Page 159 of Pink Ink

A tear breaks free. He painted me like a promise and signed it like a confession.

I move to the next painting and falter at the man plunging a spear into a beehive as he steps on the dead bees littering the ground. A small smile tugs at my lips as I read the title:Liberation.

Each piece in the exhibit pays homage to me: a woman bleeding into the same type of chrysanthemum that’s tattooed on my thigh, another of a girl stabbing a dagger into a mountain of skulls, even one of a lady with the same hair as me. I move through the room, noticing the reference to things I didn’t think he’d notice.

I’m his exhibit.

My hands are trembling by the time I make it back to the sculpture ofThe Little Dragon, and I open the booklet up. The cover page is thecollection’s name against a backdrop of dark scales. Turning the page, my lips part as I read the only other thing on both sides.

To my muse,

To be loved by an artist is to become immortal.

This is for you.

Yours always,

Maddox Shaw

“Penny for your thoughts.”

I twist around to find Maddox behind me, appearing bashful like he’s worried I might tell him that the collection is anything other than a masterpiece.

“I love you.” I blurt the first thing that comes to mind.

I hate that I can’t hug him. Hate that I can’t kiss him so he knows how much this means to me. Hate that our relationship needs to be kept in the shadows until I receive an expensive piece of paper telling me I’m qualified enough to carry out my passion.

His eyes light up, and it’s like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders, and his cocky grin slides right back into place. “As you should.”

I bark a laugh, feeling like a meteor could hit and it wouldn’t matter.

“Not going to say it back?” I can’t contain the smile spreading across my lips.

He shifts his weight to shorten the distance between us, still too far away for my liking.

“I believe I’ve shown it about fifteen times,” he says, referencing the number of pieces in the exhibit.

I edge close too, practically begging for a scandal. “Tell me anyway. I’m not a very astute observer.”

When his smile matches the intensity of mine, I swear the heavens open up.

“I’ve killed a great many men for you. Harassed a substantial amount of the teaching body for you. Created and dedicated an entire collection to you because you consume every one of my thoughts. You alone brought me to life. So let me say it simply: I love you too, Reyna.” He pauses, then his smile turns wicked. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to follow me into the back, I need to see what your dress looks like on the floor.”

“Maddox,” I hiss. “This is your opening.”

“I thought I’d made it clear that you take precedence,” he murmurs. “As I said, after you, Miss Sinaga. There’s no such thing as a bad time for private tutoring.”

EpilogueREYNA

Ten years later

“Take deep breaths and—”

“Stop telling me to calm down,” I snap at Maddox. “I’mcalm.”

I’m going to throw up.

“Yes, you look like the very definition of calm.”