《The Cursed King》 Chapter 1 - Petrichor NEW YORK, 2045 . "Crazy! It says here that the billionaire is associated with an organ trafficking scandal on the ck market. ording to the news, he got a fresh heart for his transnt the other day from a victim of human trafficking in Asia." "It is so awful. They said he''s already had multiple organ transnts throughout the years to stay alive." "He''s what..? 95 years old, right? Almost a century-old, but still trying to stay alive and in power." "Well, wealthy people can avoid death with their money*1." "Ahhh .. it''s so nice to be rich. They can do anything with their money. That''s right. Rich people can get stic surgery to keep them looking young, and if their organs are damaged or failed, they could just rece them with new and healthy organs from the ck market." "Yeah, also, with technological advances that they can buy with money, they can live young for hundreds of years." "Uff.. so lucky!" The two women kept chatting enthusiastically about some ultra-wealthy man they read about in the news today. It was azy Saturday and not many people came to the cafe. So, most of the tables were empty. Their voices were the only things that rang in the cafe, except for the asional coffee maker when the barista made coffee for guests. A handsome man wearing dark sunsses, who was sitting in a corner of the cafe, reading a book, nced at the source of the noise and took a deep breath. Loriel, the man''s name, was starting to get annoyed, that he felt the desire to pull his neck-length ck hair. That corner was his regr spot whenever he came to this cafe to leisurely enjoy his book and tea, and he had been having peace before the twodies came and started gossiping loudly. Actually, the women''s voices were not super loud but the man had a very sharp sense of hearing. Also, usually, there were many other guests here who could all cover each other''s sounds. However, today, there were only these twodies and they happened to talk about the same boring nonsense over and over again. It got tiring fast. He frowned, and the calm expression on his face turned dark when he heard the enthusiasm in their voices as they debated how much money did the billionaire pay for the organ, and how nice it was to be rich because they could extend their life span and live longer. In fact, maybe in the future, rich people could live forever if they could keep changing their bodies and organs. People were already thinking in that direction and so many books and movies were written about the subject. Surely, one day, people could finally live forever. How nice it would be! Loriel pressed his temple in annoyance. Those fools don''t know that living forever is bad, he thought. He had lived for fifteen centuries, looking like a young man as he was now, and he couldn''t see where was the fun of it. In fact, if he could be honest ... he actually wanted to die. The sound of their chattering was getting louder and more excited, making Loriel increasingly more annoyed. Finally, his patience ran out. The man put down his book on the table and looked out the window to his left. Ah ... it hadn''t rained in a long time, he thought as he saw how sunny it was outside. He nced at the two women who were still engrossed in gossiping about the various celebrities and rich people they read on the inte and giggled every now and then while they were gossiping. Loriel took off his sunsses and looked outside intently. He slowly waved his hand, and then put his sses back on. He focused his attention back on the book in his right hand, then he counted internally. 10, 9, 8, 7 ..... 3, 2,1. Not long after, there was a sound of ring thunder and suddenly rain fell so hard. The sound of rain falling to the earth and the water droplets as they hit the ss windows beside him was quite loud, and it quickly overtook the voices of the two women who were chatting earlier. They both tried to keep talking but they could barely hear themselves, because of the sound of the rain falling so violently from outside the window. Feeling bad if they had to scream while chatting, the two women finally gave up and decided to stop talking and focused their attention on the food and drinks that were in front of them. The two women then ate and did not speak anymore. The handsome man sighed with satisfaction and appeared to be reading his book again as if nothing had happened. Loriel really liked the sound of the rain, but he understood enough not to bring down rain whenever he felt like it. However, today was an exception. It had not rained in New York for a long while, so he could justify what he did today. "Sir, this is a new pot of tea for you." Suddenly, a waiter came with a tray and smiled at him sweetly. "The tea in your teapot must be cold by now." Loriel took his book down when the waiter offered to rece his now-cold tea. "Thank you," said Loriel in a t voice. "You''re wee, Sir," said the waiter cheerfully, and then she went back inside, leaving this regr customer with his book, much to his delight. This was one of the busiest cafes in Midtown and he loveding here. Their impable service was one of the reasons. Since two years ago, he would always sit here to enjoy his tea and a slice of cake, without missing a day, watching the peoplee and go. It was good to relieve his boredom, because, contrary to what those fools thought, living forever was not really fun. It was extremely lonely. That was also the reason why he chose to move to New York, one of the most densely popted cities in the world. He liked being surrounded by people, but he hated their noise. Well, he couldn''t have it all, could he? After living for over 15 centuries, he knew better than toin. That was life. You win some, you lose some. Loriel looked outside the window again and forgot about his book. He rested his chin on his hand and watched the rain falling. He remembered how much she loved the rain and said they smelled really nice. "They have a name for it now," he whispered. "It is called petrichor, honey." . . 1] This part is inspired by the gossip about David Rockefeller who was said to have had 7 heart transnts before he passed away at 101 years old. Chapter 2 - Whatever Gosh.. he missed her so very badly. How long had it been? A little bit over 1500 years. He just needed to wait another 55 years, until the year 2100 came. If you had waited for over 15 centuries.. surely five decades didn''t feel that long, did it? But why did he feel his chest so heavy every time he thought about that fifty-five long years? He was like a long-distance runner who had exhausted all his energy on the first 100 miles and now was struggling to reach the finish line. He wished he could end his life right now. Oh.. if only she went to the afterlife, it was easier to find her there. Unfortunately, she went to the future. And now, all he could do was wait until the day he could see her again. He missed hugging her, kissing her, and loving her. Gosh.. he missed her scent and her smile, and the way she shyly talked with her low voice. His mind wandered to the moment she first came to his pce. She curtseyed and greeted him with her melodious voice, that he only appreciated after she was gone. "Your Majesty..." He growled in displeasure when she called him ''Your Majesty.'' He said, "Call me by my name." She looked surprised by his order, but she was a princess after all. She could immediately control her expression and did as he said. "Loriel." He growled again. "That is NOT my name." Now, she was in a panic and Loriel almost felt sorry for her. This woman was betrothed to him since they were not even born. That''s right. It was part of the silly vows made by their mothers who were best friends for life They were so close that they regretted the fact that they were not sisters. So, to secure the familial rtionship, they promised if they had one son and one daughter, the two would be betrothed to be married. She was born six years after him and both were made aware of the engagement as soon as possible. From the looks of it, she epted the agreement between their mothers with an open heart. However, Loriel''s heart belonged to someone else. He hated this woman for trying to im her right to be his wife. "I-I''m sorry, Your Majesty..." She was almost crying, but she kept her head high and looked at him with a sincere expression. "I didn''t know your other name." Seeing her eyes gleaming with tears but she kept trying to look tough, Loriel''s heart softened. He was not an evil man, after all. He waved his hand impatiently and told her to just call him whatever she liked. "Forget it. You can just call me whatever. Not that it matters," he said. She lowered her head. Seemed to be deep in thoughts. This gesture made Loriel feel interested. Now, he was wondering what was going on in that beautiful head. Yeah.. he would be an idiot if he didn''t know she was beautiful. She had this soft creamy hair, falling down her shoulders like a waterfall. Her petite face was blessed with two perfect diamond-like eyes and wless brows. Her nose was small and tall. She looked like a perfectly drawn painting of a goddess. Her red lips moistened as she subconsciously licked them when she was nervous. And when she was thinking, her face looked so serious in an adorable way. "What are you thinking?" Loriel asked her impatiently. He just had to know what she was thinking. She was startled when she heard him. She looked up to him with batted eyes. Her reaction made Lauriel question his own voice. Did he talk too loudly that she was startled? Or was she that scared of him? She reminded him of a little mouse who was cornered and scared to death. Was he that scary to her? "Wh-what I was thinking?" she asked him back. "Don''t you have ears?" Loriel knew this question was unnecessary and rude, but he disliked her for being scared of him. Oh.. how different she was from her, the woman he loved with all his heart. She was fearless, witty, cunning, and was just... amazing. While this woman before him was the typical damsel in distress who was weak and must definitely need saving from dragons or something. He had enough chasing away dragons and monsters. Now, he just wanted to live a peaceful life. "I do have ears, Your Majesty¡ªLo.. Loriel." She licked her lips again as she was getting more and more nervous. Dammit. He didn''t love her and he hated their betrothal, but he was a normal man after all. She had that ridiculous womanly charm in her, and the way she unintentionally licked her lips when she was nervous slowly drove him crazy. Crazy with lust. "So?" By now, Loriel had epted the fact that she would probably call him ''Loriel'' for the rest of their lives. "You told me to call you ''Whatever''..." she finally replied with a shy expression. "I don''t think it''s a good name." Her answer left Loriel speechless. Chapter 3 - The Curse Of Immortality