Chapter 16
Amanda stared at her reflection in the mirror, towel loosely wrapped around her pale body. Her red hair was damp from the shower. The rim of her eyes were red from anger, and she gritted her teeth in rage.
Katherine.
The name even tasted more bitter on her lips and sounded like a curse in her ears now that she knew the truth.
Her gut feeling never led her astray. Since the first day, she had been feeling suspicious about the lady, and yet…
Amanda clenched her jaw, her fingers tightening on the edge of the dresser until her knuckles turned white. Aaron still loved her.
He didn't need to say it. She saw it in his eyes. The way he stared at Katherine like the whole world melted around her, how his gaze softened, how his lips parted a little like he was longing for her, and how his body tensed up. And how he forgot others the moment Katherine stepped into the room like others were background characters.
Fuck! She cursed. She wanted to scream and pull her hair in anger.
He still loved her. She confirmed it again, and the realisation punched her in the gut mockingly.
Years have passed, yet Aaron still held on to that motherfucking lying bitch.
Amanda backed away from the mirror and sat down on the edge of the bed in her room, her eyes were opened yet couldn't register anything. It was like everything was blurry as her mind spun like a whirlwind.
Years ago, she had met Aaron on the field when his team came to play in her town—which was the neighboring town—and he saved her. She fell in love with him, but later Aaron left. She thought her love was over. But fate, doing her things, made both of them meet a year after.
She entered a contract marriage with him—though in her mind, she was marrying him of her free will and because of her father's decree. Without her being married, she couldn't inherit the property.
The contract between them—that was binding them together. Amanda's last card. Only a few months remained before it ended. The agreement she had clung to for years would dissolve like it never existed.
No. She couldn't let that happen. Not when she was so close to having everything. Not when her father's company was finally within reach after years of convincing her old man that she and Aaron were in a love relationship.
Not when she had already fallen in love with Aaron all over again and again like a fool.
She had done everything to follow the agreement—be the perfect wife in public for their companies, not minding each other's business, and also be the perfect daughter-in-law that Brenda approved, yet she couldn't stop her heart for him.
She had always hoped—foolishly—that one day Aaron would look at her the way she looked at him. That maybe, just maybe, he'd love her back. He would finally warm up to her.
But It was just her wishful thinking because Katherine's presence ruined everything.
"No," Amanda whispered to herself, shaking her head. "I'm not losing him now. Not when I'm this close."
Aaron was hers, and the company would also be hers.
She looked at herself in the mirror, brushing her curls behind her shoulder. A dark glint in her eyes as her lips curved into a small smirk as she remembered what Brenda said —do whatever it takes. Use anyone necessary. Just keep Aaron far away from her.
And that was exactly what she was going to do.
.
Katherine stepped out of the elevator, a clipboard in hand, trying to focus on her tasks. She hadn't slept well last night. Her eyes stung from lack of sleep and her body was heavy from tiredness. The twins had clung to her until they slept.
She groaned, balling her hand into a fist as she massaged her stiff shoulder.
She couldn't match up to the twins' energy, especially Jasmine.
Her heels clicked softly against the floor as she moved toward the lounge. The soft hum of the grand piano in the distance made her pause as her chest tightened—was that him playing the piano again?
Katherine hadn't seen Aaron since that dinner. Since the incident with Amanda. She avoided him and his wife successfully for days.
Until now. She turned to go back to her office; she wasn't ready to face him yet, but stopped in her tracks when she saw him at the corner.
Like he had been waiting for the moment.
There he was—Aaron stood in the hallway, leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed. His brunette hair was down, strands of hair covering his eyes a little. He wasn't in a formal outfit, just a sweatshirt and pants.
Her stomach dropped. She had been deceived. It wasn't him playing the piano.
"Katherine," he called softly.
Katherine closed her eyes for a brief second, exhaled shakily, and turned to walk away.
She straightened her back and started walking past him, head held high.
"Katherine, please. Just… wait."
She paused yet didn't turn around immediately. Her back stiffened as her fingers tightened around the clipboard she was holding.
"Please... I just want to talk."
Her heart thudded, her shoulder tensed. What did he want to talk about?
She breathed out again and finally turned but jumped a little when she saw Aaron had come close to her. She didn't hear when he stepped closer.
She quickly blinked, changing her expression.
"What do you want, Mr. Knight?"
The formality hit him like a slap, but he deserved it. He inhaled deeply, stepping closer, his heart pounding nervously. Her emerald eyes were unreadable which made him nervous. "I just want to talk. That's all." he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. He could feel sweat in his palm.
"I'm sorry. About the other night. About everything."
Katherine's breath hitched from the apology. It was unexpected, and she pressed her lips together.
"I—I," she fumbled with her words.
"I'm sorry," Aaron said quietly again. "For everything. The past. That night. For walking away without asking, for saying I needed space."
Katherine's stance shook. What was happening?! She gripped the hem of her uniform tightly.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked.
Aaron exhaled, "I just wanted to make it right. I searched for you after coming back, but you were nowhere. It was like you vanished, then—" his Adam's apple bobbed as he paused, "I never stopped thinking about you. I just want us to talk, then—" he raked his hand through his hair, "I saw you here, and the twins—"
Katherine's body went rigid, and she raised her hand, stopping him from continuing. "The twins?" she laughed humorlessly, "Which twins?" she muttered bitterly. "After running away? After leaving me in the rain?"
Aaron flinched at the jab. He opened his mouth but shut it again. He didn't know what to say. Everything he wanted to explain seemed to fall flat.
"I'm sorry."
"It's too late. I've moved on and you too have moved on, have you not?"
"Jasmine and Hanith—" Katherine's back straightened at the name as Aaron asked, "Are they mine—?" his voice was barely above a whisper.
"No," she responded without missing a beat, "They aren't yours and they can never be."
"You were pregnant that year, the twins are 5 and Hanith—"
"And so?" she raised her brows challengingly. Her eyes were wide.
His chest rose. "You are their mother, right?"
"I am their aunt," she snapped. "I raised them. I protected them. They are mine alone." she enunciated in a low voice. "Those kids have nothing to do with you. You abandoned me then, right?" she tilted her head in question.
Katherine sucked in a shaky breath and turned to leave.
"Kat..."
She paused but didn't look back. "Don't call me that, Mr. Knight. Your wife won't appreciate you calling another woman's name." with a quiet defiance in every step, she walked away.
Aaron stood there, clutching his chest as he was finding it hard to breathe. The hallway was empty, opposite of the turmoil in his heart.
.
Amanda watched from the corner, her body trembling in anger as her breathing was hard. She had come out to find Aaron, maybe try to talk to him, but the scene in front of her made her want to scream.
Aaron was with Katherine.
Amanda saw the way he looked at Katherine with so much devotion, desperation and raw emotion, contrast to his emotionless face.
And it broke her, her chest tightened in pain because he would never look at her like that. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. And she hated herself for it.
But she won't lose, not after everything.