Chapter 41
After breakfast, Seren made her way to The Antiquarian’s Gallery. The place was so close it took her less than ten minutes on foot.
It was still early-barely six in the morning. The streets were deserted, most people still lost in their dreams.
The gallery hadn’t opened yet, but Seren slipped inside through a side elevator and went straight up to the second floor.
Seth had set aside a dedicated studio for her, tucked away at the far end of the west wing upstairs-quiet, secluded, and far from the bustle of the city.
Knowing she liked to start her painting early, Seth had handed her the studio key yesterday while showing her around.
She stepped inside.
A broad mahogany worktable, nearly waist-high, dominated the room-much wider than a standard desk. A reference sketch was already laid out flat on the easel. Along the edge of the table, scrolls, brushes, palettes, and other supplies were all neatly arranged.
Today’s subject was “Peaks Piercing the Spring Clouds”—a landscape rendered in soft washes of charcoal and muted ochre, pale and atmospheric.
Seren selected her favorite sable brush, then began preparing her pigments.
Landscapes like these depended on a delicate balance of pigment and medium, on the subtlety of their application. Preparing her medium and achieving the perfect consistency was always the first step.
She’d trained in traditional painting with Mr. Shaw since childhood, mastering these basics long ago, and she’d kept up her practice through the years. By now, these steps were second nature.
The studio was utterly silent. Seren soon fell into a meditative rhythm.
Once she got started, she lost all sense of time. It wasn’t until the light outside began to dim that she finally set her brush aside.
The main work was finished. Only the details and the ochre coloring remained— seemingly simple, but always the most painstaking. Seren decided to leave it for tomorrow morning.
Rushing would only risk ruining everything at the last moment, and she never liked to push herself too hard.
Leaving the studio, she finally checked her phone, which had been set to silent all day.
She was surprised to see she’d received more messages and calls today than in the past three years combined.
“Seren, done for the day p>
The message was from Swain.
She glanced at Swain’s WhatsApp profile picture, raising her brows in mild
surprise. It had been ages since he’d last messaged her.
But she could guess why-Carla’s birthday dinner. She had no interest or obligation to show up for Carla’s sake.
Without a second thought, Seren ignored the message. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with Swain.
She’d heard enough of his so-called words of wisdom over the years.
There was another message from Nadine.
“How are you settling in at Lennon’s place? Is he treating you well p>
Seren replied: “I’m settling in fine. Lennon’s been wonderful-polite, considerate, and always respectful p>
These past few days had left her with a great impression of Lennon. He was unfailingly courteous and gentle always respectful, never overstepping. If she could give him a perfect score, she would.
The rest of the messages were from Lennon himself.
He hadn’t called, just sent her three WhatsApp messages.
“Beautiful weather today p>
“Don’t forget to have lunch p>
“When you’re done, send me your location. I’ll take you out for dinner after work p>
At first, Seren had thought Lennon was the reserved, aloof type-distant and hard to approach But now she realized not only was he easy to get along with, he was actually quite chatty.
In fact, he messaged more than most people she knew.
get
The first message had come in at nine in the morning, the second at noon the last at one in the
every couple of hours.
On almost like clockwork,
It almost made her wonder if Lennon had nothing else to do all day but send her
messages.