The Bride Under Her Facade

Chapter 01 3rd Person's POV "No! Let me go! You're not my mommy!" The doctors panicked as a young boy went berserk. A man quickly arrived and took the child away. "Sonia, what are you doing? Didn't I tell you to stay away from Vladimir and not show yourself?" the man said as he carried the boy, trying to calm him down. Meanwhile, a woman knelt down, half of her face burnt, almost unrecognizable due to severe burns. The husband looked at her differently. He had never looked at her that way in all the years they had been together. "Victor, I just wanted to see my son. Just to check if he's okay and not injured," the lady said tearfully. The man's face darkened. "Check? With your face like that? Vladimir didn't even recognize you! Can't you see he's trembling?" Victor shouted. Sonia stopped and tried to stand up. "Why are you angry? As if it's my fault that this happened to my face? Don't you have a hand in all of this!" Sonia shouted. Sonia stopped when Victor's family arrived. "Am I hearing this right? Are you blaming Victor?" the elder asked. Despite her beauty and sophistication, it was hard to believe she was in her 80s. She approached with Victor's siblings, all with disgusted looks directed at her. "My goodness, Victor. You allowed my nephew to see Sonia's face? Vladimir's therapy results haven't even come out yet, and now he'll have another trauma," Victoria said. Victor's twin. The woman covered her mouth while looking down on Sonia with disdain. Right from the start, Victor's family didn't like her because she wasn't born into wealth. She grew up in an orphanage. They always said that besides her beauty, she had nothing else. "You even ruined what little beauty you had," Victor's older sibling, Vincent, said. He had attempted to assault her several times when she lived in the Valencia mansion, but Victor wouldn't believe her because Vincent was a pastor. Victor instructed the doctors to take Sonia back to her room and not let her out until the results were out. Victor didn't say anything despite his family's insults towards her. Sonia tightly held onto her arm and tearfully followed the doctors. She heard Victor's mother say they should divorce her. Almost two weeks after the accident, it was revealed that Sonia's wounds were untreatable. Even if she were taken to another country and underwent surgery, it wouldn't be possible. Sonia's world seemed to crumble upon hearing that. Sonia touched her face. It couldn't be—her son would forever fear her, and she couldn't go back to her old career. "Doc, is there really no way?" Victor asked. He was worried, not because he was concerned about Sonia, but because he feared what his friends would say and the public backlash. The doctor just shook his head and explained why. Since Sonia had lost herself completely, she didn't hear anything except for the family's hurtful words, blaming her for everything. Sonia pulled her hair and hid her face in her knees. What would she do now? A few months later, they returned to the mansion. Sonia was surprised when she entered her and Victor's room, and it was locked from the outside. "Victor! What does this mean!" Sonia shouted and banged on the door. "You can't be seen by people, Sonia. It's embarrassing—and besides, if Vladimir sees you again, his condition might worsen. It's better for you to stay there," Victor said from the other side of the door. Sonia felt her heart break upon hearing that. Trembling, she knelt down. What was Victor doing to her, and what did he mean by her staying there? Almost every day, Sonia begged to be let out. Sometimes she heard Vladimir outside, and then an unknown woman would speak, warning him not to go near because there's a monster. That was her son. Sonia continued to scream, demanding to be let out. Until she got tired, realizing that her husband had truly abandoned her. She could only content herself with looking out the window, where she could see the gate and her son. She also saw Victor with Themarie, Sonia's best friend. Sonia had no choice but to watch as Victor and Themarie laughed while entering their mansion. Two years passed quickly, and it seemed like yesterday when Victor was so happy with her. Her memories with Victor slowly came back. Back when they were in high school, she was the campus queen, and Victor was the campus king. Their love story was even aired like a fairytale, until they got married. Their love story even played out like a fairytale until they got married. She used to believe in fairytales. She was the princess, and Victor was the prince. Just like in fairy tale books, when they got married, it had "The End" written. That's how their story with Victor ended because she wasn't a princess anymore. After their marriage, when Vladimir was born, Victor grew cold towards her. That's when Sonia realized that happy endings only existed in books. Happy ever afters only existed in books. Sonia held her arm tightly as she stared into space. Victor was gone. She wasn't stupid not to realize why Themarie was always there and why they were always together. Even though she knew, she still couldn't accept it. She kept telling herself repeatedly that Victor wasn't that kind of person. Themarie was only there to comfort Victor because he was sad without her. "Who did I fool? Victor locked me up—right here."