Chapter 12
Amanda’s face lit up with triumph. “That day, I threw her protective talisman into the river. She jumped in without hesitation. Later, I told George that it was just one of her tactics to get attention and he believed me without question.
Her tone shifted and it darkened into malice. “It was a pity she didn’t drown that day.”
Before she could reveal further, an icy voice interrupted her, “Amanda, who were you trying to drown?”
Amanda was so frightened as she turned to face George’s cold face. She stuttered so much that she could not say a complete. sentence, “I … I didn’t…. You must’ve misheard….”
When Lillian Smith, Amanda’s mother, saw this, she laughed out loud. “George,
you‘ re home early today! We were just
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talking about that drowning incident a while back. Nothing serious!”
George ignored her. Instead, he stormed toward Amanda, grabbed her by the collar and yanked her up. “Who gave you permission to touch her things?” He barked.
Amanda was too terrified to speak. Her tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. “Is… isn’t she moving out, is she? The room is empty, so I’m just tidying it up….”
George threw her hard at the floor. Then he turned to the housekeeper and barked, “Put everything that Kelly has back exactly as they were! If anything is missing, you‘ re out of here!”
The housekeeper trembled with fear and hurried to restore Kelly‘ s belongings to their original places.
When Lillian saw this, she was so enraged that she started to shout, “What do
you
mean by this, George? How dare you shove
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my daughter over some shameless woman! Are you that desperate to let everyone know you‘ re having an affair with Kelly?”
Her words hung in the air, sharp and accusatory. However, when she met George’s chilling glare, her confidence. faltered.
“What are you staring at?” Lillian yelled again, “Sure, your father is the general, but we‘ re from a military family too. You can’t treat my daughter like this!”
When Amanda saw another argument issued, she pulled Lillian back in a hurry.
“Mom, please go home for now. I‘ 11 explain everything to George.”
Lillian hesitated. It was clear she wanted to
say something but when she saw her daughter gave her a secret wink, she relented. She turned around and left.
After she was left alone with George, Amanda pretended to be generous and
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gentle. “I’m sorry, George. I should‘ ve been more considerate. Kelly is like your little sister and naturally, as her sister–in- law, I shouldn’t have acted so carelessly. I’ll make sure to ask someone to put all her things back. This room will always be hers.‘
Seeing her smiling face, George’s expression darkened even further. “Amanda, you make me sick!”
Tears welled up in Amanda’s eyes. “Why are you talking like this to me?”
George was too lazy to argue with her. He cut her off and said, I heard everything you said just now.”
In the next second, he stretched his hand and grabbed Amanda’s neck. He growled, “So, you deliberately slandered Kelly, targeted her at every turn and often spoke ill of her in my ears just to drive her away!”
Amanda had never joined this side of
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George. She trembled in fear. In
desperation, her words tumbled out of her mouth in a hurry, “No, you‘ ve got it wrong, George! I’d never try to drive her away!”
Yet, he had lost all sense of reason. He tightened his grip and poured all his anguish and fury on losing Kelly on Amanda, “If not for you, Kelly wouldn’t have gone to the satellite research base. If not for you, she wouldn’t have completely given up on me!”
“That day she almost drowned, I could’ve saved her,” he lamented.
“However, you stopped me…. you almost killed her!”
Amanda’s neck was held in a deadly grip. Even if she wanted to ask for mercy, she could not utter a single word.
Just as she thought she was going to choke to death, a booming sound came from the doorway.
