Callea was not used to the hot imprint of the sun on her skin. She was drowning with too much light. She never had so much sunshine for a long time. She was a night owl. And her night body clock was not happy.
They left Nagcarlan riding Deive's car. She had no choice when he brought her to the car to bring her to the mall.
She was used to being cooped up inside Villa Celesta. Even if it's morning, it still looks dark so she could roam around. She just goes out of the mansion when the sun is gloomy or past midnight until dawn.
Her eyes were used to the darkness and she was definitely not a fan of the hot sun. She pulled down the sleeves of her dress and swept her long hair in front of her face to act as filter to the light.
"Don't cover your face with your hair!" Deive commanded in a stern voice.
She gave him an arrogant look despite her hair shielding her eyes. "What do you care? I am blinded by the light and it gives me a headache. You said it okay with you to bring me like this. So suck it up."
He opened the dashboard and took the shades inside then shoved it to her lap. "Here. Wear them. That one I polarized so it will filter the light."
"It won't fit my costume."
"Don't worry. It will look good on you. For a ghost cosplayer, you complain too much."
"Of course. I am abducted here. It is not like I agreed to go to this makeover session."
"Every time I look at you, I feel like I am like those guys on horror stories with ghosts riding with them to some destination. I should have forced you to change your clothes," he murmured with the sullen look on his face.
She smirked and looked down her self. She was wearing a lace dress that reached just below her knees and had bell sleeves. It was fashionable… for a white lady that usually has a plain white cotton dress costume. Meeeeh! She could do better than that. Good thing he didn't force her to change her dress. She loved seeing his discomfort. Imagine what would people say if they see her and how he would react.
"You just forced me to come with you. We are now far from Villa Celesta. You already got where you want me. Isn't that enough?"
He was not happy that he dragged her out of the house against her will and wanted to murder her personality by forcing her to have a makeover. Now, his plans have a boomerang effect and will hit his face big time.
She was happy to look scary and bring fear to people. Callea was entertained when people were scared of her and would run in the opposite direction. Now, Deive wanted her to be pretty to please other people. It was not easy. She was used to people being detested by her looks, lurking in the dark so she would be left alone. Why did she need to be beautiful?
She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. She didn't want to waste her time talking to him. She felt that he brushed off her hair away from her face and caressed her cheek. She stopped herself from opening her eyes and looking at his face. Why didn't she feel like he gazed at her with gentleness in his eyes? As if he felt sorry for hurting her or making her mad.
There was nothing gentle about him. He was a cruel tyrant. She thought they were together in the fight. He kept on talking about being partners yet he was the real enemy. Good thing their marriage would be only temporary. Imagine if she had to spend forever with him. Maybe he would put her in a gilded cage or expect her to act like a dog who would jump through hoops in his command.
She only opened her eyes when she heard the continuous sounds of horns from cars. It was irritating. She sat straight when she saw that they were on their way to South Expressway. "A-Are we going to Manila?" she asked with a taste of cotton in her mouth.
"Nope. We are going to Nuvali in Sta. Rosa. They have a shopping center with lots of designer stores."
"Whatever," she whispered and she could feel the incoming onslaught of headache.
She was his prisoner. It was up to him wherever he wanted to take her. It broke her heart that even the people close to him were on his side. Even his manhating cat.
She brushed her hair in front of her face again. She felt his sharp gaze on her again. Well, it was her trip. Her body, her rules.
She looked outside the car when she noticed eyes on her. There was a group of men who were riding a jeepney who was looking at her with wide eyes with fear, mouth agape and pointing at her. She lightly brushed her face so they could see her eyes. She smirked then rolled her heavenward as if she was being delirious. The driver's eyes bulged at the sight of her then increased the speed of his jeepney just to get away from her.
"I told you to fix your face," Deive growled when he saw what happened. "Now people are scared of you."
"Not my problem if they are coward much."
She didn't care if people thought he had a thing about dating Sadako or he would go viral if people thought they saw a ghost riding his car in broad daylight. He brought it upon himself.
"You scared them. What if they got into an accident because of you. You are not thinking straight," he blamed her.
"You are the one who is not thinking at all. It was your decision to bring me out on this state. And besides, it is not my problem on how people would react to my looks. The problem with them, they are afraid of the things they don't know. There are humans who are scarier than ghosts. So before you blame me, remind your self whose fault it is in the first place."
He took a deep breath and shut his mouth. She won that round. But it would be a long day ahead and there's still war looming ahead.
After a few minutes, they parked at the Nuvali. Even the personnel and the security guard at the parking-ticketing booth were aghast when they saw her. They just ignored them and Deive's pout.
The guards were frozen at first when they passed for the security. "S-Sir, are you with someone?" the lady guard asked cautiously.
"I am with my…"
"Girlfriend," she answered right away. "I am beautiful right?" Then she flashed a smile to the lady guard.
She gulped and was hesitant to do a body search. "S-Sir, isn't she dangerous? I mean, won't she hurt our customers?"
Deive just laughed at them even if he was not comfortable. "Oh! We are on our way to a costume party but we have to buy something inside…"
"Costume party? Okay. As long as she won't harm the customers," said the male security guard.
