Scars To Your Beautiful : A Modern Beauty and the Beast retelling ✔

9. Tell me about her

Maxime noticed the figure of an unrecognizable person fleeting away, when he stepped into the kitchen. Sweat dripped over his forehead, sticking the length of his raven hair to his face and trickling down his untamed dark stubble, as he took off his straw hat. "Who's that?"

Reneé glared, darting her eyes around the kitchen. As usual, nothing was out of place. The U-shaped kitchen had coffee brown cabinets with two double doors almost covering every inch of the white walls. It was filled with dishes, cups and bowls on one side, and spices along with many assorted cereals Larkin was fond of, on the other. The sink stood at the centre, with the gas stove to the left and a dish rack to the right. With a freezer room right inside, the kitchen also housed a black microwave sitting at the side counter, and a silver coated modern oven.

Everything was spick-and-span, just the way Reneé loved her kitchen to be, as the house's head cook. "I'll answer when you take a shower. You're stinking up my kitchen."

Maxime threw his head back and gave a soft cackle. "Fine, fine. Don't tell me. I'm sure Mrs. Esther won't pass up the chance to reveal good gossip."

Reneé wagged her hand at Mrs. Esther, who was grinning devilishly. "Don't tell him anything, Avó. Not till he smells of daisies and sunflowers."

"Don't listen to her. I'll get you your favorite dark chocolate chip cookies. The ones you claim that look very much like my eyes. Those ones." Maxime goaded.

Reneé rolled the words from her mouth firmly. "Fight it, Avó. Fight the urge. He needs that shower."

Mrs. Esther pressed her first two fingers together and dragged them from one end of her mouth to another, making a zipping sound. "I'm sorry, Max. My lips are sealed. I can't tell you anything about Callista."

"Aha." Maxime cheered. Mrs. Esther's eyes widened at her slip up. Reneé groaned, turning herself back to work. "She has a name. There's no use anymore. Let it all out."

Reneé's tongue clicked. "Don't tell me you're interested in her. I thought Leona was the only person you're interested in, or did that change too?"

"How can you say that? I'll walk through fire for Leona if I have to. That's never going to change. I just wish she took me a little seriously for once." The corners of his lips tilted down.

Mrs. Esther chuckled. "You heartbroken softie. Fine, I'll tell you. The girl's name is Callista. Her dad's the one that got locked up because of the stolen Red Rosewood chest that I told you about. She dropped off the fruit basket as a thank you, for letting him go. Can you believe it? The young master let him go. It's so strange."

Maxime joked. "Maybe he finally grew a heart."

Wacking his arm with a napkin, Reneé scoffed. "He always had a heart. You've just been too busy slacking around to notice."

"You should have seen the way he acted around her. He likes her. I'm sure of it. He's just too stubborn to admit it." Mrs. Esther cooed amusedly.

"I'm 100% sure you're overthinking this, Mrs. Esther. What's the big deal if she brought fruits? It's too bad she wasted a chunk of money on someone who doesn't like fruits." Maxime shrugged. "He'll probably give it out to someone. I hope it's me though. Cause it looks so damn good."

Mrs. Esther shook her head firmly. "I know what I'm saying. She didn't look scared or petrified by his scars. You know how people act, when they look at his face. I swear there's something familiar about her and she's the type of person we need around."

"To do what? That's what we're here for. To keep him company."

Reneé narrowed her eyes. "When last have you done that? We've been so busy with work that we barely even have time for ourselves. Aside from this job, I still have my son to raise. I can't make any more compromises. I really wish I could."

Maxime's arms sprang up, resurfacing the faint trail of his French accent when he spoke. "That's because he gets pissed when we meddle in his life. Do you know how many times I've tried? I bet he thinks of me as a nuisance."

"Well it's not far from the truth. Look at you, you haven't taken that shower yet." Reneé insisted.

Maxime pushed his hair back. Dark eyes gleamed. "No need for any of your OCD. I'll get to it, sheesh."

Mrs. Esther snapped her fingers. A triumphant glint danced in her eyes. "Now I know where I've seen her from. I knew she looked so familiar. She works at that supermarket. Alpha's. She's sometimes behind the counter. I can't believe I forgot."

Reneé puckered her lips in a tight line. "You've been forgetting a lot lately. It's getting me worried. Are you sure everything's okay? Y'need anything?"

"What I need is a little helping hand with housekeeping. Leona won't be back till probably next week and even when she is around, she's still a part time worker."

"I've told you, if you need anything, tell me. Whenever Nando's around, I'll make him help you out. You know he can't say no to his Avó." Reneé turned on the gas cooker and placed a pot half-full of water on it.

"Nah. He's a kid. Let him enjoy his youth. If I were nine, I'd hate cleaning up an old dusty house." Mrs. Esther grinned. "Anyway, I need to get changed. I have some place to be."

Maxime's nose crinkled. "Where are you off to, now?"

"To the supermarket, of course."

Renee blinked. "But we're not out of groce-wait a second, isn't that where you just said Callista works?"

"Aye, aye, aye, what are you up to, Mrs. Esther? Whatever it is, Larkin won't like it." Maxime tsked.

Mrs. Esther brushed her hand over her dress' linen, gleefully. "We'll see about that."

★★★★★
"Here it is. Thank you for coming to Alpha's." Callie dimpled, handing the grocery bag to the customer who thanked her in return. Callie flickered her eyes to the wall clock, when she noticed Peter Doherty coming in. That meant that her shift was almost over. She did a little happy dance in her head, and called out to the redhead. "Hey, Peter. How are you?"

Callie had to admit. Peter and his brother did have undeniable similarities they shared. From their red hair to their stunning blue eyes, they looked like a pair of Scandinavian red haired vikings. But then again, everything else stood distinct from how they looked. The deputy had darker red hair that matched well with his devil-may-care attractive looks, while Peter's boyish mien suited the tangerine pale tint of his hair and cerulean blue eyes.

Still, they shared a similar trait in shyness that even now Peter exhibited. "Oh, hi ehm, Callista. I'm good. Thanks for asking."

He lowered his head right back to the floor and picked up his pace. Callie huffed. She promised herself that she'd be nicer to Peter Doherty after what his brother did for her, but it seemed like he preferred the distance between them. Shaking her head, she waited for the last customer to leave, before strutting away from the counter. Callie launched to the changing room to slip into her comfortable black tank top and faded denim jeans, when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulders.

Whirling around, she gaped at the sight of Mrs. Esther standing before her. No longer was she wearing the blue dress she had on two hours ago at the Hammell Manor. She had instead, worn a multicolored ankle-length dress with pleated arms, loosely hung around her body. "Oh wow, Mrs. Esther. What an odd coincidence right now."

"Maybe to you, but I was hoping to run into you. Do you have a minute to spare?" She said, with an earnest smile.