The night was quiet and cold, the streetlights radiating long palls across the pavement as Mason Liu stepped out of his office building. He had just finished closing a major business deal, but there was no joy on his face. There never was. With his sharp suit, tall frame, and cold black eyes, Mason looked like the kind of man who didn't need anyone, and he liked it that way.
He adjusted his coat and walked to his car, not in a hurry. Tonight wasn't just about business. It was the night he always visited his mother's grave. No matter how late it got, Mason never missed it. He didn't believe in emotions, but when it came to his mother, the cold mask on his face sometimes cracked, even if just a little.
"Where to, Sir?" The driver asked, despite knowing where he was headed off to.
Mason rested his head and closed his eyes. "I'm sure you know what day it is today, Mr. James." He replied coldly in a calm voice that had driver James sitting up straight.
He scolded himself for even asking such a silly question.
He hurriedly started the car and drove directly to the cemetery.
When they arrived, he told driver James to wait in the car. Mason walked between the gravestones, each step slow and heavy. When he arrived at his destination, he let out a sigh. At his mother's grave, he slowly sat down and placed a small bottle of wine beside her stone. He poured a drink, then another, sipping quietly as he stared at the name engraved in stone.
He sat in silence, relishing in the peacefulness that always surrounded his troubled heart each time he came here.
After a while of silence, he finally spoke. "Still no cure, Mother," he muttered under his breath, his voice tight with pain. "Still stuck with these stupid allergies."
He clenched his jaw. Life had always been unfair to him ever since his mother, Martha Liu, died in a plane crash.
He suddenly developed an illness that had him distancing himself from everyone. No one except his driver and P. I knew about it.
He couldn't touch women without getting a reaction. He couldn't live like a normal man. The isolation, the rules, the medications, they were all tiring.
He had lived with it for several years. And even to date, there is no cure for it.
He was turning 32 this year, he needed a change. His nagging grandmother needed a granddaughter-in-law too.
Mason sighed and closed his eyes.
After a few hours passed and the clock near midnight, Mason stood up, dusting off his coat. It was time to leave. But as he turned to go, something caught his eye.
A soft shimmer at the other side of the cemetery.
His eyes narrowed and he strolled forward.
Then he saw it. Just a few feet away, lying across a grave, was a woman in a golden dress. Her hair was messy, her body curled up like she had been there for hours. The moonlight reflected off the sparkles in her gown and it made her appear beautiful to behold.
Mason took a step closer and peered at her.
She was asleep, tear tracks staining her cheeks. Her breathing was slow and steady as well.
Mason frowned, wondering why a woman would be sleeping in a graveyard. She was clearly not dead.
He looked at her again and told himself to walk away. She wasn't his problem and he shouldn't be bothered.
But something about the way she lay there, like the world had broken her, made it hard to ignore.
With a sigh, he took out his phone. "James," he called his driver. "Come to the back. There's a woman here. I need you to carry her to the car."
"Sir?" James sounded confused. "You want me to—"
"Just do it. I can't touch her myself. You know that."
Minutes later, James arrived and gently lifted the sleeping woman into the car. Mason followed behind, his face unreadable and cold.
He didn't want to bring a stranger into his house, but hotels were noisy and messy. He couldn't just leave her alone in a place like that. So, without a word, he ordered James to take them back to the mansion.
When they arrived, he told the housekeeper to place her in the guest room.
"Keep her comfortable," he said before heading upstairs.
He didn't look back and didn't want to care.
After a cold shower, he lay still on his bed and fell asleep. But in exactly two hours, he was up again.
Mason didn't sleep much. He loved working more than sleeping.
He only sleeps when he feels the stress is about to eat him up.
The next morning, he dressed early, already prepared for another long day of meetings and paperwork.
A call came in from his P.A, Noah Wu, earlier that some investors from the states were arriving in an hour. So, he needed to be at the company early.
When he stepped out of his bedroom, he froze at the sight of the person before him.
A sharp knock echoed across the hallway. Then, the unmistakable sound of a stick hitting the marble floor.
His grandmother.
She stood at the other end of the hall, her eyes narrowed, her cane firm in her grip.
"You've been avoiding me, you little brat!" She said, her voice firm.
Mason sighed and rubbed his temples. "Grandma, I've been busy."
"Too busy to talk about your future? About a wife? A great-grandchild?" she scolded. "Mason, you're not getting any younger."
There she goes again. He couldn't get a break. This wasn't the time for all this. He needed to leave.
Mason opened his mouth to reply, tired of hearing the same lecture, when suddenly—
The guest room door at the other end creaked open.
Mason turned towards the direction, thinking it was a housekeeper coming out of the bedroom or something.
But instead of the housekeeper, he saw a woman step out slowly, rubbing her eyes. Her golden dress clung to her form, slightly wrinkled, and her hair was tangled from sleep. She looked around, confused as if trying to remember where she was.
Mason stiffened, his mouth opening and closing. How did he forget that he brought someone home last night?
Goodness.
His gaze turned to meet that of his grandmother, dread filling him up at the look in her eyes.
His grandmother's eyes widened in shock and then, a smile formed on her face.
"You... you finally brought a woman home!" she exclaimed, gasping. Her face lit up with joy. "Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?!"
Mason blinked, wondering how that escalated so quickly. "She's not—"
But before he could explain, his grandmother pushed him aside and made her way to the woman with a wide smile. "Darling, what's your name? How long have you been dating my grandson?" she began bombarding Sarah with lots of questions. "What's your name?"
Sarah looked between Mason and his grandmother, eyes still sleepy, clearly unsure of what was happening. What was going on here?
Mason remained silent for a moment. Then, with a tired sigh, he closed his eyes.
This was going to be a long day.