It’s been two weeks since Raquelle worked on the photoshoot with Terrence MacClife. All this time, the girl was trying to think of that man as little as possible and to focus on many of the things that she should have done. Regular shootings and interviews helped her forget what happened, and how much she got mad at the one she hated as much as she had never done before.
It’s about twelve in the morning. Raquelle is still lying in her bed and looking around her room with dead eyes. Today is a free day. She knew it earlier and decided to stay home and spend time with her grandfather, Frederick, who did not almost get attention from her because she was too busy. And the girl also decided to take a chance to get enough sleep because she had not lately had a chance to do it. She had to wake up early almost every day, but today she had a long, healthy sleep.
After lying in her bed, the girl lazily sits up and looks around the whole room with a sleepy look. After this, she sits on the edge, sits for some time, slowly gets up, puts on her slippers placed not far from the bed, and comes to the mirror a little hesitantly. She sees a sleepy girl with loose, tangled hair, and a face with no makeup in the mirror. Yes, by far not like a model from a magazine or a commercial she has ever acted. But in a home way. The girl feels not worse in her soft, comfortable pajamas than in a gorgeous luxury dress that costs millions of dollars.
As Terrence did not let her know about him lately, Raquelle quickly forgot about his threats to ruin her career somehow and make her pay for the way she behaved towards him. Reading the news about her, she does not find anything that would make her worried. Fans still love their favorite girl and leave many comments on her social networks, showing their admiration and thanking her for inspiring them to stay strong and reach their goals, despite nothing.
Moreover, Raquelle has not gotten anything from the anonymous, who sent her long letters and literally made her quit the modeling career and insulted and criticized her merits, in the past two weeks. She also forgot about her wish to change her email and delete the current one due to the business and the fact that she has gotten nothing lately. So, the girl relaxed enough and focused on her business.
While Raquelle is looking at herself in the mirror and wants to clean herself up a little and change her clothes, she hears a quiet knock at the door. Then the door slightly opens, and Frederick shows up on the doorstep. The man was coming here with the thought that the girl was still sleeping and had not woke up. But seeing his granddaughter standing in front of the mirror, he cracks a slight smile.
“Oh, hi, sweetie,” Frederick pronounces softly.
“Good morning, Grandpa,” Raquelle cracks a slight smile.
“I thought you were still sleeping and decided to wake up my little sleepy girl.”
“Yeah, I decided to sleep a little longer today.”
“That’s right! You lately had very little sleep and had to wake up very early.”
“I know, Grandfather.”
“Did you get enough sleep?”
“Yup. I feel great now.”
“Thank God!”
Raquelle says nothing and cracks a slight smile, tucking a strand of matted hair behind her ear.
“Can I come in?” Frederick asks.
“Yeah, sure, come in,” Raquelle shrugs.
Frederick enters the room, closes the door after him, and comes closer to Raquelle.
“So, as I understand, you have a free day,” Frederick assumes thoughtfully.
“Yup, today, I finally have a free day,” Raquelle nods confidently.
“It would be great if you actually took a little break and have a good rest at home.”
“Yeah, but Christmas is coming soon. Christmas holidays. I’m gonna have a chance to have a rest for a couple of weeks anyway.”
“How much time is it? Two weeks would be gone as fast as a moment!”
“If you have a rest and do nothing, time really flies very fast.”
“That’s why I would advise you to get a break for one month.” Frederick comes to Raquelle’s bed and sits on it. “If you agreed, I would approve your decision. You would spend more time with me or your friends. You would go somewhere, have fun, meet someone…”
“Ah, Grandpa…” Raquelle sighs quietly with a slight smile.
“Think about it, Raquelle. Think. Do not always think of your job. Or it would be better if you paid attention to your schedule.”
“Serena and I talked about it. She promised to change my schedule a little to give me time to have a rest. That woman got horrified when she somehow examined my schedule and saw how many events were planned on the same day.”
“That’s right! That woman should have done that much earlier.”
“She suggested, but I refused. I said I would work with everyone.”
“Somehow I told you that you got so famous that you could choose. If you dislike something, you can always decline an offer.”
“I know, Grandfather, but there has been no offer that I would like to reject at once. I’m interested in trying everything. I’m interested in trying different looks.”
“Well, you went to the photoshoot you had two weeks ago with reluctance.”
“Because I had a terrible partner. But I really liked that photoshoot.”
Raquelle cracks a slight smile and sits next to Frederick.
“You know how beautiful the dresses I wore were!” Raquelle exclaims. “I think I have never worn anything more gorgeous. And the jewelry was really expensive.”
“Ah, Granddaughter…” Frederick smiles shyly. “You’re beautiful anyway. In a gorgeous, expensive dress and a cute home pajama.”
“The thing I like about my work is the fact that I can change. Be different. Try on different clothes. Different hairstyles. Feel like a stunning, fateful cutie and a sweet, good girl. Yes, sometimes I don’t recognize myself in photos, but I like it. I like the way I look. The way I can change. It’s awesome!”
“Maybe, you change your hair a little? For example, dye it! Or cut it?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it, honestly…”
“Girls love always changing something. They don’t like having the same look for a long time. So… Maybe, you also wanna change something about yourself?”
“Well…”
Raquelle thinks for two seconds.
“I could try to dye my hair a different color.”
“Try to dye it blonde. This color would fit you very well.”
“Yeah, but I’m happy with my hair now. Besides, I often wear wigs on photoshoots and know how I would with one or another hair color.”
“So, as you want,” Frederick shrugs. “Anyway, I would not mind if you changed your hair a little.”
“Maybe… Somewhere closer to spring, I would really love to change something about me.”
“Good…”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Frederick and Raquelle just shyly smile at each other.
“Alright, so, what about your plans for today?” Frederick asks. “What are you going to do?”
“I dunno,” Raquelle shrugs. “But honestly, I wanna stay home and go nowhere.”
“Maybe, let’s go somewhere together? Walk, breathe in some air, go to a shop… You would help me carry bags…”
“If you need to go somewhere, I can drive you with no problems.”
“If you want, you can invite someone from your friends.”
“Someone from my friends?”
“Yeah. You haven’t talked to Natalia for a long time. Why don’t you call her and invite her to our dinner?”
“Sadly, I was so busy that I had no time to walk with her.”
“Well, today, you can fix it. Besides, she probably missed you much and is waiting for your meeting.”
“I shall think about it,” Raquelle nods. “I will call her somewhere after lunch and invite her here.”
“If she agrees, you and I will cook a delicious dinner.”
“Moreover, I also miss her so much and wanna see her so badly.”
“So, we decided!”
Raquelle says nothing and just cracks a slight smile at Frederick, while silence settles in the air for two seconds again.
“Alright, Raquelle, change your clothes and clean yourself up, but I will go to boil the water,” Frederick says with a slight smile. “You’ll drink a cup of coffee to shake up…”
“Yeah, do it…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “I will come now…”
“Don’t be late, honey.”
Frederick softly caresses Raquelle’s shoulder, gets up from the bed, turns around, and leaves the room, while the girl watches him with a slight smile until he closes the door after him.
“I hope Serena wouldn’t call me today and ask me to come to her, just like it happened when I had a free day, as well,” Raquelle expresses hope. “Today, I am surely going to think of no work.”
Raquelle exhales sharply and thinks of something for a few seconds. Then she gets up from the bed, sits on her dressing table, takes a hairbrush, and starts to brush her matted hair. It takes a while because she can barely untangle some matted strands. But in the end, she gets to do this, straightens it a little with her straightener, and garters it in a ponytail. After this, she goes to the bathroom to do water procedures and stays in there for a little time. Then the girl comes back to her room again and does some simple things to take care of her face and keep her skin perfectly smooth and clear, deciding to let it breathe a little and do no makeup.
After all the procedures she does, Raquelle’s face looks much better and fresher. She looks closely in the mirror again to make sure everything is really fine. After this, the girl cracks a slight smile, making herself think of something positive and trying to get all the negative thoughts out of her mind. At some moment, she throws a look at the window that lights up her room, where it has always been very comfortable.
Later, Raquelle stops her eyes on her laptop placed on the writing table. Because she was too busy and did not have enough time to check her accounts on her social networks. But now she decides to take a moment and try to talk to at least one of those, who sent her something. And find out what news portals, which she sometimes checks, post about her.
Raquelle comes to the writing table, sits on the chair, turns on her laptop, waits for the desktop to be uploaded, and opens the Internet browser. She checks her account on Twitter, where she talks to her fans much more. After quickly running her eyes over the list of mentions and incoming messages, the girl replies to some of them, being happy someone tells her nice things that motivate her to keep doing what she is doing. And she quickly checks her messages on her account on Facebook and Instagram, some of which she answers with pleasure.
A little later, Raquelle decides to search for her name in a search engine and starts to browse the results she needs. Some pieces of news were published about a month ago. They contain only good things about her. They praised her. They admired her talent. They posted news about her new works. Discussed the possible affairs of the girl with men. They discussed some of her replies to her fans. They were happy for those, who published photos of them and the famous model on social networks.
But a little later, Raquelle starts to check pieces of news that were published in the past two weeks. And she instantly stops smiling after she sees a few articles, in which they post by far not the best things about her.
“Oh, my gosh…” Raquelle pronounces in a little shaking voice, closing her mouth with her hand and still scrolling the page down with a touchpad. “What is this?”
Raquelle shakes her head, rounding her eyes and getting a little white after everything she sees in front of her.
“Why?” Raquelle wonders quietly. “Why are they criticizing me like this? What did I do?”
First, Raquelle does not understand why everyone began to criticize her like this, but a little later, she finds an article, to which many sources say bad things about the girl refer.
“Jesus…” Raquelle cannot believe what she sees. “I can’t believe it… What is that?”
As it turned out, there are many terrible things about Raquelle in the articles and charges for what she has never done. Anyway, this piece of news might be spread among her fans very soon and bring her brilliant career to an end, and people would hardly love to see her somewhere if they read everything that is written here.
“No longer shines as bright as a star? The famous model got criticized hard for her behavior.
The worldwide famous twenty-three-year-old model, Raquelle Cameron, got into a scandal. As the magazine ‘Celebrity Universe’ says, the girl was charged with inappropriate behavior and treating those she was working with terribly. The charges have already been confirmed by fewer people.
Besides, other people also complained about Raquelle. The photographer, who worked with that girl and wanted to stay unknown, told the magazine ‘Celebrity Universe’ that the model was rude to him many times and claimed he should have taken photos of her the way she thought was right. And one of the partners, who was working with Raquelle, complained that Cameron was just unbearable and always reminded them of the fact that she was a worldwide celebrity, while they were nobody.
‘To be honest, the whole crew was shocked by the behavior of Ms. Cameron,’ the unknown person confesses. ‘At first sight, she seems like a very sweet and gentle girl, but she is actually an aggressive, non-educated scumbag, who dared to claim that talking to people she was working with was not what she deserved. She literally deserved much more and should not have been among the rejects, who are everybody that surrounded her. That girl criticized everyone she had ever worked with.’
‘I personally always admired that girl as a very talented model,’ the anonymous says. ‘All of her photos were incredible, and she was literally swimming like a swan on a runway. But I never thought she would be so non-educated and selfish. Cameron insulted almost all of us and claimed she was a celebrity that everyone must have bowed at. The celebrity that got a right to insult and humiliate everyone, to whom she must have been grateful for getting a chance to get famous.’
‘I would not be surprised if hysterics like these happened during shootings before, and her managers covered that hell so hard not to ruin her image as an innocent angel,’ another person says. ‘I would not be surprised if her love for fans was just an act. I would not be surprised if Cameron hated them deep inside and wanted to strangle them when they ran to her with a plea to take a photo or sign something.’
‘It’s amazing that she was hiding her mental issues so well all these years and not pretending that she got star-struck,’ the fourth person adds. ‘People were wrong when they believed Cameron was an innocent anger that was really so sweet and nice to everyone, whom the girl actually hated to death.’
‘Oh, I do not still understand why she got so famous!’ another member of the crew says. ‘She has nothing special! Just an ordinary girl with nothing special about her look. I would look at those, who pronounced her the sexiest girl on the planet. In the show business, there are more beautiful women, who deserve it much more.’
‘I guess she was promoted by a sugar daddy that she slept with,’ another member of the crew assumes. ‘She gave him a night of love, and he gave her worldwide fame and much money. Yes, yes, I am sure that prostitute got in the show business through a bed, and her fame was paid by her rich sugar daddy.’
‘Before her sugar daddy pays everyone money so they stop publishing articles that shower Raquelle’s name with the dirt, we want to let people know the truth and open their eyes,’ one of the members of the crew says. ‘We want the whole world to know Raquelle Cameron is not the one she is pretending to be. She is a false egoist that has serious mental issues. Who loves nobody but her. Who decided that she got a right to insult and humiliate others.’
The magazine ‘Celebrity Universe’ tried to contact a long-time good friend of Raquelle, a photographer, Steven Appleby, who has worked with the model many times. The journalists asked him to give a comment about the current situation. However, Steven refused to talk to journalists about Cameron, Even if he notices he was shocked by the fact that Raquelle could do that.
‘I do not want to discuss that girl, and I am asking you not to mention her name again,’ Steven demands. ‘From now on, I want to hear nothing about that person, who believes she is a lord of the Earth and does not respect people. Yes, I can confirm Cameron has always acted like a diva. Working with her was very hard, but I had no choice, sadly. That girl loves only herself and does not respect those, whom she must thank for making her famous. I am very glad someone was brave enough to expose her and tell them who she actually is. Raquelle got what she deserved! And I am not sorry about her. I have actually never thought that girl was a talented model. She is a homely girl from a small city, who wanted fame and money and slept with a rich man to get all of that.’
Many fans of Raquelle Cameron already found out this piece of news and separated into two teams: someone does not believe in this claim and finds it slander, and someone is sure everything happens for the reason and turned the back on the one they called their idol some time ago. As far as we know, Ms. Cameron is losing her followers on social networks as people started to unfollow her accounts and leave more and more negative comments under her posts. The model herself does not react to this piece of news and keeps silent. But people hope she will show up and make everything clear in the nearest time.”
Raquelle reads what she just read multiple times, not holding her tears down and starting to shake slightly from excitement. Not believing someone dared to post such a terrible article about her.
“Oh, no…” Raquelle pronounces in a little shaking voice. “No, I can’t be the truth! No… I don’t believe someone could post something like this about me. No…”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“Gosh…” Raquelle pronounces. “What I was terribly afraid of happened, after all? Would the false rumors become the reason why my career is gonna be destroyed?”
Raquelle sniffs quietly and closes her mouth with her hand.
“No, no, I don’t want it,” Raquelle says quietly. “I don’t want. I don’t wanna lose everything I have been reaching for ages. I don’t want…”
Raquelle runs her hands over her face.
“Who?” Raquelle wonders. “Who spread these terrible rumors about me? Could some of the people I was working with say these things about me? Who agreed with someone against me? Who?”
Raquelle calls the memories of all the shootings she has had in the past two weeks to find someone to be able to tell such terrible things about her.
“What about Steven?” Raquelle wonders. “Did he also believe in the lie? Or has that man never thought anything good about me and actually always hated me?”
Raquelle runs her hands over her face.
“God, why?” Raquelle asks herself. “Why do I have to get through it? What did I do? Why does someone hate me so much? Why did someone decide to tell everyone a lie about me? Why does someone wanna make everyone turn their back on me so badly? Today, it was Steven, but who’s gonna do this tomorrow? My fans? Or Serena will refuse to work with me?”
Raquelle grabs her hair with her fingers, leaning on the surface of the table with her elbows.
“I will not take it…” Raquelle says quietly. “I will not… And I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just the beginning. What if everything’s gonna get worse? What if everyone turns their back on me? But I don’t want it! I don’t want!”
Raquelle closes her face with both hands and sniffs quietly for a few seconds, not believing it’s all happening to her.
“I will try to find out what my fans think of that,” Raquelle decides. “What if they didn’t believe the lie…”
Raquelle checks all of her accounts on social networks again and starts to closely examine all the mentions and direct messages. She was ignoring everyone, who said bad things about her and choosing random people from her fans, but now the girl is closely examining every single message. And she finds out that many people are against her now.
“I can't believe…” Raquelle shakes her head. “Something terrible is happening in my direct… Jesus… How many bad things they’ve told me… I can’t believe it…”
The more Raquelle reads messages, the more she wants to cry from hopelessness and realization of the fact that a larger part of people did believe everything that was written in the article.
“Never…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “Nobody had ever believed in rumors about me that were spread before. This is the first case. The first case when my fans seriously believed in these terrible rumors.”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“Egoistic…” Raquelle read aloud. “Who do you think you are? I have never liked you! Who are you to treat people like this? You must be grateful to them for making you a celebrity! If not for those people, you would be working for a little money. I’m disappointed in you… How did you dare to open your dirty mouth? So, Cameron, did you go crazy from fame? Did you please your sugar daddies so badly that they didn’t pay someone to cover all your tricks?”
Raquelle sees something like this and many other messages, in which people shower her with mud so hard and hate her for daring to behave like this during shootings.
“It’s awful…” Raquelle pronounces in a little shaking voice and sniffs quietly. “Awful…”
Raquelle puts her hand on her heart, which starts beating much faster from excitement.
“I don’t understand…” Raquelle pronounces quietly. “I don’t understand…”
Raquelle decides to check her email, just in case. After opening the site that she needs by clicking on a touchpad multiple times, she finds tons of letters with insults and charges for egoism and being star-struck.
“Did everyone believe the lie?” Raquelle wonders, checking the list of incoming messages with a touchpad. “Is there at least nobody to be by my side? Someone not to believe in this bullshit? I don’t almost have anyone to count on!”
At some moment, among many incoming letters, Raquelle finds a message from the anonymous without a name and subject.
“Oh, gosh, did the anonymous show up again?” Raquelle gets horrified. “What do they need from me again? Why do they annoy me and always send me something?”
Raquelle makes a click with a touchpad with a little shaking hand to open the letter from the anonymous and starts to run her eyes over another long text, getting more horrified every second.
“Hello again, dear Raquelle!
Did you think I would forget you? Did you think I got sick of playing with you? Did you think I left you alone? No, you are deeply wrong! Even if I did not let you know about me for two weeks, it does not mean my plan for destroying your career is canceled. It is not. I will be doing my best until you understand that the only good way for you is to quit your modeling career. And as I understand, you have not understood it yet. And you do not even think of doing what I want.
So, alright then… If you do not want to do it, I shall keep my promise. I did say you would regret much if you did not do what you should have done. Here it is! Have you already read the news on the Internet? Have you read everything your fans and those you have ever worked with say about you? No? Then I recommend that you check it out! But I advise you to sit down because you might pass out from excitement.
If you are wondering who did it, yes, it’s my work. I made people sure to stop being afraid and to tell all the truth about you. To tell everyone you are not what you are pretending to be. Yeah, maybe, some things are actually false, but it’s even good to me. Because people did believe it! They believed everything that so many people had told them before. And trust me, it’s just the beginning. Much more people will start to speak soon. I shall do my best to make them stop being afraid and show up. To tell all the worst things about you.
Maybe, not all of your fans have believed what everyone is talking about right now, but very many of them turned their backs on you. I am closely watching what’s happening and feeling happy. I am happy that the first step to ruining your career has been taken. And I will not stop. Never in the world. The more time is gone, the more bad things you will hear. The more people will open their mouths and reveal all your demons. Yes, maybe, they are going to lie. But who will care about it? Nobody! Everyone will undoubtedly believe me! I have done very much to make it real!
By the way, have you guessed who I am? Did my hint help you understand it? No, it’s alright! I am not ready to open all the cards right now and tell you whose way you stood in. Suffer from suspense and suspect all your friends and familiars. Because anyone could be a suspect. I can be anyone, even your closest person, whom you trust as much as you trust yourself.
I am advising you not to relax and to be very careful. Because my game is just beginning. And I shall not leave you alone. You cannot even try to beg me or send something to this email. I will not reply to you anyway. Maybe, I would read your sad letter, but I would say nothing. Yes, I do not exclude that someday you will know who I am, and why I need it all, but the time has not yet come.
Anyway, enjoy what’s happening now. And try to guess who wants to hurt you so much. Do not forget, early or late, you will pay me for everything. I swear, Raquelle Cameron. Someday, you will have to get down on your knees for me. I shall do my best to make you do this.
