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Chapter 10

Author: John Rose
last update Last Updated: 2024-01-31 18:33:51

“Wow, this is beautiful,” someone commented behind me, bringing me back to reality from my world of imagination.

I turned around to see my best friend, Dianne. She was standing behind me, gazing at my drawing with fascination.

“You never cease to amaze me with your art, Callie,” she added again.

My cheeks heated up with a blush.

“Thanks, Dianne.”

Her compliments are one of those things that gave me the morale to keep doing this artwork especially when I had to hide it from my father who was against me doing anything related to art.

“This is totally different from your other drawing,”

“I was surfing the internet and I decided to go through some renowned artwork, and then I came across this specific art and it just stuck. So I decided to try out something new. I never knew it would turn out this well.”

“Well, it did because it's you. You are good at this. Don't worry with time, the whole world will eventually get to see all these beautiful collections of yours,” she assured me confi
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  • The Billionaire's Canvas of Secret    Chapter 12

    Still lost in my own thoughts, I barely noticed the figure that approached me from behind. “It's beautiful, right?” a voice asked from behind me. I was a little startled, and I turned around to see Sterling, my fiance, standing behind me with a glass of wine in his hand. His presence was unexpected and it surprised me. How did he even find me? I thought. “Sorry,” he apologized softly, looking at me with an apologetic expression. He must have noticed that I was shocked. “You surprised me,” I mentioned with a small frown on my face. Then I dropped my hand from my chest. “Sorry again,” he said again. And I simply nodded, averting my gaze back to the garden. “You're right. It's beautiful,” I answered his question after a couple of seconds of silence. “This garden belongs to my mother. She loved them just as much as she loved us,” Sterling stated. His voice has a hint of sadness and longing in it. And I had to turn to look at him. He was staring at the garden with a mix of regr

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  • The Billionaire's Canvas of Secret    Chapter 13

    I stared at my reflection in front of the long ornate mirror. Today, I was having my fitting with my groom-to-be, but he is yet to show himself. So I was alone at the fitting shop with my best friend, Dianne, and step-sister, Erica who decided to come along with me. At the moment, I was dressed in a white breathtaking wedding gown, paid for by my fiancé's family. I didn't actually expect less from them, knowing how wealthy they were. The gown was impeccable. An ethereal masterpiece, crafted with delicate lace that cascaded down my figure, clinging to my curves in all the right places. The bodice was meticulously adorned with intricate beading, shimmering in the soft, flattering light. A flowing train extended behind me. “Oh, my God! Your gown is beautiful on you,” Erica awed as she stepped into the fitting room. “You look so gorgeous!” Her eyes were wide open in sheer admiration as she stared at my dress.My step-sister, Erica was always an embodiment of love and support and if

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    Simply do what?” a voice asked from behind, and my heart skipped a beat at the now familiar voice of Sterling. As I and Kyle both turned around, Sterling was walking in with his usual confident and commanding stance, hands tucked inside his pocket and an impassive expression masking his face. I was both relieved to see him at the same time, scared of what he might do. Here was my fiance and my ex-boyfriend in the same room. I wasn't sure what would happen. Because now, Sterling had his gaze narrowed on Kyle. Even Kyle didn't fail to notice his expression. Also, Sterling had a towering height that seemed threatening to Kyle's average height. Kyle suddenly stood upright, the desperate and pleading expression suddenly wiped off his face the moment he locked eyes with Sterling. “Hello, Mr. Vanderbilt,” he greeted in a polite tone. “I've heard a lot about you. It's such an honor to meet you in person,” he said with a grin on his face. I was a little confused at the quick change of e

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    When I looked up at him, the expression on his face made my heart skip a bit. Sterling was angry. His expression showed that much and his jaw and muscles seemed tense.I was about to speak up first to debunk any idea that might be in his head, but he beat me to it. “Why did you let him in?” His question stopped my attempt at defense. A sigh escaped my lips as I tried to be calm. Nothing would come out from the both of us getting angry. “I didn't have a choice,” I answered. “You don't have a choice?” Sterling sneered. His face was etched with exasperation. This was the first time that I was seeing this angry exasperated Sterling. And honestly, I don't think that I like this side of him. “What do you expect me to do when he comes unannounced?”“Why would he come here unannounced?” he asked, rhetorically and then answered his own question. “That's because he knew that you won't send him away.”“What? That's not true.”“Then tell me the truth.”“You are not even sure about that,

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    The room, once filled with tension and the echoes of our heated argument now seemed to hold its breath. The weight of our disagreement lingered in the air. My wedding dress was still draped elegantly around me, like a delicate veil. I turned away from Sterling towards the mirror. I decided to look at myself once more since I would be taking off the dress soon. Delicately, I gently touched the lace of the dress on me. I lifted my gaze from the dress and looked up at the mirror, but I caught Sterling staring at me. Our eyes locked on the mirror. And neither of us broke the eye contact. As our eyes met, I saw a myriad of emotions swirling in the depths of his gaze. The flicker of anger had dimmed, giving way to a mixture of regret, longing, and a hint of vulnerability. His lips, once tightly pursed, now carried a trace of softness, as if he yearned to reach out to me. In that fleeting connection, I caught a glimpse of the complexities buried beneath the facade of our arranged engag

