Contract Marriage: I Will Never Love You-Chapter 72: The Meeting

Matthew

I was beyond surprised when I received that text from Amanda.

After that confrontation with her at the restaurant and everything that has happened with Sarah, I damned near gave up on Amanda.

So when I saw that text that said she wanted to meet me, I didn’t know what to think.

I got ready quickly. Good thing I was already planning on not going to work today.

The drive to Café Lumière took twenty minutes. It was a small, upscale place with wide windows and understated elegance – exactly the kind of place Amanda always preferred. I arrived fifteen minutes early, a habit she used to tease me about.

"Always so punctual," she’d say, smiling that smile that used to make my heart race.

I chose a table in the corner, ordered black coffee, and waited. Every time the door opened, my head snapped up, expecting to see her. When she finally walked in at precisely 10 AM, I almost didn’t recognize her.

Amanda’s hair was shorter now, a sleek bob that framed her face perfectly. She wore a cream-colored blouse and tailored pants. For a moment, looking at her was like looking at a ghost – a reminder of everything I’d thrown away.

Her eyes found mine immediately. "Matthew," she said, sliding into the seat across from me.

"Amanda." My voice sounded rough, even to my own ears. "You look great," I finally said.

"Thank you," she said, smiling softly. "And thank you for meeting me."

Her voice was calm. Controlled. Not a trace of the fire I remembered from that night at the restaurant when she told me I was dead to her.

"I didn’t think I’d hear from you again," I admitted.

Amanda wrapped her hands around her cup of tea, eyes focused on the rising steam. "Neither did I."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"I’ve been doing a lot of thinking," she said finally. "About us. About what happened."

I stayed quiet, letting her speak.

"I was angry. Hurt. You blindsided me, Matthew. One minute we were planning our future, the next..." Her voice trailed off, but I knew what she meant. The next, I was married to Sarah.

"I tried to tell you what Sarah did, but you never wanted to hear me out, Amanda," I said.

Her gaze flicked up to mine, sharp and unwavering. "Because it sounded like a goddamn excuse, Matthew."

I swallowed hard. "It wasn’t."

"I’m not here to fight," Amanda said, her voice softer now. "I just wanted to...I want to hear you out now."

I blinked, taken aback. She wants to hear me out? Now? After everything?

Amanda must’ve seen the disbelief on my face because she added quickly, "Not to fix things. Not to go back. I just...I need closure. And I think maybe you do, too."

I nodded slowly, unsure where to even begin. My hands curled around my coffee cup, more for something to hold than for the warmth. "It wasn’t planned. Any of it. Sarah...she lied to me since the beginning and I let myself fall for it."

Amanda’s lips pressed into a tight line. "Why did you marry her?" she had asked.

I hesitated. "By the time I found out the truth, it was too late. And now..."

Amanda leaned back in her chair, staring at me like she was trying to see the man she once loved inside the man sitting in front of her. "Do you love her?"

"No," I said, even though I wasn’t completely sure anymore.

"Then what are you doing, Matthew? Why are you still with her?" she asked quietly.

"She is pregnant," I blurted out. "And it’s for real this time. I can’t just up and leave her now."

Amanda exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "So that’s it? You’re just going to spend the rest of your life paying for a mistake?"

I clenched my jaw. "It’s not that simple."

"It is that simple," she countered, voice firm but not unkind. "You’re choosing this, Matthew. You’re choosing to stay in a marriage built on lies with a woman you don’t love because you think it’s the ’right’ thing to do. But what about your life? Your happiness?"

I let out a humorless chuckle. "Happiness isn’t really an option for me anymore."

Amanda’s eyes softened, but there was something else there too—disappointment. "She deceived you, Matthew."

"I know," I said.

"How do you know she is not lying this time too?" she asked.

That question hit harder than I expected. I looked down at my coffee, at the way the surface rippled as I shifted in my seat, trying to buy myself a second to think.

"I don’t," I admitted. My voice came out quiet. Raw. "I don’t know. It...it feels real this time."

Amanda’s expression didn’t change. "Sarah’s good at playing the part when she wants something," she said. "You, of all people, should know that."

"I do," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Trust me, I do."

Amanda sat in silence for a moment, her gaze searching mine. Then she said, "I want us to be friends again, Matthew."

Her words caught me completely off guard.

Friends?

I wasn’t expecting that.

"I don’t know if that’s a good idea," I said honestly. "Not because I don’t want to... but because..."

Amanda looked down at her tea, her thumb brushing the rim of the cup. "Because of her."

I shook my head. "Because of me. Because I don’t trust myself around you and I won’t cheat on Sarah no matter what she did."

"Matthew..." she began.

"I should go," I said, pushing my chair back.

But Amanda reached across the table, her fingers brushing mine. "Wait. Please."

I froze, caught between staying and leaving.

"I’m not asking for anything more than friendship," she said quietly.

"Aren’t you seeing someone?" I asked, remembering the man at the restaurant.

"It didn’t work out. He wasn’t...you," Amanda said.

I stared at her, not knowing what to say to that. Did I want Amanda back? I did at one point in time, but now...

"I really should get going, Amanda," I said.

Her hand lingered on mine for just a second longer before pulling back, her eyes dropping to her lap. "Okay," she said softly.

I gave her a tight nod, then turned and walked away, with the past playing in my head like movie scenes.