[Amanda]
We sat there for a few minutes, in absolute silence. I let him absorb whatever I had implied in my earlier statement. He looked distant, thoughtful, and I let him be. The coffee had turned cold, tasting bitter and bland. I placed the unfinished beverage back on the coffee table. The clinking of the porcelain cup on the glass top made him look at me.
[Amanda]I was ready before 6, pacing in my room and black backless chiffon dress. The dress was picked out by one of Dominic’s personal stylists who arrived around the afternoon with a hoard of dresses and shoes and after having a sumptuous lunch; I had been herded to the dressing room and stayed there for 2 hours. From styling my hair into a fashionable French braid to doing my make-up - all in all, when I finally looked at myself in the mirror I saw another woman standing in my place.
[Amanda]“Sir is waiting for you downstairs”, a new attendant informed me when I came out of my room. My heartbeat spiked up. Taking a swift glance at the floor-length mirror in the hallway, I left the condo. Alex was waiting for me near the elevator and when he saw me, he smiled and said, “You look beaut
[Amanda]I swallowed back the tears as I stared at the plate full of pasta. Did Dominic still remember that I did not like appetizers? Did he still remember that my favourite Italian dish was pasta in the red sauce?
[Amanda]We walked out of the restaurant with the receptionist saying, “Visit Soon”. I turned back and nodded politely, but Dominic seemed to have become another person as he walked ahead without another backward glance. I hurried along. “Dominic, wait”, I called from behind. He stopped but did not turn back.“What happened?” I asked confusedly. Did I make him mad for some reason? Was it the ‘we should move on’ thing? But wasn’t I stating the truth? I gazed at him but he refused to look at me and for some reason, it made me mad and sad. Mad because how dare he treat me like dirt and sad because...because I have no clue why.We walked back to the car in companionable silence when suddenly I heard the sound of something, a shutter? I almost halted in my tracks when Damian suddenly grasped my hand in his. Without looking at me, he mumbled, &l
[Amanda]“Why are we taking this inconspicuous car again?” Alex asked me for the third time as he drove towards the area where I lived. I also made him wear normal clothes as in no suit but a plain shirt teamed up with a pair of black denim.“Because you and the car will stand out if we came in Mercedes instead of this one”, I gestured vaguely at the interior of the four-seater. Alex had agreed to accompany me and I also refused to take any bodyguards much to Dominic’s dismay. He manoeuvred the car and parked it a few buildings away from the place I lived in. I wore the mask that Alex gingerly handed me and got out.“You go to your apartment and gather your stuff, I’ll talk to the landowner”, Alex suggested. I nodded before entering the building. I gave him the direction to the landowner’s flat before climbing up the stairs. The apartment
[Amanda]2014…“Dom, where the hell are you taking me?” I whine for the umpteenth time, squirming in the passenger seat. It’s annoying when your eyes have been blindfolded. “Just be patient for 5 more minutes”, Dom coaxed. Today was our 1st anniversary as a couple and I knew Dominic was up to something. He seemed all secretive for the past few weeks. I tried to ask Jace, but he evaded my question skilfully, the bugger.I huffed and leaned back in the faux leather seat. I heard him chuckle. Then, after what felt like an eternity, the car finally came to a stop. I heard Dominic get out of the car; the door clicked shut before I heard the door of the passenger seat open. “Take my hand”, Dom said softly. I promptly did so as he helped me out of the car.Then all of a sudden I was being picked up, bridal style. “W
[Amanda]2015....“If you think that we are going to look after you then you are mistaken”, my mother said sharply, not even letting me go past the threshold of our house. I gaped at her. How can a mother be so cruel to her own child? She was looking at me with disgust and disappointment. I tried to look past her shoulder and I noticed dad peeking out of the living room but not even trying to come in and defend me. If this was family, then I was out of luck. My brother was out of the country and in no way would he ever defend me either. We were always at loggerheads, anyway.Her sharp words stung more than anything. I wanted to cry, sob at her hurtful words, but no tears would come. Maybe I was just too shocked to speak or even cry. “Then...where will I go?” I asked, hopeless and desolate. She shrugged nonchalantly as she started to push me out of the door, “What do we know
[Amanda]2015…“Did you manage to find any job?” David asked me a few days later. I could understand his impatience even though he was trying very hard not to show it and I understood...how long could a person allow another human being to live at their spare apartment for days? I chewed on my bottom lip, unable to give him any proper answer.He sighed, “Don’t take this in the wrong way okay? But if you want I can arrange for you to go to Hannah. You can even talk to her and chalk out something. You can live so miserably forever, Mandy”. His tone was almost pleading. He knew me since I was a kid. He was my brother’s friend, a few years older than him and his affection stemmed from the fact that I resembled a lot to his late younger sister.“Dominic already~” he began, but I cut him off, “I don’t want to hear any
[Amanda]I snorted as I scrolled through another bizarre article about Dominic and me. “What’s so funny?” I glanced up at my fiance as he padded into the living room with two mugs of hot cacao. I flipped the phone so that it faced him. He squinted as he approached before placing the mugs down on the coffee table. “Another article about how I snagged Hollywood’s eligible bachelor.” The idea amused me since he never considered himself a bachelor.He pecked me and said, “Well, they don’t know that it’s the other way round.” His voice sounded conspiratorial, and that made me giggle. I struggled a little, with my 5-month-old growing belly to sit up as Dominic handed me the mug. I moaned as the rich taste seeped into my taste buds. When I looked at him he was staring back with a raised eyebrow, “I don’t want to compete with hot cacao, ya know.” Thi
