"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.