Betrayed Spotlight-Chapter 48: He loved his childhood best friend

Mason watched Sarah walk toward her car, her shoulders hunched against the rain. He assumed the night was over, that she would drive home and they would deal with this awkward situation later. He turned to go back into the restaurant, already thinking about how to explain his absence to his dinner companion.

Then he heard someone shout: "Sarah!"

Mason froze and turned around. A tall man was jogging toward Sarah, his expensive suit jacket already coming off his shoulders. The man looked worried, his face focused entirely on Sarah.

"You’re cold," the man said softly as he reached her, immediately wrapping his suit jacket around her shoulders. "You always turn red when you’re freezing."

Mason felt something cold and sharp twist in his chest. Who the hell was this man? And how did he know Sarah well enough to recognize her habits? Wasn’t that the same one who was singing with her?

"Silas?" Sarah whispered, and Mason could hear the familiarity in her voice. It was warm and surprised, like this man was her safe place.

Silas didn’t even notice Mason standing there under the restaurant canopy. His entire attention was focused on Sarah, his hands gently adjusting the jacket around her shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked, her voice shaky from the cold and rain.

"I was having dinner with a friend across the street," Silas said, gesturing toward another restaurant. "I saw you through the window and thought... well, I thought something was wrong. You looked upset."

Sarah’s lip trembled slightly. "I’m fine."

"No, you’re not," Silas said gently. "You’re shivering and you look like you’ve been crying. Come on, I’ll take you home."

Mason felt his feet moving before his brain caught up. He started walking toward them, some instinct telling him to stop this, to claim Sarah, to do something. But then he stopped himself. What right did he have? He had just told her to go home. He had dismissed her feelings and treated her like she was being unreasonable.

Sarah didn’t even glance back at the restaurant. She didn’t look for Mason or seem to care that he was watching. She just let Silas guide her toward a sleek black car parked nearby.

"Here, let me get your car taken care of," Silas said, pulling out his phone. He called his driver, who had been waiting in the car. "Yes, can you drive the black car behind us? The keys should be..." He looked at Sarah.

"In my purse," Sarah said quietly, handing him her keys.

Mason watched this interaction with growing anger and something else he didn’t want to name. Jealousy. This Silas person was taking care of Sarah in a way that seemed natural and easy. He knew her habits, he noticed when she was upset, he had a solution for everything.

Silas opened the passenger door of his car for Sarah, making sure she was settled before closing it gently. He walked around to the driver’s side, and Mason got a better look at him. The man was tall, maybe his age, with kind eyes and an easy confidence. He was good-looking in a warm, approachable way that was completely different from Mason’s cold perfection.

The last thing Mason saw was the car door shutting and Sarah being driven off by someone who clearly knew her better than he did.

Mason stood there in the rain for a long moment, watching the taillights disappear into the night. His chest felt tight, like he couldn’t breathe properly. He pulled out his phone and dialed Derek’s number.

"Derek, I need you to find someone for me," Mason said without preamble.

"Now? It’s almost midnight."

"Now. His name is Silas. No last name that I know of. He’s close to Sarah. I want every damn detail about him. How he knows my wife."

There was a pause on the other end. "Your wife? Boss, what’s going on?"

"Just find him," Mason said, hanging up.

He stood there for another minute, then turned and walked back into the restaurant. He had a business dinner to finish, but his mind was no longer on business.

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In the car, Sarah sat quietly in the passenger seat, clutching Silas’s suit jacket around her shoulders. It smelled like his cologne, familiar. Her mind was still spinning from the confrontation with Mason, from the humiliation at the restaurant, from the way he had looked at her like she was bothering him.

Silas drove carefully through the rain, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. He could tell something was seriously wrong, but he didn’t want to push her if she wasn’t ready to talk.

"What were you doing at Chez Laurent?" he asked finally. "You looked... off."

Sarah didn’t answer right away. She was debating internally whether to tell him the truth or to make up some story. She had been keeping so many secrets lately, she was tired of lying.

But how could she explain that she had gone to spy on her fake husband who was having dinner with another woman? How could she explain that she was jealous of someone she wasn’t supposed to care about?

"I was..." Sarah started, then stopped. She looked out the window at the rain streaming down the glass. "I was meeting someone for dinner."

"Someone?" Silas asked gently.

Sarah’s hands twisted in her lap. She needed to tell him the truth, at least part of it. She couldn’t keep carrying this secret alone.

