should only go back to the USA and let Serena know you’re ready to work.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“So what?” Steven falls into silence for two seconds and smiles mysteriously. “Do you agree to keep slaying everyone with your talent and your beauty? If you tell me your decision now, I will go to the agency and tell them I’ve finally found you today.”
“Of course, Steve!” Raquelle exclaims happily with a wide smile, barely holding down a wish to shout from happiness because people might think she is weird. “I’d be happy to be back to my work!”
“Yeah?”
“And I would keep working with the people from the agency with pleasure. I’m ready to be back to those, who I madly miss.”
“Excellent!” Steven pronounces loudly and happily. “Yeah! I knew you'd agree!”
“How funny you are…” Raquelle laughs shyly.
“Because you’ve agreed to be back at work.”
“You say it like I quit my career but decided to renew it again.”
“No, don’t even dare to do that!”
“I wasn’t gonna do! It was just an unplanned vacation due to the current situation.”
“I promise I shall go to the agency today and make the fellows happy,” Steven promises cheerfully.
“Well, as you’ve visited them too often, you can tell them some good news.”
“May the world get ready for the return of the madly talented model that’s gonna shine just as bright as a star again.”
“Oh, Steve…” Raquelle laughs shyly.
“And you get ready! Don’t relax there! Get ready to start showing everything you can do. Remember, when we work together again, I will make you show me everything you can do and everything you can’t do.”
“I promise I’m gonna be one hundred ready.”
“By the way, you have a very good chance to work.”
“Really?”
“Yes! A photoshoot for the cover of a super popular glossy magazine is being scheduled now. And… I was asked to become a photographer for a few shots.”
“Congrats,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“I’ve worked with a couple of models, but a few more shootings are still scheduled. However, they will take place after the Christmas holidays.”
“As far as I understand, did I get an offer to shoot for that magazine?”
“When nothing was known about you, editors picked up another model to shoot her for the cover. But they didn’t give her a one hundred percent promise that she’d be shooting. They just said she might shoot. And that girl agreed.”
“And… What?”
“The case is that the editor of the magazine would like to see you on the cover.”
“Me?”
“He would be happy if you agreed to shoot and gave a little interview.”
“That’s how!” Raquelle smiles slightly. “A shooting of the cover…”
“Serena asked them to wait for a while to have time to find you and talk to you. And luckily, they agreed to wait. They said they would arrange a shooting for you at any time.”
“My God, that's wonderful!”
“You say, are you gonna stay in London until Christmas?”
“Yes, I’m planning to come back home after Christmas or the New Year. But if the shooting starts earlier, I’m ready to break my unplanned vacation and come back to the USA. Just tell me when it is gonna take place.”
“Well, actually, I can’t tell you the exact day of the shooting… But I surely know they’re gonna have the rest of the photoshoots after the Christmas holidays.”
“Anyway, I agree to shoot for that magazine.”
“Agree?”
“Yes. Tell Serena to agree about everything. When I’m back, I will talk to her about everything.”
“Okay, Raquelle, I will tell her your decision. So, she tells the editors of the magazine that you agree to work with them.”
“I’m ready to start working at any time.”
“Anyway, you can have a rest until the end of this year and celebrate Christmas with your family. But after the holidays, you will start the first shooting in the new year. After the scandal of slander.”
“Ah, if I have to, I’m ready to work even on the Christmas holidays,” Raquelle says confidently with a wide smile. “Just give me a sign – and I will immediately get ready and go to the shooting.”
“No, sweetie, don’t do. Have a rest and get ready for your triumphal return. To get a much greater love of your fans and a greater success in the modeling business.”
“Okay, I will be having a rest and celebrating Christmas.”
“Thanks, Raquelle!” Steven thanks with a wide smile. “You’re the best!”
“No, Steve, you're the best!” Raquelle pronounces with a wide smile. “Thank you so much for what you’ve done for me. I will never forget it and will be grateful to you for giving me a chance to start doing my favorite business again.”
“And thank you for agreeing to keep working. I’m so happy that I did my best to end that story and not to let something bad happen.”
“And say thank you to Delancey. If I’m lucky to meet her someday, I will give her my thanks personally.”
“Okay, my favorite gorgeous model, I will surely tell her your words.”
“Hey, stop making me blush!” Raquelle throws shyly, laughing quietly with her mouth closed with her hand. “I’m actually outside!”
“M-m-m, wait, Cameron, you’ll be getting much blusher when you hear compliments from all the people,” Steven says confidently. “From all your fans. Girls are gonna consider you a role model, and men will lose their mind, propose to you, and give you all the wealth in the world.”
“Aw, Steve, you can encourage me…”
“And maybe, someday, you will break their hearts if you announced your affair with a man and then agreed to marry him.”
“I’m assuring you that it won’t happen at the nearest time. There is no man on the horizon that I would like much more than any other.”
“So, it will be found! You’ve never been deprived of men’s attention. So, I’m sure that the one you will meet is someone you will get a crush on.”
“Maybe. But now I have a crush on nobody.”
“If all single guys heard it, they would exhale with relief and hope of getting your heart and marrying you,” Steven replies funnily.
“Oh, Steven…”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Raquelle and Steven just laugh shyly.
“Oh, okay…” Steven pronounces thoughtfully. “I’m really sorry, but I have to go now… I can’t talk to you any longer. I should do some personal things and go to the agency and make everybody happy by the news about finding you.”
“Sure, I will not make you talk longer,” Raquelle shrugs with a slight smile.
“And don’t be mad at me for what happened.”
“It's okay, Steven. Don’t worry. I get it. I wasn’t right when I thought you stood by the side of the one, who slandered me and decided to support him.”
“I understand it. You had the right to do it.”
“Anyway, thank you for helping me bring the one to blame to clean water.”
“I was happy to help my good friend.”
“Okay… Do your business, and I will be getting ready for Christmas and for my return to work.”
Raquelle cracks a slight smile.
“I think I should have a good rest before I’m back in the USA and start working.”
“Okay,” Steven pronounces amicably. “So, see you in a few weeks on the shooting.”
“I'll be waiting for this moment with impatience,” Raquelle says confidently with a wide smile.
“Me too. Wishing you unforgettable holidays.”
“Thanks a lot. And yeah, in case we don’t call each other before our meeting, I’m wishing you a Merry Christmas in advance.”
“Thanks. Merry early Christmas to you, too.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
“See you soon.”
Raquelle turns off the call, puts her phone in her purse, and, exhaling slowly, smiles widely. Steven's words made her good mood much better and made her feel great relief. The girl did not expect everything would be solved so easily, and she would not have to give her everything to restore her good reputation and prove that the words about the way she behaved were a lie.
“Thank you, God!” Raquelle thanks with a slight smile. “Thank you… Thank you for making me believe there is justice in the world. Thank you for sending me Steven and Delancey, thanks to whom this situation has finally been solved. Who helped me prove that I was insolently slandered. And someone confessed it. Who knows if I was able to solve this problem on my own.”
Raquelle slightly raises her head up.
“I will be madly grateful to them until the last day of my life,” Raquelle thinks. “They helped me when I needed it so badly. When I had nobody to get help from.”
Two seconds later, Raquelle stands up from the bench and confidently goes somewhere on the straight path with her head proudly raised, barely holding down her wish to shout at the top of her lungs in the middle of the street, on which people are walking, who are, however, busy with their business.
“I was right when I was sure something good would happen today since the morning,” Raquelle thinks with a slight smile. “So, I got just a wonderful piece of news! It’s definitely a miracle. A Christmas miracle! A Christmas miracle that helped me solve this problem.”
Raquelle glances aside.
“I can’t believe my life is finally getting better little by little,” Raquelle thinks. “At least, I’m now able to quietly walk outside and not to be afraid of meeting someone. There’s no meaning in being ashamed and trying to bury my head in sand because everyone knows the truth now.”
Raquelle sighs very quietly.
“But I’d definitely need some time to restore my reputation,” Raquelle assumes. “However, I am ready for that. Read to work and give my everything. Ready to prove that Raquelle Cameron is not as worthless and talentless as people tried to make her think.”
If there were no people around, Raquelle would definitely scream at the top of her lungs to show happiness and have fun like a little child. A realization of the fact that the bad things are finally over gives her much more energy. It seems like calm and luck are coming back to the life of the girl, who is not hiding her slight smile while walking in the London park with her head proudly raised. Many people notice it and even smile at her back, literally getting infected by her wonderful mood.
Now, when all the problems are finally solved, and the lie has been revealed, Raquelle is determined to have a good rest and spend her holidays in London to remember them with warmth in her soul for a long time. She is not going to waste time and wants to think only of good things at the nearest time. For example, about the fact that Christmas is coming very soon. The holiday, before which a truly magical thing happened to her.
***
And while Raquelle just started talking to Steven and discovering what Delancey and he found out about the one that spread the false rumors, Natalia decides to walk in the park where her friend is now. She doubts if she should bother Raquelle as she has probably not come to herself after everything she had to get through at yesterday’s meeting with Eleanor Woodham. And she decides to use a moment to examine the city and call the memories of the time when she was here with her best friend.
“I think I’m doing the right thing by not bothering Raquelle now,” Natalia thinks, crossing her arms over her chest and looking around with interest. “I want some time to be gone. And a little later, I will try to call her and ask if I can go to the home of Alicia.”
Natalia cracks a slight smile, being admired by how beautifully the city is decorated for the forthcoming Christmas, the spirit of which she can feel very well.
“I could try to call Lexi again and ask her to keep me aware of everything that is happening,” Natalia thinks. “What if Cameron wants to go home, while I find the courage to call her and tell her that I’ve arrived in London.”
Natalia glances at an adult man and an adult woman that go by her, holding packets that are full of something.
“That’s good I’m at least in a more or less familiar country,” Natalia thinks. “Thank God, people speak English in London. That Raquelle’s auntie is living here, not somewhere in Brazil or Portugal. How would it feel like if she lived somewhere where people spoke Turkish or Korean? But… For my best friend, I would go anywhere. And San Marino, and Russia.”
Natalia cracks a slight smile.
“Well, as I’ve got some free time, I can walk in the city a little and see what there is here,” Natalia decides. “Call the memories of the old times when Cameron and I spent time here together. When my parents let me come here for the holidays several times.”
Natalia sighs quietly.
“It was a good time…” Natalia notices. “How much Alicia told Raquelle and me. And we also found places where we could go by ourselves.”
Natalia quickly looks around.
“It seems like I’m calling the memories of how Raquelle and I could walk in this park for hours,” Natalia calls the memories. “I believe there must be a large lake, in which ducks were swimming, somewhere in this park. I remember us going to feed them…”
Natalia moves her eyes to a group of teenagers, who are photographing each other in front of the big Christmas tree that is set at the park and makes people truly admire it.
“My gosh, what a beautiful tree!” Natalia thinks. “Very beautiful…”
Not thinking much, Natalia decides to come closer to the tree, looks at this from up to down, and even takes a couple of photos on her smartphone that she takes from her purse.
“Beautiful…” Natalia smiles shyly. “And actually, the city is decorated just fantastically. I wanna walk all day and admire it. Even if it’s not very warm outside…”
Natalia fixes slightly her knitted hat, which is put on her head, and under from which her long, loose and slightly wavy hair shows up. Regardless of the weather, the girl tries to look beautiful and stylish. So, now Natalia looks gorgeous in her white, slim tight middle-length coat, a blue scarf wrapped around her neck, light blue jeans, and high winter boots with a non-slip sole, and her hands are warm thanks to white knitted gloves.
“But it’s not as snowy as it was in New York when I decided to go to London,” Natalia thinks. “There is much less snow here.”
Natalia sighs quietly.
“Probably, everything’s beautifully decorated in New York,” Natalia assumes. “And my mom and dad are getting ready for our favorite holiday. Without me…”
Natalia thinks about something for two seconds and then keeps moving on, walking in the large park with great pleasure and watching what’s happening. Little children are throwing snowballs at each other as well as snow with loud shouts. Someone admires the big Christmas tree, which is probably the best decoration at this place. Someone is slowly walking here and rushing nowhere while breathing in the fresh but cold winter air. And someone is skating on the ice rink, on which there are very many people.
At some moment, Natalia comes to the rink and, leaning her elbows on the side, watches people ice skating with interest. Someone is confidently skating on the ice, someone is a little afraid and looking for something to grab, and someone is just learning how to stand on ice skates with the help of other people. There are adults and children on the rink. Despite their age and skills, everyone is getting much pleasure from the pastime on the ice rink, and someone even meets new people and finds someone to spend time with.
Natalia would also like to ice skate a little and even try to start a talk with someone, but she decides to do it a little later and walk in the large park, where there is so much that she needs to examine. So, after watching people skate on the rink for some time, the girl steps back from it and keeps walking at this place and getting pleasure from the time she is spending here.
***
Raquelle walks in the park for some time in a slow step, enjoying the weather that is good for the wintertime and having a wonderful mood, with which everybody, who goes by her gets infected. But at some moment, after getting a little tired of walking, the girl sits on the nearest bench and just looks at what surrounds her, noticing that the park is beautifully decorated in honor of the Christmas holidays.
A little later, Raquelle calls the memories about something and takes a book from her purse, which is actually her personal diary that she took to London. The girl often took it with her all this time because she was sure she would love to write something at any time. But she had nothing to write about before. And now she decides to fix it and write down everything that has lately happened to her.
After opening the latest page of her diary, Raquelle runs her eyes over a part of the note taken on November 13th, in which she wrote about her shooting for a cloth catalog that had happened before Terrence MacClife and someone decided to ruin her life stood in her way. She also reads much older notes, thanks to which she calls the memories of many moments from her life.
And now Raquelle decides it’s time to take a new note. So, she quickly finds a pen in her purse and starts writing something with very beautiful and careful handwriting, sometimes glancing at something or someone or just thinking about how to write something better.
"It's been so long, dear diary… Finally, I’ve decided to make a note after a long break. I didn't write anything about my life because I was shocked and overwhelmed by the events that happened to me in the past few weeks… Honestly, I don’t even know where to start… Because I need to tell you too much. Even if those events aren’t the nicest ones, and I would like to forget them as soon as possible. But I will describe the situation with two or three words… I wanna share what has just been solved…
It all started with another photoshoot. I met the one that caused tons of emotions inside me: from love to hate. Terrence MacClife. I liked that man at first sight. When I saw him, I felt something I hadn’t felt before. But at the same time, that man made me feel strong anger and hate. Caused by his too arrogant behavior and attempts to accost me. But on the contrary, I liked those new emotions. I liked playing a catch with that man. Handsome, I must confess. Freaking attractive. But too selfish.
But on the photoshoot, we fought much more after we almost messed up everything. It was personally hard for me to focus when I had to pose with that man. I easily did my work alone, but then I couldn’t work well. And MacClife thought it was a wonderful chance to feel me up from head to feet. That’s why he got a couple of slaps. And I… I got my first kiss. The first, passionate, exciting kiss. Which is the reason why I almost died.
We were very close to each other… I felt dizzy and thought I was about to lose my ground… I will never forget everything I felt at that moment. Yes, I understood that was madness. But I liked it very much. So, I can’t say MacClife accosted me against my wish. I didn’t actually mind. But I will never confess it. I will not confess that the man became the first one to wake up new emotions inside me. To make me wish to get closer to him. A wish… To feel his lips again… Feel his hands…
But I quickly forgot it when someone literally showered me with mud somehow and made me wake up. After that fateful photoshoot, my modeling career was ruined kind of once and forever. Because of the insolent slander of that man. And I still suspect Terrence. I am sure he did it to take revenge on me. Revenge on me for rejecting him. Refusing to incline my head for him as well as all the girls did.
What happened made me run away from New York to London for a while. I mean, my grandfather Frederick advised me to ride out the storm and do nothing. So, I took my stuff and traveled to Great Britain. ToLondon, to visit my beloved aunt, Alicia, who accepted me with pleasure. Everyone decided that I disappeared, but it was just a plus for me. Because I didn't want to show up in anyone's eyes for some time. And I was lucky the airport staff didn’t recognize me as the famous model and said nothing. Yes, in London, I often heard people whispering about me behind my back. I’ve watched a lot of reports about me being a thankless scum. I’ve read a lot of articles and comments showering me with mud. But everything has kind of changed little by little. Either I started to take it easier, or people started to understand something. Anyway, later, I was able to walk quietly in the city, and everybody didn’t care about me.
However, all the time I was living with my aunt Alicia, I didn't have a rest but was helping her solve quite a serious problem. I had no time to think about my problems, even if I sometimes had to call the memories about what happened as I read many articles about that scandal and received a few letters from the anonymous, who, I don’t doubt, is Terrence MacClife. However, it didn’t prevent me from thinking about what happened to my aunt. And in the end, I had to discover very many things about her and her past life. I won’t tell you all the details of that case because that’s terrible and unpleasant. I don’t wanna think about it.
Thank God, everything has been solved, and my aunt is able to live a quiet life. And my life has finally got better. And now I have some time to come to myself and finally use the chance to have a good rest. There are just a few days left before Christmas, and I can’t wait to celebrate it. I’ve always loved this holiday and adore the time when everyone gets ready for that, buying gifts, decorating a tree, decorating houses and apartments… It's a wonderful time… Magical time…
Maybe, a Christmas miracle decided to find me now and give me a piece of good news. A few minutes ago, I got a call from Steven Appleby, my good friend, who I’ve befriended and worked with almost since the beginning of my career. He told me how he and his friend Delancey managed to prove to everyone that I wasn’t guilty of what I was charged with. He let me know I could stop hiding, come back to the USA, and show myself up. I already have an offer… Steve said the shootings for one famous magazine would take place very soon, and I got an offer to shoot for a cover. And I agreed to do it with pleasure. I said I would start working once the Christmas holidays were over.
So… I’m gonna start restoring my reputation with the hope of getting back what I had before Terrence MacClife suddenly came into my life and turned everything upside down. Thanks to Steven and Delancey, everyone has finally realized all the words that man said were an absolute lie said on purpose. However, even after everything got clear, I will not leave that man unpunished and will do my best to exact revenge on him for standing in my way. I don’t know how, but MacClife will regret getting in touch with me.
Anyway, I’m so happy the fair is finally here. Everything is solved and got better. I barely hold myself down not to scream at the top of my lungs about being happy while walking in the park where there are many people. Thank God, I got a chance to get my kind name back and quietly walk on the street, not being afraid of being judged or hearing whispers behind my back. I don’t deny it’s gonna be hard for me to make people forget that terrible incident forever and remember only my merits. But I’m ready for any difficulties. Ready to literally start everything again. Anything to become a model again… To, as Steven says, shine just as bright as a star…
I will always be grateful to him and his friend, Delancey for what they did to me, and for helping me prove that I was guilty of nothing. For a chance to do what I love and prove to everyone that I’m worth something. Some people didn’t believe in my success for no reason. But it’s too early to say something because I need some time to get everything back in the right places and make everyone forget about that scandal.
Nevertheless, I know that everything will be alright now. As my aunt says, nothing lasts forever, nothing stays the same. I promise to always stay strong, brave, and happy, whatever happens… I will prove it by working hard and showing what kind of passion I can work with on what I love so much…"
***
While Raquelle is writing about everything that has happened to her in the past few days or even weeks, Natalia keeps walking in the park and looking at everything that surrounds her. The more she walks at this place, the more memories she calls. The moments, which warm her soul up and make her feel nostalgic for the good old times when everything seemed wonderful and careless.
“My God, how many wonderful memories Raquelle and I got at this place,” Natalia thinks with a slight smile, slowly walking into the park in a slow step and looking around. “When we were here, we never had time to feel bored. We never suffered from having nothing to do. We always had something to do. Cameron and I knew how to have fun, and Alicia often took us to some places.”
Natalia sighs quietly with a slight smile on her face.
“Maybe, when I decide to call her and tell her that I’ve come here, we will find a way to have fun and wish to walk in the city,” Natalia expresses hope. “Walk at the old places or find something new… Spend time as best friends. Just like we did it a few years ago.”
Natalia glances aside and keeps walking at the park and watching those, who are spending time at this wonderful place. Everyone is busy with their business and spending time alone or with their close friends, relatives, and dogs that they are keeping on a leash.
And some time later, Natalia comes to a quiet place where anyone could go in case they wanted to be alone for a while. There are multiple benches, many of which have already been taken by someone. And Raquelle is sitting on one of them, too busy with her diary, and noticing nothing and nobody around. The blonde looks at the dark-haired girl much better and quickly recognizes her as her best friend, whom she did not expect to meet at this park.
“Hey, that’s Raquelle!” Natalia thinks with a slight smile. “That’s my friend! She’s sitting there on the bench! That’s her!”
Natalia shakes her head.
