No one ever mentioned dreams, education, or the possibility of a calling Emily might love.
It seemed to Emily that her entire future had been arranged by someone else long before she had even been born. Still, one question tormented her more than all the others.
What did she look like?
When Emily was nine, she accidentally discovered a tall mirror in one of the unused rooms. She slipped inside, shut the door carefully behind her, and with trembling fingers began unwinding the bandages from her face.
She managed to peel away only a few layers.
Then the door flew open.
Bodyguards stormed into the room.
“Stop that right now!”
Within seconds, they wrapped her face again and dragged her straight to Robert.
He was furious.
“I forbade you to do this.”
As punishment, Emily was given neither food nor water for two full days.
After that, fear became stronger than curiosity. For several years she did not dare try again. But eventually the need to know became unbearable.
One night, Emily waited until the house grew silent. Then she took out a tiny pocket mirror a maid had secretly smuggled to her and tried once more to remove the bandages.
The guards appeared again, as if they had risen from the walls.
It felt as though someone watched Emily every hour of every day.
After that, Robert placed even more guards near her room. Little by little, Emily stopped resisting altogether.
Only from time to time, she begged him.
“Please, if my face is truly so terrible, at least let a surgeon fix it.”
Whenever she said that, his eyes turned instantly cold.
“No. We will not discuss this again.”
“But why?”
“Because I said so.”
He never gave explanations. Not for anything.
Years slipped past one after another. Emily became so accustomed to living behind bandages that she could hardly imagine herself without them.
On her eighteenth birthday, Robert hosted an extravagant reception.
After dinner, he summoned her to him.
“Congratulations,” he said. “You are an adult now.”
Emily forced a small smile.
“Thank you, Robert.”
His voice remained calm, almost businesslike.
“I have already chosen Ethan as your husband. The wedding will take place in one month.”
For a moment, Emily felt as if her heart had stopped beating.
“But… I don’t even know him.”
Robert’s expression did not change.