Amanda’s father abandoned his family when she was just a baby. She resented him throughout her life, and her anger resurfaced when she saw a photo of him with his new fiancée. She wanted revenge. What will Amanda do to teach her father a lesson?
Amanda returned to the house where she grew up after a long day at work. She was tired after a long, exhausting day, and the modest house was her only true sanctuary. It was filled with childhood memories and also reminded her of her deceased mother.
After leaving the foster care system, she reclaimed this home. It was more than just a building; it was a connection to her past and the love she cherished from her mother.
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“Oh, I forgot to get the newspaper,” she said, seeing a folded newspaper by the doorstep. She picked it up and placed it on the kitchen counter before making herself a refreshing cup of tea.
Once it was ready, Amanda sat down at the kitchen table and unfolded the newspaper, expecting to scan the headlines as usual. But today was different.
The newspaper held something shocking for Amanda. It contained a photo of her father, Robert, standing next to his young fiancée, Clara. It was an announcement of their upcoming wedding.
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Looking at the photo, the pain of his father’s abandonment resurfaced. It reminded him of the time his father had broken his promise to always be by his wife’s side. He left his wife when she fell ill and never returned.
The pain and anger buried beneath years of determination had suddenly resurfaced. Amanda touched the silver earring in her ear, thinking of her mother. They were the same earrings her mother had given her for one of her birthdays.
“Betrayal is nothing new to you,” Amanda whispered to herself as a plan began to take shape in her mind. Seething with pain and betrayal, she decided to confront her father.
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Early the next morning, she approached her house, a well-kept property that stood in stark contrast to her humble beginnings. She hid behind a large oak tree, waiting for the right moment.
Soon, the front door opened and his father came out. Behind him was the newspaper woman, Carla, who quickly kissed him goodbye.
“Oh my God,” Amanda whispered, looking away. She couldn’t bear the sight of her father kissing another woman.
Amanda watched Robert and Carla get into their respective cars and drive away. Once they were gone, Amanda came out of hiding and scanned the exterior of her father’s house. She wanted to find a way inside.
“The window!” Amanda whispered as soon as her eyes landed on an open window on the second floor of the house. She had spent a lot of time climbing trees during her childhood, so entering the house through the window wasn’t difficult for her.
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In no time, Amanda found herself in her father’s room. With deliberate movements, Amanda approached the bed, her hands trembling slightly as she began to mess up the neatly arranged blankets.
She then removed an earring—a simple piece, but loaded with meaning—and placed it on the bed. It was meant to sow doubt and discord. She quickly left the house through the window and waited for the right moment to enact her next plan.
Amanda watched from her hiding place as Carla returned home, her heart pounding with anticipation. Moments later, her father’s car pulled up and he walked into the house with a satisfied air. A few minutes later, Amanda walked to the door and rang the bell.
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“What can I do for you?” Carla asked, opening the door.
“I’ve come to see Robert. Are you his maid?” Amanda asked, feigning confusion.
“No, I’m his fiancée,” Carla replied, showing her engagement ring.
“Engaged? What a scoundrel! He told me I was the only one in his life!” Amanda exclaimed.
Carla, puzzled, denied Amanda’s claims. When Robert appeared, he too denied knowing Amanda, but she persisted: “Oh, but you knew me very well a few hours ago, didn’t you?”
Carla, now furious, believed Amanda’s lie.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble,” Amanda said. “I just came to get my earring back, which I lost here. It’s my mother’s, and it means a lot to me.”
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Robert refused to let her in, but Carla allowed her to search for the earring. In no time, Amanda reached the bedroom where she had left the item.
“Oh, there she is!” Amanda picked her up from the bed.
“I can’t believe it!” Carla yelled at Robert. “You tricked me! How did the earring end up in our bed?”
“What? You’re not serious!” Robert protested. “She’s a liar!”
“You betrayed me, then you lied about it!” accused Carla, who decided to call off their wedding and leave.
Amanda apologized and quickly left the house, feeling satisfied after making her father feel the pain of betrayal.
“Finally!” she thought and breathed a sigh of relief as she walked towards her car.
