Chapter 28 Nothing Was What I Thought
Chapter 28 Nothing Was What I Thought
POV: Valeria Cruz
No one speaks right away.
Not me.
Not them.
Not even Rafe.
Because whatever this is—
whatever is happening—
it’s already too much.
The woman takes a step closer.
Slow.
Careful.
Like I might disappear if she moves too fast.
Her eyes don’t leave me.
Not once.
“Hi,” she says softly.
Her voice breaks.
And something in my chest twists.
I don’t understand it.
But I feel it.
Deep.
Uncomfortable.
Real.
“Hi…” I answer.
It comes out unsure.
Because I don’t know who she is.
But my body reacts anyway.
The man beside her shifts slightly.
Also nervous.
Also watching me like I matter.
“We didn’t want to overwhelm you,” he says carefully. “But we couldn’t wait any longer.”
I look at Daniel.
Because I need someone to explain this.
Now.
“Valeria,” he says gently, stepping forward. “These are your parents.”
The words don’t land.
Not right away.
They just sit there.
Wrong.
“My… parents?”
I shake my head.
“No.”
Because that doesn’t make sense.
Because I have a mother.
“She told me—”
“She lied.”
The woman’s voice is firm now.
Certain.
“She took you from us,” the man adds quietly.
My stomach drops.
“What?”
“You were taken when you were very young,” Daniel explains. “We’ve confirmed it.”
“No,” I whisper.
Because that doesn’t happen.
Not to me.
Not in real life.
“Your parents have been searching for you for years,” he continues.
Years.
The word echoes.
Because I’ve been there.
All this time.
Not lost.
Not hidden.
Just—
with the wrong person.
“I never stopped looking for you,” the woman says.
Her voice breaks completely now.
“I never stopped.”
Something cracks inside me.
Because she sounds like she means it.
Because she looks at me like—
like I matter.
Like I always did.
“I don’t remember you,” I say.
The words feel wrong.
Like I’m failing them somehow.
“That’s okay,” the man says quickly. “You were very little.”
“We just want a chance to know you again,” the woman adds.
Again.
The word hurts.
My breathing shifts.
Too fast.
Too shallow.
Something is wrong.
Everything feels—
too much.
Too loud.
Too close.
The beeping starts.
Faster.
Sharper.
The monitor beside me spikes.
And suddenly—
I can hear it.
My heart.
Racing.
Out of control.
“I—” I try to speak.
But I can’t breathe.
My chest tightens.
Pain.
Pressure.
Everything closing in at once.
“Valeria,” Rafe says immediately.
His voice cuts through everything.
Grounding.
But I can’t focus.
I can’t—
The beeping gets louder.
Rapid.
Alarming.
Rafe turns sharply.
“Dad,” he says, voice tight. “Not now.”
Daniel looks at the monitor.
Then at me.
Understands instantly.
“We can continue this later,” Rafe adds, more firm now. “She can’t handle this right now.”
The woman’s face crumbles.
But she nods.
Because she sees it too.
Because she’s watching me fall apart.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
But I barely hear it.
Because I can’t breathe.
“I can’t—” I gasp.
Tears fill my eyes.
“I can’t breathe—”
The door swings open.
A nurse rushes in.
“What’s going on?”
“She just woke up,” Rafe says quickly. “Too much at once.”
The nurse checks the monitor.
Moves fast.
“Everyone needs to step out,” she says firmly.
No argument.
No hesitation.
“Now.”
Rafe doesn’t move.
“I’m not leaving,” he says.
Calm.
But unmovable.
The nurse looks at him.
About to argue—
“Rafe—”
My voice breaks.
Small.
Shaking.
I reach for him blindly.
“I need you.”
That’s it.
That’s all it takes.
The nurse exhales.
“Everyone else out,” she says again, softer this time.
The woman—
my mother—
breaks completely.
Tears falling freely now.
But she steps back.
Because she understands.
Because this isn’t about her right now.
It’s about me.
“We’ll be right outside,” the man says gently.
Daniel nods once at Rafe.
Then follows them out.
The door closes.
And it’s just me.
And him.
And the sound of my heart trying to escape my chest.
Rafe moves instantly.
Right beside me.
One hand on mine.
The other lightly on my arm.
“Hey,” he says softly. “Look at me.”
I try.
I really try.
But everything is spinning.
“Breathe with me,” he says.
Slow.
Steady.
“In… and out.”
His voice doesn’t rush.
Doesn’t panic.
Even when I am.
“I’ve got you,” he adds quietly.
And that—
that’s what I grab onto.
Not the words.
Him.
His voice.
His hand.
The way he doesn’t let go.
I focus on that.
Only that.
“In…” he says softly.
I inhale.
Barely.
“Out.”
I follow.
Again.
And again.
Until the beeping slows.
Until my chest loosens.
Until I can breathe without it hurting.
Tears slip down my face.
I don’t stop them.
I can’t.
“I’m here,” he says again.
And this time—
I believe it more than anything else in the room.
Because everything else just changed.
Everything else just broke.
But him—
he didn’t.
He stayed.
And right now—
that’s the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.