Amanda’s father abandoned the family when she was just a baby. She resented him her entire 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 picturesque house where she grew up after a long day at work. She was tired after a long, tiring 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 foster care, she claimed this house as her own. It was more than just a building; it was a link to her past and the love she cherished from her mother.
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“I forgot my newspaper,” she said, noticing a folded newspaper near the door. She picked it up and placed it on the kitchen counter before making herself a refreshing cup of tea.
Once ready, Amanda sat at the kitchen table and unfolded the newspaper, expecting to skim the headlines as usual. However, today was different.
The newspaper contained something shocking for Amanda. There was a photo of her father, Robert, with his young fiancée, Clara. It was an announcement of their upcoming wedding.
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Looking at the photograph, the pain of his father’s abandonment, which had happened so long ago, suddenly resurfaced. It reminded him of the time his father had broken his promise to always be by his wife’s side. He had abandoned 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 stud in her ear as she thought 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, he approached his house, a well-kept property that belied his humble origins. He hid behind a large oak tree, waiting for the right moment.
Soon the front door opened and her father walked out. Behind him was the newspaper woman, Carla, who quickly kissed him goodbye.
“Oh, God,” Amanda whispered and looked away. She couldn’t bear the sight of her father kissing another woman.
Amanda watched as Robert and Carla got into their respective cars and drove off. When they left, Amanda emerged from her hiding place and scanned the outside of her father’s house. She wanted to find a way inside.
“The window!” Amanda whispered as soon as her eyes fell 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.
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In the blink of an eye, Amanda found herself inside her father’s bedroom. With deliberate movements, Amanda approached the bed, her hands trembling slightly as she began to rummage through the neatly arranged blankets.
Then, she removed an earring—a simple piece, but loaded with meaning—and placed it on the bed. Her intention was to sow seeds of doubt and discord. She quickly left the house through the window and waited for the opportune moment to execute her next move.
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 entered the house with a smug air. A few minutes later, Amanda walked to the door and rang the bell.
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“How can I help 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 off her engagement ring.
“Fiancee? That scoundrel! He told me I was the only one in his life!” Amanda exclaimed.
Carla, bewildered, denied Amanda’s claims. When Robert appeared, he also 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 take the earring 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 let her search for the earring. In no time, Amanda arrived at the bedroom where she had placed the earring.
“Here it is!” Amanda picked it up from the bed.
“I can’t believe it!” Carla yelled at Robert. “You’re a cheat! How did that earring end up in our bed?”
“What? You can’t be serious!” Robert protested. “She’s a liar!”
“You betrayed me and then lied about it!” accused Carla, who decided to cancel her wedding and leave.
Amanda apologized and quickly left the house. She felt satisfied that she had made her father feel the pain of betrayal.
“Finally!” he thought and breathed a sigh of relief as he walked toward his car.
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***
A week later, Amanda was bussing tables at the restaurant where she worked when she overheard her coworkers talking about someone’s big wedding.
“What wedding are you talking about?” he asked them.
“Come on, Amanda!” said Stacey, one of Amanda’s coworkers. “Aren’t you up on the news? Haven’t you heard about that businessman, Robert Something?”
“He married a woman, Carla. They spent millions on their wedding. It was huge,” said Sarah, another coworker.
“What?” Amanda was shocked, but hid her emotions. “I mean… who spends millions on a wedding? It’s shocking.”
Although Amanda pretended to be bothered by the excessive spending, inside she felt like a failure. 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 around, 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 to her. She always encouraged Amanda to forgive the people who hurt her.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Amanda reflected on her actions. She soon realized that causing harm or ruining her relationship with her father wasn’t the answer to her resentment. She needed to confront him.
***
That same week, Amanda stood in front of Robert’s house, no longer driven by anger, but by a newly discovered curiosity. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
“Why are you here again?” Carla opened the door.
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“I came to talk to Robert,” Amanda said. “I’m not his girlfriend. I lied. I’m… I’m his daughter.”
“What?” Carla raised her eyebrows. “Are you joking or what?”
“It isn’t. I-“
“Who’s there, Carla?” Robert asked his wife before approaching the door.
“Why are you here again? Please leave us alone!” Robert yelled at Amanda.
“Dad… It’s me,” Amanda said. “I came to…”
“Amanda? Is that really you?”
Amanda’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes, Dad. It’s me.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “I just… needed to know why you left. Why you left Mom and me.”
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Robert’s face softened, a flash of pain crossing his features.
“Come in, Amanda. Come in.” He led her into the house, while Carla stood awkwardly in the doorway.
Once inside, Amanda sat down, clutching the silver earring tightly in her hand.
“Mom got very sick after you left,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper. “We had a terrible time. After she died, I ended up in an orphanage. It wasn’t easy…”
Robert bowed his head, clenching and unclenching his hands.
“I… didn’t know things were this bad,” he murmured. “I thought you’d been well taken care of after…”
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“Who did you think was going to take care of us? We had no one. We needed you more than anyone, Dad. Mom needed you,” Amanda said.
The weight of their shared history weighed on them. Amanda spoke of the anger and confusion she’d carried for years, of the bitterness festering inside her. She confessed her previous plan, which was to destroy their new relationship out of a twisted sense of revenge.
As Amanda poured her heart out, Robert listened intently. Shame and regret marked the lines on his face.
“I understand your anger, Amanda,” he finally said, his voice hoarse. “There’s no excuse for what I did. It was cowardly to run away.”
He took a deep breath and began his own story. He spoke of the crushing guilt he felt after leaving his wife, Amanda’s mother, alone with her illness.
He revealed a period of self-destruction, poor decisions, and financial hardship. Rebuilding his business had taken years of tireless work. Shame had kept him from returning, a twisted logic that only deepened his isolation.
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“I never wanted to abandon them,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “Every day I regretted my decision. But when I was able to go back, I was afraid. Afraid of rejection, afraid of seeing them both suffering. Please forgive me, Amanda. Please.”
The enormity of his regret struck Amanda. His story wasn’t that of a villain, but of a flawed man paralyzed by fear and guilt. The anger that had consumed her began to recede, replaced by a flash of understanding.
“I guess 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 flooded Robert’s face. He reached out and shook her hand; the warmth of the touch bridged 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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