Chained by Vows: The True Story of How a Princess Unmade a Monster

Note: All views and dialogues mentioned in this article are presented from the perspective of the subject, based on her story and experience, and are interpreted to raise awareness about the intricacies of domestic violence and its apparent effects on those affected.

Fairytales and fiction novels often describe love with a main character hopelessly consumed by a soulmate as the center of the universe—Shakespearean sonnets telling tales of star-crossed lovers, a prince saving the princess from her tower, and sometimes, an ending where they both lived happily ever after.

Yet, what happens when love becomes the tool that blinds the protagonist from seeing the person she vowed to be with, eventually transforming him into a wolf who would devour her whole?

Marriage is defined as the first act to seal the love between newlyweds, but for Paula Petrina Cervantes Laxa, a 35-year-old Social Welfare Aide, it would be the chain that would bind her in a tide of misconstrued lies and a cycle of shouts and beatings—a chain that would seep into the walls of her home until she rewrote her story by crying out one, single word: help.

Secret Nights and Secret Fights

A vow is a rope that binds two souls together with promises of forging ahead; before bruises clouded her skin and shouts rang her ears every night, Paula was 14 when she met 15-year-old Edmond Hamto Laxa, who had nothing to offer but the grease from the shoes he sells.

During past recollections, Paula recalled how meeting Edmond in a dark alleyway became the catalyst that plunged her into a path of deception disguised as half-truths and broken vows in exchange for herself.

Paula described Edmond as someone who treated her like a princess, offering platitudes of love while waiting for her at school. “Fourteen ako ‘non. Nagustuhan ko siguro siya dahil…maporma,” she said.

At 17, Paula was lured away from the Cervantes household into Edmond’s where she gave birth to Hailey Pauline out of wedlock, forcing Paula to work in a fast food restaurant to support both families. Edmond covered up his controlling nature by dressing it as declarations of love that blinded Paula from all the red flags in front of her—it wasn’t until she went to college that he slowly started to consume her life.

Paula had to navigate the complexities of her finances while juggling life as a student, a mother, and a sole provider for two families—shouldering multiple sidelines to prove that she could stand on her own.

“Ang dami palang pasikot sikot sa mundo. Ginawa ko lahat para lang kumita.”

It wasn’t until Paula found out how Edmond cheated on her that she distanced herself, with her parents stepping in to stave off their relationship for her to focus on graduating from STI College, her degree in Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) later securing a job as a secretary at Guagua National Colleges.

The Kapampangan phrase, “Ika ing memukud king anak mu, panagutan me,” was the reason the twenty-year-old couple decided to tie the knot in 2013 to live up to society’s standards: to be the parents of their children.

Eventually, Paula scrounged up her salary to rent out an apartment that came out of her own wallet as Edmond’s 50-peso sales were not enough to cover all their finances. But as each rent deadline drew closer, the money set aside for the landlord would mysteriously disappear. “Pagising ko, wala na yung pera. Yun yung hindi kakalimutan ng mga anak ko,” she said, her old youthful days quickly fading as her story continued to a darker tone.

By then, Hailey was followed by three other siblings: Huslin Diamon, Thunder Angelo, and Zanjo—all of whom would be witnesses to the horror their mother had to face at the hands of their father.

Jack of All Lies, A Glutton in Disguise

On days when Edmond couldn’t get his fix, his attention would divert back to Paula—gone was the love that used to fuel him to sing phrases in their teenage years; what was left was a skeleton of a man, only filled with rage going rampant each night. His drug habits worsened, making him sell the vehicle Paula’s grandparents gave to feed his obsession.

Edmond began spreading stories, claiming that Paula was with a different man every night. He created a group chat that included both his and Paula’s relatives, naming it, “Oreni po reng lalaki na…ikit kula pu CCTV.” There, he sent explicit photos and videos of women he insisted were Paula—images that were clearly taken from adult websites, yet he clung to them as “proof” to sustain the lies he was telling.

Paula tried to expose his lies, saying, “Wala na nga ako oras sa mga bata, mag-lalalaki pa ako,” but nobody believed her. While her husband was busy hallucinating about her imaginary lovers, Paula was driven by her fear and his rage, which pressured her to play along with his wants to pacify his outbursts.

Landing a job in the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as an encoder gave her the financial means to provide more, but that also meant that she had to work long hours from 8 am to 5 pm.

Edmond wanted to have her for himself—putting her on a video call while she’s at work, with him waiting at the top of the stairs, a bottle of Red Horse ready to fly next to her face when she gets home late.

“Madalas na ‘yung sampal, ‘yung salita—una salita lang talaga eh…madalas sigaw.” The shouts started ringing through their neighbor’s walls in 2024.

The maltreatment worsened to Edmond taking Paula’s things and ruining her clothes to prevent her from going out. Original branded shoes and clothes would be torn off with a knife. All that was left the next time she opened the boxes was a carton smell from the absent garments.

The kids started asking questions about their father’s erratic behavior, with them saying, “Bakit ganoon si daddy?” whenever they witnessed his mood swings.

None of them were safe from Edmond’s wrath; he once hit his eldest daughter when she attempted to protect her mother from his fists. “Parang vinivideohan niya ‘yung tatay niya [para proof] kaso ‘di natuloy kaya naganun niya,” Paula gestured to mimic Edmond hitting Hailey.

The Human Resources (HR) department under the DSWD office was not spared as Edmond decidedly messaged all of her co-workers, including her manager, Miss Fritz Cunanan, sending erotic pictures with sexual innuendos and defaming Paula with stories of her made-up partners.

