"Miss Flores, what are you doing here?" Stanford thought he was looking at the wrong person.
Amanda clenched her hands, which were hanging at her sides, into fists. She was trying desperately to
suppress the emotions tumbling inside her to remain calm.
"I ..." Her voice was a little hoarse, "I got lost."
"I'll give you a ride. Get in the car." He looked at her and said.
Amanda released her clenched fist and smiled, "Then thank you."
Stanford was quiet and didn't say a word.
She pulled open the back door and sat in.
"I don't know if you've got things handled?" She meant something else, "I don't want anything to go
wrong while we're working together."
Stanford remained silent as he started the car and drove away.
What happened last night was an accident, but it was deliberately posted online and became a
scandal. He had dealt with it.
The incident had upset him, too.
"Miss Flores, you haven't had lunch yet, have you? My treat today." Stanford suddenly spoke up.
Amanda thought for a moment, "How can I refuse since you have been so gracious in inviting me?"
Stanford glanced at her in the rearview mirror. Every time he saw her, she would do something
unexpected.
This time was no different.
There seemed to be a certain magic about her that attracted him and always made him want to be near
her.
And he didn't like that feeling in his heart.
He didn't like it when a woman made him do things that were out of his control.
The car pulled up and stopped in front of a restaurant.
Amanda got a good look at the restaurant while her heart was in turmoil once again. This was a
restaurant she used to love to come to, and she loved to pester Stanford to come with her. It had all the
dishes she liked to eat.
Why had he brought her to this restaurant?
What did he know?
Amanda was in a bit of a panic.
Stanford got out of the car. Not seeing her get out, he opened the back door for her, "Miss Flores."
Amanda sat still, "I'm not very hungry. Mr. James, why don't you take me back to the hotel?"
"We're already here, Miss Flores, you'd better get down." Stanford didn't mean to take her back but
made it very clear that she should get out of the car.
Amanda bit her lower lip and bent over to get out of the car while Stanford walked ahead. He was a
regular customer, so as soon as he came in, the manager came to greet him, "Mr. James."
Stanford nodded.
"There's room over here and it's quiet." The manager guided Stanford to a window seat in the VIP
section.
Amanda followed him in with downcast eyes.
"This lady, please." The manager pulled the chair for her.
She thanked him, then sat down.
"Same as usual," Stanford said as he sat down.
The manager froze for a moment. He used to come with his wife and order those same dishes every
time because his wife loved them. Now, this was a strange woman and he was still ordering the same
dishes?
Stanford looked up and glanced at the manager, "Mr. Chase?"
"Oh, I'm just going to have the chef prepare it. You wait a moment." The manager hurriedly said with a
smile.
Darren went to arrange for the chef to prepare while Amanda took a sip of the plain water on the table
and asked, "Mr. James, do you like the restaurant?"
"Yes." He said without thinking. However, it was only after he had finished that he realized that this was
not the restaurant he liked, but the one she liked.
He'd been here so much that he'd gotten used to it. He didn't know if he liked it or if he was used to it,
but he liked coming anyway.
Amanda lowered her eyes slightly while her curled lashes fluttered.
"Actually, it's my ex-wife who likes it." Stanford leaned back and looked at her. The sun was slanting in
through the window and enveloping her body in a hazy haze. He was in a trance like he was seeing
her.
He squeezed his fingers, "You look like her."
Amanda suddenly looked up at him and couldn't help but frown. What had he found?
She thought she had misheard, "I look like your ex-wife?"
She couldn't help but reach up and touch her face. She was afraid that even her parents wouldn't
recognize her, yet he sensed it?
Thinking about it, she couldn't find when she had exposed herself.
Her face was growing pale.
"It's not that you look alike, but you make people feel alike." Stanford looked at her and said, "It's not
really the same."
Amanda couldn't decide in her mind what he meant. Was he testing her, or was he simply guessing
based on his feelings?
"What do you mean by that?" She asked.
"Miss Flores, you're pretty but not as warm as she is. She loves to smile, and when she smiles at me,
her arched eyebrows always make me feel warm." His eyes softened at the mention of her. And that
softness disappeared again when his gaze fell on Simona, "You're more sombre and completely
different from her. You do smile, but it's too fake and insincere."
Amanda clutched at the corner of her shirt under the table. Too fake? Insincere?
Once when she'd smiled at him without reservation, all he could think about was how to set her up,
right?
"I may have once been like your ex-wife, unreserved and true to the person I liked. But my ex-boyfriend
cheated on me and left me bruised and battered, so I wouldn't dare smile like that again. I'm afraid of
meeting the next scum. Although one's eyes have 5.76 pixels, they can't see through the human heart."
She looked down and let out a bitter laugh.
"Do you hate your ex-boyfriend?"
It suddenly occurred to Stanford that if she were still alive, what would she be like?
Would she have hated him?
Hate?
Amanda just didn't think that word couldn't explain how she felt.
"I wish I could have killed him myself if I could." As she spoke, she stared into his eyes.
Stanford met her eyes and froze for a moment, "You ..."
At that moment, the manager came along with a waiter, and then he stopped talking.
The manager and the waiter placed the dishes on the table, "Mr. James, the dishes are ready."
Stanford replied indifferently.
"Well, enjoy your meal." With that, the manager and the waiter left.
The table was full of delicious food, but he had no appetite for it, but continued what he had just said,
"Can you bear to kill someone you once loved?"
"Yes. Why should I be softhearted to a man who has deceived me? Love? My love vanished the
moment he hurt me, and all that remains is hatred." Amanda leaned forward and closed the distance
between her and him, "If I could, I'd like to rip out his heart and see how he could hurt and deceive me
like that."
Stanford's Adam's apple rolled up and down. As Simona said this, he thought of himself.
In keeping with her personality, she would have done the same, wouldn't she?
At this moment, he thought if she was still in this world, even if she hated him, just like Simona did, it
would be good.
But now she had left his world for good.
"I heard you talk about your ex-wife. So why did you get divorced?" Amanda asked, raising an
eyebrow.
Stanford kept his thoughts to himself and remained calm, "It occurred to me that I had something else
to do. Miss Flores, enjoy your meal.”
With that, he stood up and walked away.
Amanda sat still but straightened her back.
Was he guilty?
Was he afraid to even answer?
Stanford!
She slowly closed her eyes and opened them a moment later, while all the emotions were hidden deep
within her. Then she calmly picked up the chopsticks, picked up the dish that was her favourite and put
it in her mouth, and chewed it slowly.
She didn't know if it was her state of mind that had changed, or if it was the chef who had made the
dish that had changed, but she felt that the dish no longer had the same taste.
Everything had changed, and she was no longer her.
She continued to take the dish into her mouth, "Stanford, you killed my child, and I will make sure you
pay for it."
She put the chopsticks down and looked up at the sky outside, while the sun was shining as brightly as
it had been.
She picked up the napkin, wiped her mouth, and then got up to leave.
The place was easy enough to get a taxi, but she didn't want to go back to the hotel now, instead, she
walked along the road. A year had not been long enough and nothing much had changed.
The only thing that had changed was the human heart.
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