Melody's panic grows in her chest. She looks around, there is nowhere to run to.
She has been a fool and has believed that this total stranger would help her and now this? She is so going to die, he is going to rape her and kill her afterward.
He holds her and moves her to the bed and that's when she bursts into tears.
"Please, don't hurt me. " She begs. " You said that you would help me. "
" That's what I am trying to do, sweetheart, why won't you let me?"
She doesn't see how her getting on a bed is going to his mind tends to her wound and so she doesn't stop trying to free herself.
He holds her down with one of his hands and takes off his belt very easily. She starts to sob, she doesn't have any strength left as he ties her hands with his belt. The belt acts as a string rope and she stops moving so much.
He takes a look at her gown, there is no way he would be able to take this off her easily, she is being such a rebel.
He rolls his eyes and proceeds to tear her clothes open. She has just her panties on, and no bra, but that doesn't mean he molests her with his eyes.
He keeps them away, but he notices how beautiful her body is. He looks, but just a glance so that she often gets more uncomfortable.
He goes to tie her up to the bed too, she won't stop begging for her life, she wants to live.
" Can you calm down?" He runs his hand through his hair. " I am trying to help you here. "
He goes away, leaving her to herself. Melody reflects on her life as the tears keep pouring down.
She always thought that one day her family would one day find a cure for her face and she is going to catch up in her violin career– she doesn't get many gigs because no matter how good she is, no one wants to watch monster face play, even with a mask.
She doesn't think that she is going to end up kidnapped in a man's house and she rebukes herself for being foolish enough to follow him.
She was desperate and just wanted to find a cure for herself since her parents couldn't.
Ten minutes pass, and she is still naked on the bed when the door opens again.
Duke's chest is bare and his pants lay loosely around his waist. Her eyes bulge and she starts to struggle with the restraints.
He has a container in his and he keeps stirring it as he walks toward her.
She is crying hysterically and she is pleading with him.
" Melody, stop it. I won't hurt you, I promise. " He tries to calm her.
He moves to her and holds her face still with his left hand. He holds it in a way that she doesn't move around.
He sets the container close to him and takes off her mask.
She waits for him to get shocked, but it doesn't happen. Every man who has seen her face runs away, but not him.
He just takes off the mask completely and throws it away. He holds her face still and looks into her eyes.
" The medicine is made from some strange chemicals and it behaves very oddly. " He tells her. " It won't hurt your normal skin, but if it comes in contact with your clothing, it burns right through it to your skin. "
Oh, so that's why he asked her to take off her clothes. She is exhaling and inhaling dramatically, but she is a little bit calm now.
" Now, when I apply this on your wound, it's going to burn terribly, but it's for a short while. " He says. " Just try to be strong, I know you really want to have your face back. "
He waits for her to get ready again and he reaches for the container. Its content is as white as clouds and it doesn't have any smell at all.
Melody holds her breath while he pours it over her face and her chest, where she has the burns.
It's cold, and chilly to some extent, but it doesn't hurt just yet. Maybe he is wrong, maybe it doesn't even hurt at all.
She has hardly gotten the thoughts out of her head when she feels itching and then she feels like she is being stabbed with tiny needles.
Her back arches off the bed and she lets out a piercing scream. Duke does well to hold her down as she screams out her lungs.
He looks away, not wanting to see her suffer and she keeps struggling.
Knowing that she needs an outlet for the pain, he gives her his hand and she takes it. Like a lunatic – the pain has made her one, she bites into his hand and he holds it in.
The pain grows, but he keeps still. He looks at her to see a little blood dripping from the side of her mouth. She has bitten past his skin.
*****
Melody is sitting on the stock in the bathroom. She is naked, holding her hands over her breasts.
Duke is with her. He is mixing the medicine again, noticing how much her anxiety is.
" It's just for a little while." He encourages. " You are going to be better soon. "
She nods, running her hand through her beautiful hair.
Duke proceeds to apply it to her face and chest and he covers it up with a bandage, leaving out her nostrils, eyes, and mouth.
He is standing between her legs and he gives her his hand to hold and she takes it.
He holds it tightly as both of them wait for the pain to set in.
It's as sharp as labor pain and it's not crushing. She lets out a scream and grabs him by his waist.
