Chapter 85

Chapter 85
Cindy's POV

I blinked hard. Once. Twice. Three times. But he was still there, still holding me, still real.
I rubbed my eyes with trembling hands, my heart hammering so loud I could hear it in my ears. "Am I... am I dreaming?" I whispered, staring at his face. The same face I had mourned. The same face I had cried over for weeks.
"You're not dreaming," John said softly, his voice exactly as I remembered it. "I'm here."
I pulled myself away from his arms so fast I almost stumbled again. My whole body was shaking. I pressed my back against the stair railing, putting distance between us. I couldn't let him touch me. I wouldn't let him touch me.
"What are you doing here?" The words came out harsh, angry. "What are you doing here in Kyle's mansion?"
John's face looked pained. He took a step toward me, but I held up my hand to stop him. "We weren't supposed to see each other so soon," he said quietly. "But I couldn't let you fall when you're just recovering."
"I don't care about that!" My voice was getting louder, sharper. "I am not interested in whatever you have to say. I am just asking what are you doing here? Is this really you? I don't get it. What is this?" I clutched my chest, feeling like I couldn't breathe properly. "You're supposed to be dead!"
The words hung in the air between us like a slap. John's face went pale, but I didn't care. I was too shocked, too confused, too angry to care about his feelings.
"What is going on?" I demanded, my voice breaking. "I saw you before I fainted. I know I saw you. I thought it was a dream, but it wasn't, was it? What are you doing here now? You lied to me!"
Each word felt like a dagger coming out of my mouth. All the pain, all the grief, all the betrayal was pouring out of me like water from a broken dam.
"You said you were going to come back for me!" I was shouting now, my whole body trembling with rage. "You said you were going to do the deal and come back so that I could get released and go to my family. But here you are, when I thought you were dead!"
John opened his mouth to speak, but I wasn't finished. Not even close.
"Have you been the one keeping me in your mansion? Is this not supposed to be Kyle's mansion? Did you all lie to me?" I turned to Maria, who was standing frozen on the stairs above us, her face full of guilt and fear. "Did you lie to me? I thought you said this was Kyle's mansion!"
"Cindy, calm down, calm down," Maria said, rushing down the steps toward me. "You're just getting better. Don't let your sickness get worse. You need to calm down. This is why we couldn't tell you, because I knew you were going to react like this."
"React like this?" I laughed, but it came out bitter and harsh. "You mean react like someone who's been completely betrayed? I feel so betrayed by all of you! Why did you lie to me? Why did you let me stay in the mansion of the man who deceived and betrayed me? You want me to stay here and act like I'm fine when he is the reason I'm sick?"
I pointed at John, my finger shaking with anger. "Don't you get it? He is the reason Big Jim put me through all this! If he hadn't betrayed me like that, I wouldn't be in this position! I wouldn't have almost died!"
"Cindy, calm down, please," John said, stepping forward again. His voice was gentle, but I could see the pain in his eyes. "Don't get agitated. Think of your health. I'm going to leave. Do you want me to leave?"
I stared at him in disbelief. "Why would I tell you to leave your own mansion? I should be the one leaving! I don't want to be in your presence! I don't want to be around you because you are a liar! You are a deceiver!"
My chest was heaving now. I felt like I was drowning in my own anger, my own pain. Everything I had been through, everything I had suffered, it was all because of him. Because he had promised to save me and then disappeared. Because he had let me believe he was dead while I rotted away in that club.
"You let me think you were dead!" I screamed, my voice echoing through the beautiful mansion. "You let me grieve for you while you were living in luxury! You let me suffer while you were safe!"
The room started spinning. My legs felt weak again, but this time it wasn't from the recovery. It was from the overwhelming flood of emotions crashing over me like a tidal wave.
"I trusted you," I whispered, my voice breaking completely. "I and you left me there to die."
My vision started to blur. The anger, the shock, the betrayal - it was all too much. My body, still weak from weeks of recovery, couldn't handle the intensity of what I was feeling.
"I can't... I can't..." I gasped, pressing my hand to my forehead.
"Cindy!" Maria's voice sounded far away.
The last thing I saw before everything went black was John's face, filled with anguish and regret, reaching out to catch me as I fell.
But this time, I didn't want to be caught. This time, I wanted to fall away from him forever.