After the kids slept off, Amanda went to her room and applied all kinds of makeup that hides her beauty and makes her look extremely ugly.
As she sneaked out of her room, she bumped into her mom and her mom almost screamed.
"What in the world is happening?" Grandma Nana (Amanda's mom) exclaimed, not believing her eyes. "Why would Amanda put on this? she asked herself.
"Mom, I have gotten a chance to sing at a bar tonight and you know there's no way I'm gonna sing with my beauty," Amanda said.
"But with the way you are looking now, I'm sure you will scare off the guests. Amanda, you are beautiful and who knows your beauty can get you more tips. Besides, you don't have to do all of this, I'm getting my payment tomorrow and we can work things out," Nana replied.
"Nana, you don't get it, the kids' teachers said they should bring almost 100 dollars tomorrow and there is no miracle that can provide us with the money before tomorrow morning. I know you cared for me, but please let me do what is right. The kids are my responsibility and I will do anything to take care of them," Amanda said.
"You are still young honey, but why do you have to look ugly, extremely ugly before going to the bar?" Nana asked.
"It was my beauty that made that strange man rape me four years ago. I don't want history to repeat itself, and besides, I don't want anyone to mock my kids about their mom being a singer or a dancer, I will be late mom, take care, love you." Amanda answered and rushed off because Nana could say anything. She sighed and went to her room.
<<<< AT THE AIRPORT >>>>
A very handsome man hopped down the plane wearing black sunglasses and a white suit, his haircut was trimmed perfectly, making him look adorable. Out of nowhere, different kinds of paparazzi and crazy fans appeared blocking his view as his guards managed to get him out of there.
"Mr. Rowan Xi, how do you feel coming back to your country after four years?" A female reporter asked.
"It's none of anyone's business, get them out of here," Rowan replied coldly as he pushed through the crowds and entered his new Lamborghini. His guards greeted him with a bow, as he is the kind of guy that doesn't tolerate disrespect.
He ordered the driver not to drive, and after waiting for some time, the crazy fans and reporters had no option but to leave.
Mr. Rowan gets out of the car.
"Can't one just enjoy the fresh air without any interruption?" He soliloquies, and that's when his eyes caught the sight of his cousin Jack, who was also arriving from France.
"Hey dude." Jack said and hugged him.
"How are you?" Jack asked.
"I'm fine, and you don't have to ruin my suit," Rowan replied.
"Old habits never die easily. Anyway, you should be thanking me that at least if your suit looks messy, your crazy girl’s fans won't find you attractive. So what's up? Heading home already?" Jack asked.
"If not home, do I have somewhere else to go?" Rowan asked, annoyed.
"You don't have to be so annoying. Look, I know about this new bar, they are the best. We can go there and have fun," Jack answered.
"I'm not interested, you can go alone."
Rowan said.
"Please don't be such a joy killer, please come with me, please," Jack pleaded.
"Fine, but I'm not gonna spend time over there." Rowan said.
"Yesss! Thank you." Jack replied, and they entered the car. The driver closed the door and started the engine and they zoomed off to the airport.
Hours later, at the city Bar, Amanda arrived early, so the manager allowed her to go on stage to sing for 5,000 dollars. She was happy that at least she would get some change after paying off the kids' school, whatever.
She went over to the stage and started singing and dancing, her voice sounded angelic and her words were full of pity.
"This is so boring." Rowan exclaimed.
"This is so good dude, look at her, she looks so lovely and her voice could wake the dead, I'm sure it could." Jack said.
"You are kidding, right? All I can see is a lady who is extremely ugly and looks like a clown," Rowan replied.
"C'mon that's so rude, this girl is so full of talent, I'm gonna talk to her." Jack said.
"You are kidding, you are not gonna invite that ugly girl to our table, it is already bad you forced me to come with you to this noisy bar." Rowan replied.
"You are so rude, and I'm gonna call her anyway," Jack said and rolled his eyes; he called a waiter and told him to call Amanda.
Amanda was singing when a waiter told her to come. She followed him and he took her to Jack's table.
"Hey, good evening." Amanda said as she approached them. She was feeling nervous but tried to hide it as she didn't want them to notice.
Rowan immediately raised his head as her voice sounded very familiar, a voice he couldn't forget, but recalling that the girl he raped was beautiful but the one in front of him was exactly the opposite.
