Clenching the document tightly, Bryce continued to read the information.Abelin was the son of Zorro Gabelman, the founder and largest shareholder of Zorro Auctioneers.Zorro Auctioneers, which was affiliated with Zorro Trading in Jardington, had an annual revenue of tens of billions of dollars and was one of the largest auction houses dealing with antiquities in Jardington.Bryce had never heard of Zorro before, either because he wasn't based in the country or because he kept a low profile.However, it was obvious that the family was swimming in money.Bryce stared at the information and pondered in silence.Three years ago, Holly chose him instead of Abel.At the time, he was paralyzed from the waist down due to the accident, so money was all he had.Holly married him largely because her family needed money, so he assumed Abel was penniless.But based on the information he had now, Abelin, if he were indeed the very same Abel, was in no way penniless.Arthur noticed Bryce,
Figuring out what Holly was doing, Bryce said, "Father called me and told me to give Samantha a ride to the hotel. As soon as she got in, I reminded her I was a married man, so she needed to keep her distance from me to avoid unnecessary problems."During dinner, she wanted to sit with me, and I came up with an excuse to avoid sitting with her. After dinner, Father wanted me to give her a ride home, but I refused him. I'm a loyal man who keeps my boundaries with other women, Holls. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Tobin or check the dashcam footage in my car."It was obvious that he wasn't lying, so Holly's displeasure subsided. In fact, she felt a little moved that he was willing to go against Arthur for her sake. After all, Arthur was his father and the one who determined his future in the family company.Holly hugged Bryce. She wanted to praise him and throw a few romantic comments, but the more she wanted to, the harder it was for her to find the words.She was clueless
Three days later, Annie called Holly and said in excitement, "I've got good news, Holly! All the experts unanimously voted for you to be the restorer in charge of the inpainting for Stanley Warner's Mountain Home! You must be over the moon right now, yeah?"Holly hummed in acknowledgment before asking, "When should I start?"Startled, Annie asked, "I-Is that your only reaction?"Raising her eyebrows, Holly asked, "How else should I react?"Annie's voice became shrill as she exclaimed, "Do you realize you defeated 18 expert imitators from all over the country? They're all the top in the field and highly respected by the museums they work for, and they're all in their 40s at least. Meanwhile, you're only 23, and you've already beaten them all!"Shouldn't you be shouting from the rooftops to celebrate your victory?"Holly let out a few forced laughs of joy before asking, "Will that do?"Annie was dumbfounded. "Anyway, your left hand is still in recovery. Will that affect the inpain
Real antiques were all extremely expensive. The cheaper ones were either fakes or simple crafts.Alas, the world of antiques was not an upright one either.Even after searching through many different antique stores, Holly and Annie came up empty.At last, they came to a classy-looking antique store.Holly walked around, checking out the displays. Eventually, she spotted a pile of scrap paper in a glass display. The largest scrap was only the size of a child's palm. It was impossible to discern what the scraps used to be.Annie noticed Holly staring at the pile of torn scraps, so out of curiosity, she asked the store attendant, "How much for that?"The attendant held two fingers up. "200 thousand dollars."Annie's eyes widened in shock. "200 thousand dollars for a pile of scrap paper? Why don't you rob a bank while you're at it?"Unperturbed, the attendant said with a smile, "That was originally Shadow Scape, a painting by Dorian Hodge. It was damaged in the war. If not for that
In just three days, Holly managed to piece together the painting Shadow Scape by Dorian Hodge. It hadn't been easy for her either, considering how torn up it had been. Once it was all pieced together, she started the restoration process.With great effort, she finally made the painting look flawless again. She was quite pleased with the results.The painting had a solemn and majestic air to it, defined by both its bold colors and simple composition.In terms of concept and composition, Dorian had gone against the conventional styles of painters before him. He skillfully employed various techniques to create a bold yet restrained style with his brushstrokes. The flowers in the painting looked like they were elegantly swaying in the wind, in stark contrast to the trees that were stout and mighty.Now that the painting was fully restored, it was time to find a buyer.Holly called Annie and asked, "Which auction house in Jardington is most reliable?"Annie was flabbergasted. "The p
The employer that the staff member had spoken of was the man Holly saw in the lobby—the one whose eyes looked so similar to Abel's.Holly froze. Now that she saw him up close, his eyes looked exactly the same as Abel's. However, that was the only part of him that looked the same. His nose, face, complexion, and height were all different.The Abel that Holly remembered was a fair and scrawny teenager who looked like he stepped out of a comic book.The man before her now had tanned skin and a muscular physique. His hair was cut short, and his features were bold and defined. Everything about him screamed manliness.Annie's eyes were shining as she muttered, "He's so young and handsome."The man got up from his seat and walked over to them.Holly stood in silence as she stared at his eyes. They looked like the keys to the painful memories she kept locked away—memories that were too painful to even think of.The man approached Holly and held his right hand out as he said respectfully
Although Abelin's voice was different from Abel's, it somehow made Holly feel as though Abel was the one who called out to her.She froze briefly before drying her eyes and turning around to look at Abelin.His handsome face looked nothing like Abel's.Regaining her composure, Holly smiled and asked, "Yes, Mr. Gabelman?"Abelin took out a name card and came over to her. "Here's my name card. Feel free to get in touch with me if you ever need anything.""Okay," Holly said as she took the name card with both hands."We deal with many high-end collectors, including art connoisseurs. Would you be open to helping out if any of our clients wish to hire a restorer?""Of course," Holly replied.Abelin smiled and said, "That's settled, then. I'll call you when I need your help.""Okay," Holly said as she put his name card in her bag.Once Annie and Holly got into the elevator, Annie eyed Holly and remarked, "I get the feeling that you and Mr. Gabelman have something going on. But base
Amused, Bryce stroked Holly's head and said, "You seem very pleased with yourself, Holls.""Is that a compliment or an insult?" Holly huffed."A compliment, of course."Holly rolled her eyes and retorted, "I'm not a fool."She stuffed a piece of steak into Bryce's mouth. Once he chewed and swallowed, he asked, "You sold off the painting you've been restoring the last few days?""Yeah. We found a buyer who liked the painting. We only paid ten thousand dollars for a bunch of scraps, but we managed to sell it off for 12 million dollars! The buyer paid in full right there and then," Holly said."How incredible of you to make a profit of over 11 million dollars with just ten thousand dollars as your initial capital," Bryce praised.Holly set her cutlery down and cleared her throat. Then, she looked at him solemnly and said, "I'm going to earn a lot of money and work hard to be worthy of you."Chuckling, Bryce placed his hand on hers and assured her, "You're more than worthy of me al