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***
A week later, Amanda was wiping down tables at the restaurant where she worked when she overheard her coworkers talking about someone’s big wedding.
“What wedding are you talking about?” she asked them.
“Come on, Amanda!” replied Stacey, one of Amanda’s colleagues. “Don’t you keep up with the news? Haven’t you heard of this businessman, Robert something?”
“He married this woman, Carla. They spent millions on their wedding. It was huge!” said Sarah, another coworker.
“What?” Amanda was shocked, but she hid her emotions. “I mean… who spends millions on a wedding? It’s shocking.”
While Amanda pretended to be bothered by this excessive spending, she felt like a failure inside. She didn’t want Robert to build a new life after what he had done to his wife and Amanda.
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“Anger is like a heavy stone, Amanda ,” her mother’s words echoed in her mind. “You carry it with you, and it weighs you down. Sometimes you have to let it go. Sometimes forgiveness is the only option .”
Whenever Amanda was bullied as a child, her mother would say these words. She always encouraged Amanda to forgive the people who hurt her.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Amanda reflected on her actions. She quickly realized that causing harm or ruining her father’s relationship wasn’t the solution to her resentment. She had to confront him.
***
Later that week, Amanda stood outside Robert’s house, no longer in the grip of anger, but driven by a newfound curiosity. Taking a deep breath, she rang the doorbell.
“Why are you still here?” Carla opened the door.
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“I’m here to talk to Robert,” Amanda said. “I’m not his girlfriend. I lied. I’m… I’m his daughter.”
“What?” Carla’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is this a joke or what?”
“This is not a joke. I-“
“Who’s there, Carla?” Robert asked his wife before approaching the door.
“Why are you still here? Leave us alone, please!” Robert shouted at Amanda.
“Dad… it’s me,” Amanda said. “I came here to…”
“Amanda? Is that really you?”
Tears welled up in Amanda’s eyes. “Yes, Daddy. It’s me.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “I just… I needed to know why you left. Why you left Mommy and me.”
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Robert’s face softened, a flicker of pain crossing his features.
“Come in, Amanda. Come in.” He pushed her into the house, Carla still lingering awkwardly in the doorway.
Once inside, Amanda sat down, clutching the silver earring tightly in her hand.
“Mom got so sick after you left,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper. “We had a really hard time. Then the foster family took me in after she died. It wasn’t easy…”
Robert was shocked, his hands clenching and unclenching.
“I… I didn’t know things were this bad,” he muttered. “I thought you were well taken care of afterward…”
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“Who do you think would have taken care of us? We had no one. We needed you most, Dad. Mom needed you!” Amanda said.
The weight of their shared history crashed down on them. Amanda spoke of the anger and confusion she had carried for years, the bitterness that festered inside her. She confessed her previous plan, which was to destroy her new relationship out of revenge.
As Amanda told her story, Robert listened intently. Shame and regret etched lines across his face.
“I understand your anger, Amanda,” he said finally, his voice hoarse. “There’s no excuse for what I did. It was a cowardly thing to run away.”
He took a deep breath and began his own story. He spoke of the overwhelming guilt he felt after leaving his wife, Amanda’s mother, to cope with her illness alone.
He revealed a period of self-destruction, poor choices, and financial hardship. It took years of hard work to get his business back on track. Shame had kept him from returning, a twisted logic that only reinforced his isolation.
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“I never wanted to abandon you both,” he said, his eyes filling with tears. “Every day, I regretted my decision. But the moment I could have come back, I was afraid. Afraid of rejection, afraid of seeing you both suffer. Please forgive me, Amanda. Please.”
The enormity of her regret struck Amanda. His story wasn’t that of a villain, but that of a flawed man, paralyzed by fear and guilt. The anger that had consumed her began to fade, replaced by a glimmer of understanding.
“I think I forgive you, Dad,” she said, the words surprising even her. “It doesn’t erase what happened, but I can’t carry this anger anymore. It’s a heavy burden.”
Relief spread across Robert’s face. He reached out and took Amanda’s hand, the warmth of the touch bridging the years of separation.
“Thank you, Amanda,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”
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