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Betrayed Spotlight-Chapter 40: Confrontation and Surprise
Chapter 40: Confrontation and Surprise
Sarah sat in Mason’s office, looking around at the expensive furniture and large windows.
The office had floor-to-ceiling windows that showed the entire city below. Sarah could see other tall buildings, busy streets with tiny cars, and people walking around like ants. It was a view that reminded her of just how powerful Mason was.
She had been waiting for fifteen minutes now, and her anger was growing stronger with each passing second. Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap, and she kept thinking about Antonio’s desperate face and bitter words.
Finally, the office door opened and Mason walked in. He was wearing a perfect black suit that looked like it was made specifically for him, and he looked like he had just come from an important meeting.
Mason didn’t even glance at Sarah when he entered. He walked straight to his desk with confident steps and sat down in his large leather chair, opening his laptop like she wasn’t even there. The sound of his fingers hitting the keyboard filled the quiet office.
"Mason," Sarah said firmly, trying to keep her voice steady. "We need to talk."
Mason continued typing on his laptop without looking up. His fingers moved quickly across the keys, and the clicking sound was the only response she got. "I’m busy, Sarah. Can this wait?"
Sarah felt her anger boiling over like water in a pot. "No, it cannot wait. I just came from meeting Antonio."
Mason’s fingers stopped moving on the keyboard for just a moment, but he still didn’t look at her. The silence in the room was heavy and uncomfortable.
"He told me someone bought Diamond," Sarah continued, her voice getting stronger. "He told me he was fired and lost everything. Do you know anything about this?"
Mason finally looked up from his laptop, but his expression was cold and unreadable. His dark eyes showed nothing, like looking into a wall. "I told you I would handle it. Didn’t I?"
Sarah stared at him in complete disbelief. Her mouth opened slightly as she processed his words. "Handle it? You bought an entire company just to fire one person?"
"He deserved it," Mason said simply, his voice as cold as ice. He looked back at his laptop screen like the conversation was over. "Plus they tried to extort five hundred thousand dollars from you. They deserved it."
Sarah stood up from her chair quickly, her hands shaking with anger. The leather chair made a soft sound as she moved. "Look at me when you’re talking to me!"
Mason slowly raised his eyes to meet hers. His face was as emotionless as stone, showing nothing of what he might be thinking or feeling.
"You should have told me," Sarah said, her voice getting louder. "I’m your wife and they were my agency. I had a right to know what you were planning."
"It was business," Mason said coldly. "You don’t need to know about my business decisions."
Sarah felt like he had slapped her. "Business? This was about me! Antonio was my manager and Diamond was my agency. You did this because of how they treated me!"
"I did it because they needed to be taught a lesson," Mason replied. "People who hurt you need to learn there are consequences."
Sarah wanted to scream. Mason was being so cold and distant, like she meant nothing.
"You can’t just make decisions that affect my life without telling me," Sarah said. "We’re supposed to be partners."
Mason opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly his phone rang. He looked at the screen and his face changed completely. The coldness disappeared and was replaced by something soft.
Without saying a word to Sarah, Mason answered the phone.
"Hello?" he said into the phone, turning his chair away from Sarah.
Sarah couldn’t believe it. He was ignoring her again! She was trying to have a serious conversation with him, and he was taking phone calls!
"Yes," Mason said into the phone. "When did you return?"
Sarah stood there watching him talk, feeling more and more angry. Mason was acting like she wasn’t even in the room.
"I’ll be there to get you," Mason said, still not looking at Sarah.
That was the last straw. Sarah grabbed her purse and stormed toward the door.
"Sarah, wait—" Mason called after her, but she was already walking out.
Sarah slammed the office door behind her so hard that Derek jumped slightly.
"Mrs. Liu?" Derek asked with concern. "Is everything alright?"
Sarah didn’t answer. She walked quickly toward the elevator, her heels clicking loudly on the marble floor.
Eli was waiting for her in the lobby when she got downstairs.
