After the interview, I stepped out of the radio station building.
Just as I reached the bottom of the steps, a figure emerged from the shadows and blocked my path.
It was Hunter.
He seemed to have been waiting for me on purpose.
I didn’t stop walking, intending to go around him, but he sidestepped and stood directly in front of me again.
“Penny,” he said, his voice a little hoarse,
*I… I’m sorry. I’ve thought about it over and over, and I feel I owe you a proper apology.”
I paused and looked up at him, suddenly finding it a little laughable.
*An apology?”
“Hunter, save your cheap, halfhearted ‘sorry.‘ It means nothing to me now.”
I noticed the flash of surprise in his eyes, then continued calmly.
“The person you owe the most isn’t me today. It’s to the you from ten years ago, the one living in that tiny apartment.”
“You betrayed the promises you once made… and you betrayed the part of yourself that hadn’t yet been tainted by fame
or fortune.”
“So save your apology for him.”
With that, I didn’t look at the complicated expression on his face anymore.
I stepped around him and walked to the car waiting by the curb.
The night wind brushed my cheeks, crisp and refreshing.
After that night, Hunter and I never crossed paths again.
The next time I saw him, it was on the business news section of a social media outlet.
The headline read:
[Prominent Entrepreneur Hunter Accused of Tax Evasion; Case Referred to Prosecutors for Investigation.]
The photo showed him being escorted by law enforcement, head bowed, stripped of all his former swagger.
The report mentioned that the whistleblower was none other than his former assistant–and lover–Luna.
Chapter 15
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د
Their fallout had been over disputes regarding profit distribution.
His company had plunged into chaos as a result.
I saw the news while sorting client photos in my studio.
My fingers paused on the screen for two seconds… then I laughed.
This feels right. Life has a way of balancing itself.
I put down my phone and opened my shopping app, happily browsing gifts for myself.
“Hm… Gotta get myself a bag to celebrate.”
“Buy myself a pair of professional hiking boots for the next snow mountain shoot.”
“Stock up on a couple of bottles of premium anti–aging cream.”
“Get myself a new camera…”
“And treat myself to a hot pot meal…”
As for my parents, they bent over backward for that worthless son of theirs, going to anyone they could think of, even selling off family property. They tried reaching out to me with calls and texts, but I had already blocked them.
Eventually, they took me to court, demanding child support.
The court ruled that I must pay $400 per month.
I’m a law–abiding citizen–every month, on the dot, to the penny.
Whether I send it at the beginning, middle, or last day of the month… that’s entirely up to my mood.
time, my photography business grew busier and busier, with bookings scheduled six months in advance.
Jut I still made sure to take some time each year to travel and shoot.
I’ve framed the lone smoke and sunset of the northwestern deserts, and captured the misty rain of the Southern Water
Towns…
Through my lens. I photographed this vast, magnificent land that I love so dearly.
Alright.
That’s where this story ends.
Chapter 15
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One last thing:
Love you, my true self.