[Dominic]I stilled at this unprecedented query. I stalled for a moment or two, contemplating whether to tell her the truth or not and then decided to go for the former because if we decided to carry on with this relationship which I am hopeful then I wouldn’t want it to be built upon another set of misunderstandings.“You were...looking for me?” she asked, perplexed. But she didn’t pull away from my hold, just far enough so that her face was inches away from mine. I nodded mutely, then added, “When I found out the truth, I knew I was too late. Yet I decided to look for you and when I heard that you had moved countries I was...angry.” I gazed at her and my heart squeezed when I saw the crestfallen look on her face. “I was angry with Alessa, on myself and on you so after drowning in rum and beer, I drowned myself with work and strived to succeed in my acting career. With time, I
[Amanda]Even though I was quiet and seemingly calm, I was honestly trembling inside. Today’s confrontation was nerve-wracking, to say the least. Alessa was a formidable woman, and if I didn’t have the experience of dealing with customers and people like her, then I might not have the courage to ask her so directly. While I didn’t do much talking, I was stunned to see Dominic standing up for and going as far as severing the relationship with her.I could tell he was reeling from today’s sudden confrontation. The fact that she had tried to sabotage him and his acting made me furious. I wanted to feel bad about the way this relationship ended between them, but I had a feeling that Dominic wanted this as well. He no longer wanted to stay under her shadows. He wasn’t anymore, but maybe this served as the last thread.I shuffled into the condo, Dominic trailed behind
[Dominic]Aunt stared at Amanda sternly as we sat on the opposite side of her work desk at her office. Her eyes then strayed towards me and she gritted, “Why did you bring her? And when did you meet her again?” My fists clenched. She spoke as if Amanda was a non-existent being in the room. However, my ex-wife beat me to it.“He came to the cafe where I was working. It was my second day at work and he kissed me in public. Haven’t you watched the alleged pictures?” I stared at her in astonishment. Had this been the Amanda 5 years back, she would not even dare to look at aunt, let alone talk to her so boldly. A swift glance at my aunt told me that she shared my surprise.However, aunt managed to compose herself quickly enough. She glared at her, “Yes. I apparently did, but I did not expect him to take you back.” Her voice clearly held the disdain that he
[Dominic]I closed my eyes and buried my face in my palms. A groan left my lips unbidden. Last night, when I saw Mandy, lying still and limp, I had decided that keeping up the charade would only lead to more misunderstanding and the eventually will swirl and morph into something ugly. I didn’t want that. I only wanted to prove my innocence to the woman I loved. The only woman I will ever love.In the past, I had planned the way I would break the news to her. The proofs I would have ready for her to see. But when does life happen according to the way you plan? Never. Even back when my marriage was falling apart, something I had never imagined in my wildest dream, I had no way of stopping it.Before finding her again, I had always tried to mentally prepare myself that even if she stops loving me, even if she moves on or refuses to believe me then I would let her go. But after getting her
[Amanda]“What?” I asked dumbly. My throat suddenly felt tight. Five years, five fucking years. Yes, I knew his aunt was a mighty pain on the backside. Yes, I knew she hated my guts. Yes, I knew she was the one person who wanted Dominic to date any other girl but me. But I cannot imagine that this woman would go to such undignified and low lengths to remove someone from a person’s life.I could see that Dominic was regarding me with a grim expression. His eyes were cautious and filled with anticipation. He nodded. “I....came to know about her...hand in our divorce a lot later. After we...separated...maybe a year and a half later.” To think that my family was the only fucked up family in town would be an understatement. His aunt was sick. “How?” the monosyllabic queries were all that I could utter. Still processing the piece of information. He lowered his gaze. “Trust me,
[Amanda]My eyes peeled open and the moment they did, I found my blurry vision staring at a white ceiling, the sudden onslaught of lights, hurt my eyes which made me screw them shut immediately. I tried to open my eyes again, a little slowly this time. I could feel a dull ache in my head. Ah, I was drinking last night until I passed out, maybe.“Mandy,” I heard someone calling me from somewhere and belatedly I realised that it was Dominic. I turned my head with some effort. He was sitting by the bedside, looking back at me anxiously.“What-?” I croaked. God, I had a hangover, a nasty one at that. Massaging my temples, I looked at him quizzically. He looked sheepish. I noticed that he was wearing a suit which could be due to two reasons — one, he came back early in the morning after a fun night with his lover or he was here the whole time and returned sometime back in the night. I ruled out the second probabili
[Amanda]2015…I don’t know for how long I stood there, staring at the photo — my husband passionately kissing another woman and by the looks of it, this wasn’t due to any scene or photoshoot. My hand trembled and all of a sudden I felt like I was being choked. Black spots appeared at the peripheral vision. The photos slipped out of my hands and scattered on the floor again as I tried to breathe. My vision turned blurry. I crumbled on the floor, my knees felt like jelly. I gasped for breath. I was well acquainted with this feeling.I was having a panic attack and I had no one to calm me down. My cheeks were wet with tears and my heart pounded in my chest. What did I expect? That he would stay with me forever? I would have laughed had I not been the one going through this heartbreak. The otherwise silent apartment echoed with my sobs.I sh
[Amanda]2015…“You have got to be joking,” I groaned into the pillow.“Babe, please try to understand. I have to go to this photoshoot,” Dominic coaxed, his voice dripping with guilt and regret. I sighed, all my earlier enthusiasm drained out after the phone call. We were supposed to leave for our much-awaited weekend outing today. For the past few months, Dominic had been very busy -- going for auditions, doing photoshoots and shooting for a movie. He was hopeful that this might just serve as his big break. I supported him completely, but lately, rumours have started to circulate that the handsome debut actor Dominic Giovanni is reportedly seeing the female lead of the movie.Even though I entered this relationship and married him knowing that this will come as added baggage with his steadily increasing fame, that did not stop me from worrying.