MasukChapter 10
Skye stood outside the address Kai had given her, staring up at the building for what felt like the hundredth time.
"So this is where you wanted the shoot..." She swallowed.
The place looked nothing like a photography studio.
Music pulsed faintly behind dark tinted windows. Motorcycles lined the entrance, and the discreet black sign above the door was enough to tell her this wasn't somewhere the gen
Chapter 59.Elise glanced at Skye nervously, “Can they do this later? Adrian expects me back in like an hour.”Skye nodded and informed Kai, so he stood to the side to let the professionals do their job.For the next several minutes, Kai stayed where he was, standing a few feet from Anna while Skye and Elise finished the final photographs and checked the last pieces of audio. His arms were folded across his chest, but there was nothing relaxed about the posture, it was the stance Skye had seen him use countless times when he wanted to look untouchable, except now she knew better. His shoulders were too rigid, his jaw too tight, and his eyes kept returning to Anna as though he was still trying to convince himself she was real.Anna noticed, though she didn't comment on it. Instead she stayed seated beneath the soft light near the window, answering Elise's last questions and glancing toward Kai whenever she thought he wasn't watching. There was something strange about the way the two
Chapter 58.The day for the final session came and Kai was late.Skye had checked the time four times in the last fifteen minutes and sent him two messages asking where he was.His response had arrived ten minutes earlier.Kai: I'm coming.That was it. Skye had stared at the message for several seconds before shaking her head.Typical Kai.She stood inside the studio, adjusting the position of one of the lights while Elise checked the audio equipment. Anna was already seated near the windows
Chapter 57."My– my boyfriend?" Skye stared at Anna, certain she had misunderstood her, and shook her head quickly, a nervous laugh escaping her as she glanced toward Elise, who was pretending very hard not to listen. Skye hadn't exactly thought of her relationship with Kai as something that was public knowledge yet. So, surely Anna had simply made an assumption, and surely she would apologize.Instead, Anna smiled, a knowing smile that made Skye's stomach twist."Please don't insult my intelligence, Skye," Anna said gently. "I've heard the way you talk about him."Skye's mouth opened, but nothing came out, and she looked down at her camera, suddenly fascinated by the buttons."I wasn't…"Anna's smile widened slightly. "You don't have to explain."Skye finally sighed and nodded. "Okay."Anna gave her one last look before turning toward the door. "I'll see you at the final session.""Of course.""And bring him."Skye watched her leave, still trying to understand how a woman she had o
Chapter 56.The real shoot with Anna happened three days later.Adrian had finally approved Elise to accompany Skye, though he had done so with the same expression he wore whenever he granted someone permission to breathe in his presence. Skye had not told him the full truth about what they were doing, she had simply explained that she needed Elise for assistance with the sitting and documentation. Technically that was true. She had just left out the part where Elise would be conducting most of the interview.Skye arrived at the studio early, carrying two cameras, spare batteries, memory cards, lighting equipment, and the heavy responsibility of knowing that Anna had trusted her enough to open a door she had kept closed for years.Anna was already there. She stood near the tall windows in a simple cream blouse and dark trousers, her hair loosely gathered at the nape of her neck. There was nothing theatrical about her appearance, no stage makeup, no elaborate styling, no attempt to
Chapter 55.The staff meeting began at exactly eight in the morning, just like Adrian said.Skye sat near the end of the long conference table, her notebook open in front of her and her fingers wrapped tightly around a pen.She had barely slept the night before, not because of Anna, although the interview had been occupying a large part of her thoughts, but because Adrian Keller had a talent for making compulsory meetings feel like court hearings where everyone already knew who the defendant was.Today she had a feeling she was the defendant.Adrian entered without greeting anyone, carrying a thin folder un
Chapter 54.Skye had been sulking since Kai left. There was no other word for it.Sulking.She had spent the entire morning telling herself that she was a grown woman with a career to build, a demanding internship to survive, and an important interview to prepare for, but none of those things stopped her from staring at the spot where Kai's car had disappeared as though he might suddenly reverse back into the street and announce that he had forgotten something.She missed him, and it annoyed her how quickly she had become used to having him around. His presence had become something she expected, something that made her apartment feel warmer even when he was doing absolutely nothing except sitting on her couch and scrolling through his phone with that permanently annoyed expression.Now the apartment was quiet again. So, naturally, Skye decided to bury herself in work.







