Chapter Two

Amanda's POV

Stunned, I watched as my boyfriend kissed Candace passionately, a smile still dancing on his lips. 

"That's great news, baby. Now all I have to do is get rid of that boring ass bitch, Amanda. And then we can get married."

Candace frowned. "You still haven't broken up with her? Why?!"

"Baby, I told you I need time. I'll do it soon."

Candace shoved him away. "What the fuck do you need time for?! I don't even know what you see in that bitch, anyway. I let you date and fuck her on the condition that you keep your relationship a secret, but I've had enough, Logan!"

"Candace-"

"No. You've had your fun. Now, get rid of her. Besides, we both know you won't be caught dead getting married to a low-life trash like her."

I couldn't take it anymore. The tears spilled down my face in rivulets, blurring my vision as I pushed the door open and barged in. 

Logan and Candace jumped in shock at my sudden entrance. 

"Why?! Why would you do this to me?!" My chest felt heavy, like it would explode any second. "I-I gave you everything! Why…"

I choked on my tears. 

Candace snickered, placing her arms in her waist, but she said nothing. 

"Answer me!!" I screamed at Logan. I walked closer to him, tangling my fingers in his chest. "This is your supposed best friend?! You've been lying to me!"

"Amanda-"

I did not let him speak. "This whole time you've been telling me to keep our relationship a secret, was it because I've been nothing but a conquest for you? Is that why? Because you see me as a low-life?!"

My body trembled as the tears continued to stream down my cheeks. Logan said nothing, but the passive look in his eyes told me all I needed to know. 

My heart shattered into a million pieces as I staggered backwards. I shook my head vigorously as if to wake myself up from this nightmare. 

I stared at the man I had dedicated all my love to, and the bitter realization that I had wasted five years of my life hit me like a ton of bricks. 

My chest felt like it was closing up. I drew in short, sharp breaths, struggling to breathe as reality dawned on me. 

The last five years of my life had been nothing but a cruel joke. 

"W-Why??!!" I let out a broken cry. "Why, Logan? Tell me why you would do something like this to me! How could you be sobcruel?!"

He tried to clutch both my hands. "Amanda, you need to take a fucking chill pill!"

Anger made my chest swell. "Don't tell me what to do!" I shoved him hard in the chest, pushing him into the wall repeatedly. "Is it true? What your so-called best friend said? Is it true, Logan?"

The tears pooling in my eyes did not relent in spilling down my cheeks, and this time I did not even bother to wipe them away. I let them fall freely, the weight of the betrayal falling heavily on my shoulders. 

"You've been playing with my feelings this whole time? Look me in the eyes and tell me that the last five years meant nothing to you! Tell me you're ashamed of me! Tell me you've kept me a secret from all your friends and family because you can't be caught dead with someone like me! Do I disgust you that much?!"

Logan did not utter a word, instead he shook his head as if he was annoyed, making no move to correct me. My heart shattered all over again as I let out another scream.

"You…asshole! I…hate..you!" 

Each word was punctuated by a hit to his chest. With all the strength I could muster, I continued to beat hard against his chest, hoping to hurt him. Hoping that it would make up for all the emotional pain he had caused me. 

"Argh!!" I was raising my hand to hit him again when I felt a force drag me backwards by my hair, pulling me away from Logan and to the floor. 

Candace stood over me, her hands sliding her blonde hair back in place. 

"Alright, that's enough, bitch! You're hurting him. Do that one more time and I'll make you regret it!" She spat at me, turning around to rub her hand over Logan's chest soothingly. 

I jumped to my feet, so blinded by rage that I did not care what came next. 

"What the hell did you call me?!"

"I called you a dirty, lowlife bitch! Stay the hell away from Logan. He's mine, he has always been. If you weren't so stupid, you would have realized that there is absolutely no future where the two of you work. So, go home."

Candace smirked as she spoke, eyeing me with disdain. Watching her gloat turned on something wild and dangerous in me. Without thinking, I immediately jumped at her, rushing back to Logan and hitting his chest. 

"Let him go!" Candace yelled, grabbing my hands away. 

But I was ready this time. I pulled her hand away from her, and the back and forth continued until I angrily shoved her away roughly, making her fall to the floor. 

At that, Logan met out a low growl, getting in my face and pushing my hand away from his shirt. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep being so damn dramatic!"

He pushed me away from him and rushed over to where Candace was crouched on the floor. As soon as Logan moved to her, she began to sob. 

"Ow, my leg!" She groaned, clutching her ankle. "She pushed me so hard. I think I twisted my ankle. She did it on purpose!"

I stared at her in shock. We both knew that she hadn't fallen that hard. She was only overreacting to garner Logan's attention. 

Logan's head snapped back to me. "Look what you've done! You hurt her!" He yelled at me. 

He pulled Candace closer to him. "Sorry babe. Where does it hurt?"

As Candace continued her exaggerated cry, Logan massaged her legs and cooed, kissing her lightly on the cheeks and comforting her. 

Hot tears pricked the back of my eyes as I watched the display in front of me. After all the years I had spent with Logan, he was treating me like I meant absolutely nothing to him. He had hurt me in more ways that I could've ever imagined, and yet he ran over to his mistress instead.

My shoulders wracked violently as I sobbed into my hands. How could I have been so blind? So foolish and oblivious to the fact that I was being played?

"Wipe those crocodile tears off your face," I heard Logan hiss. 