Though tired from work, Paula would wipe the tears she shed in the office and trudged back to the walls she shared with Edmond, who would threaten her with a blade, demanding that she feed her body to his desires. “Nabibigay ko naman. Pero, araw-araw?” Paula admitted that she only relented to Edmond’s demands because she feared that he would look for it elsewhere, though she couldn’t mask how her body could barely function after work.

“Parang patay ka naman,” Edmond would say in the middle of them having intercourse.

According to RA 9262, the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (VAWC), violence against women and children is classified as a public crime, and it considers physical, sexual, and psychological abuse as a clear violation. The definition of non-consented sex has been amended and reformed to constitute having intercourse by means of force, threats, and intimidation directed against the woman.

However, most women like Paula are not aware of the fact that her husband’s actions were considered against the law. The seminars she attended in DSWD gave her the courage to finally fight back.

Starved for Justice, Deprived of Peace

It took Paula three tries to put the man behind bars.

The first attempt—with the help of former boss and freelance psychologist, Sir Reiner Grospe—had Paula file a complaint with a local barangay and obtained a Guide Protection Order (GPO) under R.A. 9262, preventing Edmond from going near her and the children.

“‘Di mo napansin ginagawa niya sa’yo?,” Grospe asked after listening to her story, a question that had been directed to Paula many times, yet even after 19 years of being with Edmond, she couldn’t find the courage to go to the authorities until now.

“Nakulangan ako ng lakas ng loob no’n,” Paula admitted, “Kunwari, pag-pinakulong kita, ta’s nakalaya ka, edi parang p’wede kang babalikan.”

In November 2024, Paula and her kids fled from Edmond’s grip and found respite in her grandmother’s house in Betis, yet the man continued his onslaught of cybercrime by hacking into her Facebook accounts and impersonating her. The police dismissed her report as a simple lover’s quarrel, where the kapitan she turned to—Edmond’s aunt—sided with her nephew rather than the one affected.

“Walang naniniwala sa akin. Maniniwala lang kung kaharap mo sila.” Paula said, her spirit slowly dimming.

The second attempt to file an arrest was under Edmond’s illegal use of drugs; Paula’s eldest daughter, Hailey, documented the paraphernalia littering their home to build a case against her father yet the police wanted to see him in the act. Paula was asked to engage her husband in a heated argument until reinforcements were forced to take him away to test him for drug use. The test results came back as negative—Edmond was released immediately.

“Tumawag ulit [‘yung pulis], negative daw yung drug test. Sila daw ‘yung mananagot kung ipapakulong ng walang basehan.”

By the third try, Paula was losing hope. Having just been released from jail, Edmond’s episodes ramped up to an extreme. “Talagang binugbog niya ako,” Paula said quietly, holding herself together to keep her story going.

“Pamugbugan ne ing pader, as in parang punching bag ‘tas sinisipa niya ako. Nakahiga akong ganyan, ta’s sinisipa niya ako. Sumisigaw sila [her kids]. Tapos niya ginawa yon, tumakbo siya.”

Though they have already cut ties, Edmond would stay in touch by creating group chats exchanging venomous voice notes towards Paula and her relatives, with Edmond parroting the same lie over and over again and with Hailey defending her mother’s honor.

“Kung alam mo lang gaano kasakit ‘yung ginawa mo. Paulit-ulit kitang pinagbibigyan. Kaso ‘di ka tumitigil,” Hailey’s voice cried out from the recorded message.

As a final attempt, Hailey and her mother raised a VAWC case, having to explain the law themselves because even the authorities were not aware that a provision exists to protect women against violence. The video Hailey took only showed her father’s abuse, with shouts ringing loudly but the trauma remained silent, “Nakita nila ‘yung bugbog, pero syempre ‘yung trauma mo, hindi nila makikita,” Paula said.

By April 2025, Edmond was detained under R.A 9262, with charges of physical violence.

A Voice for the Voiceless

Fairytales and fiction novels would often romanticize love with palaces and royal princes—in this story, our main character was a far cry from a fairy princess. She fought through the tides of judgment with her offsprings as a beacon of hope in what was once an empty page with no clear ending.

As a testament to being free from her cage, Paula covered up the name in her arm to create a tattoo with thick black lines representing all the family members she lost instead of the man whose love ate her alive.

Now 35, Paula was promoted as an SWA Aide 1 (AA1), acting as a screener to confirm and verify documents coming in and out of the department. Her story has also been featured during Gender and Development (GAD) meetings, where her voice is amplified by thousands of women who continue to cower in fear and silently endure the battle that even the law refuses to see.

“Sana hindi sila matakot. Lakasan nila yung loob nila kasi kulang. As in, kulang na kulang kami—isa na ako doon—kulang na kulang ‘yung salita.”

To promote the VAWC Act, Paula urges the authorities to keep up with the different types of cases that may be sent their way: bloodied bruises and slitted scars are not the only forms of abuse, as it could take the shape of shouts and emotional trauma—the type of wound that could never heal.

“Mahirap, kasi kapag walang naniwala sayo, mahirap. Isipin nila ikaw ‘yung mali, pero ‘yung may mali ‘yung ibang tao. Kung pakikinggan mo lang ‘yung kwento ng iba, mare-realize mo na may mga taong nagkikimkim talaga.”

Paula Petrina Cervantes saved herself from the villain that locked her in a tower—rewriting the story to create her own ending. She became a survivor who conquered her fears and slayed the monster that once devoured the dreams of her children’s home—putting an end to more than a decade-old tyranny and setting herself free from the consuming chain that refused to listen to her plea.