Chapter 7
Amanda My heart is literally on my throat as my eyes go wide, mom continues banging on the door and shouting for me to open Me:"Coming mom!" I shout back Mom:"who's there with you Amanda, open this door now" good Lord, I am dead meat, Nathan has already taken his shoes and back to the window he came into Nathan:"See you tomorrow" he whispers and gets out the window, sprinting across the yard and I open the door so fast Me:"Mom!" I exclaimed standing infront of her with my heart pounding out of my chest Mom:"Who was with you here just now?" She raises her eyebrow, I clear my throat and get out of the way to make space for her to walk in Me:"No one Ma" Mom:"I heard voices Amanda" Me:"Because I was on the phone with someone " Mom:"Who?" What's wrong with her Me:"Some guy from school" I answer and she nods not believing a word I uttered and walks to the door Mom:"Food is ready, are you coming down or you will eat in your room?" Me:"I'll come take it and eat in my room mom" she stops by the door Mom:"Anyway I can smell Nathan's cologne" then she walks out and I can hear her chuckle as she walks down the passage and my eyes go wide Me:"Well that went well" I whisper to myself going to the window and I look out, sighing I close it and walk to the kitchen to get my food and back to my room again _ Sabrina Getting home, I had put my bag on the floor and I just sat down on the sofa and sighed, I rubbed my temple ' what have I done ' my subconscious speaks and I shake my head But it's not fair, Amanda gets to get everything and I know if I hadn't approached Nathan first, I know they would be dating right now I know it was a B move on both of them but I also wanted Nathan and now that I have him I cannot in any case afford to lose him... I mean for once I get to get something I pull out my phone to call him but it goes straight to voicemail and I groan, he is probably with her as we speak, I move to my room and I began to do my after school routine which is sorting out any school work I have and I take a short shower I walk to the kitchen and I made myself some food and some small snack and I plop down infront of the TV and I find something to watch An hour later there is a knock on my door, I hope it's Britney, she said she'll come by this afternoon because she wanted to check up on me, opening the door my heart starts beating fast Me:"Nathan" I whisper, I know I messed up.... A big Mess up that is and I know I have to apologize profusely for that because seriously I don't want to lose him now Nathan:"Sabrina" I sighed and moved to let him in, he shakes his head and panic starts to set in Me:"What's wrong?" He looks down at me and takes off his glasses Nathan:" you really disappointed me today Sabrina" I look down ashamed as I should be Me:"I'm sorry" I really am, I just saw red and attacked, I didn't mean to hurt my best friend Nathan:" no, you know who you have to apologize to" he says and I nod still looking down Me:"I don't know what happened Nathan.... Are we ... Still together?" I look up at him and he sighs removing his glasses and he looks down at me Nathan:"I don't know, I still have to think about it" my heart shatters and the water works start and I hold him Me:"Please Nathan, don't leave... I promise something like this will never happen again" I begged wetting his shirt... I can hear him breathing but he's not saying anything breaking my heart further Me:"Say something" I hold his lower stomach tighter Nathan:"I said I'll think about it " I let go and look up at him Me:"Whatever happens please don't leave me" He just turns around and leaves to his car as I watch him, wiping my tears, this was supposed to be my happiest but I went ahead and ruined it, I need to talk to Amanda and fix things I know it won't be easy but I have to for my relationship, I know if Amanda forgives me, Nathan will also come around _ It's already late when my parents walk in, they are both Teachers in another school around here Mom:"Honey" Dad:"Princess" I smiled Mom:"Have you been crying?" I look away Dad:"What happened?" I start to cry and I tell them everything that happened leaving the part where I know Amanda had strong feelings for Nathan and how I actively pursued him knowing he also felt the same about her and how I had convinced him that Amanda is better off without him, he's better off as a friend to her and my parents believed me, of course they will, I am their only child Mom:"Now this is complicated... Why would you think Amanda wants Nathan" i play with my fingers Me:"I can see the way she looks at him" Dad:"I still don't believe this" I look up at him Me:"You don't believe me Dad?" He looks at me straight in the eye Dad:"I don't believe you Sabrina, what you did today to your friend, best friend that is, is not forgivable" Mom:"I don't wanna get involved " she stands up... Seems like I spoke too soon about them believing me Dad:" Did you cook?" The subject changes Me:"No" Mom:"Good, we'll order Pizza, call Amanda" then she walks off Dad:"Listen to your mother " he follows behind her, things are getting more complicated and I don't know what to do or what to thinkCHAPTER 21The city buzzed around Amanda like a living, breathing entity. Manhattan was everything she imagined and more chaotic and charming, sharp-edged but full of wonder. Her cab weaved through the morning traffic, and her forehead rested briefly against the window as her eyes danced across the skyline.She'd only been in New York for two days, but it already felt like the beginning of something monumental.Her phone buzzed.Dad: Just sent you some money, my girl. For the bed, fridge, and some groceries. Let me know if you need anything else. Proud of you.Amanda smiled warmly and typed back a quick thank-you. She'd cried when he called her the night before, his voice thick with pride.Now, standing outside a modest appliance store in SoHo, she pulled her coat tighter and walked in. The scent of fresh metal and plastic filled the air as she browsed. After some haggling, she walked out having purchased a compact fridge, a kettle, and a fan heater—New York winters were nothing to pl
