Amanda sighed, “You are already entangled in so much and yet have to worry about me.” She then
looked at him and asked, “Could it be that you like me?” She joked to try to ease the tension.
Casimir tried to avoid her look and then chuckled, “I like someone younger than me.”
Amanda was speechless.
She pretended to be angry and said, “Then don’t walk together with me, otherwise others would think
that I’m your aunt.”
Casimir laughed and asked, “Did I touch a nerve?”
“Would you be happy if I said that you look like an uncle?” Amanda asked in return.
“I do look like an uncle but could you resist my charming good looks?”
Amanda was speechless again.
“Narcissist.” Amanda scoffed.
Casimir smiled and turned her head around to look at himself, “Tell me, am I handsome?”
Amanda slapped away his hand and scolded, “Do not touch!”
Casimir was speechless.
“It’s getting late, you should go home now.” Amanda stood up and wanted to be alone.
Casimir looked at her and said, “Okay, I’ll leave first. Call me anytime you need something.”
“Okay,” Amanda replied.
After Casimir left, Amanda laid on the bed without washing up. She tossed and turned for a long time
and still could not fall asleep. She got out of bed to revise the business proposal. She had worked on
this proposal since her return and it was near perfect after multiple corrections. The only way to revise
it was to revisit the original ideas and start all over again.
Time passed quickly when she was engrossed with the work. The day was almost breaking and she
did not sleep for the entire night. In the end, she was so tired that she slumped onto the table and fell
asleep.
Her cellphone rang when it was close to midday. She woke up and tried to reach for her cellphone in a
daze. It was a message sent by Joshua which contained a picture.
She looked at the person in the picture which instantly snapped her to her senses. She rubbed her
eyes to look carefully.
In the picture were four people who sat at a table. It included Joshua, Bonnie and her parents. In the
picture, Dolores wore a traditional Thailand gown. She did not like to make up since she was young but
yet her complexion remained fair and without blemish. She had not changed other than some slight
wrinkles at the corner of her eyes. The eyes spoke volumes of her past but her face did not show any
signs of wear all thanks to Matthew taking good care of her.
When Amanda was ten years old, Dolores had an unplanned pregnancy. She had complications when
she gave birth to Joshua which resulted in the doctor telling her that she could not bear any more kids.
As a result, Matthew tried to prevent her from getting pregnant to avoid her getting hurt but once again,
she became pregnant.
Women are emotional and could not give up the pregnancy knowing that the fetus was healthy.
However, Matthew was insistent and brought her to the hospital. Before the abortion, she cried and
asked Matthew, “Doesn’t it affect you to abandon on your flesh and blood?”
She as a mother would feel sad and Matthew was the father and had to sign to approve the procedure
to end his child’s life. How could he not be sad about it?
He felt equally bad but he could not risk Dolores’ life. The risks were too great.
Matthew persisted even upon Dolores’ pleas. In the end, Dolores insisted that Matthew stood beside
her to witness the entire procedure.
Dolores laid on the operating table and then told him, “I probably will never forgive you for this.” After
saying this, she closed her eyes and refused to look at him.
After this event, Dolores kept feeling guilty for killing her own child and was never the same again.
Joshua went to C city when Amanda and Andrew reached adulthood. Thereafter Matthew brought
Dolores to Thailand. Thailand was in the tropics and its average temperature was between 24 to 30
degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature would not go below 18 degrees Celsius.
Matthew bought a house in Chiang Mai and was ready to stay there permanently. The weather at
Chiang Mai was great and the temperature was mild. It was very suitable for Dolores’ health. She had
gone through miscarriage and childbirth and did not recover fully from it. Matthew had planned to do
this long ago but did not due to the tender age of the kids. They went there when the children grew up.
They seldom come back.
Amanda thought about that place when she saw the picture. The house had traditional Thai
architecture with a red and white pavilion in the centre. The sides had large glass panel windows with a
wooden frame. The surroundings were specially landscaped and maintained by gardeners. The garden
was beautiful and excellent for recuperation and relaxation.
She began to miss that place. She placed down the phone and went to the bathroom to shower.
She relaxed considerably after the hot shower. She realized that she was hungry and was about to go
to the restaurant for a bite when Gerben came.
Gerben told her that Lindsay was sentenced to life imprisonment due to manslaughter.
Amanda hardly reacted to the news as these were all committed willingly by Lindsay.
“Have you eaten?” Amanda asked.
“Are you asking about breakfast or lunch?” Gerben asked. It was too late for breakfast and too early for
lunch.
“Lunch of course.” Amanda pressed the elevator to go down.
Gerben then replied, “I’ll join you.”
“Oh, have you seen the news today?” Gerben asked.
Amanda turned to look at him wondering what could be more interesting than Lindsay’s
sentence.
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