"Chapter 1"- Victoria Hart

Victoria was just another college student in everyone's eyes. Quiet. Polite. Always sitting in the last row, avoiding attention. No one knew that every smile she forced hid years of unbearable pain.

Her childhood had been filled with fear instead of love.

The people who were supposed to protect her never did.

Victoria became the victim of terrible abuse when she was young. Trembling and desperate, she told her parents everything, hoping they would save her. Instead, they ignored her, blamed her, and chose silence over their daughter.

That silence broke something inside her.

Every night she cried herself to sleep. She stopped looking at herself in the mirror because she felt dirty, guilty, and disgusted with herself—even though none of what happened was her fault. She locked herself in her room, skipped meals, avoided friends, and slowly disappeared from the world.

Her mind could no longer carry the pain alone.

To survive, it began to divide itself.

Without realizing it, Victoria wasn't alone anymore.

Oni was born first—the protector. Cold, fearless, and ruthless. Whenever danger appeared, Oni took control, refusing to let anyone hurt Victoria again.

Then came Jennifer—kind, gentle, and motherly. She comforted Victoria during sleepless nights and reminded her to keep living when everything felt hopeless.

Cherry arrived next. Loud, playful, and reckless, she laughed through pain and acted as if nothing had ever happened, hiding the darkness behind jokes and endless energy.

After Cherry came Catherine—calm, intelligent, and calculating. She remembered details everyone else forgot and handled difficult situations with logic instead of emotion.

Finally, there was Wellcy.

No one knew exactly why Wellcy existed.

She was quiet... almost invisible.

She watched everything from the shadows of Victoria's mind, carrying memories that the others refused to remember. She knew the truth behind every nightmare and every scar.

Together they shared one body, but each carried a different piece of Victoria's shattered soul.

At college, classmates simply thought Victoria had strange mood swings. One day she was cheerful, the next she seemed emotionless, and sometimes she couldn't remember conversations from only hours earlier.

No one realized they weren't talking to the same person.

As buried memories slowly resurfaced, the walls between the personalities began to crack. Secrets long hidden threatened to destroy the fragile balance inside Victoria's mind.

...For the first time, each personality had to decide whether they would keep protecting Victoria by hiding the past... or finally face the truth together...

......................

(Fractured – Chapter 1: The Girl Who Smiled)

The rain poured over the city as students rushed through the gates of St. Eleanor College. Among them walked a girl in an oversized hoodie, headphones covering her ears, and a blank expression on her face.

Her name was Victoria Hart.

To everyone else, she was the quiet girl who never talked unless necessary. She always sat in the last row, ate lunch alone, and disappeared as soon as classes ended.

No one knew she wasn't truly alone.

...----------------...

"Victoria."

The professor called her name.

She slowly stood up.

"Can you solve this equation?"

"...Yes."

She walked to the board, solved it perfectly, and returned to her seat without looking at anyone.

"She's so smart."

"But she's weird."

"I heard she talks to herself."

The whispers followed her every day.

Victoria pretended not to hear them.

She had learned long ago that silence hurt less.

That evening, she reached the tiny apartment she rented.

The moment the door closed, she collapsed onto the floor.

Her hands trembled.

Her breathing became uneven.

Another nightmare.

Another flashback.

A pair of rough hands.

A locked room.

Her own screams echoing in the darkness.

She covered her ears.

"Stop..."

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Please stop..."

Then...

Everything went silent.

Victoria's trembling disappeared.

She slowly stood up.

When she looked into the mirror—

Her eyes no longer looked frightened.

A cold smile appeared.

"Still crying?"

The voice was different.

Lower.

Sharper.

"I hate seeing you like this."

She cracked her neck.

"If anyone touches us again..."

"...I'll kill them."

The reflection smiled wider.

"I'm Oni."

Several minutes later—

Victoria blinked.

She was standing in front of the mirror.

"...Why am I here?"

She couldn't remember anything.

Not again.

Her phone buzzed.

A reminder.

Dinner.

She stared at it.

"I don't deserve food."

She threw the phone onto the bed and curled herself into a corner.

Hours passed.

She didn't eat.

She didn't drink.

She simply stared into the darkness.

Then another voice whispered.

Soft.

Gentle.

"It's okay, sweetheart."

"You've cried enough today."

Victoria slowly looked toward the mirror.

A warm smile greeted her.

"You should eat something."

"You'll get sick."

"I'm Jennifer."

Jennifer wasn't strong like Oni.

She wasn't fearless.

She simply wanted Victoria to live.

Victoria found herself standing in the kitchen without remembering how she got there.

A bowl of instant noodles was already prepared.

She blinked in confusion.

"I..."

"I don't remember making this."

She quietly finished eating.

Meanwhile...

Miles away...

Victoria's parents sat comfortably in their luxurious house.

"Did Victoria call?"

"No."

"Good."

"I don't want unnecessary drama."

Neither of them asked whether she had eaten.

Whether she was safe.

Or whether their daughter was still alive.

To them...

Victoria had always been a burden.

That night...

Victoria finally fell asleep.

Inside her mind...

A long hallway stretched into endless darkness.

Five doors stood side by side.

One slowly opened.

A girl with crimson eyes stepped out.

"Oni."

Another opened.

Jennifer smiled softly.

Then came a girl chewing bubblegum with bright pink hair.

"Cherry!"

She laughed loudly.

"This place is boring."

The fourth door creaked open.

A woman dressed in black adjusted her glasses.

"I'm Catherine."

"Someone is remembering."

Finally...

At the very end of the hallway...

A fifth door remained locked.

A faint whisper escaped from behind it.

"...Not yet..."

The other four froze.

Jennifer lowered her head.

"Oni..."

"She's waking up."

Oni's smile disappeared.

"...Then our nightmare is about to begin."

The lock on the final door cracked.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***