Chapter 9: Unexposed Truths
The sharp turn came not in courtrooms or through legal threats—but online.
On a quiet Wednesday morning, Jade woke to chaos. Her phone buzzed with a violent urgency—notifications, messages, news alerts. The first thing she saw was a message from Sabrina:
Jade’s heart dropped. She opened her browser.
Her eyes scanned the article, bile rising.
Though her name wasn’t mentioned, the story detailed how “a Singaporean freelance photographer unwittingly captured damning visual evidence during a gala event held last year.” Screenshots of her watermarked photos were blurred but unmistakably hers. The edited versions she’d sent to the legal team. Someone had leaked them.
She cursed under her breath. She’d trusted them. She’d followed the lawyer’s instructions. This wasn't how this was supposed to unfold.
By noon, her portfolio site had crashed under traffic. A few brands quietly pulled out of pending gigs. Even her usual café shoot was cancelled “pending clarification.”
It was the kind of public scrutiny she had never prepared for—unwarranted, unfair, and… unavoidable.
Lucas showed up uninvited, holding her favourite bubble tea and a USB drive.
“You’re wearing the same hoodie from this morning,” he said gently, taking in her glassy-eyed stare. “You’ve entered the bed burrito stage of stress.”
“I’m being treated like a whistleblowing spy,” Jade said, voice hoarse. “I didn’t even leak the files. I didn’t want this.”
Lucas sat beside her. “I believe you. And the people who matter will too.”
“But what about everyone else? What if this ruins me? I’m not an activist. I’m not brave. I just pressed the shutter at the wrong time.”
“No,” he said. “You pressed it at the right time. The wrong people just didn’t like the truth.”
She looked at him. “You think this is still salvageable?”
Lucas offered a crooked smile and held up the USB. “Depends. Want to take back the narrative?”
Jade raised an eyebrow. “What’s on that?”
“Your story. We make a video. Just you—explaining how it happened, why you kept quiet, what you didn’t do. Show the work. Speak your side. Take control of the exposure—pun entirely intended.”
She hesitated. “So you’re my manager now?”
“Temporary crisis comms, part-time emotional support, and I have surprisingly decent lighting equipment.”
Jade stared at the USB. Her fingers curled around it slowly.
Maybe she hadn’t chosen this spotlight—but she could choose what to do inside it.
That night, Lucas transformed her living room into a mini set—soft box, tripod, mic clipped to a plant pot because he forgot the stand.
Jade sat in front of her camera, took a deep breath, and began.
“No, I didn’t leak anything. Yes, I took that photo. And no—I wasn’t trying to expose anyone. But maybe the truth needed to be captured… even if it was accidental.”
Her voice was steady. Not flawless. Not polished. But real.
Unedited.
People started to listen. Other creatives messaged with support. A podcast called her “a case study in modern ethics and visual journalism.”
One week later, she and Lucas sat by the bay near Merlion Park—where it had all begun—sharing kaya toast and teh peng from a hawker stall.
Jade exhaled, looking out across the water. “That was a lot.”
“Unprecedented, I’d say,” Lucas replied, offering her the last bite.
She took it, smiling faintly. “You didn’t sign up for this mess, you know.”
“True,” he said, nudging her shoulder. “But I stayed for the girl who turned mess into meaning.”
Her hand brushed against his.
And maybe, just maybe, they were only getting started.
Chapter 10: Undecided Horizons
Six months later, Jade stood in the departure hall of Changi Airport Terminal 3, gripping her camera bag like it held her entire personality (because, in a way, it did).
The place buzzed with tourists and business types. Digital displays flickered above like glowing promises of escape. Her boarding gate blinked at her from the corner of the screen:
Gate B2 – Flight to Tokyo Narita: FINAL CALL – 21:40
She still hadn’t moved.
Her life had changed quickly. Almost unrealistically so.
The video Lucas helped her make went viral—not in a loud, scandalous way, but in the quiet, meaningful ripple that gets passed among creatives, reposted by journalists, DM’d to freelancers who’ve been ghosted by clients.