After that day, he decided to let her call him Loriel, since it was better than ''Whatever''. Besides, his other name was too precious for her to say. Loriel would prefer to only hear it from the woman he loved, which obviously wasn''t her. Gosh... when he thought about how badly he treated her in the early years of their rtionship, Loriel felt so guilty. He wished he could go back to the past and fix it. She deserved so, so much more. He was cold to her and made known that her presence was unwanted. However, she persevered. After a long while, Loriel finally realized she was not really a weak damsel in distress. No, in fact, she was stronger than that. It took a lot of courage and strength to stay in a one-sided rtionship and still gave her all. She was loyal to him and loved him unconditionally. Every time, she made known that she loved him no matter what. That foolish woman. Gosh, he missed her so terribly. Loriel turned his gaze outside the window to see the force of nature that would always remind him of her. She loved rain so much and could sit on that sofa by their window for hours, watching the rain and daydreaming. She was a very simple woman and was happy with simple things in life. Loriel initially despised herck of ambitions. It took him a while to appreciate her principle. She was very easily pleased. She took joy in all the littlest things. And whatever he gave her, no matter how small, she would receive them with a smile on her face. She was so pleasant and always grateful. In fact, Loriel couldn''t think of a day that didn''t be better because of her. Fifty-five more years... He wished he could just sleep for the duration and wake up when it was time to meet her again. However, who knew what would happen if he did that? These foolish humans were so unpredictable. Thest time he decided to sleep for the whole century, he woke up under the rubble as Germany waged war in Europe, not just once but twice! And the second one destroyed the city he was in. After that, he vowed: never again! ''See, honey? Things I''d do for you?'' he thought to himself. ''I exposed myself to the unthinkable so I can be with you.'' His mind wandered to the time when he could see her again. When that moment came, he would tell her he had been good all this time. He would tell her that he missed her... so badly. That he did all he could, to see her again. He even took the curse of immortality.. just so he could be here when she was back. And remember when he said he had enough chasing away dragons and monsters because he wanted to live a peaceful life? He did exactly the opposite. It took him seven years of going into battles, fighting those creatures so he could reach the holy mountain of Cretea to get that potion of immortality. He had lost counts of how many dragons, minotaurs, and other monsters had died under his sword. He had no choice. The gate to the mountain of Cretea was protected fiercely. Those so-called gods didn''t want regr humans to flock to their holy ce to take their immortality potion. Loriel was probably the only human who did it. He took that potion. Now, he became one of those awful gods who could live as immortals and treated humans as their ythings. Those ''gods'' didn''t like Loriel, because he was not really one of them, but they didn''t bother him. In fact, they kind of respected him since he could achieve immortality with his own efforts. They also knew that to him, immortality was not really a blessing, but more like a curse. A curse that he took willingly. ''I hope you know that I love you so much, honey,'' he said inwardly. ''I love you more than I love myself.'' ''Next time, I will make sure you hear it from me.'' ''I will tell you every day, how much I love you.'' Loriel wiped his eyes that were gleaming with tears. He should know that rain would bring back so many memories of her that it became overwhelming. ''Oh, honey... I am tired.'' Loriel scolded himself for his moment of weakness. He had waited for over 15 centuries. He just needed to keep himself busy and surely time would fly, right? However, it was hard to find something to do when you had done everything there was to do when you were on your own. Traveling the world? Done that. Getting a new hobby? Yep, too many to count now. He had even learned crocheting to kill time. Ask him fifteen centuries ago if he would ever take such a feminine hobby and he would kill you on the spot for insulting the monarch. Meeting new people? No. No.. he didn''t really like talking to people. The few humans he tolerated were his assistant and his family. Hmm... maybe he should travel again. Yeah... there was no ce on earth that he had not explored. So, maybe the next destination should be space? He heard there were some breakthroughs in technology recently that allowed humans to travel faster in space. They had been talking about colonizing Mars for decades now. So, he probably could pay to get a space in their next exploration to Mars or something. Yeah.. that new private space initiative, SpaceLab, was in need of funding, and he had a lot of money. He would tell his assistant to look into the matter. Loriel looked outside the window again. His mind felt a bit lighter after getting rity of what he wanted. Yes, he would travel again. It should be good to distract his mind for a while. Just when Loriel thought he could get rid of his longing for her from his mind, suddenly, right then... he saw her. Loriel was suddenly unable to blink. He was dumbfounded when he saw a very familiar face in front of the cafe. The woman was standing under the awning and her hand was raised with an open palm, to touch the raindrops that were falling. She was so beautiful beyondpare. Her creamy hair fell down her shoulders like a waterfall, and her green eyes that shone like emeralds were mesmerized by the scene around her. She seemed to enjoy seeing the rain and her red lips were curved up on a beautiful charming smile. At that moment, Loriel felt the air was sucked out of him and he couldn''t breathe. Elise... Tears slowly dripped down his cheek as his body unknowingly rose from his seat and his hand touched the ss window. He couldn''t believe his eyes. This... must be his imagination... right? Did he miss her so much that now he had gone crazy? ''Oh, Elise... my lovely Elise...'' ''If this was really you, please give me a sign.'' Loriel''s eyes were fixed on the girl as he looked at her longingly. His brain told him he was hallucinating. Elise was not supposed to be here. The evil Time Master sent her to the year 2100, to punish him. This was only 2045. He still needed to wait another fifty-five years. That was the reason why he took the curse of immortality so he could wait for her. It was not the time yet. Maybe his mind was clouded by his longing for her, so it had started to make up things. Maybe he should see a doctor? Well.. what did modern doctors know? He knew more than all of thembined. Loriel sighed. His brain told him he was hallucinating, but why did his heart tell him it was her? He finally decided to leave his book and came out of the cafe to talk to her. If it was her, he would know. CREAK The door opened and he walked slowly to her side. Loriel knew at this day and age, he couldn''t just approach a woman directly like it was in the past. Modern humans had what they called personal space. He was a king in the past, and everyone would bow down in respect or curtsey when he entered a room, but here he was a regr human. His kingdom was gone over one thousand years ago. It was all his fault. He didn''t want to take another wife just to get an heir to inherit the kingdom from him. How could he marry another woman when his dear wife was still alive? She was just not with him at that moment. Loriel would feel like cheating when he even looked at another female in a romantic way. So, without an heir apparent, as predicted, once he left, there was a long and bloody power struggle between his nephews. He didn''t remember who won, nor did he care. His kingdom no longer had meaning to him once Elise was gone. Gosh, she would scold him if she knew. She always wanted him to be a good king. ''How could I rule my kingdom if every day all I could think about was you, honey?'' The woman who was mesmerized by the falling rain, slowly realized a pair of eyes had been watching her from the side. She turned to Loriel and when she saw him, her eyes went round in shock. Chapter 4 - GoogleMaps "Gosh.. sorry, I was startled." The woman waved her hand apologetically. She was suddenly reminded that it was rude to stare at other people the way she did just now. "I didn''t know someone was standing there. I felt stared at." Loriel''s heart skipped a beat. It''s HER VOICE! Gosh.. maybe he had indeed gone mad for missing her too much. How could he remember her voice? It''s been such an awfully long time. "It''s okay," Loriel replied dryly. His throat felt choked. Gosh.. how badly he wanted to jump on her and gave her a bear hug. He wanted to kiss her all over and told her how much he missed her. I must be out of my mind, he thought bitterly. This couldn''t be her. He still had to wait fifty-five more years until she arrived here. It''s not impossible for someone to look like another person. During his time on earth, he had met many people which could be said to look like each other''s doppelgangers. Sometimes, they were actually direct descendants of people he knew from the past. Sometimes, they could be cousins. Just look at Tsar Nichs II from Russia and his cousin, King George V from Ennd who uncannily looked very simr. Wait, why was he thinking about those people? They didn''t matter. Only Elise mattered. "I-I''m sorry... I thought you are someone I knew," Loriel immediately made an excuse. "That''s why I have been looking at you. I am sorry if it was rude." "Oh... is that why?" Somehow, his words made the girl look sad. She sighed and looked away. "I guess, so many people look alike in this world." "Do you think so?" Loriel knew she was right, but he loved her voice so much that he wanted to hear her speak again. Sadly, the girl seemed dejected and no longer wanted to engage in a conversation with him. Now, Loriel became confused. He was wondering which part of his words had offended her. "Ahh.. the rain has stopped. I should get going." After a while, she turned to him out of politeness and bid him goodbye. However, Loriel noticed that the way she said the rain had stopped didn''t sound excited. She seemed sad that the rain had ended. Loriel was wondering if he should create another rain for her. This girl seemed to like it very much. Just like Elise. "Ah.. where are you going?" he asked. At this point, he no longer cared if he came too strong. He would follow his gut. He must know who this girl was. "We might be heading in the same direction," he hurriedly added. The girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Now, she must think he was a pervert or a stalker. Even though Loriel looked like a perfect gentleman, it was no guarantee that, in her eyes, he was one These days, many criminals were wolves in sheep''s clothing. "So, where are YOU going?" The girl asked back. Uff... she was smart, Loriel had to admit. Now, the ball was in his court. He must pretend to go somewhere too. "I want to go to Central Park," Loriel replied carelessly. "I mean.. I''m new in this city and I don''t know the way. So, if you happen to be going around that area, I would love to tag along. That is... if you don''t mind." "Don''t you know how to use GoogleMaps?" the girl furrowed her brows. Lauriel shook his head innocently. This girl must not believe him when he gave a sign that he didn''t know how to use GoogleMaps, but how else could he exin the reason why he didn''t know how to get to Central Park from here? "Do you have money?" the girl asked him again. "You can just hail a taxi and pay the driver to take you there." Loriel found himself sink deeper into a web of lies. His mouth easily uttered, "I cannot afford a taxi. I don''t have the money." He could buy New York City if he wanted to. Yet, just now, he easily imed to be poor. "Oh..." The girl batted her eyes and slowly her expression turned into sympathy. "Then it makes the two of us." "Oh?" Loriel didn''t understand what she meant. "You cannot afford a taxi too?" She nodded sadly. "Yes, and I also cannot use GoogleMaps. People keep saying I have to use it but I don''t know how." WHAT? Loriel was baffled when he heard her reply. She... was joking, wasn''t she? How was someone not able to use GoogleMaps in this day and age? Technology had be part of everyone''s daily life now. Surely she had a phone, right? It was a piece of cake to use. With her phone, she could call and text and definitely use GoogleMaps. Loriel said he couldn''t use GoogleMaps and couldn''t afford a taxi as an excuse. He was obviously lying and he thought she would easily catch him on that lie. However... she didn''t? Loriel''s heart sank as he looked at her deeply, and a crazy thought was suddenly raging in his mind. Maybe she was really Elise. She was from the past, so it must be really difficult for her to adjust to modern life. That''s why she couldn''t use GoogleMaps... right? "Ahaha.. I''m d I''m not the only one," the girl''s nervousugh moved him from his reverie. "I thought I was so stupid." Loriel felt his heart ached for her. Elise was the smartest and kindest woman he had ever known. Yet, today she thought she was stupid for being unable to use simple modern technology. "No.. no, you are not stupid," he said with a hoarse voice. "I also think it''s a bit tooplicated and unnecessary. I''d prefer to ask people for direction. You know, it''s nice to talk to other people and have a human connection. I believe technology has made people be more individualistic and selfish." Damn, he was such a good liar. Of all the people who loved using technology to avoid talking to other humans, he was the most individualistic and selfish one. "You think so too?" Now, she was finally smiling, looking relieved. "I agree with you." Chapter 5 - I Wish I Could Turn Back Time Her smile looked so beautiful and, for a moment, Loriel was dumbfounded. He swallowed and smiled back. He was a man of a few words and he rarely smiled, but today he felt like smiling all day. "So... are you going in the same direction?" he asked her, trying to check his luck. The woman lowered her head and then nodded. "Yes, I happen to be going to Central Park too." "How nice! It must be fate," Loriel eximed. He didn''t even bother to go back inside the cafe to get his book. "Do you want to go now?" She looked at him and nodded shyly. "Yes. Let''s ask people how to go there." "Come on!" Loriel reached out his hand and she instinctively took it. As soon as her hand touched his, the man''s heart skipped several beats. He almost froze in ce. This hand was so soft and feminine. He almost took it and kissed it like what he was supposed to do in the past to his lovely wife. However, he had to hold back. He didn''t want to scare her. One, he was not sure this woman was Elise. And second... if she was really Elise... that means she didn''t remember him. He must not make things awkward between them. If this woman was really Elise, Loriel must know what the hell happened that she was already here, long before the year 2100. Did the wicked Time Master lie? What a jerk! He even lied in hisst breath? If he wasn''t already dead, Loriel really wanted to kill him. "What''s wrong?" the girl asked. She saw Loriel''s expression and was wondering why the man looked upset. "Did you forget something?" Loriel quickly shook his head. "No, nothing. Let''s go. Let me ask that guy for the direction." He motioned her to walk toward a man who was rushing to get somewhere. He stopped the man and forced a smile. "Hello, are you from around here?" The man twitched his brows and growled as a reply. "Yeah. What do you want?" "Uhm, we are new in this city and would like to go to Central Park. Would you please let us know which way is it?" Loriel asked him. The man stared at Loriel in disbelief. The former king could guess what the man had in mind. He must think Loriel and this girl were weirdos for still asking direction in this day and age. Loriel quickly added, "I''m sorry, I forgot my device so I am kind of lost now." Only then did the man seem to understand. He pointed to their right. "It''s that way. You might want to take the subway since it''s cheaper. The bus is moreplicated because you have to switch. That''s the entrance over there. Just find any train going to Central Park and you''ll be good." "Thank you," Loriel said. "Have a nice day!" The man only nodded and turned around to continue his journey. Loriel turned to the woman and smiled sweetly. "See? It''s so nice talking to people and ask for direction?" She smiled back. "You are right." "Let''s go!" He walked toward the direction that the man pointed at. Yes, they could take the subway and go together. He would try to talk more with this woman while they were on the way to Central Park to find out who she was. "Oh, by the way..." When they arrived inside the station, Loriel suddenly remembered that he still had not asked her name. "My name is Loriel." The woman batted hershes adorably and was in a panic for a few seconds before she obviously made up a name on the spot. "I-I... you can call me Elise." "Elise?" Loriel felt his cheeks heated. He was wondering if his ears yed tricks on him. Did she really say her name was Elise? If she was really Elise, why didn''t she recognize him? Was this just pure coincidence? "Yes, that''s me." She looked at him with her rounded eyes and confirmed his name, "You are... Loriel?" "Yes," the man replied with a hoarse voice. His heart had not felt this much warmth and affection in fifteen centuries. Loriel never knew hearing her voice calling his name like this would make him feel so happy. He felt like he was in seventh heaven. "Please, call me Loriel." Elise nodded. "Okay." She looked around them and tried to read the signs to see which train they should take. While Loriel was still standing in his ce, pressing his hand to his chest. He knew right then, this woman was really his Elise. Nobody could make his heart flutter the way she did. He had been roaming the earth for so long and met all kinds of people, men or women, and none of them impressed him nor made him feel intrigued, let alone made his heart flutter. But this woman.. just with one word, calling his name, he felt like he was on top of the world. It was really hard to exin. "Do you know which train we should take?" She turned to Loriel and asked the man. Loriel had no idea which train to take. He didn''t take public transport. If he needed to go anywhere, he had his car or chauffeur to take him anywhere. "I think... that way," he said, pointing in a direction. "We can ask more people if we are not sure." "Okay," Elise just followed the man''s steps as Loriel approached a woman who looked like a student and seemed friendly enough to answer their questions. Fortunately, the woman was helpful and she pointed them in the right direction. Five minutester, Loriel and Elise had been sittingfortably on the train heading to Central Park West. Since it was the weekend afternoon, the train was not full like usual. Loriel noticed from the corner of his eyes, Elise looked deep in thoughts. This made him wonder what she was thinking. Oh, how badly he wanted to know what was going on in that beautiful head. What did actually happen to her? Where did she live all this time? Judging from her slightly more mature appearance, she was no longer the 20-year-old woman he saw thest time. So, how old was she now? Unfortunately, Loriel couldn''t really tell. She could be 40 or even 50 but still looked like she was in her twenties... That''s how good-looking she was! Loriel remembered Elise''s grandmother was beautiful and still looked youthful even in her seventies. Elise could inherit her grandmother''s gene and kept her youthful appearance. So, it would be difficult to tell when exactly she arrived in this modern world. Unless Elise would tell him herself. Loriel nced at her hands that she sped gracefully on herp, and his heart felt ached. What happened to you, my love? What did they do to you? He remembered earlier Elise seemed worried and she quickly made up a name on the spot when Loriel introduced himself. The man could tell from her expression that ''Elise'' was not the name she used to go by. So, maybe... she didn''t want to tell Loriel her name for whatever reason and she made up something to introduce herself to him. However, since Elise was her birth name, her brain unconsciously gave that name to Loriel. So, what was her name now? And what made her seem worried to give him her new name? Gosh, now Loriel wished he was a mind reader. It would be nice to know everything just by reading her mind. "Where are you from?" Finally, he decided to ask her. He intentionally tried hard to make his tone sound casual and nonchnt. He didn''t want her to think he was pushy and a stalker. So, he must tread carefully. "I am not from around here," Elise replied. "Sorry, I prefer not to say. I hope you don''t mind." "Oh, no, I don''t mind," Loriel waved his hand and smiled reassuringly. "I am just wondering if you are in trouble or something. If you are, you can tell me. I will help you." "Why did you think I am in trouble?" Elise''s eyes widened. She pressed her lips in shock. Obviously, she didn''t expect Loriel to see through her so easily. Well, of course, he knew her so well. She was a bad liar. "Just a wild guess," Loriel exined. "Or, maybe you can call it intuition. As I said, I like human connection, so oftentimes I could