Wild Billionaire's Obsession

24

Everything turned black.

Walang tunog. Walang galaw.
Ang tanging naririnig ko lang ay mahihinang boses na tila galing sa malayo.
May tumatawag sa pangalan ko—hindi "Joyce," kundi ibang pangalan.

"Delia!"
"Cordelia, wake up..."
"What did you do to her?!"

I can hear Zeda's voice echoing in my head as I can feel my body shaked by her. My head hurts so bad like it cracked, hindi ko halos magalaw ang buo kong katawan sa sobrang sakit, ramdam ko rin ang lamig ng paligid.

Unti-unti kong ibinukas ang mga mata sa sobrang sakit ng ulo ko. I couldn't entirely open my eyes. Malabo pa ang paningin ko at sobrang silaw ng chandelier sa harapan. Nandito parin ba ako kina Dylan? Pero bakit nandito si Zeda? Did they know already?

"Cordelia please wake up. Please." Hagulhol niya sabay niyakap ako. "Can someone please call a fuckin doctor!" Sigaw niya habang tinatapik ang mukha ko.

"We talked about this already, Wala sa usapan natin 'to!"

That line gives me a plot of confusion. What did she mean? What did she mean they talked already?

I slowly opened my eyes at ibinangon ang sarili. I was shocked when I saw Dylan in front of me, worriedly looking at me. Agad akong napaatras palayo sa kanila habang dahan dahang bumabalik ang mga ala-ala ko. Naalala ko na lahat. Lahat ng kagagohan na ginawa niya sa'kin. Mga ala-alang puno ng kasinungalingan.

"Cordelia? Thank God, you are awake now." Umiiyak si Zeda sabay gumapang at hinawakan ako sa braso, halos hindi makapagsalita habang sinusuportahan ako.

Hindi rin ako makapagsalita. Masakit pa rin ang ulo ko. Parang may mga flash ng imahe sa isip ko—mga sigaw, mga kamay na humihila, at mga salitang paulit-ulit sa pandinig ko:

"Cordelia is dead... She's gone!"
"She's Joyce now!"

Napahawak ako sa ulo ko, pinipilit maunawaan kung totoo ba ang lahat ng 'yon o bangungot lang.

"Zeda..." bulong ko, halos hindi marinig. "Bakit... bakit ako nandito? Bakit ka nandito?"

Bigla siyang natahimik. Tumingin siya sa akin, parang biglang natakot sa tanong ko. Her eyes were filled with tears and guilt.
"Cordelia, calm down muna, okay? You had a bad fall, remember? Naaksidente ka and that's all that matters—"

Napatingala nalang ako sa gilid ko when I saw Dylan standing beside me. Takot na takot na umiiyak.

"Don't fuckin touch me!" I pushed his hand away from me.

"Bakit ako nandito sa bahay niya?! And why is he here?!" Tinuturo ko si Dylan na nakatayo sa gilid, hawak ang ulo niya, parang may dinadala ring mabigat na sikreto. "Zeda..." Halos maputol ang boses ko. "Please... sagutin mo ako. Paano mo nalaman kung nasaan ako? Paano mo akong natagpuan?"

Humigpit ang hawak niya sa kamay ko habang pinipigilan ang mga luha sa mata na bumagsak.
"Cordelia, please, huwag ka munang ma-stress. Hindi pa okay katawan mo—"

"I don't care!" Pilit kong sigaw. "I deserve to know the truth!"

Napayuko ako at humugot ng malalim ng hininga. Masakit parin talaga ang ulo ko at ramdam ko ang bawat pagtagas ng dugo nito. I can't still move my body well.

"Please call a fuckin doctor!"

"Wala man lang tumawag ng doctor?"

"Ano ba! Tunawag nga kayo?"

Kitang kita ko ang pagkataranta ni Zeda habang umiiyak na sumisigaw. Dylan was still standing, looking at me. His eyes were filled with guilt that were hidden with his tears. His face look soft and vulnerable that I almost forgot how evil he was when we met.

"Tell me, Dylan..." hinigpitan ko ang pagkakatitig sa kanya. "Anong ginawa ko sayo para gawin mo to sa'kin?"

Nakatitig lang siya, walang imik. Hanggang sa napabuntong-hininga siya, sabay bitaw ng isang mahinang, "I tried to save you."

Napakunot ang noo ko sabay napakuyom ang mga kamao.

"Save me? From what? From yourself?"

My chest tightened.
Save me? From what? His lies? His obsession? The same hands that broke me into pieces now dared to say he was saving me? What kind of twisted salvation was that?

I could feel my tears slowly building up, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. Not again. Hindi ko na siya bibigyan ng pagkakataon makita akong mahina. Hindi na kagaya dati.

"You don't get to say that," I whispered, my voice trembling. "You don't get to say you saved me when all you did was destroy every piece of who I was."

Dylan took a step forward, his expression unreadable. The silence between us felt suffocating, like the air itself didn't want to exist around us. I tried to erase all the good memories we build together. At what cost if I'll keep it when it was build with lies anyways?

"Cordelia..." he breathed out my name like a prayer, like it still belonged to him. "You don't understand. If I didn't take you that night... you would've been gone for good."

I blinked rapidly, confusion mixing with fear.
"What the hell are you talking about?"

Zeda tried to hold me, but I shrugged her off. My body felt cold, trembling not just from pain, but from the sudden rush of dread crawling up my spine.

"What do you mean gone?" I asked again, this time louder, desperate. "Ano bang pinagsasabi mo, Dylan?!"

He looked down, his jaw tightening. "I know I was wrong. From the beginning I did you wrong. I hurt you and that was my big mistake. I tried to fill that mistake with goodness and decided to make everything right, with you, as Joyce."

Joyce. That name again. That cursed name that didn't feel like mine. The name they forced on me, like a label on a broken doll.

I shook my head violently, the pain spiking in my temples. "Stop it! Don't call me that!"

"Cordelia, please," Zeda begged, tears streaming down her face. "You need to rest first. I'll explain everything—"

"No!" I cut her off. "No more secrets, Zeda! You said you'd never lie to me, remember? You promised."

Her lips quivered, and for a moment, I saw something flicker in her eyes—fear, guilt, and something darker.

"Cordelia..." she said softly, "I didn't know they'd take it this far."

Her words echoed inside my head, twisting my stomach.
Take it this far? So she knew. She knew something all along.

I clenched my fists, trembling. "So you knew... and you still let it happen?"

She burst into tears, shaking her head. "I tried to protect you! But they found out who you were, and Dylan—he—"

"He what?" I demanded. "He what, Zeda?"

Dylan's voice broke the tension, deep and full of remorse. "I did what I had to do to keep you alive."

Alive. The word hit me like a bullet.

My breath hitched. My pulse raced. I didn't even know if I was supposed to believe him anymore. Because being alive didn't feel like this. It didn't feel like constant nightmares, fragmented memories, and people calling me by names that weren't mine.

My voice cracked as I whispered, "Then why does being alive feel like I'm trapped in someone else's life?"

No one answered. Only silence, thick and heavy. The kind that drowns you slowly.

Zeda sobbed quietly beside me, her hand trembling as she reached for mine again, but I pulled away.

"I trusted you," I muttered.

Dylan finally looked up, tears glistening in his eyes. "You still can," he said. "Please, Cordelia. Just... let me explain."

I stared at him, my vision blurring again—not from pain, but from rage and disbelief. I wanted to scream, to hit him, to make him feel even a fraction of what he made me feel. But instead, I stayed still, frozen in that same spot, haunted by the ghosts of my own name.

"No," I said coldly. "You already did enough."

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