And yeah, I forgot to say something… You were fabulous at one of the photoshoots. You were especially beautiful in that long red dress. It was imitable.”
After reading the letter, Raquelle gets much more nervous. The girl runs her eyes over the full text again with a heavy breath a couple of times, being seriously worried about her and what might happen in the future.
“So, the rumors were spread by the anonymous…” Raquelle concludes thoughtfully. “They did spread the rumors… The rumors that everyone believed.”
Raquelle grabs her head with both hands.
“What does that person need from me?” Raquelle wonders. “Who are they? Why do they want to insult and humiliate me like this? I don’t understand it…”
Raquelle swallows up nervously and thinks of something for two seconds.
“Damn, I did want to delete the email and create a new one,” Raquelle calls the memories. “How could I forget I was gonna do this? Gosh… I should’ve done that a long time ago… Or I will keep getting these letters…”
Raquelle runs her eyes over the letter from the anonymous again.
“Hm, it mentions the photoshoot and the red long dress…” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “The one I wore on the photoshoot with that idiot MacClife? Is that the one?”
Raquelle closes her mouth with her hand.
“So, as it turns out, was that person at the photoshoot?” Raquelle wonders. “Since they know about it and even were at the one? So, I need to look for the one to do that among those, who were on the set they meant. But who could that be?”
Raquelle tries to call the memories of everybody that was at the photoshoot the anonymous meant. But none of those people makes her suspect something, and she finds them very good. Besides, she has known some of them for a long time and knows they would not do something like that. However, there is someone the girl starts to suspect…
“Wait…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “MacClife… Terrence MacClife… What if it’s his work? What if he spread those rumors about me and has been sending me these letters with threats?”
Raquelle slightly opens her mouth.
“Of course!” Raquelle exclaims. “Why I didn’t guess it before? That’s him! MacClife! He did all of that… He threatened to make me regret it. Promised to ruin my modeling career. Right…”
At this moment, Raquelle calls the memories of some words Terrence said to her when she was leaving him:
“You will regret treating me like this, you hear me. You will regret it! Someday, you will incline your head for me and get down on your knees. Ask for forgiveness for the way you behaved. For giving me slaps in the face. For DISRUPTING THIS FUCKING PHOTOSHOOT! You will ask for trouble, and I will destroy your modeling career. I shall do my best to deprive you of a chance to keep working! I swear, Cameron, someday, nobody but your fucking family will need you! No-bo-dy!”
“Damn, what I was afraid of happened!” Raquelle exhales sharply. “That bastard didn’t leave me alone. He decided to ruin my life.”
Raquelle tightly clenches her hands into fists.
“Scumbag…” Raquelle hisses through her teeth. “I will make you pay… You will pay for what you did. I swear, I will not leave it unpunished. I shall do my best for you to lose a chance to renew your career. I swear, MacClife, I shall never forgive you for what you did. Never!”
Raquelle thinks of something for a few seconds and does not notice the door of her room opens, and Frederick shows up at the doorstep.
“Raquelle, why aren’t you coming?” Frederick wonders. “I already boiled water and placed a plate with something sweet on the table.”
“Sorry…” Raquelle pronounces hesitantly. “I decided to check my email before breakfast.”
“Is it really so important to you?”
“What if I got something very important?”
“And what? There is something interesting?”
“There is. Another letter from the anonym.”
“What, again?” Frederick rounds his eyes.
“That person decided to work much harder on ruining my career.”
“Jesus Christ, darling, what are you talking about it?”
“It’s the truth, Grandfather. Someone definitely dreams about it. All the threats were not just words.”
“Raquelle, listen…”
“You don’t believe me?”
“No, I believe… I just…”
“I will show you something now.”
Raquelle quickly changes the tab of the Internet browser to the one with an article about her allegedly insulting her colleagues, and turns the laptop slightly to Frederick.
“See what they posted here!” Raquelle exclaims. “You just look what the anonymous did!”
“Oh, Raquelle…” Frederick sighs tiredly.
“Read, Grandfather, read!”
Frederick shakes his head, comes to the writing table with reluctance, puts on the glasses that he has in the front pocket of his home shirt, and closely runs his eyes over the interview Raquelle just read. And the more he reads, the more shocked he gets.
“Jesus Christ…” Frederick pronounces thoughtfully.
“Someone gave an interview to a magazine and slandered me,” Raquelle says excitedly. “They said many terrible things about me!”
“My gosh… What a twist…”
“Now, because of this article, everyone believes I am an egoist, who loves only herself and thinks her colleagues are dust.”
“I’ve got nothing to say…” Frederick shakes his head. “I’ve got nothing to say! How did someone dare to say these things about you? It’s slander!”
“I know, Grandpa, I know,” Raquelle replies with despair. “But the worst thing is that more and more people are starting to believe it.”
“Really?”
“Yes! I checked my accounts on social networks and saw many terrible comments about me. And people started to unfollow me.”
“How awful…”
“It’s an end, Grandpa,” Raquelle makes a quiet sob. “The end of my career. The anonymous is going to destroy it with the false says.”
“Yeah, it seems like someone isn’t definitely going to leave you alone.”
Frederick takes his glasses off, puts them on the table, and runs his hand over his face with a quiet sigh.
“And I don’t get why,” Frederick adds. “Why are they doing this to you? What did they not like?”
“I don’t know!” Raquelle shakes her head with half-wet eyes. “But I surely say it’s going to destroy my career. Destroy everything I was trying to get for so long.”
“Who is that?” Frederick wonders. “Who needs all of that?”
“There is someone.”
“Listen, can you let me read the letter you got from the anonym?”
“Yeah, sure… Now…” Raquelle clicks on the tab with the letter of the anonymous sent to her email. “Here, read…”
Frederick puts his glasses on again and starts to carefully read the long letter from the anonymous, getting more horrified every second.
“My gosh…” Frederick shakes his head. “My gosh…”
“At least someone gives hints,” Raquelle notices. “First, they let me know it was someone from my surroundings, but then they let me know it was someone from those I worked with on the photoshoot.”
“Which one of them?”
“The one I worked with that idiot Terrence on.”
“Were you wearing a red, long dress?”
“Yup.”
“Then you should look for the one to do that among those, who were working at the shooting on that day.”
“Right… But It seems like I know who did all of that.”
“You know?”
“It’s Terrence, Grandfather Frederick.” Raquelle moves her eyes to Frederick confidently. “He is the one to send me these letters and spread these false rumors.”
“Terrence?” Frederick pronounces surprisingly. “Do you think it’s really him?”
“That man threatened to do his best to ruin my career.”
“But why?”
“He got hurt by the fact that I rejected him again. He was used to the fact that girls literally fell in front of him, but he met the one that wasn’t going to dance attendance for him.”
“But is that the reason to do all of that?”
“Why not?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
“Honey, are you sure it was his work?”
“He did threaten to ruin my career!”
“You can’t blame someone without any proof.”
“You think I don’t have them? No, Grandpa, you’re wrong! I shall restore all his previous letters from the trash and print them to have clues.”
“Listen, Raquelle, I understand the case is very serious, but you shouldn't blame someone so easily. What if Terrence doesn’t have to do with it?”
“I don’t doubt he was the one to do it,” Raquelle replies confidently. “And I swear I shall make him pay for that.”
Raquelle sharply closes the laptop, gets up from the table, and starts to nervously walk in circles around the whole room.
“Granddaughter, I am begging you to calm down,” Frederick says softly. “Don’t be so nervous.”
“Don’t be so nervous?” Raquelle wonders, sharply stopping and moving her eyes to Frederick. “How can I be quiet when that scumbag is about to ruin my career?”
“Raquelle…”
“I can’t believe it… I can’t believe his words weren’t an empty sound.”
“Sweetie, you started to get letters much earlier than you met Terrence.”
“Just a few hours earlier.”
“And what? Besides, he got cold to you after he heard you couldn’t remember him. It was your words.”
“Yeah, but what if MacClife was planning something against me much earlier?”
“No, no, darling, I am more than sure it wasn’t him.”
“Why not, Grandpa? I know many of those, who I was working with, very well!”
“Okay… Maybe, were there unfamiliar people on the set? Someone to be suspicious? Someone, who shouldn't have been there!”
“For the years of my work, I’ve worked with so many people that I could easily forget someone.”
“Besides, it might often happen that even the closest person or the best person could plan something bad against you.”
“He is the only one, who needed it. That man wanted to humiliate me. To revenge for not behaving in the way other girls did. I rejected His Highness. I slapped him in the face a couple of times because he was going too far.”
“Why did you reject him? Couldn’t you talk to him and go on a date with him?”
“What?” Raquelle wonders loudly. “Are you kidding me?”
“How long are you going to be obsessed with your job? It’s time to create your family and learn to be a good wife and mother.”
“Grandfather Frederick…”
“It’s time to get the thoughts of a career and something like that out of your mind and think of creating your family. You are an adult girl, but you are still unmarried and without children!”
“Gosh, you’re talking about it again…” Raquelle moans tiredly.
“At my time, girls at your age were mothers of two or three children! But you are not even going to get a boyfriend.”
“Grandfather, let’s not talk about it.”
“And yeah, did I teach you to raise your hand on a man? Is this the way a shy, decent girl behaves?”
“He asked for trouble!” Raquelle exclaims.
“You should contain yourself. Raising your hand is bad! As well as saying bad things. It’s not what an educated girl should do.”
“So, should I have just stood and closed my eyes on the fact that he was accosting me?”
“There are other ways to make a person leave you alone.”
“Which?”
“You know it well.”
“Now I care not about my personal life but about the fact that I might lose my job and the fact that I should make that idiot MacClife pay for what he did.”
“For God’s sake, Raquelle, do not believe what’s written in the article,” Frederick says confidently. “It’s a paid article. Someone just wanted to slander you and tell everyone a bad thing. Besides, the Internet is the place where anyone could post a disgusting thing and spread it. Nobody watches the content there. They don’t check any facts to make sure they are true.”
“Either that man really has some contacts, and he is really so famous in the show business, or people are too naive.”
“Honey, don’t take everything they wrote seriously,” Frederick advises softly. “It’s a slander, which nobody would believe.”
“No, Grandpa, everyone already believed it! And Steven is excellent proof of that. My good friend, whom I’ve worked many times with since the beginning of my career when I was seventeen, betrayed me. And he’s now saying terrible things about me…”
“How do you know if it was really what the photograph said?” Frederick wonders.
“Do not calm me down! I saw and read everything well!”
“I am sure it’s a false article about you. What if Steven didn’t say anything from what they meant in the one?”
“No, Grandpa, it’s not a false article! I know it!”
“Granddaughter…”
“Anyway, Terrence decided to destroy me. And he already got first success. Many people started to turn their backs on me, and my best friend said those things about me!”
“Raquelle…”
“My fans will start saying much more terrible things to me very soon. Nobody will no longer wish to work with me. Nobody will offer me to shoot in something. And Serena will refuse to work with me.”
“Yeah, my sunshine, don’t think up. Nobody will refuse to work with you. It’s gonna be okay.”
“Yeah, okay… Everyone thinks I’ve got mental issues. Because that stinker Terrence MacClife claimed I allegedly behaved like a sick, hysterical girl and said I was much better than all models, actors, and actresses.”
“Gosh, nobody will believe in that article! And journalists do love making something big out of something little. For a lot of money, they are ready to publish anything. You do know it well.”
“But this time, everyone believes him, not me.”
“Well, to find out if people really believed the words of the anonymous, you would have to keep showing up.”
“What?”
“You should keep communicating with your fans, meet your manager and talk to the photograph. And find the author of the letters as soon as possible. The one to be a reason why everything began.”
“No need to find it out because I know who did all of that.”
“Alright, if you’re so sure Terrence did it, find him and talk to him.”
“With pleasure! I would be happy to go to his home and tell him everything I think of that bastard.”
“Raquelle…”
“And I would threaten that I would go to the police with all the printed letters. I would watch what he would do.”
“First, you should prove that it was him.”
“I don’t doubt MacClife did it.”
“I repeat, you can’t blame someone without any proof.”
“I do have proofs.”
“Even if you print all the letters from the anonymous, it doesn’t mean you could use them as proof of Terrence’s fault. If they were written by someone, not printed on a computer, it would be possible to compare the handwriting of the anonymous with the handwriting of the letters.”
“What about the threats that he shouted at me?”
“Were there witnesses to how he did it?”
“No, but…”
“Then don’t blame someone until you have real proof.”
“Grandfather Frederick…”
“Anyone could spread the rumors and send you those letters. It could be any person that was at that photoshoot.”
“No, I do know it was MacClife.”
Raquelle, getting sick of walking in circles in her room, sits on the bed.
“And I swear he will pay me for that,” Raquelle says confidently.
“Granddaughter, I’m begging you, calm down,” Frederick says quietly, sitting on the bed next to Raquelle and hugging her around the shoulders. “Don’t decide anything when you feel like this. When you are excited. Negative emotions are a bad enemy of a person.”
“Seriously? So, are you suggesting I sit, fold my hands and do nothing? Let that bastard keep destroying my career?”
“Raquelle…”
“I swear I will never forgive that man if I know it was really his work. I shall make him pay a lot for that. Do my best for him to lose all the hopes of getting at least one starring role in a movie.”
“Don’t blame just him, honey. Anyone could be the author of the letters and spread the rumors about you.”
“MacClife is the only one I didn’t get on well with.”
“And what? I already told you that even your closest person might plan something bad against you?”
“Want to say it’s someone from my friends?”
“You did say that person gave you a hint. They were on the photoshoot, on which you worked with Terrence.”
“None of those people could do that.”
“Okay… Think again… Maybe, there were people, who shouldn't have been there?”
“All those people had to do with me, MacClife, or the shooting.”
“Okay… But what if someone was there?”
“Many people always work on a photoshoot, Grandfather. You can’t watch everyone. If you want to memorize someone, you can’t do it. At least, I remember those I’ve worked with multiple times.”
“The case is whether you know those people.”
“For the years of my work, I’ve met so many people that I could forget everyone I’ve ever worked with. I could remember someone only some time later.”
“Anyway, you should look for the suspect among those, who were on the photoshoot.”
“No need to find anyone,” Raquelle replies in a low voice. “The suspect is found!”
“I don’t believe Terrence could do that.”
“You just don’t know him. If you knew him, you would place him in the first place on the suspect list.”
“Raquelle, please…”
“That man will regret deciding to stand in my way,” Raquelle says confidently. “Regret daring to do this. Daring to spread all the rumors. Daring to send me those letters.”
“Don’t forget that you started to get all the letters much earlier than the moment you met Terrence for the first time.”
“Just a few hours after reading the letter.”
“I am sure he doesn’t have to do with those letters. Someone else wrote them.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that scumbag had already planned something before we met.”
“You said that guy changed after you claimed that guy didn’t seem to be familiar to you.”
“It could be an act.”
“No, my sunshine, you think up.”
“Now, because of that cad, people are starting to turn their backs on me. Many people tell me bad things and blame me for egoism. They say I am a liar. A scumbag that attacked someone with insults for no reason.”
Raquelle shakes her head with a loud sob.
“Even if I’ve never done anything bad to anyone,” Raquelle adds.
“Honey, I’m begging you, don’t take everything they wrote seriously,” Frederick advises softly. “It’s a slander that nobody will believe.”
“Everyone did believe! Believe!”
“Granddaughter…”
“Oh, MacClife… Oh, scumbag… It’s all because of him… Because of that cad, whom I will surely make pay for what he did. I will not leave it without my attention. I will not do!”
“Raquelle, please…”
“Gosh… If only my close people turned their backs on me, as well.” Raquelle sniffs quietly. “My friends… My family…”
“No, my sweetie!” Frederick protests. “No!”
Frederick hugs Raquelle around the shoulders, pressing her closer to himself, and tenderly caresses her head.
“Don’t even dare to think about it,” Frederick says confidently. “Your grandfather will not leave you. He will not let anyone hurt you.”
“MacClife will get what he wants…” Raquelle says in a little shaking voice. “He’s gonna destroy my career. Do his best for me to stay all alone.”
“You know well that I’m always ready to stand up for you and make anyone, who hurts you, shut up.”
“You can do nothing now. Nobody would believe you anyway.”
“I think you better do nothing now.”
“What?”
“Wait for people to calm down. And when the situation is less tense, you can explain everything.”
“I’m afraid it’s gonna get much worse. It’s just the beginning of my nightmare.”
“Early or late, the truth would be out anyway. The one, who hurt you, will get what they deserved and stop spreading rumors.”
“Right, they will do. MacClife will get what he deserves. I shall do my best for that.”
“First, prove it was him.”
“Everything is already proven.”
“Alright, sweetie, stop thinking about it.” Frederick kisses Raquelle cutely on a temple. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“What if it’s not?” Raquelle shows anxiety.
“The anonymous will not send you letters and spread false rumors forever.”
“I don’t want my career to be destroyed. I don’t want to lose my fans. I don't want to lose my friends. I don't want my close people to turn their backs on me.”
“At least, you can have no doubts that Natalia will not believe in this bullshit.”
“What if she does?”
“She will not do. She knows you very well and is sure you will not do that.”
“And you? Wouldn’t you really turn your back on me?”
“Never in the world, my sunshine. I shall always be by your side. Even if the whole world is against you, I will never be.” Frederick takes Raquelle’s hands softly. “You’ll always have someone to give you their hand and help. Who will do his best to comfort you and help you solve any of your problems.”
“You promise?” Raquelle asks with mistrust, crying quietly and putting her nose on Frederick’s shoulder. “You promise you will never leave me?”
“I promise, honey, I promise.”
Raquelle says nothing and just smiles shyly. And then she takes Frederick in a tight hug, which he accepts with pleasure, tenderly caressing his granddaughter’s head.
“Remember, Raquelle, while I am alive and living in this world, you will never be alone,” Frederick adds confidently and kisses Raquelle tenderly on the top of her head, putting his hand on her cheek. “And no matter what people say, I shall always protect you.”
“Thanks, Grandfather,” Raquelle thanks softly. “Thanks a lot.”
A few seconds later, Raquelle and Frederick step away from each other and just hold each other’s hands.
“Alright, my sweetie, let’s not talk about it,” Frederick suggests confidently. “Let’s not make our mood worse.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Raquelle shrugs.
“I’m suggesting going to the kitchen and drinking strong coffee with something sweet. Or you better eat something better.”
“No, coffee is more preferable.”
“Then I will boil water again. It probably got cold while you and I were talking.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Come to the kitchen.”
“Yeah, I will come now.”
Frederick kisses Raquelle on the top of her head with a slight smile, gets up from the bed, and leaves the room, closing the door after him and leaving the girl alone. She sets her eyes into the distance, leaning on the bed with both hands.
“Could I quietly walk on the streets?” Raquelle wonders quietly. “Wouldn’t people point at me with a finger? Wouldn’t they call me to shower me with mud instead of asking for an autograph? To make me feel like a little, unhappy girl that I was in my school years when everyone was humiliating me.”
Raquelle sniffs quietly.
“It’s all because of Terrence MacClife…” Raquelle adds. “Because of that stinker, who wants to take everything from me. Everything that means so much to me! Everything I got after working so much! He wants to ruin my career and deprive me of all my close people and friends.”
Raquelle runs her hands over her face.
“Oh, no, MacClife…” Raquelle pronounces gloomily. “I will not leave it unnoticed… I swear, bastard, you will pay me for that… I shall do my best to make you regret it. Someday, you will not be able to get even a minor role in a movie. When you are hated by everyone… When you are afraid to raise your head and look into people’s eyes.”
Raquelle smirks evilly.
“I would love to see your face if all the girls stopped paying attention to you and looking into your eyes,” Raquelle says confidently. “If they stopped telling you that you were so handsome and sexual. I am imagining how much it would lower your self-rating. I want to make it happen. I want no girl to look at you.”
Raquelle proudly raises her head up.
“I swear, scumbag, I will ruin your life to the fuck very soon,” Raquelle promises. “You will regret getting in touch with me. Regret daring to stand in my way. Daring to send me all these letters and spread false rumors. I will give my everything to make it real. Or I am not Raquelle Allison Cameron.”
Raquelle stays in her room and sits on the bed for some time, thinking about what to do to restore her good reputation as soon as possible, save her career and make Terrence pay for daring to treat her by sending letters and deciding to take revenge on her for rejecting him so cruelly.
***
Meanwhile, Natalia is sitting at home and doing nothing in her room, while her parents left somewhere for work. The girl has not met Raquelle for two weeks because her friend has had too many shootings, which is why she cannot find at least a few minutes to give attention to her friend.
