Chapter 2

Julian probably never imagined I'd dare hang up on him.

Immediately, a barrage of calls followed.

I blocked and deleted his number. The world was finally quiet.

I didn't even need to think; he must be absolutely furious right now.

"Ms. Skylar, you personally orchestrated your husband's sculpture exhibition, shouldn't Mr. Julian come up and say a few words..."

Looking at the swarm of reporters below the opening ceremony, I offered a faint smile:

"He's dead. Can't make it. Please feel free to look around."

Ignoring the crowd stunned by the news of his 'death,' I stepped down and checked my phone, only to see a new message pop up in the buyers' group.

Julian had invited Chloe into the group chat.

Chloe, the 'muse,' tagged everyone:

"My hand slipped, and I posted something inappropriate on Mr. Julian's SnapChat. So sorry if it caused any trouble."

Hah.

That apology, was it truly sincere?

I let out a cold laugh.

Julian immediately posted in the group:

"We were engaged in normal artistic creation. You don't need to apologize, only those who don't understand art would get the wrong idea!"

Seeing the man himself openly defending his 'muse,' the buyers, who were scrambling for sculptures, stopped lurking and quickly chimed in with support:

"Don't blame yourself, Miss Model, no need to apologize. After all, there's probably only one petty person in this entire group, no need to pay her any mind."

"Exactly! Thanks to Miss Chloe, we get to see Master Julian in such glorious form!"

"Master Julian, why don't you just sculpt a nude pair of the two of you? I'll pre-order it, price is negotiable!"

Over the past two years, his sculptures had been hyped up to astronomical prices, and not one could be found. The buyers in the group were too busy praising Julian to do anything else, so of course, they sided with Chloe.

If putting me down could earn them the master's favor and a sculpture, they'd happily go all out.

Even though more than half the buyers in the group were my connections, they still fawned over Chloe.

What could I do? Julian was the sculpting master, and Chloe was his new darling he wanted to promote.

And I, a mere art academy teacher and his agent, was, at best, just a glorified, love-blinded assistant.

Gritting my teeth, I exhaled slowly, put away my phone, and dutifully surveyed the exhibition hall.

I'd only walked a few steps when Chloe FaceTimed me, her tone utterly impolite:

"Skylar, Professor Julian said to return home as soon as the exhibition is over to rough-sculpt our new piece."

"Let him sculpt it himself!"

I laughed in anger.

Every time Julian claimed inspiration, he'd make me rough-sculpt the plaster according to his ideas, and then he'd do the fine carving and polishing.

I understood his 'hard work,' so I always helped him with those menial tasks.

Had he gotten addicted to using me?

Chloe's voice dripped with arrogance:

"But Professor Julian and I will both be completely nude models..."

My face darkened, and I frowned: "What do you mean?"

"It's that explicit, dual-pose sculpture the buyer in the group pre-ordered. Professor Julian agreed, he said he wants you to sculpt it for us. Skylar, can you come home quickly? The buyer is pushing for it," Chloe said, her voice dripping with insolence.

I felt a wave of powerlessness, like I couldn't slap her through the screen.

Was it the buyer who specifically requested an explicit sculpture, or did Chloe just want to stir something up with her art academy professor?

When Julian needed a model, Chloe had shamelessly begged and pleaded with me until I hired her.

Out of consideration for her being a student, I even made sure she had some coverings, and to ease her fear, I was always present during Julian's sculpting sessions.

Yet, she just kept shedding more and more, even getting Julian to strip with her.

Now she wanted me to sculpt their live explicit art?

"Julian didn't tell me about this. I can't do that job. Besides, I'm very busy in Paris. If the buyer is in a hurry, tell his assistant to sculpt it for you. His skills are better than mine!"

With that, I hung up before she could reply, then blocked her number again.

It was laughable. Did Julian even remember I was his wife? Making me watch their live erotic scene? Purely to disgust me.

A surge of pent-up frustration with nowhere to vent, I went to the restroom and splashed water on my face.

Just as I came out, the venue manager trotted over, holding his phone up:

"Ms. Skylar, Mr. Julian is calling you."

That persistent pest... Knowing Julian was bound to explode again, I took the call but didn't bring it to my ear.