so, i (23f) used to date this guy, luke, in college. he was an art major too, and we were super close for a while — like talked-about-marriage close. he cheated on me during our last semester. i found out because the girl he cheated with (now his fiancée) accidentally liked one of my old posts at 3am. that’s not even the wild part.

i paint. i paint when i’m angry, when i’m sad, when i don’t know how to say things out loud. so when i found out he cheated, i locked myself in my tiny apartment for three days and made this massive oil painting. it’s... hard to describe. it’s a woman sitting at a table full of broken glasses, mascara running, holding a bouquet made of shattered mirrors. her expression is blank, but her shadow is screaming behind her. very raw, very personal.

i posted it. it blew up a little. not viral, just enough to be noticed.

four years pass. i moved cities, got into galleries, doing well for myself. i get an email from luke’s fiancée, who i have never spoken to, saying i need to take the painting down (it’s still on my site and instagram) because she’s convinced it “cursed” their wedding planning. she says every venue they book falls through, her dress got ruined twice, and her cousin broke her ankle trying to do a tiktok dance at her bridal shower. she thinks my “energy” is affecting her life.

i literally laughed out loud. i told her, respectfully, no. it’s my art, my life, and if her wedding is falling apart maybe it’s not because of a painting but because she’s marrying a man who cheats.

she freaked. sent a whole essay about how i’m a bitter, jealous woman trying to sabotage her happiness. luke messaged me too, asking me to “let it go and move on.”

i have moved on. i don’t think about either of them until they message me. and i sure as hell am not taking my art down because someone decided to marry the man who broke me.

but now some mutuals are saying i should’ve just archived the post to keep the peace. AITAH?