“Gosh, how much I’m missing Raquelle,” Natalia thinks, leaning on the windowsill with both hands and watching what’s happening outside, behind the window with sadness on her face. “The last time we met happened on the day she fought with Terrence MacClife on the photoshoot. Since that time, I know nothing about her. But I really wanna know how she’s doing there. What’s happening to her…”
Natalia sighs quietly with sadness in her eyes.
“Is this how she decided to forget what happened?” Natalia wonders. “So, that’s why she decided to get busy with work. But I don’t understand how she could forget the fact that she was kissed by the man for the first time. Kissed by Terrence MacClife.”
Natalia cracks a slight smile.
“Gosh, if that handsome guy kissed me, I would really die of a heart attack!” Natalia thinks. “I don’t understand, how could she be so indifferent? Billions of girls around the world are ready literally to sell their souls for him, but she is kind of special.”
Natalia shakes her head.
“And I actually don’t understand, what kind of man does she need?” Natalia wonders. “She’s rejected so many guys! What does she need? Who does she need? It would be okay if she was surrounded by idiots, but handsome guys get a crush on her. Even Terrence MacClife himself couldn’t resist the charms of my sweet friend.”
Natalia exhales sharply and watches what’s happening behind the window for a few seconds.
“Sometimes I don’t really understand her,” Natalia thinks. “Couldn’t she really go on a date with someone? Or at least talk to a man about something? There’s nothing bad about it!”
Natalia sighs quietly.
“And she’s still thinking of her career…” Natalia thinks. “About how to get much more famous. Even if she’s already reached so much.”
Natalia looks through the window for some time and then decides to turn her laptop on and read the news because she has not done it since the morning. The girl confidently comes to the writing table, sits on the chair, and turns on her laptop placed on the one. A few seconds later, she opens the browser and starts to run her eyes over pieces of news she sees on the page that is loaded first, slowly scrolling it down with a big touchpad.
But Natalia finds nothing special at first. This site talks about politics trying to adopt a law or holding successful or failed meetings with foreign colleagues. Someone got caught on being bribed, and someone got arrested on a suspicion of selling hard drugs. These pieces of news are not a rare thing and do not make the girl too surprised. Although she follows economic and political news, the blonde barely understands what they say on different channels, newspapers, or posts on the Internet.
But after examining other news portals a little, Natalia goes to the section of the show business news and finds the article called “The scandal on the set featuring the famous model” The article is about Raquelle because there is a photo of her under that title. Natalia decides to take a better look at this and sees some photos of Raquelle and some unknown people posted in the article. The girl quickly views them and starts to read the long text from start to end, getting more horrified every second.
“'The scandal on the set featuring the famous model.'
It seems like, a scandal featuring the all-favorite celebrity is starting! The famous twenty-three-year-old model, Raquelle Cameron, got involved in the scandal. As the magazine ‘Celebrity Universe’ says, the girl was charged for her inappropriate behavior and treating those she is working with in a terrible way. The charges have already been confirmed by fewer people.
Ms. Cameron said that she behaved badly during a photo shoot for a fashion magazine. They said the model got into a fight with every member of the crew that was involved in the photo shoot. According to the stylist and makeup artist, Cameron acted very arrogantly, was rude to them, insulted them for no reason, and humiliated each and every one of them. As she said, she deserved better than that and should not have stood next to people, who were so far removed from her. The model praised herself and said that no one was better than her.
Besides, other people also complained about Raquelle. The photographer, who worked with that girl and wanted to stay unknown, told the magazine ‘Celebrity Universe’ that the model was rude to him many times and claimed he should have taken photos of her the way she thought was right. And one of the partners, who was working with Raquelle, complained that Cameron was just unbearable and always reminded them of the fact that she was a worldwide celebrity, while they were nobody.
‘To be honest, the whole crew was shocked by the behavior of Ms. Cameron,’ the unknown person confesses. ‘At first glance, she appeared to be a very sweet and gentle girl, but in fact she was an aggressive, uneducated scumbag who dared to claim that she did not deserve to be talking to the people, whom she worked with. Literally, she deserved so much more and should not have been among the rejects that surrounded her. That girl was critical of everyone she worked with.’
‘I personally always admired that girl as a very talented model,’ the anonymous says. ‘All of her photos were amazing, and she literally swam like a swan down the runway. However, I never expected her to be so uneducated and selfish. Cameron insulted almost all of us and claimed that she was a celebrity that everyone had to bow down to. Though, celebrities who have earned the right to insult and humiliate everyone must be grateful for the chance to be famous.’
‘I would not be surprised if hysterics like these happened during shootings before, and her managers covered that hell so hard not to ruin her image as an innocent angel,’ another person says. ‘I would not be surprised if her love for fans was just an act. I would not be surprised if Cameron hated them deep inside and wanted to strangle them when they ran to her with a plea to take a photo or sign something.’
‘It’s amazing she was hiding her mental issues so well all these years and not pretending that she got star-struck,’ the fourth person adds. ‘People were wrong when they believed Cameron was an innocent anger that was really so sweet and nice to everyone, whom the girl actually hated to death.’
‘Oh, I still do not understand why she got so famous!’ another member of the crew says. ‘There is nothing special about her! Just an ordinary girl with nothing special about her look. I would look at those, who pronounced her the sexiest girl on the planet. In the show business, there are more beautiful women, who deserve it much more.’
‘I guess she was promoted by a sugar daddy that she slept with,’ another member of the crew assumes. ‘She gave him a night of love, and he gave her worldwide fame and much money. Yes, yes, I am sure that prostitute got into the show business through a bed, and her fame was paid by her rich sugar daddy.’
‘We want to let people know the truth and open their eyes before her sugar daddy pays some people, so they do not publish articles that could tarnish Raquelle's name,’ one of the members of the crew says. ‘We want the whole world to know that Raquelle Cameron is pretending to be something she is not. She is a false egoist with serious mental problems. She loves no one but herself. She has decided that she has the right to insult and humiliate others.’
The magazine ‘Celebrity Universe’ tried to contact a long-time good friend of Raquelle, a photographer, Steven Appleby, who has worked with the model many times. They asked him to give a comment on the current situation. However, Steven refused to talk to journalists about Cameron, Even if he notices that he was shocked by the fact that Raquelle could do that.
‘I do not want to discuss that girl, and I am asking you not to mention her name again,’ Steven demands. ‘From now on, I don't want to hear anything from that person, who believes that she is the queen of the earth and has no respect for people. Yes, I can confirm that Cameron has always acted like a diva. It was very hard to work with her, but sadly, I had no choice. That girl loves only herself and has no respect for the people, to whom she should be grateful for making her famous. I am so glad that someone had the courage to expose her for who she is. Raquelle got what she deserved! And I don't feel sorry for her. I have never considered the girl a talented model. She is a homely girl from a small city, who wanted fame and money, and who slept with rich men to have it all.’
Many of Raquelle Cameron's fans have already heard the news and have split into two teams. Those, who do not believe the claims and consider them slanderous, and those, who are absolutely sure that everything is happening for a reason and turn their backs on the person, whom they called their idol some time ago. As far as we know, Ms. Cameron is losing followers on her social networks because people are unfollowing her accounts and leaving increasingly negative comments under her posts. The model herself has not reacted to this piece of news and has remained silent. However, people are hoping that she will show up in the near future and explain everything.”
By the moment she reads the last words, Natalia is already shocked. To make sure her eyes do not lie to her, the girl carefully reads everything she sees on the screen of her laptop again.
“Oh, my gosh…” Natalia slightly opens her mouth. “I can’t believe it…”
Natalia shakes her head.
“Who told everyone that lie?” Natalia wonders. “Who has nothing to do? Who dared to say these things about the girl, who wouldn’t dare to hurt a fly?”
Natalia frowns strongly.
“How they dare to post these things about my friend…” Natalia resents. “How much money did journalists manage to publish all of that? Who did want to ruin the life of my friend and ruin her career?”
Natalia thinks for two seconds.
“And what’s the magazine ‘Celebrity Universe?’” Natalia wonders. “I heard about it for the first time! What if it doesn’t exist at all?”
Natalia shakes her head.
“I wonder, do people really believe it?” Natalia asks herself. “I’ll check her accounts on social networks.”
Natalia quickly opens some social networks and finds Raquelle’s accounts, which her friend has not checked for a long time, judging the fact that there have been no new posts for a few days.
“Oh, gosh…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully. “She has fewer followers… I clearly remember that she had much more. People started to unfollow all the accounts of Raquelle…”
Natalia checks comments for one of Raquelle’s last posts on Facebook for interest and sees many negative messages that contain insults, humiliations, and charges for egoism and star-struck.
“I can’t believe it…” Natalia cannot believe what she sees. “I can’t believe they’re saying such terrible things about her. God… Raquelle’s fans are turning their backs on her… Because of the rumors… Which everyone believed so easily.”
Natalia closes her mouth with her hand.
“Who needed it?” Natalia asks herself. “Is it really Terrence MacClife’s work? What if Raquelle was kind of right and worried that man would ruin her career somehow for the reason?”
Natalia frowns slightly.
“Actually, there’s nobody else to hurt her…” Natalia notices. “He’s the only one she fought with in the past few weeks. Besides, my friend has always had very good intuition. When she says she feels uncomfortable with someone, it means you should be careful and have a better look at them.”
Natalia exhales sharply.
“Yeah, if it’s really him, I definitely made a mistake when I said Terrence wouldn’t do that to her,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “And he could really do that… I don’t exclude that my friend told the truth and didn’t try to slander him.”
Natalia tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I wonder, is that revenge for rejecting him?” Natalia wonders. “Or an attempt to get promoted thanks to her name? Raquelle is a kind of famous persona that has an army of fans. If it’s so, there’s a chance someone would notice him and love to offer him a starring role in a movie.”
Natalia smirks quietly.
“But when the truth is out, he will hardly get even an episode role,” Natalia throws gloomily. “Because early or late, his lie would be revealed. And people would shower MacClife himself with mud, not my poor, innocent friend. He can’t really take the fact that he hasn’t gotten offers of starring roles for many years.”
Natalia puts her hand on her forehead.
“What does he want to get?” Natalia wonders. “He thought everyone would turn their backs on her? He thought everyone would start to praise him? He hoped Cameron would stop getting offers for work? He wanted her to stay all alone?”
Natalia smirks quietly.
“No, it’s not going to work!” Natalia says confidently. “At least, in my case! I do know my friend well and will always be by her side. Because I know Raquelle wouldn’t do what they told everyone about. I know it’s all a slander.”
Natalia glances aside.
“And I hope early or late, people will wake up and realize someone lied to them, and my friend will never do what someone meant,” Natalia expresses hope. “She is a decent girl! She has always treated those she worked with! If people don’t believe, I do believe.”
Natalia exhales sharply, closes the laptop, and runs her hands over her face.
“Oh, God…” Natalia pronounces tiredly. “How it’s awful… How it’s awful… I’ve got nothing to say…”
Natalia thinks for two seconds.
“I wonder, how long has it lasted?” Natalia frowns slightly. “How long ago did MacClife start this game? How long has that man been telling a lie about Raquelle and showering her with mud? Well… Of course, if it’s really his work…”
Natalia bites her lip slightly.
“I don’t exclude someone has been publishing these articles for a long time,” Natalia adds. “And maybe… Raquelle already knows it. She knows what magazines and newspapers write about her. And she probably thinks that the man is guilty of everything. Understands she was absolutely right when worrying about him probably ruining her career for the reason.”
And while Natalia wonders why Terrence decided to humiliate Raquelle in front of the whole world, she gets a message on her mobile phone. A loud, short sound she hears in the room lets her know it. The girl casts a look at the one, takes her smartphone place on the writing table, and checks the incoming messages. She really just got a new message written by a girl called Anna Seymour. At least, Natalia named her like this on her phone.
“Hey, Natalia. It’s Anna. Do you know what they began to publish in magazines and on the Internet about Raquelle? It’s really awful! I can’t believe such a good girl could do that! It’s definitely slander. Someone definitely wants to humiliate her and ruin the career of that girl.”
After reading the message and thinking a little, Natalia replies to this one, sending a message with her reaction.
“Hi, Anna. Yes, I just read an article on the Internet. And I’m shocked now. I can't believe someone dared to do that and tell everyone a lie! They dared to claim to the whole world that Raquelle allegedly started a scandal during the shooting and acted like an egoistic diva. Although everyone knows she’s always been very sweet, kind, and gentle.”
A few minutes later, she gets a message from Anna, whom she starts texting. Sometimes Natalia has to wait for replies for a few minutes, but she keeps doing her business and checking something on her expensive golden smartphone.
“Anna: I can’t believe it, either. I got my hair standing when I read it for the first time. Someone definitely has a too wild fantasy.”
“Natalia: I wonder, how long has it all lasted? How long has some stupid idiot been showering Raquelle with mud?”
“Anna: I don't know, friend. But I think it has not lasted for one day. I’ve read multiple articles about it on the Internet. And they started to translate shows, in which they talked about it.”
“Natalia: Yes, yes, I’ve seen a few comments on the Internet about it. And the worst thing about the situation is that more and more people are starting to believe in it. Raquelle’s fans seriously believe she has always really been so egoistic, and her managers allegedly covered tricks on that girl.”
“Anna: That’s right…”
“Natalia: Besides, people started to unfollow Raquelle’s accounts. I just checked them and found out she had much fewer followers. And the number is getting lower fast. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn’t have any followers soon. But there are too many comments! Everyone insults and humiliates the girl, who is guilty of nothing.”
“Anna: Really? My god! I will surely check and find out if that’s the truth!”
“Natalia: Poor Raquelle. God… I’m so sorry for her… It’s hard to believe people started to turn their backs on her because of those rumors. Nobody even wanna ask for proof of her fault. Everyone believed the words of a stinker.”
“Anna: I don’t understand who needed all of that? Who hated that girl so much and decided to ruin her career? Who is the idiot, who published that bullshit and decided to slander that girl openly?”
“Natalia: There’s someone, who could do that. But I can’t be absolutely sure they really did it.””
“Anna: That’s how? Who is that?”
“Natalia: Raquelle met him on a photoshoot that took place two weeks ago. They fought to the hell and barely worked together. I think it’s a good reason to suspect that man for spreading the false rumors.””
“Anna: Wow… Who is that man?”
“Natalia: Actually, It’s a very long story. I’d have to type a lot of text on the keyboard to explain the situation. My fingers would get hurt…. I’d better tell you everything when we meet.””
“Anna: As I understand, it’s someone from the show business?”
“Natalia: Yup, it’s one actor. Who is trying to save his career so hard? He can’t take the fact that nobody talks about him. And he decided to use the most radical method – to slander my friend. To get famous thanks to her name in the hope that someone will notice him.””
“Anna: My gosh, how awful… If it’s so, I’m shocked. To slander the girl to get famous… It’s a bad thing. Especially, when a man humiliates a girl. I wouldn’t be silent and would do my best to punish that man for lying.”
“Natalia: I agree! But I can’t say it’s the truth. However, Raquelle is suspecting that man. And she’s sure it was the one to send her anonymous letters with threats.””
“Anna: Anonymous letters with threats? What are you talking about, Natalia?”
“Natalia: Raquelle started to get them some time ago. The anonymous person wants her to quit her career. If she doesn’t do it, she will regret it. Well, Raquelle somehow said she thought the one, who she fought with on the shooting, sent them.””
“Anna: What a twist… But it’s hard for me to say if it’s all the truth. You can’t blame someone before you get proofs.”
“Natalia: I can’t say, either. But I think Raquelle could be right about that actor. Everything happened almost at the same time. It could hardly be just a coincidence.”
“Anna: Yeah, it's complicated…”
“Natalia: You’re right!”
“Anna: You know, Natalia, I wouldn’t mind meeting her. Supporting her somehow… Moreover, I haven’t met her for ages… I think she definitely needs someone’s support… As long as I remember, this is the first case when someone spread such terrible rumors about her. Haters have always slandered her, but nobody behaved like that. And her fans never believed those rumors someone spread.”
“Natalia: Me too. I’m thinking of sending her a message on Facebook or contacting her on WhatsApp. Wanna ask her when she could give me at least five minutes to find out how she’s doing. I do worry about her. I want her not to forget that she could always ask me for help and support.””
“Anna: Don’t send her messages! Go her home! Talk to Raquelle and support her. You can also talk to Mr. Cameron. I’m sure he will tell you something interesting. Something you don’t know yet. And he would be happy if you showed a wish to stay by Raquelle’s side, despite nothing.”
Natalia thinks for two seconds and nods and says:
“Anna is right! I really better go home and talk to Raquelle. And Mr. Cameron wouldn’t refuse to talk to me if I asked him to explain the situation. Who knows… Maybe, he would really tell me something I don’t know yet.”
Natalia quickly types and sends a message to Anna:
“Great idea! You’re right! I think I will go to visit her at home later today, ask Mr. Cameron about everything, and support Raquelle. Do my best to help her. And let her know I would always be by her side. I would never believe any rumors.”
A few seconds later, she gets a new message from Anna, whom she starts texting with:
“Anna: Of course, sweetie, go! Raquelle would be happy if you did it. She needs your support right now. Support of her close person.”
“Natalia: It’s my duty – to support my friend when she’s in trouble. Sadly, I couldn’t stop that man if he decided to do something bad. But I can do many other things, which I will surely do.””
“Anna: Hey, don’t ya wanna go somewhere with me tonight? And if you try to get Raquelle out of home, we can distract her and have fun all together. Because… I’m missing Raquelle so much… I haven’t met her since school times. Since you two decided to study at home.”
“Natalia: With pleasure! I would be happy to spend time with you. And I will surely try to get Raquelle outta home. It would be cool if you met and started to speak as well as you and I do.””
“Anna: Good. In this case, I will be waiting for you at the café ‘Seven Stones’ from seven to eight o’clock. There are usually fewer people there. I think someone would hardly recognize Raquelle there. So, she may have no worries about someone recognizing her and starting to terrorize her.”
“Natalia: Excellent! Then I will go to Raquelle’s home closer to six o’clock. And we will meet at seven o’clock at the café and spend time together. Even if I don’t persuade Cameron to go with us, I shall go there and spend time with you.””
Two minutes later, she gets a message that contains a smiling emoji that is put at the end of a sentence.
“Anna: See you tonight, friend!”
Natalia thinks of something for a few seconds, and then she puts her smartphone on the writing table and gets up from the chair. Then she decides to go to the kitchen and eat something before going to her room and starting to get ready to go to Raquelle’s home. And as she has enough time, she can definitely do many things and decide what to put on to go outside.
***
It’s getting dark outside. It’s about half-past five. Frederick has been home all day and left nowhere today. At the moment, the man is sitting on a soft, comfortable sofa in the living room, watching a TV, eating something from a little plate, and constantly changing channels because there is nothing interesting to watch.
But at some moment, the man finds a channel, on which a show about celebrity rumors is translated. Well, they start to translate a report about Raquelle. The reportage about her allegedly insulting and humiliating those she is working and worked with and pronouncing herself a worldwide celebrity that everyone literally must bow at. The man starts to listen to everything a feminine voice says while seeing random shoots from videos featuring Raquelle:
“What’s happening to the star and favorite girl of many girls and boys? The famous twenty-three-year-old model and actress, Raquelle Cameron, got involved in the grandiose scandal. According to the article in the magazine ‘Celebrity Universe,’ the girl was blamed for the bad behavior on the set and for terribly treating those she is working with.
As many people have said, the model always behaves arrogantly towards all the people she worked with and keeps working with. Cameron regularly fights with all the members of a crew working on the shooting and wants to treat her in a special way, insulting and humiliating everyone for no reason. She was praising herself and saying nobody could be better than her.
A few people have already confirmed these charges. Besides, more and more people are showing up to give more details about the behavior of the young girl during the shootings. They say Cameron has been behaving like this for many years. However, according to some sources, the celebrity’s managers tried to cover the tricks of their ward and not to let the information be known to the media. And someone even says that Raquelle Cameron actually hates her fans, and her love for her fans is just an act. At the bottom of her heart, Cameron actually hates them and wants to strangle them when they run to her with a plea to take a photo or sign something.
Someone assumes Raquelle was promoted by rich, powerful men, whom the girl spent nights with them to pay for her fame and not to let people find out about her breakdowns. They created an image of an innocent girl, who would not dare to hurt a fly. But actually, Cameron is too far from the one she was pretending to be in public for many years.
