Legitime

02 - The Accident

Beatrice loved pampering herself, and it was not just with pretty and expensive things.

She also liked going to salons to treat herself with a nice manicure and pedicure, body massage, threadings, and other services that would enhance her already perfect appearance.

She was vain, and she had come to accept this thing about her. Who didn't like the finer things life could offer anyway?

"I'm sorry I can't join you today. I have a scheduled meeting at the orphanage this time around." Jade said on the other line, causing Beatrice to pout and roll her eyes.

Apparently, Jade was the one who would quickly turn down the idea of pampering herself just because of work.

"Can't you just skip it?" Beatrice groaned, but when Jade apologized again, Beatrice knew she had lost. She couldn't convince her childhood best friend to join their self-care day.

Jade and Beatrice had been doing this thing ever since they were younger. They would pamper themselves every Sunday while catching up about their week.

Jade was always the busy one; she would tell Beatrice that her week was exhausting. Unlike Beatrice, Jade had to work hard to earn the affection of her wealthy family. She was the middle child; therefore, she was always overlooked. Her father was always in favor of her eldest brother, while her mother was extra affectionate to the youngest child.

The business of Jade's family was all about cargo shipping. Their company was named after their last name too: White Shipping Cargo Corporation. They were the leading company in their chosen industry, which played a big part as to why Jade and Beatrice were friends.

Beatrice would not befriend people who were not in the same social status as her. She thought it would be best to just hang out with those who had everything too so that she wouldn't have to deal with social-climbing freaks.

"Why don't you skip the self-care day, huh? You just went shopping two weeks ago. You even said you got the store assistant fired." Jade laughed, still finding the whole situation funny. She kind of felt bad for the woman who got fired, though.

She had to admit that sometimes Beatrice's way of dealing with things was extreme.

"That was already weeks ago! Get over it. You know I need a new collection of perfume." She snorted. She couldn't believe her best friend said that fourteen days were only a short period. Gosh. Beatrice felt like she was being deprived of joy. "And let's say I skip the self-care agenda today. What do you propose I do as an alternative then?"

It was too early to go to a club and party. Maybe she could do that later.

"Uh? Join me here at the orphanage? The media is coming. I have to be seen in the pictures while I pretend to bake cookies with the kids." Of course, she did. Those pictures would do her good since they would be published on different platforms. Her parents would surely be proud of her because the philanthropic act would boost their company's image, implying that rich people were 'compassionate.'

"Did you forget that I'm pissing off my parents? Me going there will only please them." Beatrice actually rolled her eyes. She was standing outside of a spa, contemplating whether she should head in or not.

Again, she did not see the point of doing this without her best friend by her side.

"Whatever you say, Bea." Jade chuckled. "Anyway, I have to go now! See you later, I guess?" She promised to call as soon as the event ended.

Beatrice simply nodded, finally deciding to try the usual services she availed of even without Jade.

She felt like changing something, though. Since her best friend was not here, what if she tried to do things differently? Should she ask the hairdresser to cut her hair? Or to color it?

What about both?

In the end, Beatrice chose to cut her tailbone hair up until her shoulders. Her auburn hair was changed to brown with blonde highlights. She looked good; the shape of her jaw was much defined now.

She also had her nails painted. However, she skipped the body massage, only opting for a body scrub.

It took long hours before she finally finished with all of her appointments. She wanted to call Jade to ask if the latter was already available.

Beatrice was headed to the mall's parking lot as she dialed her best friend's number. Gosh. It was so difficult to press the screen of her gadget since she had just got her nails done.

Another thing bothering her was that she couldn't seem to find her car. She was busy talking to Jade on the phone earlier that she forgot to note the exact spot of her vehicle. Apart from this, she also wasn't used to doing this kind of thing. Her bodyguards always picked her up at the entrance of the mall. She swore things were different when she was with Jade.

Why did she even push to be alone today? It was such a hassle.

"Need help, Mam?"

Beatrice flinched when someone suddenly spoke behind her. She looked back only to see a woman she thought she knew.

"Yeah," squinted, trying hard to remember if she had seen this girl before or not. She really looked oddly familiar. "I can't find my car. Black Mercedes. Can you find it for me?"

The girl shrugged off her shoulders, looking around. Beatrice thought this girl meant to help her. Maybe she did because the stranger pointed at her car after just a few seconds.

"BL737. Is this your plate number?"

"Yes! Thank you!" Beatrice grinned, expecting the girl to say you're welcome, or maybe simply nod, or she could actually choose not to say anything. However, the stranger said something that caught Beatrice off guard.

"Ah, so now you're thanking me?"

Beatrice's head snapped, and she looked at the stranger, stopping herself from entering her car.

"Excuse me?" Beatrice squinted to see the stranger's face clearly. She felt like this wasn't the first time she had heard this unknown girl speak.

"Do I know you?" The Deveraux girl's brow shot up. She crossed her arm too.

The stranger took a step closer to Beatrice as a way to answer the latter's question. Beatrice's eyes widened when her back hit her car. The stranger was obviously invading her personal space.

"Don't you remember me?" The stranger said, but as it turned out, she wasn't a stranger at all.

Beatrice thought hard. A few moments later, it was like the bulb inside her head suddenly blinked. She remembered her now! This was the same woman who worked at the Christian Louboutin store. The same assistant who Beatrice got fired for slightly hurting her foot.

"Oh, it's you!" Beatrice smirked, eyeing the girl from head to toe. She had to appear like she was not threatened even though the former store assistant was throwing dirty looks at her.

"You are the useless store assistant, right? I think you're the one who owes me a thank you. I got you fired before you f****d up more—" Beatrice had the habit of irritating other people more. Again, it was because she knew she could get away with it. Unfortunately, it looked like she couldn't escape the wrath of this former store assistant anymore.

"You selfish brat!" The girl gritted her teeth.

Beatrice's eyes dilated again. She had watched too many chick-lit movies before, so she knew now that when a girl started uttering the words "You selfish brat!" Her following action would be to attack.

Beatrice was fast, though. She attacked the assistant first, pushing her chest hard.

The assistant fell to the ground because of the impact of the shove. Beatrice took the assistant's weak state as an opportunity to enter her car.

She was sure the assistant was going to get back at her, so she immediately started the car, stepping on the gas.

Beatrice let out a sigh of relief, thinking that she had escaped the assistant that easily; however, she was surprised when that girl appeared again, blocking her way out.

Beatrice was so frightened, clearly not expecting the girl to appear again. She tried to stop the car by stepping on the break; sadly, her nervousness caused her to lose focus. She accidentally stepped on the gas.

"Oh my God!" Beatrice let out a gasp. Her heart was in her throat, face pale and lips trembling.

Tears stained her cheeks because the assistant fell to the ground again. This time, however, she got seriously hurt. Beatrice could see the assistant's face, there was a scowl plastered on her lips, and she couldn't stand up.

"Help!" The assistant cried; the pain was ineffable. For the second time, her life was ruined because of Beatrice.

First, Beatrice got her fired, and now, she got hit by the rich girl's car.

This was not good.