understand people easily." Human connection, my foot. He disliked most humans. But, how else could he avoid her suspicion? She would definitely think he was a stalker if he told her he could understand her well because he knew her. Not only he knew her, but he also loved her to death. While she... she didn''t even remember who he was. Now it really felt like one-sided love on his part. Was this how she felt when he ignored her back then? She must feel so hurt because he didn''t love her, even though they were betrothed from birth and she loved him so much. [My poor Elise.] [I am sorry for letting you experience such pain when you first came to Summeria. I was an ass-hole] Loriel thought bitterly. [I wish I could turn back time and make it up to you.] Chapter 6 - What Father? Elise looked at Loriel with pursed lips and a worried expression. It looked like she was considering whether she could trust this man or not. This world was a scary ce from what she heard her teacher told her. So many wolves in sheep''s clothing. Do not go out alone. Do not go out at night. Do not wear a revealing dress. Wait! Even if women wore non-revealing dresses they were still at risk of being assaulted. Yet, she had no choice today. She took the courage to run away and ended up in New York City, the only ce she knew aside from home. Now that she was here.. she didn''t know where else to go and what to do. Now, she almost regretted her impulse. She should have been more prepared. "If you don''t want to tell me, it''s okay. I just want to help," Loriel said with his gentlest voice. "I understand that not everyone wants help." He didn''t want to scare her buting too strong. Deep inside he was relieved that Elise didn''t easily trust some stranger. Even if it was him. He would prefer Elise to suspect each and every male she encountered. He believed, over time, he would be able to gain her trust. So, it would work in his favor. But if Elise easily trust anyone, who knew where she might have ended up? Maybe she would already marry another man. Wait...! Was she married? The former king quickly nced at her fingers, trying to find any ring there. There was none. B-but.. it''s not a guarantee that Elise was not married. She could be allergic to gold and didn''t wear her wedding band. Or.. she might be having a fight with her husband and decided to leave her ring back home. Gosh... what if... What if she was really married? Suddenly Loriel went into a panic. He looked at the beautiful woman with a distraught expression. He would be so heartbroken if his fifteen centuries of wait ended in a pathetic way. That damned Time Master really got him good this time. He lied about the year he sent Elise to, and so, even though Loriel was lucky enough to meet her in the same lifetime, she was already married to another man. Wait...! She couldn''t marry any other men! Elise was still his wife. They got married and took the vow to love, care, and protect each other for as long as they lived. In Loriel''s case, it would be forever. But, how would he prove it to her if she didn''t remember him? Oh, honey... Elise tilted her head when she saw the man looking visibly distraught. She didn''t know what suddenly triggered the change in this man''s expression. Just minutes ago, he looked nonchnt and carefree, but now, suddenly he was looking sad. Did something happen? Out of reflex, Elise touched Loriel''s cheek and looked at him deeply. Her voice was so sweet to the ears when she talked. "Are you okay? Is something bothering you?" Loriel''s sadness immediately evaporated when he heard her voice. He knew for sure that this lovely woman was his Elise. Only her voice could have this effect on him. He touched her hand on his cheek and immediately regretted it since Elise was suddenly reminded that it was rude to touch other people, especially a stranger. She automatically withdrew her hand. "I-I''m sorry.. I didn''t mean to be presumptuous..." she said shyly. "I thought something happened and you are feeling sad." "It''s okay.. you are not presumptuous," Loriel hurriedly said. "Something came to mind and it made me sad. But I am fine. Don''t worry." "Okay, then..." Elise bit her lip and seemed deep in thoughts. It looked like she was assessing if she could trust the man beside her and told him about her problem. Finally, when she had made a decision and was about to say something, the train''s speaker announced that they had arrived at their station. Elise looked at Loriel and asked him with her eyes, the man nodded and rose from his seat. "Yes, we have arrived. Let''s get off here." He reached out his hand and the girl took it again automatically. They walked holding hands out of the train, and then to the stairs that led to outside. People who saw them would think they were lovers. The man looked so caring and attentive, while the woman shy and timid. In actuality, Loriel did it out of love, while Elise just epted his hand out of instinct. She didn''t even think about it. "It''s over there, I think," Loriel said while pointing to their left. "The signs say so." "Ahh.. that''s nice." Elise''s face was beaming. She let go of her hand from Loriel''s and walked toward the park. Loriel quickly caught up to her and walked beside her. "Is there anything special in Central Park that you want to see?" The man asked in passing. Elise shook her head. "Nothing really special. I just want to be there. It brings nice memories." "Oh... let me guess, memories with someone you love?" Loriel pretended to say those words casually, but deep inside, he felt dejected. Elise nodded. "You are right." Loriel felt so sad when he heard her reply that his steps halted, while Elise kept walking, not realizing the effect of her words on this weird stranger. So, it''s true. Elise was married. Maybe something happened to her husband and now she was going there to remember him. Right at that moment, Loriel felt his world ended so abruptly. Elise had met another man and fell in love with him. She didn''t even remember him and the past they shared together, and... Ahh... Elise finally realized that the man was no longer walking beside her. She halted her steps and turned around. She furrowed her brows in confusion when she saw him standing rooted on the spot, and looked at her with gleaming eyes. She walked over to him. "You look sick. Are you okay?" Loriel looked at Elise deeply and forced a smile. "I just had a headache. It''s gone now." The more he looked at her, the more Loriel didn''t care about anyone else. So, what if Elise was married to another man? He didn''t care. Elise was his wife and his alone. Her new marriage was void and Loriel would make her his again. "Ah... okay." Elise smiled. "I''m d you are okay." "We can continue, it''s right over there," Loriel said. "Are you meeting anyone in Central Park?" "No," Elise turned around and continued her walk with Loriel. After spending a bit of time with this man, she started to feelfortable talking to him. She finally exined the reason why she wanted to visit Central Park. "Actually, my father met my mother here and fell in love with her at first sight. It became his favorite ce in the world. He brought me here several times before he got sick. Today, I miss him. So, I just want to visit his favorite ce." Loriel truly didn''t expect that was the reason why Elise wanted to go to Central Park. Oh.. so, what she meant by ''nice memories'' was not memories with another man, but with her father? Wait...! What father? Elise''s father, King Leoralei passed away fifteen centuries ago. How could she have another father in this modern world? Was this not his Elise? Was Loriel mistaken and got the wrong woman? Chapter 7 - Blooming Flowers "Where is your father now?" Finally, Loriel decided to ask Elise about her father. He just had to know what happened. Maybe it had something to do with her not remembering him? Elise lowered her head and sighed. "He is very sick." "Oh... do you know where he is treated?" Loriel asked again. The woman shook her head dejectedly. "I don''t. And besides, I don''t want to go there." "Why not?" Elise pretended not to hear his question. She raised her hand and pointed forward. "That''s the entrance. We are here." Loriel felt Elise was hiding something. She seemed reluctant to talk about her father. What was so bad about his illness? Where was he being treated? And.. why she didn''t want to go there? So many questions! "I know several top surgeons in New York and ess to the best hospitals," Loriel blurted. "I think whatever it is that your father is having, I am sure he can be cured." "You do?" Elise turned to Loriel and looked at the man with furrowed brows. "You said you don''t have money, but you know top surgeons and have ess to the best hospitals?" Loriel coughed violently when he heard her question. Uff, Elise was too smart. He replied nonchntly and asked her back, "What does money have to do with knowing someone?" "Well... I don''t know. They said usually people like top surgeons and the best hospitals are only essible by people with a lot of money," Elise replied. "You couldn''t even afford a taxi today." "Well.. I am not always poor, okay," Loriel raked his brain to find a good excuse. "I recently lost my money on the stock market. I used to be rich." "Oh..." Elise now looked at Loriel from head to toe and she could confirm that the man had impable taste. So, it was possible that he was rich. "Okay, then." "So.. do you believe me that I know top surgeons?" Loriel asked again. "You can just tell me what happened to your father, and I will contact those surgeons to check on his condition." Elise''s eyes gleamed with tears when she heard his kind offer. Sadly, she had to decline this man''s generosity. "You are so kind," she said with a low voice. "However, I cannot go there. I can only pray for him from afar." "I don''t understand. What happened?" Loriel''s mind was filled with so many scenarios as to why Elise couldn''t go and see her ''father''. Was the man in jail? Was that why Elise couldn''te and visit him when he was sick? They had walked inside the huge park and Elise didn''t reply to Loriel''s question. Instead, she looked around and clicked her tongue in disappointment. "The trees are grey and there are no flowers like thest time I came here..." She sighed. Well, of course. They came at the end of autumn. Most of the trees had gone grey after being orange for months and the flowers were no longer blooming. Soon, winter would arrive and the temperature would drop that people wouldn''te here to sightsee like what they were doing now. However, Loriel would not let the beautiful woman feel disappointed. He pointed in a direction and said, "I think I see some flowers over there. Do you want to check?" Elise looked in the direction he pointed at and furrowed her brows. She couldn''t see anything. It was the same grey trees. "Do