As far as we know, people started to refuse to work with the celebrity due to the current events and break contracts with her unilaterally. A few portals have tried to contact Raquelle Cameron’s representatives and get a comment from them, but sadly, they say no word about their ward and do not tell if they are planning to keep working with her.
Ms. Cameron is already losing her followers on social networks. People are unfollowing all of her accounts, and that’s why the number of her followers is much lower than the one she had before. There are many negative comments under all of her posts, the latest one of which was posted about two weeks ago, and which insult the model and blame her for egoism. They say she has no right to behave like this towards those, who did nothing bad to her, and make her apologize to those, who have suffered.
However, the model herself does not react to this piece of news and keeps silent. But people are hoping she will show up very soon, make the situation clear, and apologize for her egoism and her disgusting behavior. This is the information we know so far, but we will be closely watching the events and telling you everything about this situation. Moreover, we are planning to show you another reportage, in which we will tell you about the reaction of the celebrities that already gave their comments to journalists or posted something on their accounts on social networks.”
Listening to the reportage from start to end, Frederick sometimes rolls his eyes or shakes his head.
“They are repeating all the same things as parrots!” Frederick throws gloomily, turning off the sound on the TV with a remote. “An idiot told everyone a lie, and everyone believes that my granddaughter is really so bad.”
Frederick growls quietly.
“They are like freaking rams!” Frederick says under his nose. “They go where you tell them to go! Nobody has their own opinion! If only someone said something that differed from everyone’s opinion! Let them know Raquelle was slandered. Why does nobody have their own opinion? Why do people always follow a herd? I don’t understand!”
Frederick thinks for two seconds.
“Wow, so many rumors were spread about my granddaughter, but nobody believed them before,” Frederick says confidently. “And now everyone has decided to believe that man and attack Raquelle. Thinking she is really so terrible.”
Frederick shakes his head.
“Jesus Christ, what’s going on?” Frederick wonders. “Why was it my granddaughter? Did she deserve it all? My girl does nothing bad to anyone, but she should suffer because of stupid rumors. Because of a tabloid newspaper.”
Frederick sighs quietly, running his hands over his face.
“Oh, my gosh…” Frederick pronounces thoughtfully. “How unfair life sometimes can be…”
Frederick thinks for two seconds.
“I wonder, could Terrence MacClife really slander Raquelle, as she says?” Frederick asks himself. “Does she try to slander him because of the bad words he told her? Or is that guy really not an innocent angel?”
Frederick frowns slightly.
“Sorry about having no chance to contact him,” Frederick says quietly. “We could visit him at home and talk about the situation. Hear his version of what happened to my granddaughter. It would be clear if he had to do with it if we watched his behavior.”
While Frederick thinks of the current situation, someone suddenly rings the doorbell. It makes the man frown slightly because he is waiting for nobody.
“Who is that?” Frederick asks himself. “I hope those insolent reporters didn’t decide to come here to annoy my granddaughter. If it’s so, I will kick those fucking dogs out of here.”
Frederick turns off the TV with the remote control and goes to the door. The man opens it quickly enough and sees no reporters but Natalia, who looks anxious and shifts her weight from one foot to another, tightly holding her little purse with both hands.
“Natalia!” Frederick pronounces surprisingly. “What a surprise!”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Cameron,” Natalia pronounces softly. “I’m sorry for bothering you.”
“Erm, no, no, it’s alright. Hello, darling. Come in.”
Frederick steps back from the door and invites Natalia to enter the apartment by making a gesture.
“Glad to see you,” Frederick says softly and takes Natalia in an amicable hug after she crosses the doorstep.
“I’m sorry for bothering you,” Natalia apologizes shyly, stepping back from Frederick. “But I would like to talk to Raquelle.”
“Raquelle?”
“We haven’t met for almost two weeks. Yes, I understand she is busy and has had many shootings. But… I thought she could give me at least five minutes.”
“Today, she has a free day.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So, you’re lucky.”
“Great!” Natalia smiles slightly. “So, I would like to talk to her. Moreover…”
Natalia falls into silence for two seconds, looking quite tense and very sad.
“I read an article in a magazine,” Natalia confesses quietly. “And… Honestly, I got horrified…”
“I know what you’re talking about,” Frederick nods.
“Say…” Natalia bends her arms at the elbows and tightly locks her fingers. “Can I talk to her right now? Or you tell me what’s happening to her me to calm down.”
“Sure, sweetie,” Frederick says confidently. “You can talk to her.”
“Where’s she now? She left?”
“Nope, Raquelle went nowhere. She is home now. Went to take a shower.”
“Oh, I see…” Natalia says nothing for two seconds. “As I understand, does she know what they wrote about her?”
“She knows,” Frederick nods confidently.
“Read on the Internet?”
“Yes.”
“How’s she?”
“Holding on. But she’s definitely upset because someone spread those false rumors about her.”
“Oh, poor girl…” Natalia shakes her head.
“Oh, listen, Natalia, go to the living room!”
Frederick invites Natalia to go to the living room with a gesture.
“I will close the door now and tell you everything,” Frederick promises.
“Thanks,” Natalia thanks gently. “I would listen to you with pleasure.”
Natalia goes to the living room, while Frederick quickly closes the door. After this, the man goes there, as well, and invites the girl to sit on the sofa in the living room, and she agrees.
“Do I give you something?” Frederick asks.
“No, no, thanks, don’t do,” Natalia refuses gently, putting her purse near her. “I ate before coming here.”
“Alright, if you want something, let me know.”
“Sure, Mr. Cameron.”
Frederick nods and sits next to Natalia.
“How did she react when she found that out?” Natalia asks with sadness in her eyes.
“She barely held the tears down,” Frederick replies quietly. “But she was very mad at the same time.”
“Oh, my God…” Natalia closes her mouth with her hand. “Poor Raquelle…”
“And knowing she has to worry about something, my heart is bleeding,” Frederick confesses.
“Mr. Cameron…”
“It’s true, my girl. Although Raquelle tries to hold on, I feel she feels very bad.”
“I understand her. Because of those rumors, her career might be ruined.”
“Of course, it’s wrong that my granddaughter gives so much time to her work and literally worries about it much more than her close people. But I can’t stay indifferent and say it’s all senseless.”
“A career is really very important to her.”
“Yeah, but it’s not what you should spend your life on. A girl’s goal in life is different – to be a mother and a wife. Other things do not matter.”
“You will not change her mind,” Natalia smiles slightly.
“At least, I’m happy she doesn’t want to sit down and do anything with both hands folded. She understands that running away from problems is not the best decision. Early or late, she would have to show up and let people know they heard a lie and were wrapped around a finger.”
“You’re right,” Natalia nods with sadness in her eyes.
“Say, haven’t you really talked to Raquelle after your last meeting?”
“Nope, Mr. Cameron.”
“Didn’t you send messages somewhere on the Internet?”
“Alas. We didn’t text each other.”
“What was she talking to you about when you met the last time?”
“She told me about how the photoshoot happened. And how she fought with her partner.”
“Terrence MacClife?”
“Yes, him. I tried to talk about something else, but your granddaughter always started to talk about what happened again.”
“She tried not to talk to me about it. She focused on her work and thought only of another shooting.”
“That’s how she probably wanted to forget that.”
“Maybe.”
“But she would hardly work now. And it’s not excluded people might not even wish to talk to her.”
“Most likely. I think Raquelle would contact her managers to decide what to do.”
“Since the media got the information, fixing the situation is going to be very hard.”
“Right,” Frederick nods. “However, I am upset not only by the fact that my granddaughter is worried like this but also the fact that her fans believed it all.”
“Yeah, I am shocked, too.”
“They spread so many rumors about her, but people never believed them. They always attacked those, who even dared to call Raquelle ugly or stupid.”
“Besides, sometimes I think Raquelle hasn’t taught to take criticism quietly.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think she’s worried about every single insult as much as she was worried about the bullying at school. Criticism still hurts her much.”
“You know, I agree with you. No matter how hard Raquelle tries to pretend to be strong and brave, at the bottom of her heart, she stayed a little, unprotected girl.”
“Right,” Natalia nods.
“Oh…” Frederick sighs quietly. “Those stupid articles in newspapers and magazines and shows on TV make her feel worse.”
“But she knew what she was doing,” Natalia notices.
“Everyone is talking about my granddaughter actually being an egoistic girl that suffers from star-struck.”
“Yeah, I’m aware,” Natalia nods. “Everyone says the source of the information is a magazine. But I don’t know it and have never seen it selling.”
“I don’t know that magazine, either. It’s either new or unknown to people.”
“Anyway, that magazine is spreading a lie that everyone believes.”
“It would be great to find an editor-in-chief of the magazine and make them publish a rebuttal.”
“I haven’t tried to find some information about it on the Internet. But I could try. What if I find something interesting and even find out who an editor-in-chief is.”
“Would be great. We should make that cad pay for spreading the lie. Either they should publish a rebuttal and apologize, or they would be sued for slander.”
“I hope Raquelle will do this. I wanna believe she wouldn’t leave it unpunished and would find the one to do that.”
“Oh, she is very determined to punish the one to humiliate her like this.”
“Anyway, I’m shocked.”
Natalia moves her sad eyes down for a second.
“And the worst thing is, people believe it,” Frederick says confidently. “Someone made her guilty and charges my granddaughter for all the sins. They will probably start to give interviews to everyone very soon.”
“We do know well Raquelle is not what they say about her.”
“I will not believe in this bullshit and will never turn my back on her. People can say anything, but I do know my granddaughter well and would never betray her.”
“I will not also believe any of their false words and will be by the side of my friend. Whatever happens.”
“I wish Raquelle’s fans believed that, too. As well as those, who are working with her…”
“Besides, I didn’t expect Steven Appleby, who Raquelle has befriended for many years, would stand by the side of that liar. He always said nice things about her, but I saw that comment.”
“I don’t know him, but Raquelle told me much about that man. I know he’s a little older than her and is a popular photographer. And telling the truth, I am also shocked she was betrayed by a good friend. The man, who has known my granddaughter for ages.”
“Yeah… It’s hurt…”
“By the way, before you came here, I had watched an episode of a show, in which they discussed that situation. For the hundredth time.”
“Now everyone is going to talk about it. People already got excited: they are discussing the situation, leaving comments under Raquelle’s posts on her social networks and unfollowing her accounts.”
“Listen, Natalia, don’t you know anything about the actor, who Raquelle worked on the photoshoot with?”
“Do you mean Terrence MacClife?”
“Yes, him.”
“Does Raquelle probably suspect him of spreading the rumors?”
“How did you guess?”
“She was worried that the man would love to do that.”
“What actually happened between them if they fought so hard? They barely know each other, but they already became enemies!”
“She rejected him!” Natalia exclaims. “Terrence thought he would pick Raquelle up as well as other girls with the thought she would not resist. But he met resistance and a refusal. And he couldn’t stand it.”
“As far as I know, they fought at once after they met Serena and his manager.”
“It’s the truth. MacClife got hurt by the fact that Raquelle said she didn’t know who he was. So, that guy sharply fell into silence and looked at her gloomily until the end of the meeting. And when the meeting ended, he began to show his outrage.”
“Is he a narcissus?”
“Maybe.”
“Viewing photos of him, I wouldn’t say so. At first sight, he is a good, decent young man.”
“Yeah, I can’t deny Terrence is incredibly attractive and handsome,” Natalia says confidently. “And I didn’t believe everything Raquelle said about him. But now I’m starting to understand she might be right.”
“Do you think he did it?” Frederick frowns slightly.
“Anything might happen. But I will not charge him and say spreading the rumors was Terrence’s work.”
“At least, I can surely say he is not the author of the letters someone has been sending Raquelle for a few weeks.”
“So, does someone keep writing them?” Natalia wonders.
“Yes, today, Raquelle got another. But she had gotten no letters for one week.”
“Wow…”
“Everything happened at the same time. The letters, the conflict, the dirty rumors…”
“Anyway, she should be very careful with Terrence.”
“I barely know who Terrence MacClife is. I’ve heard something about him a couple of times and seen photos of him. But I’ve never seen that actor in any movies.”
“No?”
“That guy probably acted in movies for another generation, for a much younger auditory. There were other actors in my time.”
“He got famous after playing the role of Mason Houston in the movie ‘American Love Affair’. Of course, the movie is absolutely simple, about the school, but Terrence’s character made it just incredible. The pretense of that guy made the movie so popular.”
“I don’t know, it lets me know about nothing.”
“Well, I know him well.”
“Wow… Raquelle said he was nobody.”
“No, Mr. Cameron. Terrence is a very famous person in the show business. He’s got many familiars and is respected by celebrities.”
“That’s bad. If he really did that, he might easily destroy the career of Raquelle.”
“That’s why I said she should’ve been careful with him.”
“Gosh, what a vengeful man he is!” Frederick resents. “If it’s the truth, I will be resentful.”
“It hurts that we have no contact with that man. We could make him explain everything and find out what he wants to stop the wave of dirty rumors.”
“I thought about it. But alas, Raquelle never met him before.”
“And it’s weird. The two are famous people, and they were supposed to meet at the premiere of a movie or a party.”
“Yeah… Anyway, her life isn’t going to come back to normal soon. Who knows when Terrence MacClife will calm down and love to leave your granddaughter alone.”
“Yeah…” Frederick thinks for two seconds. “Why does my granddaughter have to suffer because of a mean man? Why? Raquelle has never done anything bad and has always treated everyone well. Those, who dislike her, have always meant nothing to her.”
“Ah, I don’t understand it, either, Mr. Cameron,” Natalia sighs with sadness in her eyes.
“I want my granddaughter to live a different life. A different one.”
***
The middle of two thousand and eight year.
“I want to see her as a model,” Serena says confidently, who got the luck to meet Raquelle and Frederick on the street when they went somewhere together. “She’s got potential. If she wants, she can be a superstar and earn much money for just one photoshoot for a magazine.”
“We clearly explained everything to you a long time ago,” Frederick recalls coldly. “Raquelle told you she did not want to be a model, and I declined your offer.”
“Please, sir, talk to her and make her sure to accept my offer.”
“Listen, why do you annoy my granddaughter? Do you have anything to do? Why do you chase us and literally force her to work with you?”
“I do not force her to do it. But I really want to see your granddaughter on the cover of a magazine.”
“So, do you not have enough models? Find someone else and shoot your covers!”
“I am looking for new, unfamiliar faces. I’m traveling in America or checking photos on a social network. And I surely contact those I like. I send them a message or come to them outside. And thanks to that, I’ve found so many new people. That’s good it’s very easy to do this thanks to the Internet.”
“So, work with them and leave Raquelle alone!”
“Please, do not think I am a fraud that looks for naive girls to trap them and then literally sell them as slaves,” Serena says confidently. “It’s not the truth.”
“Yes, I believe you don’t lie because I have heard much about you and the agency you are talking about,” Frederick replies quietly. “But I have told you everything.”
“Raquelle should make a decision. Do not decide everything for her.”
“She is too young to become the one.”
“All models started their career at a very young age. Some of them finish their career before they turn thirty, after they started that at fourteen or fifteen.”
“Raquelle does not want to become a model, and I will not let her do this,” Frederick says confidently. “Because I have always been a hater of the modeling business and think it’s dangerous.”
“Yeah, I do not deny that working in it is not easy. But do not be so categorical. And do not make her think what you find right. The girl should have her own opinion.”
“My granddaughter is interested in different things. She will graduate from the university, find a job and live like all the people in the world. Or better get married, give birth to children, and think only of the well-being of her family.”
“Please, sir, let her decide it.”
“She decided everything a long time ago, ma’am. Please, leave her alone. Look for other girls for the modeling business.”
“I do not force your granddaughter to become a model,” Serena protests. “I just want to offer her a shoot for a popular youth magazine. Just one time.”
“No, I said!”
“If she does not like it, nobody will make her keep doing this against her wish. But if she wants, I am personally ready to care about this girl and make her a worldwide celebrity.”
“She does not need it. Raquelle will think only of studying.”
“Nobody forbids her to think of studying. The girl can keep studying. She can work and study at the same time. Many people do this.”
“My granddaughter will not be a model!” Frederick says confidently, a little coldly.
“Listen, sir, I completely understand your anxiety,” Serena replies softly. “But you have no reason to worry.”
“Leave, ma’am. Go and leave us alone once and forever.”
“I feel that Raquelle would really love to try to shoot for a magazine.”
“That’s what you want to think. My granddaughter does not even dare to think about it.”
“Why do you not ask her about it?”
“Raquelle is too little now! I am responsible for her and make decisions about her life.”
“She is no longer a baby. Your granddaughter did say she was seventeen. Almost eighteen. A little bit before Raquelle becomes independent.”
“When she grows up, gets a high education, and finds a job, she will be an adult.”
“Let her make a decision and tell her opinion. Raquelle does have a right to. Do not speak for her, and do listen to the girl’s wish.”
“She already made it,” Frederick replies confidently. “Raquelle will be studying at the university and getting a high education.”
“But, sir…”
“Leave, ma’am, leave at your wish. Or I will have to take measures.”
“I do not wish you anything bad.”
“If you do not leave my granddaughter alone, I will have to go to the police and tell them about what you are doing.”
“Are you serious?” Serena rounds her eyes.
“Absolutely. So, stop chasing Raquelle at your wish before you get trouble.”
“But…”
“I would tear anyone for this girl and not stay in the same place when she is chased by an unfamiliar woman and persuades her to become a model.”
“Sir, what are you talking about?”
“And until you stop chasing her, I will be personally accompanying Raquelle to the university and taking her away after her lectures.”
“Please, listen to me…”
“Alright, I said everything!” Frederick raises his hand sharply. “The talk is over!”
Frederick moves his eyes to Raquelle, who is standing next to him, saying nothing, thinking about something, and looking at her grandfather or Serena.
“Go, Raquelle!” Frederick pronounces confidently.
“Grandpa, wait!” Raquelle exclaims, looking at Frederick with her widely open eyes.
“We’ve gotta leave.”
“I agree to try.”
“Do not say stupid things! We are going home now!”
“But I really want to know what that is.”
Frederick and Serena move their surprised looks at Raquelle at the same time.
“Excuse me, what?” Frederick rounds his eyes. “You? Do you want to try?”
“Yes, Grandpa,” Raquelle nods.
“Do you really want to get into this game?”
“I was thinking a little and…” Raquelle shrugs. “I decided that nothing would happen if I at least tried. If I shot for a youth magazine that I really like, just saying.”
“No, I can’t believe what I hear,” Frederick shakes his head. “What are you talking about, granddaughter? Fear God!”
“I just got a suggestion to try. What’s wrong with it? If I don’t like this, everything will be over, and I will not think about it again.”
“No, Raquelle, get these stupid things out of your head,” Frederick sharply cuts off.
“Grandfather…”
“The modeling business is very evil, and it has very harsh rules for those, who work in it.”
“Please, Grandpa, let me go to a shoot,” Raquelle begs with despair.
“No, I said!” Frederick pronounces harshly. “I have always hated the modeling business and do not want you to be a part of it somehow.”
“But why?”
“Are you going to show your whole body to the whole world? To make some perverts happy!”
“Gosh, grandpa, what are you talking about?” Raquelle laughs shyly.
“You’re laughing, but I am saying serious things, to your information. Do you think everything is so easy and simple? Models are permanently chased by maniacs. And young girls play a starring role in their craziest fantasies.”
“It’s just a shoot for the youth magazine. Nobody shows their bodies in there.”
“And further more! Today, it’s a youth magazine, and what will it be tomorrow? A men’s magazine? Erotic shoots for 18+ content? Will you take photos only in your knickers and your bra? Or actually nude? To get me ashamed!”
“Please, Grandpa Frederick!” Raquelle pronounces with pity in her eyes. “I wanna accept the offer of this woman.”
“Why do you need it?”
“Well, maybe, it will help me become more confident and much freer… And… I will get to know myself and my body…”
“To know your body, you do not need to show it to everyone.”
“I am not gonna show my body to everyone.”
“All models do this. If only they did not make you sleep with someone to help you promote your career. But I do always say that you can sleep only with your husband.”
“Gosh, Grandpa, how grouchy you are!” Raquelle resents.
“Who did you meet at the university that you stopped being shy about these things? What girls are studying there? You were a shy and decent girl without any bad thoughts? What happened to you now?”
“You are too categorical,” Serena meddles softly.
