Pretend as the Billionaire's Wife (SPG)

KABANATA 3

SERAPHINA ROSE P.O.V

The harsh fluorescent light stabbed at my eyelids, forcing them open. Disoriented, I tried to sit up, but a searing pain lanced through my body, pinning me to the bed. Panic clawed at my throat. Where was I? What happened?

A flurry of movement caught my eye. A woman in white scrubs rushed to my bedside, her face etched with concern. "Easy there," she soothed, her voice calming despite the frantic hammering of my heart.

"Who are you?" I croaked, my voice rusty and unfamiliar. My throat felt parched, like sandpaper.

"I'm Dr. Sharma," she replied gently, offering me a straw. "You're in Cove General Hospital. Don't worry, you're safe now."

Safe? Safe from what? My mind was a swirling vortex of confusion. The last thing I remembered was... darkness. A struggle. Fear. Then, nothing.

Biglang, napagtanto ko ang nakakatakot na katotohanan. Dahan dahan kong hinawakan ang aking ulo upang alamin kung bakit pakiramdam ko ay may nakabalot rito. Nang makahawakan ko 'to ay alam kong isa 'tung bantage.

"Anong...anong nangyayari?" Garagal kong tanong dahil hindi ko ama kung anong nangyayari.

Mabilis na nag-react si Dr. Sharma, ipinatong ang isang nakapakalmang kamay sa akin. "Shh, Ms. Isla, ayos lang. Ligtas ka na." Ang kanyang mga salita ay hindi gaanong napigilan ang pagtaas ng gulat. Isla? Sino si Isla? Pangalan ko... pangalan ko ba? Agad akong umiling dahil naguguluhan ako sa nangyayari.

"Bakit... bakit nakatakip ang mukha ko? at Seraphina ang pangalan ko hindi Isla!" Nauutal kong sabi, nangingilid ang luha sa mga mata ko at nanginginig ang boses ko.

Dr. Sharma hesitated, her gaze flickering with a mix of sadness and understanding. "Isla," she began, her voice soft, "to tell you the truth, wala kaming nagawa binayaran kami para palitan ang mukha mo, malaking tao ang nagbayad sa'min kaya sinagawa namin ang facial surgery."

The words echoed in my mind, each syllable a hammer blow. Surgery? What surgery? My mind was a terrifying blank. Images of a struggle, of darkness, flashed before my eyes, but nothing concrete.

"Ano! dahil sa pera pinalitan n'yo ang mukha ko? anong klaseng tao kayo!?" Alam kong tumulo ang luha ko. Hindi ko matanggap...Damn all i can remember I was kidnapped. Pauwi lang ako galing sa pinag-tatrabahuan kong coffee shop tapos biglang may van na kumuha sa'kin at may tinurok na pampatulog after that wala na akong maalala. Tears streamed down my face, hot and relentless. This wasn't right. This wasn't happening to me. I didn't remember anything about this surgery. All I knew was that I was kidnapped, and now, I woke up with a stranger's face. A wave of despair washed over me. Sino ang may-ari ng mukhang ito? What had they done to me? Mga tanong hindi ko masagot.

Nasa gilid ko lang ang doctor ng biglang bumukas ang pintuan at bumungad roon ang isang babaing nakasuot ng pulang dress na hapit sa katawan at halos lumuwa ang dibdib nito kasunod na pumasok ang isa pang babae. Nagtatanong na mga tingin ang pinukol ko sa kanila.

"Anya, ano pwedi na bang tanggalin ang bantage sa mukha niya? isang buwan akong hindi umuwi at alam kong papatayin na ako ng asawa ko!" Saad ng naka pulang dress.

"Isla ikalma mo yang panty mo, pwedi na nating tanggalin ang bantage ngayon dahil 3 weeks na siya rito.

"Isla?" Mahinang saad ko na alam kong hindi nakatakas sa pandinig nila. huwag nilang sabihin na ang mukha ng babaing 'yan ang pinalit nila sa mukha ko? hindi makapaniwalang saad ko sa aking isipan.

