Chapter 3

After lunch, Damien took me to see an art exhibition.

Just as we reached the entrance of the gallery, his phone rang again.

Although he quickly put on his earpiece, I could still tell the voice on the other end belonged to his young assistant.

I'm not sure what he heard, but Damien furrowed his brow:

"Didn't I already give instructions about this yesterday? Why are you only telling me now?"

He hung up and looked at me apologetically.

"Aria, there's been an issue at the gallery. I need to go there right away."

I gazed at him calmly and said coolly, "Go ahead."

He planted a kiss on my cheek, not even noticing when I turned my head to avoid it, then hurried off.

I entered the exhibition hall alone.

"Hey, sis-in-law, why are you here by yourself?"

Hearing a voice, I turned around.

It was the manager of Damien's gallery.

Even though I knew who Damien had gone to see, I still asked with a glimmer of hope:

"Did something happen at the gallery today?"

"Not that I know of! I just came from there."

"Hmm, that's good then."

After parting ways with the gallery manager, I lingered in front of a painting.

Today's exhibition was held by an elderly artist to celebrate his golden wedding anniversary with his wife.

Looking at the portrait the old artist had painted of his wife, I felt a bit dazed.It's been a long time since I modeled for Damien, I suddenly realized.

After he became famous, even though he was busy, he still took great care of my daily life.

He would make herbal soups to nourish my body because of my poor health.

He would also cover our home with carpets and give me foot baths and massages every night because my hands and feet were always cold.

So I naively thought that even if he no longer painted me, our relationship was still as beautiful as it was in the beginning.

Until yesterday, when I saw with my own eyes him applying colors to another woman's body.

It turns out that the pure love and art Damien spoke of could be tainted after all.

He no longer painted me because he had found a more suitable muse.

My phone suddenly received a friend request, which I accepted.

Immediately after, they sent me several photos.

One showed Damien tenderly kissing her newly finished back tattoo.

Another showed Damien's hand, wearing a wedding ring, gripping her waist as they passionately intertwined.

I turned off my phone and left the exhibition hall.

Messages from his assistant kept coming in one after another.

"Aria, I'm so sorry, but I suddenly wanted to get a tattoo and Damien insisted on coming with me to make sure everything was okay. We'll have to leave you on your own for a bit!"He really enjoys personally drawing tattoos on me. He might not go home tonight either. How can such a cool and aloof artist become a completely different person in bed?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Aria! I forgot Damien hasn't touched you in ages. I didn't mean to brag, please don't take it to heart!"

"Damien says I'm his ideal muse now, and that marriage would make things boring. So don't worry, I won't ruin your marriage. I just need Damien to keep loving me!"

If it were someone else, they might feel resentful.

Who wouldn't be heartbroken seeing the love they poured years of youth into turn sour?

But the little assistant got one thing wrong.

It's not that marriage becomes boring, it's that when Damien's heart changes, he finds it boring.

I calmly saved and screenshot everything the assistant sent, then forwarded it to my lawyer.

No matter what, I won't take back a man who's gone rotten.