Broken Strings

C H A P T E R T W E L V E

And he just left. And that was what Amanda hated. Because her father just left. Not only her mother, but also her and her brother behind too.

And less than eleven months later, Amanda, dressed in a pink gown, watched her father remarry the woman he had been sleeping with behind her mother's back.

A few months later, her step-sister was born. And Amanda quickly faded into the background.

She was always competing against her step-sister for attention. And for some reason, Amanda was never good enough.

And so she learned to hide her real feelings. It was easier act like a bitch than to show how much things really did affect her. Because things could only affect her if she let them. And it was okay as long as she just didn't show that they did.

And for the first time, she was finally letting someone see the real her.

But now once again, she was Andrew's second choice.

"Her? You're picking her?" There were no more tears streaming down her face. And her voice, it was angry.

Because she couldn't believe it. She couldn't fucking believe it.

And she laughed pathetically. Because she couldn't believe it. "Her huh? You're picking the bitch that killed your sister."

And she still couldn't believe that he was picking his wife. Because she had stayed loyal to him. Because she loved him. Because she wanted him to love her.

But no, he was picking his wife. He always picked Anisha.

Because Anisha was his first choice.

She gasped suddenly as he grabbed her arm, tightening his hold on her and yanked her so her face was barely inches from his.

"Watch your fucking mouth." It was the first time she had ever seen him this angry. Angry, with his jaw clenched and his eyes swirling with anger.

His grip against her arm tightened and he twisted her arm slightly as she whimpered in pain.

"I never loved you. Did you really think I would leave her for you? Besides, whatever happened to my sister is none of your fucking concern. That is between me and my wife. Are we clear?" He stepped back from her and ripped the card in half, throwing it back at her face. "Fuck you and the divorce papers. I'm not leaving her."

Because Andrew really couldn't even think of leaving her.

Because he really couldn't ever love another. There was only one woman he would ever love with every bit of his heart.

And he wouldn't leave her.

Amanda stood and stared at him. She was confused, confused and heartbroken. It seemed her heart already knew the answer to her next question but her mind refused to accept it. "You don't love me?"

And she tried to hold herself together. But her heart was breaking into a million pieces.

She was angry but also sad. She wanted to scream at him but also beg him to stay.

The only man she had ever loved didn't love her back.

And Amanda always knew this.

Because Andrew Hayes was simply confused. She knew that. For years, it was as if he couldn't really believe his sister was gone. But he still had his wife, even if he was no longer loyal to her. But after he had been made aware of some other facts, he pushed his wife away completely. He no longer hid his anger or his infidelity.

But that was because of things Amanda had done. Because of things Amanda had told him and led him to believe. Things she had said and done because she had been afraid that he would go back to his wife.