Chapter 2

Holly's emotions were all jumbled up, and she didn't know how to answer him.

She turned around slowly and looked at Bryce.

He didn't smile often, but he had a gorgeous smile when he did. It was as gentle as a spring breeze, and his eyes were as dark as ink but bright as if there were a sea of stars in them.

He must be elated because he was about to be with the love of his life.

Holly smiled, too, but hers was the smile of the heartbroken.

"I hope you're happy, too," she said. Then, she turned and got into the car.

The moment the car door closed, tears trickled out of her eyes. She felt as if old wounds had been ripped open before she could even recover from the newest blow, and it made her want to curl up in pain.

The driver put her suitcase into the trunk, got in, and started the engine.

Bryce watched the car speed off, and his smile stiffened as the light in his eyes grew dim.

…

Holly reached the Sinclair residence and entered, dragging her suitcase behind her.

Priscilla Saxon saw her red and swollen eyes and was even more shocked when she saw the suitcase in her hand. "Sweetie, what's going on?"

Holly bent down to take off her shoes. She tried her best to stay calm as she said, "Mom, I'm moving back in."

Priscilla shot up from the couch. "You're going to live separately from Bryce?"

"Yes. His ex-girlfriend is back."

Priscilla was furious. "Three years ago, Bryce got into a car accident. The doctors said that he would be wheelchair-bound for life, and his ex-girlfriend just dumped him and left!

"You were the one who accompanied him around the country and abroad to find doctors and treatment! You massaged his legs, helped him with physiotherapy, and looked after him day and night like a nanny!

"Now he can run and jump again, and that woman returns? The audacity of her! Bryce, too! How could he abandon you for the sake of such a heartless woman? Is he blind?"

Holly bent down and took out the check from her suitcase. She stuffed it into Priscilla's hand. "This is the compensation he gave me."

Priscilla stared at the string of zeros on the check, and her eyes widened. There were eight zeros on the check!

Her expression relaxed slightly. "This isn't about money. Does having money mean that you can treat people this way?"

Holly lowered her eyes and said softly, "There are many couples who get divorced because the man refuses to give even a penny and even tries to cheat the woman. Some men even kill their wives to avoid the division of assets. In comparison, Bryce is okay."

"Can you accept this though?"

Holly smiled bitterly. "What else can I do? Cry and make a fuss? Threaten to commit suicide? Would making a scene be of any use? It's no use at all. His heart isn't with me, and there's no point in forcing him to stay.

"Mom, I'm tired. I want to go and sleep."

"Go on." Priscilla sighed and looked at her tenderly.

Holly had always been a considerate person. It made her feel bittersweet.

Holly turned and went up to her bedroom.

She slept for two days and two nights.

It scared Priscilla so much that she went in from time to time to check if Holly was still breathing.

The truth was that Holly didn't sleep much. She just didn't want to move and didn't feel hungry. Her limbs felt leaden and weak, and she felt as if there was a chunk missing from her heart.

She felt as sad as if the world had come crashing down around her.

On the third day, Holly forced herself to get up.

She washed up and called Bryce. "Have you prepared the divorce agreement? When are we going to go through with the proceedings?"

Bryce was silent for a moment before he said, "I'm on a business trip. We'll talk when I'm back."

"Alright. I'm going to work. Call me in advance before we need to go."

"You've already found a job? Where?" He asked in concern.

"At an antique shop. They've been asking me to come and work with them for a long time."

"Don't work too hard. If you need money, just tell me." His voice was low and gentle. It sounded like moonlight, and it made her want to linger.

Holly's heart wrenched, and she said distantly, "I don't lack money. Thank you."

After breakfast, Holly took a cab to Treasure Grove.

The person who greeted her was Hayden Seales, the young owner of the shop.

He wore a pale blue shirt and khaki pants. He was tall and slender and looked clean-cut, with a gentle air to him.

When he had introduced Holly to everyone, he brought her upstairs to introduce her to an experienced appraiser of antiques, Shane Cox.

"Mr. Cox, this is Holly, the heir to the mantle of the 'Legendary Restorer,' Mr. Sinclair Senior. Her specialty is in restoring old texts and paintings.

"She will be the restorer of cultural relics at our shop from now onward. If there's anything that you aren't sure about, you can discuss it with her."

Shawn was almost 60 years old, and he looked at Holly through his spectacles.

She was just a 20-something young woman. How could she be a restorer of cultural relics?

He was still an apprentice when he was at her age.

Hayden spoke so highly of her and even had the audacity to tell Shawn to consult her.

