But before she could, Holden grabbed her hand. “No touching.”
Sarah, “…”
The next day, Sarah dyed her hair back to its original color and started her livestream.
Before going live, she checked in with the promo team for The Mysterious Family to make sure she was allowed to talk about the film. A project that big had strict confidentiality rules, and Sarah didn’t want to accidentally create a PR disaster by saying too much.
Though the official promo campaign hadn’t launched yet, some hints about the film were already circulating. The team knew Sarah well enough by now-they trusted her not to stir up drama and gave her the green light to tease the audience just a little about her role and the movie.
She announced the stream on Twitter ahead of time, and by the time she went live, the viewer count was skyrocketing, with comments flooding in nonstop.
“Turn off the beauty filter!”
“Sarah, we’ve missed you! Do you know how long it’s been since your last tweet?”
“Have you been filming recently?”
“…”
The most frequent request in the chat was for her to turn off the beauty filter. Sarah wasn’t that familiar with the platform, but the filter made her face look ridiculously distorted, like some kind of cartoon character. After fumbling with the settings, she finally managed to turn it off and let out a sigh of relief.
With the filter off, her facial features became clearer, and her skin looked much more natural.
Almost immediately, fans started sending virtual gifts, filling the screen with messages and colorful animations.
A big chunk of Sarah’s fanbase wasn’t very chatty, but they were big spenders. No matter how pricey her sponsored ads on Twitter were, there were always a bunch of rich fans quietly buying whatever she promoted. Thanks to that, even though Sarah had only starred in one project so far, she was flooded with brand deals.
When it came to endorsements, Sarah was pretty picky-she only accepted deals for products she actually used herself.
During the stream, she spent some time chatting with her fans and answering their questions.
“The hair dye was for a role. The new project just wrapped, and I didn’t have time to dye it back until yesterday.”
“No, the new character is totally different from the one in my last movie. You’ll see when it’s out in theaters.”
“Of course, I have makeup on-no way I’d stream barefaced. I put on some lipstick and eyeshadow. The lipstick brand and shade? Hang on, let me grab it and show you. And no, this isn’t a paid ad-don’t ban me, mods!”
“…”
Some fans, after seeing Sarah go head-to-head with Elisa last time, had already figured out that her real personality was nothing like the delicate princess she played in Heart Throb.
Though Sarah had a sweet look, the way she spoke was straightforward and refreshing, giving off a surprisingly sharp vibe.
Since she was on international roaming, the stream lagged here and there. After a while, some of the fans started noticing something off.
“Sarah, why does your room look so weird? Like a castle from a European show.”
“Can we get a closer look at that painting on the wall?”
“…”
Sarah didn’t mind the requests and gave her fans a little room tour, even zooming in on the oil painting hanging on the wall.
“I’m on vacation-got shipped out of the country without warning,” she explained casually.
And that wasn’t much of an exaggeration. She’d been lying in bed sick when someone packed her up and flew her out.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and it swung open.
Holden leaned lazily against the doorframe. “I’m heading out tonight. Wanna come with me?”
The moment his deep, velvety voice hit the stream, the chat exploded with questions about who he was.
“OMG, just from his voice, I can tell he’s hot. He should be a voice actor.”
“Is he your friend or boyfriend?”
“Holy crap, that voice!”
“…”
Sarah quickly covered the front camera with her hand and mouthed to Holden, “I’m streaming. My fans are asking who you are.”
Holden raised a brow, amused. “And why can’t they know who I am?”
Seeing no point in hiding anymore, Sarah gave up and uncovered the camera.
“He’s not my boyfriend-he’s my husband.”
“Yeah, I’m married.”
“Did I land these roles because of my husband? No. He helps me a lot with everyday stuff, but I got both gigs based on my own acting skills.”
“He’s a really good guy, and super handsome,” she added with a small smile when she saw a funny comment pop up. “Nope, not a case of rose-tinted glasses-he really is that good-looking. But he’s not in the industry, so you won’t be seeing him on camera for now.”
“…”
Sarah kept her tone light as she answered more fan questions, casually sharing a few fun stories from the film set along the way.
But the bombshell of her being married sent the internet into overdrive. The sudden surge of viewers pushed the platform to its limits, and soon enough, her stream glitched out and crashed, leaving everyone staring at a black screen.
Sarah checked the time and realized the two-hour stream had already run over by thirty minutes. She tossed her phone onto the bed and peeked into Holden’s room.
Holden glanced up. “Come in.”
Curious, Sarah sat down on the sofa next to him. “Where are we going tonight?”
“Dinner.”
Jane had seen Sarah follow Holden into his room the night before, confirming her suspicions about their relationship. To her, the delicate, doll-like girl was clearly Holden’s woman-especially since Holden had never brought a woman here before.
The variety of clothes and bags available here was much better than back home. Holden had business to take care of that afternoon, so he gave Sarah a credit card and sent her shopping. Later in the evening, a car came to pick her up.
Sarah had assumed the dinner would be with some of Holden’s business partners, but when they arrived at the restaurant, she was surprised to see an elderly man with silver hair and a tall frame.
The man wore a well-fitted gray suit and carried himself with a cold, dignified air. Even at his age, it was easy to imagine that he’d been quite handsome in his youth.
Holden spoke to the man in German. Their conversation was brief, with the old man maintaining a stony expression and a distant gaze.
Holden, however, remained polite and charming, smiling as he said a few words.
Sarah couldn’t understand their conversation, but the tense atmosphere between them was clear. So, she focused on eating her food quietly.
After they finished their meal, Holden introduced Sarah to the old man. First, he spoke in German, then switched to English, “This is my wife.”
Sarah reached out her hand with a polite smile.
The man’s expression shifted slightly, a flicker of complexity in his eyes. But in the end, he gave her hand a gentle, respectful shake.
Once the old man left, Sarah noticed a light drizzle had started outside.
She turned to Holden, curious. “Mr. Holden, who was that gentleman?”
Holden’s lips curved into a subtle smile. “My grandfather. Today’s his seventieth birthday.”
Sarah recalled hearing from Samuel that Holden’s maternal family was quite powerful, but for some reason, they’d cut ties with the Smith family.
All those tangled family dramas and grudges weren’t mentioned in the original story, though. It seemed like only the people involved knew the full details.
Sarah didn’t know what to say, so she casually remarked, “Your grandfather seems kind of distant. Very… distinguished.”
Holden’s smile deepened. “He’s just a poor, lonely old man.”
Later that night, Sarah turned on the TV. She couldn’t understand the language, but at least she could watch the visuals.
Flipping through channels, she suddenly spotted the same elderly man-Holden’s grandfather-being interviewed by a talk show host. The host treated him with clear respect, which made it obvious that this man was someone important.
Sarah, “…” It was the poor old man that Holden mentioned?