Betrayed Spotlight-Chapter 41: Unexpected Reunion

"Silas?" Sarah whispered, her voice barely audible in the quiet office.

Time seemed to stop completely. Sarah stared at the man in front of her, unable to believe what she was seeing. This couldn’t be real. This had to be some kind of dream or mistake.

But it was really him. Silas Li, her childhood best friend. The boy who used to sing with her in her backyard, who promised they would become famous singers together someday. The friend who disappeared from her life when his parents moved away, leaving her with nothing but memories and broken dreams.

"Sarah Chen," Silas said softly, stepping into the office. His voice was deeper now, more mature than she remembered, but it still had that same gentle tone that made her feel safe when they were kids.

Zachary looked back and forth between them, his eyes wide with surprise and confusion. "Wait, you two know each other?"

"Yes," Sarah managed to say, still staring at Silas. "We... we grew up together."

Silas took another step forward, his eyes never leaving Sarah’s face. "I can’t believe it’s really you. After all these years."

Sarah felt her legs getting weak. She gripped the arm of her chair tightly to steady herself. "I can’t believe it either. You’re... you’re the Grammy winner Zachary was talking about?"

Silas nodded slowly, a small smile appearing on his face. "I am. And you’re the incredibly talented singer he’s been telling me about. I should have known it was you."

Zachary suddenly clapped his hands together, his face breaking into the biggest smile Sarah had ever seen. "This is incredible! This is better than I ever imagined! You two know each other! This collaboration is going to be absolutely perfect!"

He stood up from his desk, practically bouncing with excitement. "I mean, what are the chances? Out of all the singers in the world, I bring together two childhood friends! This is like destiny!"

Sarah finally found the strength to stand up. Her legs were still shaky, but she managed to walk over to Silas. They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, both of them still processing this unexpected reunion.

"You look..." Silas started, then stopped. "You look exactly the same. Still beautiful."

Sarah felt her cheeks getting warm. "You look different. Older. More... successful."

"Well, I am older," Silas laughed. "We both are. It’s been, what, fifteen years?"

"Sixteen," Sarah corrected automatically. "Sixteen years since your parents moved."

The room went quiet for a moment. Both Sarah and Silas were thinking about all the time that had passed, all the years they had lost.

"I looked for you," Silas said quietly. "After I became successful, I tried to find you. But Chen is such a common name, and I didn’t know where you lived."

Sarah felt tears forming in her eyes. "I looked for you too. I used to search for Silas Li on the internet all the time, hoping to find some trace of you. Despite how famous we both are."

"I use a stage name now," Silas explained. "Silas Stone. That’s probably why you couldn’t find me."

"Silas Stone," Sarah repeated. "I’ve heard that name before. I just never connected it to you."

Zachary was still smiling widely, watching their reunion with pure joy. "This is amazing! You two are going to create something incredible together. I can already feel the chemistry!"

Silas looked at Zachary, then back at Sarah. "Would you like to have lunch with me? So we can catch up properly? There’s so much I want to tell you."

Sarah felt her heart skip a beat. Lunch with Silas? Part of her wanted to say yes immediately, but another part of her felt nervous. This was all happening so fast.

"I..." she started, then looked at Eli, who was standing quietly by the door. She had forgotten he was there. That man actually followed her all the way up here.

Eli stepped forward slightly, his expression serious. "Ma’am, are you sure this is a good idea?"

Sarah could see the concern in Eli’s eyes. He was just trying to protect her, but she wished he would relax.

"Eli, it’s fine," Sarah said gently. "This is Silas, my childhood best friend." She turned to Silas. "Silas, this is Eli. He’s... he helps me with security."

Silas extended his hand to Eli with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you, Eli. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kidnap Sarah or anything. I just want to catch up with an old friend."

Eli shook Silas’s hand, but his expression remained guarded. "I’m just doing my job, sir."

"Of course," Silas said, still smiling. "I respect that."

Sarah looked at Eli with pleading eyes. "Please, Eli. It’s just lunch. What could happen?"

Eli studied her face for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Alright, Ma’am. But I’ll be nearby."

"Thank you," Sarah said.

Zachary clapped his hands together again. "Perfect! You two go have lunch and catch up. We can discuss the collaboration details tomorrow when you’ve had time to reconnect."