“That’s what I was afraid of! My granddaughter met bad people and started to think of debauchery.”
“What kind of debauchery, grandpa?” Raquelle wonders. “What are you talking about?”
“Yeah… I thought decent girls, who did not think of these things, were studying with you. But It seems like young people are different at the present time. Not what they were before.”
“The girl is growing up,” Serena says confidently. “She gets interested in more mature things. Did you really think she would never hear about sex and not like to get to know her body?”
“She is too young to think of sex!”
“Not young. Your girl is already studying at the university, not school.”
“She must have her studies in the first place, not hangouts with boys.”
“Listen, sir…”
“Please, Grandpa, let me have a photoshoot,” Raquelle begs with pity in her eyes.
“No,” Frederick exclaims.
“It’s just a magazine for teenagers. In which there are articles about what boys and girls might be interested about.”
“When you were studying at school, you did not have time to think of these stupid things,” Frederick says gloomily. “You did not speak to the guys and thought only of studies thanks to that. But when you got on well with the guys from the university, they taught you some bad things.”
“Please, Grandpa, let me go to that photoshoot,” Raquelle keeps insisting with pity in her eyes. “I really wanna try.”
“You want me to be ashamed of you?”
“You will not be ashamed of me, I promise.”
“Listen to your granddaughter, sir,” Serena advises. “Now she wants it.”
Frederick says nothing for a few seconds and slowly runs his hands over his face with a quiet moan.
“Oh, Jesus Christ, give me strength and patience…” Frederick pronounces thoughtfully.
“Please, Grandpa, please…” Raquelle jabs, taking Frederick under an arm and slightly shaking it. “I want, I want, I want!”
Frederick glances aside and thinks for two seconds. Despite disliking the modeling business and wishing his granddaughter not to be a part of it, he agrees to give in to Raquelle with anxiety in his soul. But at heart, he wants to believe it would be just a temporary hobby for the young girl that she would get sick of very soon.
“Alright…” Frederick pronounces thoughtfully. “If you want it, do what you like… I will not stop you if you want to shoot for that magazine.”
“Really?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “Are you allowing it? Allowing?”
“I hope you know what you’re doing…”
“Of course, I do, Grandpa… I’m really curious about trying that,” Raquelle shrugs. “Maybe, I will want to be at a shoot and would like to choose another way in my life.”
“I gave you my agreement only for this shoot. It does not mean I would let you become a model.”
“First, I would just try. And then we would see.”
“I don’t like it all. But I see you’re too headstrong and would not change your mind.”
“No, I will not.”
“So, I give up then,” Frederick raises his hands up.
“Thanks, Grandpa, thanks, you’re the best!”
While Raquelle kisses Frederick cutely on his cheek, Serena smiles slightly, being happy with this talk and the fact that she persuaded the girl to work for a professional photoshoot. And the old man keeps fighting with a sense of anxiety and is worried it all would hardly lead to something good.
***
“Do you still think she shouldn't have had anything to do with the modeling business?” Natalia asks.
“I will always be against her working in this business. Yes, I don’t ban her from doing that. But I’m going to be honest to you, if her career is over, I will really be happy.”
“Happy?”
“Yes. Maybe, if everything is bad about her career, she will decide to start studying again and get a high education. Decide to get another job and live as everyone else does. Or meet a man, get married, do homework, take care of a husband, and educate children.”
“Anyway, you shouldn't insist on anything. Raquelle is worried that you always press on her and remind her of studying and having to get married and give birth to babies.”
“I am hurrying her to get married and give birth to children because she might miss a moment. Life is too short to waste your time. You should do something here and now, not to regret missing the moment.”
“I completely understand why you’re worried about it, but the time is different now.”
“There are things I will never stand. For example, the fact that girls think of themselves and their careers much more. In my time, all their thoughts were about family. Yes, they could study and work, but for a family, any girl was ready to refuse her goals.”
“Raquelle wants to meet a good man she would live her whole life with. She wouldn’t like to get divorced multiple times to find a perfect partner.”
“Moreover, I am worried because she refuses to go on dates. For example, you keep spending time with men even after failures and communicate with them. But my granddaughter doesn’t even want to think about it.”
“Don’t press on her, Mr. Cameron,” Natalia advises softly. “Especially, now. Now she has a hard time, but you would make it worse if you indisposed your interests upon her.”
“I have never indisposed my interests upon her, even if I always remind her that I would like her to live a different life.”
“The most important thing is that Raquelle is happy.”
“Now she can be happy only if Terrence MacClife stops mocking her.”
“Oh, I doubt he would stop…”
“It’s just the beginning. While people believe him and discuss everything, Terrence will keep speaking, speaking and speaking.”
“Gosh, is it so bad to be a kind person with a kind heart? Raquelle has always been an innocent angel and hurt nobody else!”
“Ah, Natalia…” Frederick sighs heavily. “You can’t be kind in our cruel world.”
Frederick throws a look at his hands for a second.
“There would surely be someone to wish to have you wrapped around a finger and destroy you for your kindness,” Frederick adds.
“It’s hurt,” Natalia pronounces quietly.
“It’s hurtful for me to say it, but the truth is the truth. Even if you don’t want to be cruel, sometimes you need it to survive in this world.”
“I know… But I still ask myself why everything is so hard in our lives. Why people might be too heartless and egoistic and could let themselves insult and frame someone.”
“Life is like a lottery: not everyone will be lucky! The one, who does not get everything loses. The one to be lucky takes everything.”
“Yeah…” Natalia throws a sad look at her hands. “Only the one to jump in a leaving truck would be lucky.”
Frederick says nothing and just sighs heavily with sadness in his eyes. Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, and then, Raquelle comes into the kitchen with a slow step. The girl is wearing a home terrycloth robe, her hair is wrapped in a towel, and her face looks a little red after a hot shower. She has fallen into her not the best thoughts too deeply that she does not notice Frederick sitting on the sofa, as well as Natalia does. But the man quickly notices his granddaughter and calls her, raising his hand and pronouncing loudly:
“Raquelle! Come here!”
Raquelle turns around and slowly comes to Frederick, whom she looks at with sadness in her eyes.
“How are you, honey?” Frederick shows anxiety, getting up from the sofa.
“More or less,” Raquelle pronounces faintly and quietly, scratching her temple. “But I’m starting to feel like I was spitted.”
“It’s okay, sunshine, everything is gonna get better soon, and you will get much better.”
“Well, I dunno… I doubt I would get better. Because I’m about to lose everything.”
“It’s gonna be okay, Raquelle, don’t worry. Believe in the best and remember the truth will be out early or late.”
Raquelle says nothing and shakes her head.
“By the way…” Frederick pronounces thoughtfully, looking at Raquelle better and smiling slightly. “You got so red after you took a shower…”
“Yeah, hot water helped me relax a little,” Raquelle replies thoughtfully.
“That’s good! If you slept a little, life would seem not as terrible as it is now.”
“I really doubt it.” Raquelle scratches a temple and looks around. “Terrence MacClife will not stop mocking me. He will not leave me alone and stop doing his best to ruin my career.”
“Do not always think of your career, sweetie,” Raquelle says thoughtfully, caressing Raquelle’s shoulders. “It’s not the most important thing. You can always find a job, but losing your close people is much harder. You will never bring them back if they die.”
“You know well how much it means to me.”
“I know, but I think it’s not worth worrying.”
“Oh, Grandpa…”
“Don’t think about it, sweetie. Now you should focus on coming to yourself.”
“You know well what would help me.”
“Okay, Raquelle, let’s not think about it.” Frederick falls into silence for two seconds. “Moreover, we are not alone. I wouldn’t like our visitor to leave this place in a bad mood.”
“Visitor?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“Yes! Haven’t you noticed Natalia?” Frederick points to Natalia sitting on the sofa and folding her hands in front of her. “She came to visit you and find out how you’re doing.”
Raquelle moves her eyes to Natalia and smiles slightly, while the blonde shrugs with both hands folded in front of her.
“Natalia?” Raquelle pronounces surprisingly. “Oh, gosh!”
“Hey, friend,” Natalia waves her hand shyly. “I missed you so much and decided to come. I thought you’d give me at least five minutes.”
“Aw, Natalia…” Raquelle quickly sits on the sofa next to Natalia and takes her in an amicable hug, which the blonde accepts with pleasure. “I’m so happy you came here.”
“Would you give me some time?” Natalia asks.
“Of course, I will! With pleasure!”
“Your grandfather said you had some free time today.”
“Yup, but I think I’m gonna have much more now. Because people would hardly love to work with me.”
“Okay then! So, you and I will spend much more time together!”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“No, I’m free now! I was busy somewhere one week ago when I helped my parents with something. But now I have some free time.”
“I’m sorry about not texting and calling you,” Raquelle apologizes shyly. “I had no time to talk to someone. I had too many shootings.”
“It’s okay, I understand it.”
“Anyway, I’m very happy you decided to come. I wanted to call you and invite you to have dinner with us.”
“But I came to save you from loneliness and boredom.”
Raquelle says nothing and laughs shyly, moving her eyes down for a second.
“Alright, girls…” Frederick says thoughtfully. “I will better leave you alone. I think you have something to talk about… And I will go to cook something for dinner. But if you need something, just call me.”
Frederick turns around and goes to the kitchen to do his business, leaving Raquelle and Natalia alone to let them talk about something.
“You know…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “I just realized that I missed you very much.”
“I missed you, too,” Natalia smiles shyly.
“Thanks again for coming to my home.”
“I just wanted to find out how you were doing.”
“As you see, not very good.”
“Raquelle, darling…”
“Honestly…”
Raquelle sighs quietly with sadness in her eyes and shakes her head.
“I’m even afraid to go outside,” Raquelle confesses hesitantly.
“Afraid?” Natalia rounds her eyes.
“Everyone’s probably waiting for me to show up. To insult and humiliate me.”
“No, sweetie, don’t say so.”
“I don’t know what to do, Natalia,” Raquelle says with some despair. “Almost everybody I worked with turned their backs upon me. And my career is over.”
“I know what someone said about you.”
“What I was afraid came true! And as I assumed, that bastard MacClife started showering me with mud and saying what I would never ever do. I was sure it would happen. I knew he did not lie.”
“Yes, yes, I know it.”
“I swear I’ve never been rude to those, with whom I worked, and I am working with. Never! I’ve always tried to be gentle and friendly to everyone.”
“I believe you, friend. I believe.”
“But the most offensive thing is that people believed him. They believed him, and they think that I’m really so bad and acted like a diva, whom everyone owed. I allegedly have a star-struck and turn my nose up and think I’m literally better than God.”
“But there are people, who know who you really are. Your grandfather. Me. We do know you well and know that you will never do that.”
“It’s hurt… It hurts that everyone believed that man.”
“Don’t worry, Raquelle, I’m with you.” Natalia softly caresses Raquelle’s hand. “I will never leave you and believe any slander towards you. You’re my best friend, whom I will never betray.”
“What’s gonna happen, friend?”
Raquelle moves her sad eyes to Natalia.
“Will my career be destroyed because of that stinker?” Raquelle asks herself in a little shaking voice. “Will my perfect reputation get worse to hell?”
“No, honey, not everything’s lost,” Natalia protests softly.
“I don’t know if it would be possible to do something to get my honest, kind name back.”
“Don’t think about it now, friend. Wait for a while. Don’t try to prove something to heated people. You would make them much angrier and make them have much more questions.”
“So, do you suggest I do nothing?”
“Sorta. Maybe, everyone would calm down later and realize that an angel like you would not dare to hurt a fly. Realize there was an insolent liar, who wanted to slander you.”
“But what am I going to do all this time?” Raquelle throws her hands up. “They will recognize me! Everyone will come to me when they see me one meter away from them. Not to take a photo or ask for an autograph, but to humiliate and make me blush because of what I’m not guilty of.”
“Well, you’d stay home for a few more days. Spend time with your close people and calm down a little. Having a little rest would be good for you, ‘cause you worked like crazy all the time and barely found time for yourself, your grandfather, and your friends.”
“It seems like I have no choice…” Raquelle sighs heavily. “I have to take a forced break. And give some time to me and my close people.”
“You will see, early or late, the scandal will be over, and people will calm down,” Natalia replies confidently.
“I’m at least happy I still have those, who support me and don’t believe the lie.”
“Raquelle, my darling…” Natalia softly caresses Raquelle’s hand with sadness and pity in her eyes. “I say again, I will never betray you and leave you in trouble. Even if the whole world is against you, I shall not leave you.”
“Really?” Raquelle pronounces with mistrust.
“Friends never betray. They always help each other. Even if friends can’t help with something, they can find good words.”
“Natalia…”
“Your grandfather will not leave you, either, and will deal with anyone to hurt you. For him, you will always be a little, unprotected girl. Whatever happens, Mr. Cameron and I will always be by your side. We will let nobody hurt you.”
“Thank you so much, Natalia,” Raquelle thanks with a shy smile, caressing Natalia’s hand. “You’re the best person I’ve ever known.”
“I can’t stay indifferent when you feel bad,” Natalia replies amicably.
“I’m so lucky to have you. And I doubt I’d ever regret being a friend of yours someday. If not for you and your support, I don’t know what I would be doing. Everything you do means very much to me.”
“You think only your grandfather feels hurt from seeing you like this? No, my dear!” Natalia caresses Raquelle’s hand softly. “I’m also worried about you and want everything to be fine. I want you to be happy.”
“I know…” Raquelle nods with a slight smile. “I hope I’ll calm down a little and find the courage to show myself in public some time later with your help. And try to make everyone sure they were deceived.”
“But as I just said, there’s no meaning in trying to prove something, ‘cause everybody’s too excited and wouldn’t listen to anyone to be right.”
“I think you’re right…”
Raquelle glances aside and thinks about something for two seconds. Natalia watches her with sadness in her eyes and watches her as she folds her hands in front of her.
“Okay, sweetie, let’s not talk about bad things,” Natalia suggests confidently. “And don’t think about what Terrence did to you. Of course, if he really had to do with what happened.”
“I’d like not to think about it…” Raquelle sighs heavily.
“Yes, he did a very bad thing. And I personally wanna strangle that idiot for daring to slander you. But there are more important things in your life. You should think not only of your career but also of your reputation.”
“I’m really trying to do…” Raquelle says quietly, thoughtfully, looking at her hands. “But I can’t do this well.”
“Listen…” Natalia glances aside for a second and then looks at Raquelle again. “Today in the morning, I was talking to someone with messages.”
“Who?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“Anna texted me.”
“Anna? Who is Anna?”
“You forgot?”
“Do I know her?”
“C’mon! Anna. Anna Seymour! She was studying at the same school where we did.”
“Yeah?”
“A cute, red-haired girl with a baby face.”
Raquelle silently thinks of something for a few seconds.
“Ah…” Raquelle realizes. “Right, right!”
“You remember?” Natalia specifies.
“Yes, I do! Right! Anna Seymour. She is kind of younger than us.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right.”
“Great.”
“She sent me a message in the morning and suggested we spend time together tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah, we were talking about you.”
“Really?”
“Anna said she missed you and would be happy to meet you somehow.”
“Wow…” Raquelle sighs quietly. “I was so busy that I didn’t think of her at all.”
“You haven’t met since the school times when you and I decided to study at home.”
“Right.”
“It’s been many years since that.”
“Hey… Wait…” Raquelle thinks about something for two seconds but later moves her eyes to Natalia. “Hey, have you already spoken to her before today?”
“Yup, actually, I’ve been communicating with her for a long time,” Natalia confesses shyly.
“That’s how! But I know nothing!”
“She messaged me on Facebook somewhere one or one and a half years ago and asked to add her to my friends after she found my account.”
“You recognized her?”
“Nope, I just accepted her. I saw I had a friend request and added her.”
“Okay.”
“Well, some time later, she sent me a message, asked if I remembered her, and added that she was studying with me at the same school. At first, I didn’t understand who that girl was, but later, I took a better look, asked her a couple of questions, and realized she was Anna, who was studying at our school but was two years younger.”
“Has she changed so much?”
“She hasn’t changed at all! She’s still a cute, red-haired girl with a baby face.”
“Didn’t you recognize her?”
“I forgot about her and didn’t think of Anna. Because I met new people after I went to the university. I was speaking to those people and forgetting those I knew at school.”
“Okay.”
“So, since that time, Anna and I have texted each other very often. I told her about her me, and she told me about her.”
“Great,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“And then I found out Seymour and her family moved to New York, and we started to meet very often.”
“Anna is living here?”
“Yup, they moved here due to the job. There were no perspectives in Kingston.”
“So, I’m very happy,” Raquelle smiles slightly.
“Anna wanted to meet you, but you were always so busy that you had no time to hang out with friends.”
“What’s she doing now?”
“She’s busy studying at the university. Finishing the last year and getting ready for the final exams.”
“Which faculty?”
“Theater.”
“That’s how!”
“So, here’s the story,” Natalia shrugs.
“Hey, why didn’t you tell me you started speaking to Anna? You were silent for almost one year!”
“Sorry, just got no chance…” Natalia throws her hands up. “And I thought you forgot her and would hardly remember such a girl like Anna Seymour.”
“But I’ve always treated her very warmly.”
“I know.”
“Hey, could you tell me how to find her on Facebook? I will message Anna and talk to her, as well.”
“Sure. I will send you a link to her account when I turn on my computer.”
“Good…”
Raquelle glances aside and starts wrapping a strand of hair on her finger with a thoughtful face.
“Hey, Raquelle, come with us to the café!” Natalia suggests cheerfully.
“Where?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“With me and Anna. We agreed to meet at a small café where there are usually fewer people.”
“No, no, I can’t do it.”
“Listen, you can’t stay home forever and always think about what MacClife did to you.”
“No, Natalia, I will go nowhere,” Raquelle shakes her head.
“But, Raquelle! You should distract!”
“How do I go in public after what happened? People would point at me and shout out bad words about me!”
“Nobody’s gonna point at you.”
“I won’t hold that shame and will start to be worried much more.”
“C’mon, friend, don’t refuse!” Natalia waves her hand.
“No, friend. Sorry, but I will go nowhere.”
“Do you really think all the people know who you are? Many of them have probably never heard your name. For example, a larger part of your fans consists of teenagers and people of your age. Not every old person has heard your name at least once. Many people may be far from the world of the show business and wouldn’t even call any modern-day actor or singer. For example, your grandfather. He literally knows actors of his time by heart, but he can’t call any of the modern ones.”
“What if I meet some teenagers, who already know everything and start humiliating me? Saying I’m bad, egoistic, and sick!”
“Nobody’s gonna humiliate you,” Natalia replies confidently. “Moreover, teenagers rarely come to the café where Anna and I wanna go. We saw a small group of teenagers only once. They just bought a glass of coffee and quickly left.”
“And I might run into them now!”
“Gosh, Raquelle, calm down…” Natalia moans tiredly. “Do you really think all of your fans would come together in that café and agree about starting to shower you with mud?”
“Maybe, they will!”
“Stop! Even if someone is there, they won’t probably even wish to talk to you. Or they will be so busy that they won’t pay any attention to you.”
“I don’t want to hear I’m guilty of being star-struck, pretending, treating people around me disgustingly, and having terrible behavior. I do feel too bad after what I have to survive, and that case might break me down at all.”
“You’ve got nothing to be worried about, Raquelle.” Natalia puts her hand on Raquelle’s shoulder. “I will always be next to you. And I will not let anyone hurt you or even touch you with a finger. I will quickly show anyone where their place is and make them leave you alone.”
“No, Natalia,” Raquelle shakes her head.
“Listen, if you’re really afraid of being recognized, we’ll think up something, so nobody can recognize you. I don’t know… Well… We can find a wig, big glasses, or something else…”
“They’d recognize me anyway.”
“Moreover, I’m gonna drive on an empty road where only fewer people drive. Paparazzi surely have nothing to do there, ‘cause they wouldn’t meet celebrities there.”
“Well, I dunno…”
“Don't hide from everyone, Raquelle.” Natalia looks at Raquelle with a greater pity in her eyes, holding her hands. “You can’t hide from everyone forever and spend your life here. You’d have to show yourself in public early or late to recover your clean and kind name and make everyone sure you were slandered. When you’re ready, you’ll have to do your best to deny these stupid rumors, shut Terrence up, and tell the editor-in-chief of the unknown magazine to apologize.”
