Amanda

Chapter 2

Amanda walked home from work.No matter what had happened between her and Alisha,it seem right to attend the wedding tomorrow,it was her sister's wedding....her twin sister.But then, Alisha didn't even call to invite her so there was no need of showing herself at the wedding.

She saw a car in front of her apartment building,her footsteps halted on seeing Miguel getting down from the car,he opened the backseat and Isobel gracefully alighted from the car.

"Hello,my dear"Isobel said smiling broadly.

Amanda grinned uncomfortably.

"May I have a word with you inside?"

Throughout her stay in Canada, neither Isobel nor Alisha visited her so this visit was very creepy.

Isobel stared at her apartment in total disgust,she shook her head....no one can ever be as classy as Alisha, but she had to at least try to make her fit in.

Amanda walked into the living room with two mugs of coffee,she placed one in front of Isobel and handed the other one to Miguel.

"It's instant, hope you don't mind?"

"Of course not"Isobel replied, sweetly.

Amanda sat down impatiently waiting for her to say the purpose of this creepy visit.

"Alisha's getting married tomorrow"She began.

"I know, and I also know that you ain't here to invite me"Amanda snapped.

Isobel slung her a sly smile."Let bygones be bygones,my dear.I won't beat around the bush.Alisha ran away to heaven knows where, Miguel and I have been searching for her since noon.The Da Silvas would call off the wedding if they get to know about this and I can't let that happen"

Amanda gulped knowing where this was heading.

"I want you to walk down the aisle to Xavier tomorrow"Isobel announced.

Amanda snickered.

"You just made it seem as if it's like eating a piece of cake. I should walk down the aisle to Xavier?You've got to be kidding me"

"Don't make this hard for me!If you refuse,the resort would never be ours again....."

"Ours? I didn't know that I was still part of the family"

"Amanda, this isn't the time to dwell in the past.We are not only going to lose the resort.The company and the house would be taken away too, we'll be penniless"

"I don't care, it's....."

"Amanda! Isobel yelled getting frustrated."Don't make it seem as if I want you to have a life with him, just give me a few days, I'll find your sister and she'll assume her role as Xavier's bride,no one would ever know that it was you who walked down the aisle to him,we need to secure our properties,think about your father,think about the years he spent..... "

"Enough!"Amanda cut in, scared that she might change her mind at the mention of her father.

She slowly stood up.

"I can see that you're bent on making me fill in for my sister. I won't do it. I won't marry someone like Xavier in a million years, make use of the door when you're ready to leave"With that,she walked into her bedroom and shut the door.

Isobel lifted up the mug intending to smash it against the wall but Miguel quickly held her wrist.

"You won't destroy anything in her apartment"He declared.

She shot him a murderous look."Sometimes, I wonder whose side you're on"

"I'm taking sides with no one.After everything,you shouldn't expect her to agree to what you want.I suggest you let Xavier know....."

Isobel pulled her hand away from Miguel's and placed the mug on the table.She stood up.

"He won't ever know about this.What's the essence of having children if I can't use them?"She walked closer to him.

"She didn't agree to this because the only person she listens to didn't ask this of her."

Miguel frozed."I would not talk her into doing this"

"Oh yes,you will."She placed her hand on his shoulder."Think about the look on Amanda's face when she finds out that the one person she trusts is a murderer"

"You can't keep using that to threaten me,you know very well that I didn't mean to kill him...it was in self defense."Miguel retorted through gritted teeth.

"Will she think that way or will she run away from you?"

She walked towards the door and stopped.

"Don't keep me waiting, Miguel. I really need to groom her tonight to at least behave gracefully like my Alisha."She turned to face him,slinging him a wicked grin.

"If she doesn't come out in fifteen minutes, you of all people know what I can do to you and her"And then,she sauntered out.

Tears stung his eyes.Was there anything more painful than convincing the woman you love to marry someone else?

Miguel walked into her room.

"I thought you left with Mom"She said shutting her laptop.

He slowly sat on the bed.

"Well...I... we...."

Amanda moved closer to him.

"I know that look on your face and right now, you're scaring hell out of me"

"You have to do it, Amanda"He choked out.

"Why aren't you on my side this time, Miguel? I wasn't the one who was betrothed to him and if his bride got cold feet and ran off,the wedding should be postponed till she returns.Why should I suffer the consequences of her actions?"

"The Da Silvas won't postpone the wedding,they would call it off if anything goes wrong.Don't you remember how much your father wanted his resort back,when he pushed through hard times,he offered them twice the money they paid for it but they wanted the arranged marriage to finalize the deal.Amanda, your father's company...the house... everything he worked so hard for would go down the drain.The Da Silvas had promised to save the company from bankruptcy and pay off the loan if this wedding pushes through tomorrow"

Amanda sighed sadly,why did he have to remind her of her father?

Miguel held her hands.

"Three days..... I promise... within three days, I'll find Alisha and everything would be back to normal.You just have to save everything your father worked so hard for and I will search every nook and cranny for her.... you trust me, right?"

She smiled and nodded.Miguel was one in a million.

"Alisha and I are so different.Are you sure that I won't do anything wrong,can I possibly...."

"I agree,the two of you are really different but other people won't be able to tell the differences,you just have to be careful, I'm sure you won't do anything wrong"

He moved closer to her and hugged her.

She burried her face in the crook of his neck and wrapped her arms around him.

Miguel stroked her hand tenderly."Everything would return to its normal state. I swear it"