Three days after the courthouse wedding, Sarah got a call from Derek.
"Mrs. Liu, Mr. Liu needs you to attend a business dinner with him tonight. Can you be ready by 7 PM?"
"What kind of dinner?"
"Important clients. You'll need to dress formally."
"Alright." She ended the call and sighed, taking a seat on the couch in the room.
She had sent several messages to Antonio, asking for her things and the finally words from him that he didn't want to be her manager anymore.
Time passed and at exactly 7 PM, a car arrived to pick her up. Mason was already inside, looking at his phone. He wore a perfectly tailored black suit and looked as cold as ever.
"You look appropriate," he said without looking up from his phone.
"Thank you," Sarah replied, though she wasn't sure if that was meant as a compliment.
"Tonight's dinner is with the Yamamoto family. They're considering a major business deal with Liu Industries. I'm bringing you to the spotlight now as my wife. Be prepared, Mrs. Liu. This is your first step to a wonderful come back. The world wouldn't see the marriage coming. So just smile and don't say anything about our… arrangement."
Sarah bit back a smile and nodded. "Got it."
She only hoped this comeback would actually be worth it. She goes ghost for a while and then returns with a husband? That would be a shocking twist for the media, especially knowing who her husband was.
The restaurant was the kind of place where Sarah had never been before. Everything was expensive and perfect, even though she was an A-list celebrity. A hostess led them to a private dining room where three people were waiting.
"Mr. Liu," said an older Japanese man with a warm smile. "So good to see you."
"Mr. Yamamoto," Mason replied, shaking his hand. "Thank you for coming."
"And this Is?" Mr. Yamamoto asked, turning to Sarah.
She held her breath and smiled as Mason introduced her.
"Ah," Mason said, moving to wrap his hand around Sarah. "My wife, Sarah."
Mr. Yamamoto's daughter, a beautiful woman in her twenties, stepped forward. "Hello, I'm Akiko Yamamoto. We never knew you were married, Mr. Liu. Congratulations on your marriage."
She reached out to shake Mason's hand, and Sarah noticed something strange. The moment Akiko's fingers touched Mason's hand, his jaw tightened. He pulled his hand back quickly, but tried to cover it by adjusting his cufflinks.
"Nice to meet you," Mason said, his voice slightly strained.
Sarah frowned. Was Mason being rude? Or was something else going on?
During dinner, Akiko kept trying to engage Mason in conversation. She was smart and funny, clearly interested in business. But Sarah noticed that Mason seemed uncomfortable whenever Akiko spoke directly to him.
"Mr. Liu, I've read about your expansion plans," Akiko said, leaning slightly toward him. "I think there could be great opportunities for partnership."
Mason's face looked pale slightly. He reached for his water glass, and Sarah saw that his hand was shaking slightly.
"Excuse me," Mason said suddenly, standing up. "I need to make a phone call."
He left the room quickly. Sarah stared after him, confused.
"Is he alright?" Mrs. Yamamoto asked with concern.
"I'm sure he's fine," Sarah said, though she wasn't sure at all. "Business calls, you know."
Ten minutes later, Mason returned. He looked better, but Sarah noticed he sat farther away from Akiko than before.
The rest of the dinner was awkward. Mason barely spoke and seemed eager to leave. When they finally said goodbye, Sarah noticed that Mason only shook hands with Mr. Yamamoto. He just nodded politely to the women. Was he always like this at parties?
"Excuse me," Sarah said and stood up, wanting to grab a drink from the bar at the other side. Anything to get away from her weird husband. She released a sigh and walked over to the counter, ordering something mild for herself.
Just as she sipped the drink, letting it burn her throat and reminding her that the past few days had been real, someone nudged her and the drink spilled all over her dress.
"What the hell?" She cursed, placing the glass on the counter before turning to see who the hell nudged her.
The person standing behind her was the last person she expected to see.
"Sarah?" Hannah's eyes widened, amusement creeping into her voice. "What are you doing here?" She asked.
Sarah felt her heart beat accelerate, but she didn't say a word to her sister. She just turned, ready to locate the bathroom. But Hannah was relentless. She grabbed Sarah before she could walk off.
"Don't walk away, dear sister. Say hello at least." A smug look on her face as she watched Sarah's back and the dress she had on.
Sarah glared at the hand holding her before meeting Hannah's gaze. "Let go, Hannah."
"Or what? What will you do?" She taunted, smiling sweetly. "Who even let you in here? With your face plastered on all tv stations and newspapers as a vile woman, you shouldn't be seen in public. Aren't you ashamed?" She walked around to stand before Sarah. "Even if you aren't ashamed, dear sister. At least stay hidden for our family's sake. Don't walk around like this, especially a party as huge as this one. Look around, do you think you belong here?"
"Even if i don't belong here, who are you to tell me that? You also don't belong here and you know it. What then are you doing here? To shame our family?" Sarah smirked, her gaze boring into Hannah's.
Hannah's smile faltered and her face turned smig again. "I deserve to be here. You're the only one that shouldn't be here. Daniel brought me here because he loves me. How many times did he ever bring you out to such parties?" She asked and Sarah felt her eye twitch.
She felt pained but didn't let it show.
She took a step forward and smiled back at Hannah. "Well, he only did that not because he loves you, but because you went ahead to spread your pathetic legs for him, sister." She drew the sister part longer, wanting the words to hit home.
Hannah turned red in embarrassment as the man standing at the counter hurriedly looked away, although he heard exactly what Sarah said about Hannah.
"Sarah, how could yo_"
Sarah didn't let her finish before she added, "You're disgusting."
Without thinking, Hannah let go of Sarah's hand and directly threw the drink in her hand at Sarah.