“My gosh, I didn’t think I’d meet her here,” Natalia thinks, closely watching Raquelle, who is writing something in her diary. “I thought she was at Alicia’s home… Coming to herself after everything she had to get through. But Cameron decided to go for a walk in the park. Walk where I decided to go.”
Natalia smiles much wider.
“Is someone letting me know that I may not wait?” Natalia asks herself. “Does someone tell me that I should meet my friend now? Should I give her my support and listen to her?”
Natalia frowns slightly, still watching Raquelle.
“Do I come to her?” Natalia asks herself. “Should I let her know that I’ve come here right now? Come here to find out how she’s doing? Or do I better wait? I don’t even know…”
Natalia stands silently for two seconds and watches Raquelle from afar, while the brunette does not notice her friend because she is too busy with her personal diary, in which she is writing everything she is thinking about.
“Hey, what’s she writing there?” Natalia asks, slightly squinting her eyes. “I can’t get it… She’s holding a book in her hands…”
Natalia closely looks at the notebook Raquelle is holding in her hands for two more seconds.
“Hey, that’s her diary!” Natalia thinks. “Yes! That’s her diary! She often writes something in it. She’s done since childhood. For as long as I remember her, she’s always taken a couple of notes every month. And as she said, she shared her feelings and emotions with her diary.”
Natalia frowns slightly.
“Somehow I saw it and wanted to take it,” Natalia calls the memories. “But Raquelle didn’t let me read that book and let me know that was her diary that she didn’t wanna show anyone. But she’s probably got many similar books, ‘cause she would hardly write everything that’s happened to her for so many years in such a small one.”
Natalia crosses her arms over her chest.
“I wonder, did she write something about Terrence in her diary?” Natalia asks herself. “That handsome guy, who still hopes to melt the ice in the heart of my friend and do his best for her to admire him as well as other girls do.”
Natalia caresses her chin.
“But…” Natalia thinks. “She would hardly write something good about him. Maybe, she would write a couple of words about him being handsome and then write a whole essay about how terrible, insolent, and non-educated that man is. About MacClife daring to insult and humiliate her for the whole world like this.”
Natalia slightly raises her head up.
“Well, I ain’t gonna protect him,” Natalia thinks. “Yes, he says he’s guilty of nothing. But it’s not proved yet. MacClife even refuses to call the name of the one that he thinks is guilty of what happened. And I can’t be sure he won’t wish to cover his ass and blame someone for everything.”
Natalia glances at a man, a child and a beautiful German shepherd that go by her.
“I don’t know how Terrence is gonna prove to Raquelle that he is not guilty of that,” Natalia thinks. “I don’t even know how he would make my friend sure to believe him. Believe that someone else is the one to blame for everything.”
Natalia hums quietly.
“Anyway, he should solve this problem by himself,” Natalia thinks. “I’ve already said I wouldn't help him and play the role of a certain Cupid that would bring two people together. No! MacClife is actually not the best partner for Cameron. I don’t wish anything bad for my friend. I want her to have a decent man by her side, who would one hundred percent make her happy and never hurt her.”
Natalia frowns slightly.
“If Raquelle gets in touch with Terrence, she is going to have many problems,” Natalia assumes. “That man definitely suffers from narcissism. His mood would get much worse if people around him didn’t admire him and call him Apollo. No, of course, he’s really good-looking and freaking hot. But I think people shouldn't say it to him too often. Or that man would become too arrogant and notice anything around him.”
Natalia laughs shyly and watches Raquelle, who is sitting on the bench all alone and writing something in her diary with a slight smile on her face, not caring about the little cold wind that is blowing her hair and face.
“Okay, I’ll think about MacClife and his tricks later,” Natalia decides. “Now I should decide what to do. To come to Raquelle or go by her and let her know about me a little later?”
Natalia thinks for two seconds.
“But actually, judging by her face, I wouldn’t say that she is too shocked,” Natalia assumes. “Maybe, Raquelle has already come to herself more or less after everything she had to get through. Or she’s just trying to pretend that nothing happened. Trying not to think about it…”
Natalia feels something tickling in her nose and quietly sneezes a few seconds later, closing her mouth with both hands.
“What do I do?” Natalia asks herself. “What do I do? What do I do? Do I come to her? Do I come to her?”
Natalia thinks about what to do for a few seconds, watching Raquelle, who is still writing something in her diary, and sometimes moving her eyes off what’s written in her notebook and thinking about how to formulate her thoughts.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea!” Natalia smiles slightly. “I will not impose her. Yes… I will not do it. I will just walk by her and pretend that I don’t see her. If Raquelle notices me, it’s great. If she doesn’t, it’s okay. I will contact her somehow next time. Wait for one more day or two, and then call her or send a message. I don’t know yet.”
Natalia exhales sharply, relaxing and lowering her shoulders.
“Okay, trying is not bad!” Natalia thinks. “I am coming now!”
Natalia stands in the same place for two seconds and hesitates, but then she confidently goes where Raquelle is now. After getting quite close to her, the girl slowly goes by her as if she does not notice her. She even takes her smartphone from a pocket and pretends that she is calling someone or that she is too busy with something she is trying to search for.
And when the blonde goes by her, Raquelle raises her head up for a moment and moves her eyes off the diary, in which she almost finishes taking a note. She quickly sees Natalia at once and looks at the cute girl, who seems very familiar to her, for a few seconds. However, Raquelle quickly recognized the tall owner of golden hair as her friend Natalia, who tries to dress up stylishly even in the wintertime and picks up only the best and high-quality clothes.
“That’s Natalia…” Raquelle smiles slightly, seeing Natalia quietly walking in the London park with her phone in her hands. “She’s here… In London… Oh, my God…”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“I wonder how long ago she came here?” Raquelle wonders. “And why did Rochester say nothing to me about her arrival?”
Raquelle watches Natalia for two seconds, quickly writes some last lines, closes her diary, and puts it in her purse. After this, the girl decides to call the blonde, who is pretending that she looks for something in her expensive gold smartphone too hard.
“Natalia!” Raquelle calls loudly.
When she hears her name, Natalia moves her eyes off the phone, turns to Raquelle, and, pretending that she did not expect to see her friend here and is truly surprised to meet her friend, comes closer to her.
“Raquelle!” Natalia pronounces with a wide smile. “Is that really you?”
“My God, what a surprise!” Raquelle exclaims happily. “I didn’t expect I would meet you here. I didn’t think you’d love to go to London.”
“But I’ve come. For you.”
“Aw, sweetie, I’m so happy to see you!”
Raquelle and Natalia take each other in an amicable hug with a wide smile on their faces and step away from each other a few seconds later.
“I'm happy, too, friend!” Natalia confesses cheerfully. “You can’t even imagine how much! We haven’t met for ages!”
“That’s right,” Raquelle nods.
“It seems like your grandfather, Anna and I said goodbye to you some time ago. But it's already been so much time.”
“Honestly, I didn’t even notice how fast time flew. It seems like I’ve been in London literally for two days.”
“And Christmas is coming in a few days. Tree, lights, delicious food, gifts, Santa Claus…”
“I know! I can’t wait for this holiday.”
“Me too!”
“You know, it would be great if you celebrated it with me. If you decided to come to London.”
“With great pleasure,” Natalia smiles widely. “I can’t reject such a good suggestion. I hope your aunt wouldn’t mind.”
“C’mon! Of course, not! Auntie would be very happy to see you and find out how you’re doing.”
“It would be great to meet her and talk to her a little.”
“If you still remember her address, you can visit her at any time.”
“Of course, I remember. Although I thought I wouldn’t find it, everything was much easier. The memories of the time I spent here helped me call the memories about the place where that woman lived.”
“Wow…”
“Well, of course, I met a familiar man, who knew your aunt, and he called me her address. But when I came to the destination, I realized I could find Alicia’s home without his help.”
“M-m-m, that’s how!”
“So, it’s the truth, friend!”
“You know, Natalia, I must confess that I already missed you so badly,” Raquelle confesses. “And I wanted to invite you to come here.”
“Well, I missed much earlier,” Natalia shrugs with a slight smile. “I bought a ticket and came to visit my best friend. I wanted to make a surprise.”
“And that’s a very good one! I’m so happy you’ve come here.”
Natalia says nothing and just smiles shyly. During the silence that settles in the air, the girl starts looking at Raquelle from head to feet, holding her hands and silently noticing that the brunette looks fresh and cheerful.
“Hey, friend, you look good!” Natalia notices cheerfully. “It’s clear that having a rest with your auntie Alicia was good for you.”
“Well, honestly, I had a rest not for a long time…” Raquelle confesses a little hesitantly with a slight smile, scratching the back of her head.
“Really?”
“Yup. I can’t say I had a rest here… I just got a chance to do this.”
“Oh, that’s how…” Natalia thinks for two seconds, biting her lip slightly. “But even if it's true, you look quite fresh. Even much better than before. You looked not very good before you left, honestly.”
“Thanks, friend…” Raquelle smiles shyly. “I really feel much better now.”
“So, you came here for a reason.”
“Agree.”
Raquelle falls into silence for two seconds, still smiling shyly at Natalia, who places the belt of her patent purse above her shoulder.
“Hey, why didn't you tell me you would come to London?” Raquelle wonders. “I would’ve met you at the airport if you’d warned me about your arrival.”
“I said I wanted to make a surprise for you,” Natalia replies confidently. “And I thought of when I could call you to tell you about my arrival and ask you for permission to visit you.”
“And how long ago did you come here?”
“Erm… Two days ago…” Natalia bites her lip slightly and glances aside. “I just came to myself after a long flight.”
“Did you get so exhausted after a twelve-hours flight?” Raquelle asks.
“Oh, yeah! I actually wanted to come a few days ago, but my flight was delayed for two days in a row, and I had to spend that time at the airport. With my bag. On heavy, uncomfortable chairs. And eat what I don’t like at all.”
“Thank, God, you were traveling alone,” Raquelle laughs shyly. “Or your accompany would’ve strangled you.”
“No, I would’ve strangled that one! I would've killed anyone, who stood in my way! Because I was terribly mad and tired after the cancellations of a few flights. I swear, friend, if someone had stood in my way, that person would’ve surely regretted getting in touch with me.”
“Knowing your impulsive character, I’m surprised you didn’t get the whole airport shocked,” Raquelle chuckles kindly.
“Almost did. But if I’d had to expect for a few more hours because of a canceled flight, I would’ve started a scandal.” Natalia tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “But that’s good I didn’t have to do it.”
“Yeah, those people were really lucky you flew away,” Raquelle says funnily.
Natalia says nothing and just laughs shyly, glancing aside.
“Hey, you forgot about us at all,” Natalia notices amicably. “You don't call Anna, Mr. Cameron, and me.”
“Yeah, I confess it and regret it,” Raquelle pronounces shamelessly. “I know I promised to call and often text but didn’t do that even once. I mean, I've only had a talk with Grandpa several times. But our conservations were quite short.”
“We met almost every day, called and talked about you. And we were worried about you because you never let us know about you. You called Mr. Cameron two days after you came to London. He was so excited and thought something happened to you on the way.”
“I know. I’m sorry it happened.”
“And…” Natalia rolls her eyes for a second. “It’s one of the reasons why I decided to come here. I was worried, took my stuff, bought a ticket, and got on an airplane.”
“I know you’re my caring friend,” Raquelle replies with a slight smile. “Who would even fly to another country for her close people.”
“Of course, your grandfather would’ve gone with pleasure, but he had some business.”
“He’s always too busy and never stays in the same place. That’s why we couldn’t talk much. He always had to go somewhere.”
“Right, your grandfather was often going somewhere, working, and never staying in the same place,” Natalia nods. “When you were spending time here, he stayed home only for a few days in the past days. And he was working so hard for the other days.”
“As Grandpa loves saying, life is a movement.”
“Absolutely true.”
Silence settles for two seconds, after which Raquelle and Natalia come to the bench and sit on it, and the brunette takes her friend’s hands.
“Hey, tell me everything that’s happening in New York,” Raquelle shows interest, taking Natalia’s hands. “How are you doing?”
“Well, everything’s the same about me…” Natalia shrugs with a slight smile. “Haven’t left my parents’ home, haven’t met a guy, haven’t gotten married…”
“No man?”
“Alas. You know I’m not lucky in love, sadly. And even if I meet someone, nothing happens, or someone uses me.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie.” Raquelle softly caresses Natalia’s hand with a slight smile. “You will meet the man you would be happy with.”
“I’d like to believe,” Natalia expresses hope. “Honestly, I’m sick of being single. I wanna fall in love and be beloved. I want to have long dates and an incredible pastime with my beloved man.”
“It's gonna happen, don’t worry.”
“Yeah, your grandfather would rather marry someone than I would wait for the guy, who would have a crush on me,” Natalia chuckles kindly.
“No, friend, Grandpa isn’t gonna marry,” Raquelle laughs shyly. “He’s loyal to my grandmother Rosella and says he would never marry another woman. And he says people babysit with grandchildren at his age, not play a wedding.”
“That’s good he’s loyal to his late wife. But I disagree that you should ban yourself from having a wedding, even if you’re more than sixty. My parents have a familiar, who got married at almost the same age. He met a woman, fell in love, and didn’t wanna break up with her.”
“That’s his opinion. My grandpa always says a wedding is a matter for young people. You, Anna and I should think about… Not him.”
“Well, as you know, Anna doesn’t care about men now. She is still studying and getting ready for exams…”
“How’s she doing now?”
“She’s complaining that she barely has time for fun. Studying doesn’t let her think of hangouts with friends and free moments, and it takes her energy and strength.”
“I get it. But it’s okay, when she graduates from the university next year, she’ll get much more time, and we will be able to spend much more time with her. And she will be meeting guys.”
“If her parents didn’t come up with something that wouldn’t let her do whatever she wants. You know that they’ve always been a little weird.”
“Ah, yeah, I forgot…” Raquelle moves her eyes aside for a moment. “Those people don’t like us and do think we’re making their daughter worse…”
“Those people control her too hard. They want to decide everything for her ‘cause they think it would be better for her. Not listening to her opinion. But I think Anna does know well what would be better for her.”
“Agree.” Raquelle tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Do you think they get her married to someone she doesn’t love? Somehow, Anna said there was a talk about her parents dropping a hint on dreaming of her wedding with a son of their familiars.”
“They’re thinking about it,” Natalia nods confidently. “But Anna is resisting so hard and doesn’t want a marriage with that man. She wants to marry only the one she loves.”
“It must be her wish, not a wish of her parents.”
“I’d personally like to believe she would avoid this marriage and meet the one to make her heart beat much faster.”
“It’d be great if she met someone as soon as possible,” Raquelle says with a slight smile. “So, her parents understand that it would be hard for them to make Anna get married to the one they consider a good partner for her.”
“We’ll see…” Natalia shrugs. “But at first, she needs to graduate, and then it’d get clear…”
“I agree with you.”
Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, after which Raquelle moves her little sad look to Natalia.
“Listen, I’m really ashamed of forgetting you all,” Raquelle confesses hesitantly and inclines her head slightly. “I promised to call you often, but I…”
“It’s okay, sweetie, nobody is mad at you,” Natalia replies confidently, softly caressing Raquelle’s hand. “Yes, we really wanted to know how you were doing, but we completely understand you wanted to stay alone with your thoughts for some time. So, we thought you’d call us whenever you want. We thought you needed time to come to yourself.”
“As you’ve heard, I’ve talked only with Grandpa. But I didn’t talk to Anna and you.”
“I see…”
“However, some time ago, I tried to call you several times, but you didn't answer.”
“Really? You called me?”
“Yes. Several times. But your phone was turned off. And nobody answered the home number. Neither your parents nor you.”
“Erm…” Natalia frowns slightly and bites her lip slightly, thinking for two seconds. “Probably, I was on the airplane. I turned it off when that one started getting up… And there was probably nobody at home. So, you didn’t reach me.”
“Most likely,” Raquelle nods. “Because you don’t usually turn off your phone, and I can always easily call you.”
“Yeah… Right…”
“Hey, you said you, Anna, and Grandpa Frederick were often speaking to each other.”
“Yeah, we did. Your grandfather talked to me much more than Anna.”
“That’s how!”
“But we mainly talked on the phone. Talked about you. He always asked about you and often said you forgot him and didn’t call him at all.”
“Is he really fine, as he told me?” Raquelle shows anxiety.
“Don’t worry, friend, he’s okay.”
“Thank God, then.”
“But he misses you much. He says it's been sad at home without you.”
“It’s okay, I will be back home and be next to him after the holidays.”
“Anyway, he tries not to get obsessed with depression and gets busy with something and meets familiars.”
“Great…” Raquelle cracks a slight smile.
“Hey, did your grandfather tell me the truth about your aunt Alicia having some problems?” Natalia frowns slightly.
“Yes, Natalia, it's true.” Raquelle sighs heavily, shaking her head with sadness on her face. “Almost at once after I came, weird things started happening… One pleasant story… Happened…”
“To Alicia?” Natalia specifies.
“Exactly,” Raquelle confirms quietly, running her hand through her hair. “But I also had to get through much. My aunt’s problems were much worse than mine.”
“It seems like I’m guessing what you're talking about…” Natalia replies thoughtfully and slowly moves her eyes aside.
“So, do you know everything?”
“Yup, I do. I’m aware of what happened to you. And I know about the death of a certain Eleanor Woodham, who threatened you and your aunt.”
“Read magazines and newspapers?”
“Yes. I read today's issue of a magazine. But I didn’t first believe and thought it was a tale of journalists.”
“Not, it’s not a tale. It’s the truth.”
“Come on?”
“I had to meet Eleanor Woodham to save Aunt. That woman threatened to kill her.”
“And…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly. “The story… Of the murder of Eleanor’s father… Is… The truth?”
“If you mean the one, who killed him, it's true,” Raquelle confirms with sadness in her eyes.
“Alicia killed him?”
“Yes. Aunt confessed everything. And Eleanor told me how it happened.”
“My God…”
Natalia closes her mouth with her hand, shaking her head with horror in her eyes.
“I can’t believe…” Natalia pronounces in a little shaking voice. “Alicia… Killed the man…”
“I know it’d be hard to believe it,” Raquelle says quietly. “But that’s the truth.”
“I… I got shocked when I found out what Eleanor had to do with Alicia.”
“I didn’t believe it was true, either. But Aunt Alicia told me how it happened. She told me about all the sins of her past. About what she did when she was young.”
“Did she do that on purpose?”
“No, Gilbert, Eleanor’s father, died accidentally. Aunt didn’t wanna kill him and just protected herself from him. He tried to rape her.”
“My gosh…” Natalia pronounces with her widely open eyes. “Poor woman…”
“Thank God, she was found non-guilty and wasn’t put to prison for a few years.”
“She really was.”
“But when the family of the late one heard the sentence, they all got enraged and were literally ready to burn Aunt down. Especially Eleanor.”
“Is that why she tried to take revenge on Alicia?”
“That woman was dreaming of committing lynch. She was sure the judge wasn’t fair and should’ve put my aunt in prison.”
“Friend…” Natalia softly caresses Raquelle’s hand with sadness in her eyes. “I’m so sorry… I’m imagining how it was hard for you to hear it.”
“I hadn’t believed until I heard everything from my aunt,” Raquelle confesses. “First, I found out everything from her diary, in which she wrote about her thoughts, and then Eleanor told me much more.”
“You read Alicia’s diary?”
“I know I did a bad thing, but I had no choice. I wanted to know everything Aunt didn’t tell me. When I made her sure to tell me the truth, she told me just a part of the story. And then I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that it wasn’t everything.”
“Oh, my God…”
“My heart was bleeding when I looked at her when she was saying that. She was crying, shaking, and always apologizing to me. Feeling guilty and couldn’t stop being ashamed.”
“Poor Alicia… Poor woman…”
“She says she began to go to a church and pray much more often after that case. And she thinks she hasn’t gotten forgiveness from God. He is still punishing her for all her sins.”
“Well, as she’s alive and healthy, God pitied her and saved her from Eleanor Woodham. So, He has forgiven her. In the worst case, that woman would've been dead now. Or she would’ve been in prison.”
“Anyway, I didn’t stop praying that my aunt was okay.”
“And I’m very glad everything ended well for you two,” Natalia replies confidently with a slight smile. “Glad you two are safe and sound now.”
“I’m happy, too. But I had to take a lot of risks. Eleanor was very dangerous and threatened to kill Aunt and me.”
“But what did she need from you?”
“I wanted to kill for the ride. So, I didn't suffer. That was her goal.”
“She was a crazy woman…”
“It's alright. She will no longer harm my aunt because Eleanor is dead. She died from massive blood loss. Caused by a gun wound.”
“I know. The magazine wrote about it.”
“So, that woman will no longer hurt my aunt. And her family is getting ready to bury her.”