"Evening angelic voice, I was listening to your song and it was damn amazing, girl, you are so good." Jack said, admiring Amanda despite her looks.
"Thank you sir." Amanda replied with a forced smile. All she wanted was to get out of that place.
"I'm Jack, and he is Rowan, my brother."
Jack said and stretched out his hand, waiting eagerly for Amanda to receive it, which she did reluctantly.
"Rowan Xi?" Amanda asked with wide eyes. She couldn't believe he was the one, he was very popular even after he had earlier left the country.
"Yes, you know him? Guy, you are a celebrity." Jack replied, smiling at Rowan, but of course he knew he was.
"I saw him on the TV," Amanda said with a sheepish smile with the thought "who don't know Rowan Xi"
"Oh great, what's your name?" Jack asked and focused his attention on her.
"Amanda sir." Amanda answered, wondering why he was asking for her name.
"Nice to meet you Amanda, I just wanted to say hi, you can go back to your song."
Jack said with a charming smile. It made Amanda a little bit shaken. She had never met anyone with such a smile. It was so breathtaking but she comported herself in order not to lose her guard so easily and had quadruplets to take care of. She screamed in her mind.
"Thank you sir." Amanda replied and started heading back quickly without waiting for Jack to say anything further. She had to go home early. She didn't know if her mom needed her help.
Rowan eyed Jack and then said as Amanda went out of sight.
"You are such a jerk, I swear," he hissed and looked away and Jack only laughed.
Amanda went backstage and undressed, she wiped off the make- up, which made her look like her old self again. She stared deep into her hazel green in the mirror and then decided to start leaving before Jack and Rowan would summon her again or anyone else.
Rowan, who had an important private call to make, excused himself and walked out of the bar through the exit door.
It was the same time Amanda came out of the dressing room, she used the back door and while heading towards the exit of the bar, she bumped into Rowan. He froze as he stared into her eyes, which got him hooked.
Rowan held onto her waist as he stared into her eyes, shocked as he recognized her.Since Amanda couldn't recognize him, she managed to pull herself from him and glared at him."So...rry." Amanda stammered.Rowan recalled having a nightstand with her four years ago and immediately thought she was sent by the villa to pick him up as he had placed her there the day he traveled."You came to pick me up?" He questioned, raising his brows, which surprised Amanda, as she didn't know what he was talking about."Came to pick you up? Who are you? I don't even know you." Amanda replied and stared at him weirdly."Stop being crazy, it was already too much since after what happened between us. It has been four years and you never called to check up on me. I guess you prefer enjoying the luxurious Villa more, right?" Rowan asked and what he was saying did not make sense to her as she still couldn't understand what he was saying."Is he crazy? What is he talking about? What happened four years ago?
Amanda sat still in front of the mirror, trying to undress and wipe off what was left of the ugly makeup she had on earlier.Then she remembered the popular Rowan Xi and how he tried to hold her down, insisting that she was supposed to be at his house."What madness?" She asked herself and kept wiping off the makeup."Who are you speaking to?" her mother asked with concern.She jerked at the sight of her mother."You scared me Mum. It is nothing. I was just soliloquizing. Something a bit strange happened today."Her mother looked at her, her gaze filled with concern."What might that be?""I met someone very important; Rowan Xi. You know him, right?"Her mother's mouth was agape with shock."Wow… that is some interesting stuff!" She exclaimed. "Please tell me you got along fine?""That is the point, mother. You know I had this ugly makeup on, so he thought I was ugly…"Her mother's face squeezed in a frown."You see? Did I not warn you about that ugly makeup you had on?" She cut in an
>>>Rowan was sitting in his office, addressing his father's employees.One of the employees, the company's head of financial unit, raised her hands."Go ahead Annette, make your contributions snappy." He instructed her and leaned back in his chair."Thank you sir. I'd like to point out that we made some good profit in the last four years; however, the company's net expenditures are toppling over the profit per season. I would suggest that some unnecessary frivolities be cut down on."Rowan bit his lower lip. He knew where her conversation was headed and he was definitely going to address it."What are the components of this net expenditure? Can you give me a run down?""I can mail you the comprehensive list of all that the company has funded for the past four years.""Send me that mail before midday, Annette. I would like to address the situation immediately."Annette nodded and thanked him."You can all get back to work, there is a lot to do," Rowan inst
