Santi's Downfall

Chapter 35: The Appeal

No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or emotional appeal.

Marilyn Ferguson

Haven Pierce's POV

I sighed for the nth time while sitting on the bench in Rodeo Drive enjoying my Iced Latte watching people shop in these exclusive designer shops enjoying their day under the hot Californian sun and here I was feeling gloomy as if bad weather had cast on me.

I went here to unwind and temporarily forget my problem as suggested by my bodyguard, Vito, who also became my de facto therapist as I opened up about my love problems to him. Under the firm instruction of his boss, he must be with me all the time. He was also living under the same roof as me and probably reporting my every move to his boss.

"Why do you have such a long face?" Vito queried dressed in an all-black ensemble that felt so weird because of the hot weather. I persuade him to wear more comfortable outfits but he politely declines to state that these were his working clothes.

"I am not in the mood to shop. Besides, I couldn't possibly afford any of these shops with the money that I have. This is all I could afford in this place." I said, raising my Iced Latte.

"The Don says that you can always—"

I immediately shook my head, not letting him finish his sentence as he unknowingly reminded me of his boss who I was trying to forget. "I don't want to use his money to buy things for myself. It just doesn't suit me up."

"All right," he said after a moment. "What do you want to do then?"

I thought for a moment, thinking about what I should do next. Would it be a better idea if I just came home and continued to sulk in my room pinning for the man who was probably moved on by now? Or continue to sit in this trendy place and waste my time watching couples pass by in front of me rubbing their sweetness in my face?

Then I remembered that I noticed that my natural hair color started to show up noticeably in the roots of my hair. I looked up and smiled brightly at my bodyguard. "I know what to do. Let's go to the salon."

"Salon?" Vito echoed with unmistakable horror on his face.

I stifled a laugh. I knew he was probably thinking that preferred to be anywhere but inside the salon waiting for me to no end. But he could not do anything about it since it was his job to be with me wherever I went. With a slumped shoulder he followed me as I found the salon that could fit my budget.

I found the one that I thought would not charge me much since it was not on the main road of Rodeo Drive. Thankfully, there was no other customer and I was immediately assisted by the hairstylist as Vito sat on the waiting chair on the corner trying to fade into the background as much as possible.

She introduced me to the salon's hair colorist since I told them that I wanted to fix the roots of my hair. The colorist suggested that I was willing to try a different shade of pink for my hair. Instead of going to cotton candy pink again, we'll make it slightly darker into a dusky pink. I agreed to her suggestion since I also want a new look—well, a slightly new look.

As so we began the process. They bleached my hair again for a few minutes before applying my new hair color. I watched the whole process through the huge mirror in front of me. And after an hour or so I finally saw the result and I am quite happy with it.

I like this hair color more and my hair still feels soft after the process of dying my hair. I thanked them and gave them tips for satisfactory hair work. The relief on Vito's face when he noticed that we were finally done was so comical.