Chapter 2

Actually, Viola had never taken a photo of Levi's full face. She only posted shots of specific parts of his body.

There was one showing his hand as he spoon-fed her stew while she was sick. There was one showing his back, silhouetted against the brilliant fireworks display on New Year's Eve. There was also one showing his eyes, filled with love and doting affection, as he gazed at her amidst the candlelight of her birthday cake.

Her photography skills were actually nothing to shout about. And yet, Levi was very much willing to appear before her camera lenses.

He once told me that because of his status as an illegitimate son, his childhood was spent enduring endless bullying and humiliation by his family and classmates. And every time they bullied him, they would snap photos and take videos of his bruised, battered body.

As a result, he developed severe psychological trauma and came to loathe anything to do with cameras.

I felt terrible hearing about his experience, and because of that, I gave up my career as a photographer after getting married to him.

And yet, in just three short years, he made an exception for another woman and did it again and again. He appeared in Viola's photos completely composed, with eyes full of love and adoration for her.

"Mrs. Hoffman! Mr. Hoffman got drunk at the company dinner, but since my place is closer than yours, I'm bringing him back for the night!"

A text message suddenly jumped out at me. It was sent to me using Levi's phone number.

Then, a second message jumped out.

"Here. I'll send you a couple of photos just to let you know."

Another photo came in, and this time, it was a live photo, showing Levi lying on the couch, his eyes dazed and looking obviously intoxicated.

As the image played for a couple of seconds, Viola had reached out and yanked Levi toward herself, pulling her body tightly against her own.

The screen then suddenly went black. Viola had deleted that photo.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Hoffman! Mr. Hoffman lost his balance against me just now—I swear nothing actually happened between us!"

A smug voice message immediately followed that deletion of the live photo, but I felt nothing but numbness as I listened to it.

I simply recalled our wedding night. He'd been drunk out of his mind too, and I'd picked up my phone with a smile, wanting to sneak a photo of him. However, he suddenly grabbed me fiercely by the throat and slammed me violently onto the couch.

I would never forget that fleeting look of disgust and wariness in his eyes—or the look of deep longing and infatuation in his eyes in that deleted photo Viola sent.

I wiped my tears away, turned on my laptop, and sent out an email. I didn't want to continue staying here anymore.

The next day, Levi finally returned to the villa. He brought Viola with him.

"I got drunk last night and stayed over at Viola's place—"

"Got it."

He explained it calmly to me, so I also interrupted him just as calmly. He was stunned for a moment, and a look of frustration appeared on his brow. However, he quickly regained his cold demeanor and simply said, "Good.

"I brought Viola with me today because she needs a favor from you. Viola wants to hold a photography exhibition. You used to be a photographer, didn't you? Mentor her."

I dug my nails into my palms and felt the numbing pain searing through my body.

I had given up my photography career for him, and now, he was holding a photography exhibition for another woman instead.

"I haven't been in the industry for a long time. There's nothing I can teach her," I said coldly before turning to leave.

"Mrs. Hoffman! Wait!"

Viola caught up to me and stuffed a stack of photos into my hand. "I really want to learn these skills from you! I'm serious about it!"

I lowered my head to look at the photos in my hand. The first photo on top of the pile was an explicit photo of Levi leaning over her body in bed.

She then leaned closer to me, the innocent look on her face disappearing as she spoke in a provocative tone, "You'd better know when to give up if you know what's best for you."

She then shoved the photos harder toward me, and I hissed in pain before instinctively pushing her off. She suddenly flew backward and tumbled toward the ground.

"Viola!"

Levi immediately rushed over and caught Viola just as she was about to tumble down the stairs. Then, he straightened himself and delivered a hard slap across my face.

"Natasha! I knew you were such a vicious woman after all!"

He wanted to continue berating me, but he hesitated when he saw my lifeless eyes staring back at him.

Viola let out a cry of pain in his arms, and he immediately whisked her up and brought her away.

I just let out a self-deprecating smile and loosened my grip on the photos, letting the blood flow freely down my palm onto the floor.

Viola had hidden a sharp blade inside the stack of photos.

However, I didn't care about pursuing the matter any further.

My phone rang just then, and I answered the call that I'd been waiting for a long time.