Chapter Four

- First Person’s Perspective -

~Amanda~

I walked away from Carlos with a smirk forming at the corners my lips, taking in every second of the encounter with delight and satisfaction. The confusion in his eyes, the hint of regret flashing across his face, the hurt he couldn’t quite mask—it was everything I wanted. No, everything I needed. The power I felt in that moment was intoxicating. I had envisioned this scene for years, rehearsed it in my mind countless times. Matter of fact,

That’s why I went into that mall. It wasn’t a coincidence. He was my very target. I wanted him to see me, to feel my presence, to be haunted by the possibility that I wasn’t just a ghost from his past. And when I looked into his eyes, it was worth every second. I just knew I had made the right decision coming back here

“Do I know you?” I had asked, feigning innocence, enjoying the way he stumbled over his words. The perfect performance and I deserved an Oscar for it

The smirk faded as I turned the corner, my footsteps quickening. Even now, years later, the memories I once fought so hard to uncover lingered like scars, refusing to fade. It started with the nightmares—fragments of terror that clawed at my mind every night.

In one dream, I was falling, tumbling off a high cliff. The wind whistled in my ears, my screams echoing into the depths. The feeling of weightlessness would jerk me awake, my heart racing, my throat dry.

Another night, it was the hospital. The sterile scent, the blinding white lights, the sound of my own sobs. I could see myself thrashing, screaming at faceless doctors. “Where is my baby?” I had cried, my voice cracking with desperation. “Give me back my baby!”

I would wake up drenched in sweat, gasping for air, unable to shake the haunting images. At the time, they felt like mere figments of my imagination, the cruel tricks of a fractured mind. But deep down, they were pieces of a puzzle I was too afraid to put together.

If it weren’t for Maleek and Aaliyah, I might have lost myself completely. They were there through every nightmare, every breakdown, every moment when I thought I couldn’t go on.

“Sasha you’re stronger than this,” Maleek would say, his voice firm but kind, his hand steady on my shoulder. “You’ll find your way. You just have to keep moving forward.”

Aaliyah was my rock, the one who held me when I couldn’t stop crying. “We’re here for you,” she would whisper, her arms wrapped tightly around me. “No matter how long it takes, we’ll help you find yourself again.”

For years, their unwavering support was my anchor. They saved me. I could never repay them for that.

But then, one night—three years after the incident—it all came back.

It wasn’t a gradual process. It hit me like a tidal wave, and everything came flooding back with immense clarity. I remembered everything.

The betrayal.

Carlos, standing in front of me, his face a mask of indifference as he said, “I don’t love you anymore.”

The attempted murder.

The screech of tires, the flash of headlights, the impact that sent me tumbling into darkness.

The loss of my child.

My imaginary baby cries echoing in my ears before they were silenced, ripped away from me forever.

The pain was suffocating, but it fueled something inside me—a fire that had long been extinguished. It burned with bitterness, consuming every part of me until there was nothing left but the need for revenge.

Carlos and Sarayah. They were the genesis of my suffering, and they would pay. I swore it.

That’s when the plan began to take shape. If I was going to destroy them, I needed to be smart. They couldn’t suspect a thing.

So I pretended.

I pretended I was still the woman who couldn’t remember her past, the woman who was too broken to piece together the truth. Not even Maleek or Aaliyah knew I had regained my memories. It was my secret, and I intended to keep it that way.

Carlos had let me go, thrown me away like I was nothing. He thought he could move on, build a new life with Sarayah, and forget about me. But I wasn’t the same Amanda he had abandoned.

I was Sasha now—a new woman, a stronger woman. And I was going to use that to my advantage.

~Present Day~

As I reached the parking lot, I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder, wondering if Carlos was still standing there, watching me.

“You okay?” Maleek’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. He was leaning against the car, his arms crossed, his sharp eyes scanning my face.

I nodded, slipping into my composed mask. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

He raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “You’ve been on edge since we got to New York. Something’s going on, and you’re not telling me.”

I shrugged, brushing past him to the driver’s side. “I’m fine, Maleek. Drop it.”

But as I climbed into the car and started the engine, I couldn’t shake the feeling of satisfaction curling in my chest.

Carlos had seen me. And this was only the beginning.

As we drove through the bustling streets of New York, I stared out the window, my mind drifting back to the past.

“I’ll make them pay,” I whispered under my breath, my voice steady, filled with resolve.

“Did you say something?” Aaliyah asked from the backseat, her tone light but curious.

I glanced at her in the rearview mirror and smiled. “Just thinking about the future.”

And oh, what a future it would be. Carlos would regret the day he chose to let me go. That, I would make sure of.