NOVEL NEXT Chapter 563: Courage
Melanie opened the door with a tired smile. Luther was in front of it, slightly perfumed - just the right amount, this time - and shining. Behind him, a delivery boy was carrying a thin, large package.
«I have a gift for you!» he exclaimed when their eyes met.
Melanie let him in, her deep sigh audible even to human ears. He was so stubborn, sometimes. She had noticed his attempts at courting her, but her heart was taken and long lost. She couldn't love again, not after losing her mate.
They had grandchildren in common, though. That must have been enough for Luther, since she wasn't ready to give him any more proximity.
«I'm too old for presents, Luther,» she pointed out, actually reminding him their ages. Both of their ages.
They were too old for romance. Luther would have better spent the rest of his days courting a woman he had some chance to conquer.
«You can't be too old, Melanie,» he chuckled, though. No matter how many times she sent signals, he would just brush them off and continue with his moves, discreet or more obvious. «And you won't send this one back, I promise.»
«What is it, for goodness's sake?»
The delivery boy left the box on a chair, careful it wouldn't fall. He then moved his hat just a little as a sign of greeting and took the door, leaving the couple alone.
«This is something you should have received long ago, but I never had the chance... I wanted to bring it to you in person, not send it like a package.»
«What is it?» she chuckled. «Something you kept on the side for twenty years?»
«Mhm, no. Just seven. This one is the most recent among those I have, and I think Robert would be happy to know that you saw it. And that you keep it with you.»
«Can I open it already?»
«Please, do!»
She unwrapped the box, careful not to scratch with her nails whatever was inside. There was a painting... How odd. Luther had bought a painting while in prison and kept it on the side to give it to her at the right moment.
She turned it up to see the image, and her lips split open in awe when she saw the young blonde woman on it. She recognised herself from her early years when she and Robert had just met. They must have been married for a few years at most. Enjoy new stories from empire
Her hair was braided, and there was a crown of flowers on her head. She was quite sure she had never worn one in her life. A crown of flowers? No way!
The painter must have imagined it.
«We didn't know each other back then, right? Or we barely did...» she commented. Had Luther made that painting?
It was easier than buying it, in his condition. Also, could his memory be so good?
«It's one of his last works,» Luther said, sighing sadly.
«H-his?» Melanie repeated, sitting on the same chair where the painting was laid a few minutes before. With the art in her hands, her eyes filling with tears for reasons she couldn't still grasp.
It took her a while to understand.
«Robert's?» she asked, her voice shaken.
«Yes. He stashed all his paintings in a garage I bought a long time ago. The tribunal didn't find it, so it stayed mine. Robert would bring there his paintings, and I arranged for some of them to be sold. That's how Pike was born. We split the earnings, at first, but then he decided to gift them all to me.
All but this one. This is yours only, Melanie.»
«Robert painted? I never knew,» she said. «I never noticed... He wouldn't even stink of paint when he was home... How could I miss it?»
«He was especially careful to hide it,» Luther revealed, not flinching about the reference to her sense of smell.
They both knew the truth, but Melanie didn't know that Luther was well aware of her nature. And that it didn't change his intentions toward her.
«Even more when it was about you,» Luther sighed. «I'm the only person alive he told. I was as if he feared that people wouldn't look at him in the same way.»
«Oh, that I can believe,» Melanie sighed. «He wouldn't allow something like this to be public knowledge. To him, it would have been a weakness.» She didn't add anything about Alpha's fear of weaknesses, but Luther still understood.
«It was part of his charm as an artist. The secret,» Luther pointed out.
He was sure that a painting from CEO Robert Woods would sell well, but not nearly as well as mysterious Pyke's.
«He told you, though,» Melanie said. «He told you, but not me. It turns out you knew him better than I did. You two shared many secrets, and I thought it stopped at business.»
«Robert knew that I was sincerely his friend. And he was a friend to me, till the end. He didn't abandon me when the rest of the world did, and I won't ever forget that. I'll be around to protect you as long as I'm alive, Melanie. Because it's my way of remembering and respecting him.»
«I can't believe he trusted you so much but didn't dare tell me,» she repeated, half heartbroken and half surprised, as if there was some message in the portrait.
As if Robert wanted to tell her something but couldn't because death surprised him. It opened old wounds she couldn't heal from, but it also made her remember him clearer than ever before. He had been her mate, her life companion and, even if he left her too early, he had left something behind. Something special for her.
«Did he tell you to give me this?» she asked Luther. «How could he know...»
«He didn't know he would die, Melanie. He couldn't tell me. But he said that there was something special I wasn't allowed to touch. In some sense, I disobeyed since I brought it here. It happened the last time I saw him. I think he wanted to give it to you, but he never got the chance.»
Or the courage, Luther thought. But he didn't find any reason to say it out loud.