A strange feeling of nervousness suddenly crept into my chest. I thought: “Is Linh hiding anything from me?”

On the night of the wedding, my husband didn’t want to have sex. Out of doubt, I lifted the blanket—and didn’t expect to be on my knees in fear and remorse myself…

The wedding ceremony had just ended, and every relative from both sides greeted us. I — Hoàng — was still drunk from the wine and the excitement of the day. My new wife Linh is a modest and meek woman, so everyone is saying I’m very lucky.

On our wedding night, it should have been the sweetest and holiest moment. But there seems to be something odd about Linh. As soon as we entered the bedroom, she sat quietly on the edge of the bed, hands clasped together and shaking slightly. I thought she was just embarrassed, so I tried to make a joke to ease her nervousness. But as time went on, he became more and more withdrawn and refused to approach me.

After a while, my patience ran out. I felt as if something was wrong, and the surprise gradually gave way to annoyance. A strange sensation crept up in my chest. “Is there anything Linh is hiding from me?” I asked myself.

It was midnight, and only the lampshade illuminated the room. Linh was still wrapped in a blanket, shaking. I leaned over and gently placed my hand on her shoulder.
“— Dear, why are you like that? We are married. Don’t you trust me?”

She held back the tears tightly, lips parted, hiding more and more in the blanket. That silence was what bothered me the most.

In an instant of anger and intense curiosity, I tugged at the blanket. But the scene that struck me stopped breathing and chilled my whole body.

On Linh’s skin, I could see a myriad of old scars—long, short, scattered across her back, arms, and legs. I stopped, and it felt like my heart was being squeezed by pain. I looked into her face—she was closed with tears in her cheeks, and seemed to be waiting for a verdict.

I immediately knelt down in front of him, almost in tears, and said:
“— Linh… Please forgive me. I made a mistake… Please forgive me, my dear!”

Linh was surprised by my reaction. I gently grabbed his slender hand and said softly:
“— These wounds… What did you go through? Why didn’t you tell me?”

It took a long time for him to speak. When she finally started crying, that’s when I found out everything.
Before we met, Linh had a rough childhood. He was orphaned at an early age, and entrusted to relatives. Instead of being bullied, he was overworked and often bullied. Those scars are traces of years of abuse and grief.

As he grew older, he struggled to let go of the past in order to live a normal life. But the wound in her heart remained—fear, shame, and a lack of trust that someone would truly love her. When I asked her to marry me, she was filled with joy and fear. On our wedding night, the nightmares of the past returned, causing her to tremble with fear.

After he spoke, I gave him a tight hug. Tears fell down her cheeks. I whispered softly:
“— Dear, you need not be afraid. Your past doesn’t judge you. To me, you are the most beautiful woman in the world. Those scars don’t make you ugly—on the contrary, I love you more.”

Linh sobbed into my arms, gripping my dress tightly, as if finally freed from the weight of years.
Our wedding night, which was hopefully filled with lust, turned into a night of understanding and silence.

Since then, I have grown to love Linh even more. I know true love isn’t perfect—it’s accepting each other, with its wounds and weaknesses. I’m not criticizing his past; All I want is for us to start a new life, where the memories of the pain will gradually fade away.

Years later, when Linh recounts that night, she still feels embarrassed from time to time. But I was just smiling. Because I knew—the moment I lifted the blanket that night, it not only opened up the truth, but also showed me the true meaning of love.

Our wedding night—the beginning of a new life—was not filled with wine and flowers, but with tears and promises: that no matter how painful the past was, we would still hold hands on the journey to the end of life.