Sarah looked at Silas, her heart racing. "Okay. Let’s have lunch."

They left Zachary’s office together, with Eli following at a respectful distance. As they walked to the elevator, Sarah couldn’t stop stealing glances at Silas. It still felt surreal that he was really here, walking beside her.

"There’s a nice restaurant a few blocks from here," Silas said as they waited for the elevator. "It’s quiet, so we can talk without being interrupted."

"That sounds perfect," Sarah said.

The elevator ride down was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts, trying to process this unexpected reunion.

When they reached the restaurant, Silas asked for a private table in the back. The waiter led them to a cozy corner booth that was separated from the main dining area. Eli sat at a table nearby, close enough to keep an eye on Sarah but far enough to give them privacy.

"So," Silas said after they had ordered their food, "tell me everything. What have you been doing all these years?"

Sarah took a deep breath. Where should she start? There was so much to tell, but also so much she couldn’t say. She couldn’t mention her marriage to Mason, at least not yet. That was too complicated to explain.

"I’ve been trying to make it as a singer," she said. "It’s been... difficult."

Silas nodded understandingly. "I heard about what happened with Diamond Sound Entertainment. I saw the news reports."

Sarah’s face fell. "You saw that?"

"I did," Silas said softly. "I was so angry when I saw you again and it had to be how your agency treated you badly. I wanted to find you and help, but I didn’t know how to reach you."

"It’s okay," Sarah said quickly. "You don’t need to apologize. You couldn’t have known."

"But I should have found you sooner," Silas said, his voice full of regret. "I should have tried harder to track you down. You were my best friend, Sarah. We promised we would always be there for each other."

Sarah felt tears starting to form in her eyes again. "We were just kids, Silas. We didn’t know how hard life would be."

"But still," Silas said, reaching across the table to take her hand. "I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me."

Sarah looked down at their joined hands. His touch felt familiar, like coming home after a long journey. "You’re here now. That’s what matters."

"I am," Silas said firmly. "And I’m not going anywhere this time. I want us to grow, Sarah. I want to make up for all the years we lost."

Sarah looked up at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. "How?"

"By collaborating with you," Silas said. "By making the most amazing song together. By showing the world how talented we both are. Even though we’ve both made a name for ourselves."

Sarah felt a spark of hope in her chest. "Do you really think we can do it?"

"I know we can," Silas said confidently. "We always made beautiful music together when we were kids. Now we have experience and professional skills. We’re going to create something incredible."

Their food arrived, but neither of them was very hungry. They were too busy talking and catching up.

"Tell me about your life," Sarah said. "How did you become so successful?"

Silas smiled, but there was sadness in his eyes. "It wasn’t easy. After my parents moved, I was miserable. I missed you so much. I missed our dreams and our songs."

"I missed you too," Sarah said softly.

"I kept singing though," Silas continued. "I knew it was what you would want me to do. I started performing at local venues, then worked my way up. It took years, but eventually I got my first record deal."

"And now you’re a Grammy winner," Sarah said with wonder.

"I am," Silas said. "But success isn’t everything, Sarah. I’ve been lonely. I’ve had relationships, but none of them understood my music the way you did. None of them shared my dreams the way you did."

Sarah felt her heart racing. There was something in Silas’s voice, something in the way he was looking at her, that made her feel nervous.

"Sarah," Silas said, his voice getting serious. "I need to tell you something. All these years, I never forgot about you. I never stopped wondering what happened to you. I never stopped missing you."

Sarah didn’t know what to say. This was all so overwhelming. A few hours ago, she was fighting with Mason and feeling hopeless. Now she was sitting across from her childhood best friend.

"Let’s not waste any more time," Silas said, squeezing her hand. "Let’s make music together. Let’s show the world what we can do."

Sarah nodded, feeling more hopeful than she had in months. "Yes. Let’s do it."

For the first time in a long time, Sarah felt like everything was going to be okay. She had her best friend back.

Whatever problems she had with Mason would have to wait. Right now, she just wanted to focus on this moment, on this second chance with Silas, on the possibility of finally achieving her new goals.

"To new beginnings," Silas said, raising his water glass.

"To new beginnings," Sarah agreed, clinking her glass against his.

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