you want to walk there?" Loriel offered. "Let''s find a nice ce to sit and enjoy the view." Elise smiled and nodded. She thought there was nothing to lose to go with him. She didn''t really have a specific ce to see anyway. She only came here twice before and didn''t really know her way around here. It was actually nice to meet someone who also wanted to visit this ce. The man seemed nice and helpful. Being on her own was quite lonely. Elise had not really talked to anyone for days. Loriel smiled faintly when Elise epted his suggestion and walked together toward theke. As they walked, he waved his left hand subtly, and slowly flowers started blooming around theke and the green leaves growing on the trees again like it was the spring. By the time they got to theke, Elise was stunned by the beauty around them. She pressed her lips with both hands and turned around to admire the scenery. "Oh my god... you are right! They still have so many flowers here!" She gushed. Not only the green trees and blooming flowers everywhere, there were also three beautiful blue Jacaranda trees by theke. Today, the three Jacaranda trees were filled with flowers, like it was in summer. It was oh so beautiful! Loriel smiled broadly when he saw Elise''s reaction. Gosh.. she was so adorable! Always had, always will. The wind blew gently and soon the air was filled with the Jacaranda flowers floating in the air, after being blown away from their trees. Audible gasps were heard from around them. People suddenly noticed the change that was happening around them. "Hey, I didn''t realize that those Jacaranda trees are blooming. Did you?" "Neither did I. Wow... look at that!" "So beautiful! I will take a picture!" "Look! So many flowers are blooming too! This is wonderful!" Elise raised her hand and looked up to see the raining flower petal. She was beaming with happiness. "This... this is amazing," she whispered. . . 1] You can google the picture of Blue Jacaranda trees. They are so beautiful! ---- From the author: Wee to my new book: "The Cursed King"! What do you think about the first 7 chapters? I am very excited to write this new book because it will be the culmination of two of my most beloved books. "The Alchemists" and "The Cursed Prince." "The Alchemists" is a story about immortal people who live in the modern world. Loriel''s story is actually inspired by Lauriel Medici, a very important character in that book. I intentionally use a simr name to his as a homage to Lauriel''s character. Lauriel Medici had lived for almost 6 centuries and he was tired of living after the only woman that he ever loved died during WWII. I think, if you like this book, you will enjoy "The Alchemists" too. Another important fact is that King Loriel Ashborn will make an appearance in my other book, "The Cursed Prince" and you will get to know him and Elise more closely. I believe you will love how his story is woven in "The Cursed Prince" before his own story starts here. If you haven''t read both books, worry not, "The Cursed King" is apletely stand-alone book and can be read separately. In the meantime, wee to "The Cursed King". Hope you will have a pleasant stay as we embark on a new adventure together. I will update the book 1 chapter per day, and if we can get a higher ranking, I will throw in mass releases. Much love, Missrealitybites Chapter 8 - Their Wedding "This is amazing," Elise muttered over and over again. She turned around with both her palms were open to receive the jacaranda flower petals. "So beautiful..!" Loriel smiled at his handiwork. For him, controlling the weather or the nts were piece of cake. Anything for Elise. He would do anything to make her smile. Oh, she was so beautiful and adorable, that Loriel couldn''t hold himself and with a wave of his hand, he created more breeze to blew those flower petals into the air. More and more people were taking pictures and videos of the amazing nature phenomenon. It was like a rain of flowers. Now, not only the Jacaranda flowers but also some roses, lilies, and even tulips. It was truly magical. "Did you see that? So beautiful...." Elise gushed to Loriel The man nodded with a smile. His eyes never left her. "Yes, so beautiful..." He was so tempted to take her hand and danced with her. It would be magical, to dance under the rain of flowers like this. And he would kiss her and make love to her. Gosh, he missed her body so much. He still remembered their first night together. She was shy like a kitten. They only had sex after they were already married for six months. Before that day, he didn''t touch her. One of his excuses was he was too busy with his work as the king since they were facing a rebellion from one of his brothers-inw who wanted to usurp power. Loriel was the only son of the previous king. He had five older sisters who all married important noblemen or princes from lesser kingdoms who became their colonies. They all were eyeing for the throne and one was bold enough to rebel when Loriel became the king. Even though by birth Loriel was the only rightful heir to the throne, initially he was not interested in power. He was more into adventures and wanted to live in freedom. If he took the throne, that meant he would be responsible for the lives of millions of people. That''s why he decided to run away from home and lived outside the pce wall. He enjoyed the freedom and lived life to the fullest. On the road, he met his kindred spirit. She was a princess from across the ocean who left her kingdom in search of adventures too. They immediately clicked. Oh, all the shenanigans they did together were so much fun! Right then, Loriel knew, he had found the one. She was the girl he could love and someday wish to marry. The best thing about her? She didn''t even know who he was. Loriel kept his identity a secret because he didn''t want the girl to treat him differently just because he was the crown prince of Summeria, the biggest empire in the Antean continent. He gave her his childhood name, the one his mother often called him with. That was the name that he considered sacred that he didn''t want Elise to know and say. It was only for that woman that Loriel loved with all his heart. Gosh.. that reminded him, how cold he was treating Elise in the first month of their marriage. Back then he was still fixated on that woman. Loriel couldn''t ept the fact that he was betrothed to Elise since before they were born. He thought she was the wall that hindered him from getting his happiness. Loriel only married her out of duty because his mother made him promise to ept Elise and protect her after her parents passed away. "You are only my wife by name," he remembered vividly the words he said that he would always regret until the day he died. "I don''t love you. I only promise to care for you and to protect you for as long as we live. And I will keep my promise because I am a man of my word." He said those words on the day of their wedding as he poured the wine into their cups and asked Elise to drink to finalize the wedding rituals. Elise forced a smile as she tried hard to hold back her tears from falling down to her cheeks. "I understand." "Good..." said Loriel as he handed one cup to Elise and took the other. "Let''s drink and finish the wedding." Elise took the cup from him and sipped the wine. She lowered her face so Loriel wouldn''t see drops of tears fell from her eyes. Finally, they were husband and wife. "You can sleep here," Loriel said as he rose from his seat. "I will sleep in the other tower." He intentionally chose a separate bedroom that was quite far from hers. He thought it would be good to avoid her as much as possible because... he was a normal man and she was freaking beautiful and alluring. He was worried that he would be tempted to sleep with her if he saw her too often. This woman had a ridiculous womanly charm that was enough to make him aroused just by talking. He didn''t want to have sex with her because she would think she would get his heart. No, it was not right. He didn''t love her, but he didn''t want to hurt her feelings by giving her false hope. He could sleep with her without love, but she would think he fell for her if they had sex. It was not fair for Elise if he did it. She was not afort woman who was only there to satisfy his sexual needs. If Loriel wanted to sleep with a woman, he would do it out of love. He was not in love with Elise, that''s why he had to hold back and avoid her and her ridiculous charm. . . >>>>> From the author: I am having so much fun writing this story because this is quite unique. This time, we will have a romance story but with a male main character. It''s also not a typical story where the cold aloof man treated the woman badly, and then realized that he has fallen in love with her after she is gone. Loriel is a good man. He tried so hard to treat Elise properly, even though back then he didn''t love her. Now, he is head over heels for her and is trying to woo her back, doing everything just for her, and to make her fall in love with him again, so they could be together. The story will explore their rtionship in the modern world and have many shbacks to the past, to show how their love evolves and their characters grow. If you havee to this story from "The Cursed Prince", I am sure you can recognize some elements. We will have so much fun exploring both stories at the same time. If you haven''t read "The Cursed Prince", I''d suggest you go there and read it because the book is FUNNY and filled with so much FLUFF. It''s not mandatory, of course, because this story is a standalone book. You don''t need to read other books to understand this one. But, if you do read "The Cursed Prince", I think you will love it! PS: What do you think about this story so far? I''d love to hear your thoughts. You can write it in thements or write a review! xx PPS: We''ll probably have a snusnu (sex scene) in the next chapter.. hehehe. Would you like that? Let me know! Chapter 9 - Brick "Isn''t it amazing that they still have green trees and flowers here at this time of the year?" Elise nudged Loriel''s arm and moved the man from his reverie. "It feels like magic!" Well... it IS magic, Loriel wanted to tell her. He could make it summer all year round if she wanted it. He didn''t care what other people would think. They would probably me it on global warming... hehehe. "Yes, it is amazing," Loriel replied. He looked up to the air and observed the falling petals. This thing was enough to make her brim with happiness. Ahh.. It was so easy to make her happy. Loriel remembered, on her birthday, he gave her a kitten and she was so damn happy people would think he gave her a castle made of gold. Ahem.. the kitten was not even a real gift. Sigh. Loriel was so embarrassed every time he remembered that day. He actually found the kitten stranded in the garden, looking for its