Married My Ex’s Alpha Uncle

Merida chuckled and I blushed.

He was right; that was exactly what I was wearing. I just couldn't believe that he remembered that.

"So, Silver, tell us about your painting. How many hours did it take you to complete, and what inspired the portrait setting?"

"It took an entire night," I answered automatically. "Honestly, I saw the setting in my mind. My favorite type of flower is red roses, so I always try to incorporate red roses in my paintings. It's kind of like my personal signature. For the background, I put pieces of Elliot's personality and his brewing demeanor together to create something that would fit him. I wanted something that would not only look great but something he would be proud of. I take pride in my work and every piece is customized to appeal to its audience I guess in that moment, while I was painting, I kind of just forgot that it was meant for the auction. In my mind, this portrait was meant for Elliot, and I wanted to create something he could be proud of."

"Silver is the most passionate person I know," Elliot told Merida as he squeezed my hand gently. "Watching her work is incredible. It was an honor to get a front-row seat to it."

As the questions from Merida continued, I could feel the tension between Elliot and me dispersing. I was leaning into him and eventually, he moved his hands from mine and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, keeping me close to his side. I felt content and happy by his side.

Soon, Merida went from asking us questions herself, to having the audience ask us questions.

"There are rumors about Elliot and Shirley being in a relationship. Can you confirm or deny that?" Someone in the audience shouted, making my face feel hot all over.

I looked at Elliot who visibly tensed at this person's words before clearing his throat.

"Those are just rumors. Don't be quick to believe everything you hear on the media," Elliot said shortly.

"Is it true that Silver was engaged before she met you?" A female asked, making my eyes grow large.

My engagement wasn't known around the territory, so I wondered how this person got intel about that. Elliot didn't look as bothered though.

"It doesn't matter if she was or wasn't. What matters is that she's with me now," he said cooly. "You should mind your manners."

The woman who asked that question bowed her head shamefully and sat back down.

After a few more questions about my painting, Merida finally turned back to look at me with a smile on her lips.

"We are almost out of time for more questions. But there is one more I'd like to ask you about if that's okay?" She asked.

I nodded, bracing myself for this last question.

"Of course," I told her. "You can ask me anything within reason."

"I heard that there was an anonymous buyer for your portrait of Elliot. What can you tell me about that?" Merida asked.

I raised my brows.

"Not much honestly. The buyer insisted on remaining anonymous. I'm honored that someone went to great lengths to purchase my paintings at such an incredible price. But even if nobody bothered to purchase my painting at this auction, it was still an honor to be invited to participate. Whoever this buyer was, I'd like to personally thank them. But I respect the fact that they'd prefer to be unknown. I hope wherever they are, they are taking great care of this portrait because I worked very hard on it."

Merida smiled, pleased with my response. Just before she was about to begin her outro for the talk show, Elliot cleared his throat and held out his hand for her to stop.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"I can assure you that the portrait is in good hands, and it's being taken care of," Ellio surprised me by saying.

"How can you be so sure of that/," I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

He smiled at me before leaning back in his seat.

"Because I was the one who purchased it. So, I know for a fact that it's in good hands"

My jaw nearly hit the ground.

Elliot was the anonymous buyer of my painting?