I looked up to see that he was towering above me, a look of disdain etched on his features. 

"You have some nerve to stand here and judge me, pretending to play the victim when you're not so innocent either!"

"W-What?" I muttered through my tears, wiping my face. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, enough with the lies!" Logan snarled. 

I watched as he dug a hand into his jacket and took out his phone. I was still so dazed when he shoved his phone in my face, showing me a picture. 

"Isn't that you? Huh, you sneaky little cheat?!"

My heart stopped. I grabbed the phone from him with shaky hands and stared at the photo of me beside my car in Italy with a man standing behind me. The man's face was hidden, but from the angle of the picture, it looked like we were in a compromising position. My eyes widened in surprise when I realized it was from last night, when the man took me hostage. 

I turned back to Logan, shaking my head. "No, th-this isn't what it looks like. I-I…"

"Save your flimsy excuses for someone who cares. You dare judge me when you've also been cheating? You even let him fuck you ijba dark alley. Who know who you've been fucking," he spat. "Maybe he's someone from the office, someone that accompanied you to the company trip."

"No! I swear, it's not what it looks like. I don't even know who that man is. Everything happened so quickly that–"

Candace cut me off with a snort. "You're such a bloody hypocrite."

I shook my head again, desperately clinging onto Logan. 

"Listen to me, please! I don't know who that man is. Just let me explain everything to you, please. Is that why you decided to move on with her?" I gestured at Candace through my tears. "P-Please don't throw five years away because of nothing."

Logan tried to push me away but I clung onto him tighter, falling to the floor as I cried. 

"This is all a lie! I swear, someone is trying to frame me–"

He shoved me away roughly and walked back to Candace, pulling her by the waist and gently placing her on his lap as he sat down. 

"Candace is my girl.." he paused to claim her lips in a kiss which made me feel sick. "She has always been. As for you, I'd advise you to take your cheating self out of my office. Now!" He barked. 

Helpless and shrouded with shame, I stumbled out of the office. As I blindly ran down the stairs, trying to ignore the stares from coworkers, it felt like my heart was being ripped to shreds. 

"Amanda?"

I whipped around at the sight of my best friend, Vanessa. 

"I was told you ran out of Logan's office crying. What happened? Are you okay?"

She came forward to hug me but I shrank back. Knowing that she had always hated Logan, the last thing I wanted to hear was her 'I told you so'. 

"I'm fine.." I managed to blurt out before speeding away in the other direction. 

Once I finally got home after managing to keep my tears at bay, I received a shock in the form of six hefty men destroying items in our house while my mother screamed and begged on top of her lungs. 

My chest deflated. I knew exactly who they were; the loan sharks my father had loaned millions from. 

My anger at everything that was going wrong today prompted me to rush at them. 

"What do you want?! The deadline isn't even here yet! Why are you destroying our home?!"

I pulled my mother away from them and faced the men, my shoulders squared and my chest heaving with rage. 

One of the men hissed. "Are you yelling, little girl? Your daddy owed me millions of dollars and now he's dead, you think you're off the hook? I want my money!"

Without thinking, I shouted, "Yes, you'll get your money in two weeks! Just leave!"

I was lying through my teeth, but I didn't care. Between my mother and I, we could not even raise up to 5% of the money. But I just wanted them out. 

The leader of the men smiled ruefully at me, stepping forward. "Two weeks, eh?" He laughed. 

Instinctively, I stepped backwards in fear. 

"Well, I'm a generous man, so I'll let you have two weeks…"

I exhaled in relief.

"But…" the man continued with a smirk. "I have been patient enough, haven't I? That is why my men and I will take control of the house until the money is ready. Get the fuck out."

My mother let out a scream. I stared at the man in shock. 

"W-What? No…no, no, please. I said you'll get the money in two weeks. You can't throw us out. We have nowhere to go!"

"That's none of my business, girl! You will get your house back in two weeks. Until then, I don't give a fuck where you stay. Now leave!"

My body trembled as tears began to stream down my face. "Please.. please!"

But they did not listen. One of them walked into the bedroom and tossed two bags at us. Amidst our begging and screaming, the men pushed us out of the house. 

I turned to my mother only to see her clutching her chest as she gasped for air. 

"Mom? Mom! Somebody help!"

My mother had collapsed to the floor in a heap. Fear gripped me as I screamed. "HELP US! PLEASE!!"

With the help of some neighbors, I was able to get her to the hospital. She was rushed to the emergency ward and after a while, a doctor emerged. I jumped to my feet. 

"How is she?"

"She is stable now. Your mother collapsed from shock. She will need more rest and medication as her blood pressure is extremely high. If care is not taken, she could be in serious danger. So we'll need to keep her here for further supervision."

"Okay. Thank you, doctor."

He nodded. "You can head down to the reception now to fill the required forms and pay up for further treatment. You'll have to make a deposit before any treatment is carried out for your mother."

My heart dropped. "I-I don't have the money right now, but I can get it before the treatment is over. Just carry on with the treatment. You said it yourself: she is in danger."

"I am sorry, Miss Anderson, but it's hospital policy."

And then he nodded sympathetically at me and walked away. 

I fell into a chair, exhaustion and fear making me weak. Things were never this hard. Things used to be fine until my father died and left us with this debt.

Now my boyfriend had cheated on me and my mother was sick. All in one day. I buried my face in my hands as tears streamed down my cheeks. 

But now I am faced with my biggest problem.

How the hell would I pay $1o million in two weeks?!