mother. He picked it up because the meowing noise was annoying him. So, he tried to find the mother. However, after searching around his pce, he could never find it. When he wanted to give the kitten to his butler, so he would bring it outside, Elise came to his residence. When the woman saw Loriel carrying the small animal in his arms, she immediately thought it was a gift for her. "Ahh... you remember..." she gushed. Her hands pressed her lips in awe and excitement. She looked oh so adorable, like a little girl who was given a candied apple. Her expression was a mix of surprise and excitement. Loriel didn''t know what she was talking about. So, he pointed at the kitten in his arms and tilted his chin at her. "This?" "Yes... I told you I would like to have a pet for my birthday..." Elise smiled like an angel, looking grateful and happy. "I love the kitten. Thank you so much!" Loriel didn''t have the heart to tell her that the kitten was lost and was probably looking for its mother. Elise innocently thought Loriel cared enough to remember something she said in passing, months ago. Wait.. was today really her birthday? Why didn''t anybody tell him? Dammit. He must scold his butler for his failure to remind him of his wife''s birthday. "What will you name him?" Finally, Loriel handed over the kitten to Elise. She took it with glee and kissed the kitten''s head lovingly. It was not even a pretty kitten. It was ck, ugly, and thin. However, she treated it like it was made of gold. Loriel really couldn''t understand this woman. "Uhmm... I don''t know yet," Elise looked embarrassed that she had not prepared any names for the kitten. She must not expect her husband would remember her wish and gave her a pet. "Hmm.." Loriel crossed his arms on his chest and narrowed his eyes to observe the kitten more closely. It looked very ordinary. He was not sure he could let her keep it. If the high nobility in Summeria saw how ugly the queen''s pet was, they might think the Ashborns didn''t have good taste. He had to find an excuse not to let her keep the cat. "I''m disappointed that you asked me for a pet, yet you don''t prepare the name for it," he looked at her, pretending to be disappointed. "I think I cannot let you keep it." "Please, don''t..." Elise pursed her lips and her eyes became teary. "I have a name for it..." "You do?" Loriel raised an eyebrow. "Yes, yes..." Elise looked around her frantically, trying to find inspiration quickly. And suddenly, she blurted, "His name is Brick." Loriel followed her gaze and realized she was looking at the brick wall behind him. This woman was not too creative, he thought. "Didn''t you say you didn''t know his name yet?" Loriel raised another eyebrow. He wanted to know how she could get away with this. Elise licked her lips, as she always did whenever she was nervous. Dammit. She didn''t know the effect it had on Loriel every time she did that. He would immediately think about how it was like to kiss her. Those luscious lips looked so alluring and inviting. Elise shook her head shyly, but her eyes looked determined. She was a bad liar, but she tried nheless. "I have some names for it already, I just couldn''t decide which one I like better, between Brick... Pot... or..." She licked her lips again and looked behind Loriel. Finally, her eyes glint with excitement. "Or Pebble." Loriel chuckled. Brick must be from the brick wall behind him, Pot was from the potted nts to his right, and Pebble.. was probably from the pebbles they were stepping on. Normally, he would roll his eyes at her simplicity andck of creativity, but this time, he found it too funny that he thought it would be fun to y pretend. So, Loriel nodded in approval. "Okay. So, out of those three candidates, you finally decided on.... Brick?" Elise nodded vigorously. "Yes." She held the meowing kitten lovingly like she would a baby. Somehow, seeing her holding the small kitten in her arms, Loriel''s mind wander. He thought she would look good with a baby in her arms. Elise seemed like she would be a good and loving mother. Gosh.. what was I thinking? Loriel scolded himself. He didn''t love this woman! Whatever it was that he was feeling for her.. it must be pure lust. He was better than that. He must not raise her hopes up. "Okay, you can have it." He cleared his throat. "So, the name is... Brick?" Elise nodded with a beautiful smile. "Yes." "Are you sure?" Loriel looked at her deeply. "We can still find another, better name for it before this one gets stuck." Elise shook her head. "It''s Brick." Loriel sighed. This woman could be stubborn if she wanted to. Finally, he gave up and let her have her way. And that''s how they got Brick. The kitten grew up to be an ugly cat, like Loriel had predicted, but Elise loved him to bits. And Brick loved her as much as she loved him. Loriel knew that darn cat hated everyone but his wife. Well.. who could hate sweet Elise? Nobody. She was too good for this world. Chapter 10 - The Shameless Husband Loriel initially hated Brick, because deep inside he felt jealous. Elise loved that cat so much, it followed her everywhere. It even slept with her on her bed. Ahem.. that was until Loriel took over. Yessir! Loriel finally put the cat in its ce four monthster. However, that was for another story. Uff.... sometimes Loriel still missed Brick. The cat lived up to 30 years or around 137 years in human life*. He had a good life. Come to think of it, even though he was officially Elise''s cat, Loriel was stuck with him for much, much longer. When Elise was gone, Brick was the only one who understood just how sad and devastated Loriel was. They both shared their love for Elise and finally bonded over their longing for her. He cared for the cat, the way Elise would. And when Brick took itsst breath, Loriel even cried for it. Not only because he had learned to love Brick during their three decades together, but also because he felt like the only connection he had left to Elise was finally gone. She was gone with his heart and all his dreams for their future together. Now, finally, seeing her again right before his eyes, Loriel couldn''t help but shed a tear. She was all smiles while turning around with her hands raised to receive the flowers from above. "Hey... what happened to you?" However, as soon as she caught sight of the man looking teary-eyed, Elise''s happiness disappeared. She quickly came to him and touched his arm. "Are you sick? Or... sad?" Loriel instantly wiped his eyes and shook his head, pretending to catch something in his eyes. "Ahh.. I''m fine, really. Just these darn flowers.... Some pollen got into my eyes," he pretended toin. "Oh..." Elise looked guilty for enjoying the rain of flower so much, while Loriel suffered from it. "Poor thing.. we better walk away from here. Maybe we can go there?" She pointed at a small gazebo by theke. Loriel nodded. He wiped his eyes dry and walked with Elise toward the gazebo and sat there. "How are your eyes?" she asked him attentively. "Do you want me to blow them for you?" Loriel smiled and nodded. "Yes, please..." He dly let Elise tugged his chin while she focused on his left eye and blew air to it since Loriel lied and told her some pollen got into his eyes. Then, she blew the other one. "Is it better now?" She asked him. Their eyes met. Loriel had to look away so as not to reveal the secrets of his heart. He didn''t want her to look straight into his eyes. She would see his longing for her and feel confused. Heck, she might misunderstand and thought he looked at her that way because he was a pervert. He couldn''t let that happen. Oh, Elise... "I think I am having a migraine..." Loriel suddenly became shameless and put on a pitiful expression. "It is so painful." "Oh no..." Now Elise was in a panic. "Do you have any medicine with you?" Loriel shook his head and held his temples, pretending to be in pain. "Usually it will subside on its own if I lie down." Elise looked around them and didn''t find anyfortable ce for Loriel to lie down. The gazebo had a hard wooden floor and it looked very ufortable. Elise didn''t have the heart to let the man who was in pain to rest his head there. ''Uhm..." She bit her lip and reluctantly sat down on the floor. "Maybe you can put your head on myp? Perhaps it will help?" Loriel''s heart was pounding when he heard her generous offer. Ahh.. she was always like this. She could never see other people around her suffer. That was the excuse that Loriel often used in the past to get onto her bed. He would feign a headache and she would kindly take him and cared for him, like she cared for Brick. "Can I?" Loriel asked Elise in a doubtful expression. "I don''t want to bother you..." "You don''t bother me," Elise replied. She patted herp and motioned Loriel to put his head on herp. "Come on... you said you will get better after you lie down. What are you waiting for?" Loriel swallowed. Gosh, he missed herp, so much. "Okay, then..." Loriel let out a relieved sigh. Then he rested his weary head on her warmp. "Thank you." "Don''t mention it," said Elise. She looked away, trying not to see the handsome face under her. Her heart beat faster, without her knowing why. . . 1] It''s generally agreed that the first two years of a cat''s life are roughly equal to the first 25 of a human''s. After this, each additional year is around four ''cat years''. Chapter 11 - Loriel Calls His Assistant "How do you feel?" Elise asked after a while. She still didn''t dare to look at Loriel whose head was now on herp. Somehow, she felt her heart beating fast. This was a foreign feeling to her. "I feel slightly better," Loriel said, even though his voice sounded reluctant. Gosh.. he missed herp and wished he could stay there all day, but he knew better not to tire her. He was quite heavy, even though Elise neverined about it. "Can you walk?" she asked him attentively. At that moment, Loriel felt like he wanted to fake being unconscious so he could stay on herp forever. But.. he didn''t have the heart to make her worried. She was new in this city, obviously didn''t have money, and couldn''t even navigate her way around. It would give her a lot of hassle and problems if she suddenly had to care for a stranger like him. Loriel knew she would. Elise wouldn''t abandon anyone who suffered even if it would cost her. That''s how good his sweet wife was. Gosh, he loved her so much. Loriel wished he could say it right there and then. I love you, Elise! So fucking much. "Are you okay?" Elise looked at Loriel deeply. Finally, she couldn''t hold back anymore and stared at the man, trying to see signs if he was still in pain or if he was better. Her heart was beating faster and faster. This man was good-looking, but that was not what attracted Elise and made her heart pound. It was his grey eyes that looked so much like silver. They looked so deep and beautiful, and those