"You love diamonds in a heart shape, don't you? I bought a pendant for you." There was the sound of movement on the other end, drawers opening, fabric rustling. "Strange. Where did I put it..." His voice dropped to a mutter, distracted and incoherent, as I heard him searching through jacket pockets and nightstand drawers.
"Strange, it's not here."
The words trailed off into nothing, swallowed whole as the realization struck him. In yesterday's photograph, Vanessa Lestari had been smiling at the camera with a diamond heart pendant glittering against the hollow of her throat. The image seared across my mind, and the tears came before I could stop them.
He scrambled to cover the silence.
"I must have lost it somewhere."
"No need." My voice was steady despite the tears sliding down my face. "I forgot to get you anything anyway."