The lady guard was adamant to do a body search first. She heard her uttering a prayer as she searches her body for a weapon. She wanted to scare her some more but she didn't want to entice any more trouble. They would nab her and that would be dangerous for both her and Deieve was already pissed off.
Deive pulled her hand when they entered the mall before the security personnel keeps on questioning them. "Jeez! Maybe they thought you are a lunatic. You must change your look later. I can't explain your costume to everyone, Callea."
"If you don't want me to create problems for you, you shouldn't have forced me out of the house," she said with an arrogant tilt on her chin.
Callea felt cold. Aside from the cold aircon inside the mall, the shoppers' eyes were focused on her. They were trying to make out her face. She suddenly felt uncomfortable and put her head down. She just kept on walking while using her hair as a shield. She felt good because of the collective terror that she saw in their eyes. Right. She should not be ashamed of who she is. Not her problem if people are scared.
"Look! There's a dirty beggar here," said a teenager and pointed at her.
"Maybe she's an actress and there's shooting here," said the girl with.
"Maybe it is for a horror film."
"Why is the handsome guy with a woman who looks cursed?" asked from the group of gays.
"Mommy, I am scared of ghosts," cried a little girl around four years old. She hid behind her mom's skirt while clinging to it.
"It is just a costume, honey. Don't be scared," said the mother who gave her a frightened smile when Callea looked at her. "Maybe it is for Halloween."
"What Halloween? It is only March," the husband argued.
"Then perhaps it is for Holy Week. Can we just go? She is giving me creeps!" said the woman and covered the eyes of her daughter.
"Hihihihi!" Callea giggled like a witch so people would be more frightened to come near here. "Look, Deive! They are scared of me."
"You are enjoying this, right?" Deive asked through his gritted teeth. "You are practically dancing with glee while people almost have a heart attack. You are one of a kind, Callea."
"Of course. I earn by scaring off people. I enjoy internalizing and living off my character. This is a rewarding experience. Maybe I can act in a horror film someday or be a mainstay for horror house in theme parks." Deive's face darkened and he clenched his fist. Perhaps he wanted to choke her. She was glad to piss him off.
"You wish! That won't happen. I won't let my bride work on a horror house or a horror film," he growled then pulled her inside the beauty salon.
Callea was aghast and tried to stop him so she won't make it inside. "W-Wait, Deive. I don't want to go there." She didn't want anything that has to do with beauty and anything that would lessen her scary look.
"Good afternoon, Sir!" the receptionist greeted in a cheerful voice. Make that flirty because she bit her lips when she saw Deive. Her flirty look was gone when the receptionist saw Callea who was giving her some stinky eyes. "M… Ma'am?" the receptionist asked and looked at her intently. As if she was trying to find if she was a woman or a human or a non-human who was not part of this world.
"Hello!" Callea greeted the woman then lightly brushed her hair so she could only see her eyes. The woman was teary-eyed and gulped in fear. She looked like she wanted to run and hide but she couldn't because they were still customers.
"Bring me your best stylist. I want a complete makeover for her," Deive commanded then pointed at her.
"Y-Yes, Sir!" the snappy answer of the receptionist and was glad to get away from them. She returned with a gay stylist.
"Hi, Sir! I am Joselito, the goddess of beauty. Are you the one who wants a makeover, Sir?" The stylist played with the tips of Deive's hair. "You don't need a makeover, Sir. You are already perfect. You don't need to change a thing about you. Maybe we can enhance it a bit. Do you want a bit of highlight or you want us to wax your body?"
"No, not me. It is my girlfriend who needs a makeover."
The stylist had an animated shock on her face when he looked at her while holding his chest. "S-She's your girlfriend. Is from the afterlife?"
"Want to check if I am real?" Callea offered and held her hand.
Joselito attempted to hold her but pulled back her hand hid behind Deive. "Sir, does she bite? We are not insured here. And anti-rabies is expensive."
"The anti-rabies for my bite has not been invented yet," Callea said cooly.
The stylist stomped her feet in fear. "Sir, I think your girlfriend is an aswang." (Aswang - in Philippine folklore, it is a human who eats human innard at night)
Deive gave her a stern look then brush the hair off her face. "Don't worry. She's human. Just do something about her hair. Do whatever it takes to make her more… human. I will give you a handsome tip. Okay?"
Then we are good, Sir. I will do everything to make your girlfriend look more human," Joselito declared with so much enthusiasm. When money talks, no task is scary. He laid his hand. "This way, Ma'am. I will make you more beautiful than Catriona Gray and Pia Wurtzbach."
Callea was disappointed. Scaring the stylist was not effective at all. But Deive was not over yet and whispered to her, "Be nice. Don't create any more scenes if you don't want me to take your picture and sent it to your grandfather. The fate of Villa Celesta is in your hands."
She gave him a sharp look but he only smirked at her. He found out her weakness. She had no choice but to march to the hair wash chair where the salon personnel who will wash her hair was waiting.
She could survive this. Anything for Villa Celesta.