James paced back and forth in his living room, his heart heavy with worry and frustration. It had been two weeks since his discharge from the hospital, and Amanda was nowhere to be found.
He had tried contacting her, desperate to see his daughter. He needed to see her too. He couldn't believe his mother’s words only but his attempts had been futile as it was hard finding her. The divorce papers Amanda had sent him via email were devoid of any information about her current whereabouts.
Agnes, James’ mother watched her son with concern, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. "James, please," she pleaded. "You need to focus on your recovery. You can't let this consume you."
James whirled around to face her, his anger boiling over. "How can I focus on anything else when I haven't seen my daughter in over three months?" He snapped. "I need to find her. I need to know that she's safe."
Agnes’ eyes welled up with tears, her voice trembling as she spoke. "I understand that, but maybe it's time to consider moving on. You'll find your daughter eventually, but right now, you need to take care of yourself."
Her words only fueled James frustration, and he stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. He couldn't bear the thought of giving up on his daughter, his family.
As he drove aimlessly through the city, his mind raced with questions and doubts. Was he doing the right thing? Was there a chance that Amanda had left with a valid reason?
James’ phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He glanced at the caller ID, recognizing Jerry's number.
"Hey, man," he answered, trying to keep his voice steady.
"You haven't found her yet? James, we need to talk," Jerry said, his tone serious.
"Amanda called me the day of your accident after about ten hours since you said you arrived in the country. She was worried about you because you hadn't gotten home."
James gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white. "What did you tell her?"
"I told her you were back in the country, not knowing you got into a terrible accident. I believe she wasn't aware either," Jerry explained.
"She sounded relieved when I told her you were back , but about her leaving and deciding to divorce you, there must be something else, man. A reason that made her decide to. I think there might be more to this whole situation than we know."
James clenched his jaw, refusing to consider the possibility. "No, Jerry. Amanda never loved me, not really. If she did, she wouldn't have left me when I needed her most."
Jerry sighed on the other end of the line. "You can't be sure of that, James. You need to at least try to find out why she left, or talk to her before jumping to conclusions."
As James opened his mouth to argue, his phone beeped, signaling an incoming call from the investigator he had hired to track down Amanda's location. "Jerry, I gotta go. It's the investigator."
They exchanged quick goodbyes, and James switched to the other call, his heart pounding in his chest.
"This is James," he answered, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Mr. Watson, I have news about your wife," the investigator said, his tone professional and direct. "We've located her."
Relief washed over James, followed by a surge of determination. He knew what he had to do. He needed to confront Amanda, to find out the truth about why she had left and, more importantly, to see his daughter.
James thanked the investigator and hung up the phone.
*
The bustling streets of London blurred past James as he made his way to the address the investigator had provided.
His heart drummed in his chest, a mixture of anxiety and anticipation coursing through his veins. He couldn't believe that he was so close to finding Amanda and their daughter, Kendall.
As James approached Amanda’s apartment, he took a deep breath, steeling himself for the confrontation that was about to unfold. He raised his hand and knocked, the sound echoing in the quiet neighborhood.
Moments later, the door swung open, revealing Amanda, her eyes wide with shock as she took in the sight of James.
Before James could utter a word, his gaze fell upon the scene behind her – a handsome stranger lounging on the couch in her apartment living room, and Kendall playing happily at his feet.
The sight felt like a physical blow to James and he couldn't help but recall his mother's words about Amanda moving on with a new man.
Kendall's joyful squeal pierced the heavy silence as she caught sight of James, her chubby little legs carrying her towards him as fast as they could. "Daddy!" she cried, her arms outstretched.
But before she could reach James, Amanda blocked her, scooping her up and retreating back into the apartment. She dropped her with the handsome guy sitting on a couch inside and came outside to stand at the door.
She turned to face James, her eyes filled with disbelief, as if she were seeing a ghost. "James…What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
James swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to ignore the pain of seeing Kendall so close yet so far away. "Amanda, I—"
"What are you doing here?" she interrupted, her shock quickly giving way to anger. "You have no right to be here."
"I'm here for Kendall,"James managed to say, his voice hoarse with emotion. "I'm not leaving without her."
“What? You ain't serious. You left us and never bothered to contact us and now you showed up here asking for Kendall. Did you ever act like you have a daughter?” Amanda questioned.
“What do you mean, Amanda? Don’t act like I am the one in the wrong here. You left me, taking our daughter along with you,” James said.
“Yeah I did and I don’t regret it,” Amanda replied trying so hard not to give in to the emotions messing her mind up on seeing James again.
“Amanda, you!”
“Let’s not keep this conversation any longer,” Amanda cut him off. “It is already over and be it known to you that I left for good,” Amanda dropped the bombshell, trying so much to conceal the tears that has filled her eyes.
Her gaze hardened as she further tried not to look at James. As she took in a deep breath to calm the storm in her heart, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“Don’t worry about having to take the responsibility of raising Kendall. I will not leave my daughter with you. I will make sure Kendall has nothing to do with you or your family from now on. you should be relieved about that, she wouldn’t pose as a problem with you moving on with your life," she added.
“What? Amanda! How dare you say such?” James said as he became furious.
“Because I believe that’s what you want to hear. Just sign the divorce papers and email them back. I cannot wait any more,” Amanda said in the coldest tone, giving James goosebumps.
James clenched my fists, anger and desperation warring within him.
“Amanda, I cannot give up on our daughter. If you think I am here to abandon her then I have to make you known to you that you are thinking wrongly,” James replied.
“Im sorry James but you have to give up on Kendall because I would never allow you raise her. She doesn't deserve to have a father like you nor a family like yours,” Amanda said losing her temper.
“You ain't serious Amanda, are you? What are you talking about? How could you boldly ask me to give up on my daughter? And if I refuse? What then?"
James asked staring right into Amanda’s eyes.
A cruel smile spread across her lips as she stared back at James right in the eyes for the first time since he showed up at her doorstep.
"Then I guess we'll have to settle this in court," she said.
"And trust me, James, I will fight to the bitter end to ensure that you never get custody of our daughter."
"Amanda, you don’t have to do this, you would only end up hurting yourself," James replied.
“I mean it James, I would make sure I cut every tie with your family,”
“Amanda I think something is wrong. I haven't seen you act this way,” James said as the expression on his face became gentle all of a sudden.
Amanda he knew would never act like this, he knew she was hurt and might have left because of whatever made her hurt.
“Amanda,” James called softly. “Can we talk this out? We're still family."
“Family? What? You should never say that to me. Let's just start this fight and end it already with everyone moving on,” Amanda said as she blinked back the tears threatening to fall.
Deep down she was already about breaking down but she had to remain tough in front of James, she couldn't let him see her like that.
“Amanda!” James called trying to move closer but she raised her right hand asking him not to come closer.
“Leave! You have overstayed your welcome and never show up here again,” Amanda said with finality.
“Can I talk to Kendall then. Can I see her?” James asked.
“No!” Amanda said as she went inside closing the door at James’s face.
“Fuck!” James cursed hitting his fist on the wall as his mind reeled with so many emotions. He couldn't even hate Amanda as he had thought he would. He couldn't imagine he became soft and wanted to talk things out.
“Has she moved on? Was it the reason she was so cold?” James thought as his memories reminded him of the man who was sitting comfortably on the couch in Amanda’s apartment.
