Goodbye You Never Loved Me novel (Martha and Stefan) novel Chapter 718

Chapter 718 My Amazing Wife

And Martha had seen Stefan in the crowd when she just got on stage. Now, even though her attention was focused on her painting, she could still feel his loving gaze upon her, just like when they went on their honeymoon together.

When they went on their honeymoon together, she would come back and paint with Jimmy at night while Stefan finished up his work and poured himself a glass of red wine while watching her.

At first, Martha was puzzled as to why Stefan kept staring at her. When she turned around, she had even caught him looking at her with affectionate eyes.

Later on, when Jimmy wasn't around, Martha asked Stefan curiously why he kept staring at her all the time.

The man's lips curled up into a smile as he answered playfully, "Wherever you are is my home. Am I committing a crime by looking at my own wife?"

Martha rolled her eyes and didn't say anything else about it. But slowly but surely, she grew accustomed to it.

She got used to painting while he watched from nearby with that same look in his eyes as now.

The painters participating in the competition quickly immersed themselves in their paintings onstage while those watching below were also gradually drawn into each stroke of their brushes.

Time slipped away unnoticed as everyone became engrossed in what they were doing for three hours until one by one each painter stopped using their brush and admired what they had created so far with satisfaction.

The host standing offstage looked down at his watch after seeing several painters put down their brushes before announcing cheerfully, "Some of our painters have completed their works and can take a break over there where we have some refreshments waiting for them. For those who haven't finished yet, don't worry. We still have plenty of time."

As soon as he spoke these words, some artists who weren't mentally prepared enough began getting anxious, which caused them to become unsteady with holding onto their paintbrushes.

On the other hand, though Martha's gaze remained fixed solely upon what was being painted throughout this entire eventful experience, if anyone stood before Martha right now, that person would definitely see Martha always wearing a faint smile while painting.

Another hour passed by quickly, until finally it came time for this competition to draw its curtains closed.

As Martha stepped off the stage, her gaze landed precisely on Stefan sitting in the front row. Her eyebrows lifted and a confident expression spread across her pretty face.

Seeing her like this, Stefan knew without a doubt that she would be the champion this time around.

The artists orderly left the center of the stage and slowly made their way to chairs on the side to drink water and replenish their energy. The host then took over.

With a signature smile on his face, he addressed the audience with high spirits. "Ladies and gentlemen of our esteemed panel of judges and those who have come to watch, after four hours of hard work, our finalists have all completed their paintings about snow. Now we come to an exciting moment!"

"Firstly, let us appreciate each artist's work one by one. Judges and audience members alike, please look at our big screen."

As soon as he finished speaking, a huge curtain fell from above, revealing number one artist's painting projected onto it.

Soon enough all the paintings from each finalist were projected onto that large screen for everyone to see.

After projecting the last painting up there for everyone's viewing pleasure, finally came another moment where many white snowflakes formed together into a giant word 'SNOW' was displayed on that same screen!

At this very moment, a hostess walked onto stage, wearing a long white dress while walking slowly but gracefully.

Then came her delicate voice through microphone echoing throughout entire venue. "Next up is our judges who will score each painter's artwork."

"Next up we have Edward," she announced after finishing speaking.

As soon as she finished speaking, there was an eruption of enthusiastic applause from those present in attendance; The painter Edward made his way slowly up onto stage.

Taking hold of the microphone handed over by the hostess himself, Edward bowed respectfully towards both judges panel and audience before introducing himself. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Edward. I am the contestant with my painting titled Snowy Path - please evaluate my artwork."

With these words spoken aloud by him; projector behind him began displaying his entry piece upon large canvas hanging above the stage.

Edward's art matched its name perfectly – it depicted winding mountain path during heavy snowfall season.

The trees, rooftops, and land were all covered in white snow, as if the entire world was blanketed in a snowy wonderland. However, amidst this sea of white, there was one path that remained untouched by the snow. The path was muddy and winding, leading off into some unknown direction.

After a few moments of silence from the judges, the hostess broke the quiet with a smile. "Mr. Clarke," she said turning to one of them. "What do you think about Edward's painting?"

Mr. Clarke snapped out of his thoughts and picked up his microphone to give his evaluation. "The painting has deep meaning and good attention to detail but still lacks something essential for it to be truly great. I'll give it 80 scores." He then turned towards Mr. Hebert sitting next to him. "What do you think of it, Mr. Hebert?"

Mr. Clarke came back to his senses, picked up the microphone and remarked on it, "It's true that it's not quite great."

Mr. Hebert paused and continued, "Snowy Path, it's a good name. The artist's idea is also very good, and the details are handled properly."

"I personally feel that it lacks a bit of tender feelings and warmth. If you add a few more strokes in the chimney on the roof, it will give me that kind of feelings. I give it 75 scores."

"Thank you, Mr. Hebert."

When Edward heard this comment, his eyes lit up and he bowed respectfully toward the judges.

When he was painting, he always felt that something was missing somewhere, but he couldn't figure it out.

Mr. Hebert pointed it out, which enlightened him.

Martha's lips pursed slightly with admiration for their sharp eyesight as judges on national level competitions.

Martha listened intently as other four judges gave their remarks and scores that were recorded by the staff members.

Soon, it was number twelve's turn.

The hostess smiled and said, "Thank you to all the judges for your comments on 11 contestants. Now, let's welcome contestant number twelve, painter Sunnay."

Martha heard this and calmly walked onto the stage from backstage. She stood in the middle of the stage with composure and took the microphone handed to her by the hostess. She looked politely at a certain audience member sitting in the front row.

Stefan felt his wife's gaze and his lips curled up slightly. His eyes were full of doting affection for Martha.

Martha quickly glanced at Stefan before returning to her composed state. She said with humility, "Hello everyone, judges and audience members alike. I am painter Sunnay, contestant number twelve. My painting is called Warmth."