Chapter 4

Without a word to Serena, I quickly moved out. After renting a new art studio, I began preparing works for the exhibition. I had left in such a hurry that I forgot many things. Even the last painting my mentor left me before he passed away was still at the studio. I planned to use it as the centerpiece of the exhibition.

When I arrived at Serena’s studio, I searched for a long time but couldn’t find the painting. As I stood there, at a loss, a male voice from nearby caught my attention. “Are you looking for this?”

I turned towards the voice. Jasper Reed was leaning lazily against the wall, holding my mentor’s painting, a provocative smile on his face. “Trash painted by a forgotten art lunatic—only someone like you would treasure it.”

“Oh… I forgot. You haven’t achieved much in all these years, have you? Just living off Serena’s money.”

“No wonder you like this painting so much. Trash belongs with trash!”

Rage flared within me, leaving no room for thought. My fist flew out before I could stop it. One punch landed squarely on Jasper’s mouth, and blood instantly trickled down. He didn’t resist at all, allowing my violence, even fiercely protecting the painting beneath him.

“What are you doing?”

A surprised female voice from behind halted my action. The next second, Serena sprinted over and delivered a swift slap across my face.

“Julian Vance, are you crazy?!”

She used every ounce of her strength, and my cheek instantly swelled up. Serena cradled Jasper’s face with concern, examining it as if it were precious. “Does it hurt? Julian Vance is a maniac, why would you even talk to him?”

Jasper clutched his right hand tightly, squeezing out a few tears. “Serena… my hand hurts so much.”

My fists clenched instantly. When I hit him, I hadn’t even touched his right hand; I’d only aimed for his face. Jasper was clearly trying to set me up!

“Serena, I didn’t touch his hand.”

But she wouldn’t listen. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she screamed like a madwoman. “Julian Vance, I can’t believe how vicious you’ve become! He’s a painter, his hand is his life, do you know that?! And now you’re full of lies! I’m telling you, if anything happens to Jasper’s hand, I’ll break yours to pay for it!”

My heart froze for a moment, and I stood there stunned. In the past, if my hand even got a scratch, Serena would hold it and blow on it for ages, so tenderly. She’d even drag me to the hospital for a check-up if it was almost healed. But now, for another man, she wanted to break my hand.

Anger and resentment surged through my mind, driving me to speak. “He stole my mentor’s painting!”

Serena waved a dismissive hand, completely unconcerned. “So what! It’s just a broken old painting. If he took it, he took it. He could even tear it up if he thought it was ugly, it wouldn’t matter!”

“It’s just a painting, why are you being so petty?”

With that, Serena gave me a hard shove. I lost my balance and fell backward into the studio. The face that had once been so gentle and familiar for years was now hideous. She gritted her teeth and spat out a final word, “Since you love that painting so much, then stay with it.”

“You deserve to reflect on your mistakes.”

*Bang!* The door slammed shut mercilessly. Along with it, my mentor’s painting was tossed inside, like garbage. Just like our five years of shared affection, it was all trash.

I gave a self-mocking smile, enduring the pain in my body, and slowly stood up, leaning on the wall. Serena had locked the door. I started searching the room for a spare key. I didn’t find a key, but I did see the paintings Jasper Reed was supposed to exhibit. I glanced casually, but then I noticed something startling: his paintings were 80% similar to mine! In fact, all of them looked like direct copies of my work.

But he had never seen the paintings I created as The Master, had he?