Chapter 18
She pulled apart from him, her cheeks red. Anna hated to be in the limelight; Joseph knew the probability of her talking to the public was extremely slim.
“I’ll be right out,” Anna said, confidence ringing through her voice. Joseph couldn’t help the shocked expression on his face.
Who was this woman? Because she certainly wasn’t the same Anna he married.
Sean met Joseph’s eyes and frowned as he stared around his face. They have never officially met before, but Joseph knew of him. He wasn’t sure if Sean knew of Joseph.
“Who’s this?” Sean asked, suspicion settling in his voice.
“I’m not sure,” Anna said, breaking her eyes away from Joseph. “Just a lonely fan.”
Relief flooded through Sean’s expression as he laughed lightly.
“Oh good,” he said with a grin as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close.
Without saying anything more, they turned and began walking away. Joseph was left to watch her back leaving.
There was a pain in his chest that he didn’t recognize; it was a pain he’s never felt before.
(Mariana)
It took everything I had to not look back at Joseph as I left him in the exhibit. I wasn’t even sure what to say to him; I was almost glad that Sean interrupted us before any more questions were asked. I could tell he was shocked; Ella was furious. I thought about her small body charging towards me as she screamed in my face. Calling me terrible things as she has for the last 3 years under Joseph’s nose.
Like always, he does nothing to stop her. He just lets her continue bullying me and ridiculing me. She even went as far as trying to call the cops on me for impersonating a painter.
It made sense that their mother wanted to purchase “The Disappearing Back.” She probably could sense that I painted that one during my marriage with Joseph. It was inspired by how I felt during those 3 years. I also knew she was a fan of mine because she had my paintings around her house, but I never told her that I was the one who painted them.
By the time I was done talking to the reporters, I was so exhausted. I didn’t have much energy anymore since Alice went into hibernation. As I thought of Alice and her weakened sleeping state, a painful jab tugged at my heart. It made me remember what a terrible husband Joseph was.
It made me angrier than ever. Alice didn’t deserve to suffer the way she has, and my heart was shattered. It’ll remain shattered until she returns to me.
I looked over at the stage in the center of the festival, which is where I spoke to the reporters. Sean was now on the stage, addressing the reporter’s questions.
“What’s your inspiration for your art pieces?” One of the reporters asked.
He smiled thoughtfully and scanned the crowd until his eyes landed on me. We locked eyes for a long while and I could feel my face heating up with embarrassment. Others were starting to look at me and whispering in curiosity; just what I needed, more rumors.
“My muse is that beautiful woman right there,” he said, pointing at me. My eyes widened and I took a step backward. “I’ve loved her for a long time.” There were gasps around the crowd. “I hope that one day, she will accept me.”
I wasn’t sure what to say at that moment; I wanted to run and hide. This was too embarrassing. I wanted to turn him down kindly; I opened my mouth to finally speak but then my eyes caught Joseph’s.