“I know…” Natalia moves her eyes to Raquelle with a slight smile and claps her on the shoulder. “Anyway, I'm proud of you, friend. Although you exposed yourself to a great danger, you did what I would never do, ‘cause I'm afraid of so many things.”
“Thanks, honey,” Raquelle thanks with a shy smile, and sighs with sadness on her face. “I was really frightened. But unfortunately, I had no choice… I had to do such a risky thing…”
“I know. But you did it.”
“I was terribly afraid Eleanor would kill me. And I started saying farewell to my close people and getting ready for death. I was sorry about not seeing you, Grandpa, Anna… Those I knew… Those two hours seemed to me eternity that wouldn’t have been over.”
“Ah, Raquelle, my friend…” Natalia embraces Raquelle by the shoulders with sadness in her eyes. “I completely understand you. But you were holding on. I would die of fear if someone just showed me a gun.”
“Only the fact that there were the policemen with me calmed me down,” Raquelle confesses. “Eleanor sometimes paid attention to them, and those didn’t let her kill me. It saved my life. But it got me really exhausted.”
“I get it. But the important thing is that everything ended well, and you’re safe and sound, thank God.”
“You're right, everything’s over now,” Raquelle nods with a slight smile. “Aunt can live a quiet life, and my life is getting better. But I recently thought the black strip would never end.”
“Well, maybe Alicia would be fine. But you’d have to return to America and solve the problem with slander.”
“I know.”
“Everyone’s looking for you now.”
“Looking for me?”
“Honestly, those journalists annoyed me, Seymour and Mr. Cameron. We were sick of pissing them off and saying we knew nothing about you.”
“Now you can tell the truth. Everyone knows I’m in London thanks to the story of Eleanor Woodham. So, there’s no need to hide it.”
“Okay… So, when are ya gonna show up and kick the ass of the one, who insulted you? When will you show you’re sweeter and more innocent than any angel?”
“I wouldn’t have to prove anything.”
“What?” Natalia rounds her eyes.
“It's been solved.”
“What do ya mean?”
“It's true,” Raquelle smiles mysteriously. “Steven just told me that.”
“Steven?”
“Steven Appleby. A photographer and my good friend. He called me some time ago.”
“That man called you?”
“Yup.”
“But as far as I remember, Steven said not the best words about you to the media. He said you didn’t deserve your fame! It was paid by someone!”
“It’s a lie. Steve said nothing to the media.”
“No?” Natalia rounds her eyes.
“Someone just published an article with an interview Appleby allegedly gave to comment on my disgusting behavior.”
“So, didn’t he say those words?”
“No. Steve swore that he didn’t say those things. He said he didn’t comment on that situation and did his best to reveal the one to tell the lie about me.”
“He did it?”
“He did! He told me how someone decided to do that.”
“Maybe, Steven knows how someone actually started the scandal and turned everyone against you?”
“It's easy. As it turned out, someone paid an editor of a magazine for him to publish a false interview that was hurting my honor and dignity.”
“Paid?”
“Exactly!”
“Do you mean the magazine ‘Celebrity Universe?’”
“Yeah!”
“I wondered why I knew nothing about that magazine.”
“Steven said that magazine was known to everyone before they started to publish articles with bad things about me by the command of a man. After this, people began to buy the magazine for a few minutes.”
“But how did that stinker get money?” Natalia wonders. “He probably paid a lot of money to that editor! He would’ve hardly released false articles about you for ten or twenty dollars.”
“I don’t know how much he paid him. But I don’t exclude that the man had to do with some tricks. Thanks to which he got some money.”
“If only Terrence MacClife didn’t really have to do with it. To him, paying a man would be super easy.”
“I am still sure he was the one to do it. But Steven tried to make me sure that wasn’t him.”
“Does he know who did it?”
“Nobody knows it yet. But Steven’s friend, who is working as a stylist on photoshoots, accidentally heard the talk of a man, who agreed with that editor about publishing false articles about me.”
“She knows him?”
“Nope, but she says she saw him on the shoot, on which there were Terrence and me, and the shoot, in which only he was.”
“So, could they be connected?”
“Maybe.”
“But how?”
“Who knows. But I don’t exclude that it’s someone from his team.”
“Oh, my God…” Natalia shakes her head. “Is your suspect really true? Is MacClife really guilty of everything?”
“At least that girl managed to get a record of the talk of that man and the editor of the magazine, in which he personally confessed he wanted to humiliate me and ruin my career on purpose. Steven and she managed to prove that man slandered me thanks to that record.”
“Wow…”
“That man was revealed, and people finally found out I did nothing from what he blamed me for. They heard the voice record that was played on many channels. Steven and his friend barely persuaded someone to release a reportage about it.”
“Wow…”
“So, at least a half of the business is done. People started to realize I was guilty of nothing and didn’t do what someone blamed me for.”
“So, what’s gonna happen to him? Where’s he now?”
“That man finally stopped doing his bad tricks. And he hasn’t shown himself to the world.”
“Didn’t that girl see his face?”
“She did, but she doesn’t know who he is.”
“Damn… Who is that person?”
“Steven promised to send me the record at my email, so I could listen to it. To try to recognize the voice of that man. And find out if that man really decided to ruin the career of MacClife, as well.”
“MacClife’s career?” Natalia frowns slightly.
“Steven said that man threatened to do that on the record.”
“But why? Did Terrence stand in his way?”
“I don’t know, Natalia… This story still has many unclear things. I still have very many questions, answers for which I haven’t found.”
“Anyway, that man is gonna pay much for what he did, early or late,” Natalia says confidently.
“That man, MacClife, and everybody to have to do with it.”
“Are you gonna punish him for slander and sue him?”
“I will think about it. Do my best to bring my good name back.”
“That’s right! Don’t leave it unnoticed, friend! The one to blame must get what he deserved. No matter who he is. A rich actor or a poor working one.”
“You’re right.”
“If only that man didn’t show up again and wish to make your life much worse.”
“Do you think he will show up again?”
“Who knows! So, you must stand up for yourself and your honor. You must not let a stinker slander you. You must protect yourself from his future possible tricks.”
“We’ll see, Natalia…” Raquelle pronounces tiredly. “Now I can say nothing. I’m thinking about other things. At first, I should solve all of that, and then I will decide what to do.”
“You must kick the ass of those, who are guilty. Or they would decide that they would be unpunished and come up with something terrible.”
“I’d like to think they wouldn't do.”
“Anyway, I’ve warned you. And then do what you want.”
“Honestly. I’m much more excited because I’m gonna be back to my work and start shooting again.”
“As everything’s been solved, you can come back to your work and shine just as bright as a star.”
“Moreover, I’ve got an offer.”
“Really? Which?”
“Steven told me someone is getting ready for a shooting for a magazine that’s gonna take place after the Christmas holidays.”
“M-m-m…”
“I got a suggestion to shoot for a cover. And I agreed with pleasure. I asked Steve to tell Serena about it, so she could agree with everybody. He often goes to my agency and talks to the guys. So, he can do this.”
“My God, that’s great!” Natalia smiles wide and embraces Raquelle. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks a lot, friend.”
“So… You’ve finally gotten a chance to be in a business and start working for the first time in a while.”
“And I think it’s not going to be the last shooting of mine,” Raquelle smiles mysteriously. “Because, as my sweet friend said, phones of my managers are breaking because of calls, and inboxes are full of emails.”
“My gosh!”
“It’s hard to believe it, but that’s the truth. Someone still wants to work with me.”
“Hey!” Natalia slightly slaps Raquelle on her forearms. “You were afraid nobody would love to see you anywhere! You were worried nobody would need you after the scandal. As you can see, people still need you!”
“Right,” Raquelle smiles shyly. “I was really worried I wouldn’t be back in the modeling business after this scandal. But as it turned out, everything wasn’t so terrible. Not everyone believed I was so bad.”
“I am sure you won’t even have to make the effort to get your kind name back. Everybody’s gonna be fighting and biting for the right to make you the face of their brand or the main model in a fashion show, or to post your photos on the cover of a magazine.”
“Maybe. Anyway, I still have a chance to do what I love so much.”
“You see how well everything ended!”
“I promise I’m gonna give my everything to become a legendary model, who’s gonna be remembered by very many generations.”
“It’ll happen, my darling. I don’t doubt.”
“Ah, Natalia…” Raquelle hugs Natalia cutely with her arms with a much wider smile. “You can’t even imagine how good I feel… I’m so happy that everything is getting better in my life. Luck has found me again.”
“You know, I think you did the right thing by deciding to leave for a while,” Natalia says confidently. “While you were here, people calmed down a little. As far as I understand, nobody even tries to say you’re bad. Everyone has finally woken up and realized they did a stupid thing by believing that stinker.”
“I know. Thank God, everything has been solved. Now I can fear nothing… The worst things are over. Auntie can live a quiet life… And I almost solved my problem and ain’t afraid to show up to people. Whom I’m ready to prove that I can do much more than I’ve shown.”
“After everything you had to get through, it should happen,” Natalia replies confidently with a slight smile. “God saw how much you suffered and gave you what you wanted. He gave you a chance to fix everything and keep doing what you love.”
“And I am madly grateful to Him for that.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks, friend.”
Raquelle takes Natalia in her amicable hug for a few seconds with a wide smile, while the blonde accepts it with pleasure. And when the girls step away, they talk about everything for a long time, not hiding their smiles, laughing much and giving no attention to what’s happening around while some people go by, some of whom glance at the young beautiful girls.
The friends are so happy to see each other that they would hardly like to say goodbye now because there is so much they want to talk about. And getting mutual support and a gesture of amicable love would be very good for Raquelle, who had to get through very much in the past few weeks. She definitely needs a good person, who will support her with good words and tight hugs.
“Hey, what about walking in the city?” Raquelle suggests. “Just like we did at the old times! When you and I spent time with my aunt when we had holidays!”
“I was walking in London and calling the memories of that time,” Natalia confesses. “Yes, of course, many things have changed, but I still remember everything very well. I remember every single moment we spent here.”
“So, let’s call the memories of the old times? Go to some of our favorite places! I would show you some new places that I’ve found during the time I’ve spent here.”
“With pleasure!”
“And then you can visit Aunt Alicia at home and drink tea with us.”
“If she doesn’t mind.”
“I’m sure she will not.”
“Is she home?”
“Nope, she went somewhere for her business. In the early morning.”
“When will she be back?”
“I don’t know. I think she would be soon.”
“I would be happy to talk to her and find out how she’s doing.”
“If you accept my invitation, you’re gonna have a chance.”
“Of course, I will do,” Natalia smiles shyly. “How I can refuse!”
“So what, friend? Let’s have enough fun? And walk in the city!”
“I’d go to the end of the world with my best friend.”
Raquelle and Natalia laugh shyly and, hugging each other, go somewhere straightly with a wide smile on their faces. The girls start talking about something and looking at everything around them with interest, not hiding their happiness from the long-awaited meeting and wishing to catch up on what they missed and spend as much time together as possible.
***
Spending time together and talking about everything in the world, Natalia and Raquelle do not even guess Terrence is walking somewhere not far from them. But the man also does not know that he could meet the girls at any time. He just did not want to stay in his room in the hotel and decided to use a moment to walk in the city as a tourist and look at everything.
Thanks to his acting career, Terrence has often traveled around the world for many years. But sadly, he has never had a chance just to walk somewhere in a city, examine all the monuments, and attend the favorite places of tourists and habitats. But now the man decides to fix it and to feel like a tourist. He does not rush. He closely looks at everything and finds out what there is here.
After walking at some places in the city, Terrence starts to understand that many places seem very familiar to him.
“Hey, it seems like I remember this place!” Terrence smiles slightly, walking on the square, on which there is a big Christmas tree, in front of which people take photos with pleasure. “This square… There were shootings of the movie, in which I acted, happened here a few years ago.”
Terrence glances aside.
“I clearly remember that this place was closed, so anyone didn't come here and prevent shootings,” Terrence calls the memories. “There were many men in blue, who let nobody in and made sure nobody would hurt any person from the team.”
Terrence pays attention to a group of teenagers, who go by him, laughing at something loudly and looking at something on their phones.
“And I must confess that the shootings were interesting enough,” Terrence notices. “And the result was incredible in the end. I personally loved it. I think that movie is one of the best works I’ve ever done. But critics thought otherwise and underrated it.”
Terrence sighs tiredly.
“It hurts…” Terrence thinks. “It’s hurt people didn’t appreciate my work. It’s hurtful that nobody wants to appreciate my much more serious roles. It’s hurt everyone knows me only as Mason from ‘American Love Affair’ because there are much more wonderful roles in the list of my works.”
Terrence swallows up nervously.
“I ain’t gonna renounce that role and will never say anything bad about it,” Terrence thinks. “But still, I would love people to see something else about me. So, they stop considering me the young boy that I was. Because… I’ve grown up. I’m no longer an eighteen-year-old boy. I am an adult man. Who can’t keep being Mason Houston for everyone.”
Terrence crosses his arms over his chest.
“It would be great to play a role that would outstand Mason’s one,” Terrence thinks. “So, everyone can see I could do much more than they think. I’ve got a great talent for acting. I could play any character. Play it so well that everyone will believe me.”
Terrence sighs quietly with sadness in his eyes.
“Damn, how it’s hurtful that nobody offers me anything good,” Terrence thinks. “Nobody has done it for ages. I play only guest roles. That nobody can the fuck remember. I don’t wanna be unnoticed. I wanna be a famous actor and get the love and attention of much more fans.”
Terrence cracks a slight smile.
“And actually, my greatest dream is to play a negative character,” Terrence thinks. “I want to play someone that everyone would hate from the first minutes. So, everyone wishes to strangle him with their own hands. If people wanted it, it would mean they would believe in the way I would act. Believe my character.”
Terrence shakes his head.
“But something tells me I would never get this type of role,” Terrence thinks. “I would never get a starring role in a movie and become famous again. Nobody wanna see my talent. Nobody wanna see something more than a beautiful face and a gorgeous body.”
Terrence raises his head proudly.
“It goes without saying, I’m irresistible and look like Apollo,” Terrence thinks. “But still, I would like to show it as well as my talent. The talent that nobody wanna see. I’m always moved to a second, third, or even tenth place.”
Terrence glances aside.
“If it keeps happening, I will get nothing at all,” Terrence thinks. “And I will have to accept the fact that John would be right. Start to look for another job. And forget my dream of playing an antagonist one beautiful day.”
Terrence sighs quietly and keeps walking in the city, watching people, who are doing their business and spending a fun time a few days before Christmas. The man silently notices how beautifully the streets of the city are decorated for this magical holiday, and is sure that the city will look much more beautiful at nighttime.
He gets to find a couple of places where there were shootings of the movies he acted in and calls the memories of those days. Which could be good or bad. Many things happened at those times when his career was good, and he was at the peak of his popularity. And every day, Terrence understands more and more that it would hardly happen to him again. There would be no peck like this anymore. There would be no roles that would make him much more famous than he was when he was a young boy, who made all the girls in the world get a crush on him.
At some moment, Terrence walks on the unpopular street and throws a look where there is a small park after he crosses the road on the green light. And he is surprised when he sees Natalia, who is talking with her friend Raquelle. The girls are going somewhere straight hand in hand and talking about something, gesticulating actively, not hiding their smiles, and laughing at something very much.
Terrence watches them closely and recognizes Raquelle and Natalia quickly, while they do not notice him because he is on the other side of the street, and they are too busy with their talk.
“Hey, that’s Natalia!” Terrence thinks with a slight smile. “And Raquelle is with her… Yes, that’s them! I can’t be wrong!”
At some moment, Natalia and Raquelle stop and start looking at something on each other's phones with a slight smile on their faces.
“Wow…” Terrence thinks. “The decision to go out and walk was very good. Even if I didn’t think we’d meet somewhere outside today.”
Terrence proudly raises his head up.
“So what, Cameron, you’ve been caught,” Terrence smiles slyly. “I’ve finally found you. And now you would not get off me.”
Terrence puts his hands on his hips.
“So sorry that you are not alone now,” Terrence thinks. “If the blonde wasn’t with you, I would come to you and remind you of what I want to do.”
At this moment, Terrence sees Raquelle and Natalia deciding to take a couple of selfies with each other on their phones, embracing each other cutely with a wide, true smile on their faces and looking into the front camera, which takes a few gorgeous photos after pressing the button.
“It’s okay, I will just watch them now,” Terrence decides. “Maybe, I would get a chance at some moment. Though… I do know where Raquelle’s aunt is living. Where that girl is living… So, I could often walk near that place with the hope that I would catch that sexy bitch. Who gets to seduce anyone, even in her winter clothes.”
Terrence gets interested in watching what Raquelle is wearing, admiring how gorgeous she looks in her tender blue jeans, high black boots, and short, slim, tight black coat. Her dark hair is straightened, her face looks fresh thanks to the good makeup, and she is wearing black leather gloves on her hands.
“Oh, Natalia, you met her at such a wrong time…” Terrence thinks. “You did say you wanted to wait and not to call Raquelle. She should’ve come to herself and calmed down. No! It seems like you lied to me! Since you went to have fun with your friend instead of staying at the hotel.”
Terrence shakes his head, while Natalia and Raquelle keep going somewhere and suspecting nothing. After hesitating a little, the man decides to carefully follow them with the hope that he will get a good chance to catch the brunette alone and talk to her. He crosses the road almost in a run after looking around and starts carefully chasing the girls, who are talking about something and pointing at something sometimes.
“I hope they won’t notice me,” Terrence thinks. “I don’t wanna get caught earlier. I wanna surprise Cameron by showing up. For her to get overwhelmed. And not to be able to get off me.”
Meanwhile, Natalia and Raquelle keep walking in some places of the city, finally getting a chance to spend much more time together and talk about everything they want. They do not notice that Terrence is chasing them and are much busier with their conversations with each other. The plans about where they would go tonight and tomorrow. The memories of the days when the friends walked in the city with pleasure and discovered some places they will surely visit while being in London.
It continues for some time. The girl went far from the place where they met and are walking near the road. On the way, they can see some shops, near which there are little parking lots, in which some cars of different brands are already parked. Since they know all these places very well, Natalia and Raquelle talk about them with pleasure as well as all the memories that have to do with them.
Terrence still keeps carefully following them but tries not to come too close not to cause any suspicion and not to let them catch him earlier. If someone from the girls wants to turn back, he quickly finds a place to hide. That’s good there are very many in his way.
“I wonder, are they gonna walk in the city for the whole day?” Terrence asks himself. “Wouldn’t I have a chance to catch Raquelle alone? Or would they go to the home of Cameron’s aunt? What? It would be awesome! In this case, I would find out where I could catch that girl.”
However, at some moment, Terrence notices Raquelle and Natalia stop and keeps talking about something. The man quickly finds a place to hide and, carefully looking from the high streetlamp, watches the friends, even if he cannot hear their talk because it’s very noisy outside, and he is too far from them.
“Oh…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully after she takes her smartphone from the purse and checks it.
“What’s wrong?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“It seems like my mom sent me a message with a plea to call her as soon as possible.”
“Something happened?”
“I don’t know. But she said it’s very important.”
“Then call her now.”
“Oh, listen…” Natalia glances at the café, near which she and Raquelle are standing now. “Let’s go to this café? I would quickly buy something to eat, and we would sit a little.”
“Is your diet already over?” Raquelle puts her hands on her hips.
“No, it’s not over. But I’m terribly hungry and wanna eat. Wanna buy something to eat.”
“Okay, I won’t mind.”
“And you would buy something.”
“Thanks, I’m not hungry now.”
“Okay. Then let me go somewhere aside and talk to my mother first.”
“Yeah, sure, I will wait for you.”
“I’ll be back soon. Just one call.”
Natalia steps far from Raquelle and starts to look for something on her smartphone, leaving her friend alone. Who watches her with a slight smile and decides to go aside not to stand in the middle of the way and not to bother those, who walk in this place.
Terrence sees that Natalia finally went somewhere, and Raquelle stayed all alone. And he decides this is a wonderful chance to talk to the girl right here and now.
“Great, the blonde got out somewhere…” Terrence smiles slyly, happily rubbing his hands. “And Raquelle stayed all alone… Excellent… Just excellent… Now I’ve got a chance to catch that girl and talk to her. The most important thing is not to let her get out. So, she listens to me no matter if she wants it or not.”
Terrence proudly raises her head.
“Hold on, Cameron, this time, you will not get off me,” Terrence promises. “I will call the name of the one, who spread the rumors about you. And let you know I would do my best to make you belong to me. And only me. Early or late, it would happen. Trust me.”
Terrence morally gets read for what he is going to do for a few seconds. And then he exhales sharply and, spreading his shoulders and raising his head up, confidently goes to where Raquelle is standing now. The girl is turned with her back to him and stepped far from the café where she and Natalia talking to someone on the phone wanted to go. She watches what’s happening around her and what people are doing with interest and a slight smile on her face.