It earned her respect. And inquiries. And then, the big one:
A Tokyo-based creative studio offering her a six-month paid residency. Stipend, housing, a solo gallery show at the end. They loved her urban documentary work. They wanted to see the world through her lens.
It was everything she'd dreamed of. Everything she had convinced herself she could never actually have.
And yet…
Three hours earlier, she had met Lucas by the river near Clarke Quay. Just a quiet goodbye before her flight.
He wore that soft grey shirt she liked, and his eyes didn’t say don’t go—but they didn’t have to.
“I’m proud of you,” he’d said, gently. “And also lowkey jealous of your future bento box situation.”
“You’ll survive,” she smiled, though it barely reached her eyes. “You have kaya toast and your weird obsession with that roti prata stall.”
There was a pause. A quiet unsaid that sat between them.
“You know,” he finally murmured, “this doesn’t have to be the end of… whatever this is.”
Jade looked up. “You believe in long-distance?”
“I believe in you.”
“Don’t be gone forever,” he said, with a lopsided grin that almost hid the sadness.
Now, at the gate, Jade’s phone buzzed.
Jade blinked back a tear. Then another.
Chapter 11: Unplanned Arrival
It was a typical rainy day in Tokyo when Jade was photographing the vibrant chaos of Shibuya Crossing for her latest project. She had been living there for three months now, adjusting to the constant hum of the city, the blend of old and new, the endless possibilities that seemed to unfold with each shutter click.
Her solo gallery show was less than a month away. She was building a name here, capturing the faces of the city that didn’t always make the tourist brochures: the elderly woman in the quiet tea house, the young man on his scooter speeding through neon lights, the couple sharing an umbrella under cherry blossoms in the rain.
She was in her element, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something—or someone—was missing.
That evening, after a long day of shooting, Jade headed to her apartment, a minimalist space that felt both like a sanctuary and a temporary holding cell for her dreams. She had just set her camera bag down when her phone buzzed with a message.
She raised an eyebrow, scrolling down.
Jade froze. Her breath hitched in her throat. She immediately picked up her phone to text Lucas—but her fingers faltered. What was she supposed to say? She couldn’t just ask him if he was planning to surprise her, could she?
She sighed and tossed the phone aside, rationalizing it all. She was in Tokyo for a reason. She had a life here. There were things she still had to figure out, about herself and about her future.
At 9:15 p.m., as she was about to settle in with a bowl of ramen, she got an unexpected notification.
Her pulse raced as she clicked it.
I’m at Narita. On my way to you.
Jade blinked. She blinked again. What the heck?
Are you serious?
Jade’s hands were shaking. There was a surreal quality to the moment. A part of her had convinced herself that their time together in Singapore—those last few weeks before she left—had been a chapter that closed itself, neatly, with understanding.
And yet, there he was, in Tokyo.
Her heart hammered in her chest. She quickly shot a message back.
You’re insane. What if you’re not even allowed in?
The next hour felt like a blur. She pulled herself together, rushed out of her apartment, and caught the train to Narita. The anticipation in her chest was almost unbearable—what if this was just an impulsive decision on his part? What if she wasn’t the same person she’d been when they last saw each other?
But as the train slowed and the airport’s bright lights flickered into view, Jade couldn’t help but feel something shift.
Maybe it wasn’t about what she had planned. Maybe it was about what was happening now.
She arrived at the terminal, scanning the crowds of travelers, the echo of announcements filling the air. She reached the gate area, heart thudding, when—there, near the entrance—she spotted him.
Lucas.
Standing in front of the baggage claim, holding a crumpled travel pillow like it was a shield. His casual t-shirt was wrinkled from the flight, his hair tousled in that charming, just-woke-up way. He didn’t look like someone who had just flown quarter way across the world.
He looked like he belonged.
And when their eyes met, Jade felt something deep within her stir—something undeniable, and unscripted.
“Lucas,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
He grinned. “What? You thought I’d let you have all the adventure without me?”
