Secretly Mine
Chapter 185: Talented

Chapter 185: Talented

As the evening went on, more and more people arrived at the gallery, and after a short while, the entire venue was filled.

Everyone who attended the event seemed to either be an interested buyer or some sort of art connoisseur.

Eve ended up excusing herself shortly after Lucas showed up, but not before flashing me a strange smile.

"Are you ready to hear all of the compliments come flooding in?" asked Lucas softly. He was standing closely beside me, looking at the group of people slowly approaching us.

"Those people are regulars. They’re avid collectors and always attend these events to see if they can find any quality pieces for their collections," he explained.

I looked up at him, meeting his smiling eyes. "How are you so certain that they will compliment my work? Wouldn’t such an experienced group of people be able to see that an amateur made my painting?"

"You’ll see what I mean," he said with a wide smile.

A few minutes later, the group approached us, their eyes quickly looking over the paintings on the wall next to us.

"Oh, finally! Looks like they’re hiding the best pieces back here," one of the middle-aged women said.

"Yes, I’m impressed they were able to secure so many of L.L. Lewis’s paintings for such a small-scale event," another one replied.

The entire group quickly surrounded the wall with mine and Lucas’s paintings. They were quietly critiquing each of the paintings, mostly saying words of praise.

"Yes, these are classic L.L. Lewis paintings, each one is perfect!"

"Mmm, but look at this one right here. This doesn’t seem to be his work," the only man in the group pointed at my painting.

"Oh, you’re right. It seems to have an influence of L.L. Lewis, but there’s something different. It has a lot more character?" the woman replied.

"But those brush strokes, they’re messy. And look over here, the thickness of the paint doesn’t match the rest of the painting," the other woman pointed out.

The man leaned in and smiled, "Yes, it does seem like whoever painted this is still wet behind the ears, but the talent displayed is already incredible. Could you imagine what this artist will be capable of in a few years’ time? I believe we’ve discovered a hidden gem."

The rest of the group went quiet, nodding with the man’s assessment.

"I’m going to inquire about purchasing this painting. Can you imagine how much it will be worth in the future? Early works of popular painters are always highly sought after. I have faith in this person."

My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe my ears.

I glanced up at Lucas to see if his reaction was similar to mine, but instead I was greeted with calm, smiling eyes.

He gave me a slight nod and gently reached out to hold my hand, pulling me away from the group of people.

Once we were out of earshot, he looked down at me. "See, I told you! Congratulations, that was an even higher amount of praise than what I got when I first started. Do you finally believe me when I say that you have talent?"

I just looked at him, unable to find the words to reply. This whole experience was surreal.

How? How can it be? Do I really have talent?

Coming here, I never expected to hear anything positive. Just hearing the simple compliment from Eve had already made my night. Now, hearing the collective assessment of a group of professionals left me in complete and utter shock.

"It’s a shame for them that your painting had already sold. I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of allowing the sale. Whoever the buyer was, they seemed to be adamant. I’m sure you’ll be surprised at how much it sold for."

"What? How much? Surely it was only a couple hundred at best."

I felt a little guilty even saying that much. There was no way someone would pay that much for my painting, even if it showed I had potential.

Lucas shook his head, "You’re still underestimating yourself. A couple hundred? I would never disrespect you like that."

Biting the bottom of my lip, I remained silent and looked into his eyes expectantly. I really had no idea how much it would sell for, or who would want to buy it.

Lucas leaned over to my ear, "Eight hundred thousand."

"What?!" I gasped.

The amount nearly made me fall over. That was more than some of the paintings sold for at auction events I’ve attended in the past.

"How?"

"Because it’s that good. But I must say, the buyer was very generous. Even I was pleasantly surprised," said Lucas with a light laugh.

To help me get out of my head, Lucas walked me around the venue a few times, pointing out his favorite pieces.

Since we arrived early, we got to see everything before the majority of the people arrived. I glanced over at Lucas, "There are still a few hours of the lesson. How would you like to go back to your place? I can pose for you."

Lucas halted his steps and turned to look at me. "Really? Are you sure?"

I giggled at his conflicting emotions. His words sounded nonchalant, but his body language looked like he was ready to pick me up and run back home.

"Yes, I’m sure! We’ve already seen everything here. And I’m not sure if my heart can take another compliment from some professional art critic," I laughed.

Lucas laughed, "Now that’s something you’ll eventually have to get used to if you continue down this path."

We continued to laugh as we walked out to the car. It seemed that whenever I was around Lucas, laughter followed.

When we arrived back at his place, Lucas excused himself to go change, while I entered the painting room directly. Since I wouldn’t be painting, there was no reason for me to change.

As soon as I walked in, the first thing I noticed was that the room was set up differently. All of the smaller canvases were gone, and only the one giant portrait of me remained.