THIRD PERSON POV
Before looking away, Sky saw the scorn in Amanda's eyes, feeling the scorch of the woman's disdain for her.
When Amanda was still with Ocean, she had made Sky her target. There was also a time they crossed paths at a mall. A stranger walked into Sky, elbowing her so hard that she couldn't stand straight for two days. Amanda was also there, watching with her arms folded and a devilish smirk on her face. Only a fool wouldn't know that she had something to do with it.
Therefore, though she was upset, that was all to it. Sky wasn't scared of Amanda but she knew she stood no chance against her whatsoever.
What puzzled her the most was that Amanda still seemed to dislike her even after being married to another man. Had she offended her in any way? If Amanda still hated her, would she come after her again?
When Sky first got her job, Ocean was a good boss. Though Amanda was aloof, she was never disrespectful or overbearing. Ocean was kind and considerate. He never let her do overtime like the rest of the staff. He always brought her souvenirs from his business trips, and when he heard of her financial needs, he raised her salary.
Then, Amanda suddenly became hostile towards Sky. She forced Ocean to stop treating her like she was special.
It was later that Sky found out that some jealous secretaries from other departments were the ones spreading rumors that she was chasing Ocean. Though some of them were fired, Amanda refused to believe that Ocean and Sky were not cheating behind her back. To avoid more conflicts, Ocean made Sky take her annual leave, with the promise that her job would still be waiting once her holidays were over.
From the moment Sky left the company, she felt hopeless. She believed that Ocean just wanted to let her down gently. At that moment, she regretted not listening to her best friend who told her to seduce Ocean.
Even if she was amoral, she wouldn't know how to even start. In all her twenty-four years, she only had one boyfriend. He left for a PhD abroad, and they lost contact. After that, she became too busy, working, schooling, and surviving.
Until she met Ocean, she thought she was in love and heartbroken. But the moment she set her eyes on Ocean, she knew that whatever she felt for her ex-boyfriend was anything, but love.
Her ex gave her stability and peace. He was dependable and predictable. But he never made her nervous about how she looked. Never made her heart fluster. Never made her look forward to seeing him the next day. She never missed him when he traveled, or wished that he would call to just check up on her.
Sky's feelings for Ocean were deeply ingrained in her system, and his kindness made it impossible to extricate herself. Though other men approached her, she refused, despite knowing that she stood no chance with her boss.
Having done everything within her power not to be the other woman, she still ended up being slandered and fired. Sky was deeply hurt. But the most painful thing was the fear of never seeing Ocean again. It kept her awake and in tears for many nights.
She was full of happiness the day Amanda had finally left. The woman made life miserable for her and she could have lost her job.
It never crossed Sky's mind that Amanda would suddenly appear in front of them again.
Why did she return? To finish what she started?
Sky did her homework on Amanda and was sure that she was moving abroad to live with her husband. It was one of the reasons she had hoped to win Ocean's heart. Out of sight is out of mind. Though Sky was aware that Ocean wasn't over Amanda yet, she believed that with time, he would move on, but with Amanda around, it seemed nearly impossible.
She saw how Amanda was publicly touching Blake and the nonchalance of her actions annoyed her to no end. How could someone that pretty be so shameless, blatantly seducing a married man in public?
Sky's emotions gradually turned to anger. She was so furious that she didn't notice how hard she was clenching her fists until one of her nails snapped, sending sharp pain to her brain.
"Welcome to the Triple-3 Chelsea Charity auctions. I am your host, Arnold…"
With the hall filled up, the host started the event. First came the national anthem, followed by the Triple-3 Anthem, and a welcome speech. Right after a musical performance, the auction started.
The first Item that was auctioned off was a golden bracelet from a prominent family's heirloom. The Auctioneer thanked the family that donated the bracelet and said a little about its origin. After that, the bidding started. Before long, the bracelet was taken.
For the next twenty minutes, several Items were auctioned off while Ocean concentrated on his work. It was as if the auction fever did not affect him.
Then an item came out and Blake, Amanda's husband, raised a bid for it. Instantly, Mark leaned towards Ocean and notified him.
"3.5 million!" Ocean snorted and raised their table's plaque, calling out his price. He directly raised the bid with an increase of a million, earning the gasps and glares of others. The item's market value wasn't even up to a million. Why this unnecessary showoff?
"4 million!" Amanda's husband called out.
"5.5 million."
The item they were bidding on wasn't that extraordinary. It was a complete set of jewelry with some pink Jadeites. The only reason Amanda asked her husband to get it for her was because it was perfect for a dress she bought during her honeymoon.
Feeling irritated, she turned around and discovered that Ocean was the one bidding against her husband. Her eyes darkened.
Why would Ocean be bidding for female jewelry? To rile her up?
Amanda frowned and shook her head. Men are pathetic.
"5.5 million, going?" The Auctioneer called out.
Amanda's husband wanted to call another bid, but she patted his arm.
"It's not worth that much. Let it go." She smiled at him.
"Are you sure?" He asked with a twitchy expression.
"Mm, I am sure," she briefly answered, resting her back on the chair.
Once the Auctioneer called out the bid three times and no one challenged it, Ocean won and everyone clapped.
Amanda sat there, unimpressed and unbothered. She neither loved Blake nor cared for Ocean. Her heart only beat for whoever had more money and power
Money was the only thing she cared for. She moved from Ocean, the very moment she found out how loaded Blake was. It only took her a few months to decide on marrying him. His pocket was deep enough and he was a henpecked husband.
Though Amanda didn't care, she was amazed to find out Ocean married Sky. Back then, when she was being mean to Sky, she was sure that nothing was going on between them.
Truth be told, she needed a perfect excuse for a breakup. One that the world would support her and stand by her decisions. But when Ocean suddenly sent the girl on annual leave, with the promise to get a male secretary to replace her, Amanda lost her target.
By then, her wedding was close and she couldn't find a suitable excuse to break up. Therefore, she chose the only option available. She ignored his messages and calls, blocking him on every platform he could use to reach her.
With the help of her mole in his company, Amanda was able to keep an eye on Ocean, making sure that he wouldn't outsource, to find her.
She avoided him for three months because she didn't want him to cause trouble for her new marriage. She knew Ocean quite too well, and the last thing she needed was for her husband to discover that she had engaged in multiple relationships during their five years of dating.
That would possibly end her marriage and she could lose everything.
Now that the marriage is six months old, even if her husband finds out, she will still be able to walk away with substantial assets. As long as she is making money, Amanda Silver doesn't care about who gets hurt.