Amanda had been very young and naive and the first time she had seen him, she had believed that she was in love with Wilson.
He had been a bit older and a man of the world but that only added to the fascination and the attraction she felt towards him.
As soon as he touched her, she knew that she would not be able to resist any advances he made towards her but would give in to all his demands.
They had two weeks of idyllic romance before his commitments and business engagements started taking most of his time.
She had been so you g and thought that she would always have him to herself and despite herself and despite knowing that he had to make time for those engagements, she found that she was jealous of the time he gave those engagements and felt neglected.
She remembered the first time she had gone to his house, he had found a girl there together Wilson's sister.
Though Wilson's sister had been surprised, the other girl who she later learnt was called Jess was openly hostile towards her.
Jane, Wilson's sister had advised her not to pay Jess any mind because she didn't mean any harm but Amanda had wondered. It was obvious that Jess had hated her from the start. She did not bother to hide or deny it. Except when Wilson was there and then she had eyes only for him.
'Is she related to you?' Amanda had asked Jane.
'She's an orphan. Jane had revealed surprisingly. 'I think that she might be a very distant relation. Wilston brought her back from France to stay with us. He's so kind and Jess dites on him now'.
Amanda had already noticed that and though she didn't want to, she felt the first faint stirrings of jealousy.
She had tried to like Jess for Wilson's and Jane's sakes but she couldn't. And in the end, she had hated her. Hated her dark sullen beauty and malicious tongue.
Her jealousy had driven a wedge between her and Wilson even though Jess' name hardly ever came up in conversations between them.
Amanda had been very young, insecure and over sensitive, hardly able to believe that she could inspire love in a hard sophisticated man like Wilson.
She would recall many things that Jess said and would wake in the middle of the night worrying, wondering undermined by Jess' cunning.
She had never known jealousy before but she was experiencing it's destructive power to the full. It was blinding her thoughts and her judgements.
She was seeing another side of Wilson too because that summer, a friend of Amanda's, Jack was in back in London. As Manda had not seen him for a long time and had spent a day with him chatting and catching up because he was studying engineering in an American college.
They spent the day touring the sights of London. They had been friends since childhood. Jack and his mother had lived with Amanda for most of their lives. Jack had always protected her from the neighbourhood bullies, never hiding his affection.
When he drove her back to her flat that night, she did not notice the car parked on the other side of the road. Jack walked her to the door, taking her by surprise, pulling her into his arms and kissing her passionately.
It was the first time he had ever kissed her in a passionate way. Shock held her passive in his embrace.
When he finally released her, she looked into his eyes and found an expression there that disturbed her. She hadn't guessed that Jack might feel any differently than her. She was fond of him, loved him like a brother but that was all.
Her obvious shock had embarrassed him. She heard him mumble something about phoning her the following day and he was gone.
Still struggling with surprise, Amanda opened the front door and stepped inside and gasped as a hand grabbed her shoulder. She was roughly pulled round and found herself face to face with Wilson, his grey eyes as dangerous and as cold as steel.
'Wilson...' she smiled uncertainly, glad to see him.
He did not speak. Merely pushed her inside into her flat and violently kicked the door shut with his foot.
She turned to face him, still not understanding,her mouth curved in a soft smile.
Wilson's eyes narrowed, his face a cold ruthless mask.
'Where the hell have you been?' he demanded tautly.
'Our to dinner....' she said afraid of him for the first time. He was so big, powerful, his anger tangible.
'Who is he?' Wilson but the words out fast, clear and furious.
'Jack?' it sounded inane. She felt herself trembling, her eyes enormous as she stared into his eyes. 'A friend. He's a friend'.
'Friend', he threw back the word at her contemptuously, his mouth hard. She heard him swearing under his breath. He was looking at her as though he wanted to hit her, his body tense, his hands curled into fists by his sides. He was hard and dangerous and her heart began to thump painfully.
'Yes, he is a friend... I ...'
'And dinner took untill now?' He cut off her explanation mid -- sentence, staring at her with violent probing eyes.
Amanda looked at her watch, it was one thirty. She hadn't realised how late it was. 'I didn't realise...' she spoke unintentionally, giving herself away.
'I'd be waiting?' He took a step towards her, she shrank away terrified. 'I can believe that, you cold hearted little bitch'.
'You are frightening me', she said shivering as though she was freezing cold.
She felt guilty even though she was not. Wilson could see that too. He had seen Jack kissing her. The knowledge lay in every taut line if his body. He had seen it all and believed the worst because the guilt in her eyes kept making a liar of her.
'Nothing happened', she said staring nervously at her feet, because her eyes, so easily read by Wilson seemed to be damning her.
'I saw him touching you!' he muttered as though the thought itself was unendurable.
'Don't...', terrified by the depth of his jealousy, the darkness in his eyes, she moved further away. 'You are frightening me', she said again.
'I'll teach you to be frightened if I find you with him again', Wilson said hoarsely. 'Is he your lover? Is he?'
She remained silent, unable to say a word. He moved towards her, silent and furious, like a tiger ready for the kill, his mouth hardening as she backed away against the wall.
His hands closed on her shoulders, their pressure bruising. He shook her until she felt loose and limp.
'Answer me!' he said harshly. 'Is he your lover?'
Amanda swallowed on the blockage of tears in her throat and wordlessly shook her head, her wide frightened eyes holding his.