Chapter 44 Options & Choices
Alpha Gideon fell into deep silence. He couldn't easily make his wife listen to him. It would take a few more days to convince her that he knew better what to do in their situation. But right now, he was still reeling from the shock brought on by the soul swap. He would rather send his wife out of the room so he could think in peace. With his noisy wife by his side, he won’t be able to reach a sound decision.
“My love, the night is getting late. Go back to your room now. Let’s go to sleep and we'll continue discussing Mira's living arrangements tomorrow,” he said.
Luna Rosie pouted. “I want to sleep here with you,” she insisted.
“No. The bed is small. You won't be comfortable in your sleep. Just hold on a little bit. Next week I can finally go back to our room so we can be together again,” he replied, avoiding her eyes.
Luna Rosie noticed how he avoided looking at her face. When he was talking to her, he was trying not to stare at her face and avoid eye contact. She had removed her veil. Her ugly face must have affected him. He was so used to seeing her beautiful face he had a hard time adjusting to her current look.
She put back the veil on her face and sighed heavily. “You can’t endure seeing my ugly face, right?” she asked gloomily.
It’s no use hiding the truth. Alpha Gideon nodded his head. “Yeah, you are right. It’s like seeing a stranger’s face instead of my wife’s beautiful face,” he answered in a dispirited tone.
“I feel so sad and ashamed of my ugly face,” Luna Rosie said miserably, deeply upset by her disturbing situation. Losing her life and identity is very hard to accept.
“No, don’t be sad and ashamed, my love. After my injuries are healed I will do everything to find that powerful shaman who can help undo the soul swap between you and Mira. We will definitely get your body and life back,” he said solemnly.
His assurance brought relief and joy to Luna Rosie’s depressed heart. “Thank you, my love. I appreciate your love and support when it comes to my condition. I don’t know how long I can hold on to if you are not very supportive of me. I feel so alone and struggling to come to terms with my situation. It’s very hard for me to wake up every day and see my ugly face in the mirror. My pathetic condition gives me endless misery,” she said in a wretched tone.
Alpha Gideon breathed deeply, bothered by the gravity of their situation. “Where can we find such a powerful being who can undo the soul swap? I haven’t heard of anyone who can do it. Because if such a person exists in this world he must be very famous right now and it would be easy to locate him. But as far as I know no such person exists in the current times,” he stated sadly.
She looked at him teary-eyed. “Are we just going to just accept that? You will not help me find that person?” she asked, disappointment flashing in her eyes. Her heart was broken instantly by his statement as if he had already given up.
“No. I’m not saying that I won’t help you. Of course I will help you because you are my wife. But finding such a person might take a long time, or at worst a whole lifetime because it requires finding someone with divine power. How about if we just focus first on finding an immediate solution to our problem?” Alpha Gideon sighed, shaking his head, lost in the sea of uncertainty.
She cried even more because as minutes passed, he was already losing hope and she also felt the same way. Finding a person with divine power sounds so impossible. She cleared her throat. “W-would you still love me even if I already looked this way? Even if I could no longer take my body back, would you still feel the same way about me? Please answer me, my love. I want to know your answer,” she said despondently, seeking the truth in his eyes.
“Why did you ask me such a question?” he asked.
“Because I’m afraid that…sooner or later…your love for me will start to fade away because of my ugly face,” she responded anxiously. Her eyes were swarmed with tears.
“My love, please don't say that. It will never happen,” he assured her. He preferred not to entertain that possibility.
“You can’t answer me because there is a chance you will fall out of love because I’m no longer beautiful and sexy, am I right?” Luna Rosie asked, wanting confirmation of her worst fear.
“Stop asking me that question. Let’s not dwell on the negative side, let’s just focus on the positive side,” he said, trying to cheer her up.
Luna Rosie shook her head. “No. Let’s talk about it. This is the kind of problem that needs to be solved right now. I can’t sleep peacefully tonight if I can’t find a solution that can erase the pain in my heart. Let’s talk about this. OK?”