She shook her head, laughing through the sudden rush of emotions. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe. But you’re the one with a gallery show to prep for, and a life that doesn’t need to be lived alone.”
She paused. A part of her had expected this moment to feel like a reunion—something nostalgic and bittersweet. But instead, it felt like a new beginning.
Without a word, she walked toward him, letting her hand brush against his. His fingers intertwined with hers, grounding her in that simple, electric connection.
“I’m glad you came,” she said softly.
“Had to,” Lucas replied, a little breathless. “I’ve been following your photos on Instagram. I think it’s time I saw them in person. Maybe… maybe even help you take some?”
Jade smiled, her heart swelling. “You’re serious about this?”
“Only if you’ll let me.”
The words hung between them, heavy with unspoken promises. There was no grand speech. No moment of dramatic revelation. Just two people, in a city far from home, standing on the brink of something completely new.
“Okay,” she whispered. “Let’s go make some memories, then.”
And as they walked side by side toward the train platform, hand in hand, Jade realized something: sometimes the biggest surprises don’t come from what we expect. Sometimes, the best stories unfold when we’re brave enough to let them.
And maybe, just maybe, love wasn’t something to plan after all—it was something to live, unguarded, without any script.
Chapter 12: Uncharted Territories
One year later.
Jade stood at the edge of a busy Tokyo street, camera in hand, observing the rhythmic chaos of the city. The neon lights buzzed above her, reflecting off the wet pavement where taxis splashed through puddles, people hurried along, umbrellas up. She had spent the past several months balancing her photography career with her growing feelings for Lucas. And in that time, something unexpected had happened: her world had expanded.
And it had done so with him in it.
Lucas had become her anchor in this whirlwind life she’d crafted for herself—sometimes literally, as he patiently stood beside her while she snapped photos of hidden gems in the city, sometimes figuratively, as he cheered her on through difficult shoots, offered advice on the business side, and yes, even carried her camera bag when her shoulder ached.
They’d made it work.
Her gallery show had led to international exposure, with exhibitions in London and Berlin following soon after. But it wasn’t just the work that had kept her going—it was the constant reminder that life could be just as much about the little moments as the big ones. Like Lucas, showing up in Tokyo without warning, or making impromptu trips to Kyoto to catch the last of the cherry blossoms, or sneaking into tiny, quiet ramen joints when the city felt like too much.
Today, though, she wasn’t thinking about work or exhibitions. She was thinking about something else entirely.
Her phone buzzed with a new message.
Jade smiled, but there was a flutter of nerves in her stomach. She hadn’t expected him to ask—hadn't really seen it coming—but there it was.
She sat on the nearby bench, tapping her fingers against her knee. The previous year had been filled with spontaneous decisions, unspoken understandings, and shared adventures. But today… today she had to face something that had quietly grown between them: the decision of what comes next.
Her phone buzzed again.
Jade blinked, biting her lip. The timing felt… right.
She took a deep breath and texted back.
I’ve been thinking about something too. About us, and this life we’ve built. How we’re making this work, even when we have different paths.
A beat of silence passed before Lucas replied.
She exhaled slowly, her heartbeat quickening. That was the answer she needed to hear. Because, somehow, she had already known that Lucas had quietly been her path—one she hadn’t expected to find, but couldn’t imagine walking without.
She typed back, her fingers steady.
Then let’s make it together. Whatever comes next. Because I think… I think we’re ready for the next chapter.
That evening, they found themselves in their usual spot, the quiet corner of their favorite ramen joint, talking about everything and nothing at once. Jade realized, as they laughed together, that she didn’t need everything planned out. She didn’t need to know all the details.
Because with Lucas beside her, it didn’t matter how uncertain the future was. They would figure it out together—one click of the shutter, one shared story, one step at a time.
And as the city lights of Tokyo twinkled around them, Jade felt a deep sense of peace.
Not because everything was perfect.
But because, for the first time in a long while, she was exactly where she was meant to be.
With him.
[The End.]
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