Page 116 of Rose
She took a long sip of her champagne.
“All I had was Mazi,” she added. “And art gave us something to hold onto. It gave us joy in the chaos we were living in.”
“Thank you,” Savior said, his voice low and sincere.
Ahzii looked at him sideways, brows pinched. “For what?”
“For sharing a piece of you with me.”
She laughed—not out of mockery, but because she didn’t know what to say to that. She hadn’t meant to say all of that. But she couldn’t deny it felt good. Like exhaling after holding your breath for too long.
Her eyes wandered, anywhere but him. But Savior never looked away, he was still watching her like she was the artwork in the room.
Then she froze.
Her breath caught.
“Oh my god…”
Before Savior could ask what was wrong, she moved, rushing forward until she stood in front of a painting. Her fingers hovered near the frame like she was afraid to touch it.
“This is the painting,” she breathed out. “This is it!”
The title read:
The Joy in Chaos.By A’Mazi Rose
“He sold it,” she whispered, her smile growing bright and wide.
Savior stepped beside her, and for a moment he just watched her take it in.
The painting was vivid—two Black children, a boy and a girl, playing in the street of a neighborhood surrounded by shadows, broken buildings, violence. But in the center, the children glowed with joy. Whole. Untouched. Like the ugliness couldn’t reach them.
She read the plaque beneath it aloud.
“Dedicated to my twin. My ride or die. My joy.”
Her voice cracked. Tears welled in her eyes.
“He didn’t tell me…”
“Maybe he wanted to surprise you,” Savior said gently.
Ahzii wiped at her face before the tears could ruin her makeup, but the damage was already done, on the inside. The painting brought it all back. The laughter. The pain. The fear. The bond.
And most of all… the loss.
Because she’d wanted to give Willow the life she and A’Mazi never had. A life filled with love, and color, and safety.
But Willow was gone. And now, the memory of her felt woven into the fabric of every stroke.
More tears slid down her cheeks.
Savior noticed it the moment her smile disappeared. The shimmer in her eyes wasn’t awe anymore, it was pain. Tears threatened to fall, and his brows pulled slightly as worry crept in.
“Allure…” he said gently, sliding a hand around her waist, grounding her with his touch.
She didn’t look at him right away. Her eyes stayed on the painting, as if it was peeling something open inside her she wasn’t ready to confront.
