Out of love for her family, a young woman married an old man who always hid his face behind a mask, but on their wedding night, when he removed the mask, she screamed in terror 

It all began that evening when her father, pale and shaken, quietly said:

— We will be evicted if we don’t repay the debt.

— Dad, do we really have no money left?

— No… I spent everything on your mother’s medicine. I know how we can get out of this situation, but…

— What? Tell me, Dad. I’ll do anything.

— My boss is willing to pay our debt and fully cover your mother’s treatment, but he has… a strange condition.

— What condition?

— You must marry him.

— You mean that strange old man who always wears a mask and a hat?

— Yes.

— …I agree. My family is more important.

The wedding was simple, without guests, as if it were not a celebration but a business arrangement. The young bride stepped over the threshold of the luxurious palace where she was taken right after the ceremony, and felt her chest tighten with fear.

Now she was the wife of a man she had never truly seen.

On their wedding night, her husband invited her into his room. Candles burned on the table, soft music played, wine was set out — everything looked far too romantic for their strange union.

The girl trembled: she was scared, uncomfortable, but she decided to endure everything for her mother’s sake.

The man approached. He slowly removed his hat, then lifted his hand to the mask he hadn’t taken off in years. The girl froze, her hands clenched. The mask clicked open — and in the next moment she screamed in horror. Under the mask was…  Continued in the first comment 

Before her did not stand an old man. Before her stood a young man with deep scars on his face and neck.

He looked away and quietly said:

— These are the consequences of an accident. I survived by a miracle, but the scars changed me. People feared me. Turned away. Laughed. I hid for many years behind the mask of an old man so no one would see what I really looked like. But when I saw you… for the first time in years, I felt I wanted to live differently. I wanted to give your family everything I could, if only you would agree to stay by my side.

The girl couldn’t utter a word. Her heart was pounding, her breath uneven. He stepped back.

— I disgust you, don’t I? I’m sorry… I never meant to scare you.

She shook her head and said softly:

— No… you don’t disgust me. I just need time to adjust. I thought there was an old man under the mask. But you… you’re different. And you saved my family. I don’t know what the future holds, but… you’re not frightening. I was just in shock.

He smiled for the first time in many years — cautiously, as if afraid even that might hurt her.