My Husband Painted Her Nude

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 fiance'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!

I searched online for a private investigator, frantic.

I had to know what he'd done behind my back.

"Julian Thorne?" the voice on the other end chuckled. "Too hot to handle!

"And your family, the Vances? Also way too hot to handle. I'll give you an address. Consider it...an apology gift."

Even he knew?

I desperately wanted to throw that lingerie in Julian's face and confront him!

But reason told me he'd have a hundred excuses.

I decided to go to that address and see for myself first.

I had just disposed of the lingerie.

Julian appeared in the doorway.

"Alexa, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

I turned my back to him, pouring tea, so he wouldn't see the fury on my face.

"Nothing. It's handled."

He let out a sigh of relief, then asked, "Mrs. Jenkins mentioned a strange package?"

My grip on the teacup tightened.

"Seraphina? Never heard of them. Must've been a mistake, so I just tossed it. Should I try to retrieve it?"

He managed a weak smile.

"No, that's alright."

That night, he held me from behind. His hand stroked my skin, his breathing turning urgent.

But I kept staring at the pale outline on the wall. Images flashed- the model, the nudes, the lingerie...

"I'm tired."

Julian stilled. Then his touch withdrew, and he turned his back to me.

A long silence stretched before he spoke again.

"I have a business trip tomorrow. A week. Take care of yourself."

"Okay."

The next day, I timed it perfectly and drove to the address the detective had given me.

At the alley entrance, I asked a lady for directions.

She frowned.

"Oh, those two!

"They just mess around all day, running an art shop that never seems to get any business, but they don't care.

"Always all over each other, hugging and kissing, then disappearing into the back. Who knows what they're up to. It's scandalous!"

My feet felt like they were cast in lead as I trudged deeper into the alley.

From a distance, I saw Julian sitting under a tree, fiddling with his paintbrushes.

His hair was loose, swaying in front of his eyes, and the top two buttons of his oversized shirt were undone.

He was a completely different person from the Julian I knew.

I realized, this was Julian Blake, the artist!

Just as I was lost in thought, a woman emerged from the shop.

I recognized her instantly: Seraphina Blake, the nude model from the painting.

Her hair was casually tied back, wearing the same white shirt, her collarbone subtly peeking out.

She leaned in, whispering something into Julian's ear.

The flush on her cheeks was visible even from where I stood.

Julian pulled her into his arms, looking as excited as a a stray dog.

Seraphina's collar slipped, revealing a familiar strip of lace.

Then, Julian swept her into his arms and carried her into the shop.

I felt the blood drain from my feet, slowly ebbing away.

I don't know how long I stood there, frozen.

When I came to, I was already inside the shop.

It was all Seraphina; he had filled the entire gallery with her.

In the oil paintings, she was clearly a woman deeply loved.

Compared to my formal, almost stiff portrait, mine looked pathetic and ridiculous.

I continued further in. It was a shop with living quarters in the back.

In the living room, their Polaroid photos were scattered everywhere, each with a handwritten caption.

"She called him after a car accident, a fractured bone, but a rare orchid was about to bloom, and if he missed it, he'd have to wait another year."

"On their wedding anniversary, he said he hated 'performing love,' and he came here to be with me instead."

Before I could even swallow my tears, clear, intimate sounds drifted from the bedroom.

So this was his "best arrangement"!

A CEO bound by duty and convention, but also an uninhibited, wild artist.

Weak-kneed, I leaned against the wall, the sounds hammering at my heart, escalating from pain to fury, then to bitter resentment.

I wanted to burst through that door, rip at her hair hysterically, and demand to know why?

But then what?

In a lull of their passion, I heard voices.

"Alexa Vance found your portrait."

"Oh? She'll hate me."

"I made up an excuse. She'll probably believe it.

"Even if she doesn't, she'll just look away. That's the nature of our...transaction."

"Giving her that painting was an impulse."

"But when she found it...I felt a thrill of revenge."

He was wrong. I had loved him. I had cared.

My sincerity had been a target for his betrayal.I would not look away.

Though, at this very moment, that sincerity had abruptly died.

Seraphina seemed to be sobbing.

"If it weren't for me, would you have been able to accept her? You wouldn't have been so miserable then."

"She's a good woman, but I needed an escape for my soul."

I gave a bitter laugh in my heart. What a pair of star-crossed lovers.

Julian, you greedy coward! You didn't dare defy your father, but you had the gall to take it out on me?

I left the alley and drove to his father's estate.

"Your son is cheating, and you forced him into it."

He stopped pruning a branch, his expression showing no surprise.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it 'cheating' exactly. This was his condition for marrying you and taking over the corporation.

"That woman hiding in that little shop won't affect you.

"Julian needs an outlet when he's under pressure, and she can take some of the burden off you.

"This is a critical period for the corporation's growth. Don't let him get distracted, don't bother him with these things.

"Remember, our two families rise and fall together.

"As the adopted daughter of the Vance family, your most important duty is to be grateful and repay that kindness.

"Just pretend these little romantic dramas don't exist.

"I won't tell Julian you were here today, either."

Just because I'm the adopted daughter of the Vance family, you think you can deceive and manipulate me like an idiot?!

I clenched my fists and nodded.

"I understand, Dad."

After leaving, I immediately called my brother, Cameron.

"Can you come home?"

"What, is the old man finally calling me back to inherit the family fortune?

"Tell him I'm making more money than him now, I'm not coming back.

"But your voice... what's wrong? Were you just crying?"

Cameron had been very rebellious as a teenager, running off abroad and refusing to return.

He didn't even show up for my wedding.

Dad, furious, cut off all contact with him.

Outside, rumors even circulated that he was dead.

"I've been wronged."

"I'll be right back. Whatever you need, I'll help you."

Seven days later, Julian returned, almost giddy with excitement.

"I want to introduce you to someone. But promise me you won't get angry, okay?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Seraphina Blake casually walked through the door, a subtle smirk playing on her lips.

How dare they?!

Before I could react, Julian pulled me down onto the sofa, kneeling in front of me.

"I know because of that painting, you might see her as a rival.

"But I brought her back solely to secure investment from Maplewood Venture Capital.

"Her brother knows Maplewood's controlling stakeholder."

All of this was my plan. That mysterious controlling stakeholder was my brother.

I just never expected him to bring Seraphina directly to me!

"You've been in contact with her this whole time?"

Julian clearly had his story ready.

"I ran into her by chance during my business trip.

"Maplewood is holding a large art exhibition here and will be looking for excellent art investment companies to inject capital into.

"She told me all about it."

Seraphina seized the opportunity to walk over to me.

"Alexa, for art students, these things are nothing out of the ordinary.

"Me standing naked in front of him was no different to him than those plaster statues.

"Please don't misunderstand us because of that painting and jeopardize Julian's career."

No different to him than those plaster statues.?The memory from the alley flashed back.

Julian composed himself and squeezed my hand. "There's one more thing," he said, his tone deliberate.

"I need Seraphina to stay here. Too many eyes are on this project. I have to ensure perfection."

His gaze held its usual, practiced sincerity.

Julian,?I thought,?you must be so tired from all this acting.

"Of course," I heard myself say. "The bigger picture is more important."

A swift, furtive glance passed between them.

I swallowed the bitterness and told myself to treat it as exposure therapy.

In the days that followed, I felt like a ghost in my own home.

The brief eye contact across the dinner table, the accidental brush of shoulders on the stairwell...

I saw everything.

It must be so hard for you to hold back, Julian.

I'll make sure you both get exactly what you deserve.