The ride back to the mansion was quiet. Sarah sat beside Mason at the back seat of the car, still wearing his jacket over her ruined dress. The city lights blurred past the windows as they drove through the empty streets.
She kept glancing at Mason, wanting to say something, but he seemed lost in thought. His jaw was still tight with anger from what had happened at the party.
"Mr. Liu," Sarah finally said softly. "Thank you for what you did back there."
He didn't respond immediately. His eyes stayed focus outside the window.
"No one should treat you like that," he said quietly after a long moment. "Especially not in public."
Sarah felt her heart warm at his words. She wanted to say more, to tell him how much it meant to her that he had stood up for her when no one else would. But something in his distant expression made her stay quiet.
When they reached the mansion, she went upstairs, took a long shower to wash off the sticky cocktail, and fell into bed exhausted. Despite everything that had happened, she slept deeply for the first time in weeks.
The next morning, Sarah was woken up by her phone ringing loudly. She groaned and reached for it without opening her eyes, expecting it to be another reporter or someone wanting to cause more drama.
But when she saw the name on the screen, her eyes widened. Antonio.
She sat up in bed, suddenly fully awake.
She stared at the phone for a few rings, debating whether to answer. Part of her wanted to let it go to voicemail, but curiosity got the better of her. She swiped to answer.
"Hello, Antonio," she said calmly, keeping her voice neutral.
"Sarah! Oh my God, Sarah!" Antonio's voice was bursting with excitement and relief. "I'm so glad you answered. Listen, you need to come in today. Right now, actually."
Sarah frowned. "Come in? Antonio, you let me go, remember? You said I was toxic for the company's image and I wasn't listening to my father."
"That was before everything got cleared up!" Antonio said quickly. "Sarah, the scandal is over. It's completely finished. Someone exposed the whole thing as fake."
Sarah's heart started beating faster. "What do you mean?"
"Someone found out that all those posts about you were made from burner phones. The screenshots were fake too. Everything was lies, Sarah. Complete lies. And now everyone knows it."
Sarah jumped out of bed, her phone pressed to her ear. "Are you serious?"
"Dead serious. It's all over the news this morning. Diamond Sound Entertainment wants you back immediately. We're willing to double your previous salary, give you creative control over your next album, and provide you with the best promotional team in the industry."
Sarah's hand was shaking as she grabbed her laptop from the nightstand. She opened it quickly and went to the news websites.
There it was, right on the front page of every major entertainment site: "SCANDAL EXPOSED: Pop Star Sarah Chen Vindicated as Evidence Proves Accusations Were Fabricated."
She clicked on the first article and read quickly. Someone had traced the IP addresses of the social media accounts that had spread the rumors about her. They all led back to burner phones purchased with fake identities. Security experts had analyzed the screenshots that claimed to show her inappropriate behavior, and they were proven to be digitally manipulated.
Sarah's eyes filled with tears as she read article after article clearing her name. This had to be his doing. Only someone with his resources and connections could have exposed the truth so thoroughly.
"Sarah? Are you still there?" Antonio's voice came through the phone.
"Yes, I'm here," she said, wiping her eyes.
"So what do you say? Can you come in this afternoon? We have so much to discuss. Your comeback is going to be huge. Bigger than ever before."
Sarah felt a surge of anger replace her relief. She remembered how quickly Antonio had abandoned her when things got difficult. How he had refused to take her calls and had said it in front of Hannah and the rest that he was letting her go.
"Antonio," she said, her voice turning cold. "I appreciate you calling, but I'm going to have to decline."
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"Sarah, I don't think you understand. We're offering you everything you wanted before. More money, more creative freedom—"
"I understand perfectly," Sarah interrupted. "What I also understand is that you abandoned me the moment things got tough. You just threw me away like garbage."
"But Sarah, we're a business. We had to protect our other artists and—"
"And now that I'm cleared, you want me back because I can make you money again," Sarah said with a sneer in her voice. "Well, I'm sorry Antonio, but I don't need you anymore. I don't need Diamond Sound Entertainment anymore."
"Sarah, be reasonable. You can't make it in this industry without a major label behind you."
"Watch me," Sarah said firmly. "As long as you abandoned me when I needed support, I have no use for you anymore."
Before Antonio could say anything else, Sarah ended the call. She threw her phone on the bed and ran her hands through her hair. A smile slowly spread across her face.
She was free. Really, truly free.
Sarah spent the next hour going through all the news articles and social media posts. Her fans were everywhere, posting apologies for not believing in her. #SorryToSarah was trending worldwide. People were expressing shame for how quickly they had turned against her without proof.
"I should have known Sarah would never do those things," one fan wrote. "I'm so sorry I doubted you."
"Sarah Chen deserves all the love and support after what she's been through," said another post. "We failed her as fans."
Sarah felt emotional reading all the messages of support. These people had turned their backs on her, but at least they were acknowledging their mistake now.
She jumped up from her bed and did a little happy dance around her room, laughing and spinning with pure joy. Her career wasn't over. Her reputation was restored. She could start fresh and do things her own way this time.
But then another headline caught her eye, and her excitement paused.
"MASON LIU CLAIMS POP STAR SARAH CHEN AS HIS WIFE AT CHARITY GALA."
Sarah clicked on the article and saw photos from last night's party. There she was, soaking wet in her ruined dress. There was Hannah with her red cheek from the slap, Daniel beside her too.
And there was Mason, wrapping his jacket around her and calling her his wife in front of everyone.
The comments section was full of speculation and doubt.
"No way Mason Liu actually married some pop star. This has to be fake news."
"Mason Liu could have any woman in the world. Why would he choose her?"
"This is probably just a publicity stunt for both of them."
Sarah grinned as she read the skeptical comments. She closed the laptop and looked at herself in the mirror.
"You all better wait for my comeback," she muttered with satisfaction.
Everything was about to change, and this time, she was going to be in complete control.