His Lie Count Stayed Zero for Five Years — Till His Assistant Came Chapter 04

Three days later, Elliot left before dawn.

He went to the airport and flew to Aspen with Renee, taking her to see the snow I’d spent five years waiting for.

After I finished packing, I opened the hidden compartment tucked away in our bedroom.

That was where I kept my camera, a discontinued model.

It held photographs my mother had taken before she died. It was the last keepsake she’d left me.

But when I pulled out the drawer, I froze.

The camera was gone.

Only its memory card remained.

I’d always stored the camera carefully and almost never took it out. No one knew where I kept it except Elliot.

I thought perhaps I’d remembered wrong. I tore the room apart searching for it, but found nothing.

With shaking hands, I video-called Elliot.

The moment he answered, I saw Renee behind him, happily taking pictures with my camera.

She turned, beaming.

“Mr. Hayes, this camera takes such beautiful pictures! I’m so glad you brought it. We would’ve missed so many great shots without it!”

Elliot smiled at her, then turned back to the screen. His voice was flat.

“What is it?”

My eyes burning, I demanded, “Elliot, did you take my camera and give it to her?”

He didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with it.

“Your camera takes good pictures, so I brought it along. Ren likes taking pictures.”

“Why didn’t you ask me?”

He frowned.

“She’s only borrowing it. She’ll give it back when we get home. Don’t be so petty.”

My voice rose. I wanted to reach through the screen and snatch the camera out of her hands.

“Elliot, that camera was my mother’s! It’s the last keepsake I have from her!”

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, his expression turning cold.

“Jenna, it’s just a camera. What, we can’t use it just because your mom’s dead?”

I went completely still.

Elliot seemed to realize how cruel that sounded. Regret flashed in his eyes.

But he didn’t explain himself. He didn’t apologize.

People passed behind him while Renee kept taking pictures, without even trying to stay out of the video call.

Then a child ran past and bumped into her.

The camera slipped from her hands and crashed to the ground.

Renee cried out as she stumbled into a railing.

Elliot rushed toward her, stepping right on the shattered lens as he pulled Renee into his arms.

The video call remained connected. All I could see was broken glass scattered across the pavement.

My breath caught. My blood turned to ice.

That camera model had been discontinued, and there wasn’t another compatible lens to be found.

Elliot’s voice was gentle.

“Ren, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Mr. Hayes, I think I scraped my knee, but I’m fine. You should check Jenna’s camera, or she’ll be upset.”

Only then did Elliot notice the pieces on the ground.

He didn’t bend down to pick them up. Instead, he scooped Renee into his arms.

His face filled my phone screen again. Renee rested in his arms, her eyes slightly red.

“It’s just a camera. I’m taking you to get that knee looked at first.”

Just a camera.

To him, it was nothing. To me, it was the last thing my mother had left behind.

I shouted at the screen.

“Elliot! My camera is broken!”

He sighed impatiently.

“And? Ren didn’t do it on purpose.”

“It’s just a thing. She’s a person. I’m not going to leave Ren hurt just to pick up a bunch of broken pieces that can’t even be put back together.”

“I’ll buy you a new one when we get home. Jenna, stop being unreasonable.”

Then he ended the call.

My face stared back at me from the dark screen, looking utterly lost.

I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t.

A crushing helplessness washed over me.

I had no idea how much time had passed before I finally got up, dragged my suitcase behind me, and headed for the airport.

Seven lies.

A home we were supposed to share.

A shattered camera.

Elliot and I were worlds apart now. There was no going back.