Amanda’s father abandoned the 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 picturesque house where she grew up after a long day of work. She was tired after a long and exhausting day, and the modest house was her only true sanctuary. It was full of childhood memories and also reminded her of her deceased mother.
After leaving the foster care system, she claimed this house as her own. 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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“I forgot the newspaper,” she said when she saw a folded newspaper near the door. She picked it up and placed it on the kitchen counter before preparing herself a refreshing cup of tea.
Once ready, Amanda sat at the kitchen table and unfolded the newspaper, expecting to flip through the headlines as usual. However, today was different.
The newspaper had 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 her father’s abandonment, which had happened so long ago, resurfaced sharply. It reminded her of the time her father broke his promise to always be there for his wife. He abandoned his wife when she fell ill and never came back.
The pain and anger buried under years of determination had suddenly resurfaced. Amanda touched the silver earring in her ear as she thought about her mother. It was the same earring her mother had given her on one of her birthdays.
“Betrayal is nothing new to you,” Amanda whispered to herself as a plan began to take shape in her mind. Boiling with pain and betrayal, she decided to confront her father.
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The next morning, early, she approached his house, a well-maintained property that contrasted with her humble beginnings. She hid behind a large oak tree, waiting for the right moment.
Soon, the front door opened, and her father stepped out. Behind him was the woman from the newspaper, Carla, who quickly gave him a goodbye kiss.
“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 away. Once they left, Amanda came out from her hiding place and scrutinized the exterior of her father’s house. She wanted to find a way to get inside.
“The window!” Amanda whispered 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 getting into the house through the window wasn’t difficult for her.
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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, and her hands trembled slightly as she began to ransack the neatly made blankets.
Then, she took off an earring—a simple piece, but full of meaning—and placed it on the bed. Her intention was to sow seeds of doubt and discord. She quickly exited the house through the window and waited for the right moment to execute her next move.
Amanda watched from her hiding spot as Carla returned home, her heart pounding with anticipation. Moments later, her father’s car stopped, and he entered the house with an air of satisfaction. A few minutes later, Amanda approached the door and rang the bell.
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“How can I help you?” Carla asked, opening the door.
“I’m here to see Robert. Are you his maid?” Amanda asked, pretending to be confused.
“No, I’m his fiancée,” Carla replied, showing her engagement ring.
“Fiancée? That bastard! 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 insisted, “Oh, but you knew me very well just a few hours ago, didn’t you?”
Carla, now furious, believed Amanda’s lie.
“I don’t want to cause any problems,” Amanda said. “I just came to take the earring I lost here. It’s from my mother, 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 the blink of an eye, Amanda was in the bedroom where she had placed the earring.
“Here it is!” Amanda picked it up from the bed.
“I can’t believe this!” Carla yelled at Robert. “You’re a liar! How did this earring end up on our bed?”
“What? You can’t be serious!” Robert protested. “She’s a liar!”
“You betrayed me and then lied about it!” Carla accused, deciding to cancel the wedding and leave.
Amanda apologized and quickly left the house. She felt satisfied after making her father feel the pain of betrayal.
“Finally!” she thought, letting out a sigh of relief as she walked to her car.
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A week later, Amanda was cleaning tables at the restaurant where she worked when she overheard her coworkers talking about someone’s grand wedding.
“What wedding are you talking about?” she asked them.
“Come on, Amanda!” said Stacey, one of Amanda’s coworkers. “Haven’t you heard 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 she hid her emotions. “I mean… who spends millions on a wedding? It’s crazy.”
Although Amanda pretended to be upset about 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 to 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 those who hurt her.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Amanda reflected on her actions. Soon, she realized that causing harm or ruining her relationship with her father was not 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 newfound 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 speak with Robert,” Amanda said. “I’m not his girlfriend. I lied. I’m… I’m his daughter.”
“What?” Carla raised her eyebrows. “Is this a joke or what?”
“Who’s there, Carla?” Robert asked his wife before coming to the door.
“Why are you here again? Leave us alone, please!” Robert yelled at Amanda.
“Dad… It’s me,” Amanda said. “I’ve come to…”
“Amanda? Is it really you?”
Amanda’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes, Dad. It’s me.” Her voice trembled with emotion. “I just… needed to know why you left. Why you left Mom and me.”
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Robert’s face softened, and a flash of pain crossed his features.
“Come in, Amanda. Come in.” He led her into the house while Carla stood uncomfortably at the door.
Once inside, Amanda sat down, gripping the silver earring tightly in her hand.
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“Mom got very sick after you left,” she began, her voice barely a whisper. “We had a really tough time. After her death, I ended up in an orphanage. It wasn’t easy…”
Robert lowered his head, clenching and unclenching his hands.
“I… I didn’t know things had gotten that bad,” he murmured. “I thought you were being 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 anything, Dad. Mom needed you,” Amanda said.
The weight of their shared history pressed down on them. Amanda spoke of the anger and confusion she carried for years, the bitterness that festered inside her. She confessed to her previous plan, which was to destroy his new relationship out of a twisted desire for revenge.
As Amanda poured her heart out, Robert listened intently. Shame and regret marked the lines of his face.
“I understand your anger, Amanda,” he finally said in a hoarse voice. “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 difficulties. Rebuilding his business had taken years of relentless work. The shame had kept him from returning, a twisted logic that only deepened his isolation.
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“I never wanted to abandon you,” he said, his eyes filled with tears. “Every day I regretted my decision. But when I could come back, I was afraid. Afraid of rejection, afraid of seeing both of you suffer. Please forgive me, Amanda. Please.”
The enormity of his remorse hit Amanda. His story was not that of a villain, but of an imperfect man paralyzed by fear and guilt. The anger that had consumed her began to fade, replaced by a flash of understanding.
“I guess I forgive you, Dad,” she said, and the words surprised even her. “It doesn’t erase what happened, but I can’t carry this anger anymore. It’s too heavy a burden.”
Relief flooded Robert’s face. He reached out and shook her hand; the warmth of the contact built a bridge across the years of separation.
“Thank you, Amanda,” he said, his voice full of emotion. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”
