17
Chapter Seventeen
"What do you want from me, Keith?" Amanda demanded, whirling on him when he followed her to the terrace on the west side of the room.
"Calm down, I just wanted to see how you're doing."
"I'm doing fine. It's really none of your business."
He sighed. "I know Rebecca has been giving you a hard time with the company. I tried to talk to her but--"
Amanda couldn't stop the chuckle that left her lips. "You what?"
"Amanda, I want to help."
"I don't want your help, Keith." She walked to the railing and stared at the ground below. "And please stop following me."
"I can't help it. I find myself worrying too much about you of late, Mandy."
She gritted her teeth. There he went with the Mandy thing again.
What exactly did he want?
"Worry about your wife."
"I admit. I was wrong. I made a mistake back then." He stepped closer to her. "I pretended to not know how you felt. I wasn't looking for something serious. But for the past few years, I've been thinking about you. The first time I saw you with Samuel, I was so jealous. I'd never felt that way because of anyone before."
Amanda frowned and stepped further from him as it registered what he was talking about. This was about the fling they had before he went abroad and started dating Rebecca. Was he actually saying that… That…
Hell no.
Where did he get the audacity to start telling her such stuff?
What the fúck did he want to achieve by telling her such stuff?
Her index finger jutted out as she pointed at him. "Listen and listen well, Keith. The next time you come to me with such bullshit, I'll slap you so hard you'll see tomorrow. You lost your chance, and you're never getting it back. If you try to come to me again behind my sister's back, you'll regret it."
He shook his head and stepped closer. "Mandy, please. Give me a chance to explain."
"Explain what? That you're trying to woo me while you're married to Rebecca?"
"Look, Rebecca and I…" He paced, scrubbed his hand down his face. "We are not… I'm not… She's not the one I want to be with."
"Oh? And how is that any of my problem?"
"It took me so long, so damn long to realise, but you're the only one I've ever loved. Back then, I thought you were too young and didn't think about us seriously. I fucked everything up, I know."
"You're shameless." Amanda took a step towards him, eyes narrowed. "You're right. I was young. If you'd come back to me then with your pathetic excuses, I probably would have given you another chance. But wake up, Keith. I'm no longer interested in you. And you, doing this, when you're married to my sister? I would never stoop so low. Right now, I'm up to my neck in shit that your wife is creating at my company. I don't need more shit from your corner too. Rebecca still doesn't know about our history, does she?"
Keith shook his head. "No…"
"The next time either of you gives me a headache, I'll let her know about it, and about what you're doing now. If you really don't want to be with her, I bet that will do you a favour, right?"
"Mandy--"
"And let this be the last time you call me by that name," she warned.
He raised his hands in a placating move. "I get it, you're not in a good mood right now with everything that's going on. Think about it, and you'll let me know."
"Wow." She heaved a sigh of exasperation. "I wasn't aware that I'm not in the mood that allows me to tell philandering men who I'm absolutely not interested in to fúck off." Her eyes narrowed. "How did I not notice how egoistical and self obsessed you were until now?"
His jaws clenched. "Amanda, I was not--"
"Leave me alone." Her eyes went over his shoulder. "There's Rebecca, she's back from the restroom. Your playtime is over."
He looked back, as if confirming she wasn't lying. When he caught sight of Rebecca, he gave a sharp nod and walked back into the ballroom.
Amanda exhaled heavily and walked back to the end of the terrace.
What the fúck was that?
What did--
Her thoughts came to a grinding stop as her eyes caught sight of an interesting sight.
Down below, two familiar figures walked out of the restaurant and stood at the valet's, as if waiting for a car.
She didn't have to look twice to recognise them.
Lucas and Tyra.
What on earth were they doing together?
