Skyler didn't visit me for several days after that. Leah, on the other hand, deliberately taunted me every day by sending photos of the two of them together.

She even sent a few voice messages. "The art show Skyler organized for me was a success. It's such a shame you didn't get to see it in person, Julia. He even said he would set up an art studio for me—you don't mind, right?"

Skyler had done all those things for me, but it turned out he could easily do them for another woman, too. The pain in my chest was suffocating—I couldn't believe any of this was real.

I drifted off to sleep in a daze. In my semiconscious state, the sound of conversing voices came through the door. Two nurses were gossiping quietly in the patient room next door.

"Did you see today's trending news? The patient in Room 101 is a plagiarist. How shameless."

"Isn't she a well-known artist? I never thought she'd do something like that."

A sudden wave of dread washed over me upon hearing this.

When I unlocked my phone, I saw my social media posts were flooded with hate comments with blurred vision. People were calling me a plagiarist and were attacking me on every social media platform I had.

Additionally, the number one trending topic was #GenuisPaintressLeahRivers.

It turned out Skyler had spent a fortune to make Leah's art show a trending topic. People were singing her praises in the comments and calling her an art prodigy.

I tapped on the hashtag and looked at photos of Leah's art show. Due to my blurred vision, I stared at them for a long time until my left eye became sore. That was when I saw that most of her work, including the details and inspiration, were blatant copies of my work. Yet, everyone thought she was the victim.

However, I couldn't call her out and clear my name. All of my work was gone, so what could I even use as evidence?

Plus, I knew Skyler could tell Leah had copied my work. It was just because I no longer mattered as much to him anymore.

…

A few days later, my doctor told me I could be discharged. Unfortunately, my vision was still blurry, and I kept my right eye bandaged because of the horrifying scar.

My phone was also filled with many missed calls from Skyler. I immediately blocked his number upon seeing this.

I held onto the guide rails along the hospital's walls as I slowly made my way out of the building. Once I was out, I would need to rely on the little vision I had left to find my way home.

However, I didn't expect to see Skyler waiting for me at the hospital's entrance. I avoided him when he tried to come over and help me.

Seeing this, he chuckled and said, "Oh? Still mad at me, I see. I've been really busy with work these days, so I didn't have time to visit you."

I knew he was trying to make amends for what he had done before. That being said, I didn't acknowledge him. Seeing this, Skyler stepped forward again and tried to hold onto me.

"I know I'm at fault for what happened to your art show, but I can always arrange another one for you right away if you want," he coaxed.

I looked at him incredulously. What would I even be displaying when all of my work had been burned to ashes?

And besides, he had publicly accused me of plagiarizing Leah. Right now, the art community was full of rumors of me being a plagiarist, so how could I possibly show my face again? The more I thought about it, the more aggrieved I felt.

Fiercely shoving Skyler away, I yelled, "Arrange another? What will I possibly show when I don't have a single painting left? And do you honestly think I can still be a painter in my current state?"

However, Skyler still didn't understand why I was so upset. Thus, he sounded irritated when he replied, "With your level of skill, why can't you just paint new ones?"

I abruptly felt it was pointless to continue arguing with him. Thus, I released a long sigh and turned to leave. But surprisingly, Skyler blocked my path.

His temper exploded, and he shouted, "What are you throwing a fit about, Julia Grayson! And why are you still wearing that when April Fools' was days ago? Isn't it a bit much?"

Then, he yanked down the bandage that was over my right eye. The horrifying scar was now in plain sight. Skyler's hand froze midair upon seeing it.