Chapter 4

I barely touched my breakfast, and now my stomach churned violently on the way to the shoot.

By the time we arrived, nausea clawed at my throat. I stumbled out of the car, leaning against it, gulping in fresh air in an attempt to settle the sickness.

Meanwhile, Atlas was carefully lifting the hem of Ivy’s gown, his head slightly bowed as he guided her into the

studio with the utmost care.

I watched in silence.

The man who once promised to cherish me–who used to hold my hand so protectively–was now treating another woman as though she were the most precious thing in the world.

I pressed a hand to my stomach, swallowing back the bitter taste in my mouth.

“Celeste,” Atlas called out to me, his voice laced with frustration. “The shoot is about to start. Be nice–just do your job. This is important for both Ivy and Whitmore Industries.”

Without warning, he grabbed my wrist and yanked me forward. I stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

Pain flared up my arm, but Atlas had already turned away, his attention elsewhere, as if I were nothing more than a reluctant participant in his carefully orchestrated world.

It had been five years since I last held a camera. Now, as I raised it, my hands trembled.

Fear gripped me, a cold and suffocating weight pressing down on my chest. But I forced myself to push through it.

Click

With each shutter press, I fought against the flood of emotions threatening to drown me.

Grief.

Rage.

Betrayal.

of the camera

the room emptied, leaving only Ivy and me. She scrolled through the shots, a slow

her voice light, almost

her words laced with venom.

06:50

Years of Love, Seven Minutes

68.1%

Chapter 4

you’ll never be good enough”

nails dug into

my lungs grew heavy, my body trembling as white hot rage urged through

And then-

*Slap.*

leaving a burning

off the impact, before looking down at me with open

Atlas

stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper.

make something clear,” she said, her breath warm against my ear. “Atlas

my cheek throbbing, my

wrist–and in

her own face.

tore from her lips as she staggered backward, letting herself crumple onto the

in her eyes as she cradled her cheek, looking up at me

voice shaking with false innocence. “I just wanted to ask if you could

A ceramic cup slipped from Atlas’s fingers, shattering

face twisted with shock, quickly darkening into fury. In two long strides, he

knelt

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