Too Pretty to Be Your Backup novel Chapter 61

Leila was delicate.

She’d faint from the slightest excitement. A cold breeze could knock her off her feet. She was like a porcelain doll—pretty but always on the verge of breaking.

Amanda had always suspected Leila played up her weak, helpless act to get sympathy, but there was no denying she was genuinely fragile. And now, she’d gone and thrown herself straight into a raging storm.

She didn’t stand a chance out there.

Leila looked so pathetic and vulnerable in the downpour that even Amanda, who used to see her as the enemy, felt a pang of sympathy. Back when Amanda still thought of Leila as a rival, everything about her was infuriating. But now, seeing her for what she was, Amanda had to admit, Leila’s brand of helplessness could really tug at your heartstrings.

The moment her tiny, slim figure stepped out into the rain, she looked like she’d shatter at any second.

Travis sat in his chair, not even glancing up.

David, on the other hand, couldn’t take it anymore. He jumped up and shot Travis an anxious look.

“Travis, you know how Leila gets. She can’t handle this.”

Travis didn’t move a muscle.

David’s voice rose in frustration. “Jonah only had one sister. If something happens to her, how are you going to explain that to him?”

Amanda kept her eyes glued to Leila, watching her struggle in the rain.

Then suddenly, she shrieked, “She fell!”

Before her words had even faded, Travis sprang into action. He moved like the wind, racing out into the torrential rain, scooping Leila up in his arms, and carrying her straight to his car. In seconds, they were gone.

Every move was smooth and sure, no wasted motion, no hesitation.

Just like all those other times, Travis chose Leila without a second thought.

David’s voice dropped, low and harsh. “See that, Amanda? Are you finally getting it? As long as Leila’s around, you’ll never be Travis' first pick.”

Just as she reached it, she paused and glanced back at David, a sly smile on her face.

“I’ve always wondered. Who grieved more for Jonah? You, or Leila?”

As soon as she said it, she caught the look in David’s eyes—anger mixed with something that looked a lot like fear. Like she’d just stumbled onto a secret he’d spent years hiding.

And in that moment, Amanda got it.

A slow, knowing smile crept across her lips.

Now it made sense why David, usually so stubborn and by-the-book, would bend over backwards for Leila again and again.

So that was the reason.

Amanda hadn’t realized it before, but all at once, a memory from the past clicked into place.