Beauty Under the Lens

CHAPTER 20

Amanda's POV

"Auntie, that's enough!" Asher's voice was firmer now, as if he was trying to hold everything back.

"Asher, stay out of this," Aria scolded him. She tried to pull Asher away from the conversation, but Asher resisted.

"I involve myself wherever I want, Aria. You want to be my wife? The first lesson you learn from me is you don't give a f*ck about my business!" It came out too harsh, causing my sister to suddenly step back.

"Asher, calm down," his father also intervened. So, he does.

Argh! My mind is starting to get confused. I don't know what to focus on anymore.

Mom pressed something on her cellphone. "Listen to this, Amanda Callie. Then you tell me that you didn't say anything like that."

I heard the door opening. I didn't know which door it was. "Hi Amanda!" a woman's voice said.

"Uh... hi?" I responded in the audio.

"I'm one of your mama's friends and I just want to ask a few questions about her." She's the one who I saw at the restroom on Aria's birthday.

"Mom, it's harmless, she's just asking about you in our conversation," I defended.

"You listen to it, Amanda Callie!" Mom emphasized, so I fell silent and didn't try to explain further.

"We haven't seen each other for so long. I'm about to surprise her tonight. So how is your mom? I heard she exploits a lot of artists."

"Yeah, a lot," I replied in the audio. My jaw dropped. That wasn't the question the woman asked me! How she managed to change it and make it sound natural, I have no idea.

"That's terrible. I didn't know she was doing that. She's not like that before. I didn't know she was oppressing her actresses. Sorry, I just heard about the Sandy Lim issue."

"She's always like that, Mama. She's an expert in that field," I said.

Mom stopped the recording. "Now tell me that wasn't you, Amanda Callie! You're an ungrateful child! I don't know why you're badmouthing me to others!"

I looked up at Aria. She looked disappointed. Her eyes were full of hatred.

"Yes, I did say that. But those weren't the questions she asked. Believe me, Mama. I wouldn't do that," I shook my head and tried to reach out to Mom, but she glared at me, so I stayed still in my place.

"Don't you dare come home, Amanda Callie. I don't want to see you in my house. I want to disown you so bad," Mom's voice was filled with pure loathing towards me. I swallowed.

If Aria were the one in that audio, would Mom do the same to her? I'm sure Mom's love for Aria will outweigh her anger. How about me? It's like I never mattered to her. I slowly sank to my knees. Auntie, Uncle, Mom, Dad, and Aria all widened their eyes.

"Amanda Callie, what are you doing? Stand up!" Asher was furious, but I didn't budge. I looked up at Mom.

"Is this what you want me to do?" I swallowed again. "If you want me to kneel, I'll kneel. If you tell me to do everything for Asher and Aria to happen..." I glanced at Aria and at Asher, whose gaze towards Mom grew darker. "...I'll do it. I'll do everything you want. I've followed you in everything because you're important to me. Just because of that audio scandal, you think my loyalty is gone? I hope you investigate first. You're always my priority, so why accuse me of betraying you? That's the last thing I want to happen." I fisted my hand on my pants.

"Asteria, it doesn't seem right to do that to Amanda," Aunt Celestine commented. "She's your daughter after all. You mean to say you'll sacrifice her for your business? Our children should always come first."

"She clearly did not put me first," Mom replied coldly. "Why should I put her first?" I smiled bitterly. It's useless. No matter how much I explain, they won't listen. I stood up from my kneeling position. I tried my best to make my expressions appear genuine.

"If that's what Mama wants then," I sniffed. "Congratulations on your engagement, Aria and Asher. I-I'm happy for the both of you," the last sentence came out as almost a whisper.

As I exited the conference room, Papa was quick to catch up to me.

"My daughter," Papa embraced me. "Let's go home, my daughter."

I shook my head. "Mama doesn't want to, Pa. I respect her decision."

"I'm sorry, child," there was a hint of regret in his voice.

"You're not at fault, Pa. You did nothing wrong."

Papa looked at me sadly. "You're just like her," he gently caressed my cheek.

I couldn't focus on what Papa was saying because of the overwhelming emotions I was feeling.

"Call Astrid or Elara. I'll personally talk to their parents," Papa suggested.

I grabbed my cellphone.

"When I heard it, I knew there was something off. Even I don't believe you could do that. Goodness, where's Auntie's mind? She doesn't know how to read between the lines!" Astrid ranted as she dragged my luggage into their house.

Auntie Reina descended from their second floor. She greeted me with a hug.

"My dear, I've heard. And I want you to know that I don't believe it's you," she fixed my disheveled hair.

"Thank you so much for understanding, Auntie. I promise I will help with-"

"Hush, dear, there's no need. I welcome you to our home. Since you're one of the most important people in my daughter's life, you are important to me too," Auntie interrupted me.

Thank goodness I have my friends to turn to. They were even fighting earlier about who I would stay with. But Elara will have new guards and staff, so their mansion's rooms will be full.

"OMG! We're going to have so much fun, Amanda Callie! Screw Asteria, she's nothing but a headache. It's a good thing that you're out of that toxic household."

Astrid jumped on her bed. I lay down beside her. She faced me.

"How's your heart?" she asked seriously. "Trust Asher, Amanda. If he says he'll do something, he will."

A pang shot through my heart again. Asher.

I took a deep breath and chuckled. "What should I trust him about? Our relationship, all of that is just because of my sister's engagement."

"Is it really?" Astrid doubted. "When you follow him, when you look at him, the beat of your heart whenever he's close, your smile when you're with him, and when you asked us who he likes. Are all those still for Aria?"

Yes. I wanted to say. But I knew in that moment, amidst all of that, I had become selfish.

"Elara and I are aware that he was your crush back in seventh grade," she smiled. "So, we worried when you started involving yourself with Asher. I know it was for Aria. But we were afraid you might fall into your own trap. We were scared that when that happens, you'd choose your sister's happiness. You were always like that."

There was silence between us. After a few moments, I heard Astrid's deep breathing, a signal that she had fallen asleep.

"I almost did it, Asher. I almost did," I whispered to the wind before I succumbed to my own drowsiness.

I approached Rose, who was sitting in the first row. She raised an eyebrow at me.

"What do you need, connect the dots? Are you going to badmouth me too?" she snapped at me. The audio scandal spread throughout the school, so everyone I interacted with today couldn't stop talking about it.

"Let's switch seats," I offered. "Asher is sitting next to you at the back. Don't you want that?"

"And then? Are you going to call me flirtatious? Trying to seduce Asher away from your sister? I have a crush on Asher, but I'm not a snake."

"I can't see you at the back during lectures. Unless you want me to switch with someone else and sit next to you at the front," I said innocently.

"Ew! I don't want to sit next to you. Fine, I'll go sit at the back!" Rose made a disgusted face. "Maybe if we sit too close, our faces might switch."

I grinned because I expected this kind of reaction from Rose.

She stood up elegantly and moved to my seat next to Asher. Asher was in the restroom, so I took this opportunity to switch seats with Rose.

Asher entered the room. I pretended to be busy reading notes. I didn't know what subject these notes were for, I just grabbed them randomly.

When I felt Asher behind me, I subtly glanced at their seats. Asher looked puzzled because Rose was sitting in my chair.

Rose pointed at me. "She said her vision gets blurry when she's at the back. Don't you want me to sit next to you?" she smiled flirtatiously.

Asher gave me a sharp look. I swallowed hard and averted my gaze.

This is for the best.