Reclaiming Her Heart

The room became very quiet. Raymond's hand, which was pressing on his temples, paused for a moment, and he looked up at her. Selena finished speaking and seemed to realize that being alone in a room with a man could lead to inappropriate thoughts.

She smiled and said, "I was just joking." Raymond looked at her and really wanted to know if she was this proactive with other men, and whether her husband was aware of her deviant behaviors..

He lowered his gaze, and his tone became far from polite. "Get out." Selena thought he didn't like contact with the opposite sex and wanted to maintain his purity for the Stone family. "I have no intention for anything else, Mr. Montague, then please have a good rest." She said as she hastily left.

She really didn't mean anything else, she just did it out of her work habit to offer help to needed client so as to win his or her favor. Raymond still hasn't replied or made any suggestions about the sketch plans.

Although she was always confident in her work, this person not saying a word made her start to feel uncertain about the whole thing.

Selena returned to her room, changed her clothes, put the paint-stained shirt in a basin, scrubbed it a few times with minimal pressure as she had promised, washed it twice with clean water to make sure there were no stains left, and then hung it by the window to dry.

After doing all this, she returned to where she was before and washed the brushes and palette, and began to mix the colors again. Then she returned to the white wall and continued painting the rest.

Inspiration, once it comes, must be seized quickly, she thought. Otherwise she could not guarantee its presence if she slept overnight, feelings and thoughts often change in art.

Selena painted very seriously for a while. The light from the night illuminating her right hand attracted a few moths, but other than that, everything was quiet.

At three o'clock in the morning, she rubbed her eyes in exhaustion and decided to wash her face to wake herself up.

As she walked past the circular arch near the washstand, she saw a slender figure leaning on the railing of the traditional Chinese corridor in the courtyard. He seemed to be deep in thought, holding a cigarette between his fingers. The man's expression exuded casualness mixed with a hint of tiredness, but also carried a sense of distance that made people feel his presence.

She couldn't remember if she had ever seen him smoke, but in this beautiful scene, surrounded by pavilions and towers, with the moon high in the sky, and the corridor gleaming like water, she couldn't bear to disturb the tranquility. Raymond flicked the ash off his cigarette with his fingertips and casually watched the artificial mountain and flowing water in the courtyard.

He had held a disciplined sleep schedule for all these years, but tonight he couldn't sleep.

Hearing footsteps near the arch, he couldn't help but look up, catching a glimpse of a figure disappear around the corner.

Raymond raised an eyebrow slightly he extinguished his cigarette, and walked toward the direction he had seen the movement.

Selena was already back in front of the white wall. There was bound to be some noise when she turned on the faucet, and even the slightest sound could disturb the person over there. She had only hoped that the cold water would quickly wake her up, but her overwhelming drowsiness seemed to vanish instantly.

She smiled and painted faster.

Just half an hour later, as she put the brush back into the paint palette, she suddenly heard a voice in her ear.

"They sent you here?" Raymond asked with a hint of curiosity.

Selena was caught off guard making her heart skip a beat, she turned her head and saw Raymond less than a meter away.

"Mr. Montague, do you know that this is enough to scare someone to death?"

Probably because he had just smoked, there was still a faint smell of smoke on him, mixed with the scent of pine trees from the wooded area, giving the night a touch of chilliness.

With the breeze blowing, it seemed to cling to the skin, unable to be wiped away.

Raymond did not approach, but instead looked at the painting on the white wall, with a touch of appreciation in his eyes.

He had never seen her paint before, he had only seen the things she designed. He didn't expect her to have such talent. "Since you paint so well, why didn't you continue after graduation?" Raymond enquired casually.

Selena slightly lowered her head, pausing her motion of mixing colors. "Mr. Montague, didn't you hear it firsthand?" "Just because of that?" He retorted.

These words floated lightly, like a soft needle, piercing her heart, not painful exactly but impossible to ignore.

The person before her had been born with privilege and was out of touch with ordinary people and their struggles. So of course he wouldn't know how terrifying it was for an ordinary person to be faced with slander and insults, resulting in disdain from those around them.

"Yes, just because of that." She responded as calmly as she could.

She turned her back, continuing with what she was doing, her tone carrying a hint of defiance.

Raymond stood behind her, his gaze unintentionally falling on her waist.