The Way You Look At Me

Chapter 22

-Marco’s Way-

At the after-party of the auction, which Tatianna miraculously attended, she demanded what I am going to do with her paintings.

“Ugh… hang it? Duh?” I answered.

Her eyebrows met at the center . “Why did you have to buy the two? I know you are ridiculously rich but there’s no need to show it off and remind the people that you’re the richest one in the room.”

I held my hand up. “Whoah, calm down little princess. I brought your paintings because I want to and the twins wanted that scenic painting of yours. They’re going to kill me if I didn’t buy it for them.”

I saw her calm down finally. “Really? Okay then. But why did you buy that family painting? As far as I know, your family has five members, not four.”

“To give it to you.”

She froze visibly. “W-What?”

I held her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. “It’s a picture of your family, right? Even if the faces were a bit modified, I recognized it as your own. I saw how you would always look at it longingly, and don’t think that I didn’t saw you blink away your tears a while ago. I decided that it’s also a gift to you, since I didn’t keep the agreement of not letting anyone know about our friendship right? I’ll try to talk to Martin and Samantha about giving back to you the other one, since it looks like the painting on Tristan’s bedroom wall… your very first painting, right?”

I knew I rendered her speechless. I panicked a bit when I saw unshed tears making her eyes glassy.

“H-How did you k-know?”

I winked. “I’m awesome, remember?”

She slapped me in the arm. “I’m serious!”

I patted the top of her head. “I’m not insensitive, Tatianna. Your paintings are a part of you. You painted your happiness. I just want you to have it.”

She looked down, her bangs covering my view of her face.

“Tatianna? Are you okay?”

She sniffed and then looked at me. I was taken aback by the smile on her face. It was the brightest one I’ve seen on her. She looks so happy that I smiled along with her.

“Thank you so much, Marco.”

I pinched her cheeks. “You’re welcome. We’re friends, remember?”

She nodded, that bright smile never leaving her face. It felt good that I was the reason that made her smile like that. From now on, I want to see it on her every day. She wiped the tears that escaped her eyes.

“Let’s go back. People might wonder where we are,” I suggested.