Raquelle thinks of something interesting and relaxes. She does not even think someone could come to her from behind and talk. The girl keeps watching what’s happening around her when Terrence comes to her with his head proudly raised and says confidently:
“Feeling bored alone?”
When she hears the familiar voice, Raquelle shakes slightly at first and then sharply turns on Terrence and falls into a stupor from seeing him in front of him.
“You?” Raquelle pronounces surprisingly. “MacClife?”
“Hello, beautiful,” Terrence says confidently with a sly smile. “We’ve met again.”
“What are you the fuck doing here?”
Raquelle sharply tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, understanding that she is getting more and more obsessed with hatred and evil.
“Why did you the fuck come to London?” Raquelle resents. “Did you have nothing to do in New York?”
“So, did you think you would run away from me?” Terrence chuckles quietly, putting his hands on his hips. “Hide in another country and pretend to be a mouse that nobody sees and notices?”
“Are there so fewer countries in the world as you have come HERE? The place where I am being now?”
“Even if you ran away to another place, I would find you anyway. I would go to any place in the world to find one mean bitch. Whom I need to have to talk about something very important with.”
“How did you the fuck find me? Who the fuck told you I was here? WHO?”
“Let’s think one familiar of mine told me that.” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest. “He saw you at the airport. I saw you boarding the airplane that was going to fly to London.”
“Yeah?” Raquelle pronounces surprisingly. “Maybe, you saw me?”
“No, I did not.”
“Are you chasing me? Since you’ve come to London and managed to find me right here, at this place?”
“Do you remember what I told you at our last meeting? Huh, cutie? Didn’t you forget?” Terrence proudly raises his head up. “You would not get off me so easily.”
“Do you want me to take serious measures?” Raquelle crosses her arms over her chest. “Want me to go to the police and tell them you are chasing me?”
“Yeah, would you really go there?” Terrence smirks evilly.
“I would go! Because what’s happening does really cross all the lines!”
“Let’s see if they will believe you.”
“They would do. I would tell them everything you’ve done to me. How you accosted me and dared to chase me wherever I am.”
Raquelle turns around sharply and goes somewhere straight, and Terrence starts following her, not going to leave the girl alone so easily.
“So, can’t you still forget my caress?” Terrence asks with a mysterious smile. “Does it still make your heart beat faster?”
“Seriously?” Raquelle wonders and simpers loudly. “I do still want to scratch your face for feeling my whole body up and daring to kiss me.”
“Yeah? I would do that again with pleasure!”
“Do not dare to place your hands on my body. Or I would make you howl from pain after hitting you between your legs.”
“Come on?”
“Do I look like I am kidding? Playing with you? Flirting the fuck with you?”
“C’mon, dolly, don’t pretend that you do not care about it.” Terrence overruns Raquelle and starts walking backward in front of her, while she rolls her eyes with an irritated growl. “If you’re fighting and biting me, you will get me much more excited.”
“Listen, MacClife, get off me at your wish,” Raquelle demands coldly.
“Or what?”
“Or you will regret it!”
“Yeah? How would I do?”
“Oh, shit, I had such a wonderful mood this morning. It got much better after I got a very important call and met my best friend, who made me a surprise and arrived in London.”
“Is that the attractive blonde that just went somewhere?”
“What?”
“I saw you with one cutie that you were laughing and taking photos on your phone with.”
“Have you chased me for a long time?”
“You know, that girl is pretty good. Beautiful, sexy, and with a gorgeous body…”
“Slow down, horndog,” Raquelle throws gloomily, getting a little tense because of what Terrence said, and stops sharply as well as he does. “My friend does not care about you. And you would never make her pay attention to you.”
“Did you ask her personally?”
“She would not get in touch with those, who I added to my list of the people I hate.”
“You hate me?”
“To death!”
“Maybe… You hate me, but your body is dreaming of my incredible caress…”
Terrence confidently runs his hand over Raquelle’s thigh, while she gets a little tense and shakes.
“Hey, get your hands off me!” Raquelle demands, moving Terrence’s hand sharply off her.
“By the way, that golden-haired blonde stopped in the same hotel where I am living,” Terrence confesses confidently.
“What?”
“Yes, yes, you heard it right.”
“So, did you, scumbag, already meet her?”
“Well, I actually met Natalia in New York. I mean her and her second friend. It seems like it was Anna. A very sympathetic girl.”
“Ah, that’s how…”
“And the blonde and I were coming here on the same airplane.”
“What?”
“Yes, yes, our places were even next to one another.”
“Bloody hell!” Raquelle resents loudly.
“I am going to be honest to you, that cutie got me really exhausted. I even started to regret imposing on her. I wanted to get off her as soon as possible and have a rest from her hysterics in my room at the hotel.”
“You, horndog, put your nose in everything that is possible.”
“So sorry that she didn’t wanna help me find you. She didn’t want to get close to me.”
“Because she would never betray me and her friends.”
“Anyway, that girl helped me enough. Even if I could do it without her. You see how lucky I was when I decided to go for a walk. I met you here.”
“Do you know what kind of trouble you would get if someone knew you decided to chase me? You would have to regret standing in my way very much.”
“What are you talking about?”
“So, if you don’t want to have great problems, I advise you to leave me alone. And stop chasing me.”
“I will not do!” Terrence says confidently. “Until I get something I want.”
“I’ve told you millions of times that I would not agree to fuck you. As well as date you.”
“Why fuck?”
“Because you are running after me because of that.”
“Yeah? Maybe, I like you!” Terrence comes very close to Raquelle and sets his confident gaze into her eyes, while she gets tense enough but does not stop looking at him, as well. “Couldn’t I like such a sexy and stunning cutie? Who has driven so many men crazy…”
Terrence slowly runs the back of his hand over Raquelle’s cheek, hardly imagining what kind of hurricane is happening inside the girl, who shakes slightly and starts breathing much heavier with a feeling that her heart is beating too fast and is about to jump out of the chest.
“If only you knew how much I dreamed of touching you again…” Terrence pronounces in a much lower voice. “How much I wanted to breathe in your smell… Your sexy smell…”
When Terrence wants to do something else, Raquelle sharply pushes him off her and rudely says:
“Do not dare to touch me!”
“But you want it,” Terrence smiles slyly. “You want my hands to caress your body.”
“I want you to leave me alone!”
“And I want to kiss you.” Terrence hugs Raquelle by the waist and presses her close to himself. “And give your gorgeous body all my love.”
“I said, don’t touch me!” Raquelle demands loudly and pushes Terrence off rudely, putting her hands on his chest. “Don’t dare!”
“M-m-m… It seems like time has taught you nothing…” Terrence shakes his head. “You were unbreakable and rude, and you are still the same. You have not learned to be sweet and obedient.”
“I wish someone taught you to keep your hands with you and not to place them on someone’s body,” Raquelle throws gloomily.
“It seems like you don’t like when someone treats you well. You love rudeness and force.”
“I don’t like speaking to some non-educated cads that do not know that feeling a girl up and licking her against her wish is bad.”
“Remember, Cameron, I will not calm down until you are mine. Until I get what I want.”
“Are you stupid? Or deaf? I did say I would not agree to fuck you! I WOULD NOT!”
“You will if I want it! You will do everything to make me happy.”
“Better make yourself happy! Or find another girl that would agree to fuck you.”
“Yeah, I know you’re afraid. You’ve never had to get through it. But trust me, I will do my best for you to be delighted. As well as you were delighted by my kiss.”
“Not at all! I did not like the way you kissed me.”
“Didn't ya like it?”
“I spent two hours in a shower washing all the tracks of your lips with a loofah! All your fucking tracks on my body!”
“What if I do this again?” Terrence grabs Raquelle’s face with both hands and slowly brings his face closer to hers, setting his eyes on her lips. “What if I kiss you much better than I did the last time? I would kiss you in a shower… Under a flow of warm water…”
“Do not dare!” Raquelle throws rudely.
“Don’t be afraid, it’s not mortal. Nobody has died from kisses.”
“I am serious, MacClife! If you dare to kiss me, you will get a hit on your balls.”
“C’mon, hit me.”
Terrence moves some of Raquelle’s hair aside and leaves a short kiss on the area behind her ear, which he also caresses tenderly with his lips. While the girl closes her eyes and starts to breathe much heavier, feeling that she shakes not from coldness but from everything this man is doing.
“Hit me as strongly as possible to wake up a much stronger fire inside me,” Terrence adds in a low voice.
“Ar-r-r, Curse you, scoundrel!” Raquelle growls irritably.
While Terrence does not stop trying to seduce Raquelle and drive her crazy with his kisses, and the girl barely holds herself down not to let him know she likes it all, Natalia finally finishes the talk with her mother and puts her smartphone in her purse. Not seeing her friend, the girl quickly looks around and sees her a few meters away from her.
“What?” Natalia frowns strongly, watching what’s happening between Terrence and Raquelle. “MacClife?”
Natalia sees Terrence’s hands start sliding over the curves of Raquelle’s waist, and he covers every part of her face with kisses.
“Oh, shit, that idiot ended up where I did again,” Natalia resents. “And he found Cameron. He can’t leave her alone.”
Natalia shakes her head.
“Oh, no, he didn’t let my friend and me have a good pastime!” Natalia exclaims. “We were walking so well, but when I left, MacClife came to Raquelle and started to seduce her.”
At this moment, the resentful and tense Raquelle says something to Terrence, who does not react to her words and keeps shamelessly caressing her body with both hands.
“Insolent man!” Natalia resents. “He doesn’t know the girl, but he already places his hands on her body and accosts her. Where’s his education? What did his parents teach him?”
Natalia crosses her arms over her chest.
“Yeah, Raquelle, it seems like you were right about that man,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “He’s an insolent, non-educated donkey. I am making sure about it more and more every single day.”
Some time later, Raquelle pushes Terrence rudely off herself, strongly slaps him in the face, and starts to say something loudly, threatening the man with a finger.
“Excellent, Raquelle, excellent!” Natalia exclaims with a wide smile. “Fantastic! Hit him again! Don’t let him stay unpunished! He shouldn’t think he would feel any girl he likes up like this.”
Natalia proudly raises her head up.
“Okay, I will better stay here and watch that couple,” Natalia decides with a wide smile and rubs her hands happily. “Maybe, I’ll become a witness to something interesting. If I’m lucky, I can listen to their talk.”
Natalia quickly looks around, finds a wide column that is not far from Raquelle and Terrence, comes to the one, hides behind it, and starts carefully watching her friend, who is fighting with the man right in the middle of the street. While some people go by them and sometimes throw a questioning look at them.
“You will ask for trouble, scoundrel!” Raquelle throws rudely. “I swear I will report you to the police and blame you for chasing me and trying to rape me. I will not leave it unnoticed!”
Terrence breathing heavily literally kills Raquelle with his cold eyes for two seconds, but then grabs the girl by the hair painfully and strongly pulls it, while Natalia shakes slightly with her mouth closed with her hand and opens her eyes much wider.
“Do not care to threaten me, bitch!” Terrence hisses through his teeth. “DO NOT DARE! If you dare to hit me again, I shall make you regret it.”
“Do you think I will be scared of your threats?” Raquelle wonders.
“I am not kidding, Cameron. If nobody educated you and taught you how to behave towards men, I will quickly fix it.”
“I wish someone taught you to behave towards girls. I wish someone said a real man wouldn't do what you do. Explained anyone would ever like your tricks.”
“You are guilty of everything!” Terrence throws rudely. “You make me behave like this.”
“Wow, how hurt you were by the fact that I rejected you. How hurt you got because I refused to lie in bed with you.”
“Because nobody dared to reject me. Hear me, NOBODY!”
“Get used! Get used to the fact that not everyone would admire a fucking actor that pronounces himself literally a genius and thinks he is the most irresistible and sexiest one.”
“It’s okay, Cameron, it’s okay! You will become mine anyway! Early or late! I will do my best for you to wish to lie in bed with me and make any wish of mine come true.”
“I would not even think!”
“While you are showing off, any girl are ready to sell her soul for me. Many girls have always given me much attention.”
“Run to those girls, then!” Raquelle throws loudly. “Why do you the fuck annoy me? Or do you have nobody to run to because you’ve already fucked everyone?”
“Do not make me mad, insolent bitch!”
“No, selfish scoundrel, you do not make me mad. You’ve done enough to be added to the list of my enemies.”
“For giving you an incredible kiss that nobody else could give you?”
“Do not pretend you do not understand what I mean.”
“If you really did not like everything I was doing, you would start screaming like crazy and begging for help. But you did not do it then and now.”
“It’s alight, MacClife, it’s alright! I will speak! SPEAK! You, scumbag, will ask for trouble. And you will pay much for what you did.”
“Close your mouth!”
Terrence pulls Raquelle’s hair much stronger, looking into her eyes with a cold look full of hate.
“If you keep making me enraged, you will have to regret it very much,” Terrence threatens in a low, rude voice.
“Do not threaten me!” Raquelle throws coldly. “I am not afraid of you and your threats!”
“Wrong! Very wrong! Terrence MacClife could do very much!”
“People are going to ignore you very soon. When they find out you are not actually the angel you want to seem.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I swear, scumbag, I shall do my best for you to even be afraid to move your eyes up and look at someone. So, you dream of hiding from everyone not to know how everyone would shower you with mud.”
“So, did the situation of the charges for egoism teach you nothing? Didn’t it make you much sweeter and more obedient?”
“This situation made me feel much stronger hate. The hate for the man, who I will never forgive for what he did.”
“What?” Terrence frowns strongly.
“Don’t you want to confess what you did?” Raquelle pushes Terrence rudely off herself and puts her hands on her hips. “Huh, fucking actor? Don’t you want to say how you dared to go too far?”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, Terrence MacClife, I know everything,” Raquelle says with her head proudly raised. “I know you were the one to do that. You spread the false rumors about me.”
“Damn, Raquelle, what are you talking about?” Terrence shakes his head.
“I have suspected only you since the beginning. I am sure there is nobody else but you to do that.”
“Are you blaming me for everything?”
“Do you think I forgot how you swore to make me regret? How you claimed you would ruin my career to the fuck and not let me live a quiet life!”
“I wanna explain everything to you.”
“So, would you make me sure that it did not happen?”
“No, I…”
“Do not make me a fool, and don't make me sure that something’s wrong with my mind,” Raquelle says coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. “I do remember everything well and know that I heard your threats.”
“Yeah, I said it. But I did it in anger.”
“Of course!”
“I wanted to talk to you about that situation.”
“I see no meaning in talking about something.”
“Listen, Raquelle…”
“Do you think I will leave it unnoticed?” Raquelle wonders. “No, I will not! I will destroy you, scoundrel. Do my best to make you regret it.”
“I didn’t do that, I swear!”
“What?”
“I didn’t spread the rumors about you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s the truth, Raquelle. I wasn’t the one to do that.”
“I wonder, how much did you pay to the editor-in-chief of the magazine that agreed to publish all those false articles that dirtied my good name? How much? Tell me?”
“I paid nothing to anyone!”
“Do not deny anything!” Raquelle shouts. “I know everything! Some time ago, I got a call from someone that told me how they proved that a scumbag paid another scumbag for slandering me.”
“Huh?”
“Besides, I thought the one I had known since the beginning of my career allegedly said terrible things about me. But as it turned out, it wasn’t the truth. My friend said someone paid the editor to publish comments allegedly from famous people and my close people. But that person said nothing to anyone.”
“I’m aware.”
“Come on?”
“I know it was an order. A wish to ruin your career on purpose and slander you for the whole world.”
“And to cover your ass, you told them to publish comments allegedly from you. To resent because you allegedly have nothing to do with it and said nothing to anyone.”
“What? If I saw something that wasn’t said by me, I would immediately sue the editor and those, who had to do with it.”
“To make people think you are guilty of nothing?”
“To restore justice!”
“Yeah, MacClife, you are a real scumbag,” Raquelle says gloomily, shaking her head. “Vengeful, selfish cad.”
“I swear, Raquelle, I am not guilty of that.” Terrence protests. “I said nothing to anyone about you.”
“So, are you scared? Scared of getting your career ruined to the fuck by me and losing a chance to get famous?”
“You know, I was ready that you would charge me for that. I was ready for something like this.”
“Do not pretend to be holy. I understood everything a long time ago.”
“You understood it wrong.”
“Come on!” Raquelle smirks evilly.
“Yes, I threatened to ruin your career. But I am guilty of nothing. I wasn’t the one to spread the rumors.”
“What a scumbag you are… A nasty, selfish scumbag.”
“Listen, Raquelle…”
“It’s all because of you… Because of you, I had to see how people were showering me with mud. Because of you, everyone hated me. Thought I was a selfish egoist. They were sure I never respected anyone. I thought I was much better than anyone. I wanted to have all the best. Said people around me were just dust.”
“Not everyone! Although newspapers and magazines said people were cursing and hating you, it’s actually not the truth. Many familiars of mine didn’t believe you could do that.”
“Yeah? Do you know how many dirty things people published under my posts on social networks? You know? You know how much I had to read all this time?”
“I know everything well. I read all the articles and watched all the reportages.”
“Ah, even so… Did you want to be aware of how your plan for ruining my career was going on?”
“I do repeat, I did nothing,” Terrence sighs tiredly.
“Stop trying to pretend to be innocent. It would not help you.”
“Raquelle…”
“I promise you will pay much for what you did. I will not leave this case without my attention. You will not keep pretending that everything is alright.”
“Listen to me…”
“Early or late, people would know who you really are. I shall tell everyone that you were the one to do it. If people want to know who has been afraid of revealing himself and introducing himself to the whole world but has been showering me with mud, they will know their anti-hero. Know who they should hate and despise. Who they should wish to die and burn in hell for everything he has done.”
“I don’t have to do with this case.”
“Do not even hope, MacClife, I will not leave you alone and will revenge you. You, scumbag, will regret much deciding to stand in my way. Stand in the way of Raquelle Cameron herself.”
“Listen, I would never do anything like that. I’ve got no reason to slander someone on purpose. I’ve never spread rumors about someone. I’ve never paid anyone to make them publish false articles and not to give someone a job.”
“Yeah? Maybe, I am not the first one, the career of whom you tried to ruin? Maybe, you do this to everyone you dislike? What if many girls have already rejected you, and you ruined their lives somehow?”
“I’ve never done those things.”
“Even if you managed to shut someone up, it will not work in my case,” Raquelle says confidently. “I will not be silent and will tell people the truth about who you really are. Open people’s eyes and make them stop believing you are allegedly so sweet and innocent.”
“Listen to me!”
“Who knows, maybe, my act would encourage someone to confess something interesting. Maybe, someone would speak and tell the whole world you are an insolent and non-educated scoundrel that thinks only of himself.”
“You are unfair to me!”
“Ah, am I unfair to you?” Raquelle simpers loudly. “You are spreading rumors about me and laughing evilly while watching people being literally ready to tear me apart! And do you think I am UNFAIR to you?”
“I didn’t spread those rumors! And I was not laughing at you!”
“What are you talking about? So, were you also not the one to send me anonymous letters?”
“Which anonymous letters?”
“Which you were sending me even after I ran away to London.”
“I don’t know which letters you are talking about.”
“Of course! Is that a coincidence? Is the fact that I began to receive them from the day I met you a coincidence? Since I saw you at the meeting with Serena and your manager! When you first tried to pretend to be sweet and puffy, but suddenly changed after realizing I would not dance attendance upon you.”
“I didn’t send you any anonymous letters!”
“Ah, you did not!”
“I’m not lying to you!”
“Yeah, just don’t say you didn’t know my email, which has always been public. And anyone could send something at any time. You knew it well and used a moment, sending me letters with long texts and literally telling me to quit my career. And then you honestly confessed that you were the one to spread those rumors.”
“Fuck, you are talking some bullshit,” Terrence shakes his head.
“Yes, MacClife, even if you tried to hide it and refused to send me a letter with your identity, I understood everything a long time ago.”
“I’ve never sent you any letters.”
“I would not be surprised if you created a couple of fake accounts on social networks and left bad comments under posts on my accounts.”
“That’s funny!” Terrence grins quietly.
“It is NOT!” Raquelle throws rudely. “This is NOT FUNNY AT ALL!”
“I am telling you the truth. The truth about not spreading any rumors about you and not sending you any letters you are talking about.”
“Yeah? Do you have proof? Proof of the fact that you are not talking to the wind?”
“I don’t have proof… But I wasn’t the one to do that! I swear!”
“I understand you are nervous. You are afraid that I will destroy your career. Do my best for you to never get offers to act in movies. You do not want girls to stop admiring you. Because hearing at least one compliment per day is as necessary to you as the air.”
“I know who did that!” Terrence says confidently in the same breath.
“What?”
