Chapter 4

Cora was silent for a long time.

"…Alright then. Good night."

When I woke up the next morning, there was a document on the nightstand.

It was a notarized property transfer agreement, and Cora had already signed it.

The comments went crazy.

"Holy crap! Cora really gave Allen all her assets?"

"Chill. She can recover them through legal means. A notarized marital property transfer can be revoked upon divorce."

"She must've spent too much time with Preston lately and was afraid Allen would kick up a fuss, so she's just using this to placate him."

I nearly got emotional for a second.

After putting the document back down, I opened my WhatsApp to message my lawyer friend, Fred Springer.

"Please draft up a divorce agreement for me. Split the assets according to marriage laws."

That day, Rochelle called me into her office.

"Allen, there's a big contract, and the client specifically asked for you."

"Who's the client?"

"Faye Merrill."

I froze for a moment, thinking I had misheard.

"R-really?"

Rochelle tossed the contract to me with a smile. "Yup. She looked through your portfolio and specifically asked you for the shoot."

I flipped open the contract with trembling hands.

I'd been a fan of Faye since middle school. In college, I scrimped and saved to buy tickets to her concert and ended up fainting from hunger in the classroom, which made me the laughingstock of the entire campus.

When Cora found out, she blew up at me for the first time.

"Have you lost your mind? What's so great about her that you'd risk your life for her?"

Later, when Cora became a billionaire CEO, she had several business dealings with Faye. Yet, she never once got me so much as a signed photo.

After leaving the office, my first instinct was to share the good news with Cora. But then I remembered how she'd acted back then, and my finger hovered over the screen, frozen.

In the end, I sent her a message anyway.

"I'll be away on business for about a week."

It took her over ten minutes to reply. "Okay. Don't tough it out on your own. You have me."

The words "you have me" struck me as a little ironic. After all, she would soon belong to someone else.

The shoot location was at the beach.

I arrived at 4:00 am to set up the equipment, adjust the parameters, and test the light.

The wind was strong, and the sand stung a bit as it hit my face. But that was the last thing on my mind, for my heart had been racing since the night before and hadn't stopped.

At 7:00 am sharp, a black minivan pulled up.

Faye stepped out of the minivan. She was wearing a white T-shirt and black casual pants. Her hair, barely styled, fell loosely across her forehead. She looked almost the same as she had on stage ten years ago.

No, something had changed.

She was thinner than back then, her jawline sharper, and her eyes held something more. It was the mark of time having worn its way through her.

"Hello, Allen," she greeted me, extending her hand.

I shook it, my palm a little sweaty.

"Hello."

"I've seen your work. Your composition is bold, and your use of light and shadow is excellent. So, I specifically asked Rochelle for you." She smiled briefly. "I hope that hasn't put any pressure on you."

"Not at all." I took a deep breath. "I'll do my best."

After brief pleasantries, we got to work.

Faye was a natural in front of the camera. She had such strong instincts that I hardly had to guide her at all.

I crouched on the sand, searching for angles. Even though the sun was scorching my back, I was in a surprisingly good mood.

During a break, my phone buzzed.

Fred had sent the divorce agreement.

"Are you really going through with it?" he asked.

I stared at the document, thinking of the unfamiliar scent of perfume on Cora and the "down-to-earth couple" comment.

"Yeah," I replied.

Rather than wait for Cora to kick me out, I might as well take advantage of whatever guilt she still had and secure some money for retirement.

On the third day of the shoot, I was adjusting the parameters when the floating comments suddenly flooded in.

"Oh my god! Cora and Preston went to the Gobeki Desert! The northern lights are so beautiful!"