I Married a Stranger

Part 7: The Face Behind the Mask

As the car pulled up in front of the mansion, Eroy's hand moved towards his mask

My heart raced as I tried to find words to explain why I was staring at his mask.

For months, I had wondered what he was hiding.

Why he had chosen to hide behind the shadows.

What he was so afraid of that he wore a mask to conceal his identity

Now I was about to find out.

Slowly, Eroy took off the mask revealing a handsome face.

For a few seconds, I couldn't believe my eyes.

The left side of his face was as perfect as any man's dreams.

The right side, however, was badly disfigured.

The skin there was almost charred.

There was a huge gash running from his temple to his cheek.

His right eye looked odd.

It almost as if it had been through an ordeal

Eroy stared at the floor, too embarrassed to look at me.

"This is my face."

He said in a whisper.

"I was afraid."

I felt my heart constrict in my chest.

"I was afraid you will leave me if you knew what I looked like."

For a while, we sat in silence as I struggled to find something to say.

I wanted to say something.

I wanted to console him.

Tell him that the disfigurement was no problem compared to the pain of losing a soul as beautiful as his.

I couldn't say anything.

Not because I was disappointed or even grossed by what I was seeing.

But because all along, Eroy had been living a life of solitude because he thought that is the only way for him to be happy.

Suddenly, I felt tears trickling down my cheeks.

Eroy looked up at me, his expression one of surprise and pain.

"I understand."

I said as I wiped the tears from my face.

"You don't have to say anything."

"Eroy-"

"It's okay."

He said as he replaced the mask and opened the car door.

He stepped out of the car and walked away into the mansion leaving me all alone.

It was the first time ever that I felt that I had somehow hurt Eroy's feelings.

That night, Eroy did not come to my room.

Neither did he the following night.

I spent a night waiting for him to come to my room.

The next day, another night passed.

Then another day.

Still no Eroy.

It dawned on me that the mansion had become unbearably quiet.

I found myself staring longingly at the door as if I expected Eroy to come walking into my room at any moment.

One night, I decided to investigate.

I found the butler in his office.

"Where is Eroy?"

I asked.

He looked at me in surprise.

"I don't know, Mrs. Hubert."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"He hasn't contacted us."

A sense of foreboding came over me.

That was the first time ever that Eroy had failed to contact us.

Not once.

Not ever.

I found Liza, the maid, in the hallway.

"Have you seen Eroy?"

She shook her head.

"No, ma'am."

I went looking for another person and found Mrs. Agnes, the old nanny.

"Has Mr. Hubert returned?"

Her eyes seemed to widen in fear as she shook her head slowly.

"No, he hasn't."

It dawned on me how much I feared losing Eroy.

That night, I couldn't sleep and found myself wandering round the mansion.

As I passed a locked room at the end of the west corridor, I heard a noise.

Like someone was coughing.

I stopped, straining my ears.

Again, the sound came.

This time I was certain that it was coming from the other side of the door.

"Eroy?"

I whispered.

There was a pause and then a weak voice came from the direction of the room.

"Aona..."

It was Eroy's voice.

But he sounded dreadful.

As if he hadn't been sleeping for days.

Then he said something that sent shivers down my spine.

"Please go away."

TO BE CONTINUED…