Trial Marriage Husband : I Am CEO's Plaything

When visitors to the charity event began to crowd around the participants' work on display, Lisa's hands began to sweat. She was nervous, doubtful about her confidence. She doubted that there would be a philanthropist or a rich painting collector who would pay anything for her bad painting. 

Art is subjective, it's not always bad or good, and Lisa knows about it. However, she realized that her painting skills could not even compete with those of elementary school children. What if no one wanted to buy the painting she made?

Lisa started to take a deep breath, she did not want to dissolve into despair. Then she blinked her eyes and threw the bad thoughts out of her head. She believed in miracles, even though they were often unpredictable in what form they might take.

While watching the visitors passing by and looking into every painting on display, Lisa prayed that any of the tens, maybe hundreds of visitors would want to glance at her amateur artwork. It was true that one of the organizers said that the visitors were not ordinary people! Among the top artists to well-known actors on the national stage, it was possible that antiques and art collectors would also come.

It had been ten minutes since Lisa's painting was put on display, but not a single visitor even glanced at it. Lisa almost broke out in tears, the bad thoughts that had lingered in her head began to come back.

'Lisa, please stop. It hasn't been a day yet, are you hoping that someone will just spend their money on your painting? After all, you joined this event without proper preparation, so don't expect much!'

'...But I'm sure someone will want to buy my painting!'

'Yes, I'm just going to be patient then!'

Lisa spent a few minutes in dialogue with herself. While hoping that the goddess Fortuna would side with her, her efforts to raise money were not in vain.

Luck always came in unexpected forms. Not far from the entrance to a building that hosted the charity event, a tall, slender man with golden curls walked in and headed over to the row of paintings on display.

It was amazing that Lisa's heart was beating very fast when her eyes fell on the figure who had colored her life in the past. Her whole body began to tremble, between fear and fury as the man approached closer.

Oscar had been following Lisa since the hospital. He cast his cold gaze at her as she was standing still next to her painting. Even though they looked stiff and cold like an iceberg, the glints of those two clear blue eyes radiated a deep sense of regret and sorrow. In that man's mind, he hoped that he would be able to mend his relationship with her. 

Now that reconciliation was possible, he believed he could still make it despite the small chance.

"This painting is good, is it for sale?" Oscar asked one of the crews in charge of serving buyers.

The woman approached him and said, "Yes sir, all the paintings displayed today until the day after tomorrow are sold specifically for our charity event. For every painting sold, 50% of the profits from the sale will be donated to the orphans and the rest will be divided equally between our foundation and the creators."

Lisa shuddered when the man looked at the painting she made with an expressionless face. Not only that, staring at this figure who had hurt her twice made the fire inside her heart flare even more. If she hadn't held back her emotions at that time, she could have exploded like a Krakatoa volcano, spilling hot lava across the ocean.

Oscar nodded. "So how much is it?" he asked, pointing to Lisa's painting.

"About the price, please ask directly to the creator. We only help to show it off," the committee replied politely.

"The price is 100 million rupiah," Lisa said straightforwardly. She didn't look into Oscar's blue eyes.

Silence colored the atmosphere between the two. The pause between them added to the awkwardness. It made the committee smile faintly, trying to break the ice. The woman cleared her throat and said, "So how about it? Do you wish to buy this painting?"

"I'll buy it for one billion. Is it too expensive for a simple painting like this?" 

Both Lisa and the committee were immediately stunned by what he had just said. Even Lisa did not expect that man would buy her crappy painting which she thought was not worthy of such price.

"Actually, there is no maximum limit, Sir. You can directly negotiate with the creator," the committee replied.

"Sold!" Lisa said, firmly while shaking Oscar's hand boldly.

"Okay then. Do you want to pay by check or credit card?" The committee asked.

"Just a credit card, so this lady can immediately use the money," Oscar replied flatly.

But his words offended Lisa. It was as if he was looking down on her, who was clearly in need of money for her mother's medical expenses. But Lisa had no power over Oscar's words just now. She had to hold back her anger so as not to cause a scene.

In his heart, Oscar did not intend to look down on her. On the contrary, he was very worried about Lisa as she had to face hardships of life to support her little family.

The committee then invited Oscar to swipe his credit card. 

"Okay, thank you. Nice painting, Miss," Oscar said to Lisa, as if the man didn't recognize her.

Lisa looked at him with a fierce gaze. She felt like being humiliated by Oscar's money but at the same time relieved from his help. Her feelings were mixed— she did get the money to pay for her mother's hospital bills, but what should she feel when it came from Oscar?

When they prepared the painting, there was no conversation between Oscar and Lisa. The two of them really looked like strangers. 

Seeing the man who was once part of her life and that she hadn't forgotten until this day, Lisa's palms trembled in anxiety. 

Feeling restless and worried made her mind wander.

'Oh no, not again. You have to move on from this bastard foreigner!' Lisa said to herself.

***

Lisa returned to the hospital after a sum of 250 million rupiah entered her bank account. She was very lucky that her painting was sold even though the buyer was her bastard ex-husband who had ruined her life.

She went to the hospital reception desk and paid an advance for her mother's treatment. Finally, Lisa could breathe a sigh of relief. There was still a lot of money left by this man, enough for Lisa to support her life for the next year.

Now it was the baby inside her tummy that still haunted her mind. She still didn't have the balls to tell her mother. She knew that if she told her mother that she was pregnant out of wedlock again, her mother would be furious. Maybe her mother would force her to marry a man she didn't love for the sake of the child she carried, but Lisa didn't want to remarry. 

She had given up on love.

Perhaps aborting the baby would be the best choice for her. 

But she didn't know, she couldn't make a decision as she was still upset.