Chapter 88

Chapter 88
Cindy's POV

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was that the room was darker than before. The heavy curtains were drawn, and only a small lamp by my bedside gave off a soft, warm light. My head felt heavy, like it was filled with cotton, but the crushing pain from earlier was gone.
I tried to sit up slowly, testing how my body felt. Better. Much better than when I had collapsed on the stairs. The IV was still in my arm, but I felt more alert, more like myself.
Then the memories came crashing down like a tidal wave.
John. John was alive. John had been here, in this mansion, taking care of me while I thought he was dead. The confrontation on the stairs. His face when I accused him of betraying me. The way he had tried to reach for me when I collapsed.
I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to process everything. It hadn't been a dream. It had all been real. John was alive, and he had been lying to me this whole time.
I heard footsteps outside my door, then the door opened, and Maria walked in first, followed by John. The moment I saw him, my chest tightened. He looked tired, worried, but very much alive and real.
"How are you feeling, mija?" Maria asked, rushing to my bedside with concern written all over her face.
"I'm better," I said, not taking my eyes off John. "Maria, can you please tell him to step out?"
John opened his mouth to speak. "Cindy, please, I just want to…."
"John," Maria said firmly, putting up her hand. "Please. Just give us a few minutes."
He looked hurt, but he nodded. "I'll be right outside if you need anything," he said quietly, then left the room and closed the door behind him.
As soon as he was gone, Maria sat down on the edge of my bed. "I'm so sorry, Cindy. I'm sorry for keeping the truth from you."
I looked at her, this woman who had become like a mother to me, and I could see the guilt in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I did it for your safety," she said, taking my hand. "I did it for your health. The doctor said we shouldn't tell you anything that would trigger you or shock you. You were so weak, mija. We were afraid that if you knew the truth, it would make you worse."
I sighed, feeling the fight drain out of me. "I'm not annoyed with you, Maria. I was just... shocked. My memories are still a little hazy, probably because I was unconscious for so long. But I knew I had seen him before I collapsed. I thought it was a dream, but seeing him again after everything... it's just shocking."
Maria squeezed my hand. "I understand, mija. But you need to promise me something."
"What?"
"Promise me you won't throw another fit like that again. It's going to affect your health. The doctor was really angry when you collapsed. He said if anything else happens to you, he's going to blame us." She looked at me seriously. "Promise me you won't step out of this room until you're completely better."
I nodded slowly. "Okay, I promise. But Maria, I need to think about everything that happened. I need to understand how John could do such a thing to me. He promised to take me back to my family. He said he would get me out of that place. Why is he here now, acting like nothing happened?"
Maria was quiet for a moment. "He's been trying to explain, but you won't let him."
"I don't trust him anymore," I said, feeling the familiar ache in my chest. "He made me believe in him before, and then he disappeared. He let me think he was dead while I suffered in that club."
"Cindy," Maria said gently, "there are things you don't know. Things that happened to him."
I shook my head. "I don't want to hear his excuses right now. What I want to know is why we're here. Why are we in his mansion when Big Jim is probably looking for us? Don't you understand? He's going to find us, and then we'll all be in trouble. He's going to punish me for running away."
Maria's expression became more serious. "You don't need to worry about Big Jim anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"John already fixed everything."
I stared at her. "What do you mean, fixed everything?"
"He already paid off your father's debt, Cindy. All of it, plus the accumulated interest. You don't owe Big Jim anything anymore. You're free to go."
The words hit me like a physical blow. Free? After all this time, after everything I had suffered, I was free?
But instead of relief, I felt anger.
"I don't believe that," I said firmly. "I'm not going to believe anything John says until I see Big Jim myself. He made me trust him before, and he betrayed me, remember? So I'm not going to trust anything he says until I have proof."
Maria looked surprised. "Cindy, why would he lie about something like that?"
"I don't know. Maybe he's trying to make me feel better so I won't be angry with him anymore. Maybe he's trying to make himself look like a hero." I crossed my arms. "When I'm fine and okay, I'm going to go visit Big Jim myself. When he shows me the contract that proves my father's debt is paid, then I'll believe what John said."
"Mija, that's dangerous. You can't go back to that place."
"I have to see for myself, Maria. Until then, I'm just going to keep it in the back of my mind that I might have to go back to that horrible place." The thought made my stomach turn, but I needed to know the truth. "I can't trust John's word anymore. He's already proven that he's a liar."
Maria looked sad. "He's not the same person you think he is, Cindy. If you would just listen to him…"
"No," I said, cutting her off. "I'm not ready to listen to him. Not yet. Maybe not ever."
I turned to look out the window, at the beautiful grounds of this mansion that belonged to the man who had broken my heart. Everything felt so confusing, so complicated. I was supposed to be free, but I didn't feel free. I was supposed to be safe, but I didn't feel safe.
All I felt was tired and betrayed and alone.
"Just let me rest," I said quietly. "Let me think about everything. And please, don't let him come in here unless I ask for him."
Maria nodded, though she looked reluctant. "Okay, mija. But please, try to keep an open mind. Sometimes things are not what they seem."
After she left, I lay back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling. My father's debt was paid? I was really free from Big Jim? It seemed too good to be true.
And if it was true, it meant that John had spent a fortune to buy my freedom. But why? Why would he do that for someone he had abandoned?
Unless he really hadn't abandoned me. Unless there was more to the story than I knew.
But I couldn't let myself hope. I couldn't let myself trust him again. My heart had been broken once by believing in John's promises. I wasn't sure it could survive being broken again.
So I would wait. I would get better. And then I would go see Big Jim myself.
Only then would I know if John was telling the truth, or if this was just another lie in a long line of lies that had led me to this moment of confusion and pain.