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. "