I expected the package to be my paintings from the exhibition, but I didn’t expect them to be destroyed. Apart from the third painting that Christopher took away, the other two were supposed to be collectibles to be kept in the gallery for future visitors to admire and copy.
When I was in university, I saw many entries in the competition. At that time, I imagined that one day, when someone wanted to learn to paint, they would treat my paintings as references and discover their inspiration through my paintings.
When I took the two paintings out of the box, there were in shreds, and as their original painter, I couldn’t piece them together. As the saying goes, a battle between women was a battle without gunpowder. But this wasn’t a battle; it was simply a disaster for me.
I carefully held the shredded pieces in my arms and cried silently. Monica and Crystal were so ruthless; they completely destroyed me. If it weren’t for my romantic relationship with Christopher, probably even Christopher would have given up on me.
I spread out a piece of paper and gathered the broken pieces, attempting to piece them back together. After trying for a while, I only managed to piece back a few parts. Everything looked crooked, and I scoffed at my incompetence.
I was terrified and desperate, but I couldn’t vent it out. In the end, nothing changed since the beginning. I was still a pitiful soul. The only change that positive change was probably having Christopher in my life.
I didn’t have his support and encouragement five years ago, not even his love. However, I have him with me now.
I kept the paintings locked in the closet and walked to the easel to finish my painting to calm myself down. If no one would be willing to look at it, I could paint it for Christopher. He was Key, my confidant, and my lover.
Christopher came home that evening looking tired and saw me sitting at the easel. He walked over to hug me and said softly, “Have you been home all day? Did anything happen today?”
I smiled and shook my head. I didn’t tell him about my disqualification from the art exhibition and the fact that Lyle came today. “I’m getting famous now. People will surround me if I go out. I’m not stupid enough to do that, so it’s better to stay at home.”
“It’s okay. Bear with it. Give it a few days, and everything will be fine.” Christopher held my face and kissed me gently on my cheek and then on my lips.
I kissed him back, and my hand involuntarily wrapped around his neck. At this point, I could only remain calm with Christopher by my side.
He bent over and picked me up and put me on the bed. He kissed my nose, eyes, then mouth, and guided me to respond to him. He ran his fingers over my collarbone and moved downward.
I gently grabbed onto his waist, tugged his necktie, and pulled him onto the bed. I turned around and sat on him, smiling at him while swinging the bra that I had taken off. “I’m not used to you being too restrained recently. Could it be that you’re recuperating?”
“It’s good to recuperate. A good recuperation will keep us steady, am I right?” Christopher smiled, buried his face in my chest, and moved his hands all over me.
“So are you done recuperating, lover boy?” I gently ran my fingernails over his glistening chest. I lowered my eyebrows, exuding allure from my eyes, and my fingers flicked on his belt. “Or do you want to continue to hibernate?”
Christopher immediately turned over and pressed me under him, showing me how well he had recuperated. I could feel waves of explosion in my lower abdomen. I bit my lip as I sensed the pain given to me by Christopher.
Even if it hurt, it felt good.
When he reached the deepest part, Christopher suddenly held my face and said in a serious tone, “Eve, do you trust me? I won’t make you wait for too long.”
I nodded without hesitation. “My man has always been the strongest being in existence.”
