Chapter 1

The voice messages played one after another. I stared at the waveform on the screen, motionless for a long moment.

When the young woman noticed my lack of reaction, she reached over and paused the playback. "I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm Tamara Kelsey."

I snapped out of my daze and nodded at her. "I'm Natalie Palmer. You don't have to keep calling me Miss Palmer."

"Then I'll just call you Nat."

With that, she leaned over the desk again to examine the 217 voice messages.

"I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. going through these. The more I listened, the harder it was to delete any of them. In the end, I couldn't bring myself to cut a single one. Did I just waste all that time?"

I managed a faint smile. "You don't need to include everything in a proposal video. Just pick a few moments that stand out."

Tamara considered my suggestion before opening another recording. "Then listen to this one."

Christian's voice filled the room again. "I left the keys on the shoe cabinet. It's getting cold tonight, so make sure you close the window when you get back. There's food in the fridge. Don't just eat crackers again instead of a proper meal."

Tamara looked a little embarrassed as the recording ended. "Isn't this one too mundane? But I really like it. He's been like this ever since I moved in. He always wants to take care of everything."

I looked up at her. "You two live together?"

Tamara nodded. "I moved in last spring. He kept insisting I couldn't take care of myself, so he made me move in. Now he keeps track of what I eat and when I sleep. He worries about me more than my own mother does. I've gained about 10 pounds this year."

Last spring, Christian had started spending more and more nights at the office. He said the company was busy, and I believed him.

All those nights I'd spent alone, waiting for him to come home… It turned out he already had another home.

Tamara returned to her photo album. "Wouldn't a video with just voice messages be a little boring? I have a bunch of random videos I've taken too."

She opened one of them.

An orange cat lay sprawled across Christian's lap. He leaned over it and gently stroked its fur.

"This is Fortune. He used to complain that cats shed too much. Now he spoils Fortune more than I do."

Christian was allergic to cats.

When we first got together, I had a cat I'd raised for six years. Christian visited my place a few times, and each time, he broke out in red rashes. Eventually, I gave the cat to a friend.

As my friend took it away, it kept clawing at the carrier and crying. I couldn't bear to look back.

When Christian found out, all he said was, "It's for the best. One less thing to deal with."

In the video, Fortune climbed up his leg. Christian didn't pull away. Instead, he reached out and scratched the cat under its chin.

Tamara turned to me. "Can I use something like this?"

I averted my gaze. "Of course. It feels more natural than a video full of sweet talk."

"That's what I thought too." She seemed to have found a kindred spirit, and the conversation flowed more easily after that. "We even have a photo wall at home. Pretty much every photo we've taken since we met is up there. I want to film that too, but I'm not very good at framing shots."

She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you offer on-site shoots? It doesn't have to be anything formal. I just need some help figuring out how to make everything look good."

I nodded. "Is it far from here?"

"Not at all. It's about a 10-minute drive." Tamara picked up her bag and smiled. "If you're free, we could go right now. He's working late tonight, so he won't be home. Otherwise, I'd never dare plan a surprise like this."

I lowered my gaze to my phone.

Christian had told me the exact same thing two hours ago. He called it last-minute overtime.

I closed my laptop and picked up my camera bag. "Let's go. I'll take a look."

Tamara quickly sent me the address.

I opened the message and glanced at it.

[Rocheston Bay.]

Three years ago, Christian had told me he'd bought a place there. He claimed we'd move in once we got married.