The Cursed King

Loriel couldn't believe what he just heard. His beloved wife said… she was willing to marry him?

He hoped his ears didn't play tricks on him.

Loriel knew the human brain could do weird things like that. If someone wanted something so badly, their minds might deceive them into thinking that they got it. People who were stranded in the desert and wanted water would see Fata Morgana in the form of an oasis.

You could say that Loriel was no different than those people who had been craving for the soothing oasis after being lonely and thirsty for so long. He was worried that what he had now as just his imagination.

He didn't dream her to life, did he?

He moved slowly toward Elise. His face was filled with longing. Then, he reached out and touched Elise's shoulder gently, as if trying to make sure that she was real.

She was.

The beautiful woman before him didn't suddenly turn into dust or disappeared from sight. 

Ahh.. this was not a dream.

Loriel pulled Elise to his arms and kissed her lips greedily. "Thank you… thank you so much for accepting me into your life…"

Elise was touched by the man's reaction to her accepting his proposal. Wasn't this what he wanted? Why did he act like Elise just saved him from death row or something by saying yes?

Elise could feel how much the man loved her so deeply. This made her want to cry too. Loriel was too much… she thought to herself as she wiped her wet eyes.

He always did things over the top, Elise complained inwardly. 

He was too affectionate and always knew the right thing to say…

Ugh, this man…

When Loriel finally let her go, he looked straight into her eyes and smiled happily. "I love you so much, Elise. I love you more than you would ever know."

Elise was blushing when she heard his words. It's so hard to believe that this man was not a womanizer who had conquered a lot of women, like certain someone, because he was sooo good at making her heart flutter... yet that was the truth.

Loriel never dated other women and didn't seem attracted to them. So, everything he said to Elise was special, because he didn't utter them to other women.

"I love you too, Loriel," Elise replied sincerely. 

"I cannot wait to be your husband and build a family with you," Loriel whispered. "I promise I will get you the ring. The biggest diamond on the most expensive and beautiful ring ever known to humanity."

Elise instantly coughed when she heard him. There you go again, she thought, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

"No... just get me a regular ring. It shouldn't stand out too much and definitely don't get me the BIGGEST ring. It's heavy," she pouted. "I won't wear it if it's too big."

"Oh… all right, then." Loriel made a mental note to get Elise the perfect ring. The one Marc sent earlier was really nice and cost a fortune too, but he thought he could get something better.

Very well. Not too big nor too flashy, but it should be the most beautiful ring that humanity had ever known.

He sighed when he remembered Elise's wedding ring. It was really beautiful and gifted to him by his mother to give his wife. Elise loved that ring. It was a white gold band with special ancient amber as the decoration.

  It looked so pretty on her finger and Elise never took it off. However, it was obvious she had lost it when she was sent to the future since she was not wearing it now.

Or, perhaps, the people who found her stole the ring?

Ah, Loriel must send his own people to investigate this.  If anyone dared to steal from his wife, he would make sure they receive the proper punishment.

"What are you thinking?" Elise asked Loriel gently. She thought she had never seen this man so happy like he was tonight.

Loriel smiled faintly and said, "I cannot wait to marry you and raise a family with you. I cannot wait to love you properly and spend the rest of my life with you."

Elise smiled back. Ah.. this might seem too fast for most people's standards, but Elise's gut told her that this was the right thing to do.

"I like that…" she whispered.

Once they were married, it was more possible for Elise to stop worrying about other things. The two of them could just be together and live their entire lives together as husband and wife.

A certain part of Elise knew that was perhaps the biggest change that could happen in their life after they got married.

Elise wasn't going to be Elise or Madeline York anymore… she was going to be Elise Ashborn once she accepted his proposal. 

***

Marc Sanderman was quick to answer the phone when his great-uncle called.  It was the same day since he sent the proposal ideas, but his uncle didn't say anything about which one he chose. Was he unhappy with the list?

Or did he like the proposal and now wanted Marc to prepare the wedding plans?

Ahh… Marc tended to believe that it was the latter. All the proposals he sent Loriel were amazing and he could tell that if Loriel was unhappy with something, he would have already barraged Marc with demands and complaints. However, Marc didn't receive any such messages from Loriel.

So, it looked like the proposal was a great success!  Well, first, Marc needed to congratulate his uncle because he was pretty sure that Elise said yes. Who could resist the Ashborn family?

"Hey, uncle… Congratulations on—"

"Hey, Marc, I need a new ring. Immediately. Can you deliver a ring here in half an hour? Come on. Chop chop."

Huh?

Marc was dumbfounded. Why did his uncle need a new ring? Did he lose it? Loriel wasn't the type to lose something as he was very organized. This is very unusual.

Well, Marc needed to say yes, anyway. So, he quickly replied, "Of course, dear uncle. Did you need the same one or—"

Thud.

Marc heard something drop and he soon realized it was the phone on Loriel's hand.. He could hear their voices come from the other end.

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