The Beauty And The Billionaire Beast

Erica cut her hair so it wasn't too long and only fell to her shoulders. She had her stylist put her hair up with a crystal hairpin.

She stared at her reflection for minutes on end in silence. The new look set her off on her new path, out with the old and in with the new. 'I refuse to look like what I have been through,' she affirmed.

"You look gorgeous in short hair," the hairdresser threw her a compliment.

Erica gave her a weak smile. She paid for the service, clutched her purse, and walked over to the manicure and pedicure station of the spa.

Feeling refreshed from the new haircut, she set out to be even bolder with her nails.

"Hi, I'm Audrey Avila, I will be your attending therapist today. You can tell me what you want done and I'll get right to it," the attendant arrived to greet her.

The name sounded familiar to Erica but she didn't think much of it and took a seat.

"I was thinking we could have purple nails with black roses for decoration," she said,

"Of course."

She relaxed into the chair. Her grandmother's concern when she was still alive resonated in her ears. Her nana would always say, "Erica, I am already old. I can proudly say that I have no regrets about my own life. But it would be a huge pity if I don't get to see you walking down the aisle in my remaining years," every time she heard her grandmother say that, she would run into her arms and embrace her for a long time.

Due to greed, her enemies snatched her grandmother's wish to see her get married away from both of them. They took her away too soon.

Her grandmother's doting eyes haunted her. She spaced out, daydreaming of the happier times she had with her grandma before her passing.

"Erica Lim, as I live and breathe," a masculine voice broke her train of thought and woke her from her dazed state. "I almost didn't recognize you with the short hair," the man said, his dark grey eyes taking in Erica from head to toe.

Erica sharpened her brown eyes. She searched her memory bar to recall the identity of the young man standing next to her seat.

After a full minute of lack of knowledge, she gave up trying to Identify the male and asked outright. "And who might you be?"

"You wound me, Erica."

He positioned his hand above his chest and acted hurt. His little act did nothing to soften Erica's inhospitable eyes.

"Rourke Castle," he let the cat out of the bag. "Georgina's older brother," he added in his introduction for Erica to remember him.

Erica's glacial expression became a little hostile. His identity came back to her and so did his sisters.

Georgina Castle was her best friend back in the day before she got framed and sent to jail. They were like two peas in a pod, inseparable in every way, until...

"Rourke, what a nice surprise," she lit up, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling settling in her chest.

"I knew you'd remember me," Rourke requested a chair and positioned himself next to Erica. "I haven't seen you since..." he hesitated, sensing that the topic might be sensitive to Erica.

"Since I got arrested, tried, and sent to prison," Erica filled in the gap.

"Yes, how are you doing?"

"Better."

"When did you get released? Georgina didn't mention anything about you being out."

With reason, Erica thought. Georgina had no business knowing her comings and goings. They were close in the past but she couldn't say the same for the present day.

"Just so you know, I never believed that you had anything to do with your grandmother's death," he said.

"Oh, why not?" he piqued Erica's interest. She was curious to know why he believed her innocence when the rest of the world crucified her.

"I know how much your grandmother meant to you. You wouldn't have harmed a hair on her head."

The confidence he showed while vouching for her touched Erica slightly. 'One sibling slaps my cheek with betrayal, and the other one shows up to comfort the pain,' she thought bitterly.

"Thank you, Rourke," Erica's heart appreciated his trust in her love for her grandmother. "By the way, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm taking a day for myself. A treat, if I should call it that, and I thought, why not get down Serenity spa for a sweet spa day," he informed.

Erica nodded, she knew the feeling. Serenity Spa was her go-to place whenever she needed to treat herself. Getting a new haircut, getting her nails down, having a facial, and getting a massage always had a way of lifting her spirits.

In the spirit of putting prison behind her, she took the day to treat her body to the joys of the outside world.

"Excuse me," Rourke called for Audrey's attention. "I want to get my nails cleaned and have a facial right here. Can you arrange for someone to attend to me," he requested in a polite tone.

"Yes, Sir," Audrey registered his request. "Excuse me for a second, ma'am," she made for the exit to fetch another Therapist.

"Does she seem familiar to you?" Erica asked, pointing at Audrey's back.

"She's Audrey Avila, you went to school with her."

"Mmh, she doesn't look like Regal High at all," Erica commented.

"That's because her idiot brother ran their family business to the ground, gambled away their money and assets, and left them buried in debt," Rourke kept her up to speed with Audrey's situation. "She works to support herself, help her family pay off their debts, and save up for college."

Erica's stoic face showed no sympathy. The Audrey Avila she remembered from school was a mean person who fed on the weakness of others to feel superior.

Personally, she had never been a victim until the fateful day that the police showed up and arrested her as a prime suspect in her grandmother's death.

Audrey Avila and her friends took their precious time spreading the news around and maligned her name and character all over the school forums and social media.

