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As soon as the timer hit 0h, 0m, and 0s, the Alpha sent his mate a message on the phone.

“Lucien, the five days are over.”

He half-expected to get a reply right away, but the message remained unread even after ten minutes had passed.

When Lucien still had not read the message after 30 minutes, Ronan gave him a call.

Lucien did not pick up the phone.

The dark-haired man sighed. He predicted as much.

It did not matter. He planned to go straight to South Bedford City to pick Lucien up anyway.

Inside his car, a bouquet of hundred white roses lay on the passenger seat. They were plucked just an hour ago, fresh droplets of dew still hanging on the petals. The roses were bundled together with a bright red ribbon. A heart-shaped card was slipped among the roses.

.....

Ronan was infinitely nervous.

He had received the ominous news that Lucien saw not only the article in Glamvision but also the picture that Lillian had to post on her social media account to brag about the bouquet that she received from Ronan.

The Alpha had hoped to keep the news hidden until after he came to pick Lucien up personally. Which was of course not feasible because even if Lucien lived under a rock, the people around him did not.

Shortly before Ronan arrived at the Clearwater Contemporary Art Gallery, he received one more message from Maya’s cousin.

“Reporting to Alpha, Mr. Lucien Clearwater is currently supervising the completion of the set for the fourth painting.”

Ronan swallowed hard once he brought his car to a halt at the special parking spot that was reserved only for him.

What was Lucien going to tell him after five days had passed?

Was he still upset?

Was he going to insist on leaving him?

Ronan sighed.

‘I thought you trusted him,’ Beowulf sneered at the Alpha.

‘Don’t mock me,’ Ronan said in response. ‘I trust him more than I trust myself. The problem is that I would not be able to accept this if I were in his place.’

And yet, he still selfishly required Lucien to stay with him no matter what.

Ronan hated himself for his hypocrisy, but what else could he do? He knew very well that the moment he let Lucien go, Kinnon would come swooping down like a vulture. His son was already calling Lucien mommy!

The staircase that led to the fourth exhibition floor had already been built. While Ronan slowly walked from one floor to another, he noticed that the exhibition sets had been altered to some degree.

The paintings were still the same, but the wolf sculptures had been repainted. The background was more lively and colorful. The fake grass and trees had been replaced with the real ones. Even the water was real.

“...”

Who would have known that Lucien was very particular in recreating his artworks?

Once Ronan got to the fourth floor, the sight almost knocked the air out of his lungs.

For a split second, he believed that he was transported back to years ago, back to the day when he confessed his feelings to Lucien.

The memories were as vivid as if it happened just a day ago.

He could almost see Lucien’s younger self before him, just a short distance away from him. Beautiful and radiant as he sparkled under the sun.

The youth was startled to hear Ronan’s love confession, but he eventually replied in a shy tone that made the butterflies in Ronan’s stomach flutter like crazy, “I like you too.”

The youth had meanwhile grown up to be a man.

Said man stood among the tall spread of summer grass, one of his hands held a color palette while the other hand held a brush that danced around the pair of wolf sculptures in the middle.

His deft movements breathed new life into the sculptures.

Ronan’s eyes were inadvertently drawn to Lucien’s slender fingers.

The muscles on his cheeks tensed when he saw that Lucien’s right hand was empty.

His beloved Lucien was not wearing his engagement ring.

Ronan’s mouth turned dry.

He suddenly lost all his confidence.

The bouquet of white roses that he brought hung limply at his side, his head lowered in dejection.

There were other people in the room, including Lily, Neena, and Helene. When they saw who it was who came to their workplace unannounced, they almost fainted from shock.

Alistair Greenwood showed up in time behind Ronan. He gestured at the three women to leave and then closed the door behind them.

Lucien looked up when the three women left without a single word of goodbye. He turned around and saw Ronan at the entrance.

“Lulu...” Ronan called out to his mate.

Lucien stared at Ronan. His gaze was undecipherable.

Ronan wanted to tell Lucien that he loved him and that he missed him greatly. But then when he saw that Lucien’s ring finger was empty, he was unable to utter even a single word.

He was afraid that whatever he said would only push his mate further away from him.

In the end, he said nothing else and just looked down at the floor.

Lucien’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, betraying the owner’s heart for just a split second.

Seeing that Ronan did not plan to say anything, Lucien put aside the palette and brush in his hands on a table. He looked down at his hands which were stained with paint blotches. There were more of them on the apron that he was wearing.

“I need to go to the bathroom to clean myself,” Lucien announced as he walked past Ronan, heading out of the set.

The Alpha could not take the cold treatment anymore. The beautiful bouquet fell on the floor unceremoniously when he grabbed Lucien’s wrist and pulled the man into his arms. The latter gasped lightly when he was pressed against Ronan’s body.

“Lulu, I miss you so much,” he lamented. “You can curse me, hit me all you want, but please don’t ignore me, alright?”

The man in his arms sighed heavily.

“Ronan.”

Putting his arms around the Alpha, Lucien whispered against his mate’s shoulder, “What took you so long?”