I was taken aback.
Didn't she like Ethan?
By stepping aside now, wouldn't that be exactly what she wanted?
Why, then, was she saying something like this?
And from the look on her face, it didn't seem like she was joking.
But I didn't care.
Even if Amanda cut ties with Ethan from now on, so what?
Could a broken mirror ever truly be restored?
At the sound of Amanda's words, Ethan's face drained of color.
"Amanda... Are you serious?"
Amanda didn't turn around. She just stared straight at me.
Seeing this, Ethan's anger morphed into venomous resentment.
He lunged forward, grabbing Amanda and pulling her into his arms, his voice hoarse with accusation.
"Why?!"
"I've been with you for two years, and now you just say 'no' and toss me aside? What do you think I am? Some piece of trash you can throw away when you're done with it?"
Two years.
A flicker of surprise, followed by self-mockery, flashed across my mind.
I should've known these two had been involved for at least two years.
In fact, they might've been together even longer than that.
The thought of sharing a bed with someone like that for so long made me sick to my stomach.
"Shut up!"
Amanda, red-faced with anger, struggled free from his grasp and slapped Ethan across the face with a sharp crack.
Ethan was stunned, rooted to the spot, disbelief written all over his face.
"You... you really have no heart, do you?"
"I've been by your side for two years. I may not have done anything spectacular, but I've certainly suffered!"
His voice grew louder, more frantic, as his eyes reddened with fury.
"Amanda, you better explain yourself!"
Amanda's face was a mask of icy calm, her voice cold and threatening.
"Ethan, I'm warning you one last time—know your place!"
"If you bring this up again, don't blame me for turning my back on you!"
I wasn't surprised in the slightest by what I was seeing.
It was true that Ethan was young, energetic, and knew how to charm women.
But he didn't understand Amanda.
Amanda might have liked him, maybe even loved him at one point.
But that love, I suspect, was rooted more in his obedience than anything else.
Even her occasional fits of temper, in Amanda's eyes, were just a way to spice up their relationship.
But once he crossed a line and made her angry, she wouldn't tolerate it.
I could understand why Ethan was so furious.
After all, he wasn't clinging to Amanda just for the sake of her body.
On a deeper level, Amanda provided him with a life of luxury.
To Ethan, Amanda wasn't just a lover—she was his sugar mama.
Losing her meant losing everything he had.
So he was willing to do whatever it took to keep her.
But when confronted with Amanda's cold stare, he faltered.
After a long pause, Ethan turned his gaze to me.
"Lucas, if you don't love Amanda, why don't you just let her go?"
"Is the thrill of playing both sides really that exciting for you?"
"If you already have someone new, why don't you stop fighting me for her?"