Chapter 90: The art exhibition
Ethan wasn’t happy at all. "Nicholas! That Baker again?" he hissed. "I am warning you, Ava...Don’t get close to him. You don’t know what he has on his mind."
Ava didn’t like the way Ethan always opposed Nicholas. She couldn’t understand why he had disliked Nicholas so much.
"Ethan!" She interrupted him, desperation creeping into her tone. "I know you are worried about me, and I appreciate that. But I can take care of myself. Nicholas is a friend. He helped me when I needed the most. I know how he is. So don’t be concerned. Even if he has hidden motives to hurt me, I can deal with him on my own."
She pushed herself up on her feet. "I’m a bit tired. I’ll go freshen up first. Stay for the dinner." With that, she grabbed the shopping bags and sauntered into her room.
Ethan remained seated there, seething in rage silently. "What is so good about Nicholas?" he muttered.
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Ava arrived at the art gallery. She was a bit overwhelmed as she looked around the different types of paintings. She knew very little to no about them. The admirers whispered at each other as they inspected each painting with interest. But Ava couldn’t find the familiar person she sought to see.
’Maybe I am a bit early,’ she thought as she tried to focus on the paintings.
A portrait depicting a woman standing in the middle of meadows with her back facing the lookers drew her attention.
Ava moved in closer to it and looked at it with interest. Even she could tell the artist had added much details to craft that portraits – the woman’s poised posture, the way she held her Fedora hat delicately between her thumb and index finger, her flowy summer dress, and the fading afternoon sunlight.
Ava’s head tilted to the side as she watched the woman in the portrait keenly, willing to see her face. For a moment, she had an impression that the painting became alive and the woman’s dress seemed to flow in the air.