Chapter 13: The clearing storm
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.