Their bullying made her feel worse than the situation she was in back then. They made her into memes that stood to add fuel to the fire already burning her.

"Karma is a bitch," she stated coldly.

Rourke raised his head in surprise. Her statement was far from the reaction one gives when one learns that someone one used to know fell from grace and is struggling.

"Didn't the two of you get along?"

Erica dropped her shoulders back and relaxed. Making no effort to respond to the question Rourke raised.

Audrey Avila wasn't her problem, she was just a mean girl trying so hard to imitate the mean girls in movies and parade around like the queen bee. She had no reason to hold a grudge when all the girl did was take advantage of an opportunity to raise her popularity.

'What good that popularity did her.'

"She had a powerful friend in Regal. Why didn't any of them help her?"

"You, of all people, should know the answer to that," Rourke answered. "Powerful people also prefer the company of other powerful people. The minute you lose your power, they disappear," he added.

"Mmh."

"Didn't your friends desert you, too, after you were arrested?"

"They did."

A minute later, Audrey arrived walking side by side with another girl dressed in the same black uniform as her.

"Good morning, Sir. I am Lilia Bom, I will be attending to you," she said, setting her tools and products on a stool.

With the help of two males, they brought in a more comfortable chair for Rourke before she started the service.

The little station area turned into a VIP section in less than ten minutes, with curtains drawn to give Rourke and Erica privacy and soft soothing music played to make them feel more relaxed.

"Lilia Bom?" Erica's eyebrows knotted together. "Did you, by chance, attend Regal High?"

"Uhm...yes, I did."

"That's why your name sounds familiar."

"I must admit, you look beautiful with short hair, Erica. You look good...healthy," Lilia gave her compliments.

Erica smiled. Of all the students at Regal, Lilia was always her favorite. The girl always wore a pleasant attitude about her that made everyone feel welcome.

It might've been a strategy to survive the cruelty of Regal High as a scholarship student but it was accepted nonetheless.

"You don't look too bad yourself. How come you're working here instead of enrolling in college?"

Lilia's face was filled with pain when she thought about how she had to postpone her dreams and get a job right after high school.

"Plans don't always work out as we want them to."

"But you studied harder than anyone I know. You put in work and got the best grades in the class. Why didn't your plans work out?"

Lilia's eyes darted to Audrey who had buried her head down when Erica started the conversation. A move Erica noticed from the corner of her eyes.

"Hurt people, hurt people," she replied.

"I ruined her chances at the scholarship," Audrey admitted in a whisper. "I released my frustrations on her. Since I lost my chance at going to college, my stupid self ruined it for Lilia too," a tear filled with guilt trickled down her cheek.

"I see."

"Yeah."

"Which college did you get into?"

"High Hopes University, you know...the best university in the city," Lilia let out with pride.

The mention of the university reminded Erica of Patrick. Her husband enrolled at the school earlier that morning and was meant to join her later at the spa.

"What about you?" she turned to Audrey.

"Same," she weakly brought to light.

Erica was stunned. "You got into High Hopes, I didn't see that coming!" she exclaimed, utterly surprised.

"I am smarter than I sometimes let people see. I just didn't want people to think I am a nerd so I flunked my grades... sometimes."

"Well that is stupid," Rourke commented. "Why would you dull your sparkle for people who aren't even here with you today?"

"Stupidity, I guess."

"I have no plans of going to college because I don't want to. But you shouldn't have to postpone your dreams like this," Erica sat up. "Why don't I sponsor your studies?" she offered to both Lilia and Audrey.

The news was nothing short of astounding to both Audrey and Lilia. Especially for Audrey, she hadn't been the nicest person to Erica after she got arrested and didn't know why Erica would take pity on her.

As for Lilia, she felt they weren't close enough for Erica to come to her rescue. She doubted the intention Erica had in making the offer.

"You can make a payment plan of how you'll refund me the money I give you," she added, her icy lips curling up into a weak smile. "I am not a nice or charitable. I'm just offering to help you achieve your dreams now while paying me back in small installments. That beats wasting your youth working the hours away to save up for your studies later, don't you think?"

The offer was tempting and both of them wanted to jump at it immediately. However, they were uncertain that Erica was being serious.

"What? You're not interested?"

"No, I am," they said in unison.

"Then write up a plan of how and when you'd be paying me back, and I'll help you enroll in High Hopes today," she said.

She plopped back and hung loose. A sweet smile blossomed on Rourke's lips. He felt happy seeing the generosity Erica accorded the two girls.

"Are you for real?" Audrey asked, composing herself from the shock of the good news Erica gave her. "Erica, do you truly mean that?"

"Don't make me change my mind," she whispered.

"We'll get right to it after," Lilia declared, feeling happy to the bone. The sun shone in her life after a long time in the darkness.

With a whole new look, and a new her, Erica was determined to face all her problems with a new outlook.