Mrs Roberts was at the hair salon with her friends, they were trying to get a makeover."You look damn good , girl." Katherine exclaimed excitedly."Been a while, you know. You do not seem to get a lot of time these days because of the babies," Angela added.Mrs Roberts was a bit uncomfortable about having those conversations but she had no choice."Yes. It has been a while. Thank God you know that I am very busy. The kids do not allow me to get some breathing space," Mrs Roberts replied, trying to stay composed and unashamed. "Yeah…right?" They both echoed."Yeah," she replied sternly, trying to move away from the conversation. She did not want to last too long on conversations about her daughter's children."What does Amanda do now?" Angela asked with curiosity etched on her face.Mrs Roberts shifted to her seat. She was becoming uncomfortable."She works with a big company now," she replied with a whisper, hoping they would not ask her the name of the company because the truth was
"Hey mama," Amanda called out to her mother.Mrs Roberts turned around to see her daughter looking sad."Is everything okay?" She asked with panic. "Did anyone hurt you?"Amanda shook her head. She did not want to tell her mother about her travails at the restaurant."I am fine, mother," she replied in a whisper."I am glad those nosy friends of mine had left earlier because it would have been bad if they met you in this state. You did not even try to put a brush on your hair. Look at how disheveled your hair looks."Amanda took a quick glance at her reflection in the mirror and let out a sigh of exhaustion."I am sorry mum. I had a pretty rough day.""It is alright honey. We need to fix you up because I have found just the perfect job for you. They are calling for submissions and interviews and the deadline is in two days. All thanks to your children, I came across the advert just in time."The excitement in her mother's voice was making her enticed and she wanted to know more about
>>>>"It was fun catching those unplanned photos of you. I am going to have your handler put them up on your Instagram. How does one go from week to week without pictures? Do you not know that you are a celebrity?"Rowan was angry but he was trying to remain calm."My life, my choices!" He retorted to Jack.Jack laughed hysterically at his cousin."Well, if you feel offended, I am sorry. However, I am not sorry that I got pictures of you taken; I am only sorry that it was done like an ambush."Rowan threw him a cold stare and shook his head."You're a terrible human, you know. I will have my pound of flesh. Just watch."Jack laughed again."I am a jolly good fellow, if you throw lemons at me, I will make a huge basin of lemonade from them. You need not worry."At this point, Rowan found his anger dissipating and his heart lightened a bit. He smiled slightly at Jack and his smile got Jack almost reeling on the floor with laughter."You know you want to laugh s
"You even look better than you sounded over the phone," Jack complimented her and she blushed evidently."Thank you Sir," she whispered with an intriguing smile.Jack found himself craving time with her. There was something enchanting about her presence and her carriage. She was too poised for a waitress.She placed his order carefully on the table and stood beside him."I will take my leave now, sir. If there's anything else, please use my number.""I will use this number from now henceforth and I will make sure all my friends use it as well. You deserve all the points in the world; with your striking features and your sonorous voice.""Thank you Sir," Rosemary chuckled. "I do appreciate these nice comments. I will keep your promise in mind."Jack smiled at her."Would you like to have lunch with me? Different location, at your convenience?"Rosemary thought for a while and then nodded."This is against our employee policy here. But, we can.""I promise I won't get you into any kind
"Oh…Look at my daughter," Mrs Roberts chuckled.Amanda giggled and looked at herself again in the mirror."You look breathtakingly beautiful, sweetheart. If they do not accept you for your experience and certificates, your beauty and delicate nature would take a toll on them," Mrs Roberts complimented."Oh, there you go again mother, making it about my physical appearance. I get bothered if it all comes down to my looks. I will change into something less show-offy. I don't want to be seen as attractive." Amanda had a frown on her crease."Stop it Amanda!" Mrs Roberts cautioned sternly. "You seem to forget that just because you had babies does not mean you are less beautiful. The reality is, men would still want you. They will crave you and there is nothing you can do about it. The only thing you can do is to empower yourself, especially financially, to avoid them using you recklessly."Even though her mother's tone was harsh, Amanda got the message clearly. She was becoming too scared