Contract Marriage: I Will Never Love You-Chapter 49: A Liar

Back then...

Sarah

Matthew can hardly meet my gaze ever since we returned from the conference. His eyes flicker away, filled with an awkward tension that hangs between us like a dense fog.

I guess I can’t blame him for it, given that I lied, falsely claiming we had spent the night together. Now that we’ve settled back into the rhythm of our everyday lives, I feel guilty.

I should tell him it was a lie and I was just messing around. Nothing happened between us.

Matthew sits in his office, flipping through some documents, but I can tell he is not paying any attention to them. His jaw is tense, his fingers gripping the pages too tightly.

I swallow hard and step closer. "Hi, Matthew."

He doesn’t look up right away. When he finally does, his blue eyes are guarded. "What?"

I hesitate. "We need to talk."

He exhales sharply, rubbing a hand over his face. "Sarah, if this is about—"

"It is," I cut in, because I know he won’t bring it up himself. "I—I know you are worried about what happened in the conference."

He groans. "I am trying to forget about it."

"Did you tell Amber about what happened?"

"Tell me what?"

I swish around when I hear Amanda’s voice and make eye contact, my heart beating fast.

Uh-oh...

Amanda stands in the doorway, arms crossed, her sharp gaze bouncing between Matthew and me.

Matthew tenses, his grip on the papers tightening before he slowly sets them down. His jaw twitches, but he keeps his face neutral. "Nothing," he says, his voice even. "It’s not important."

Amanda raises a brow. "Really? Because it sounded important." She steps inside, her heels clicking against the wooden floor. "What happened at the conference?"

My palms start to sweat. I wasn’t planning on starting a drama today.

Matthew sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Amanda, it’s not—"

I step forward. "It was just a misunderstanding," I blurt out before Matthew can say anything else. "I... I made a joke, and it got taken the wrong way."

Amanda’s eyes narrow. "A joke?"

Matthew exhales harshly, shaking his head. "Sarah, stop."

My stomach drops.

Amanda crosses her arms. "Matthew?"

He looks at her for a long moment, then sighs. "Sarah and I slept together."

Amanda’s expression darkens, her lips pressing into a thin line. "What did you just say?"

I shift uncomfortably. This wasn’t supposed to spiral like this. "Um, Matthew—-"

"No, Sarah," he interrupts me. "I won’t lie to Amanda. This has been killing me since I got back home. I am really sorry, Amanda. I don’t remember much of the night but I got too drunk and ended up sleeping with Sarah."

Amanda’s expression turns ice-cold, her face devoid of emotion, but the storm brewing in her eyes is impossible to miss.

"You don’t remember much of the night?" she finally speaks, her voice quiet but sharp enough to cut. "And yet, you’re certain you slept with her?"

Matthew swallows hard. "I woke up in bed with her. I put the pieces together."

Amanda’s lips press into a thin line as she studies him, then turns her attention to me. "And you? Is this true?"

I open my mouth, the truth clawing at my throat. I should be a good person and tell the truth. Tell them nothing happened between me and Matthew.

I really should tell them.

But I don’t.

"Yes," I lie again. "Matthew and I had sex. We were both very drunk and—"

I don’t get to finish as Amanda strides toward me and slaps me on the face. The sharp sting burns across my cheek, and I stagger back, my breath catching. "You disgust me," she hisses, her voice trembling with barely contained rage.

The office buzzes with murmurs as I hear my colleagues react to the unfolding drama right outside the hall. Hopefully Matthew doesn’t get in trouble with my dad about this.

Matthew’s eyes widen in shock. "Amanda!" He steps forward as if to intervene, but she jerks away from him like his touch alone might taint her. "Don’t touch me!" she snaps at him, her eyes flashing. I lift a hand to my cheek, the heat still pulsing beneath my fingertips. I should tell her the truth. I should stop this now before it gets worse. But I don’t.

Because really...fuck Amanda. She does not deserve Matthew. I bet she doesn’t even love him. Why should she get to be with him and I don’t?

Amanda’s breath is ragged, her fingers curled into trembling fists at her sides. Her eyes flick between Matthew and me, fury rolling off her in waves.

"I trusted you," she spits at Matthew. "And this is what you do?" Her voice wavers, but she doesn’t cry. She’s too angry for that.

Matthew looks wrecked, his face paling. "Amanda, I—"

"Save it," she cuts him off. "You don’t even remember, right? That’s what you said." She shakes her head, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "But I don’t fucking believe you, Matthew. I saw the way you looked at her that day when I first met her," she said, looking at me accusingly.

Matthew’s face contorts with guilt, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "Amanda, I swear—"

"You swear what?" Amanda snaps. "That it meant nothing? That you didn’t want it to happen?" She lets out a sharp laugh, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Because I don’t buy it, Matthew. You might not remember, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t want it."

I watch as Matthew’s shoulders slump, the weight of her words pressing down on him. He looks at me then, his blue eyes clouded with regret.

Amanda turns to me next, her glare cutting through me like a knife. "And you. How long have you been waiting for this, huh?" Her voice drips with venom. "Was this your plan all along? Get him drunk, take advantage of the situation, and then play the victim?"

My stomach twists, but I hold my ground. "That’s not what happened," I say, though that’s exactly what happened.

Amanda whips around to face him again. "You know what? I’m done. You two can have each other."

"Amanda, wait," Matthew pleads, but she’s already turning on her heel.

She stops at the doorway, her voice barely above a whisper. "I hope she was worth it."

And then she’s gone.

Silence stretches between me and Matthew, heavy and suffocating. He doesn’t look at me. Instead, he sinks into his chair, his hands gripping his hair, his whole body trembling with frustration.

And at that time, I felt like I had won. That there was no one standing between Matthew and me anymore. No one.