Ethan was getting irritated again.
He couldn’t explain this feeling.
Ever since he’d actually started divorcing from Scarlett, this mood had lingered.
He lost interest in the exhibition and was about to step out for a smoke.
Suddenly Summer grabbed his arm excitedly, pulling him toward a painting.
“This artist is from our country, but she’s never shown up in public. Ethan, could you help
me find her?”
Ethan frowned. “Why?”
“I want her to take me as her student. Everyone in our circle thinks she’s a woman, probably older. If she accepted me as her student, I’d become famous overnight!”
Ethan was silent. So she just wanted fame, not actual knowledge.
Even though, he nodded at Summer.
She happily rose on her tiptoes and kissed the corner of his mouth.
Nearby, several staff members carefully carried in a covered painting.
The crowd immediately swarmed around it.
Summer’s eyes widened as she pulled Ethan forward.
The painting was covered with black cloth. The staff members looked unusually solemn.
The gallery director lowered his eyes, hiding his emotions.
“I regret to inform you that this will be R’s final work.”
Everyone gasped in shock.
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> Requests to Countdown My Forever Farewell
“Final? She died?”
“That makes it her legacy piece! Her work will be worth thousands more now!”
The director didn’t answer, pain evident in his eyes.
He turned and slowly unveiled the painting.
The crowd gasped again.
The final painting showed a man from behind.
In the sunset, his shadow stretched long. One hand was in his pocket, the other holding a cigarette.
While everyone admired R+‘s technique, Summer noticed something strange about Ethan.
“Ethan? What’s wrong?”
Ethan’s body trembled uncontrollably. His jaw tightened as his eyes fixed on the wrist of the man in the painting.
That knotted rope was unmistakable.
His throat went dry. He forced his frozen expression to soften as he looked down at
Summer.
“I’m suddenly hungry. I’m craving that rib soup you made for me when I was in the
hospital.”
Summer froze for a second, then smiled naturally.
“Sure! But it’s been years since I last made it, so no whining if it’s not perfect, okay?”
She turned back to stare intently at the famous painting, though her smile seemed stiff.
Ethan’s clenched fist shook uncontrollably.
He had never had any rib soup back then.
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Chapter 13
Summer wasn’t the one who had taken care of him!
Who was it then?
He was afraid to look up. Some answers were obvious.
Yet at the moment of revelation, he feared hearing the truth.
After dropping Summer off at her place, Ethan rushed back to the exhibition.
He burst into the director’s office.
“Where’s the artist? I need to see her!”
The director was startled before realizing who Ethan meant.
He sighed deeply.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Brooks. R+ has passed away.”
Ethan laughed mockingly.
“Impossible! R+… her last name is Reid, isn’t it?”
The director’s eyes widened in surprise.
Seeing this reaction, Ethan confirmed his suspicions.
But there was still so much he didn’t understand.
He frowned. “I need to talk to her. Set up a meeting.”
The director looked puzzled. “If you know her, why not contact her yourself?”
Ethan pressed his lips together. What could he say?
That he couldn’t reach Scarlett? Or that she had blocked his number?
The director gave him an address and phone number.
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Chapter 13
Ethan immediately booked a flight home, making up an excuse to leave Summer abroad
alone.
He had so many questions.
He’d once stumbled into Scarlett’s studio, but he hadn’t cared then. He’d even looked down on her.
He thought she was just copying others, following whatever trend was popular.
He’d stood at the door making cold remarks that her paintings weren’t as good as Summer’s.
She’d shot back, “Get your eyes checked if you’re blind.”
When R+‘s name came up, Ethan instinctively knew it was Scarlett!
The red string in that portrait was from when he lost his sight in the car accident.
Summer had supposedly gotten it for him, crawling up a mountain and praying for it. But
he’d broken it later.
He always thought the string broke because he was forced to marry Scarlett.
He couldn’t choose the person he loved. He felt trapped, unable to escape.
Scarlett, not understanding, had naively gone up the mountain to get another identical
string.
He’d hated that. He’d deliberately cut that red string to pieces in front of her.
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