The Story about Amanda のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

My brother, Eric Wilson, was cheating on his wife.A designer boutique I frequented had just received the season’s latest collection. A sales associate I knew called and asked if I wanted to come in for an early look. As luck would have it, Eric was there when I arrived. He was lounging in the seating area. His long legs were propped up on the coffee table.He was probably bored because he was scrolling through his phone. A slender, curvaceous woman stood with her back to me as a sales associate helped her choose a handbag.She turned around and asked him with a hint of coquettishness, “Eric, what do you think of this one?”My eyebrows rose with interest. Did she just call him Eric? I knew that businessmen like my brother always had women around them, married or not. Whether those relationships were innocent was another matter, but those women usually addressed him as “Mr. Wilson,” “Sir,” or “Boss”.It was the first time I had heard one of them call him by his first name so in

Although it had happened three or four years ago, I remembered it vividly. I was normally oblivious to awkward situations, but even I had wanted to disappear from embarrassment. When Eric finally arrived, he did not even bother sitting down. He picked up the nearest glass of red wine and went straight over to toast Amanda. In a deliberately flirtatious voice, he said, “Amanda, darling, forgive me for keeping you waiting. Let me make it up to you with a drink.” I had to hand it to him. He had somehow managed to sound spectacularly sleazy.His behavior was also incredibly forward and rude. Even worse, he had clearly come determined to sabotage the entire dinner.When Amanda raised her glass to meet his, he deliberately spilled some of his wine onto her. She was wearing a white blouse.The red stain spread across her chest. The wine soaked through the fabric and faintly revealed the outline of her bra underneath.I did not dare look at my parents’ faces. Amanda’s parents, Mr. an

Amanda fell in love with Eric and even agreed to marry him.My brother Eric had never been willing to share the details of his love life with his younger sister, so to that day, I had no idea what he did during their supposedly fake courtship to win Amanda’s heart.At that time, I had told Eric to swallow his pride and play along until the development project was secure. Once Dad could no longer use the funding as leverage against him, Eric could end the relationship.I never imagined that Eric would play the part so convincingly. Amanda might have been brilliant, but when it came to love, she was innocent and trusting. Somehow, Eric made her fall in love with him and agree to become his wife.They had not been together very long. After a little over a year, they began discussing marriage. The path to their engagement was neither smooth nor honorable, because Dad apparently forced Eric’s hand. He used both the development project and Tiffany’s education and future career as lever

Before their relationship fell apart, Eric and Amanda had enjoyed a peaceful and mutually respectful marriage. Eric had actually been quite protective of her.On the first morning after their wedding, Amanda came down a little late for breakfast. I sat at the table and started teasing her. She blushed from her face all the way to the tips of her ears at my remarks.She had stopped at the foot of the spiral staircase and was too embarrassed to come any closer. All the while, she looked at us with shy uncertainty.Eric kicked me hard under the table, then got up and walked over to her. He held out his hand as though it were the most natural thing in the world, calmly led her to the table, and helped her into her seat.Then, he turned to her and asked, “What would you like? Pancakes or eggs?”They looked just like any other blissfully happy newlywed couple.Back then, whenever I went downstairs late at night in search of a snack, I often found Amanda in the living room. She was read

She was such a fool. Her husband had spent the day buying another woman designer handbags. She was probably one step away from being thrown out of the family, yet there she was, happily playing with flour. I gave a cold scoff and ignored her. Amanda had grown accustomed to offering warmth and receiving nothing but coldness in return from our family.Even in the face of my hostility, she continued smiling at me. I turned and walked away.I did not come downstairs again until dinner. To my surprise, Eric was home. After spending the day shopping with Tiffany, I had assumed he would spend the night with her too.Amanda sat beside him, with my parents across the table. I walked over and took my seat.My parents spoke to Eric. I occasionally joined the conversation. Without ever acknowledging it, all of us treated Amanda as though she were invisible.It could not have been easy for her. I glanced sideways and saw the chandelier casting its light across her face. Her eyes remained low