Harry was already comfortably seated at the Golden Lotus Restaurant thirty minutes before the agreed meeting time.
He had arrived much earlier because he needed the time to take care of some part of his personal business and also compose himself before her arrival. The last thing he wanted was for his face or voice to give off his dislike and disgust for her.
The moment he sighted her, he rose from his seat, and a wide welcoming smile was etched on his face as he watched her approach. So this was the face of the evil witch who had hurt his father and sister? Harry mused as an unfamiliar feeling settled in his chest. A feeling he had no doubt was genuine hatred.
Although he had seen her before and had formed an opinion of her the first time, seeing her again now, not as a stranger but as the woman who had brought him and his twin sister into the world, made him despise her even more.
He waited until she was a few feet away before starting the performance, "Mother!" Harry exclaimed loudly as he approached her, causing Sara's steps to falter as she quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard him.
Unfortunately for her, what she didn't know was that the people seated in that part of the restaurant were journalists who were planted by Harry to cover the news of his reunion with his mother, who had abandoned him.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Sara asked with an awkward smile when Harry suddenly met her halfway and embraced her tightly, pretending to weep.
"I'm so happy to finally meet you, mom! All these years, I thought you were dead," Harry said loud enough for everyone to hear and held on firmly as Sara tried to pull away from the hug.
"You're creating a scene, Harry. Don't embarrass us both," Sara said through gritted teeth, wanting to walk away, especially when she heard the shutters of cameras.
"Oh!" Harry said as though realizing that he was in public, and he straightened, "I'm sorry. I was so emotional I lost my mind for a minute," Harry said with an apologetic smile as he pulled away from her.
"Let's sit down," Sara said with an awkward smile that didn't reach her eyes as she walked briskly to their table, leaving Harry to follow her.
Once they were seated, Sara raised a brow, "I didn't expect you would be so welcoming," Sara said as she watched him.
She had been sort of wary of meeting with him, as she had kept wondering if this was a trap, but seeing how Harry had publicly made a fool of himself and embarrassed them both, she doubted he was in any way competent enough to trap her.
"Why not? You are my mother. That is all that matters. Whatever happened in the past is between you and dad. It has nothing to do with me," Harry said dismissively.
"How sweet of you," Sara said with a pleased smile.
It was unfortunate that he wasn't like her in any way. Too bad for him that he had inherited his father's weakness and gullibility exactly as she had thought. Maybe she would have been more open and receptive to him had Lucy not interfered with her plans and had her options not increased.
Thankfully she had checked out the research center, and it was legit. She had booked a zoom meeting appointment with the founder and research head. Once she was certain she had everything in place, she would disappear once again.
Harry could see the wheels turning in her head as he rubbed his hands together, pretending to be nervous, "I'm so happy to see you. Thank you for coming back into my life and insisting on meeting me," Harry said as he signaled to a waiter to attend to her.
Sara ordered a glass of wine since she wasn't in the mood to eat, and seeing as Harry was only having wine as well, she guessed the feeling was mutual. They had a lot to talk about, and food would only get in the way.
After the waiter had taken their orders, Harry looked at Sara eagerly, "Can you tell me more about yourself? I would love to know you better," Harry said excitedly, while Sara tried not to tut in disappointment.
Sara thought as she began to tell him what little of herself she thought he needed to know, "There is so much to tell," Sara said with a sigh.
"I should probably start by telling you the truth. I lied to your dad about some things," Sara said, and Harry raised a brow.
"You did?" He asked, curious to know what lies she was about to tell him too. Only an idiot would believe any word that comes from Sara, and Harry Jonas couldn't be mistaken for one.
"I'm not an orphan as your father thinks," Sara said, and Harry's mouth fell open as he tried to look shocked.
"You're not? Do you mean you have family somewhere? I--- have a family?" Harry asked, and Sara's face fell as she shook her head and looked down at her hands.
"I can't exactly call them my family," Sara said as she raised her head to look at Harry, and he almost snorted when he saw the pool of tears in her eyes. The woman should have become an actor and not just a model, Harry mused.
"Why is that?" Harry asked softly, looking at her with concerned eyes.
"Well, my mother gave birth to triplets, and amongst the three of us, only my sister was healthy. Our brother died at birth, and I was a very sickly child. My health cost my parents so much money, so they... they didn't want me," Sara said as a tear dropped from her eyes, and Harry watched incredulously as she reached into her handbag for a handkerchief to wipe her tear.
She didn't say another word until the waiter came with their order, served them, and left.
"I once heard my mother say she wished I had died like my brother," Sara said, and Harry shook his head, flabbergasted.
"Your own mother said that? How can a mother be that mean? That callous?" He asked in disbelief, and Sara smiled weakly.
"I always asked myself the same question. How could my own mother wish I was dead? It hurt me so much, especially the times when my parents would lock me up in the house and go out with my sister. They always hid me, saying I was a nuisance and an embarrassment to them," Sara said as tears pooled in her eyes once again, and she looked at Harry, hoping he was buying her story.
"Those people are evil. They are not your family!" Harry said angrily, and Sara sniffled.