Shawn agreed on the surface, but he was actually extremely offended!

When Hayden had left, he asked Holly, "Holly, you're so young. How long have you been working?"

Holly smiled lightly. "Around ten years."

Shawn found it hard to believe her. "How old are you now?"

"23 years old."

Shawn felt that she was boasting. He would show her the real deal.

This industry relied on true skill, and no one would be able to talk their way out of things.

As they were talking, one of the workers came upstairs to ask for them.

Holly and Shawn went downstairs.

They saw a man who was around 30 years old holding an old, dirty painting in his hand. He was asking if it could be restored.

Shawn glanced at it.

Could it still be called a painting? It was black, tattered, wrinkled, and covered with holes where the bugs had gotten to it.

With this level of damage, only the best restorers in the country would have a chance at restoring it.

Shawn looked triumphantly at Holly. "Holly, everyone's looking at you. Don't disappoint them."

Holly walked over and inspected the painting. She said to the customer, "It can be restored."

The customer was delighted to hear this. "Who's going to restore it? How long will it take?"

"Me. It will take three days."

"You?" The customer looked at Holly, who seemed to be in her 20s and looked fresh and radiant. He was full of doubt.

"This is an authentic antique from one of the 'Four Kings' at the end of the Monclair era and near the beginning of the Selan era! Bidding for it starts at one million dollars. Don't ruin it!"

Everyone looked doubtfully at Holly. Three days?

Wasn't that too confident of her?

Shawn smacked his lips and stroked his mustache as he said, "Holly, young people shouldn't be so impulsive. It's good to be confident, but make sure it's within your capabilities.

"If you ruin it, the reputation of Treasure Grove will be harmed. With this level of damage to the artifact, even an expert restorer wouldn't dare say that it could be restored within three days. All of them need at least a few months, or even years, to restore an old painting!"

He was hinting that Holly was overconfident in her abilities!

She said firmly, "Three days is enough. If I ruin it, I'll repay you twice the current market price."

The customer had wanted to restore it to auction it off, so he was delighted to hear her proposal and accepted it immediately. "We need this in writing. Let's sign a contract."

"Alright."

When the price had been estimated and the contract signed, Holly took the old painting up to the restoration room.

She pushed open the door and saw that there were two wooden tables inside, which were painted red and were half as tall as an average person.

Several tools for restoration were laid out on the table, including fine paintbrushes, palette knives, cotton swabs, goat hair brushes, and parchment. It was a very complete set.

There were four main steps in the restoration of old paintings. The four steps consisted of washing, revealing, repairing, and completing.

Holly asked a worker to boil a kettle of water, and she began to rinse the painting with a brush dipped in warm water.

She did every step very carefully.

Not only did she have to wash the dirt and smears off, but she also couldn't let the water flow damage the fragile fibers of the canvas.

It was easy in theory but difficult to carry out.

Luckily, she had watched her grandfather restore old paintings since she was a little girl and was already trained in all these movements.

Bryce's grandparents were also avid antique collectors, and for the past two years, Holly had done almost all the restoration work for their old paintings.

She had even restored paintings that were even older and more damaged than the current one she was working on.

Time was tight, so Holly was extremely busy for the next few days.

It was good to be busy.

She could forget about Bryce when she was busy.

It made her sadness seem to fade.

Three days later, the customer came to pick up the painting.

Holly brought the restored old painting to the first floor.

The customer was shocked when he saw how different the painting looked. "Is this the painting that I brought here? You didn't switch it with another one, did you?"

Shawn, the shop manager, and the workers all hurried over in shock.

There was an undulating mountain range in the painting. The peaks were steep and treacherous, and the mountains were covered with lush greenery. It was extremely realistic.

Was this really the old painting that had been as tattered and dirty as an old rag? They hadn't even been able to make out what was on it.

Holly said impassively, "You can test its authenticity with equipment."

When it had been examined, the customer gave Holly a thumbs-up and paid the bill. He left with the painting in satisfaction.

From there, the news spread.

The entire street of antiques knew that Treasure Grove had a new, young, and beautiful old painting restorer.

She was only in her 20s, but she had the skills of a national restorer!

That evening, Bryce called. "I'm parked in front of the shop entrance. Come out."

Holly's heart quickened at the sound of the familiar voice.

She looked at her watch and said softly, "It's almost dark. There's no time to go to the city hall now. Can we go tomorrow morning?"

Bryce was silent for a moment. "Granny wants to see us. She says that it's very important."