Page 45 of Jetmir

“Congratulations on the sale.”

“Thank you.”

“Thalia has been looking for you.”

“I know.”

I kept walking.

My eyes moved across the photographs without really seeing them. There were images here worth millions. Images that critics had praised. Images that had taken me years to create.

But all I could see was the Albanian sea. All I could hear was the click of my camera. All I could remember was Jetmir waiting for me.

Waiting.

That had been his gift and I had begun to wonder whether he was biding his time once again. His words still rang in my ears and they certainly didn’t sound like he’d given up.

I reached the center of the gallery and stopped, my gaze locked on the far wall where one of my photographs from Albania hung. The print was faded now, deliberately so. A rugged stretch of coastline beneath a pale afternoon sky. The sea stretched endlessly toward the horizon, blue meeting blue until there was no clear distinction between water and sky.

I closed my eyes.

For one brief, unbearable second, I could almost feel my ex-husband’s hand against my back. I could almost hear his voice. Almost believe that if I turned around, he would be there.

I opened my eyes, the photograph staring back. He wasn’t here, but the feeling of being watched and foreboding definitely were.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ANYA

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANYA!”

The cheer erupted the moment I stepped through the front door. My parents’ whole house had been transformed. Candles flickered on every windowsill. The dining table had been pushed against the wall and covered end to end with food—all Colombian dishes.

I followed the voices and warm string lights looping the ceilings. They extended all the way into the back terrace that overlooked the ocean, making the area glow like it had been sprinkled with gold.

My mother reached me first.

“Happy birthday, my girl.” She hugged me tightly, kissing my cheeks over and over again.

My papa soon joined her, pulling us into his broad chest. “Happy birthday, Anya. We love you so much and we’re so proud of you.”

“I love you too,” I murmured, inhaling my parents’ comforting scent.

They handed me a box and I stared at it wide-eyed. “Is that…?”

Papa chuckled.

“Maybe. You’ll have to open it and see.” I ripped the wrapping off to find the latest Canon EOS R1.

I gasped, my eyes darting between the camera and my parents’ smiling faces. “It’s… Oh my gosh, I love it.”

“So you can capture many more memorable moments,” Papa said. “We’re so proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished.”

I blinked, tears burning in my eyes.

“I hope this year makes all your dreams come true," Mama whispered.

“Whether that includes travel, success, or a bunch of sex with random men.” I turned around and my aunt Willow and aunt Aurora stood behind me. I let out a squeal and threw myself into their arms.