"Mrs. Liu," he said, seeing her angry face. "Where would you like to go?"
"Take me to Zachary’s firm," Sarah said through gritted teeth.
During the drive to Zachary’s agency, Sarah stared out the window and tried to calm down. The city streets were busy with people and cars, but she barely noticed anything.
He was treating her like a stranger, like an annoying interruption to his important work.
When they arrived at Zachary’s office building, Sarah felt a little better. The building was smaller than Mason’s, but it was still nice and professional. At least Zachary was always kind to her. At least he treated her like a person with feelings, not like a problem to be solved or ignored.
Sarah took the elevator to the tenth floor, watching the numbers change as she went up. When the doors opened, she walked to Zachary’s office. His assistant, Lisa, looked up when she saw her.
"Mrs. Liu! Perfect timing. Mr. Zach is expecting you. Please go right in."
Sarah knocked on Zachary’s door and walked in. Zachary was sitting behind his desk, looking at some papers spread out in front of him. When he saw her, his face immediately lit up with a warm smile.
"Sarah! Perfect timing. The artist will be here soon." But then he saw her face and his smile faded quickly. "What’s wrong? You look upset."
"Nothing," Sarah said quickly, trying to force a smile as she sat down in the chair across from his desk. "I’m fine."
Zachary studied her face carefully. He had known Sarah for a while now, and he could tell when she was lying. Her eyes were sad, and there was tension in her shoulders that wasn’t usually there.
"Did you fight with Mason?" he asked gently, his voice full of concern.
Sarah’s face gave her away. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but Zachary could see the truth in her eyes. He nodded knowingly.
"It’s normal, you know," he said kindly, leaning forward in his chair. "Every marriage has quarrels. Even my wife and I fight sometimes. We’ve been married for a long time now, and we still argue about stupid things like who forgot to buy things."
Sarah felt tears starting to form in her eyes, but she blinked them away quickly. "It’s not that simple, Zachary."
"Marriage is never simple," Zachary said wisely. "But Mason cares about you. I can see it in the way he looks at you. During our meetings, when you’re talking, he watches you like you’re the most important person in the room."
Sarah wanted to tell Zachary that Mason had just ignored her and treated her like she didn’t matter. But she couldn’t. Their marriage was contractual. She had to remember that it wasn’t real. A year later and they’ll go their separate ways.
"Let me get you some coffee," Zachary said, picking up his phone. "Lisa, can you bring two cups of coffee to my office, please?"
While they waited for the coffee, Zachary tried to cheer Sarah up by telling her funny stories about his other clients. Sarah tried to smile and laugh, but her heart wasn’t in it.
"The artist should be here any minute," Zachary said, looking at his watch. "I’m so excited for you to meet him. This collaboration is going to be amazing for your career."
Sarah nodded, trying to focus on her work instead of her marriage problems. Maybe meeting this famous artist would help her forget about Mason’s cold behavior.
"Tell me again who it is," Sarah said. "I know you said he’s a Grammy winner, but I still don’t know his name."
Zachary smiled mysteriously. "It’s a surprise. But I promise you’re going to love working with him. He’s incredibly talented and very professional."
Just then, Lisa brought in the coffee. Sarah took a sip and felt a little better. The warm drink helped calm her nerves.
"He should be here any second," Zachary said, checking his phone. "His assistant texted me that he was in the building." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Sarah fixed her hair and made sure her dress looked neat. Even though she was upset about Mason, she wanted to make a good impression on this important artist.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Zachary called out.
The door opened and someone walked in. Sarah turned toward the door with a polite smile ready on her face.
But when she saw who it was, her smile disappeared.
Sarah felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t move.
Standing in the doorway was a man she hadn’t seen in years.
He was taller than she remembered, with the same dark hair and the same beautiful brown eyes. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a black blazer and blue jeans.
When he saw Sarah, his face went white with shock. His mouth opened slightly, and he stared at her like he was seeing a ghost.
"Sarah?"
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