"I've learned to leave with it. Especially after they abandoned me. When I was seventeen, I was seriously ill, and I guess they thought I was going to die, so they took me to the hospital in the middle of the night and left me there. By the time I was well enough and got back home, my family had moved," Sara said, and Harry looked at her with a stunned expression.
He couldn't believe that a person could be so evil to concoct such a story. If he didn't know better, he would think she was telling the truth. What was she thinking making up such a story? Where was she driving at? Harry mused as he watched her.
"Was that when you met dad?" he asked finally, and she shook her head.
"I had to work for some time and save enough money while squatting with friends...."
"You had friends? I mean, I thought you were always locked up?" Harry asked, and Sara blinked at him, slightly taken aback.
"Yeah. Friends I made while at the hospital. I was there for quite a long time," Sara said with a stiff smile, and Harry nodded, allowing her to go on with her tale.
"I met your dad after I was duped by someone who offered to help me achieve my modeling dream," she said, and Harry's brows pulled together.
"Modeling? Weren't you sickly? How could you consider modeling as a career?" Harry asked, and Sara smiled stiffly.
"It was my dream. Besides, I got a lot better after receiving treatment...."
"How were you able to take care of the hospital bill?" Harry asked, and Sara sighed inwardly, despising the constant interruption.
She picked up her wineglass and took a sip before answering his question, "A kind gentleman took care of it. Unfortunately, he never revealed his identity," Sara said before Harry could ask who the person was.
Sara sighed, "Anyway, I met your father later, and after I gave birth to you, I began to feel sick again, and I was scared that I was going to die. I didn't want to be a burden to your father, so I fled....."
"With his money?" Harry asked casually as he nursed his wineglass.
"I know it was wrong. But I needed to receive treatment," Sara said, looking contrite.
"Not long later, I ran into the kind gentleman who paid my hospital bill back then, and he offered to be my sponsor and help me become a model," Sara said, and Harry nodded thoughtfully.
"I'm glad things turned out well for you," Harry said after a moment.
He was just going to let her entertain him and worry about all the loopholes in her story later. The idea of meeting with her wasn't to let her know he knew what kind of person she was after all. It was to make her relax and trust him. So making her believe he was buying the story she was selling wasn't a big deal. The end would always justify the means.
"Is there a way I can meet this man and thank him?" Harry asked, and she shook her head sadly.
"Unfortunately he passed away," she said with a sigh and Harry looked at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry about that. I'm sure he must have meant a lot to you. I mean, he did what your parents couldn't do. Did you ever meet your parents again?"
"I tried to. When I got back into the country, I hired a private investigator to find my family. I wanted to fix things, you know. My therapist said I behaved the way I did and abandoned my husband and son because I was still traumatized by my experience with my family. So I wanted to fix things with them and with you and your dad," Sara said, and Harry watched her with interest.
Therapist? He thought with amusement. He could swear Sara had never sat in the four walls of a therapist's office before.
"Did you meet them? Did they apologize to you?" Harry asked, encouraging her to go on with her story.
He was glad that he was recording the entire conversation. She was a good storyteller, and what better way to spend the evening with his father and sister than to let them be entertained by the beautiful tale spun by Sara?
"I found out my parents were dead, but I met my twin sister and her husband. They wouldn't even let me go into their house. They threw me out, and she said I was cursed," Sara said, and opened her mouth as though to say something else but shut it and pressed her lips together like a little girl trying hard to keep a secret.
"Is something wrong?" Harry asked when he noticed her slight hesitation to say something, and Sara shook her head and sighed.
"I don't know whether or not I should say this. I'm scared," she said, looking at him with frightened eyes.
"Of what?" Harry asked with a slight frown.
Sara took a deep breath. It was now or never, she told herself as she met Harry's gaze, "Lucy."
"Lucy?" Harry asked with a surprised frown.
"Yes. Your best friend's girlfriend," Sara said as she rubbed her hands together nervously.
"Why? What does she have to do with you? With us?" Harry asked in confusion as he watched Sara fidget in her seat.
"She threatened me," Sara said as tears gathered in her eyes once again, and Harry frowned.
"Lucy did? Why would she do that? What does she have against you?" Harry asked, and Sara shook her head.
"I guess she thinks I'm going to get in her way of marrying your best friend if I reveal the truth about her. She is my sister's daughter," Sara said in a rush, and Harry was almost tempted to throw his head backward and laugh.
Lucy, who was against the idea of marriage, was worried about Sara getting in the way of her marriage with Tom, who was more than eager to marry her?
"Lucy is your sister's daughter? She is aware?" Harry asked with a confused frown, and Sara almost laughed gleefully, glad that Lucy had kept the information to herself.
"Yes. I don't know how long she has known, but when she came with Aaron to meet me, she threatened me. She bragged about how much you all trust her and how you have her back. She said if I came close to you or said a word to you about our family ties, she was going to deal with me. She threatened to accuse me of selling off your late twin sister and doing a lot of other hideous things. That girl is evil, I tell you. Lucy is just as terrible as her mother, and I'm so scared she might make good her threat. You have to help me, Harry," Sara cried, her hands beginning to tremble, and Harry watched her in stunned silence, amazed by her theatrics.
So this was it? This was the reason for all that story? Discrediting Lucy was the reason for this outstanding performance? Wow!
Harry wished he could stand up and applaud her performance.
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