Duke hugs her to himself, being the pillar she needs, he wants her to be very much better.
In her misery, she bites into his shoulder. He winches but doesn't move.
The muscles of her hands flex as she holds him even tighter. He knows what's going to happen, she is going to pass out from the pain just like the other times.
****
Duke leans against the frame of the door as he watches her sleep. It has been so worth it, hasn't it?
It has been five days now and he has been tending to her wound and now he is sure that it has been done.
She still has the bandages around her face as she sleeps, but she still looks beautiful to him. He thinks that she is the most beautiful woman that has walked the earth.
He walks in and she starts waking up. He walks over to her and he squats in front of her.
"Hi, baby." He smiles at her and she smiles at him. " Are you ready to take it off?"
" Today?" She is surprised. " It's all done already?"
"Yes. " He affirms. " It's all done."
She looks clueless, but she gets up and he walks her to the bathroom.
She hoists her to sit on the stock. He slowly begins to take off the bandages, but he doesn't miss how much she is shaking with anxiety.
He finally takes it off and lets out a sigh. She interprets it wrong.
" It didn't work, did it?" She heaves sadly. " It's okay, my family has been trying for five years now. "
He doesn't say anything. He helps her down and makes her turn around to face the mirror and that's when her jaw drops to the floor.
Her face is back to normal, it's like that of a new baby. There is not a single sign that she has been in a fire before it's not there.
She hasn't been this beautiful in a long time and she slowly runs her hand over her face, she can't believe this.
Her shoulders start to quiver and she holds her hand over her mouth as she cries.
" Is this really me? I recovered? " She weeps.
She turns around and gives Duke an unexpected kiss on his cheek and she steps away immediately, her face is red with shyness and she looks away.
" I'm sorry, I just want to thank you. " She pushes a strand of her hair away. " Thank you for what you have done for me. "
" You're welcome, Melody. " He simply says. " And congratulations. "
" I don't know what to do to pay you back, I have been trying–"
"Marry me. "
" Didn't you say that you would do anything to get your face back?" He asks. " I have made your dream come true, now marry me. " Melody looks shocked. Her eyes move quickly. From the face is the handsome man that is looking at her and then away. She doesn't know what to think of this. " You don't want to?" Duke asks. " You don't think I am good enough to be your husband?" Is he kidding right now? He is so gorgeous that she started to have weird dreams about him now, he is every woman's dream. He took care of her while she recovered and she has kind of started to fall in love with him too. He is the definition of a good husband. She walks towards him and slowly touches his face. Now she can admire him without thinking of her own ugliness, it's gone. " Marry me, Melody. " He repeats. "Okay. " Fuck it. He is the only one who has been able to come up with a solution to her long problem and for that, she is going to marry him. **** Melody had no idea that marriage could be done so
Melody is mad at her for the way he handled this with her grandfather and she doesn't speak to him as they walk to the car. She shuts the door so loudly when she gets it that Duke turns around and frowns at her. " You are fully aware that this is the only car that we have, right?" He asks. " How could you be so naive?" She laments with anger. " He was baiting you and you took it like a fucking fish!" Duke knows sheis angry and he just starts the car and drives out of her grandfather's old mansion. Her eyes are outside and her head is supported by her hand, it's obvious that she is trying to think of a way out of this mess. " I have friends. " She sighs. " If I beg them well enough they might lend us the money. It will take us decades to pay back but at least I have my face now, and I can work well. " " You aren't taking any loan from your friend. " He tells her. " Oh, Mister genius. " She raises her hands helplessly. " Do you have thousands of dollars bills stacked somew
Duke stands up angrily and walks out of the office even though Melody is screaming for him not to. He walks down the hall and ignores the look that he is getting because of the angry snare on his face. He keeps walking until he looks up and sees one of the bank workers walking toward him. He looks timid, or maybe she is just a really shy person. He caves in towards her and she stops in her tracks and takes a few steps back as if she is scared of him. " Can you please point me in the way of the bathroom?" He requests. She nods and points at the fourth floor from them. He nods and thanks her, walking towards it. He turns the knob and shuts it behind him. He hits the door and grunts, trying so hard to swallow all his anger. He walks around, kicking the doors open to make sure that he is alone and he is. He takes out his phone and dials Bloom's number, Bloom is always at his service so he picks it up at the first ring. " Boss, it's all fine?" Bloom inquires. " Di