“I know who spread all those false rumors. I know who is the real one to blame for this situation.”
“Do you think I will believe you? Do you think your plan of blaming someone else would work?”
“I’m not lying to you, Raquelle,” Terrence says quietly. “I know who did all of that.”
“C’mon, speak…” Raquelle crosses her arms over her chest with an evil sneer. “Who you decided to blame for everything. Who is going to pay for your tricks instead of you?”
“It’s Simon,” Terrence pronounces confidently. “Simon Ringer.”
“Who is Simon Ringer?”
“My personal driver. I mean… Former driver.”
Raquelle thinks for two seconds to call the memories of who Simon Ringer is. And she understands that’s the man, with whom she had a nice talk before the photoshoot with Terrence. The man, who seemed to be a nice talker, despite the coldness that he was spreading.
“Seriously?” Raquelle wonders loudly. “Simon? Do you want to blame that man for everything? That man, who would not hurt even a fly!”
“It’s true, Raquelle, I swear,” Terrence says confidently. “He was the one to spread all the rumors about you.”
“My God, it’s nonsense! Just nonsense! Did you decide to blame the innocent man, who was honestly earning money, for everything?”
“I found that out accidentally. Ringer told me everything and confessed he was the one to do that.”
“You would rather blame someone from my close people. For example, Natalia. You would rather turn me against my best friend, who you already sucked to like a leech.”
“Yes, I didn’t believe it and didn’t understand what he had to do with you. But Simon was very confident. As if he clearly knew why he needed it.”
“And why do you think he needs it?”
“I don’t know, Raquelle. He didn’t tell me that. But he promised that he would not stop, at least at the nearest time.”
“Listen, MacClife, are you not ashamed of blaming someone else for everything? Would you feel better if you lived with this burden? The innocent person would pay for your tricks, but you would keep pretending to be innocent and stay unpunished?”
“I am telling you the truth. The only one you should blame is Simon.”
“I will not believe it was him. I will not believe it!”
“But he confessed it!”
“Stop messing me around!” Raquelle demands coldly. “You will not avoid what’s waiting for you.”
“Raquelle, please…” Terrence pronounces with pity in his eyes.
“Do not look at me with this pity! I will never forgive you for what you did. Never, hear me!”
“I am not going to pay for what I am not guilty of!”
“Yeah?” Raquelle puts her hands on her hips. “How would you prove Simon was the one to blame for everything?”
“I found out everything at our latest meeting. Simon was driving me somewhere for my business, and at some moment, we decided to go to a café and drink a cup of coffee. We talked a little and then started talking about you. I mean the scandal of slander. I was resentful because someone dared to do that to you. But a little later, Simon said that it was his work.”
***
Two weeks ago.
Simon Ringer and Terrence MacClife are at a small café where they, sitting at a table outside, talk about something for a long time with a cup of delicious coffee. Fans come to the black-haired, handsome man a couple of times and ask him to sign something, and he agrees with pleasure and gets to say something to them. It makes his companion a little irritated.
They talk very much about the story of the model, Raquelle Cameron, whom Terrence managed to work with somehow at one of the photoshoots. Which was not actually good, just saying. The man confesses to his personal driver Simon that he is resented by everything that is published in articles on the Internet and by the girl’s fans, who suddenly got hate for her for what she was allegedly doing for many years.
But at some moment, Simon decides to give his opinion, which gets Terrence deeply shocked.
“And I am very glad it happened,” Simon says confidently with a sly smile. “Very glad everyone is dirtying the name of the famous model that used to be a favorite girl of people but suddenly became an arrogant bitch that loved only herself.”
“What?” Terrence frowns strongly.
“So, I did a very good job. People did believe in my shocking claims that the whole world heard.”
“My God, Simon, what are you talking about?”
“Ah, Raquelle…” Simon drinks some coffee from his cup with his head proudly raised. “The poor girl does not even know that the sweet and puffy driver of Terrence MacClife is the one to blame for everything. It seems like, he has nothing to do with the model. Why would he do all of that? But people are right when they say you should not judge someone by what you see outside. Because the one, who looks sweet and puffy, could definitely be the one, who dreams of revenging you for something. Sink the nails into your back.”
“Wait, wait,” Terrence pronounces quietly. “So, do you want to say it was your work? Did you spread the false rumors?”
“Yes, my dear. Everything that is happening now is my work.”
“No…” Terrence shakes his head. “No, I don’t believe it. I don’t believe you could do that.”
“As you see, I could do.”
“But why did you do it? Why? Why did you do that to Raquelle? What did she do to you?”
“You do not know too much yet.”
“What don’t I know? She is suffering? Because the media showers her with mud and makes her literally crazy! And her own fans are sending her bad comments and wishing her to burn in hell!”
“And I’m very happy with what they are writing about her in the media,” Simon smiles slyly. “That gal deserved it.”
“My God, I can’t believe it was your work.”
Terrence drinks some coffee from his cup and puts it on the table.
“I can’t believe it…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully, running his hands through his hair. “I can’t believe…”
“I was planning to do that for a long time,” Simon confesses with no shame. “I was going to give my claims to that girl. And I am very glad I managed to get to know her better. Meet that girl. Win her trust. And do my best for her not to even suspect me of something.”
Simon smiles slyly.
“So she suspects just you,” Simon adds. “I am more than sure Raquelle is blaming you for everything.”
“Did you want to frame me?” Terrence wonders. “You wanted to blame me for everything and stay unpunished?”
“Well, if you were behaving so disgustingly and letting her know that you would crush that girl like a pea, why would I not use that chance?”
“You’re sick, Ringer. Just sick. Do you understand what you are doing? Do you know what you the fuck did?”
“Of course, I do.” Simon laughs contemptuously. “I pressed probably on her weakest place. I put her modeling career under threat. She is literally obsessed with it. And I am sure she is now crying because she will no longer get offers for shootings. People would stop admiring her and saying she is shining just as bright as a star.”
“Stop doing all of this and leave the poor girl alone,” Terrence demands coldly.
“And I am not wrong! That gal got scared! She got terribly scared of hearing the truth about her. So much that she decided to hide from everyone and make them forget about her. But it looks like PR. A way to make people remember her. Make them worry about her.”
“Anyone instead of her would prefer running away, so nobody points at her with a finger.”
“It's not the end, my dear,” Simon says confidently. “I will not stop and will keep hurting that gal.”
“So, when are you going to stop?”
“Not at the nearest time.”
“Stop bullying her now, Simon. Raquelle has done nothing bad to you to get humiliated by you like this.”
“No, I will not do it.”
“I wonder, how did you do that? What did you do to get all these things published everywhere is possible?”
“Easy!” Simon smiles slyly and drinks some coffee from his cup. “I have a friend, who is working as the editor-in-chief of a magazine. Not very famous, of course, but it does not matter. So, I somehow went to him, to drink coffee…”
“Did you pay that man?”
“You are a smart guy, MacClife!”
“So, how much did you pay to him?”
“Not very much. Somewhere a half from a few salaries that I got for working as your personal manager.”
“Wow… So, did you, cad, save money to come to that man and make him publish those false notes on the anonymous’s behalf?”
“I was lucky that man agreed to do me a favor for a little money for our friendship. But I give him money every time I want new articles about Raquelle Cameron to be published.”
“Yeah… I didn’t know I was working with a scumbag all this time. The cad, who decided to slander the innocent girl. Did it happen that I was kind of financing your tricks?”
“And yeah, your help would be very good to me.”
“What?” Terrence resents. “Do you want to make me a part of your tricks?”
“One word of you before Raquelle Cameron’s career is ruined. You would confirm everything I said, and that girl would not get a job even at a shop. Because everyone would hate and despise her. She would have to do her best to find a place where nobody would know her.”
“No, Ringer, do not count on me!”
“If you do everything I want, you will get a great thankfulness from me.”
“I said I would not be a part of this.”
“But you hate that girl.”
“Who told you I hate her?” Terrence wonders and drinks some coffee from his cup. “Yes, we didn’t get on from the beginning. But it means nothing.”
“What about your threats you shouted at her? What about your promises to destroy her career and turn her life to hell?”
“I said it in anger.”
“I can give you a wonderful chance to take revenge on Cameron for treating you like that. Not inclining her head for you, not calling you Apollo, refusing to go on a date with you, giving you many slaps in the face, and showering you with mud.”
“I said everything, Ringer. Do not count on me.”
“Think, Terrence, think,” Simon insists with a sly smile. “Do not hurry to reject my suggestion so easily.”
“If you want to pay me, you can go to the fuck. I don’t need it. I don’t need money that I pay you for working as a driver.”
“Not only would I pay you but also many reporters, journalists, and creators of shows that you would attend to tell the whole world who Raquelle Cameron actually is.”
“I don’t need money that would be earned by slandering someone.”
“You could give money to your mother. She needs it so badly.”
“I am able to provide for my mother with everything she needs.”
“You have not acted on great projects for a long time. You only have interviews and photoshoots for magazines. That’s how you earn money.”
“Stop messing me around, Ringer,” Terrence demands coldly. “I said I would not be a part of your game.”
“Terrence…”
“You’ve gone too far with your wish to destroy the life of that girl. And I tell you to stop it immediately, introduce yourself to the world, and give people public apologies. Give apologies to Raquelle herself, who you put under stress like this.”
“No, my dear, I will not stop,” Simon says confidently. “I will not do.”
“Aren’t you even going to introduce yourself to the whole world? Tell Raquelle who did all of that?”
“No, I am not going. At least, now. I want all my charges to be published on behalf of the anonymous. I think it’s not time to reveal myself now. It is not time to tell Raquelle who I am and why I want to take revenge on her.”
“I will not be silent and will tell everyone who did all of that.”
“You would make it much worse. For Raquelle, you are probably the number one suspect. The one to blame for all her problems.”
“So, I am going to prove to her that I am not guilty of this situation.”
“I doubt she would believe you. You made her literally hate you by behaving so disgustingly.”
“Yes, I was rude to her,” Terrence says confidently. “My blame. But I will do my best to have peace with her.”
“Would you easily close your eyes to the fact that she behaved not in the way everyone did?”
“None of your fucking business! No matter what, I will not let you keep mocking Raquelle and showering her with mud for nothing.”
“What’s wrong, Terrence?” Simon smiles innocently. “Why did you decide to stand by this nasty gal?”
“Because I do not like the fact that you are humiliating that girl for no reason! I do not like it!”
“She is a total fake! And I just opened everyone’s eyes to the fact that she lied to her fans. Hoping that people would close their eyes to her character because of her beautiful body.”
“You did not do anything, Simon. You insolently slandered the innocent girl, who did nothing bad to you.”
“You are wrong, my dear.”
“Why did you the fuck start doing it?” Terrence wonders. “What the fuck, Ringer? Why? For what? What did you want to get?”
“I wanted to do my best for that girl to lose everything that means much more to her,” Simon replies confidently. “Her modeling career. Admiration of all the people in the world.”
“When people finally open their eyes and understand you lied to them, they will wish to tear you apart. You will become the enemy to the whole world.”
“Nobody can prove anything,” Simon smiles slyly. “Even you can do nothing.”
“Wrong, Ringer, I can do much.”
“Your star has already faded away, MacClife. Take it. You still believe you are great, but you’ve actually never been the one. The fact that you played a young boy in a senseless movie does not make you a great actor.”
“I still have very good contacts. Don’t forget. I could do my best to ruin the life of anyone and make it much better.”
“So, use it to destroy the career and life of Raquelle. Reveal that girl, who has been pretending to be an angel for so many years and loves only herself.”
“Stop talking about the reveal!” Terrence demands rudely. “No reveal happened! You just humiliated and insulted Raquelle!”
“I insulted nobody. I just told people the truth.”
“You slandered her, Simon! Insolently slandered. Raquelle did nothing from what you blamed her for.”
“Did you hear the phrase that says still waters run deep?” Simon folds his hands on the table in front of him. “Do not believe everything you see until you know what someone has inside. Trust me, anyone may have their demons.”
“Yes, I agree with you in this case,” Terrence agrees. “But I surely know that Raquelle is really the one she is in public.”
“You two are pretending. You are pretending to be sweet and puffy, and she is playing the role of an angel.”
“It’s a lie! I am not pretending!”
“Anyway, I can keep feeding people with interesting facts about the situation with Raquelle Cameron. I would throw them a bone like dogs and watch them getting busy with it.”
“Remember, Ringer, I will not be silent,” Terrence promises confidently. “I will tell people the truth. I will reveal who was the one to do all of that.”
“First, prove it. Prove that I did it to take revenge on that girl.”
“Why?” Terrence wonders. “Why do you hate her? What did Raquelle do to you that you made her an arrogant bitch to everyone, who thinks only of herself?”
“Someday, you will know everything. And Raquelle will know why I hate her. Find out what I am doing this for.”
“She is not as bad as you made people think.”
“You know people very badly, my dear,” Simon smiles slyly.
“I know people very well.”
“I advise you not to succumb to the charms of that pathetic model. Don’t forget, beautiful fruit outside sometimes may be rotted inside.”
“I know for sure that Raquelle is not what you call her.”
“It’s okay, my dear, it’s okay. I will make you wake up and understand that girl is not the one she wants to be.”
“She is not guilty of you going nuts because of a wish to take revenge on her. I don’t actually know for what.”
“Okay, as you’re wondering, I shall tell you something. One little thing.” Simon takes a little sip from his cup. “The reason for my revenge is something interesting that this girl has to do with. But you will not know it for a while. And don’t try to find out anything. Nobody would tell you anything. Because I am the only one to know it.”
“I don’t care about the reason for your revenge,” Terrence throws coldly. “I just want you to stop bribing your pal, who is working as an editor-in-chief of the magazine, so he publishes all those humiliating things that still make my hair stand. And leave the poor girl alone, at last.”
“I will not stop,” Simon shakes his head confidently. “Not for anything.”
“You must get therapy, bastard.”
“Besides, soon, I shall go to Kendrick and ask him to publish a couple of more humiliating articles. To keep making people believe she is a mean, false bitch.”
“Stop, Ringer, enough!” Terrence demands loudly, sharply clapping on the table with his hand. “Enough! I tell you to leave Raquelle alone and stop slandering her!”
“Quiet, MacClife, quiet. Do not make yourself a hysterical girl.”
“You will ask for trouble, scumbag. If Raquelle keeps suffering because of your fucking games, you will regret it a lot. I will make you pay a lot for everything you are doing and finally reveal your insolent lie. Because of which the poor girl ran away somewhere.”
“Listen, Terrence, why do you care about her so much?” Simon smiles slyly, tightly locking his fingers and looking at Terrence questioningly. “Do you really care about what would happen to that girl? She is nobody to you to worry about her so much!”
“Yes, I do really care about her,” Terrence says confidently. “And I want to do everything to defend her from you and your dirty tricks.”
“Do not make a mistake, my dear. Of course, you may be unbearable and make me irritated, but I don’t wish you anything bad. I don’t want you to regret what you are doing.”
“I will never regret it. Never regret defending Raquelle from the bastard that crossed all the lines.”
“Wrong! That girl would not thank you for everything you do. Because first, she is mad at you and thinks you are guilty of everything. Second, that girl loves only herself. Trust me, if she had to choose between her family and her career, she would choose her career. She doesn’t care about her family. She only wants to hear everyone admiring her. Everyone calls her their idol. If it’s not happening, it will be a strong hit for her.”
“If the police knew what kind of things you do, you would go to prison.”
“Do not dare to go to the police and tell them something about me,” Simon says confidently. “If you dare to do this, I will turn your life into a real hell. Destroy you as well as I am going to destroy Raquelle.”
“I’m not afraid of your threats, Simon,” Terrence says confidently. “Besides, don’t forget you have to do with Terrence MacClife himself.”
“I don’t care who you are. I am warning you, if you go against me, you will have to regret it much.”
“If you keep mocking the girl like this, I will not be afraid to sacrifice anything to bring you to prison and tell people what a scumbag you actually are.”
“So, boy, did you become too brave, I see?”
“I am a respectful man in the show business. If I open my mouth, everyone will believe me. I need only one word to destroy you, scoundrel.”
“Hey, hey, self-pronounced king, slow down,” Simon cuts off sharply. “Take off your crown that you put on.”
“I advise you to slow down and stop doing what you are doing.”
“If you started to forget something and began to suffer from a delusion of grandeur and awesomeness, I will quickly get you back to the earth.”
“Stop taking revenge on Raquelle! Stop humiliating the girl for her own fans, who got mad at her because of the lie your pal published in his magazine.”
“Ah, Terry, Terry…” Simon shakes his head with a wide smile, leaning back in the chair. “Since you are defending that girl so hard and ready to put your career in danger, I can assume only one thing. You succumbed to her charms and fell in love with her.”
“It’s none of your business, Ringer.”
“You are in love, I see it in your eyes. Your behavior. No girl was able to get you as attracted to her as Raquelle Cameron did.”
“I said it’s none of your business.”
“I understand… That sexy beauty definitely slayed you. You really liked her non-typical behavior. The fact that she is not going to run after you and look into your eyes. Vice versa, that girl forces you to run after her and be a slave to her. Because of her, you lost your mind. So, as you already got obsessed with feelings for her, you do not want to hear those, who say who she actually is.”
“Why do you the fuck care if I am in love with her?” Terrence wonders rudely. “Do I have to ask you for permission to fall in love with someone?”
“I don’t have, but your mommy should approve the choice of her sonny.”
“Do not worry. My mother would do. If she did not, she would not meddle in my life openly. She would tell her opinion but would not try to separate me from any girl.”
“I doubt it.”
“Do not dare to tell me what to do. You are not my manager or even my father to control my life. Which I am able to control by myself.”
“I really doubt your mommy would like the gal that you fell in love with. When that woman opens a couple of newspapers and magazines and reads a few articles about her having an unstable character, and how it’s easy to make her enraged, she will protest against your relationship with that model.”
“If she had mental problems, everyone would say it from the beginning. But before you provoked the scandal, Raquelle had had a perfect reputation.”
“Be careful, Terrence MacClife, do not make stupid mistakes. I’m advising it like a man, who truly wishes you happiness. Who is older than you and knows life and people better.”
“I will do it without you!”
“Do not get in touch with this gal and do not ruin your life. I am begging you. If you want to hear what she is, I can call some people Raquelle worked with somehow. They would be happy to tell you everything about her disgusting character and the hysterics that girl had on the set.”
“I don’t care about your words, Simon,” Terrence says confidently and coldly. “Despite nothing, I will be defending Raquelle from you and the anger of her own fans.”
“So, do you want to stand by the side of that gal?”
“And I will do it! I repeat, I’m not going to be a part of your dirty business and pretend that what you want to do is absolutely fine.”
“You are obsessed with feelings, Terrence. You need to turn on your brains. You will make a great mistake if you run to find that fugitive, because she will surely ruin your life.”
“Do not tell me what you do not the fuck know.”
“I’m sure you will regret not listening to me and standing in her way. You will be cursing the day you met her.”
“I am cursing the day I gave you a job.” Terrence leans on the table with both hands, looking at Simon coldly. “I can’t believe such a cad like you has been working with me for so many years.”
“You are not better,” Simon says confidently. “You are a selfish, non-educated bastard that was taught nothing by your mommy.”
“You know, Ringer, you literally became my curse. The curse, because of which my life was ruined to the fuck.”
“What do I have to do with it?” Simon smirks evilly.
“Because I’ve gotten no offers to act in movies as often as I did before since I agreed to make you my personal driver.”
“It’s not my fault, my dear. You can achieve such colossal success only once. You would hardly do this for the second time.”
“What are you talking about!”
“Take the fact that your time has gone, Terrence. Yes, you will be getting offers to act in movies for some time, but the peak of your fame is gone. You will never be as popular as you were. But in a few years, when you are more than thirty, everyone will forget you. Nobody will care about you. There will be new, more talented people.”
“Everything had been fine before I met you,” Terrence says rudely. “I acted in a few movies per year. I was earning great money! Everything was scheduled for months. And now, even if I act, I do it at least one or two times per year. I am really holding on thanks to interviews, photoshoots, and shows.”
“If you are not ready to accept the fact that your time has gone, I advise you to go to a psychologist. Or you would go crazy. As well as many celebrities, whose time was gone as quickly as it came. You would need to get a few consults, knowing you just can’t live a day without compliments.”
“No, Ringer, you need a psychiatrist! Because you went crazy!”
“I am mentally fine.”
“Yeah? I doubt it!”
“Everything I am doing has reasons. Which everyone will know when it’s time. Don’t think I picked up a victim for nothing.”
“You surely give people bad luck. My career got worse, and Raquelle became an object of mockery and humiliation she didn’t deserve. But everything had been fine with her before it all happened.”
“Do not blame other people for the fact that your career got worse. Nobody is guilty. It happens. All the celebrities get through it.”
