"Is this too hard for you, Starlene? You wouldn’t forget something you shot yourself, would you?"
"I remember. So… please bear with me one more time?"
I knew I had no right to refuse. My voice could not hide the weariness seeping into my bones.
Rhea’s intentions were too obvious.
And yet Justin didn’t even bother to intervene.
Thousands of shots later, she still wasn’t satisfied.
It wasn’t that I failed to capture the way Justin looked at her with open admiration.
It was that I kept "getting the lighting wrong," "missing the right pose," "choosing the wrong moment."
Only when the camera memory was completely full did she finally nod in approval.
"That’s it. Though, of course, the very first one was the best."
After that, they turned toward the car together.
"Starlene, the sports car only seats two. I’m afraid you’ll have to find your own way back."
"The passenger seat belongs to her anyway. She knows her place."
I let my arms drop helplessly. After holding the camera for so long, my muscles ached too much to even lift it again.
By the time I returned to the villa that night, it was well past midnight and the mountain of photo edits was still waiting for me.