The evening before our surgery was due, all the preparations were made. Sharon and the Taylors would take Cindy to the hospital while their chauffeur would drive me there very early in the morning so that we could meet well in advance for the necessary arrangements. But the next morning Sharon arrived at the Taylors' rather late.
'Where have you been?' Mr Taylor asked anxiously. 'Do you know what time it is?...Cindy, your aunt is here. Come on! Hurry up!'
'There's no need to hurry, Adam. We're not going anywhere,' said Sharon making herself comfortable in an armchair while Mrs Taylor was just bringing her daughter's bags downstairs.
'Come on! We're delayed. Let's go!' urged Cindy's mother.
'Please, sit down. I've got something to tell you,' said Sharon. 'All this must come to an end.'
'What do you mean?' interrupted Mr Taylor.
'Just listen to me, please. Listen carefully. For weeks, I've witnessed all your meanness to Edward in silence. In the beginning, I didn't mind because I didn't know him and I didn't care,' Sharon admitted. 'But you've gone too far...'
'We!?' shouted Mrs Taylor. 'You've always agreed on everything we planned to do.'
'But I don't any longer,' said her sister. 'Not since I understood that Cindy and Edward really love each other and saw her suffering so much. I changed my mind and decided to put you all to the test. Wasn't it you, Gwen, that came up with the idea of making Edward go through all kinds of tests? Well,... I'm offering you the toughest of all. I thought you'd love it, sis.'
'What are you talking about!?' asked Mrs Taylor.
'The truth is,' continued Sharon, 'that Cindy's health can't be better. She doesn't need a transplant at all.'
'Oh, thank goodness!' cried Mr Taylor, hugging his daughter.
'I made it all up. They were just fake exam results and a fake diagnosis I got from someone who helped me at the hospital,' Sharon confessed.
'You mean you've been mocking at us,' concluded Mrs Taylor, unable to control her anger. 'How did you dare, Sharon!? Shame on you!!'
'I'm sorry to have bothered so many people and made you anxious,' Sharon apologised. 'But I felt I had to do something.'
'You felt...! What about how we've felt all this time? Your joke's driven us crazy!!' Mrs Taylor shouted.
'And what about other people's feelings? Those are not important, are they?... What about your daughter's feelings... or Edward's? I've been trying to show you...to prove that he deserves all your appreciation and respect.'
'Respect for what!? For playing his part very well and being a great pretender?' Mrs Taylor inquired.
'Well,... in fact, Edward doesn't know anything about this. I haven't told him. He still thinks Cindy's seriously ill and at this very moment he's getting prepared for an operation to save your daughter.'
'What!? Oh, dear! What have we done?' said Mr Taylor while his wife remained speechless feeling really ashamed. 'Oh, Cindy! I'm so sorry... Will you be able to forgive us? Will you ever understand our reasons?'
'Reasons?' asked his daughter.
'When I was exactly your age, my dear, I fell deeply in love with a boy just like Edward. He was modest but charming, and full of promises, too... promises he never fulfilled,' Mrs Taylor recalled. 'Suddenly, the prospect of a better life, surrounded by comfort and luxury got him confused. He started to love my family's money instead of me. I'd rather not tell you all the things he did before he finally left me. He broke my heart. I didn't want you to go through the same thing. Your father and I just wanted to protect you. Maybe you'll understand one day, ...when you are a mother yourself.'
'I know I've always been your little baby. But can't you see I've grown up, mum? I'm a woman now, an adult. I'm sorry for what you went through when you were young; I didn't know. But you should leave it in the past. This is the present and it's my life. I love Edward and, as Aunt Sharon's just told you, Edward's proving he really loves me. What else do you want from him? What else!?' Cindy shouted at her mother crying.
'I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, darling,' said Mrs Taylor, filled with remorse.
'I want you to apologise to Edward...and don't take it out on Sharon,' demanded Cindy. 'I'm thankful for what she's done. She only thought of helping us while she should've been thinking about herself. She also has difficult things to sort out.'
'Cindy, please,' interrupted her aunt, asking her to keep it their secret. Having met William again, Sharon could see how unselfish he had been helping her so much, even risking his position in the hospital. His friendly support had given her the courage to break up with Dr Brent and leave her job with him. She was looking forward to a fresh start and Cindy suspected it had a lot to do with Dr Webster.
Meanwhile, a chauffeur had parked at the door of my house and was waiting for me. He got out of the car and kindly helped me with my bag. Suddenly, he got a strange call on his cell phone. 'Of course,' he replied and drove off without saying a word. Just then I realised he was going in the wrong direction.
'Where are you taking me?' I asked. 'This is not the way to the hospital and I'm in a hurry. I mustn't be late.'
'You'll see, sir' he said. Things were getting stranger. Nobody had called me 'sir' for a long time. A few minutes later we arrived at the Taylors' house. The door opened before I rang the bell.
'Hello! We've been waiting for you,' said Cindy's mother with a big smile. 'Come in and make yourself at home.'
'Your home, my boy,' said Mr Taylor. 'Please, sit down. There are many things we want to explain before we ask you to forgive us.'
Before I could say hello, I was seated on the sofa next to Cindy, who didn't let her parents continue. She told me the whole truth. I should have got angry when I learnt about their latest deed. Yet I felt relieved and happy for Cindy and at the same time wondered if I was doing the right thing expecting to become a member of a family I would never belong to. But then she kissed me and all my doubts faded away. She was the sweetest person and her true love made me the happiest man. I didn't need anything else.
'Don't you think it's time for a good breakfast?' asked Sharon. We all went to dining-room. The maid had already served delicious food on a beautifully arranged table. I was starving by then.
'Thank you for teaching us the lesson we needed to learn, Edward,' said Mrs Taylor.
'I don't understand,' I told her.
'You've taught us that it's generosity and loyalty what actually makes a man a rich man. Welcome to our family, my son.' Her words were enough for me to know that my ordeal had come to an end. I had finally won her heart.
We had a good time together, in peace... at last! And I remember they also taught me something that morning. I learnt that rich people can be really weird for it was the first time I had seen someone making a toast with a cup of tea.
