𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄

** TWENTY-THREE **

"One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood." -
Lucius Annaeus Senaca

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             JEWEL WAS ALONE in the library, reading. It was more of pretense. She wasn't reading because reading in an open place with different people around on her wasn't her type of thing. It was simply a means to escape from those craving her attention.

The attention she loves so much was something that she was now hiding from.

She had been that way since she resume back to school the day before. After her diagnosis, she had stayed home for some days which surprisingly her mother had let her be. She even canceled some of her modeling shows and her mother didn't argue.

She was glad her parents understand how she feels. That was the string holding her sanity. Only God knows what would have happened if she didn't have a supportive and understanding parent. They are the best thing in her life at the moment.

But then again, she couldn't hide forever.

So her father had persuaded her into resuming back to school.

It was really an hard fest but he was right. She can't hide away from the world forever. People will start getting suspicious. But what would they think about her if they start noticing the patches on her skin? It was another question that had been on repeat in her mind since the diagnosis.

In the past few days, the white patches had become obvious. It was now clear to notice without getting closer to her. It was like her skin had peeled off in those areas. Like she had been bathed with hot boiling water.

It felt so disgusting to her to even look at her own body. For days after the diagnosis, she didn't go to the front of the mirror. She didn't even made an attempt to stare at her body. To add to it, she didn't take her bath for almost a week because she didn't want to see herself. Not until her mother forced her to do so. She almost cried her eyes out that same day.

Her skin that had always been her pride was now the opposite. She hated herself and it was killing every vibes inside of her.

She had to resort to wearing big clothes with long sleeves so as to hide the white patches. The ones on her face was not so obvious so she use makeup when she have to leave the house. Fortunately, her mother was a renowned makeup artist and she had been learning a huge deal from her.

Surprisingly, she didn't question her like she would normally do when she tell her whatever was on her mind. She didn't question her when she told her that she needed a makeover on her face when she made a decision to leave for school the other day.

Gladly and without complaining, her mother indulged and she did a perfect job on her face. A very natural looking makeup that hide the pale white patches on the skin of her face.

It didn't end her problem though.

Shame wasn't just the only thing she felt after the result of the diagnosis. She also developed a withdrawal symptoms after the diagnosis. She wasn't cheerful as she used to be. Internally, she felt like a ticking time bomb. She doesn't know when her fear and secret will be expose because she knew she can't hide forever.

Everything she did was a temporary solution but would it last? How long will she be able to keep it up?

Wearing long sleeves and baggy clothes wasn't her thing. Her mom doesn't enjoy her using makeup all the time. And deep down, she knew there will come a time when she would tell her to stop using it every day before she get addicted to it.