CHAPTER 20The plane touched down with a gentle shudder, the sprawling lights of Manhattan sparkling below like a field of diamonds scattered on black velvet. Amanda pressed her forehead to the cool glass of the airplane window, heart pounding with a mix of awe and nervous excitement.New York. The city she'd dreamed of since she was a little girl sketching alone in her bedroom. The place where her art could finally breathe, where she could finally be seen.As the plane taxied to the gate, she exhaled slowly, her fingers gripping the seat’s armrest. She was nervous, yes, but also thrilled. Her life was changing, and she could feel it in her bones.The Langford Collective’s representative was waiting for her just beyond customs, holding a simple sign with her name scrawled in black marker. He was tall, neat, dressed in all-black, and spoke with a soft British accent. "Amanda Houston? Welcome to New York. I’m Ezra. We’re so excited to have you.""Thank you," Amanda said, adjusting the s
CHAPTER 19 Nathan didn’t sleep. He couldn’t. The walls of the penthouse closed in on him, tighter and tighter, as though the truth had taken shape and pressed against his chest like a vice. Sabrina was pregnant. And it might not even be his. He paced the living room with a whiskey glass in his hand, the amber liquid sloshing with every frustrated step. Outside, Milan was alive—cars moving, people dining, laughter echoing faintly through open windows. But inside him, everything was deathly quiet. The kind of silence that follows after a bomb. By midnight, Nathan had had enough. He needed air. Noise. Anything to shut off the storm in his head. He pulled on his jacket, left his phone on the counter, and walked into the night. He didn’t know where he was going until he got there—a sleek bar near the canal, dimly lit with a live saxophonist in the corner, the kind of place people went to forget. Perfect. He slid into a stool, ordered a scotch, and downed it like medicine. Then he sa
CHAPTER 18Sabrina stared at the pregnancy test in her trembling hands.Positive.Again.The third stick this week. All three glowed with the same verdict, mocking her.She sank onto the cold bathroom floor, her knees pulled to her chest, heart galloping in panic. The early symptoms made sense now — the dizziness, the nausea, the way her clothes clung tighter around her waist. She had brushed them off as stress. God knew there was plenty of that in her life.But this?This was something else.She didn’t cry. Not yet. Her brain was too loud, her thoughts tangled like a pile of barbed wire.She was pregnant.And she didn’t know who the father was.Nathan?David?Two men on opposite ends of a war — and she was the battle field.Her stomach twisted violently, and she lunged for the toilet.---Two days passed.Sabrina hadn’t told anyone. Not Nathan, not David. Not even herself, reallyb— not in the way that made it real.She wandered around the pent house like a ghost, the glossy tiles col
CHAPTER 17A month had passed.Nathan barely noticed the days anymore. Each morning bled into the next, each night collapsed into sleeplessness or the stench of whiskey he didn’t even enjoy. His world had shrunk down to contracts, board meetings, silence, and the four walls of a penthouse he no longer considered a home.And Sabrina.Always Sabrina.She still haunted the place like smoke—always present, always suffocating.He sat in his home office one Thursday night, fingers rubbing at his temples as his screen glowed back with pending emails. He hadn’t seen Amanda in a month. Not even a glimpse.He couldn’t.Not after the way he’d ended things with her. Cold. Cruel. Deliberate. Necessary.At least that’s what he told himself.He hadn’t expected the hollowness that followed. He thought he’d be able to breathe with the secret buried again. Instead, every breath now scraped his lungs.Sabrina walked past the door, humming. She wore red lingerie beneath one of his button-ups, the fabric
CHAPTER 16The sun dipped low over Milan, casting golden light through Amanda’s bedroom window, but warmth had long left her heart.She sat by the edge of her bed, her fingers curled tightly around her phone. Nathan’s message still sat unread on the screen, a ghost waiting to be acknowledged. The tension in her chest was unbearable, like a scream lodged in her throat. When the door bell rang, she leapt up, heart hammering.She opened the door to find Nathan standing there, hands in his coat pockets, eyes shadowed.“Nathan…” her voice cracked. “Come in.”He stepped inside without a word. Something in his expression— cold, guarded — immediately set her on edge. She tried to read his body language, but the man before her looked like a stranger.She led him into the living room. “You said you’d explain. What’s going on? Why have you been distant?”Nathan didn’t sit. He stayed standing, looming. “I came to tell you this in person because I owe you that.”Amanda felt her stomach twist.He l