“But it’s okay, I will not give up. I will not give up, and someday I will reach Hollywood. I will act in a movie that will make me famous again. I will show my talent in movies by more famous directors. Thanks to their names, I will make my career better and get much more fans.”
“Yeah, but what famous director would invite you to act in a movie?” Simon smirks evilly. “Nobody needs you as an actor.”
“I will be back and do my best for people to stand in a line to offer me something.”
“You can hold on only thanks to the rest of your past fame. But someday, it will not help you, either. Nobody will offer you even minor roles in their movies. You will never get rid of the mark of the stupid and sexy Mason Houston and prove that you could play much more serious roles.”
“I am not going to renounce the role that made me famous. No matter what that is, my career got much better thanks to the one.”
“Ah, okay! You do like being the one. You want people to keep thinking you are a young and hot guy with a gorgeous body that all the girls in the world are dreaming about.”
“But I surely know your long-time dream of becoming a director will never come true. You’ve always been a common working man and will be the one.”
“I already accepted it a long time ago and do not dream about fame. But you have refused to believe your career came to an end for a few years.”
“Close your mouth, bastard. Do not make me much more enraged.”
“Do not be rude to me, MacClife,” Simon says coldly. “Or you will have to run away from shame as well as Cameron did.”
“Do not threaten me.”
“I swear, I shall tell people what you actually are. I will tell everyone how you can also pretend to be an innocent angel that has many, many demons in his head.”
“You better deal with your demons,” Terrence cuts off sharply. “And leave Raquelle alone, at least!”
“I am warning you again: do not get in touch with that liar. I bet that you suffer a lot because of her. You will regret not listening to my good advice and not running away from that mean bitch. That witch, who easily charmed literally all the young men in the world.”
“You don’t know her at all! And you have no right to tell me who she is!”
“You’ve spoken to her just two times and do not know anything about her.”
“As well as you do!”
“I want Raquelle not to forget that she is not a superstar that nobody should please.”
“You are doing a very cruel thing to that girl. She did not deserve the dirt that she is getting showered with because of you.”
“If you were not in love with her, you would trust me.”
“I truly hope it will come back to you like a boomerang. I want you to suffer as much as that poor girl, who ran far away from her not to hear how people humiliate her for no reason.”
“You will ask for trouble, unbearable parasite,” Simon hisses quietly, barely holding himself down not to attack Terrence right in a common place before the eyes of people. “I swear, scumbag, I will make your life much worse and make you wish to get out far away or die of shame.”
“Try!” Terrence pronounces bravely, looking at Simon with arrogance. “Come on, Ringer, do it! I will see who people would believe more: you, the one, who dares to lie and slander the innocent girl, or me, a very respectful actor, an opinion of who is always very important.”
“I’m now serious, Terrence!” Simon throws a little ruder. “If you start to find that gal to defend her from my attacks, you will have to pay a high cost for that. I swear, I will not let you live quietly!”
“I have not had it for a long time! Since you and I met!”
“MacClife!”
“And yeah, I want to tell you that I am not going to work with such a bastard like you.”
“What?” Simon smirks evilly. “Are you firing me?”
“Yes, Simon, I am firing you,” Terrence says with his head proudly raised. “From now on, you are no longer working as my personal driver. Who I do not actually need. I hired you out of pity. But now I am getting rid of you with great pleasure.”
“You are making a great mistake, guy. If you do not want to regret it, do not do stupid things. Wake up and forget about your feelings for her!”
“I decided everything, Simon! You are fired! You can find another job. But I doubt you would find something good that would help you keep feeding your friend Kendrick.”
“Oh, shit, hear me, MacClife! You are a smart man, but you are behaving like a little, brainless boy!”
“I swear, if I have a chance to tell the whole world how you humiliated the poor girl, you will have to run away from the shame that you will have to run into.”
“Someday, you will say, ‘thank you’ to me for making you wake up and realize what a stupid thing you want to do.”
“No, Ringer, I will do a stupid thing if I am silent about who is actually to blame for spreading the false rumors. Knowing well that people will believe me and stop mocking Raquelle.”
“Besides, I will use your name anyway and make Kendrick publish a comment allegedly from you in his magazine.”
“If I see just one comment said not by me, I will put you and that bastard, Kendrick, in prison.”
“We will see!”
“All those articles in newspapers and magazines made me wake up. And I am not going to take it or be afraid of such a mean and shameless bastard. And I am not ready to take this injustice.”
Terrence drinks the rest of the coffee and is going to leave the café while Simon gloomily looks at him with his arms crossed over his chest.
“I’m done, I’m leaving,” Terrence throws rudely, takes a few banknotes from a pocket on his coat, and throws them on the table. “Do not count on me! Find another idiot, with whom you would make your dirty things.”
Terrence smirks evilly.
“Furthermore, you’ve got too many familiars in New York, who are ready to do anything for you,” Terrence adds.
“Close your mouth, puppy,” Simon demands loudly.
“All the best, Simon Ringer. From now on, I will live without a personal driver. I will go wherever I want by myself.”
“Where are you going? Where are you going, I am asking you?”
“Leave me alone, asshole!”
“MacClife! Go back to your place! We have not ended the talk! MacClife! Are you deaf? MacClife! Come back, I said!”
But Terrence does not react to these words. He quietly gets up from the table and quickly leaves the café. While Simon watches him with an unhappy look, barely fighting back his anger for this man.
“You are a scumbag, MacClife…” Simon resents quietly. “Just a scumbag… I am doing this in a good way, but that’s what you, scumbag, are doing…”
Simon growls quietly.
“So, alright!” Simon exclaims, “If you want it, go to that gal. I will do everything to destroy her and make her pay for what I had to get through. But remember, you will regret that a lot early or late. You two will regret just living in this world. I will not leave you alone. I will do my best for you to shake even from thinking of me. Even if it’s ten or twenty years later.”
Simon slowly takes a sip of coffee from his cup with a sly smile.
“That girl does not know what kind of horror is expecting her…” Simon thinks. “She does not even guess I have known her much longer than she knows me. She does not know why I need her. Why I want to destroy her so badly…”
Simon proudly raises his head up.
“But it’s okay, Raquelle Cameron, someday you will know all the truth that nobody but me knows,” Simon promises. “With the help of that idiot Terrence, who fell in love with you, or without, but I shall destroy you. You will not hide from me. I will find you wherever you are. Wherever you are…”
Simon glances aside and starts to caress his chin with a thoughtful face.
“Well, I shall deal with that betrayer…” Simon promises. “But a little later. Anyway, he will not get off me so easily. He will know what it means to go against Simon Ringer himself. And he will regret making such a stupid mistake.”
Simon smirks evilly.
“But I do not exclude that I could use your name and fame by making Kendrick publish an article, in which there would be your terrible comments about the one you are in love with,” Simon thinks and laughs quietly. “She is going to get wild! Moreover, you are the number one suspect for her. Who wanted to take revenge on her for rejecting you.”
Simon proudly raises his head up.
“Do not think you are so powerful, Terrence,” Simon thinks. “I have some contacts, as well. There are people, who would do anything I would ask them about for some money. Some efforts before your career is ruined to the fuck. I’m sure it would impact your infinite self-rating greatly, and you would stop finding yourself literally God, whom everybody must praise. I will take off the crowd you put on, Terrence MacClife. I promise you. You will come to me on your knees and beg for forgiveness. You will regret standing by that girl.”
Simon stays in this café for some time and slowly drinks his coffee from a little cup, sometimes glancing at people going by him and thinking about his revenge on Raquelle, who is not guilty of him. But who, in his opinion, did something to him. He is also thinking about revenge on Terrence, who confidently claimed that he would stand by the side of that girl and do his best to help her get her reputation back and defend herself from attacks that she did not deserve.
***
“When he said that, I didn’t believe him at first,” Terrence confesses. “But Simon was speaking confidently and was determined to destroy you. As I’ve said, he refused to explain the reason for his actions. And he claimed you would not know who was the one to blame for everything before a certain time.”
Terrence says nothing for two seconds.
“I didn’t stay silent and claimed I would do my best to bring him to clean water,” Terrence adds. “Not to let you keep thinking it was my work. It’s not my fault. Simon is guilty of everything. The man, who was working as my personal driver. Who was at almost all the shootings of mine.”
“That’s how…” Raquelle pronounces with mistrust, keeping her arms crossed over her chest.
“I really didn’t spread the rumors about you. But Simon was very happy at the thought that you could blame me for everything. And you would never think he could have to do with that somehow.”
Raquelle says nothing for a few seconds and thinks about everything she just heard, still not believing Simon could be the one to blame for everything and thinking Terrence is just trying to blame someone else for everything. While Natalia is still hiding not far from her friend and listening to her talk with the man, being shocked after everything she heard but not going to believe in that person’s innocence so easily.
“Of course, the story seems very true,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “But I will not believe it anyway.”
“Don’t you believe me?” Terrence rounds his eyes.
“I don’t. And I still think you are trying to cover your ass.”
“I swear, Raquelle, I didn’t lie to you. Simon is guilty of everything. He must pay for what he did. Not me. I don’t have to do with that.”
“Do you think your story will become a good proof of your innocence?”
“You should believe me.”
“Seriously?” Raquelle smirks evilly. “Why?”
“You can’t blame me for what I did not do,” Terrence notices confidently.
“Whatever you say, I will not believe in your innocence.”
“Alright, what do I have to do, so you believe me?”
“Nothing!”
“Listen, Raquelle…”
“I want to hear no excuses from you.”
“Simon is the one to blame for everything!”
“Stop trying to blame the innocent man for everything.”
“Simon is not innocent! He is the one to blame for everything that happened to you. The one you should ask something about is him.”
“No matter how much you don’t want to go to prison, you will have to go there. Because I will not let you stay unpunished. As well as that man, who published all those false articles at your order.”
“My God, give me patience…” Terrence begs quietly with closed eyes. “Help me prove to this headstrong girl that I am guilty of nothing.”
“Did you come to London to tell me this lie?”
“I came here to tell you all the truth and to call the real name of the one, who did that.”
“Don’t you regret wasting time? Don't you regret the money you wasted on a ticket? You should’ve known I would not believe in your fucking tales!”
“I must have done it!”
“You must have told the whole world what you did!”
“I am not going to pay for what I didn’t do.”
“You will pay for what you did.”
“I am not guilty of that!” Terrence raises his voice. “Not guilty!”
“What a coward you are, MacClife… You spread rumors about me under the mask of the anonymous and are afraid to confess it.”
“Do I confess to the whole world what the other man?”
“What if you agreed with him? What if Simon agreed to blame himself and cover your fucking ass? Do his best for your perfect reputation not to get worse!”
“Do not make me a monster!”
“Are you an innocent angel?”
“Yes, I am not an angel. But I am guilty of nothing.”
“Okay, if you don’t want to confess your fault, do not do it. It’s clear you can’t do this. You think the people around you are the only ones to blame for everything. Even if they do nothing.”
“Listen, Raquelle…”
“But I am not going to be silent! I'm not going to pretend that everything is alright.” Raquelle sharply moves a strand of hair off her face. “I will not behave like everyone does and close my eyes to your actions just for your pretty face. For the face that must be beaten very well.”
Terrence says nothing and just growls quietly with rolled eyes, barely holding himself back from doing something to Raquelle, who, telling the truth, starts to make him more irritated. While Natalia is trying to hear every single word of their talk as she is hiding behind the streetlamp.
“Although I don’t wanna cover him, I think Terrence is speaking sincerely,” Natalia thinks. “I’ve got a feeling that MacClife is really guilty of nothing. A certain Simon is the one to blame for everything… It seems like Raquelle told me about him. But she would’ve hardly thought he was the one to spread those rumors about her.”
Natalia frowns slightly.
“I wonder, what does that man need from Raquelle?” Natalia asks herself. “What did she do if he got mad at her and supposedly decided to spread false rumors about her? If that’s really a driver of Terrence, Raquelle said he was good and decent enough. Was he pretending?”
Natalia shakes her head and keeps closely listening to everything said by Raquelle and Terrence, who do not care about people, who sometimes go by them and throw a questioning look at them as if they ask why the two are fighting right in the middle of the popular street.
“Yes, yes, MacClife, you heard it right,” Raquelle says confidently. “I will not let you live quietly and pretend that nothing happened.”
“If you want, I can make Simon personally confess what he did,” Terrence replies. “I would bring him to you and tell him to explain everything.”
“Explain the way you agreed with him about slandering me.”
“I didn’t agree with Simon about anything. That man was doing everything without notifying me.”
“You really agreed. I do not doubt it.”
“It’s a lie! We agreed about nothing!”
“You also say you knew nothing about all of his tricks.”
“I did not. I did not even think Simon could have to do with what happened.”
“Come on!”
“I could suspect anyone of your haters. Any famous person, who has ever said something bad about you. But I never thought Simon would be the one to blame for everything. My former personal driver, who did not have to do with you.”
“Right, I never met him before. And I am sure Simon could not hurt me.”
“I could easily suspect even those, who treat you well. I would not be surprised if someone from your friends was an enemy.”
“But all the people in my circle are trustworthy and checked by the time. There is only one cad that ruined my whole life. That made me hate him as much as I have never done before.”
“Do not blame me for everything just because we fought at the photoshoot.”
“You betrayed yourself!”
“How? Because I just said I would destroy your career when I was angry?”
“It’s already enough to be sure you were the one to do all of that.”
“I don’t have to do with those rumors!” Terrence repeats. “I do not have! I did not spread any rumors about you or give any comments to the media. I did nothing! Nothing!”
“Don’t lie to me!” Raquelle cries, setting her cold gaze into Terrence’s eyes.
“I am not lying.”
“You can prove nothing. You cannot prove that you did not spread the rumors and send me all those anonymous letters.”
“Listen, Cameron, how many times do I repeat that I don’t the fuck have to do with that? I DO NOT HAVE TO DO WITH IT, YOU GET IT?”
“PROVE! Prove that’s not the truth!”
“You must believe me!”
“Ah, must believe you… Why would I the fuck do?”
“As for the letters, I do not doubt Simon was the one to send them to you.”
“Ah, it was Simon…”
“Yes, Simon!”
“Do I show you all your written creatures? Which you were probably working on for hours before sending them to me!”
“Show! C’mon, girl, show me all the letters! Show me!”
“I will do!”
“Show!”
“Will do!”
“Where are they the fuck? Show me!”
“You will see if you want it!”
Raquelle sharply opens her purse, takes her smartphone from it, and starts to look for something in it.
“Now, now…” Raquelle jabs in a much lower voice. “You will see everything, scoundrel… I was not lazy and did save all your works in a special folder.”
A few seconds later, Raquelle finds what she needs on her phone and shows it to Terrence.
“Look, MacClife!” Raquelle exclaims. “ENJOY!”
Terrence quickly runs his eyes over the text of one of the letters that Raquelle is showing him, shaking his head slightly.
“Just like I thought…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully. “It’s Simon… I can feel it well…”
“Read, read, peacock, read!” Raquelle throws gloomily and shows another letter to Terrence. “And call the memories! Call the memories of you! Memories of you working on a computer and working on these long texts. You were not lazy, I must confess!”
“He was slowly getting you ready to reveal himself. He wanted to scare you… He said the one to blame for everything was among those, who were at our photoshoot, but then he claimed someone of your friends or close people had to do with everything.”
“Yeah, you decided to wash my brains. But I realized it was your work. No matter how hard you found excuses.”
“Simon even dropped a hint to think a little. His quote… It's very easy to tarnish someone's name. It's much harder to restore a relationship with someone you blame for all the sins for nothing.”
“I am not surely going to make my relationship with you better. I am not going to become friends with you and forgive you for what you did.”
“I did nothing!”
“I would’ve been ready to close my eyes to the fact that you insolently accosted me and dared to kiss me. But what you did does cross all the lines. I will never… Hear me, never forgive you for daring to slander me for people.”
“Did you actually carefully read these letters? How long? Or did you just look at them once and closed them with the thought that I was the only one to blame for everything?”
“I’ve read them very carefully many times.” Raquelle squeezes her smartphone into her hands. “And I understood everything quickly. I understood who wanted to ruin my life. Yes, sadly, nobody believed me when I told them about my suspects. But I don’t care. I surely know I am not wrong. I know I would do my best to punish the one, who hurt me.”
“I will not pay for what I did not do!”
“And be sure, I am afraid of nothing now,” Raquelle says confidently. “Not afraid of your threats and everything you could do to me. I am ready to fight and make you pay for everything. I’ve become much stronger and feel much more confident now.”
“You will actually regret blaming someone, who did nothing from what you are trying to blame me for.”
“Are you not ashamed? Doesn’t your conscience say nothing to you? Just something!”
“I am not guilty of anything,” Terrence pronounces quietly and confidently. “And I will have my opinion until the very end.”
“Alright, MacClife, do it. You will tell the police staff all these tales, not me. And the judge, who will give you a harsh sentence.”
“Seriously? Are you going to put me in prison?”
“I will do. Do my best for you, scumbag, to stay there until the last day of your life and die right in a cell. No girl to look at you and…”
At this moment, Raquelle’s phone makes a quiet sound with a slight vibration that lets her know she got a notification. The girl sharply falls into silence and sees that she has a new message in her email.
“A new message…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “Recently sent…”
Not thinking much, Raquelle opens the mail app.
“What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “The letter from the anonymous again? Without a name and a subject?”
While Terrence frowns slightly, crossing his arms over his chest, Raquelle opens the letter and starts to read everything that is written in the long text of the anonymous letter. Natalia can hear the words about the letter very well and starts listening to every single word much better with the hope of finding out something interesting.
“So, Raquelle Cameron, I am welcoming you!
I am delivering you a piece of news that is not good for me. Unfortunately, people found out the truth about slandering you. Yes, I can no longer keep telling people you are an egoistic scumbag, who treats people terribly and loves only herself. It goes without saying, I knew they would realize it was a lie early or late. But I thought it would not happen very soon. I thought everything would last for at least a few months. But I failed it! My fun did not last too long!
The people that are guilty of that are certain idiots, who recorded my talk with someone, who helped me do what I wanted on a phone, and gave that record to someone on TV. A photograph that nobody knows and his friend, who I met at some shootings but never talked with. If I knew their names, I would curse them and wish them to burn in hell for ruining all my plans.
And now, because of those scumbags, people have started to realize all my words about you were false. They began to hate me. They wish me to die. Everyone is impatiently waiting for me to reveal myself. But be sure, I will do this. I am not going to put myself under threat and take all the insults and humiliations for me. People would rather be showering someone else with mud than me.
I do not regret what I did. Do not regret lying to everyone about you. Why? Because you deserved it! And I am very glad I got some results. I'm glad that people hated you, at least for a while. And how happy your haters were! How they were rejoicing when another article that blamed you for everything possible was released. In which they showered you with mud. Sometimes journalists came up with ideas and published very interesting articles, which gave me pleasure. I am madly grateful to them for that.
Do you want to know what will happen after I am revealed? I will answer! There will be no articles that will shower you with mud. Not because I decided to leave you alone and let you live a quiet life. Because nobody would believe me anymore. Even if I want to spread more rumors, it will be worthless. That’s why I have to give up.
But even if I stop slandering you, it does not mean my plans for revenge on you are canceled. No, my sweetheart, I will not cancel them. I will not leave you alone. I will keep doing what I am doing. I will not stop until I am pleased. You will not hide from me. Yes, I am letting you exhale with relief and think of your life. But still, I advise you not to forget me. I advise you to always remember that there will be a day when I come back to your life again and ruin it to the fuck.
Do you still not understand why I am doing this? You should not know it now! Keep wondering! I do not want and will not open my cards. Maybe, I will do this some time before I make my revenge come true. But before it happens, you can only guess why I needed it. What I need from the poor, unhappy girl, who has done nothing bad to anyone. But I am sure all my guesses would not be close to the real reasons for my revenge.
So, Raquelle Allison Cameron… From now on, I am leaving you alone. I will not spread rumors and send you anonymous letters. Yes, babe, I will not. You can relax. If you want, delete this email and create a new one. I do not care. Anyway, remember that the next time when I show up, everything will be different. Everything will be much crueler and worse. What happened now is going to be much easier for you. I will do what would make you actually wish to leave this world. Yes, Raquelle, you would do!
Alright, this is probably everything I wanted to tell you. Live a quiet life for some time and do your business. I will not bother you at the nearest time and will be just waiting for a good moment when I will show up and kick your ass. Bye, Raquelle…
P.S. Oops, I almost forgot to say something! I read your letter, in which you told me your opinion about your suspects about who could do that. And I must confess that it impressed me. I am impressed that you do not want to think better. You do not want to look around and see who is around you. But I thought you were much smarter.
Alright, I will say a few very important words before I say goodbye to you… Reveal some cards… I am not Terrence MacClife. My name is Simon Ringer.”
The last words in the anonymous letter that called himself Simon Ringer get Raquelle shocked. The girl rounds her eyes and falls into a stupor for a few seconds, reading them a few more times to make sure she really sees what’s written in this letter.
“Oh, my God…” Raquelle shakes her head. “I can’t believe it…”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“The anonymous has revealed himself…” Raquelle pronounces in a little shaking voice. “He called himself Simon… Simon Ringer.”
“So, who do you say sent you all those letters?” Terrence asks, putting his hands on his hips. “Huh? Who was telling you to quit your modeling career all the time?”
“He did it for the first time… He wrote his name for the first time… He was hiding it before… He was delaying this moment until the end…”
“He just realized he was already revealed. So, he decided to give up.”
“Wait…” Raquelle moves her eyes to Terrence. “So, as it turned out, did you tell me the truth? Weren’t you the one to do that?”
“I’ve been trying to tell you that for like twenty minutes,” Terrence throws gloomily. “You literally closed your ears and do not want to hear me.”
“But… Why? Why did Simon do that? He seemed like such a kind and sweet man! Yes, of course, he was spreading coldness, but… Talking to him wasn’t torture.”
“I tried to find out the reason for what he was doing. But Simon said nothing and claimed he would not stop until he got what he wanted.”
“It says he is going to leave me alone for a while but will be back a little later.”
“I doubt that he will stop.”
“So, is this story not over yet? It means, will there be the day Simon shows up again and starts doing something much more terrible?”
“I don’t’ exclude it. While nobody knows about him, and he is free, Ringer will be doing everything he wants.”
“No…” Raquelle shakes his head sharply. “No, I will not let it happen. I will not. After Simon confessed he was the one to do that, he will pay much for it. I will not let him stay unpunished.”
“Exactly!” Terrence exclaims. “You should do something before that bastard goes too far. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he had much more terrible plans for you than just slander.”
“No, no, I will do my best not to let it happen. Simon will not stay unpunished.”
“Anyway, I am always ready to help.”
“Really?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
“Yes. Count on me if you need proof or witnesses. I am ready to tell everything again.”
“Alright, thanks…”
Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Raquelle thinks about something, tightly squeezing her phone in her hands, and Terrence looks anywhere except the girl. While Natalia gets also shocked by what she just heard.
“Wow, the author of the anonymous letters has let her know about him and finally called his name,” Natalia thinks. “Wow… It’s Simon… Simon Ringer… Who was the one to spread the rumors about Raquelle. That man definitely got mad at something. Very mad…”
Natalia shakes her head.
“Who is he actually?” Natalia wonders. “What does he need from her? Why did that man annoy Cameron and want to take revenge on her in any way? Why? I don’t get it! What means the story is not over yet? Is that man going to show up again? Oh, my God…”
Natalia closes her mouth with her hand, thinking about everything she just heard.
“Fine…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully and crosses her arms over her chest after she puts her smartphone in her purse. “Let’s think you excused yourself and made me sure you were not guilty of that situation.”
“I am not,” Terrence says quietly.
“But it still means nothing. It does not mean everything would be different.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you think you would get what you want by deciding to come to London and telling me who spread the rumors?”
“I came here to explain everything.”
“You came and did a good thing! I am glad you decided to do something.”
“And I want everything to be otherwise between us.”
“There may be nothing between us.”
“I want to make our relationship better. I don’t want us to keep fighting.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s true, Raquelle. I want to have peace with you. I want you to know you can always count on me.”
“And I want you to leave my life once and forever. And never remind me of yourself.”
“Please, let me explain everything.”
“Still hoping that I would change my mind and lie in bed with you?” Raquelle frowns strongly, putting her hands on her hips. “Don’t you lose hope that you will fuck me, after all?”
“Why are you and your friends so sure I need only sex from you?”
“You’ve never hidden it! Since our first meeting, you’ve always said you wanted to have sex with me. You wanted to take me to your bed, undress me, feel me up, and fuck me!”
“Do you think other men do not want it? They are ready to sell their souls to take you to their bed.”
“I would rather lie in a bed with someone of them than have to deal with such an insolent and non-educated scumbag like you.”
“Yeah, maybe I behaved not very well and was too headstrong,” Terrence exhales sharply. “I confess it.”
“You behaved disgustingly!”
“Listen, Raquelle…”
“Relax, MacClife, I do not need you not for anything,” Raquelle says confidently. “I would be with a more educated and decent man.”
“Are you sure you will love him?”
“Very much. I would love him as much as I have never loved before!”
“You’ve never been in love!” Terrence chuckles quietly.
“My first time is going to become the last one.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You can keep jumping from one bed to another and fucking anyone to give herself to you, and I will be looking for the one to be loyal. And not to behave like a fucking horndog.”
“Do you really care I jump from one bed to another?”
“I do not care who you fuck and how much!”
“Relax, babe, I have not fucked anyone for a long time.”
“What are you talking about?” Raquelle shows a surprise.
“Just because I’m waiting for the moment when I fuck you.”
Terrence hugs Raquelle around the waist and presses her closer to himself.
“It’s impossible to resist when you’re standing next to such a sexy girl,” Terrence adds with a mysterious smile in a much lower voice.
“Hey, horndog, get your hands off me!” Raquelle demands rudely and steps back from Terrence sharply.
“Yeah… I thought you thought about your behavior enough. But I see you’ve understood nothing.”
“But I’ve never doubted that you would surely not think about what you do. You would never learn to be just a little gentler.”
“You know, cutie, I really doubt that a man will be able to tame such a mean and non-educated bitch. I mean, you will do your best for him to run away from you as soon as possible.”
“I would be happy to talk to girls you dated for more than one month. To find out how they could take the selfish horndog with dirty fantasies.”
“Haven’t you understood how popular I am among girls? Did you forget how young beauties were not almost leaving me at our together photoshoot?”
“And I got enough attention from young men, who were very gentle and nice to me,” Raquelle says with her head proudly raised. “And who were very sympathetic.”
“So, how many of them did you memorize?” Terrence smiles slyly. “Call me at least one of those men, whom you remember much better!”
“Do you remember who you fuck? Or do you not care about it?”
“I am the only one you’ve been thinking of for a long time.”
“Why are you so sure about it?”
“Because it’s impossible to forget Terrence MacClife.”
“Right, impossible. After everything he has done.”
“I do not also doubt you could not forget the kiss between you and me.”
“Me?” Raquelle rounds her eyes and grins nervously. “I did not actually think about it. I forgot it after we said goodbye.”
“You think I will believe you?”
Terrence brings his face very close to Raquelle’s face, while she starts looking into his eyes without stopping and swallows up nervously at some moment.
“Even if I didn't show everything I could do, it did not leave you indifferent anyway,” Terrence adds confidently. “But what would have happened to you if I hadn’t contained myself? M-m-m…”
“Stop thinking you are a lord of everything and everyone,” Raquelle says coldly. “And leave your attempts to seduce me and take me to your bed.”
“Simon wrote the right thing about you not wishing to think better. Because you have only one explanation for everything.”
“Calm down, MacClife. I will never agree to become yours. N-e-v-e-r.”
“C’mon, babe, confess that you like me!” Terrence exclaims with a sly smile. “Confess that you are going crazy with me!”
“You want me to tell you a lie?”
“I am not hiding that I like you very much.” Terrence runs the back of his hand over Raquelle’s cheek. “Yes, you’ve got a terrible character, but I must admit that I’m not indifferent to you. I have not been since our first meeting.”
“No matter how hard you try to pretend to be good and educated, your real side takes the victory,” Raquelle says confidently. “No matter how hard you try to hide that you want to fuck me, it’s clear.”
“I don’t deny it. I don’t deny that I madly want you to please me and give me the best sex in my life.”
“I said, look for another girl to do that!”
“I don’t need another girl. I want you.”
Terrence runs his hands over the curves of Raquelle’s waist and places them on her buttocks, while she shakes slightly and understands that her heart misses a beat.
“You are the only one to get me very, very excited,” Terrence confesses in a low voice.
“You will not make me another victim of yours!” Raquelle threatens Terrence with a finger. “You will not do!”
“Your body disagrees with you. It wants me to give it enough love and caress. The love that it would never forget.”
“Do not even dare to place your hands on my body! I swear, I will hit you! Right before people’s eyes!”
“The more you resist and threaten to hit me, the stronger I get excited. Your insubordination does get me much more excited.”
“And your insolence does not get me excited!”
“I wouldn't pay attention to you if you behaved as well as other girls did. If you gave yourself to me without questions. But you are forcing me to run after you and do my best to make you agree to become mine.”
“You’ve reached the wrong address, MacClife. I am not a prostitute and do not have casual sex with anyone.”
“If someone else was instead of me, you would not surely mind.”
“With pleasure! If I loved that man.”
“You love me, too!”
“Why would I?”
“You like everything I do! You even like the rude way I treat you.”
“Don’t say stupid things!”
“What if I check it?”
Terrence tightly grabs Raquelle by the throat and sets his confident, cold gaze into her eyes, while she gloomily looks at him, clenching her hands into fists with a heavy breath.
“What if I turn off the good guy mode and treat you as rudely as possible?” Terrence adds.
“You want me to scream at the top of my lungs about you wishing to rape me?” Raquelle asks gloomily.
“Come on, scream!”
Terrence caresses Raquelle’s lips with his lips and runs them over her cheekbones, while his free hand is placed on her buttocks. That’s what makes the girl feel a slight shake and a heavy breath.
“We would see if you had the courage to do this where many people are walking,” Terrence adds.
“Stop doing this right now!” Raquelle demands rudely.
“I will not do.”
“I said, let me go!”
“M-m-m, your heart is beating fast again.”
Terrence, holding Raquelle by the nape of her neck, runs his fingertips over a curve of it and can clearly feel the frequent heartbeat of the girl.
“And how heavily you are breathing,” Terrence smiles slyly and leaves a couple of kisses on Raquelle’s chin. “I haven’t done anything special, but you’re already shaking.”
“Ar-r-r, curse you, Terrence MacClife!” Raquelle throws irritably.
“Do not contain yourself, baby. Show me how good you feel.”
When Terrence wants to leave a short kiss on her neck, Raquelle rudely pushes him off her, almost shouting:
“I said, DO NOT TOUCH ME!”
“Do not make me wild, bitch,” Terrence throws rudely.
“YOU do not make me wild! Do not dare to come to me and feel me up with your fucking hands!”
“Aha, so, can other men kiss your hands, while I CANNOT do?” Terrence resents loudly.
“Why do you the fuck care who kisses my hands? You should not care about it! You should not care who I talk with, who I kiss, or who I fuck.”
“You have no right to kiss and fuck anyone! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!”
“I DO HAVE!”
“I am not going to share you with someone else! I AM NOT GOING TO DO IT! YOU ARE MINE! AND NOBODY ELSE!”
“NOT THE FUCK AT ALL!” Raquelle shouts irritably. “You are nobody to me to tell me what to do!”
“Remember, bitch, if I see someone is trying to flirt with you and kiss your hands again, I shall make him regret it,” Terrence says rudely. “I WILL PITY NOBODY! I WILL NO LONGER BE SILENT! I WILL NOT BE!”
“But I say nothing when young girls are literally ready to undress you and lick you from head to feet. I AM SILENT WHEN THEY OPENLY LET YOU KNOW THEY WANT TO FUCK YOU!”
“WHY DO YOU CARE? If I want, I will fuck anyone of them. ANYONE NOT TO PRETEND TO BE A FUCKING SNOW QUEEN THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE TO RUN AFTER!”
“THEN GO TO YOUR WHORES!” Raquelle shouts. “LET THEM PLEASE YOU!”
“I will go!”
“Go then!”
“I WILL GO!”
“GET OUT ANYWHERE! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, SCOUNDREL!”
“I will not tolerate another man next to you. I WILL NOT!”
“Your jealousy makes no sense!”
“Don’t you really care who I fuck and how much?”
“You can even have group sex! I DO NOT CARE!”
“I WILL HAVE IT!” Terrence throws with evil in the eyes. “I will have fun with those, who would be much better than the nasty, non-educated bitch.”
“Said by the nasty, non-educated bastard!”
“Do not make me enraged, bitch,” Terrence clenches his hands tightly into fists with a heavy breath. “Or I WILL STRANGLE YOU WITH MY OWN HANDS!”
“Since you’ve fucked almost all the girls in New York, start looking for stupid idiots here, in London.”
“Do not pretend that you are jealous.”
“IT WOULD BE TOO MUCH!” Raquelle smirks evilly. “GET JEALOUS OF THE HORNDOG!”
“Since you care about how many girls run after me, it means you are jealous.”
“No!”
“Then why are you the fuck starting hysteria because of me fucking someone?”
“But you are behaving like a hysterical girl when I say there are much better men than you. Men, who I would date, kiss, and fuck with pleasure.”
“Because it’s DISGUSTING TO ME!” Terrence shouts. “DISGUSTING, THE FUCK! I was MADLY sick of watching you being nice to all those men, who were at the photoshoot, and paying no attention to me.”
“Because you do not deserve my attention. DO NOT DESERVE IT!”
“WHY AM I WORSE THAN ALL THOSE UGLY IDIOTS? WHY? TELL ME!”
“The fact that they are educated!”
“THAT’S ALL?”
“I would never date such a selfish man as you. Who has given me so many problems, even not being a boyfriend of mine or especially a husband of mine.”
“Even if you have him, you will give him many problems yourself.”
“I would be happy to talk to those girls, to whom you gave literally much more problems.”
“Before you stood in my way, no girl had dared to reject me,” Terrence says rudely. “Any girl was ready for anything and did not show off, pretending to be the fucking Snow Queen.”
“Well, as you like it so much, why are you the fuck chasing me? You would better go to your whores, who would fuck anyone to call them!”
“Ha, said the one, who is behaving like a fucking whore!”
“What did you say?” Raquelle gets enraged.
“Aren’t you sick of shaking your ass for men? Blinking your eyes at them and smiling cutely? ARE YOU NOT SICK YET, HUH?”
“It’s none of your business, scoundrel!”
“IT IS MY BUSINESS!”
“You have no right to tell me what to do. NO RIGHT, HEAR ME!”
“Yeah? In this case, why do you care about the fact that I communicate with girls?”
“It’s disgusting to me, too!” Raquelle says coldly. “DISGUSTING! I am sick of your fake politeness. Sick of you pretending to be sweet and puffy for everyone.”
“You are the one to blame!” Terrence throws coldly. “If you behaved well, I would not be so rude! But you definitely want it!”
“I wasn’t the one to start this war!”
“And I tried to be good to you!”
“When were you?”
“Always!”
“Come on!”
“I could not take the fact that you dared to tell me what nobody had said before.”
“Maybe, someone did? But you just do not confess it!”
“It’s a lie! EVERYONE knows me!”
“I DO NOT BELIEVE!”
“Sorry that you haven't opened the Internet and searched for information about Terrence MacClife.”
“I want to know nothing about you! NOTHING! AND IT WOULD BE MUCH BETTER IF YOU NEVER CAME INTO MY LIFE AGAIN!”
“Stop pretending to be nobody the fuck knows who, Cameron! Just confess that you like me and want me.”
“I am sick of you!”
“Confess!”
“I am not going to lie!”
“You are lying!” Terrence sharply shortens the distance between him and Raquelle and sets his confident gaze into her eyes. “You want to make me mad! Make me wild! You DO LIKE doing this! You REALLY LIKE making me lose my temple!”
“I don’t have to do anything because you are mentally sick anyway,” Raquelle says rudely.
“As if you are healthy!”
“I would be much healthier than you!”
“Do not make me wild, bitch. Or you will have to regret it much.”
“Better go to fuck a prostitute!”
“YOU go to find someone to get your hand in their underwear!”
“I will do!”
“Go!”
“Go to find a whore!”
“Go to find a horndog!”
“Said by the horndog!”
“Said by the whore!”
“I AM NOT A WHORE!”
“Stop making me nervous!”
“You stop making me wild!”
“Get a couple of lessons on good manners. You are a girl, but you are too rude, non-educated, and loud.”
“Do you say it to you? The insolent, shameless pervert!”
“Your family definitely taught you nothing.”
“As if yours made you a decent man! If you don’t know how to treat girls and think they are ready to spread their legs after barely seeing you.”
“I wonder, does your family know you are acting like a slut that openly flirts with men and is happy to shake her ass for them and hear a loud whistle and a couple of compliments? Or are you pretending to be holy for them and agreeing that you can have sex only after a wedding?”
Obsessed with anger, Raquelle strongly slaps Terrence in the face with a heavy breath, and he sharply grabs his cheek. While Natalia gets shocked by everything that is happening before her eyes and slightly opens her mouth.
“My gosh…” Natalia thinks. “Their passions are way better than any other show! The sparks literally fly in the air! If it was an act of two actors, I would definitely believe them. And I would have the pleasure to keep watching this show and standing by their couple. I really love watching what’s happening between them.”
Terrence rubs the burning cheek for a few seconds, and then, getting wild after what happened, grabs Raquelle tightly by the hair with one hand and squeezes her throat with another hand. That’s why the excited girl shakes slightly with a scare in her eyes.
“Here you go again?” Terrence resents, setting his cold, full of fire gaze into Raquelle’s eyes. “ARE YOU GIVING ME SLAPS AGAIN?”
“You are getting what you deserve,” Raquelle says with her head proudly raised.
“You, bitch, really like getting in trouble, You do like when someone kicks your ass.”
“No, you like making yourself a sick bastard right in the middle of the street.”
“As if you would love it if you were beaten. As if it would get you delighted.”
“If you really loved getting kicks, I would be happy to give you a couple of slaps in the face. And give you one or two strong hits on your balls. So, you feel all of that very well!”
“I don’t exclude that you actually like when someone treats you rudely. Knowing you are not crying and shaking in front of me like a bunny.”
“Crying and shaking because of a sick bastard that believes that I am his property?” Raquelle simpers contemptuously. “I haven’t gone crazy yet!”
“There will be the day when you become mine!” Terrence says confidently. “Only mine!”
“NEVER! Hear me, NEVER!”
Raquelle rudely pushes Terrence off herself and starts strongly beating him on everything she sees, not holding her emotions down and letting the anger she has kept inside since she fought him for the first time.
“You…” Raquelle throws rudely. “Scoundrel… Bastard! Scumbag! Horndog!”
“Stop acting like a hysterical girl,” Terrence demands coldly, not reacting to everything Raquelle is doing.
“Horndog! Scumbag! Bastard!”
“People are watching you, idiot!”
“MAY THEY WATCH! I DO NOT CARE!”
“Hey, calm down! Calm down right now!”
“I hate you, I HATE YOU! CURSE YOU! I REALLY HATE THE DAY WHEN I MET YOU!”
“Fuck, shut up, you, bitch!”
“BURN IN THE HELL, TERRENCE MACCLIFE! BURN! FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME! I HATE YOU! I HATE!”
“I said, CALM DOWN RIGHT NOW!”
Terrence tightly grabs the furious Raquelle under her arms and slightly shakes her, while she is still trying to beat him as strongly as possible.
“CALM THE FUCK DOWN, HYSTERICAL GIRL!” Terrence screams at the top of his lungs. “STOP SCREAMING!”
“LET ME GO!” Raquelle demands rudely, trying to set her arms free out of Terrence’s grip. “Let me go, I said!”
“You calm down! And keep your hands with you! Stop behaving like an untamed one!”
Terrence has to fight with Raquelle for a few seconds before he decides to push her off himself rudely. They look at each other with a heavy breath, while silence settles in the air. At some moment, the girl tries to attack the man again, but he just tightly grabs her with his arms and presses her close to himself. She strongly hits him on the chest for a few seconds, then moves her eyes into his eyes and stops doing this, as if she is charmed.
It’s easy to see how tense they become when their faces are very close to one another. The breath becomes uneven, and the heart starts beating the way it usually happens when someone fears or gets excited about something. Its sound echoes in the temples, the legs are getting weaker and weaker, and it’s getting harder to remember that they should breathe. Terrence and Raquelle’s eyes are focused on each other, and they closely look into them with a hard enough, heavy breath.
Anger and hatred are still obsessed with both of them and wake up a stronger affection for each other, which they cannot deny somewhere at the bottom of their hearts. The natural smell of the body gets obsessed with the mind and causes a little dizziness, and this effect gets much stronger thanks to the mix of this one and an expensive, persistent perfume. It’s impossible to think of anything else when they are next to someone, who could drive them crazy even if they did nothing.
Raquelle and Terrence look into each other’s eyes like they are charmed for a few seconds, being very close to each other. And then the girl and the man get each other involved in a continuous kiss on the lips. Quite passionate. Hot. Confident. While the man starts running his hands over her back or holding her by the buttocks, the girl lets her hands caress his face or do something to his hair, which she strongly pulls and squeezes when being obsessed with passion. Both of them begin to moan quietly and breathe much heavier, succumbing to this moment and not definitely minding what’s happening right now.
