. . until she removed her blouse and bra and stood there, naked to the waist. ‘This,’ she said quietly, ‘is what Matthew, that great big loveable bear, did to me, Neil. So take a good look and remember it while I tell you what happened and why I did what I did.’ The scarred tissue covered almost half of her upper body, beginning at the shoulder and ending just above the waist. The left breast was misshapen, and there were scars, faded but still ugly. He found it very hard to look at; even harder to look away. ‘That is what a saucepan full of boiling soup will do to you,’ Amanda continued as she put her bra and the rest of her clothes on again. He could see that the left side of the bra contained some padding and a moulded cup to cover the misshapen breast. ‘Not very nice to look at, is it? And it wasn’t very nice when it happened, believe me. Sorry if that was over-dramatic, but I felt I had to make sure I had your full attention, so please sit down and let’s get this out of the way once and for all .