eyes were looking at her with longing. Wait.. how was that possible? Elise thought she must be imagining things. "I''m better, thank you." Finally, Loriel forced himself to get up from herp and massaged his temple. "Ah.. good to hear that." Elise looked relieved. She cast her gaze around them and watched the flower rain with great interest. As she was watching the flowers, Loriel was watching her. Both could never have enough. They sat like that for half an hour, until the sky slowly turned dark. Elise sighed and she rose from her seat. It was time to go. "Are you leaving?" Loriel asked in a panic. He had not had the chance to talk more with Elise and found out information about her. If she wanted to go now, how would he find an excuse to see her again? Elise nodded. "Yes. It will be dark soon. I need to find my way to my hostel. I can''t tell direction on daytime.. so nighttime will be even more difficult for me." "Ah, okay. Where is your hostel located?" Loriel''s chest ached when he heard she was staying in a hostel. His Elise, the doted princess of Myreen and the queen of Summeria, had found herself in such a position that she couldn''t even afford a proper hotel? My goodness... "W-why... do you want to know?" Elise looked at the man with widened eyes. Her expression looked uneasy. "Well, I am a gentleman and I wouldn''t let ady go home on her own, especially after thedy helped me so much." He quickly found an excuse. "You can trust me. If you think I will take advantage of you or you are suspicious that I will do something bad, you can just report me to the police." Elise looked at the man intently. Somehow, she couldn''t find anything suspicious about him. He looked like he just wanted to help. Then she cast her nce around them. Ahh.. New York was such a big and crowded city. If they took public transport and crowded streets, it should be fine, right? She could take that risk. She was feeling really lonely and needed someone to talk to. It was hard being alone in this big city. She remembered their journey from midtown to Central Park went well and the man was respectful and polite to her. Finally, Elise nodded. "Okay." "Ah.. where are you staying?" Loriel asked again. He was feeling relieved because Elise seemed to slowly trust him. The woman took out a card from her purse and showed it to Loriel. "I am staying close to the cafe where we met the first time. This is the address." Loriel recognized the street. It was only two blocks away from where he lived, a big penthouse in midtown. He looked at Elise dotingly, thanking whatever gods that had sent Elise his way, so they could meet earlier today. "Yeah.. I know this area," he said with a hoarse voice. "I can take you there." Elise furrowed her brows. "You can? Didn''t you say you are new in town and didn''t know your way around?" Loriel shook his head. "Nah. I only said that so the guy will give us direction. I have lived here for a long time. I just never used public transport before, so I needed his help to tell me how to get here on public transport." Elise widened her eyes in surprise when she heard him. "Never used public transport?" she asked him. "Are you rich? But you said you couldn''t afford a taxi." Loriel knew one by one his lies would be found out. It''s always like that. That''s what usually happened between him and Elise. Loriel would lie to Elise and she would naively believe everything he said, but somehow, eventually, she would know the truth. For example, when he kept feigning headache so he could take Brick''s ce on her bed because he couldn''t sleep. This time, he decided to slowly tone down on his lies. He didn''t want to repeat the same mistakes he did in the past. The man cleared his throat before he replied to her. "Ahem... I told you I wasn''t always poor. I had money before I lost it on the stock market. I still have my house and my car." "Oh..." Elise pursed her lips. Now it made more sense, she thought. This man looked like someone from the upper ss. "So.. do you want to go back to your hostel now?" Loriel offered. He tried to make his tone as calm as possible. He didn''t want Elise to think he was too excited and pushy. Elise nodded. "Yes, please. Thank you." "Okay, I need to make a quick phone call before we go. Give me two minutes." "Sure." Loriel smiled and took out his phone. Then he walked a bit far away from Elise to get privacy. Once he was sure Elise couldn''t hear him, he called his assistant. "Hey, Marc... I need you to do something for me," he said without further ado. The man on the other end of the line sounded surprised but he replied Loriel calmly. "What can I do for you, Great Uncle?" "I need you to buy a hostel. As soon as possible. I am sending you the address. You have 15 minutes. I am heading there now. When I get there, I want the ownership of that ce." "What kind of¡ª" BEEP Before Marc could continue his question, Loriel had hung up the phone. He took a picture of the business card that Elise gave him and sent it to Marc. Somewhere in the tallest building in Park Avenue, a young man in histe 20''s, wearing the most expensive suit from a designer''s limited edition set, could only massage his temple in annoyance. The board of directors, whom he forced to attend the meeting during the weekend with him, all exchanged nces to see their boss looked annoyed by the call he just received. They were wondering what just happened. Marc pursed his lips and waved at them impatiently. "Let''s end the meeting now. We should reschedule another meeting for tomorrow. I have to do something urgently." "Oh..." Those directors were all happy by the sudden turn of events, but they all kept their cool. Marc Sanderman was a strict boss who was a workaholic and expected everyone to be like him. So, they pretended to look disappointed that for the first time this year, the meeting ended early. Chapter 12 - Great Great Great Great Great Great...... Uncle Marc Sanderman kicked all of his directors out of the meeting room and immediately called his own assistant to help him take care of his great uncle''s request. "Alex, meet me in my room now. I need you to do something for me," he spoke briefly on the phone and then walked out of the meeting room to his own office. After he plopped his butt on his chair, the man looked at his watch to check the time. Only then did he realize it was already 5 pm. So, that meant he had been torturing his directors for two hours for the preparation of their new project before the meeting was cut short by Loriel''s call. What would his uncle do with a hostel? Marc was wondering. He had known this great uncle of his for almost his whole life, but still, he could never understand the man. Loriel woulde to visit his family from time to time, and he was the Sanderman family''s biggest secret. Loriel Ashborne''s existence had been a secret that was being passed down from generation to generation by the Sanderman family, and only the heir would be given this knowledge, along with their inheritance. If Marc had siblings, they wouldn''t know who Loriel actually was. He was the only child so he didn''t have to keep the secret from his siblings. However, his cousins didn''t know, and their parents also didn''t know this. Only the senior Sanderman was entrusted with the secret from his father, Marc''s grandfather, and their fathers before them. Marc only found out the truth five years ago. He would always remember that day like it was yesterday because it was so shocking and had a great impression on him to this day. His father, Jacob Sanderman, who was on his deathbed, called Marc to the hospital to tell him this big secret before he passed away. His father said the man who sometimes came to visit their home in summer was actually his uncle, not his younger cousin. It was quite surprising because the man looked so young. "Wait... so, Loriel is not your younger cousin, but... YOUR uncle?" Marc couldn''t believe his own hearing. Was his father delusional because of the drugs he consumed during his medication? He turned to the doctor who was standing beside him and asked the man with a raised eyebrow. "Is my father lucid? What did you feed him?" The doctor waved his hands nervously, "Sir, we didn''t feed any drugs to your father. He ispletely lucid." Marc batted his eyes in confusion. He turned to his mother who was sitting by the bed with a devastated expression. He asked his mother if what his father was saying was true. The beautiful woman nodded weakly. "It''s true. You should let your father finish his story before you interrupt him," she said. The elegantdy motioned the doctor to leave them and gave them privacy. "We will call you if we need you." "Alright, Madam." The doctor nodded respectfully. "I will just be outside." After the doctor left, Sarah Sanderman pulled her son''s hand to sit beside her and listen to his father''s story attentively. "Don''t keep standing there, you make me tired just by looking at you," sheined. Marc obeyed his mother''s order and sat docilely by her side. He didn''t want to add to her stress during these tough times. His father had been fighting cancer for several years, and they knew it was now time to let him go. Marc looked at his father with furrowed brows. "So.. Loriel is your uncle? Why did you always introduce him to me as your distant younger cousin if it was not true?" He started to think there was something that was not right from the way his father kept it a secret and only revealed it to him now, on his deathbed. "Actually.. he is not my real uncle..." his father said with a weak voice. "Uh? I don''t get it..." Marc rubbed his messy hair. His face was filled with confusion. "If he is not your younger cousin, but also not your real uncle... then, who is he?" The Sanderman senior coughed and replied. "He is my great uncle." "Great uncle?" Marc''s eyes widened. "I still don''t get it." "Well... in fact... he is not just my great uncle, but...." Marc''s father smiled cheekily, "No... maybe actually he is my great great great great great great great great great great..... uncle. It''s too many ''greats'', I''ve lost count." Even though the man was on his deathbed and ready to die, he couldn''t help but feel amused at his only son''s reaction when he told him the secret that he had been keeping for so many decades. The secret that only the heir of the Sanderman family was allowed to know. Chapter 13 - Alex The Reliable Seeing his son confused, stressed, and seem about to go crazy, finally Jacob Sanderman exined everything. Marc lost count on how many ''great'' should be put before the word ''uncle'' when it came to Loriel. His father told him that actually, Loriel Ashborn was an immortal. He was the only Ashborn who was still alive to this day. The Ashborns were the ruler of Summeria, a kingdom from a continent that no longer existed. It was a long story. Anyway... Loriel was