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    “You think I want to be with you too.”His statement felt like a slap to my face. Suddenly, I felt a rush of emotions as his words hit my ears. I must say that his statement did touch a nerve. I don't know why, but it hurt like hell. I felt tears pooled at the back of my eyes. His statement just confirmed my thoughts about the conversation which I overheard him having with his grandmother. Sterling continued, oblivious to my feelings. “I don't want to be here either. I hate that I had to lie to my grandparents. I hate the fact that I yelled at my grandmother just because of you. You mean nothing to me and you seem to be forgetting that. So you better watch what you say and stop acting up,” he warned. He seems mad. His jaw was clenched tightly and his brows furrowed deeply in the middle in exasperation. “I am acting up?” I asked as tears threatened to fall from my eyes. But I fought the urge to do so. “You think I am acting up.”“Then explain all this?” he said, gesturing with hi

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    After a couple of minutes into our food, Grandpa Chris spoke up asking me, “How do you both meet, Callie?”Both I and Sterling exchanged a surprised look. We haven't thought about that. So we don't have any plan on what to say. I raised my gaze to see the couples staring at us expectantly for our response. His grandmother had a narrowed gaze at me. This was unavoidable. I exchanged a look with Sterling, hoping he would be the first one to talk. But he didn't seem like he would respond. So, I let out a deep breath. “We met at the mall,”“We met at an art exhibition,” both I and Sterling chorused and the two couples looked at us with quirked brows.I couldn't blame them. Both of our simultaneous answers were contradicting. I exchanged a suppressed annoyed look with Sterling. He shrugged a shoulder and then plastered a sweet smile on his face. And I felt like hitting him in the face. But I held myself back. “I actually first saw Callie at a mall,” he spoke up before I could say an

  • The Billionaire's Canvas of Secret    Chapter 23

    Then she said something that left me utterly confused and dumbfounded. “She is not Julie Stewart!”Julie Stewart! Who is Julie Stewart?I asked myself internally. And I turned my gaze toward Sterling, silently pleading for some kind of answer. Who was his grandmother expecting instead of me? But he didn't look my way. He was looking at his grandmother. But the expression on his face has changed. He wasn't looking pleased. “No, Nana. She isn't. This is Calliope, the woman I love and whom I am engaged with.”“But, Sterling…”“Let's not talk about that, Grandma,” he said, his voice pleading as he stared at her in the eyes. The woman seemed to understand and she sighed before nodding. I saw a look of relief wash over Sterling's face before he turned to peer at me. He flashed me a small smile despite me staring at him with a confused expression. I was in the dark. “So you are my grandson's fiancée?”“Y-yes, ma. I and Sterling are in love and he…”“I didn't ask for any story.”“Oh,”

  • The Billionaire's Canvas of Secret    Chapter 22

    The first thing that caught my eye was the back of a woman in a long beautiful dress whose grey hair was packed tightly into a ponytail at the top of her head. Even from her backview, she exuded authority.She was staring at what the maids were doing at the dining table. While still backing us, she spoke up again, her eyes not leaving what the ladies were doing. “Honey, hurry up, Sterling will be here anytime soon.” Then she looked at her watch. “Alright. I've heard you,” the other voice responded. The voice sounded close by. So I guessed it must have been coming from one of the rooms that surround the dining area. “I guess that must be your grandmother,” I said in a whisper to Sterling. I don't even know why I was whispering. Then I looked at Sterling's face. He had a smile on his face as he watched the woman. “Yes,” he responded, with a proud smile. Then he shifted his gaze to me. “Remember what I said to you. We can't let them know that this is an arranged setting. Okay?”“

  • The Billionaire's Canvas of Secret    Chapter 21

    “What do you want to know?” he asked without looking at me. I shrugged before responding. “Anything. Any clue about them because I don't know if they have an idea that our engagement is an arranged one and-”“No, they don't,” he retorted. I peered at him, but he wouldn't spare a glance. “It's just between our families. My grandparents aren't supposed to know about it.”“Oh, okay.”I nodded in understanding. The same goes with me. I couldn't tell other members of my family and my friends that I was getting married to a billionaire through an arranged marriage by our fathers.It sounds weird to the ear, doesn't it?Sterling added, “That means one thing-”“We have to pretend better,” I completed. He turned to look at me. It was probably because I just said what he had in mind. Then he nodded in concord. Fortunately, we are both on the same page with that. “Yes, you are right. We have to act well for them to believe that we are truly in love. Grandma Ellen and Grandpa Chris are the k

  • The Billionaire's Canvas of Secret    Chapter 20

    As I stepped into the outside sun of my apartment, into the bustling city street, a smile curled up my face. And right then, my eyes fell on a figure standing amidst the chaos of everyday life. My fiance and groom-to-be, Sterling Vanderbilt. Immediately, my mouth fell wide agape. Oh, my God! I exclaimed inwardly. There he was standing, looking handsome as ever, his presence commanding attention. He looked totally different from the guy I knew who always wore a suit. This different Sterling was dressed in a burgundy short-sleeved shirt which accentuated his well-built physique and impeccably tucked into his black trousers. A mix of black and burgundy Italian dress shoes on his feet. He effortlessly exuded an air of confidence and sophistication. My gaze was drawn to his dark, lustrous hair, which was well gelled and combed which perfectly framed his attractive features. And then to his face. He wore black sunglasses which adorned his face, adding an air of mystery and intrigu

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