The Truth Behind the Gold

Stepping out of the boutique, I ran into Jaxon Gray, wrapped in a cozy embrace with a girl. Both of them giggled as if they were sharing the world's funniest joke.I shot them a quick look, not really interested in their drama, but the girl's eagle eyes caught mine.She gave me a once-over, her arm snaking through Jaxon's as she jostled him. "Jaxon, I thought you said your girlfriend was broke. What's she doing coming out of a place like that?"Jaxon's face twisted into an awkward grimace."She's all about the glitz and glam, always window shopping, even when she can't afford a thing."That stung. Jaxon's eyes lit up like fireworks every time we strolled past those fancy stores.However, he could not even afford a high-quality knockoff with the bit of money he made.I always dragged him inside, making mental notes of whatever caught his eye the longest. Later, I surprised him with it, pretending I had scrimped and saved for the imitation.He lit up like a kid on Christmas morni

Jaxon's swagger vanished in an instant."What sketches are you talking about?""Cut the act. It's just us here. If you didn't take them, then who did?"Jaxon scowled. "Yuliana, when did you get so harsh?"Sure, I took them. I'm your boyfriend. What's the big deal in checking out your work?"I scoffed. "Was it really for you or for that Rebecca lady?"That struck a nerve."What's your point? Even if Sarah took a peek, what was it to you? You thought she'd copy you? She was just curious about my sketches, and I found a few of yours decent enough to show her."It was just a few sketches. You were done with them anyway. What's the fuss about showing her the originals?"Come on! Would you benefit from me showing her your drafts, too?"Don't weddings need money? I'm doing all this to give you the life you deserve. Why can't you see that?"I quietly shut off the recording on my phone.Just then, my phone buzzed to life.It was my dad, whom I had not spoken to in ages.He had tri

My mind wandered back to the days with Jaxon in college.Back in the day, he had been scraping the bottom of the barrel academically, but nobody could touch his work ethic.To afford his paints and brushes, he pinched every penny. There and then, he would sketch commissions on the side to make ends meet. His art? It had soul, but the big shots would tear him down every chance they got. He would chuckle and say he had to level up his game, that he would rise above the noise and the naysayers. That was what had drawn me to him.I would tag along for 30-cent buns and 50-cent packs of ramen just to be near him.He thought I was in the same boat, scrimping and saving, so sometimes he would splurge what little he had on a barbecue or a hearty beef stew for the two of us.However, at some point, something in him shifted. He started chasing vanity, got caught up in the rat race, lost his drive—and his art lost its spark. It turned bland, just run-of-the-mill.My dad noticed that I had cl

Sarah must have bet that since Ms. Jensen and Rebecca had not shown their faces in years, she could get away with it if she did not push things too far.Her caption for those six paintings read as follows.[Doodles for your eyes only, not for sale, please don't bother.]In the comments, a few lone voices questioned the artwork's authenticity, wondering if the person behind the account was really who they claimed to be.However, the skeptics were drowned out by a sea of fans who could not stop singing praises, making the few critical voices seem like whispers lost in a storm.It looked like the lady was hooked on the drama.She used to keep her performances behind closed doors, but then it seemed she could not get enough and had taken her act to the main stage.I mulled it over for a while, then set up a new account, calling myself Ms. Jensen Rebecca.[New artwork, share to win!]I uploaded each of my paintings, matching them up perfectly.Initially, it was just a bunch of clu

Once I had wrapped up all the messy business, I stopped keeping tabs on them.A couple of months later, I was hitting the shops solo.Out of nowhere, a wild woman with hair all over the place and clothes in tatters came charging at me.She was babbling like a broken record."Yuliana, you did this! I'm going to end you!"No bodyguards were in sight, and my brain was not catching up fast enough. I thought that she would not be able to kill me, but it would at least warrant a hospital stay.Then, out of the blue, someone else dove in.Jaxon jumped in front of me, taking the hit that was meant for me.Sarah missed and went for another stab.However, Jaxon was like a wall, stopping her instantly.She lost it, stabbing him again and again, the knife sinking deep.The crowd finally got a grip on her, but by then, Jaxon was a mess, bleeding out and barely breathing.I was on the phone with 911 in a flash.Jaxon tried to talk, his mouth moving in slow motion.I leaned in close, ca