"Rhea loves your work, so don’t keep her waiting."
The words hit me like a bolt of lightning, freezing me in place.
He knew better than anyone that I hadn’t touched a camera since the day I took my parents’ memorial portraits.
And yet, he still said this.
My fingers clenched tightly around the phone and my voice trembled as I forced the words out.
"I can’t help you with this. I don’t know how to take good photos. Just find someone else."
Justin’s patience immediately snapped.
"Mind your manners. Don’t forget the contract you agreed to. You don’t get to make demands of me."
"Half an hour. One minute late and I’ll see you at the police station."
The line went dead with a brutal click and my chest throbbed with pain.
When I collapsed onto the bed, my tears streamed down, soaking the pillow and sheets.
Perhaps… perhaps he had kept me around all this time for this very moment.
But there was no time to dwell. I grabbed my long-unused camera equipment with dust clinging stubbornly to its surface and ran to the beach.
The coastline stretched out before me, empty except for the small filming crew.
I had chosen this place simply because I loved it.
Justin had once bought this land at a staggering price.
I remember teasing him back then, "Buying land and leaving it undeveloped—won’t you end up losing everything, my dear Mr. Harlow?"
He had held me in his arms, his eyes fixed on the sunset. His voice had been so gentle that it almost felt like a dream.
"Having you is the greatest reward heaven could ever give me."
For that one sentence, I had chosen this place for our wedding photos.
And for our wedding itself.
I had imagined us walking hand in hand along the shore, receiving the blessings of our family and friends.
I had pictured our children laughing as we played together in the sand.
And I had even taught myself a bit of architectural design, sketching a seaside villa that would be our secret hideaway, just for the two of us.
Now, every one of those dreams lay shattered, the fragments turning into sharp blades slicing into my heart.
Rhea had been waiting for a while, impatience already written across her face.
She slipped her arm through Justin’s and gave it a light shake, her tone sweet but tinged with complaint.
"UV rays cause aging, you know. I’ve been baking in the sun all this time—you owe me."
"Put the villa in my name and buy me that Hermès bag I’ve been wanting."
"Just in case you ever change your mind—consider it my insurance."
Her playful manner drew a laugh from him almost instantly.
"Change my mind? That won’t happen until I’m dead."
"You’re too late anyway—the bag and the property deed are already on your bedside table. You’ll see them when you get home."
"Next time, try asking for something I don’t already know about, or you'll ruin the surprise."
When her eyes flicked toward me, Rhea leaned even closer into him, tightening her grip on his arm.
"Starlene, you’re here. I heard you majored in photography—mind handling today’s shoot?"
"Oh and I don’t like red roses. Change them to white lilies. They suit my personality better."
My breath caught in my throat.
In my parents’ memorial photos, they had been surrounded by white lilies.
That image flashed through my mind again and again, the tension in my head winding tighter until it felt as if it might snap.
"Miss, weddings are meant to be joyful. White lilies just… carry a heavy meaning. How about we choose another white flower instead?"
Rhea's voice immediately turned sharp.
"What’s that supposed to mean? I have to set aside my own preferences just to please you now? Why are you talking to me like this? Are you calling someone here… a depressing person?"
Justin’s face darkened instantly, his eyes cutting toward me like shards of ice.
"She likes it, so that’s what we’ll use. You’re just a hired hand here—remember your place."
"And if I hear that tone from you again, you know exactly what will happen."
The wound on my palm had barely healed and now it split open beneath my nails. Warm blood seeped into the sand, blooming red against the pale grains.
I swallowed the storm rising in my chest, forcing my voice to stay steady.
After a long, heavy silence, I simply nodded.
