Chapter 3
William carefully took Yara's hand, almost as if he was afraid she'd pull away.
"Yara, are you going abroad again?" he asked.
Yara glanced at him with a half-smile and said, "Of course. What, you want me to stick around and be your side chick?"
William's eyes brightened, and he blurted out, "No! If you stay, I'll divorce Winnie.
"You know, I only married her just to spite you."
I expected that answer, but my heart still twisted in pain.
If Yara said the word, William would give up everything, even me, the woman who'd loved him for five years.
The next second, William walked over to the bed and dug a box out from the bottom drawer.
My pupils contracted in shock, and I couldn't stop myself from trembling.
William dropped to one knee in front of Yara and opened the box, revealing a diamond ring inside.
He asked, "Yara, will you marry me?
"Just nod, and I can handle any number of Winnies for you!"
Yara toyed with the ring, her face radiating a sense of superiority.
My ears buzzed, and it felt like my flesh was being ripped apart from the inside.
So William already knew I was preparing a diamond ring for him.
My salary was nothing compared to his, but I'd painstakingly saved up month by month just to buy it.
It was a soul-crushing blow.
Did William even have a heart?
Yara slowly slid the ring onto her finger and asked in a calm, almost indifferent tone, "So, when are you divorcing Winnie?"
"I'll call her right now!" William blurted out.
He couldn't hide his excitement. Afraid that Yara might change her mind, he snatched his phone and redialed my number repeatedly.
I was long gone. There was no way I could ever pick up his call.
William's face grew darker, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his phone, teeth clenched in frustration.
He snapped, "Winnie must have figured out what I'm up to and is avoiding me on purpose."
Yara frowned and asked, "So what do we do now?"
As she spoke, she made a move to take off the ring, but William quickly stopped her.
He said, "I've got an idea! This will definitely force her to come back!"
Yara's eyes lit up.
As William took Yara's hand and led her toward my studio, a sense of dread washed over me.
William pointed at the paintings covering the walls, speaking offhandedly, "Let's burn these, one by one. I refuse to believe Winnie, who treats her art like her whole life, won't come running back."
My heart trembled. I stared at him, my mind going completely blank.
There was a hint of malice in Yara's eyes, but she pretended to hesitate. She asked, "Isn't that a bit much?"
William smirked dismissively. He said, "As long as I get to be with you, none of this matters."
With that, he grabbed a painting and flicked open his lighter.
"No, William! You can't do this!" I cried out.
Without thinking, I rushed over, trying to snatch the painting from his hands, but my hand slipped right through it.
"Please, William, don't do this. I'm begging you," I pleaded.
I was completely lost, eyes red and tearful as I begged.
William knew exactly how much these paintings meant to me. Every single one was either for him or my mother.
But he still lit the corner of the painting with a cold, blank face, then tossed it into the fire like he was throwing away trash.
I watched as one painting after another was reduced to ashes in the brazier, my rage slowly fading into numbness.
Suddenly, doubt crept in: Did I ever truly know the man I'd loved for so many years?
William made sure to take a photo and send it to me.
He messaged: [Winnie, if you don't come back, I'll burn every single one of these paintings. Go ahead. Keep hiding in your shell like a turtle.]
My heart didn't even stir.
Just burn them all.
It was all meaningless now.
*****
With every passing moment, the paintings in the studio were disappearing one by one.
William kept glancing at his phone, his expression getting uglier each time.
By now, there was only one painting left in his hands: the one I'd poured three days and nights of my life into.
He had offhandedly praised it once, so I tucked it away in the back, guarding it carefully like it was a treasure.
William stood there, jaw clenched, not flicking the lighter.
I couldn't figure out what was making him pause.
After burning so many, why hesitate over this one?