“I don’t know, friend,” Raquelle pronounces, looking down, and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear with a quiet sigh. “You do know I might be photographed by paparazzi. They might be waiting for me all day and all night to take photos of me and ask a couple of provocative questions. I could give no attention to them and just smile cutely and wave my hand, but now I’ll hardly do it. Because I got involved in a terrible scandal.”
“Don’t be afraid, sweetie. When I was coming here, there was nobody near this building. You can quietly go anywhere, and nobody will see you.”
“No…”
“C’mon, Raquelle!” Natalia insists confidently. “Don’t become a recluse.”
“I have no wish.”
“Don’t worry, if I’m with you, your grandfather will let you go with pleasure. He’s gonna be happy if you go somewhere.”
“I’m scared.”
“You’ve got nothing to be afraid of with me. If Mr. Cameron lets you go, I promise I will not leave you alone and shut up anyone, who wishes to say just something.”
“Really?” Raquelle pronounces with mistrust.
“Don’t ya know me? May at least someone dare to come to you! I will do something that someone is gonna be afraid of standing in my way.”
Raquelle says nothing and laughs shyly. And after thinking a little, the girl decides to trust Natalia and agrees to accept her suggestion.
“Okay, okay,” Raquelle pronounces without emotions. “I will go.”
“Go?” Natalia smiles slightly.
“If you’re with me, I trust you. And I believe you will help me get off those, who will wish to break me down.”
“That’s great!” Natalia claps her hands with a wide smile. “Finally, you agreed to leave home!”
“I'm doing that just for you. Because you wouldn’t get off me until you got what you wanted.”
“I will be the one now. Because my main goal is getting you outta the hole you got into.”
“Okay, okay, do what you want.”
“And yeah…”
Natalia, frowning slightly, starts looking at what Raquelle is wearing.
“I think you need to change your clothes,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “You wouldn’t go outside wearing a robe and slippers and having wet hair.”
“It’s right…” Raquelle smiles shyly, fixing a towel on her head slightly.
“Then go to your room, dry your hair, brush it, do makeup, and put on clothes. I am waiting for you here.”
“I think I will find a way to conspire, so I can reduce the risk of being recognized.”
“So, how are you gonna do this?”
“I have a couple of wigs I could put on.”
“Okay, do what you want. But don’t refuse to spend time with me and Anna.”
“I won’t. Because I know you’ll protect me.”
“I know you don’t like bodyguards, but today, I am gonna be the one.”
“I would always be happy to have such an amazing bodyguard like you.”
Natalia says nothing and just laughs quietly, while Raquelle just smiles shyly. And some time later, Frederick returns to the living room, who heard a part of the girls’ talk when going by the living room from the kitchen to his room.
“Girls!” Frederick pronounces cheerfully. “I was going by here and heard you agreeing to go somewhere.”
“Yes, I wanted to meet Anna and invited Raquelle to join us,” Natalia replies thoughtfully.
“Anna?” Frederick frowns slightly. “Who is Anna?”
“Don’t you remember her?”
“Nope…”
“She was going to the same school, to which Raquelle and I went. But she was two years younger. A petite red-haired girl… Anna… Anna Seymour.”
“Anna Seymour…” Frederick thinks for two seconds and smiles slightly. “Ah, yes, yes! I remember that girl! I remember. Anna… Yes…”
Frederick says nothing for two seconds.
“Oh, what a cute girl she was at that time!” Frederick pronounces with admiration. “Just a beauty!”
“She hasn’t changed since that time,” Natalia says with a wide smile. “She still has the same red hair and a little baby face.”
“I remember, I remember. She really had a very beautiful face. Baby…”
“It’s still impossible to say she is much older than she looks.”
“Yeah, Natalia…” Frederick thinks for two seconds. “How long have you spoken to her?”
“For about one year,” Natalia shrugs. “We recently started to text each other on the Internet and meet at times.”
“That’s how…”
“And today in the morning, Anna texted me and suggested that we meet and spend time together. And she also asked me to ask Raquelle if she wanted to join us.”
“Alright.”
“That girl is missing your granddaughter so badly and wants to meet her. Yes, the last time they met happened at school times, but Anna still remembers her.”
“So, as Anna wants to meet, Raquelle can go with you, as well.”
“Don’t you really mind me taking Raquelle with me?”
“Come on, Natalia, of course, no!” Frederick exclaims happily with a wide smile. “I would be happy if Raquelle went out somewhere. She barely talked to someone because she was too busy. So, she can go somewhere.”
“It’s alright, we will fix it.”
“I don’t know how you made her sure to go out, but I’m madly happy you did it.”
“You do know me, Mr. Cameron. If I want something, I will not get off a person until I get what I want. So, I did not leave Raquelle alone until she agreed.”
“That’s good you insisted. May my granddaughter walk somewhere at least for two hours, and distract herself a little. It would be good for her.”
“That’s great!” Natalia turns on Raquelle. “Hey, friend, why are you sitting? Go to get ready! Clean yourself up!”
“I’m coming, coming,” Raquelle sighs tiredly.
“Don’t forget to get dressed, so that nobody can recognize you. And get your disheveled hair done. It now looks like a big hay cook.”
“Okay,” Raquelle laughs shyly. “I’ll try to come back as soon as possible.”
“I’m waiting for you in two minutes. You should stand in front of me, being dressed up, brushed, and with makeup on your face.”
Raquelle gets up from the sofa and quietly goes to her room to change her clothes and get her hair done. Frederick watches her until she hides and is happy that his granddaughter looks much funnier than she did in the morning.
“Gosh, it’s so good to see a smile on her face!” Frederick exclaims with a wide smile. “It’s nice to see she got much funnier.”
“Maybe, she won’t accept what happened, but it’s possible to make her less worried and make sure that it’s not the most important thing in life,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “And I will do the possible and impossible for that.”
“I count on you.”
“I promise I will not betray.”
“Don’t let anyone hurt her, Natalia,” Frederick says softly, caressing Natalia’s shoulder. “Raquelle would get worse if someone annoyed her with questions about this situation.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Cameron,” Natalia smiles shyly. “I promise Raquelle will be okay. I won’t leave her not for a second, and I will protect her if someone dares at least open their mouth to say something bad about her.”
“Thanks, Natalia. I knew I could always count on you.”
Frederick and Natalia silently share a slight smile. The girl is definitely determined to do her best to make Raquelle believe in her, brace herself and stop acting like she does not care about what would happen to her and no longer wants to do anything or reach any goal. And somewhere at the bottom of her heart, she is sure she can do this.
***
Some time later, Raquelle and Natalia get in the blonde’s car and go to the meeting with Anna. For this meeting with her friend, the brunette put on clothes she bought literally one month ago and did not wear yet: new skinny dark blue jeans, a long-sleeve shirt with black and white stripes, and black shoes without heels and platform. And not to get recognized by the hair, the girl found a wig of long blonde hair with a straight fringe. The road, which is lighted up with streetlamps on every single step, and on which the friends are going to the right place, is absolutely free today. Luckily, Raquelle does not see anyone from the paparazzi staff, her familiar people, or her friends. Nobody from those, who believed the lie of Terrence MacClife, thinks she is an arrogant egoist and tells reporters, journalists, or hosts of channels about how much they are disappointed in this person, who they never want to work with.
Raquelle and Natalia come to the café they need in a good mood without bad adventures, having a nice talk about something on the way. After finding a free place in a parking lot near the café and leaving the car, the friends leave it and take their purses, and the blonde locks it with a key. After this, the girls, still talking about something, enter the café and look around quickly. Later, they see the only visitor at this place. A young, short girl, who has red, middle-length hair that falls off her frigid shoulders like light waves, bright green eyes, and a cute baby face, which is the reason why she looks a little younger than she actually is. She is sitting at one of the tables and thinking of something, sometimes glancing at different sides and listening to very good and nice music playing here.
At some moment, the red-haired girl notices Natalia, gets up from the table, and comes to her to welcome her.
“Anna!” Natalia pronounces happily.
“Natalia!” Anna smiles widely.
Natalia and Anna take each other in a tight hug with happy whoops and share an amicable kiss on the cheek.
“I missed you so much!” Anna confesses.
“Me too!” Natalia exclaims.
A few seconds later, Natalia and Anna step away from each other.
“Listen…” Anna pronounces thoughtfully with a slight smile, looking at Natalia’s jeans with diamonds and her dark green jacket. “Good look! You look great.”
“Thanks, friend,” Natalia smiles shyly. “In case you wonder, these jeans are new.”
“New?”
“Yup. I couldn't pass by this beauty and bought them after I tried them on. I was madly lucky that I took the last pair of my size. The others were very large.”
“Amazing, I really love it. I would be happy to buy the same.”
“Maybe, there will be your size, and you’ll buy them later.”
“It would be great.”
Natalia says nothing and just smiles shyly.
“Hey, who did you come with?” Anna asks, glancing at Raquelle, who is standing next to Natalia and looking around with anxiety in her soul, silently praying about getting noticed by nobody, who could recognize her as the model that was cruelly slandered.
“Don’t you recognize?” Natalia smiles mysteriously.
“Nope…”
“It’s Raquelle!”
“Raquelle? Come on?”
“After persuading her for a long time, she kindly agreed to join our party.”
Raquelle moves her eyes to Anna and waves her hand at her shyly with a slight smile on her face.
“Oh, my gosh…” Anna slightly opens her mouth, looking at Raquelle, who is much taller than her, from head to feet. “Raquelle? Raquelle, is that really you?”
“It’s me,” Raquelle nods confidently.
“I can’t believe it! It’s you!”
“I know it’s been many years since we met the last time. But I’m still the same Raquelle Cameron you knew at school years.”
“Oh, gosh, Raquelle…”
Anna and Raquelle take each other in a tight hug with a wide smile.
“Gosh, I’m so happy to see you!” Raquelle says happily and steps back from Anna.
“How happy I am!” Anna exclaims cheerfully.
“I can’t believe it’s been so many years since we met the last time.”
“Listen, you changed for the better!” Anna looks at Raquelle from head to feet again. “You became a beauty.”
“Yeah, I learned to do makeup and some hairstyles, except pigtails,” Raquelle says funnily.
“I can see.”
“And you became much more beautiful.” Raquelle looks at Anna with a slight smile. “You’re the same beauty you were many years ago.”
“Your new hair color fits you so well,” Anna notices.
“Really?”
“Did you decide to dye your hair blonde after looking at Natalia?”
“Erm… No, no, I didn’t dye it blonde.”
“But you’ve got blonde hair now.”
“This is a wig. My hair is currently black.”
“Black?”
“Yes, but my manager advised me to dye my hair when I started my career as a model. In her opinion, I looked like a mouse with light brown hair, and a dark color would make me more fabulous.”
“That’s how!” Anna smiles shyly. “But you know, if you dyed your hair blonde, you would be much more fabulous…”
“Maybe, someday I’ll do it, but now I feel comfortable with dark hair.”
“But if you feel good with black hair, why did you put on a wig? Are you afraid to make your hair worse and used a safer way for temporary changes?”
“Sometimes I really want some changes…” Raquelle moves a little strand of hair off her eyes. “And wigs are a wonderful thing, thanks to which you can try on any look and not regret you did it.”
“Right,” Anna nods.
“But actually, I put the wig on for a different reason. It’s a… Long story…”
“Okay… But think of being a blonde for some time, ‘cause you look incredible. You’re just a beauty.”
“Thanks a lot, Anna.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, after which Natalia looks around and moves her eyes to her friends.
“Oh, why are we standing?” Natalia wakes up. “Let’s sit down! Sit a little, talk, and then buy something delicious.”
“Yes, yes, let’s go, girls!” Anna agrees cheerfully.
Natalia, Anna, and Raquelle sit at the table, and the girls, who just came here, take off their jackets and coats they are wearing and carefully place them on the back of their chairs as well as their purses.
“Hey, how long have you been here?” Natalia asks.
“Not very long, for about five or ten minutes,” Anna replies thoughtfully.
“I see we’re the only visitors at the café.”
“Yeah, today, there’s nobody here.”
“That’s better,” Raquelle says quietly. “We’d at least talk quietly.”
“That’s right. I personally wanna know what happened to you during the time while we didn’t meet each other.”
“What do I tell? After graduating from school, I went to the university in the faculty of English literature. I studied there for one year and had to leave it for a modeling career. Somehow, I met a woman, who offered me a shoot for one magazine. At first, I refused, but then I agreed. And after that, I didn’t want to do anything else.”
“But you didn’t wanna be a model.”
“Yeah, but when I saw photos of mine, I fell in love with them and decided to keep working. I realized the modeling business wasn’t as terrible as my grandfather Frederick told me.”
“He’s against your job?”
“He does. And he always reminds me of that. He’s sorry that I dropped the university and is now working in the sphere that he hates to death.”
“That’s how…”
“By the way, I didn't know you decided to move to New York, as well.”
“My family wanted it. And I decided to go to the university in this city. So, a decision to move here was clear.”
“Great! So, we’re gonna meet more often.”
“And now nobody will ban Natalia and me from communicating with you and turn us against you.”
“Right…”
“Sorry about you and me stopping talking after you started to study at home. Talking to you was always interesting.”
“Were you so upset?”
“Of course, I was! And when Natalia did the same, I felt much more lonely.”
“Why?”
“It wasn’t interesting for me to talk to my schoolmates. Yes, I never had conflicts with them and quietly talked to them when I needed them and did not. But I actually felt bored with them. Girls talked about all the same, and boys laughed at any stupid joke.”
“I should’ve done that,” Raquelle says a little gloomily. “My life would’ve been hell if I hadn’t begun studying at home. All those people annoyed me so much that I couldn’t take all of that and started begging my teachers to let me study at home. Exams were so close, and I couldn’t think of them because Ashley and her team started to bully me when I was two miles away from them.”
“I understand,” Anna nods with sadness in her eyes. “And the worst thing is that you couldn’t end it all.”
“Right… In Kingston, there were a few schools. But ours was the only one that was located very close. I would’ve had to spend at least two or three hours to go to others.”
“I mean the same.”
“So, I had to bite the bullet and take it.”
“But the memories of Kingston stayed in the past because we all moved to New York.”
“I really love this city.”
“Me too. It’s very cool to be here. There are much more ways to have fun here than in our small city, where there are no good shops.”
“I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I heard many things changed there for the better,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “They built many interesting places in Kingston. They say it’s very good to be there now.”
“Maybe. But it doesn’t make sense now because I ain’t gonna come back there.”
“Sometimes I go to Kingston because of my parents,” Raquelle confesses. “To go to the cemetery and stand there for a while. And when I get sick, I leave that place.”
“I haven’t been there since I moved here. And I don’t want to go, honestly. I’m used to living here and think this place is my home.”
“Honestly, I’m also very glad my parents decided to move here, as well,” Natalia confesses thoughtfully with a slight smile. “They didn’t want to stay in our mother city ‘cause they planned to work on their business. But doing something like that in Kingston was impossible. It was all based here, in New York. And going from one city to another is quite exhausting but takes a little time.”
“As I said, my family ended up here because of my dream to study at a New York University and my parents’ job. So, my parents and I had to move to New York. However, my mother and father were planning to move here because they had a business with important partners here.”
“Ah, I would’ve stayed living in my small city and dreamed of a beautiful life if I hadn’t gotten a chance to become a model,” Raquelle says with sadness in her voice. “Grandpa and I were not very rich and never could let ourselves buy something. We never had free money – every single cent was spent on necessary things.”
“My parents and I didn’t also always live so well,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “Somehow, they had some business, but it didn’t give them much money – only damages.”
“You said…”
“But having no experience played its role in that case. My parents didn’t know much and couldn’t control a business. That’s why they had to say farewell to it and work for a little money for some time.” Natalia shrugs. “But some time later, Mom and Dad found the courage to start a new business by uniting with their much more experienced familiars. And remembering all the mistakes they made in the past and the knowledge they got from those people, they finally got excellent results. And became very famous in some circles as a fashion lawyer and a fashion journalist.”
“But your parents never economized on you and indulged you,” Anna notices with a slight smile.
“In their opinion, a child must get the best. So, that’s why they never refused me and sometimes bought something for nothing or some merits. Even if they had to pay the last money. And they don’t limit me now and do regularly translate great money on my bank card.”
“Sometimes my grandpa could also give me the last money, so I could indulge myself,” Raquelle confesses shyly. “But the only thing I could buy for what I was getting was tastier and better food.”
“It was hard then, but now we can let ourselves buy anything,” Anna notices cheerfully. “Of course, my parents aren’t so generous and don’t give me one thousand dollars per month, but it’s enough for me to have fun and buy something. I could always buy a couple of dresses.”
“Yeah, but after what happened some time ago, I’m not quite sure if I can keep living the same wonderful life.”
“Raquelle…” Anna pronounces a little hesitantly.
“Do you know what happened?”
“Yes, I know you were slandered for no reason. I am so sorry…”
“Anna!” Natalia pronounces quietly, slapping Anna slightly on the hand. “Shut up!”
“It’s okay, Natalia,” Raquelle replies quietly and moves her eyes to her hands placed on the table. “No matter what, I can’t avoid this type of talk.”
“I’m very sorry it all happened,” Anna says softly. “And you should not forget that I will not believe all that bullshit.”
“Thanks a lot. Yes… The scandal might put an end to my career. But maybe, everything will be solved later.”
“You think?”
“I’m not quite sure, but I wanna believe people will calm down soon and understand it’s all a lie.”
“And what are you gonna do?”
“Natalia advised me to wait for a while until everyone calms down. And after thinking a little, I decided it was the only decision at the moment.”
“Well, you’re so calm now,” Natalia crosses her arms over her chest. “But when you just read news on the Internet, you were literally choking with tears.”
“Listen, who actually spread these rumors?” Anna wonders. “Who needed it?”
“There is one scumbag…” Raquelle throws gloomily.
“Did Natalia tell the truth about an actor, who you worked with at a photoshoot somehow, and could do that?”
“Yes.”
“Who is that actor? Do I know him?”
“The selfish donkey named Terrence MacClife.”
“What?” Anna rounds her eyes. “Terrence MacClife? Come on!”
“He spread these rumors about me. He wanted to do his best to destroy my career.”
“What a twist! So, did you meet Mason from ‘American Love Affair’ himself? That hot, handsome guy that all the girls around the world had a crush on?”
“I don’t know where he acted and have never seen that movie.”
“Come on, Cameron!” Anna wonders. “Terrence MacClife was very famous in the 00s!”
“You say it, too?”
“He had been famous when you just started your modeling career. He was very popular.”
“It’s probably the only role, which he can be proud of. And he can’t take the fact that he would never be more famous.”
“Listen, why did you fight with him? What couldn’t you actually share?”
“Well…” Raquelle folds her hands on the table. “First, he is a selfish penguin that’s used to being admired by everyone, and the fact that no girl dared to reject him and say she did not know him. Second, MacClife is a non-educated and rude man, who was not taught to treat girls well. And third, that scumbag dared to place his hands on my body and accost me.”
“Wow!” Anna slightly opens her mouth.
“And they also kissed!” Natalia adds.
“What? Kissed?”
“Yes, yes, you heard it right!”
“You’re kidding me!”
“Not at all!”
“I can’t believe it.”
“But it’s the truth, Seymour,” Natalia replies funnily. “Our girl experienced her first kiss ever. She was kissed by the man for the first time.”
“Hey, you should’ve started with it!”
“I did not want it!” Raquelle protests, raising her hands up. “He did it by force!”
“Gosh, friend, I can’t believe you’re talking about it so quietly! As if you did not have the first kiss. With a man like him.”
“Why do I care about it?”
“Because you were kissed by Terrence MacClife himself!”
“And what? Who is Terrence MacClife? Who is he? Why should I literally shake for him?”
“No, friend, you’re really crazy if you take it so quietly.”
“I do hate him for that! I got stronger hate after I read the article and one of many anonymous letters he sent me.”
“Erm… Yeah, Natalia told me about those letters…”
“After that idiot kissed me, and I slapped him in the face and left, MacClife shouted that he would make me regret it and do his best to ruin my career.”
“Do you really think it was Terrence?”
“There is nobody else!” Raquelle exclaims.
“No, Raquelle, stop! I don’t think it was him.”
“I dunno…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t protect that man so hard. At first, I also thought he didn’t have to do with that. But now I am not so sure about it.”
“But why does he need it?”
“He wanted to take revenge me for being hurt,” Raquelle throws gloomily.
“To get famous thanks to Raquelle’s name,” Natalia adds. “With the hope that he will get noticed and get his long-awaited starring role.”