"Silas," she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "I need to tell you something."

Silas glanced at her quickly, concerned by the seriousness in her voice. "Anything. You know you can tell me anything."

Sarah took a deep breath. She couldn’t tell him about the contract or about Mason being her fake husband. But she could tell him about the marriage. That much was true.

"I got married," she said, lowering her gaze to her hands.

WHAM!

The words hit Silas like a physical blow. His foot slammed on the brake so hard that the car screeched and skidded on the wet road. The tires burst from the sudden pressure, and the car lurched violently to the side.

Sarah was thrown forward, her head hitting the dashboard with a sickening thud. The car spun once before coming to a stop on the side of the road, smoke curling from under the hood.

"SARAH!" Silas shouted, his voice filled with panic.

He was out of his seat in a blink, his hands reaching for her. Sarah was slumped against the dashboard, her eyes closed, looking dazed and disoriented.

"Sarah, look at me," Silas said, his voice shaking. "Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay."

Sarah blinked slowly, trying to focus on his face. "I’m okay," she said weakly. "I think I’m okay."

But Silas could see a small circle of blood at her hairline where she had hit the dashboard. His stomach dropped.

"No, no, no—damn it, you’re bleeding," he whispered, reaching for his handkerchief. He gently pulled her face toward him, dabbing at the spot with trembling hands.

"Silas, I’m fine," Sarah said, but her voice was shaky.

"You’re not fine. You’re bleeding. God, Sarah, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to... I just... married?" His voice cracked on the last word.

Sarah could see the pain in his eyes, the shock and hurt that he was trying to hide. She had known that telling him would be difficult, but she hadn’t expected this reaction.

"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner," she said softly.

"Married," Silas repeated, like he was trying to make sense of the word. "When? How long?"

"A few months ago," Sarah said, not meeting his eyes.

Silas was quiet for a long moment, still holding the handkerchief to her forehead. "Is he... is he good to you?"

Sarah felt tears forming in her eyes. How could she answer that? Mason wasn’t bad to her, but he wasn’t exactly good to her either. He was cold and distant and treated their relationship like a business transaction.

"It’s complicated," she said finally.

"That’s what you said earlier when I asked if you were seeing anyone," Silas said, his voice hollow. "You said it was complicated because you were already married."

"I wanted to tell you. I just... I didn’t know how."

Silas pulled back slightly, looking at her face in the dim light from the streetlamps. "Are you happy?"

"Yes," she lied.

Silas closed his eyes, looking like he was in physical pain. "Sarah..."

"I know this is a lot," Sarah said quickly. "I know you probably hate me for not telling you."

"I could never hate you," Silas said, opening his eyes and looking at her intently. "I’m just... I’m trying to understand. Why didn’t you tell me? We’ve been talking almost every day since we reconnected."

Sarah felt the weight of all her secrets pressing down on her. "Because I didn’t want things to change between us. I didn’t want you to think of me differently."

"How could I think of you differently? You’re still you."

"Am I?" Sarah asked, her voice breaking.

Silas studied her face carefully. "Are you in love with him?"

Sarah’s breath caught. It was the question she had been avoiding asking herself. "I don’t know," she said again, but this time it sounded less certain.

"Sarah, if you’re not happy, if this isn’t what you want, you don’t have to stay married to someone just because you said you would."

If only it were that simple, Sarah thought. Funnily, she didn’t want to leave. Mason wasn’t the best husband out there, but she didn’t want to leave him either.

She wanted to stay.

"It’s not that easy," she said.

"Why not?"

Sarah looked out the window at the rain, wishing she could explain everything to Silas. Wishing she could tell him about the contract.

"Because sometimes things are more complicated than they seem," she said finally.

Silas was quiet for a moment, then gently touched her cheek. "You’re still bleeding a little. We need to get you to a hospital."

"I’m fine, really."

"You hit your head pretty hard. Please, Sarah. Let me take care of you."

Sarah looked at his worried face and felt a pang of guilt. Silas cared about her so much, and she had been pulling back.

"Okay," she said softly.

Silas called for a tow truck and then called an Uber to take them to the hospital. While they waited, he kept the handkerchief pressed to her forehead and held her hand.

"I’m sorry for reacting like that," he said. "I just... I guess I had hoped..."

"Hoped? For?"

Silas looked at her and felt the words die in his throat.

Yes, he loved Sarah. His childhood best friend.

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