My Cobra Guy

Episode Fifty-Two

Daniel awoke to someone wiping his face. Amanda loomed over him, her tired eyes crinkling as she smiled at him. "They never do bother to clean all the blood off, do they?"

She had changed into a different dress from last night, her hair pulled back in a bun, which was unusual for her. Daniel tried to smile at her.

"You look nice," he said. "You always do look nice."

"You look like a car hit you, then backed over you for seconds," she said, smirking.

"Feel like it, too." He grabbed her hand. "Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you. Actually, I've been putting it off but you need to know."

"What is it?" Her playfulness gone, Amanda glanced to her left. Johnny was sprawled out in the hospital chair a couple feet away, dead asleep.

Daniel sucked in a pained breath. "Listen, I haven't been fair to you all these years. I wasn't completely truthful because I didn't know the truth myself."

Amanda took his hand, her smile strained. "I know."

Daniel blinked at her. "You know?"

"You're in love with Johnny. It's okay, Daniel. I've known for a while."

Daniel felt his insides clinch. She had known? How long was a while? Damn, he felt like such a piece of shit.

"When we were first dating and you told me about karate, I saw how excited you were. The way your eyes lit up when you talked about the tournament. I knew it was important to you, but it took me a little while to realize that the real excitement was reliving that first tournament. The one against Johnny. Everything else was just a sad follow-up. You talked about moving here and school but when you talked about Johnny, about your rivalry, your expression, well, let's just say I doubt you have ever looked like that talking about me."

"Amanda..." Daniel felt tears threaten but she was shaking her head.

"It's okay. I knew you weren't fully mine. But he was gone and you were here, trying to love me with your whole heart. And I loved you. It was enough. And then he was back and I saw how you became obsessed. Karate had always been important to you, but now it was becoming your excuse to get that rivalry back. To get Johnny back in your life. I knew what was happening even as I fought it." She shook her head again, her own tears glistening in her eyes. "He was the one that got away and I was holding you back. I honestly thought he would never care, but he kept showing up and after last night, I know what you guys have is real. It hurts, but I can admit when I've lost."

Daniel felt the tears burning his swollen face but Amanda wasn't done. She touched the bandage on his head softly.

"I loved you. I still do. And I want you to be happy. And I don't want you to worry about me. We had a great marriage for a time. A great life together. Now it's time to move on."

"I'm so sorry," Daniel whispered. What could he say? She had known the truth even before he had.

Squeezing his hand, she wiped her eyes. "It's okay. We'll always be friends. We'll always be a part of each other's lives. I don't have any regrets." She cleared her throat and stood up straight, pulling herself together. "I'm going to take care of the dealership while you recover so don't worry about that. Johnny has the dojo covered, the kids will stay with me." She glanced at Johnny's still form, his quiet snores wafting up in the air. "I can't even be jealous of him," she said with a laugh.

Daniel had no words, no response. So he merely squeezed her hand back. They stayed that way for a few minutes, smiling at each other, before she excused herself and left.