Chapter 1

My husband, Julian Thorne, was an artist. I took a portrait he had painted of me to a studio for restoration.

A staff member pointed to a patch of chipped paint.

"There appears to be another painting beneath."

After special processing, a hidden nude was revealed.

The room gasped in amazement.

Even as an amateur, I could feel the intense passion burning from the canvas.

It was just a shame the woman in the artwork wasn't me.

With trembling fingers, I took a photo and sent it to Julian.

"Who is she?"

"Just come home. I'll explain everything when you get here."

I walked into our bedroom in a daze and sank onto the edge of the bed.

The pale outline on the wall, where his painting once hung, was a stark accusation.

For five years, a nude of another woman had hung in our bedroom.

And Julian had done it on purpose?

The front door opened, followed by hurried footsteps.

I turned to Julian. He looked flustered.

"Alexa, I should have told you sooner. Many art students reuse canvases this way."

"This was just an old practice piece. It was thoughtless. I'm sorry."

So, art students typically paint over their fiancée's portrait with another woman's nude?

Seeing I was still upset, he knelt before me, cupped my face, and gently kissed my forehead.

"Don't overthink this. What we have right now is the best arrangement."

Looking into his earnest eyes, I didn't want to jeopardize our relationship over baseless suspicions. So, I said no more.

But the next day, a gnawing unease still lingered.

Our marriage was always one of convenience. I knew only that he had studied art at the academy.

After taking over Thorne Corporation, he'd given up painting.

He was loving after our marriage, and I never questioned anything more.

But this painting stirred too many unsettling thoughts.

I couldn't shake the feeling of an undeniable, tangled connection between them.

Instead of guessing, I needed answers.

I sent the picture of the nude model I'd taken yesterday to a friend from the art academy.

"She used to be a model at our school."

I breathed a small sigh of relief.

Then, he added, his voice dropping.

"Since you asked, I'll just say it.

"She was also your husband's girlfriend back then."

My mind went completely blank!

Julian had hung his ex-girlfriend's portrait in our bedroom for five whole years!

I couldn't make out what else he was saying. Mechanically, I hung up the phone.

Then, with trembling hands, I messaged Julian: "Something's come up. Come home."

As soon as I arrived home, Mrs. Jenkins, the housekeeper, handed me a package.

"It had Mr. Thorne's phone number on it, so I signed for it.

"But the name on it read, 'Julian's Seraphina.'"

Julian's Seraphina? Julian loves Seraphina Blake?

My scalp tingled with dread!

They were still together?!

I held my breath, slowly opening this Pandora's Box.

What I found inside sent a shiver of disgust down my spine.

It was a set of truly provocative, sexy lingerie!

I thought of Julian's perfectly composed demeanor, his image as the ideal gentleman.

Anger, humiliation, surged through my chest!