102 Amanda hissed under her breath as she yanked her wrist against the old, rusted bolt. Her skin was already bruised, but the wood on the arm of the chair had started to splinter. She had to get free of this thing. She couldn't bear this anymore. With one more tug, the rope gave way—finally. "Got it!" She whispered through gritted teeth. Luther stirred beside her, groaning as he tried to sit up. His nose was still swollen from the last time Viper had used him as a punching bag, and he couldn't tell if he was awake or in a horrific dream. Amanda crawled over quickly and reached for his hands, untying the knots as fast as her shaky fingers could allow her to. "Come on, come on..." She muttered. "He'll kill us if he catches us." Luther said, his voice hoarse. "I wish he could kill us now." "Then we don't let him catch us, easy as that."Amanda snapped. "Easy?" Luther scoffed. "I'd like to know your definition of the word. Amanda dropped her hands, glaring at him. "

"You know, I could get used to this." Kia said, giving Devin a million dollar smile. Devin always got blown away by her beauty, no matter how many times he saw her, and now, she was dressed in a pretty blue sundress, and talking without a care in the world. The city was calm that evening, and the views of couples laughing as they walked along the cobblestone sidewalk made everything seem so much better. So much softer. Kia was standing outside the rooftop restaurant, her hair blowing gently over her shoulders, and a soft smile playing on her lips. "Are you cold?" Devin asked as he draped his jacket around her shoulders from behind. She looked up at him, smiling. "Not anymore, thanks to my knight in shining armour." He reached out, brushing a stray curl behind her ear. "I still can't believe we're here. I've owed you a peaceful night like this for too long, and I'm glad we kind of have it." "You've been kind of busy saving the world, so I understand." She teased.

Luther yanked Amanda by the wrist and pulled her behind him, placing himself between her and Steve. “Back the fuck up, man.” Luther growled at him. “You don’t even know her.” Steve didn’t move from his spot. He just crossed his arms and turned his eyes to Luther. “I do know her.” Steve said calmly. “I knew her better than you think, better than you even do. That night wasn’t a dream to me, and she wasn’t just some girl I met. She was Amanda, and she was mine.” Amanda’s face morphed into one of fury. “You’re crazy. Shut the fuck up.” But Steve didn’t, instead, he continued to speak. “She is pregnant.” He said. “That’s why I came here, I didn’t just bump into her by chance. I’ve been actively looking for Amanda because I know that I’m the father of her child.” Luther’s whole body froze. “What?” He shook his head, looking at Amanda in disbelief. Amanda snapped her head toward Steve. “You don’t know shit, you liar! You’re trying to use me!” But Steve wasn’t even

Amanda adjusted the collar of her cream blouse as she stood outside the grand hotel. She wore her pretty high heels and walked on the marble floor with the confidence of a queen, but inside, her heart was pounding. This had to work. She had done her homework. She knew that Devin was holding a high profile meeting today, and she had even memorized the names of the executives he was supposed to meet. In addition, she had managed to spot them as they arrived, and they looked clean, old money types, with expensive suits and colognes that lingered in the air. These were exactly the kind of people she once dreamed of surrounding herself with, and so she timed her entrance just perfectly. She approached them as they reached the elevators, her stomach sticking out ever so slightly under her trench coat. She was nervous. One of the men was a high ranking member of the IMF, and the other was a powerful brother of the president. To be in their presence… “Good afternoon.” She said, flas

Amanda tugged her coat tighter around her body as she walked out from there, barely holding on. She couldn’t believe how he had embarrassed her, and had the audacity to throw her out again. She held back her tears and looked back at the hotel one last time before walking away. There was a time when people would clamour for her presence, but now… she was old news. She threw her scarf on the ground in annoyance and stepped on it, and a few people stopped to look and even made videos of her. A uniformed man walked up to her. “You can’t be doing that on here, ma’am. I’d advice that you go somewhere else.” She yanked her arm from his hold. “I can have you sued for harassment! Can’t you see that I’m having a bad day?” She yelled at him. “I’m sorry about that, but you can’t do that in this place.” She slapped him. “Do you even know who I am?” She walked away, leaving the perplexed officer holding his face in confusion. She went to the mall. Shopping was good. Shopping was