An angry Duke pulls the manager up to his feet and drags him by the collar back into the office. Melody is confused, she doesn't know what to do. She saw some of the workers making phone calls and she knows that she is going to be in trouble and her husband too. She doesn't want Duke to get arrested because her family is going to mock both of them. She walks into the office and shuts the door and presses her face against it as she breathes through her mouth, she has never been more scared in her whole life. Mister Maxwell has found his way to his sit and is groaning in pain as he wipes the blood from his nose and tries to sniff the rest back in, where they are supposed to be. " You stupid, jerk!" He curses at Duke. " Just wait until the police come and take you away. You are going to rot in jail for the rest of your life. " Duke is angry at this man's audacity to still speak to him with such disrespect and so he grabs him by his neck and bashes his head into the table. Th
Guns are scary and enough to make anyone recoil in their shells, but not Duke. He has been handling guns for some years now and they are nothing but toys in his hands. The only thing is that he doesn't like that they are making Melody shake so much. He frowns and puts his hands around her and pulls her closer to him, they dare not point it in her direction. "We got news that someone was assaulting another here. " The first police point the gun around. " Who is that?" Duke rolls his eyes and shifts in his seat. " That would be me. " He waves his hand. " Any problem with that?" "No!" Melody shrieks. He can't help but laugh. Was she expecting him to deny it or something? The president stands up and draws their attention to him. He has this tired look on his face like he can't take any more of the drama that keeps popping up all the time. "Look, it was a mistake and you wouldn't want to arrest him, trust me. " He sighs tiredly. The policemen drop their guns and turn to look a
After a very hectic day, Duke and Melody return to their car with bags of money. It's a lot of bags, but Duke insisted so that he would get to see the shock on her grandfather's face. Melody and Duke enter the car and shut the door. Melody heaves and pushes her hair back. " That's one hell of a day. " She confesses. " Yeah?" He laughs. For someone who has been on a rollercoaster this whole time, he has been calm. " You know, I went through so many emotions today. " She confesses. " I went from worrying that you won't get the loan to worrying that we would be going to jail. " " Jail?" He laughs with genuine surprise. The truth is that he wasn't even trying hard to stay out of trouble because if he has been taken to jail and is made to reveal his real identity, then the police will be the ones in trouble not him. Melody looks at him and smiles. She pulls closer and kisses him on his lips. He wasn't expecting it, but he returns it, taking control of it and giving her lower lip a li
Melody is just relaxing on the chair when she hears her mother and sister conversing in almost inaudible voices and she turns around. " What are you both talking about that you may say loudly?" She asks, looking from one person to the other. Her mother raises her eyebrow at Bella before she sips from her cup of tea and Melody can't help but huff. " Okay, if it has to do with me, maybe you guys should say something. " She says. " I really don't appreciate you guys talking behind my back. "Her mother and sister still exchange glances and she can't take it anymore. She stands up and starts to walk away. "Hey, come on. " Her mother calls her back. " It's not that serious, you don't have to leave. "" You guys are obviously keeping something from me, what's it about?" She asks them. "Okay, fine. " Her mother sighs. " We were just talking about the fact that you called Taylor to speak to the bank manager to give you the loan."" I can't believe that your poor husband made you do that.
Everyone falls silent and if a pin is to drop on the ground, it would sound as loud as a plate crashing on the ground. Taylor is the center of attraction, everyone's eyes are on him. They don't even notice when the front door opens and Melody's father, Mister Joseph walks in with his briefcase in his hand. He looks around, but everyone is too busy to notice his presence and so he walks right into the heart of the scene. "Guys, what's going on?" He asks. " I can see that Taylor made it. "Taylor is now sweating profusely and he keeps wiping his face again and again. " Joseph, thank God you are here. " Melody's grandfather returns to his seat with a disappointed shake of his head. "What's going on?"" Well, the boy kind of proved us wrong. " He gestures. " He came here with the money as he said he would, but there has been a new development. ""Okay?" Mister Joseph shrugs. " Taylor here said that he helped Duke get the contract and Duke says it's false and now Taylor can't prove