“Fine, tell me what you want to do? Let me hear what you have in mind,” he said, encouraging her to express her opinion.
Luna Rosie took a deep breath. “I’m afraid that finding a powerful shaman who can undo the soul switch might take a long time, so I came up with two immediate solutions to end my pressing problem.”
He looked at her with renewed interest, eager to hear the solution she was talking about. “Tell me about it.”
“The first solution is to go under the knife. I don’t like it because it's like copying someone else’s face but it is the best solution to my problem,” she said calmly.
He raised a brow. “You mean cosmetic surgery?”
“Yes. I will tell the surgeon to copy my original face. This way, even if we can’t find a shaman to restore my face, I still have options. We will only get the services of the best surgeon in the whole country,” she explained.
“OK. Then tell me about the second option,” he said, getting excited to hear all her options.
“Um, I really hate wearing a veil on my face, it’s so troublesome, but Mira’s scar-laden face is not nice to look at so I was thinking of erasing these scars on my face. Actually, Mira’s face is not ugly, but the scars make it hideous to look at. If the surgeon can successfully erase the scars on my face I don’t have to wear a veil on my face anymore,” she said.
Alpha Gideon fell into silence, weighing her options.
Luna Rosie asked, “So, as my husband, what do you think is the best solution to my problem?”
His eyes lit up. “Honestly, I think the first option is the best because you will get your face back, but we both know that cosmetic surgery doesn't always give a perfect result. Some lead to face disfigurement and death. It’s something that we can’t afford to happen. I don’t want you to put your life in danger just to alter your appearance."
Suddenly she already knew what to do. “Um, I will just go ahead with the second option which is to visit the surgeon who can remove the scars on my face. I just want the scars to go away because staring at my face in the mirror is making me depressed.”
He nodded his head. “OK. If that makes you happy and makes you feel better about yourself then I will support you with your decision. I will accompany you to the surgeon after my arms are already healed.”
Luna Rosie felt a lot better after reaching a decision with her husband's help. “If we can’t find a shaman, would you accept my new face?” she asked, looking deeply into his eyes, observing his reaction to such a very important question.
“Of course, I will always love you no matter what,” he answered, his tone sincere.
“Thank you, my love, because you make me happy today. You are a much needed relief for my aching heart. I can finally sleep peacefully tonight knowing you will still love me come what may,” she said and burst into tears, hugging him tightly, letting him know how his support and love mean so much to her.
Alpha Gideon rubbed his wife’s back using his injured arms. He didn't mind the pain. He just wanted to let his wife know that despite what happened to her, his love for her remained alive in his heart. “Everything will be alright, my love. We can solve our problems one step at a time,” he said reassuringly.
A few minutes later, Luna Rosie finally stopped crying, feeling grateful and satisfied that things are looking brighter on her end. “I love you so much, husband. Thank you for your support and love. I appreciate it very much,” she said between tears.
“I’m glad you feel better now,” he said thoughtfully. “The night is getting late. You should go back to your room and get a good night's sleep. See you tomorrow, my love,” he said softly.
“Goodnight, I'll take my leave,” she said and kissed his lips one more time before leaving the room.
“Night night.” Alpha Gideon watched as his wife exited the room. He finally released the deep sigh he had been holding in his chest.
He stared at the ceiling of the room, racking his brain, asking himself a hundred times where to find a powerful shaman who could perform the successful soul swap between his wife and Mira?
Out of the blue, another brilliant idea popped up in his mind.
Alternately, to hide the soul swap incident and solve his problem at once he could marry his wife legally. In short he can take a second wife and that is Mira the maid, so no one will question their sleeping arrangement. They can hide the soul swap incident as long as they can until they locate a shaman with divine powers.
But what would his wife think of his idea, marrying her again in her current face? Would she agree?