CHAPTER TWELVE
Juana sprang to her feet, her eyes flashing with indignation.
"Why would you accuse me of eavesdropping? And who exactly do you think I was spying on?
I'm simply trying to find something I misplaced!" She tried to sound convincing, but her voice betrayed a hint of guilt.
"Something you lost, huh?" he repeated, his voice laced with unbelief.
"Behind the flower vase, where it's conveniently out of the way?... except you deliberately placed it there yourself!"
He crossed his arms, his eyes boring into hers.
"As I said, I wasn't eavesdropping on anyone. So, if you'll excuse me, I've found what I was looking for!"
Juana's attempt to leave was met with his unwavering gaze, daring her to try and leave.
He stepped forward, blocking her path.
"What's your obsession with Amy?" he demanded, his voice low and even.
"Why are you so fixated on her, and what's behind this attitude of yours?"
He closed in on her, his face inches from hers, as she backed away, her shoulders almost touching the wall, his breath hot on her skin.
He then gently touched his finger to her nose, his eyes locked on hers, as he closed in, his body almost flush against hers.
She felt the wall solidly against her back, unable to retreat further, as he invaded her personal space.
"Why?" he whispered, his breath hot against her ear, as he grasped her waist, his fingers sending sparks through her body.
"Is it because Amy stole the love that you thought was meant for you? Or because she outshone you in every way?" He chuckled.
Juana's heart raced as she tried to wriggle free, her voice barely above a whisper.
"What are you insinuating? And stop, get your hands off me!" She panted, her attempts to remove his hands only making him hold her tighter.
"Who doesn't know that you're seething with resentment because Amy surpassed you in her acting career?" he said, his voice dripping with mockery, as he gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"And to rub salt in the wound, the person you're pining for is engaged to her!" He leaned in closer, his breath whispering against her skin.
"It's a mystery, really, why she chose you of all people to be her personal assistant. Maybe she felt sorry for you?"
"Seriously, personal space, dude! And stop spewing that toxic nonsense!"
"Psss.. let me give you a bit of information just in case you're lacking the truth, I could bet with my entire earnings that that engagement was all a sharade!"
"Sharade you say? If it was that easy to have a sharade engagement then you'd have done that yourself and kept the love you've always wished for all to yourself," he chuckled in mockery.
Using all the energy left in her, she broke free and hastily retreated, with her voice rising and her heels clicking out a rapid rhythm on the marble floor.
"I've got better things to do than stand here and listen to your crap!"
She tossed over her shoulder, not looking back as she quickened her pace.
He just turned around, gave her a sly smile, and then walked away, leaving Juana feeling frustrated.
Meanwhile the therapist had made her way into Amy's room and was having a conversation with her.
"Good morning Miss Amy, and how are you doing today," she greeted.
(Cherry) "....."
Cherry just sat as she looked at the therapist with frustration.
"Well I'm very fine even if you didn't ask," the nurse said as she brought out her notebook, so she could put down Amy's details.
Along the line, she introduced herself, " My name is Christabel, a therapist... ummm your therapist, and I'm going to be helping you in your emotional health."
"My therapist? Why do I need a therapist when I'm totally fine?"
Cherry wondered when last she got so much care, first it was a personal assistant, now a therapist, all these in one day? She thought, when she has nothing wrong with her.
"Could you tell me what had happened to you in the past few days? What orchestrated your missing and what were the things that happened during your stay for three months," Miss Christabel asked.
"I went to wor…" she paused, Cherry remembers she wasn't leaving her own life, but had carried the face of another.
That made her slump to her stomach. And then she decided to confide in the therapist, hoping that she would be able to understand her predicament.
"Can I tell you something," she said, holding on to the woman's palm for confinement, and then the therapost said, " go on.."
"Promise me you'd understand to the best of your ability," Cherry asked.
"I assure you," she replied.
"I'm about to share something that's gonna sound utterly bizarre, so I need you to promise me you'll keep an open mind, deal?"
"Deal, you can share anything with me."
"Okay, here goes... I was just a chef, living my best culinary life, until I got canned. Feeling defeated, I took a long walk down the road, trying to clear my head.
That's when I stumbled upon a mysterious black cat. I know it sounds crazy, but I poured my heart out to this feline stranger, sharing all my frustrations and fears.
And then, I did something even crazier, I followed it."
The doctor raised an eyebrow, itching to interrupt and discreetly mention the mascara smudge on her cheek, but she didn't catch the hint.
Instead, she continued her dramatic monologue, hands gesturing wildly.
"I mean, what was I thinking, confiding in a stray cat? I should've just kept my emotions bottled up!"
She struck a pose, hands on hips, and turned to gaze out the window before spinning back around.
"But here's the kicker,"
She whispered, her voice barely audible.
"I blacked out, and when I came to, I was standing on a deserted path, surrounded by strangers filming me with their phones.
And then...I saw her. Or rather, I saw me – or at least, a version of me I didn't recognize."
She touched her face, her body, her hips