“Exactly!”
“So, isn’t Terrence an angel that he always wanted to seem?” Anna frowns slightly. “So, is he pretending to be sweet and puffy?”
“He is a narcissus, Anna. The real narcissus, who loves himself. Who can’t stand moments when anyone doesn’t notice him, doesn’t give him compliments, and doesn’t praise him to the sky. MacClife doesn’t definitely notice his weaknesses and does think he is the most irresistible and gorgeous man.”
“Oh, my gosh…” Anna shakes her head with a quiet sigh. “I don’t wanna believe my literal idol could be like this. But on the contrary, you would hardly lie and slander someone.”
“I’m telling the truth,” Raquelle replies confidently. “And I’m more than sure the one to be guilty of all my problems is Terrence MacClife.”
“And can you prove it?”
“I can only print all the letters he sent me at my email.”
“It’s hardly a good idea.”
“What about his words about destroying my career and making me regret it? Couldn’t they be real proofs of the fact that I am not wrong?”
“Anyway, do not blame anyone without proof. Yes, Terrence might be a suspect, but actually, anyone could be the one to blame. Anyone you worked with and are still working with at present.”
“I’ve got a wonderful relationship with everybody. I did not fight with anyone except MacClife.”
“You know, your enemy might be hidden under the mask of a friend,” Natalia notices thoughtfully.
“Grandfather said something like this.”
“That’s why you shouldn't blame MacClife so confidently,” Anna says confidently.
“Sorry about having no contacts with that scumbag or his manager. I would tell him everything. I would make him apologize for what he did.”
“Be careful, friend. I heard Terrence is a very powerful man in the show business. One word from him might ruin the career of any person or help someone get famous.”
“He does just scare! Wants to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes. To make people afraid of him.”
“I am serious, Raquelle. Don’t provoke him.”
“I’m not afraid of that idiot, Anna. If he doesn’t stop in the nearest time, I swear MacClife will pay much for that.”
“By spreading false rumors about him, you will make it worse for you.”
“Not now, surely.” Raquelle leans back in the chair and thinks about something for two seconds. “A little later. When people calm down a little. I shall turn the life of that peacock into real hell.”
“Okay, do what you want,” Anna shrugs. “Anyway, I’m very sorry it all happened.”
“Thanks, Anna.”
“Don’t worry, it’s gonna get better.” Anna softly caresses Raquelle’s hands folded in front of her on the table.
“I can’t believe it’s all happening to me,” Raquelle says quietly. “My life was so quiet, but that idiot stood in my way and turned everything upside down.”
“Listen, Raquelle…” Anna pronounces softly. “I completely understand it’s very hard for you now. But you should know you can’t hide from everyone and cry your eyes out forever.”
“You can’t understand me.”
“Why can’t I? I do understand you very well and know what you’re feeling now.”
“My career is about to be ruined, and I’ve already become an egoistic scumbag, who despises everyone, to whom she must be grateful for getting famous.”
“But we do know that’s not the truth.”
“I know, but how do I prove it to people?”
“Don’t think about it now. Now you should focus on yourself. Your health. You would get yourself exhausted if you always thought about it.”
“But I can’t stop thinking! I might lose what means so much to me.”
“Is your career more important to you than your close people?”
“No, of course. I just really love what I’m doing.”
“I know, but there are more important things in your life.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Listen, Raquelle, let’s go somewhere tomorrow? For example, tomorrow! We could go to some shops, go to a hair salon, or go to a cinema.”
“Are you serious?”
“You do need it right now. You should distract and get some fun.”
“No, Anna, I can’t do this,” Raquelle shakes her head.
“Don’t you wanna have a shopping therapy and buy a couple of new shirts or a pair of gorgeous shoes?”
“Now, I won't rather show myself in the public.”
“And what now? Are you gonna hide forever?”
“Yes, I will hide for a while. Then we will see it.”
“Stop, Cameron, why are you so afraid?”
“Judging. The scandal might impact my perfect reputation. Even if everybody forgets it, someday someone will probably like to remind me of this case and call me an arrogant bitch that thinks only of herself.”
“Gosh, Raquelle, don’t panic like this,” Anna sighs quietly. “If everything’s really so serious, we’ll think up something. We will get you dressed so that nobody knows it’s you.”
“I’m not sure that anyone wouldn’t recognize me now, while I’m wearing this wig.”
“Well, I didn’t personally recognize you at first.”
“Do you know my fans might be real detectives? They examine me literally with a magnifier in their hands to find something to make it a reason to discuss me.”
“And what? They can do this!”
“You don’t understand me, Anna…”
“Gosh, you’re not a celebrity that everyone knows. Not all people know you. Someone would actually go by you and think you’re a common person. Or someone actually dislikes it, just like Mr. Cameron.”
“I’m telling her the same!” Natalia exclaims. “Many of them one hundred percent have never heard Raquelle’s name. And someone doesn’t follow the lives of models, actors, singers and other famous people. But our friend made herself think that when she went outside, a big crowd of people would point at her and tell her bad things.”
“I would see what you two would do if the whole world was against you,” Raquelle says confidently.
“Alright, Cameron, stop dreaming up!”
“It’s not a stupid thing!”
“Alright, if you’re worried someone might recognize you, we will dress you up so that nobody guesses who’s hidden under a mask.”
“Don’t think up anything,” Raquelle says quietly, hesitantly. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“But, Raquelle…”
“It’s too risky now. I don’t want to make people much angrier. I didn’t even wanna go anywhere. I did it just because Natalia would keep insisting on it anyway.”
“Are ya gonna keep sitting home and suffering?” Natalia wonders. “Suffering, while a scumbag is mocking you and telling everyone a lie?”
“Yes, Natalia. Now I better don’t show myself in public. Following your advice, I’ll wait for some time and then will think up something and try to find the courage to solve the problem.”
“Yeah… If you actually wanna think up something…”
“At least, I’m gonna have a chance to spend time with Grandpa Frederick,” Raquelle smiles slightly. “Because we rarely see each other due to my work. And now, thanks to my unplanned break, I can give him a little bit more attention.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Anna looks at Natalia.
“Well, as you wish,” Anna shrugs. “Do what you find right.”
“The important thing is that it doesn’t make everything worse,” Natalia adds.
“Furthermore, I can give more attention to my grandfather and spend enough time with you two.”
“But you wanna go nowhere.”
“However, I’d always be happy to see you at my home.”
“It goes without saying, we will often visit you at home,” Natalia says confidently. “Did you think we’d leave you?”
“Exactly!” Anna exclaims. “We will save you from boredom and do everything to make you have fun.”
“Mr. Cameron got a promise of mine. But I can't betray him.”
“Aw, girls…” Raquelle shakes her head with a slight smile. “What I would do without you…”
“Okay, stop talking about bad things! Let’s talk about something else.”
“Well, as you and I met you for the first time in a few years, I will be happy to know how you’re doing and what you’re planning to do after you graduate from the university.”
“I’ll tell you everything I can with pleasure.”
“I’m interested in everything!”
“Okay.”
“Oh, listen, girls, let’s order sweet water or another drink?” Anna suggests. “And then we will sit here and quietly talk about everything that has changed since those times.”
“This time, I’m gonna eat a lot of sweet food,” Raquelle says confidently. “Chocolate and baking.”
“Yes, yes, I wanna please myself, as well,” Anna confesses shyly. “Gonna get energy for studying at the university, which makes me feel like someone sucked everything outta me.”
“And I’m on a diet,” Natalia says with her head proudly raised. “So, I’m gonna choose something light and quietly envy you.”
“C’mon, Rochester, what kind of diet!”
“The diet! By the way, I gained weight while traveling around Italy for one month and eating Italian dishes.”
“C’mon!” Raquelle waves her hand. “Can’t you let yourself relax a little and eat something tasty, at least tonight?”
“And then I’m gonna have to pay for that by working out at a gym class.”
“It’s not gonna be hard for you,” Anna says confidently. “You’re our lover of doing sports.”
“Ar-r-r, why did you the fuck suggest we go to the café?” Natalia throws gloomily. “Couldn’t you choose a different place?”
“Don’t be bad, Blondie,” Raquelle laughs shyly.
“I will never lose weight if I always go to someone’s home and cafés and eat something tasty.”
“C’mon, friend, stop thinking of your weight,” Anna jabs funnily. “You’re slender and beautiful, but you’re gonna lose much more weight!”
“Let’s go, girls!” Raquelle makes a calling gesture. “Let’s see what there’s here.”
First, Raquelle and Anna get up from the table, and then Natalia quietly growls with rolled eyes and follows her friends. The three go to the showcase, behind which a seller is standing, and examine all the items, among which they see many drinks, chocolate bars, gums, etc. The girls quickly choose something sweet, pay for their purchases, and sit at the table again.
The friends get much busier with a talk and talk about very much that has to do with their school years and the changes that happened in their lives after they graduated from school. Of course, a little later, Raquelle mentions Terrence again and the way he slandered her, but Anna and Natalia quickly close this topic and find something to make their friend interested. They actually try not to hurt her and do their best to make her have fun and not to let her go crazy from worrying too much.
***
As she planned, Raquelle stayed home the next morning. She is now sitting in her room and reading a book. The girl feels a little better, even if the current situation makes her upset. And the fact that she does not know how to solve this problem makes her much more anxious.
Raquelle loves lying on her soft, comfortable bed or sitting on a sofa with a cup of strong coffee and a favorite book in her hands. Reading has always helped her relax and have some rest, for example, after a long day at the hard shootings of a commercial or an interview. The girl also loves reading in between breaks of shootings when people prepare something, and uses every moment to focus on what’s written on the pages of one or another book.
Raquelle got the love for books thanks to Frederick, who also loves spending time reading books from the world classic. The man believes loving books is very important and does not stop reminding the girl about it, who has loved reading something since childhood. He did not even have to make her develop a love for reading by force because she took something to read and chose the next one some time later.
Her friends, Natalia and Anna, promised to visit Raquelle at times as often as possible so she does not stay alone and does not start to suffer and worry. Yesterday, they had an amazing time together, after which the girl really got much better. She talked to her friends and got the support of her close people, whom she loves so much. And now she does not regret trusting them and letting the girls help her, maybe not, accept the shame, but at least take it quietly, even if someone wants to insult and humiliate her.
At some moment, while Raquelle is carefully reading every single line in a book that is pretty small, someone quietly knocks at the door, and then Frederick shows up on the doorstep. The girl moves her eyes to the man and quickly puts her book on the table next to her bed, marking the page with a bookmark.
“Hi, Raquelle,” Frederick pronounces with a slight smile.
“Oh, hi, Grandpa,” Raquelle smiles shyly and tucks a strand of hanging hair, which is gathered on the top of her head in a very beautiful way, behind her ear. “Are you back from a shop?”
“Yeah, I’m just back. I bought a lot of tasty food right for you.”
“Okay. I will check later.”
“How are you, sunshine?” Frederick closes the door and comes closer to Raquelle. “You feel better?”
“Yeah, a little bit,” Raquelle nods confidently.
“Are you sure?”
“Your support and care really help me.”
“Thank God!”
“But I can’t say the current situation still gets me upset.”
“Don’t worry, sunshine, early or late, everything will get better,” Frederick says confidently.
“I’d like to believe you.”
“Don’t look for a solution right now because you can do nothing.”
“Yeah, I know… I’m not trying to do anything.”
“Better don’t think about it. Don’t make yourself worry. Think of something good.”
“I think you’re right… Probably, I really should think about it less. Or I might go crazy.”
“That’s right! Any problem can be solved. You just sometimes need time to find a solution.”
“I don’t know how I’m gonna solve it all.”
“Don’t think about it, Raquelle. Now it’s not time.”
“Right… Not time.”
“Better spend a lot of time with your friends.” Frederick softly caresses Raquelle’s shoulder. “You spent such a great time with them yesterday. They managed to calm you down and make you sure to take the situation quietly.”
“Yeah, I definitely need to spend more time with my friends and not to ignore them,” Raquelle shrugs. “The girls made me distract a little from these stupid thoughts.”
“Did yesterday's meeting with them help you?”
“Yup, I felt much better. The girls and I spent a wonderful time together.”
“So, wonderful,” Frederick pronounces with a slight smile. “I’m very glad they made you a little funnier.”
“They promised to visit me often while I’m staying home.”
“I don’t mind. Vice versa, I will be happy to meet the girls.”
“Maybe, I will persuade them to stay with us for dinner.”
“Would be great.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Frederick glances at the window, and Raquelle just watches him with a shy smile on her face.
“Can I sit on your bed?” Frederick asks softly.
“Sure, sit down!” Raquelle pronounces amicably. “Why are you asking?”
With these words, Raquelle quickly sits up and bends her legs under herself. Frederick shyly sits on the edge of the bed and softly caresses the girl’s hand.
“Actually, I came to you to tell you something…” Frederick says thoughtfully.
“Something bad?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
“No, no, not bad.”
“What happened then?”
“The case is…” Frederick glances at the window because he pays attention to a sound from the street. “While I was walking at the shop, I got a call from your aunt Alicia.”
“Auntie Alicia?” Raquelle asks.
“Yes, I talked to her a little and found out how we were doing.”
“Does she know what happened?”
“She does. I told her everything. Even if she knows something from newspapers, magazines, and news issues. She didn’t know about the anonymous letters, but I explained everything to her.”
“Okay…”
“Your auntie is missing you very much. And she’s sorry she doesn’t have an opportunity to visit you.”
“I’m missing her, too…” Raquelle smiles slightly, while her eyes have some special gloss. “And I recently thought of her. I asked her how she was doing there. And why she hasn’t called us for so long.”
“Alicia said she was very busy. And she had many things to do at work.”
“But it would be great if she came to visit us at least for a week. Aunt Alicia hasn’t been in the USA for ages.”
“Yeah, but since she doesn’t come to you, you can come to her.”
“What?”
“She and I talked a little and decided that you should hide from everyone. Wait for people to calm down.”
“What do you want to say?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“Alicia wants to invite you to visit her at home.”
“Really?”
“She is suggesting you live at her home at least for two weeks. Or maybe, even stay with her for Christmas. And come back here after the holidays.”
“It would be great…” Raquelle smiles slightly. “I must confess that I recently thought of going to England to visit her. I wanted to go to visit my aunt for the Christmas holidays.”
“Then go to London,” Frederick suggests amicably. “Alicia is also missing you and wants to ask you about a lot. Wants to know how you’ve grown up and changed. It’s been many years since you saw her the last time.”
“I know.”
“Your aunt wanted to invite you to visit her a long time ago, but you had so much work that you couldn’t go there.”
“Yeah…”
“So what? What do you think of your aunt’s suggestion?”
“Oh, honestly, I don’t know, Grandfather…” Raquelle says hesitantly, sighing quietly. “I might be recognized by someone from the airport staff. And if someone tells the media everything, everybody will know I ran away…”
“And what? Let them know!”
“It’s gonna be hard for me to stay unnoticed.”
“Anyway, I think Alicia suggested that at the very right time. You should change the location, at least for a while. I think a trip to Great Britain, the motherland of your late mother, would be good for you.” Frederick cracks a slight smile. “Moreover, you’ve always loved traveling to London and spending time with your aunt Alicia when you were a baby.”
“Right…” Raquelle nods. “I feel incredible there. Great Britain is my second home.”
“Besides, there is a lower chance to meet paparazzi in London than here, in New York, or somewhere in Los Angeles or California. There are so many of them, and it’s easier to run into them in our country. But you can exhale there because you would not be chased by crowds of people with cameras.”
“Yeah, but what about common people?” Raquelle throws her hands up. “What do I do if someone notices me there and starts showering with mud?”
“You shouldn’t let unfamiliar people tell you what to do,” Frederick replies confidently. “Even if you meet someone, keep calm or just ignore any questions and insults and keep going on.”
“I would hardly do.”
“Don’t think about it. I’m sure nobody would pay attention to you because people have other things to do, or they don't actually know who you are. In London, nobody will surely care about you.”
“You think?”
Frederick nods confidently with a slight smile on his face, and Raquelle bites her lip slightly and thinks for two seconds.
“You know what, Grandpa?” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully.
“What?” Frederick frowns slightly.
“I agree!”
“Agree to go to London?”
“Yes,” Raquelle smiles slightly. “I will go to my Auntie with pleasure and spend at least some time with her. And later, I will think… Maybe, I will really stay with her ‘till Christmas and celebrate it with her.”
“Are you sure about it?”
“I’m sure,” Raquelle nods confidently. “I think I will live there until people calm down. And then I will think of what to do. Or Aunt Alicia will tell me what to do. She is a wise woman. She always knows what to do.”
“So, are you going to London?” Frederick specifies.
“Yes, Grandpa. I am going. Tell Aunt that I will fly to London at the nearest time.”
“Great!” Frederick exclaims with a wide smile. “I’m very glad you decided to visit your aunt in London, at least for a couple of weeks.”
“Since I have some free time, I should use it.”
“Okay. I shall call your aunt right now and tell her you’ve accepted her suggestion.”
“Tell her I wanna fly away to London tonight,” Raquelle replies confidently. “If it’s possible, of course.”
“Tonight?” Frederick rounds his eyes.
“Yes, tonight.”
“But, Raquelle, why do you rush? You can fly away on any other day! You’ll quietly take your things, reserve a ticket, take it and fly away at the right time in an airplane.”
“No, Grandpa, I don’t wanna wait. I want to change my current location as soon as possible and live in a different place. Where I could really have a rest from being chased by the paparazzi. If I’m lucky, I will not run into angry fans.”
“So, alright,” Frederick shrugs. “I got it. If you want to do it tonight, it will happen tonight.”
“It would be much better.”
“Alright, In this case, I will go to call your aunt now and tell her your decision. Let her know she’s gonna meet the desired visitor soon.”
“And I will call the agency to reserve a ticket for me,” Raquelle says thoughtfully.
“Okay. I will go to talk to Alicia in my room.”
Frederick gets up from the bed and leaves the room with a slow step. Raquelle watches him with a slight smile until he closes the door after him. After this, the girl confidently comes to the window and looks through it with a slight smile on her face, watching what’s happening outside.
“I can’t wait for tonight,” Raquelle thinks with a slight smile. “I really wanna board the airplane and go to London as soon as possible. My auntie. I would live there like an ordinary person and forget about my problems and problems. This is the best decision I can make. May everyone calm down here, and then I shall think of what to do. Now I need to relax a little and try to get the thoughts about what happened out of my head.”
Raquelle sighs deeply, still watching the window and leaning on the windowsill with both hands.
“It would be so great if the scandal ended as quickly as it started,” Raquelle thinks. “I wish I was back in the USA and kept working as if nothing happened. I wish everything happened.”
Raquelle stands in front of the window for a few seconds, looking at everything she sees outside, trying to focus only on good thoughts and make herself believe everything would get better early or late. But then the girl decides not to waste time and to start to take her things and get ready for tonight's flight to London, the motherland of her late mother, Elizabeth.
“So, it’s time to start taking my stuff,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “The flight leaves tonight – so, I have not very much time. But…”
Raquelle bites her lip slightly and thinks for two seconds.
“But before leaving, I wanna go to one place…” Raquelle adds. “No matter if I’m recognized by people or not. I wanna go to London after I do this.”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“First, I will take all my stuff and then go there,” Raquelle decides. “I will let Grandpa know and go. The way is gonna be long, but I have enough time.”
After hesitating for a while, Raquelle exhales sharply, steps back from the window, and starts looking for her bag, in which she always carries her stuff when she has to travel around the world. The girl does not want to take literally everything and takes only what she really needs. Comfortable clothes for any weather, shoes, some face care, skincare and haircare stuff, something from her cosmetics, some accessories, and favorite jewelry.
Now Raquelle is happy to change her current location, at least for a while, and leave the place where almost everything reminds her of what happened. She understands that if she does not run away now, she will keep torturing herself with suspense and thoughts about what would happen to her and her modeling career, and her perfect reputation. And she would easily go crazy and dream up such terrible things that her hair would stand out.
***
It’s about two or three hours o’clock. Before going to London, Raquelle decides to go to Kingston, her motherland, where there is a cemetery, in which her parents, Elizabeth and Jackson Cameron, are buried, to stand in front of their graves and talk to them a little with the hope that they will hear her. She arrives there for a little more than two hours in her car, thanks to the way, in which she could go there very quickly. And when the girl finally comes to the right place, she goes to the city cemetery. Raquelle does not actually like coming to this place, which many bad memories are associated with. However, the only reason why she sometimes arrives here is for her parents. If not for them, the girl would forget the way to this location forever and never come back here.