Seeing that Terrence and Raquelle began kissing each other right in the middle of the street, Natalia rounds her eyes and opens her mouth slightly.
“What a twist!” Natalia thinks, closing her mouth with both hands. “What a twist! A few seconds ago, they were fighting like a cat and a dog, but they are now kissing each other like long-time lovers.”
Natalia shakes her head, watching the kiss of Terrence and Raquelle, who definitely feel quite confident and are not shy about showing their feelings right in the middle of the street.
“Hey, guys, get a room!” Natalia thinks, seeing Raquelle and Terrence break the kiss for two seconds to catch a breath but then get each other involved in another one, more passionate kiss. “Couldn’t you find a different place to kiss each other? Of course, I understand you’re obsessed with passion, but get some fucking decency!”
Natalia watches what’s happening for a few seconds, noticing that Raquelle does not look like she is kidding the man for the second time in her life. While Terrence is showing his skills and caressing her with great pleasure, the girl does not even think of resisting and does show that she madly likes everything that is happening now.
“Wow, you just look what they are doing there!” Natalia thinks with a mysterious smile. “MacClife is having fun to the fullest and feeling my friend’s whole body up, and Cameron doesn’t look like she feels disgust for that guy and is kissing him for the second time.”
Natalia laughs shyly and keeps watching what’s happening, not wishing to stop such an interesting moment and still staying where she is hiding. Meanwhile, Terrence and Raquelle stop holding themselves down and give themselves to their feelings, acting like they have belonged to each other for a long enough time. Slightly pull, bite and squeeze each other’s lips and pass their hands over the face, the neck, the collarbones, the chest, the stomach, the curves of the waist, the thighs, and the buttocks. The longer this is happening, the more frequent the heartbeat is getting, the heavier the breath is getting, the stronger dizzy they feel, and the harder it’s getting to hold down a wish to make a quiet, sensual moan to show everything they are feeling.
However, some time later, Raquelle and Terrence make their kiss much quieter, but it does not become less exciting. Vice versa, the man presses the girl as tightly as possible to himself, and she shows her pleasure by moaning quietly and sensually, pleasing his ear, and making him understand that he has gotten what he wanted. He did his best for this young beauty to lose her mind because of him.
At some moment, they slowly break their kiss and look into each other’s eyes, breathing heavily enough and getting a little blushed from the strong excitement. While the man is holding her by the back with both hands, her hands are placed on his chest, through which she can easily feel his frequent heartbeat. Terrence and Raquelle try to come to themselves after such a dizzying passion for a few seconds, and then they shyly smile at each other, not holding down a wish to do this.
“You’re crazy,” Raquelle pronounces in a quiet, low voice.
“Said by the crazy lady,” Terrence replies confidently with a sly smile.
“Okay. What are you expecting after this?”
“Making you mine. Making you finally confess that you are not indifferent to me.”
“Still hoping?”
“And yeah, I am warning you, if you give me a slap in the face again, I will kiss you for the second time.”
“Come on!”
“Yes, yes! I will kiss you so that you forget how to breathe…”
Terrence leaves a short kiss on the area behind Raquelle’s ear, while she moans quietly with closed eyes and a feeling of a slight shake.
“You will never forget my incredible caress…” Terrence promises and caresses Raquelle’s ear with his lips. “Never… It hasn’t left anyone indifferent yet.”
“As if I would forget this one…” Raquelle makes a quiet sigh and slightly squeezes Terrence’s hair with her fingers, rolling her eyes up.
“Confess that I make you lose your mind… Confess that you’ve been dreaming of me kissing you again all this time.”
Terrence leaves a couple of short kisses on a curve of Raquelle’s neck, while his hands confidently caress her back, buttocks and the curves of her waist.
“Caressing your gorgeous body…” Terrence pronounces in a much lower voice. “Showing you how excellent you could feel.”
“Yeah, relaxing next to you is really impossible,” Raquelle replies quietly.
“I just don’t like when it’s like a swamp. I don’t like when someone doesn’t give me any emotions.” Terrence leaves a few short kisses on Raquelle’s lips, tenderly grabbing her by the throat and feeling her heavy breath and frequent pulse. “You managed to make me feel as many bright emotions as I never got from all of my former girlfriends. And I love it. Madly love it.”
“Only desperate girls would stand in the way of such a crazy pervert,” Raquelle notices.
“And all the men in the world are dreaming of such a sexy and sassy bitch. But I will be the only one to get her.”
“Come on?”
“I mean, she is already almost mine. Mine…”
Terrence leaves a few short kisses on every single part of Raquelle’s face, while she sometimes makes a quiet moan with a heavy breath, running her fingers through the man’s hair, which is so soft to touch, and not even thinking of getting out of his arms.
“Damn, your smell drives me crazier and crazier,” Terrence confesses in a low, velvety voice and breathes in the smell of the skin on a curve of Raquelle’s neck, holding her by the back of her head with his hand. “Oh, damn…”
“I must confess…” Raquelle pronounces quietly with closed eyes and bites her lip slightly. “Yours, too… Your smell drives me crazy, too…”
“Nobody else has made me lose my mind the way you do. Nobody…”
“Damn…”
Raquelle starts moaning sensually when Terrence leaves a few short kisses on some areas of her neck. At some moment, she grabs his face, leaves a couple of kisses on his lips, and does some things from what he did.
“Wow…” Natalia thinks, shaking her head. “I never thought the hate could wake up such a strong passion. It seems these two need a little before they take their clothes off and fuck right here. Well, or MacClife will suggest Cameron going to his room and make his dream of taking her to his bed come true.”
A few seconds later, Raquelle steps back from Terrence and, being very close to him, confidently looks into his eyes and enjoys every touch of the man’s pale from nature skin, which has a dizzying smell and seems very soft and tender.
“And yeah…” Raquelle pronounces in a quiet, low voice. “I like you, too…”
“Like me?” Terrence smiles mysteriously.
“Probably, if someone knew I liked such a non-educated and insolent idiot, they would make a circle motion with an index finger near their head and call me crazy. But…” Raquelle shrugs. “It’s the truth. I lose my mind because of you, even if I think that’s wrong. Wrong… To fall in love with the one that hates you and treats you like only scumbags could do.”
“But I don’t hate you at all,” Terrence protests.
“What’s happening between us is madness. Madness that I can’t control. It’s out of my power. Oh… Sometimes we may be truly surprised by those some people fall in love with. But we fall into a stupor when our hearts choose those, whom we wouldn’t date even in our wildest dreams.”
“I can say the same about you.”
“So, pretty boy, congratulations, you’ve won.”
“M-m-m… You called me handsome for the first time.”
“Yeah… I must admit that you’re actually good-looking…” Raquelle slowly walks her fingers over Terrence’s chest with a mysterious smile. “Not Apollo, of course… But by far not ugly.”
“But I considered you an eternal beauty after I saw you for the first time on that day,” Terrence confesses. “And I literally lost my mind after I barely looked at you.”
“So, at once?”
“At once. I was like electrocuted. You’ve got something that I really like. I don’t know why, but you’re charming me. You make me think only of you.”
“Well… I liked you at first sight, as well.”
“That’s how?”
“But your rude behavior made me forget that immediately.”
“Yeah, I confess… I crossed the line.”
“Ha, you really did!” Raquelle chuckles loudly. “You were so resentful because I didn’t kiss your legs and hands that you almost ruined the whole agency.”
“You just got me confused.” Terrence runs the back of his hand over Raquelle’s cheek and tenderly caresses a curve of her neck with his fingertips. “You were the first one to behave like this. It got me mad and interested at the same time.”
“Get used to the fact that all the girls will never admire you,” Raquelle puts her hands on her hips.
“By the way, you also succumbed to my charms.”
“Come on!”
“You were just pretending to be hard to reach. But you were actually thinking of me. And you wanted me to caress and kiss you.”
“But don’t think it will change something.”
“Huh?”
“Yes, I said I liked you. But that doesn’t mean I would obey you in everything. It will not be changed. I didn’t dance attendance upon you and will not do this.”
“I am sure that I will manage to tame you somehow.”
“No, my dear, you can’t do this.”
“Ar-r-r, fucking bitch,” Terrence growls with enjoyment.
“Said by the insolent horndog.”
“So, are you refusing to be a sweet and obedient girl?”
“I will never be the one beside you!”
“Okay, as you really like this rudeness, I will continue my tactic and forget about any carefulness.”
“I understand it’s all insane. My family would hardly wish me to be with such an insolent idiot that is behaving really disgustingly.”
Raquelle smiles slyly.
“But I love it,” Raquelle adds. “Really love it. Your actions get me much more excited than the sweet and tender way many men treat me.”
“M-m-m, you’re a lover of spice,” Terrence purrs with a mysterious smile.
“Just wanna show you where you belong and bring you back to the earth from heaven. Make you remember very well that you are not something that everyone admires.”
“Yeah… I got in touch with a hard girl that I’m gonna have many problems with. But I’m not afraid of difficulties and am used to getting through them.”
“You know, you’re no picnic.”
“And yeah, even though you behaved disgustingly on the photoshoot, I really loved working with you.”
“And I must confess that everything wasn’t so terrible,” Raquelle notices thoughtfully. “I would say we started working better after we shared a kiss.”
“Right, our work was much better, and your dresses were much sexier.”
“Anyway, if we get an offer to work together again, I will accept it.”
“I would be happy to work with one of the sexiest women on the planet.”
“And yeah, I promise I will open the Internet and check the information about you and the movies you’ve acted in.”
“Excellent. I hope you will call the memories about me and stop telling everyone you don’t know who I am.”
Raquelle says nothing and just smiles shyly, while she gets a bright blush on her face. Terrence leaves a short kiss on her lips with a wider, truer smile and gets the same one from her. Then the girl and the man take each other in a tight, touching hug. While MacClife tenderly caresses her head and presses her close to his chest, holding her by the back with a free hand, Cameron just puts her arms around his neck.
At some moment, Raquelle chuckles quietly, thinking that everything that is happening is the real madness that she should not have to have. A little later, the girl suddenly calls the memories of the woman named Amelia, whose home she went somehow to find out something about Eleanor Woodham.
“…You're going to take much more tests that might break you down and make you feel despair. But someday, fate will give you a generous award and give you what you will accept with great pleasure. […] The lines on your hand say a man will come into your life very soon. […] He will become the meaning of your life to you, and you will realize your life had not been as bright as it was before he came into it. […] You are destined to be together. I would say God literally decided you should spend your life together.”
Two seconds later, Raquelle calls the memories of something else that Amelia said to her:
“…You know, maybe, you don't believe me now and do doubt my words could be true. Maybe, you forget everything and not take everything I've just said too close. But I can say something… When you run into the man you are destined to be with, you will remember my words and understand I was absolutely right.”
At this moment, Raquelle thinks about whether Amelia meant the man she was talking about could be Terrence. The hug of who is madly nice and gives her a feeling of absolute protection.
“My God, Amelia’s words…” Raquelle thinks. “Everything happened in the way she said! Incredible! Did she mean Terrence when she was talking about the man, who I was destined to spend my life with? Did she mean him? Would I be with this man, even if I wanted to run away from him?”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“No…” Raquelle thinks. “No, it cannot be the truth! Terrence and me? No… It’s madness! Madness! Yes, I like him, but what if it doesn’t last for a long time? What if we break up very soon? What would happen after we decided to lie in bed? Something would happen after that! No, no, I’m sure Amelia talked about another man. Not about MacClife. No. That’s not him. That’s not him.”
However, at some moment, Raquelle decides to get these things out of her mind and just enjoy what’s happening now. And when Terrence steps back from her and smiles shyly at her, the girl answers him back.
“So…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully. “Since it happened, let’s walk in the city a little?”
“Walk?” Raquelle specifies.
“Let’s spend this time quietly. No scandals. No fights.”
“I doubt there could be calm between us.”
“But let’s at least try? Walk in the city and see what there is here.”
“Well, I don’t actually mind.”
“Do you know London well?”
“Sure,” Raquelle confirms with a slight smile. “When I was a kid, I went there every year for the summer holidays and still remember every corner of this city.”
“Great.”
“London is my second home. My mother lived here, but she, unfortunately, died many years ago as well as my father.”
“Your parents died?”
“Yup… In a car accident. We were told they couldn’t get out and got many serious traumas after they crushed a truck and their car.”
“Wow…” Terrence pronounces with sadness in his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks for the sympathy.”
“So… Was your mother an English woman?”
“Yes. So, I could say I’m half American and half British. My dad was an American. Lived in Kingston.”
“Kingston?”
“It’s a small city. You can reach it somewhere for two or three hours in a car.”
“Interesting,” Terrence smiles shyly. “How did it happen that your parents met?”
“Erm… It’s a long story. But I can say they were introduced to each other by my aunt, who had befriended my father some time before he met my mother.”
“Okay…”
“Something like that…” Raquelle shrugs.
“So, in this case, I may not be worried about getting lost here. Because I’ve got the one I could ask for help.”
“Did you come here for the first time?”
“Nope, I was here several times when I had shootings of a couple of movies. But it happened in the summer. So, I came here in winter for the time.”
“Okay.”
“Anyway, I wouldn’t mind if you organized an excursion for me. Maybe, there are some places I don’t know about yet.”
“Yeah, but there’s one little thing…”
“What?”
“I should warn Natalia that we’ll have to walk somehow next time.” Raquelle shrugs. “I can’t leave my friend alone. Especially, in the country that she doesn’t know.”
“I saw her walking near that café.” Terrence points to the café where Raquelle and Natalia wanted to go.
“Yeah, we wanted to go there,” Raquelle confesses. “To eat a little.”
“That’s how…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully.
“But at first, she wanted to talk to her mother, who asked her to call her.”
“Something important?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“So, we should find her.”
“Yeah, but where do we go?”
“Maybe, she already went to the café?”
“Do you think we better check it?”
“Why not?”
“Okay, let’s check it.”
At this moment, Natalia decides to stop hiding and finally show herself. The girl leaves her hideaway and confidently comes to Raquelle and Terrence, saying funnily and cheerfully:
“Hey, don’t go anywhere! I am here!”
Terrence and Raquelle immediately move their eyes to Natalia.
“Natalia?” Raquelle pronounces amazingly.
“Hi again, blondie,” Terrence waves his hand.
“Same to you, self-pronounced Apollo,” Natalia replies funnily.
“Hey, where have you been all this time?” Raquelle wonders. “We wanted to go to the café and find you there!”
“But as you can see, I am here, not there. I was waiting for a good moment to show myself.”
“Were you watching us? Overhearing us and seeing everything we were doing?”
“Aha, sort of!” Natalia comes closer to Terrence and Raquelle with her head proudly raised. “Yay, guys, there was such a passion between you! I watched a whole show! The sparks literally flew in the air!”
“Yeah, I had to spend twenty minutes to prove to your friend that I wasn’t guilty of spreading the rumors,” Terrence says tiredly.
“I know, pretty boy, I heard everything. You can spend no time explaining something to me.”
“So, did you also make sure that you charged me for slander for nothing?”
“Yup, you did it.”
“Right, the other man is going to pay for everything, not him,” Raquelle notices.
“I wonder, why did Simon get so mad at you that he decided to spread rumors about you?”
“I don’t know, Natalia, I don’t know why he needed it.”
“But he already sent a letter to Raquelle, in which he let her know that he would be back someday,” Terrence adds.
“Oh, my God…” Natalia exhales sharply. “It’s a hard case…”
“Okay, let’s not talk about it,” Raquelle suggests. “When I’m back in the USA, I will surely deal with that ma and find a way not to let him come into my life again.”
“Yes, let’s not do this! Better tell me about your relationship.”
“What relationship?”
“Which is getting started!”
“So, your friend has finally confessed that she liked me,” Terrence confesses with his head proudly raised. “She’s confessed that she madly liked our first kiss and my incredible caresses.”
“Well, it wasn’t actually so incredible…” Raquelle rolls her eyes up with her arms crossed over her chest. “But he tried hard to please me.”
“Don’t listen to her, Terrence, she is pretending,” Natalia jabs confidently. “Cameron is actually going crazy from everything you are doing.”
“I understood it a long time ago,” Terrence smiles mysteriously, hugs Raquelle by the waist, and presses her close to himself. “At our first meeting.”
“Listen, lovebirds, I must confess that you look good together,” Natalia notices cheerfully. “Your fans would really be delighted if you told the whole world about your affair. They’ve tried to bring you together so many times.”
“Maybe, we will do it someday,” Terrence raises his head proudly. “I’ve got great plans for this beauty.”
“That’s how! I thought you were gonna leave her after persuading Raquelle to have sex with you.”
“No, I ain’t gonna let her go so easily. And I will not give her to any other man. I will let nobody flirt with her and kiss her hands.”
“Remember, if I see you flirting with other girls, I will make you regret it much,” Raquelle threatens Terrence with a finger. “I will immediately scratch your pretty face.”
“Don’t worry, babe, I doubt I would get a crush on other girls after you and I met. Because you overshadowed all my exes.”
“We will see!”
“Okay, my dears…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully. “As I understand, I should leave you alone and have fun somewhere alone.”
“Maybe, let’s walk all together?” Terrence suggests. “Since we met here!”
“Yeah, excellent idea! Raquelle would organize an excursion for us. It’s almost a second home for her. She knows every single corner here and could show us the best places.”
“Do you want to see how the city was decorated for Christmas?” Raquelle asks.
“Why not?”
“Okay, let’s really walk somewhere in the city all together.”
“When we walk enough and get cold, we will go to a café and eat something.”
“Did you buy nothing?”
“Nope. When I saw you started to fight with Terrence in the middle of the street, I left it and decided to hide and watch you.”
“That’s good!” Terrence exclaims. “We wouldn’t have to spend time telling you everything.”
“Don’t do. I saw and heard everything.”
“Okay, let’s go somewhere,” Raquelle suggests. “We’re standing in the middle of the street and not letting people go.”
“If only you saw how many people were watching you and MacClife while the sparks literally flew in the air, and you were screaming like crazy.”
At this moment, Natalia, Terrence, and Raquelle turn around and slowly go somewhere straight.
“It’s impossible to keep calm with this man by your side,” Raquelle throws gloomily.
“As well as with this girl by your side,” Terrence adds.
“Anyway, you won’t be bored,” Natalia laughs shyly. “You would wash each other’s brains every day.”
“You’re not calm at all. I would really feel sorry for your boyfriend if you started hysteria.”
“Ar-r-r, you’re reminding me of the fight we had after we arrived in London and left the airport.”
“I will really never forget it!”
“Listen, let’s go to ice skate a little?” Raquelle suggests. “I wanted to do it much earlier, but at first, I got a call from Steven, and then I met you two.”
“Oh, yes, yes!” Natalia smiles widely. “I wanted to skate, as well, but at first, I decided to walk in the city and see how much everything had changed.”
“Only if I just watch you,” Terrence raises his hand.
“You can’t skate?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
“I can do it, but I haven’t done it since childhood. No ice skates, no roller skates.”
“But why?” Natalia asks.
“Got a head trauma after I had a severe fall.”
“So, now we can see since when you pronounced yourself Apollo,” Raquelle laughs shyly.
“Aha, our handsome guy just slightly hit his head,” Natalia agrees.
“Anyway, I will not be ice skating,” Terrence says confidently. “If you want, skate together. I would just watch you. I could also take a couple of photos if you want. You would post them somewhere on Instagram.”
“What if we make you do?”
“Nobody has gotten to make me do this for very many years.”
“So, aren’t you afraid to place your hands on my body, but are you afraid of making a couple of circles on ice skates?” Raquelle wonders.
“I place them on your body with your permission.”
“I didn’t give it to you!”
“But your body does agree with everything I want to do to the one.”
“Not everything!”
“In short, we’ve decided!” Natalia exclaims. “We are going to the rink, renting ice skates, and going to skate.”
“Exactly!” Raquelle agrees. “And we will ask Terrence about anything!”
“You will not make me ice skate!” Terrence says.
“We will see it!” Raquelle and Natalia pronounce at the same time.
“No, I said!”
“Nobody asks you here,” Raquelle jabs. “You will do this without questions!”
“Never!”
“C’mon, peacock, let’s go!” Natalia exclaims. “If you’re so cool and irresistible, prove it by doing something.”
Natalia and Raquelle take Terrence under his arms at the same time with a shy laugh and quicken a step, still talking about something with each other and spending a wonderful time together. The three people are feeling the Christmas spirit better and better thanks to bright street decorations, some big Christmas trees that are set on some streets, and Christmas songs, along with which people are ice skating with pleasure.
ns 15.158.61.11da2