"Mabuti naman kong ganon aalis ako ng bansa ngayon pag napadala ko ang babaing 'to sa bahay." The girl in red dress said and roll her eye's at me. Habang ang babaing kasama niya ay naawang nakatingin sa'kin.

"Tanggalin n'yo na..." niinip na saad nito. "Sino ka?" mahinang tanong ko rito pero isang irap lang ang nakuha ko sa kanya bago magsalita. "Huwag ka ng magtanong mamaya malalaman mo." Saad nito at tiningnan ang mga kuko nito.

"It's time," Dr. Sharma said. Hindi ako makapagsalita dahil sa nangyayari. My heart hammered a frantic tattoo against my ribs. Fear, raw and primal, coiled in my stomach. What would I see when the bandages came off? My old face, scarred and bruised from the ordeal? Or the face of a stranger, Isla's face, staring back at me?

Dr. Sharma busied herself with instruments, the clinking a counterpoint to the frantic thrumming in my ears. Finally, she turned to me, her eyes filled with a mix of apprehension and compassion. "Alright, let's get you comfortable."

Sa malumanay na mga kamay, sinimulan niyang tanggalin ang bantage sa mukha, pinikit ko na lang ang mga mata ko at hinayaan siyang tanggalin ang bantage sa ulo ko. Hindi ko kayang makita na ibang mukha na ang dala dala ko.

"Alright, open your eyes slowly," Dr. Sharma instructed, her voice barely a whisper.

Hesitantly, I cracked open one eye, then the other. My breath caught in my throat. It wasn't my old face, not exactly. The lines around my eyes were gone, replaced by a youthful smoothness. The scar above my eyebrow, a constant reminder of a childhood fall, was vanished. Yet, it wasn't Isla's face either.

Ang nakikita ko sa salamin ay nasa harapan ko ngayon naka suot ng pulang dress at nakangisi sa'kin. My old face is now gone.

And a strange, unfamiliar face stared back at me. It was a beautiful face, with high cheekbones and a delicate jawline, but it was a face I didn't recognize. A face that held no memories, no connection to the person I was before.

Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. This face, beautiful as it was, was a constant reminder of what had been stolen from me.

Tiningnan ko ang mukha ng babaing ito sa harapan ko, pareho na kami ng mukha ang pinagkaiba lang puno ng kulerite ang mukha nito habang ako ay walang ni isang make up.

"Don't worry, sweetie," she said and a cruel smile playing on her lips. "Just a little makeover. You look much better now, don't you?" Her voice held a mocking lilt that sent chills down my spine.

I refused to meet her gaze, focusing instead on the sterile white walls, desperately willing myself to disappear. The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.

"Listen up," she snapped, her tone shifting from saccharine to laced with venom. "You're in a tight spot, woman. Don't even think about asking questions." Mataray na saad nito sa'kin.

"From now on, you're Isla Wren Cove-Thorne." Saad nito. "Ano? I'm Seraphina Rose Callaghan." Matigas kong tugon rito.

"Yes, I knew that stupid." Saad nito sa'kin.

"Don't even think about arguing with me, sweetheart," she hissed, her smile gone, replaced by a cold, menacing glint in her eyes. "My husband have disability which he can't walk and I hate being with him kaya ikaw ang papalit bilang ako." She gestured vaguely with a perfectly manicured hand. "You. The new and improved Isla Wren Cove-Thorne is now the Wife of my husband." Nakangisi nitung saad.

My mind reeled. This was insane. I couldn't just become someone else! But the look in Isla's eyes, a glint of something far more dangerous than anger, stole the breath from my lungs.

"You'll play your part," she said, her voice a low growl. "One wrong move, one misplaced word, I'll ruin everything about you." The weight of her threat settled on me like a leaden blanket. Trapped, confused, and utterly terrified, I could only manage a weak nod, a silent prisoner in her face.