After quickly finding a free place, Raquelle parks her car, turns off the motor, slowly leaves the salon, locks it with a key, and goes to the wide entrance with a quiet, slow step, putting her hand in a pocket of her long beige coat that perfectly fits her simple light blue jeans and gray knitted sweater with a high, wide neck that does not let her get frozen at such cold weather. She has dark glasses on her head and a little purse above her shoulder, a belt of which she starts to nervously twirl at times while she, quietly knocking at asphalt, on which snow is lying in some places, with the sole of her winter boots, gets closer to the place that always makes her feel goosebumps on her back. She is holding a couple of little bouquets of yellow and orange flowers that she is going to leave on the graves of every one of her parents.
From here, Raquelle can hear the sounds of bells spreading from a small church placed not far from the cemetery. Anyone can come there and pray a little. Or someone agrees to pray for dead people, just like it happened to Jackson and Elizabeth. On a big field stretching many kilometers and placed in a place surrounded by high, thick trees, many graves of different types are chaotically placed: big and small, gorgeous and modest, and cheap and expensive.
Raquelle slowly goes by every single one of them, reading the names of those, who are buried here, with sadness in her eyes, and understanding there is nobody but her here. At first sight, it’s possible to see which graves are kept under regular control, and which ones have been abandoned for a long time. Old people are buried in one place, young people are buried in another one, and it’s even possible to see graves of children and babies that died for unknown reasons. Looking at all the graves, the girl gets slight goosebumps on her back, feels that her heart stops for a moment, and swallows up nervously when seeing photos of too young people, whose lives, as it seemed, lay in front of them.
And after a little talk at this place that never causes positive emotions and even makes someone fear it to a shake in the body, Raquelle finally comes to two graves she needs and is placed near one another. After hesitating a little, she places a bouquet on every single one and starts looking at them with sadness in her eyes. The girl sees photos of her mother and father at a young age – maybe, a little older than she is now. She also sees little pale signatures on both graves: “Beloved son, caring husband and amazing father” on Jackson’s grave and “Adored daughter, wonderful wife and caring mother” on Elizabeth’s one. There are also full names of the late Camerons spouses, birthdates, and the same death date – February 24th, 1998.
Raquelle was about six when it happened, but she found out about her parents’ death some time later. Just because her family did not want to give the girl pain and tried to get her ready for such a shocking piece of news. Although it’s been many years since that moment, and she can barely remember her parents, the girl has not taken it and sometimes dreams of them being by her side. Just like now, when she has been involved in the scandal provoked by Terrence MacClife, because of whom many people turned their backs on her.
“Mother, Father…” Raquelle pronounces in a quiet, little shaking voice. “How I wish you were by my side… I wish you had helped me… Supported… Because I’m in despair.”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“I have problems…” Raquelle confesses. “I got involved in a scandal against a wish. Terrence MacClife easily turned everybody against me. He began to tell a lie about me. And sadly, everyone believed it. That’s why what I’ve been working on in the past few years might be ruined at once. I may lose my career and become the one everybody mocks. Just like in my school years, when all those people were bullying me.”
Raquelle sniffs quietly.
“When they called me an ugly girl, who would never be happy,” Raquelle adds. “Who would never reach anything. Who would suffer for their whole life…”
Raquelle exhales slowly with closed eyes.
“And…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “Sometimes I think… Their words are coming true. Because I’m suffering. Suffering because of the terrible man. In the way of whom I should not have stood. But I, idiot, did it…”
Raquelle sniffs quietly, slowly squats down, and runs her hand over the graves of Elizabeth and Jackson, not almost stopping looking at their portraits.
“Why?” Raquelle asks herself. “Why did it all happen to me? Why? What did I do to deserve this type of punishment? I’ve never done anything bad to anyone and have always been a decent person who has achieved everything thanks to hard work. Why? Mother? Father? Why isn’t life so fair to me? What’s my mistake? What am I doing wrong?”
Raquelle blinks her eyes several times, during which she gets many little drops of tears slowly rolling over her cheeks.
“I know not everything might be good and smooth in our life…” Raquelle says in a shaking voice. “I can’t hide from this world that may be too cruel. But…”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“I don’t get…” Raquelle pronounces quietly. “God… I… I thought I finally got lucky… But that fateful meeting with MacClife turned everything upside down… Almost deprived me of everything that means so much to me. Much more began to hate me. Everyone thinks I’m bad and egoistic. But that’s not the truth. All the words of that actor are lies. I didn’t do anything from what he said.”
Raquelle tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and shakes her head.
“God, why did I agree to have some business with him?” Raquelle wonders. “Why didn’t anyone hold me down not to let me do what I might pay a high cost for? Why? Why didn’t Grandpa Frederick make me sure to give up on that idea?”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“If I had known what it all would lead to, I would’ve never agreed to do that,” Raquelle adds. “Never. Not for any money. Not for a chance to get much more famous.”
Raquelle shakes her head and makes a quiet sob, sitting on the green grass in front of the graves of her parents with her legs bent under herself.
“What do I do now?” Raquelle asks herself. “How do I get out of this situation? What do I do to not lose everything I have earned for ages? How do I not become someone, who is bullied by everyone? MacClife might say much more false things about me, but everyone could believe him. I’m afraid if he goes too far, I will probably have nobody to support me at such a hard moment: neither family nor friends.”
Raquelle takes her dark glasses off and tightly squeezes them.
“Thank God, I have some people, who don’t believe that man,” Raquelle adds. “But I can’t be sure everything will be solved. I would hardly deny everything he said about me. Whatever I say, nobody will believe me. Besides, Terrence might easily do his best to become a victim of people. To make me an evil girl that has hurt so many people.”
Raquelle moves her eyes to her hands for a second and carefully wipes tears under her eyes.
“And even if I am going to visit Aunt Alicia tonight, it doesn’t mean I could find a solution for the problem,” Raquelle assumes quietly. “I mean, I’m running away from it. I know it’s wrong, but now I don’t know what to do.”
Raquelle sniffs quietly.
“But maybe, Grandpa is right,” Raquelle shrugs. “Maybe… I’ll really better wait for everyone to calm down and understand everything. I will live with Aunt for some time and then think up something. Now I can decide nothing. I’m not able to do…”
Raquelle moves her two second-look to a crow flying high over the cemetery, where there is only her.
“I’d like to know if you think this decision is right,” Raquelle sighs heavily. “If you think I would get off MacClife, get my kind name back and make him pay for what he did.”
Raquelle runs her hand slowly over the graves of her parents.
“Sadly, I can’t hear you,” Raquelle says quietly. “But I’d like to believe you can hear me. And give me a sign that will show me the right way. Tell me what to do to make everything better. I truly hope I could do this with your help.”
Raquelle looks at Elizabeth and Jackson’s portraits much more carefully with pity in her eyes.
“Please, Mom, Dad…” Raquelle pronounces in a begging way. “Help me… Don’t leave me alone at such a hard moment… Maybe, you aren’t with me, but you’re always in my heart. In my mind… Although my memories of you are very unclear, I never forget that I had parents. I never do…”
After falling into silence for a few seconds, Raquelle runs her hand over the graves of her parents and the photos of Jackson and Elizabeth, silently noticing her mother was very similar to her at her current age.
“Many bad memories are associated with this town that still hurt me,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “But I come to Kingston just for you. To stand in front of your grave and talk to you. But even if I could do, I would never come back here…”
Raquelle sighs quietly.
“But you are here…” Raquelle pronounces. “And I will come here. I will surely come here after I’m back from London to the USA. I don’t know how long I would be there… But I will be back… And I’m gonna think of you even when I’m visiting my auntie.”
Raquelle smiles slightly through tears rolling over her cheeks that she wipes at times.
“I hope it will give me something good…” Raquelle expresses hope thoughtfully. “At least, I’m gonna see my aunt Alicia, who I’m madly missing. And who really misses you two. Just like Grandpa Frederick does. You’re probably missing them, too… So, someday, I will surely bring them here. So they talk to you, as well. Remind you that you are not forgotten. And you're still warmly loved by us. The ones that have lacked you even many years later.”
Raquelle sits in front of the graves of her father and mother for a long time and talks to them about what is happening in her life and the lives of her close people, sharing what she is worried about with the hope that these people will hear all of this and help their daughter get a little better. She does not care about the strong, cold wind that is blowing her hair gathered in a ponytail and making open parts of the skin with slight goosebumps.
At some moment, people working at the cemetery go by her but, however, pay no attention to the girl and definitely cannot recognize her as the one, who has been ashamed by the terrible man and quietly go to do their business, while bells at the little church keep making a loud sound that can be heard even at a long distance.
***
It's already nine o'clock in the evening. Raquelle passed through all the checks that should have let her cross the border of the United States of America and delivered her baggage. She already has the paid ticket to London in her hands. It means she is ready to have an unplanned break with her auntie. She needs only to wait for the announcement of getting on the plane and hear that the flight is going to leave. Since all of this was familiar to her, the girl was not excited when getting through all these checks, waiting for her documents to be checked out and out and getting her ticket, and getting permission to get on the plane.
Not to make her bored while waiting for her flight along with other passengers, who are also going to go to another country, Frederick, Anna and Natalia decided to go to the airport along with Raquelle to walk her and wish her a safe flight and all the best.
“So what?” Natalia asks. “Did someone recognize you?”
“It’s amazing, but nobody recognized me during the check,” Raquelle shrugs. “They just checked my documents and my baggage, asked some questions, and let me go.”
“We did tell you people had their business and wouldn’t pay attention to you,” Frederick replies confidently. “And even if they’d recognized you, they would’ve had no time to guess if it was you.”
“Exactly, you just look, how many people should be checked!” Anna exclaims. “The airport staff has no time to look at you and guess if you’re the model.”
“Well…” Raquelle pronounces. “Of course, there was a man, who looked at me strangely. But he said nothing and turned his back upon me when I looked at him.”
“You think he recognized you?” Frederick frowns slightly.
“I don’t know if he recognized me, but he said nothing, however. No word.”
“Don’t think about it, Raquelle,” Natalia says softly. “You shouldn't care about it. You should be happy you’re gonna see your aunt soon and spend an amazing time with her.”
“I know…” Raquelle nods with a slight smile. “I can’t wait to see her and find out how she’s doing there.”
“Soon, my dear, soon.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Raquelle, Frederick, Anna, and Natalia look at each other and closely listen to every single important announcement with the hope that they will announce the board on the airplane.
“My sweethearts, I’d like to ask you about something important,” Raquelle says confidently.
“What?” Frederick specifies.
“Please, don’t tell anyone where I am gonna be for a while.”
“Don’t tell?”
“Nobody should know it for the time being. I don’t want anyone to know where I went or what I am doing. At least, for the first two weeks.”
“Don’t worry, sunshine.” Frederick softly caresses Raquelle’s shoulder. “We’ll keep silent and say nothing to anyone. If reporters find us and start annoying us with questions about you, we’ll tell them where to go.”
“When I realize I’m ready to talk to reporters, I will tell everyone about me,” Raquelle says quietly. “And I will try to solve the situation. Maybe, I will even decide to give a lesson to Terrence MacClife for slandering me and will suit him. Or find the editor-in-chief of the magazine, who spread the lie, and make him apologize and publish a rebuttal.”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t know, I can promise nothing. At first, I need to have a rest and come to myself.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie, if someone knows about you, they will do it not through us,” Anna replies confidently. “Fly to London with a calm heart and have a good time with your auntie.”
“Thanks a lot,” Raquelle smiles shyly, looking at Anna, Frederick, and Natalia by one. “I knew I could count on you.”
“Hey, can we go to London to visit you?” Natalia asks. “I wouldn’t personally mind seeing Alicia and finding out how she’s doing. The last time I met her happened a long time ago. I was probably a child…”
“Of course, you can,” Raquelle nods confidently. “All of you can visit me whenever you wish. Auntie would surely be happy to see you.”
“Don’t forget to call us,” Anna recalls. “We wanna know what’s happening to you.”
“Sure, sweetie. When I have a chance, I will surely call you.”
“Call us after you land in London,” Frederick says confidently. “Or we’re gonna be worried.”
“Okay, Grandpa, I will do it.”
“Anyway, we’re on the line at any time,” Anna says confidently.
“And you don’t forget me, please,” Raquelle says.
“We will not, my sweetie,” Frederick promises. “We will not do.”
Silence settles in the air for some time, during which everybody just smiles at each other and sometimes looks at what’s happening around them. And at some moment, Raquelle, Frederick, Anna, and Natalia can hear the announcement they have been waiting for:
“Dear passengers! The flight from The United States of America, New York to Great Britain, London is ready for boarding. The flight leaves at twenty-one hours in a quarter without a delay. Everybody, who is going to board, should come to exit #4, show their tickets, and take their place on the airplane. Our airline company wishes you a nice and safe flight!”
Raquelle, Frederick, Natalia, and Anna hear this announcement one more time. And then they look at each other with sadness in their eyes, realizing it’s time to say goodbye.
“Well…” Raquelle smiles slightly. “It’s time… The time has come.”
“Good luck, sweetie,” Frederick wishes, comes to Raquelle, hugs her with one arm, and kisses her cutely on the cheek. “May your flight be quiet and safe.”
“Thanks a lot,” Raquelle replies with a shy smile and steps back from Frederick.
“Call us when you arrive,” Natalia says with a slight smile, comes to Raquelle, takes her in a tight hug, and shares an amicable kiss on the cheek.
“I will do, I promise…”
Raquelle and Natalia step away from each other, and then Anna comes to her to say goodbye.
“We’ll be waiting for any sign from you,” Anna says amicably with a slight smile. “Call us at any time. We’re always on the line for you.”
“I will be telling you everything that’s gonna happen to me,” Raquelle promises confidently.
“We’ll be waiting.”
Raquelle takes Anna in a tight hug, shares an amicable kiss on the cheek, and steps back from her a few seconds later. And when everybody hugs her, the girl looks at the people, who came to say goodbye to her with a slight smile. Although it’s very sad for Frederick, Anna, and Anna to separate from her for a long time, they completely understand this trip would be good for her. She must forget about all the problems and work, to which the girl was giving her everything, at least for a while.
“Okay, Granddaughter, go,” Frederick says softly.
“C’mon, the airplane won’t be waiting for you,” Natalia jabs.
“Yeah, or you won’t go anywhere,” Anna adds.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” Raquelle says with a slight smile.
“Happy flight!” Natalia, Anna, and Frederick pronounce at the same time, waving their hands at her.
“Good luck, sweetie!” Natalia exclaims cheerfully.
“Take care of yourself, my sweetie!” Anna truly wishes.
“Thanks, I love you!” Raquelle waves her hand with a slight smile on her face, half turning on the three.
“May God help you,” Frederick pronounces softly.
After sharing a shy smile with them the last time, Raquelle slowly turns upon Frederick, Anna, and Natalia and goes to board the flight, holding the belt of her purse and her foreign passport and ticket to the airplane. All the three watch her with sadness in their eyes until she hides in a crowd of people and turns to the left, and look at each other, trying to guess whether there is a chance that everything will get better someday.
“How do you think whether the situation would get solved?” Anna asks hesitantly. “Or is everything worthless?”
“I hope,” Frederick replies thoughtfully. “But now we can only wait.”
“If Terrence MacClife is really guilty of everything, he must get punished for slandering Raquelle for no reason. He can’t stay unpunished. Nobody can pretend that nothing happened.”
“In some cases, waiting is the only solution to some problem. And I already told her that. Now, there is no point in proving something to someone when everyone is excited and even mad. May at least two weeks be gone, and then something would be clear.”
“Wouldn’t people think she ran away from shame? Ran away from her problems?”
“People can think anything. I don’t personally think Raquelle is running away from her problem. She just decided to wait for some time, come to herself and let people know what is what. Until people realize they believed the lie, nothing can be changed.”
“When would it happen?”
“Who knows. But this story can’t last forever. Early or late, people will stop believing Terrence. And he will understand there is no meaning to keep publishing all those terrible articles that insult the name of my innocent granddaughter.”
“Yeah, Natalia and I think there is no meaning to do something now,” Anna confesses shyly. “And we told Raquelle that. She agreed with us and eventually decided to do nothing.”
“Anyway, it would be bad if that man eventually got no punishment for his tricks. If he insulted my granddaughter and slandered her, he must pay for what he did.”
“As Raquelle just mentioned suiting, it means she’d surely wish to suit and demand some moral damages,” Natalia assumes, stroking her chin.
“I think she wouldn’t do that,” Frederick replies confidently.
“You think?”
“Why would she suit him just for money when she has too much?”
“But she cannot leave him unpunished!”
“I am sure she will think of everything well and change her mind about suiting Simon.”
“It would be unfair.”
“Does it make sense, Natalia? He wouldn’t go to prison for slandering. Terrence would just pay some money if my granddaughter won the trial.”
“Who knows, Mr. Cameron…” Anna pronounces thoughtfully, embracing herself with her arms. “But she could suit him not for money, but for restoring justice. If that man dared to say that about her, he should pay for slandering her.”
“Ah, Anna, I’m afraid it wouldn’t give a result. Anyone can buy off with the money, but it doesn’t mean Terrence wouldn’t start slandering Raquelle again.”
“Anyway, he is not going to stop yet,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he kept slandering Raquelle.”
“Right. Nothing will stop that man. And he does know it. MacClife uses it well, showering my granddaughter with mud and making everyone believe she acts like a bitch.”
“But we do know what she really is,” Anna notices confidently.
“Of course, we do! But it doesn’t mean we need to protect her so hard. Nobody would believe us anyway.
“However, we won’t leave her, despite any sort of notes that they publish in newspapers and magazines. Despite any words that the man says in his interviews.”
“Nobody will leave her – neither you and me nor Raquelle’s aunt,” Frederick says confidently.
“Does Alicia know what happened?” Natalia specifies.
“Of course, she does. She knows something thanks to the Internet and shows, and I told her something.”
“I hope she will help Raquelle come to herself.”
“Alicia promised to do her best to distract her niece from bad thoughts and teach her to be happy about her life again.”
“I must confess that woman suggested she visit her at a very good time,” Anna notices confidently.
“And I’m grateful to her for that. Honestly, I also wanted to call that woman and ask her to accept Raquelle. I thought my granddaughter would better change her location. But… It happened otherwise.”
“Wonderful then!”
“I heard there are not so many paparazzi in London,” Natalia says thoughtfully.
“Right, there are almost no camera people there. But we have too many of them. So, I thought Raquelle would better ride out the storm in London.”
“That’s good. She’s worried someone might chase, insult and humiliate her.”
“I never stop telling her the most important thing is what your close people think about you. You shouldn’t care about what other people say. You can just listen to their opinion and take a note. But the opinion of your dearest people is more important.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “But right now, Raquelle is worried about what other people would think of her.”
“It’s okay, nobody will insult and chase her there.”
“I hope this trip will be good for her and help her have a good rest.” Natalia embraces herself with her arms. “She didn’t almost have a rest and was giving her everything to shootings, interviews, and public appearances.”
“Exactly!” Frederick exclaims. “In London, she’ll quickly forget about her work and remember what good rest and healthy sleep are. Sometimes she had not to sleep or to sleep only for a few hours due to shootings. But now my granddaughter must have a good rest and come back home, feeling fresh and clean.”
“I wish, Mr. Cameron, I wish…”
The short silence settles in the air, after which Frederick, Natalia, and Anna decide that they have nothing to do after they said goodbye to Raquelle, and she is about to fly away to London. That’s why the three people look at each other, slowly leave the airport, and go home, still talking about what may happen in the future.
Raquelle is not quite sure if she did the right thing by deciding to stay away from her problems and giving people a chance to reflect on everything and calm down a little. But she does exactly know she needs to change her location to decide what to do and how to punish the one, who did such a mean thing to her. London would be a wonderful place to come to herself, put her brains in order, and probably spend the Christmas holidays there.
When she was a little girl, Raquelle always loved spending time with her auntie Alicia and still remembers how good she felt at those moments, Frederick often brought her there for the summer holidays or went with her and stayed in London until the end of summer. But after growing up, the girl visited her much rarer, and the last time she went there happened a very long time ago. But now Raquelle is going to fix it and go to the place that she has always considered her second home. The place where she has always felt very good.
173Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJhKmXRzus
