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1429 Words
What was happening to her now felt like a dream come true. Not even in her wildest dreams did she imagine experiencing this kind of pampering. She was shocked to learn that Javier had rented out the entire salon just for her today! That explained why there wasn’t a single other customer in sight, and why every staff member was giving her special treatment.
"Give her every service you offer that will make her glow. Just be a bit careful with her face. She recently had her nose done," Javier instructed the staff while sitting comfortably on an elegant couch, casually flipping through a magazine.
The staff eagerly nodded. "You can count on us, Mr. Romanov. We’ll make your girlfriend even more beautiful."
Her cheeks flushed red, and she was about to correct them, but she was already being gently reclined into a chair by one of the staff. Javier didn’t bother to correct them either.
The salon he had chosen was incredibly luxurious, and she noticed the prices listed at the reception desk—each session was incredibly expensive. This wasn’t her first time at a salon; she had been to places like this before. But usually, she would only get a hair treatment and never once considered renting out an entire shop. She would never waste money like that!
Now, nearly six staff members were attending to her, making her feel more pampered than a queen.
"Wow, ma’am, you’re so lucky to have a boyfriend like him! He’s not just handsome, he’s super sweet too!" one of the staff gushed to her, visibly thrilled.
"W-What...? N-No—"
"Yes, ma’am, it’s true. Some boyfriends don’t support their girlfriends in looking good. They want their women to be beautiful, but they don’t understand that beauty comes with a price!" added another staff member.
"Exactly. It’s one thing if they don’t give their girlfriends an allowance for beauty treatments because, after all, it’s not their responsibility. But some men not only refuse to support their girlfriends in looking good, they can’t even bother to accompany them to the salon! And when they do come along, they look so impatient, like they have no tolerance," complained another.
"They’re right, ma’am. You’re so lucky. You’re more blessed than most women. What’s even funnier is that some men don’t want their girlfriends to take care of themselves, but they’re obsessed with beautiful women. When they see a pretty and sexy woman, their eyes almost pop out. Then they follow them on social media," said one of the staff with a frown as she began working on her feet.
They all laughed, and she couldn’t help but smile. Even though they were mistaken in thinking Javier was her boyfriend, there was some truth in their words. Angelo had never accompanied her to things like this. He always told her she could handle herself and didn’t need him to come along. Whenever she bought beauty products like skincare, new clothes, or makeup, he questioned her decisions as if she was just wasting money, even though she was using her own.
He never bought her gifts like that, nor did he support her. And whenever they went out, he loved to look at pretty, tall, and sexy women. He also liked to follow women on social media. Angelo never failed to make her feel insecure.
She knew deep down that she wasn't unattractive. She wasn't the most beautiful woman out there, nor was she a head-turner, but she was far from ugly. She had her own charm. But why did Angelo always make her feel like she wasn't enough? Like she was somehow lacking? As if she should consider herself lucky to have Angelo in her life, while he was unfortunate to be stuck with someone like her.
"Ma’am, you seem deep in thought," one of the staff noted.
That brought her back to reality. She realized that a relationship was bound to fail if the woman loved the man more than he loved her. There was a difference between a man loving his dream girl and merely liking a woman who adored him. She regretted ever choosing to love a demon like Angelo.
Unconsciously, she glanced over at Javier, who was looking in her direction. When their eyes met, he gave her a thumbs-up and flashed a wide smile, as if his eyes were saying, "Just enjoy and relax." She couldn't help but smile back.
The staff squealed in delight, clearly thrilled by what they perceived as a sweet relationship. "Oh my God, ma’am, the way you two look at each other! Your relationship is so sweet!"
She just smiled and didn't bother correcting their assumption. Maybe Javier was genuinely sweet—but not to her. Only to his wife. The only reason he was supporting her was because of their shared mission of revenge against Angelo. If she had met Javier under different circumstances, would he have been this kind to her? Probably not.
She felt a slight sadness at that thought but quickly brushed it away. She didn't have time to dwell on meaningless things. Her partnership with Javier was purely driven by a mission—nothing more. In fact, she was lucky to have been given a second chance at life.
"What procedures are you planning to do on me?" she asked the staff, curious.
One person was attending to her hair. Two others were focused on her face. Another was taking care of her hands, while someone else worked on her body, and another on her feet.
"Mr. Romanov availed a special custom package for you, ma'am. He also showed us a picture of how you used to look as a reference. He said we should restore your previous look," one of them explained, causing her to frown. A picture of her? Javier didn't know what she originally looked like. She hadn't brought anything with her except herself, and she had no photo to show him.
"Huh? Let me see," she said.
They showed her the cellphone, and she realized they were referring to Beatrice. Of course, she was using the face of Javier's deceased wife. Why had she forgotten that?
"O-Oh, yeah. Of course," she managed to reply.
"We'll restore your former look, ma'am. Your hair is dark now, so we'll bleach it to return it to golden blonde. We'll also give you permanent curls. We have a lot of procedures planned for your hair. And since your hair is short now, we'll add permanent hair extensions to bring it back to the length it was in the picture—down to your waist. Mr. Romanov also arranged for semi-permanent makeup for your eyebrows, eyelashes, face, and lips," answered the woman with the name tag "Loly."
She grimaced at the sheer number of procedures planned for her hair. But they were right—her hairstyle was worlds apart from Beatrice Romanov's.
"We'll also enhance your nails, both hands and feet, with fake nails. You'll be under a drip to improve your skin tone like before. We're going to give you a full-body massage too. By the time you leave the salon, you’ll look just like you did before, ma'am."
She almost felt overwhelmed by the number of procedures needed to truly achieve Beatrice's physical appearance. But she decided to leave it to the professionals, trusting in their expertise.
The following hours were incredibly busy for everyone. Veronica couldn’t fully relax because the hair extensions were somewhat painful. There were so many people working on her body that it was hard to even doze off.
When lunchtime arrived, they were all surprised when a delivery rider arrived, bringing a spread of food. "I know you’re all hungry. Let’s take a break and eat some lunch. How much progress have you made?" Javier asked them.
"We're about forty percent done, Mr. Romanov. Thank you for the lunch," one of the staff replied.
Since she couldn’t get up from the reclining chair, Javier approached her and fed her. Her cheeks turned red, but she didn’t fuss—she was hungry too.
The hours flew by, and the last thing they did was give her a body massage to relax her from the long day of sitting.
She felt truly pampered. She hadn’t seen herself in the mirror yet, but she hoped Javier's money was well spent.
"Mr. Romanov, we're done. Take a look at your beautiful girlfriend," one of the staff proudly announced, turning her to face the man.
She saw his eyes widen in shock. "Damn! Oh my God!" he exclaimed.
- Writer
