The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

At this moment, a strikingly handsome young man was listening to his assistant's work report when Sherman burst into the room without warning. The young man's brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Would it kill you to knock before barging in? Where are your manners?" he snapped.

Sherman was far too excited to care about decorum. He went straight to Sellers Burton and blurted out, "Uncle, the painting Aurora's been searching for just turned up at an auction! Remember you told me that if I ever heard anything about that piece, I should let you know right away? Don't tell me you've forgotten!"

The mention of Aurora's name seemed to finally get Sellers' attention. Some of his irritation faded. "Don't be so reckless next time," he said, though his tone was much gentler now.

Sherman barely acknowledged the reprimand. He handed Sellers a folder. "Here, take a look—it's this painting."

Sellers glanced at the photo inside, his interest only half-awake, but as soon as he registered what he was seeing, his expression sharpened. "Is this a picture of the actual painting?"

Sherman nodded eagerly. "No wonder Aurora's obsessed with it. Even someone like me, who knows nothing about art, was blown away when I first saw it. Too bad it came up for auction back when neither of us had jobs yet, and the price went sky high. We couldn't afford it, so we just had to let it go."

But despite all these years, Aurora had never forgotten about that painting. After she started working, she'd sent people out again and again to try and track it down, but there was never any news.

Sherman continued, "I heard Leonard Lerman is a huge art collector. The reason he and Aurora are so close is that he owns a ton of great paintings and always invites her over to study and discuss them."

He paused, a note of pride creeping into his voice. "Besides the violin, painting is Aurora's other great passion. Even her ordinary pieces go for hundreds of thousands. Some are worth several million."

Sellers had never really cared much about art. The only reason he paid any attention at all was because Aurora-liked it. Still, as he looked at the photo, a hint of genuine O appreciation appeared in his eyes.

“It really is a remarkable painting," he admitted. “Aurora just won that amateur racing championship recently, and I haven't even congratulated her yet. This painting will make the perfect gift."

His words carried an air of absolute confidence, as if he'd already made up his mind.

Sherman grinned. "Uncle, Aurora's racing skills are practically on par with the pros. You should've seen her when she beat that professional driver-she was so cool! It's a shame you missed it."

A faint smile played at the corners of Sellers' mouth. "I saw the video. She's incredible."

Sellers was only six years older than Sherman, and the two had been close since childhood. He'd always seemed like a prodigy-top of I class without effort, and an outstanding racecar driver

tobe

That's actually how he'd met Aurora.

Sherman admired Aurora deeply, but he knew he wasn't good enough for her. Only someone as exceptional as his uncle could ever hope to win over a woman like her. There was no jealousy-if anything, Sherman genuinely hoped his uncle would succeed.

Unfortunately, Aurora had plenty of admirers just as impressive as Sellers, and she'd never shown any romantic interest in him. Sellers didn't have much of an advantage.

Sherman couldn't help asking, "Uncle, didn't you say you were going to watch Aurora's race last time? What happened? What could possibly be more important than her competition?"

The question made Sellers frown again. "My father suddenly arranged a blind date for me on the very same day as Aurora's race. I had no choice but to make up an excuse and skip it."noveldrama