thest Ashorn and he was now around 15 centuries old. He had been their family''s guardian since forever. The Sanderman was the descendants of his favorite nephew. He had five sisters who married princes and noblemen whoter tried to usurp power. It was a big mess of a family. Loriel only got along with one of his nephews and they maintained that good rtionship until generations toe. Now, the Sandermans were the only people in this world who knew who Loriel really was and his secrets. They were also the only people he liked enough to spend time with. Loriel disliked most humans and preferred to be alone, but he woulde to visit the Sandermans from time to time and kept the rtionship between them. Loriel entrusted Marc''s family with his wealth and both sides had been enjoying mutually beneficial rtionships for centuries. The Sandermans had managed to maintain a pretty high-profile lifestyle and sessful businesses for generations. In a way, the Sanderman ended up bing somewhat Loriel''s trustee. They took care of his affairs and needs. Whenever he needed anything, the Sandermans would provide it for him and take care of everything he requested. When Marc''s father passed away, Loriel came to his funeral. It was after the funeral that the man finally revealed everything about him to Marc and ever since then, Marc reced his father''s position to be Loriel''s confidante. Secretly, Marc thought his great uncle considered them as his mere assistant. He had lost count of how many times this great uncle of his asked him to do trivial stuff, exactly how he would ask Alex to do trivial stuff for him too. If he didn''t already promise his father that he would do whatever Loriel asked of him, Marc would have cut ties with the man. Gosh.. if only those directors who shuddered under his gaze knew that their big boss was just an assistant to his uncle.... they might be shocked or looked down on him. Marc massaged his temple. His great uncle often made surprising requests or decisions, but this was the first time that his request didn''t seem to make sense. Marc remembered, one time, Loriel was traveling to the Himyas, and he forgot something. He asked Marc to send that stuff all the way from New York to Nepal, then have a sherpa carried it to the peak of Everrest. Another case was when he felt annoyed by some drunk men in the resort he was staying at. He asked Marc to buy the resort so he could kick out those annoying guests, so he could have a peaceful holiday. Now, Loriel wanted Marc to buy a small hostel in New York? How strange! Marc really couldn''t think of a reason for his great uncle''s request this time. Why would he need to buy a hostel? And... why in fifteen minutes? So rushing... Gosh. Someday, he would find out his great uncle''s secret. The man was really too mysterious. KNOCK KNOCK "Come in, Alex," Marc looked up from his watch and saw his assistant, Alex, entered. He loved calling his beautiful and sexy assistant by the name Alex, even though her actual name was Alexandra, instead of Sandra. So, when he was dating a new girl, they wouldn''t be jealous of his sexy assistant because they thought Alex was a guy. Alex was an efficient assistant, aged 26 years old, who had been working for him for the past three years. She was a go-getter, smart, and very reliable. In fact, Marc called her ''Alex The Reliable'' behind her back, like she was some sort of magician or an escape artist like Houdini. Without Alex by his side, Marc wouldn''t be able to run his group at ease while taking care of his great uncle''s affairs every now and then. "Is there anything I can do, Sir?" Alex the Reliable looked at her boss with a knowing look. She had seen the weekend meeting ended abruptly and could guess something urgent had happened. "Well, I want you to buy this hostel for me," Marc showed the picture on his phone screen to Alex and massaged his temple. "Can you do it in less than fifteen minutes?" Alex took Marc''s phone and studied the address. She swallowed. "Uhm... I can try." "Good. I will go down to stretch my legs. When I get back I hope the hostel is already mine." Marc took his suit from the chair, put it on, and walked out of his room with a faint smile, leaving behind Alex who pursed her lips and quickly made a call to buy the hostel. She had stopped questioning the motives behind rich people''s actions and decisions. She thought she would never understand them. These people were too weird. Now, she just did what was asked of her and didn''t even think about it. It was easier that way. Chapter 14 - He Could Wait A Little Bit More Elise and Loriel walked together after they got off the train. The hostel that they were going to was already within walking distance. Gosh... if they kept walking at this pace, they would arrive in ten minutes. Loriel really wanted to dy for as long as possible, but seeing Elise'' tired face, he didn''t have the heart to take a long detour just to dy the inevitable. He wanted to spend more time with her... but how? He took out his phone to check the report from his assistant ahem.. his great-nephew, Marc. Usually, that guy could do whatever Loriel asked him in a timely manner. But, it''s been over half an hour, and he still had not sent his report. What happened? Was it really that difficult to purchase a building in fifteen minutes? Loriel pursed his lips. Fine. Maybe he was too demanding. One, this was the weekend and maybe it''s more difficult to locate the building owner to buy the building from them. Fifteen minutes was simply unrealistic. He should think of a way to stall and still spend more time with Elise. What to do? "Uhm.. hey, what do you think if we stop by a ce to grab something to eat?" Loriel suddenly got an idea when he saw a small restaurant at the end of the street. It was a popr ramen restaurant and he thought it would be a good excuse to ask Elise for dinner. So, he asked her. "I am hungry. Would you like to have dinner with me? My treat." "Di-dinner?" Elise looked reluctant to ept his offer, but she didn''t want to seem rude. "Yes. It''s dinner time. Do you like ramen? That ce over there has nice dishes," Loriel exined. "What is ramen?" Elise looked clueless and she shyly asked the man what did he mean by ramen. If it was other people, they would definitely think this girl weird for not knowing such a popr dish. And if this was not Elise who asked the question, Loriel would definitely growl impatiently. However, this was Elise, who looked at him cluelessly and asked what ramen was. For Elise, Loriel''s well of patience was deeper than the Mariana trench. He was guessing that Elise might not be exposed to modern dishes a lot and still learning about many things. So, he would be kind to her and exin everything she would ever know, patiently. Ahh.. he was not a patient person in the past, especially to Elise. He regretted it. Now, If she needed anything from him, even if it took him a long time to care for her needs, he would do it. So, Loriel exined to her what he meant by ramen. He even showed pictures. The beautiful girl gulped when she heard his exnation. Yeah.. ramen sounded perfect for dinner. Eventually, she nodded. "I''d like that." "Great! That ce over there has great ramen. Quite famous," Loriel pointed at the ramen shop to their left. "Wanna go there?" Elise could recognize the white building at the end of the street where her hostel was located. So, they were already close, she thought. It should be okay to have dinner first before going back to the hostel. It''s very close and she could just go there alone if Loriel decided to go after dinner. "Okay," Elise replied meekly. Loriel reached out his hand and the girl took it out of instinct. When she realized she was holding hands with a man who was almost a stranger to her, she pulled her hand with a blushing face. Loriel was disappointed when Elise let go of his hand, but he pretended not to notice or pushed her to take his hand again. He didn''t want to creep her out. Just seeing her right beside him already gave Loriel immense happiness. He should be grateful and tread carefully. This was the day that he had been waiting for for over fifteen centuries. He could wait a little bit more. Chapter 15 - At The Ramen Shop "Wee. How many persons?" Asked the server when Loriel and Elise entered the ramen shop. Loriel wanted to roll his eyes when he heard the question which he considered stupid. ''Can''t you see? Don''t you have eyes? There''s only me and this stunningly beautiful princess here! Iisshh... So, of course, it''s a table for two!'' However, Loriel didn''t want to give a bad impression in front of Elise, so he smiled sweetly and replied to the server''s question by raising two fingers. "Two people, please." The server batted her eyes for a few seconds when she realized this was the same man who often came to this ramen shop to eat alone and always had a curt expression on his face. Yet, today he looked beaming and very friendly? What sorcery was this? "Yes?" Loriel''s voice moved the server from her reverie. She cleared her throat, stole a nce at Elise, and put two and two together. She motioned them to follow her. "This way, please." "This way," Loriel repeated the server''s words to Elise with a big smile. The girl smiled back and walked following the server''s steps. From the looks of it, Elise seemed to never set foot inside a ramen shop before. Ahh.. Loriel would see if she liked ramen, he would take her to Japan to enjoy the real thing. He couldn''t wait to show this new world to Elise. Yes, he hated the humans currently upying the earth, but for someone who came from the past, like Elise, this world was very different from what she was used to and it would be interesting for her to explore it. And who would be a better tour guide to show her around than Loriel? The man had spent over fifteen centuries exploring this earth from end to end. He knew every single corner like the back of his hands. He could also speak most of thenguages, so Elise wouldn''t have to feel troubled, trying tomunicate with the people they would meet wherever they went. "Uhm.. we are here," Elise whispered to Loriel who was busy with his own thoughts. He was sorting through his favorite ces. Which one should he show to Elise first? Ahh.. he had so many ces he liked. Well.. actually he was bored already, visiting those ces over and over, but now that Elise was with him, it would feel like a new experience. He felt excited. That''s why he didn''t notice that they already arrived at their table. The man quickly pretended that he was not daydreaming. He opened the chair for Elise and motioned her to sit. "Please have a seat," he said sweetly. Elise smiled, mouthed her thank you, and sat on the chair. Meanwhile, Loriel waited until Elise was properly seated, before he opened his own chair and sat. Everything that unfolded before her made the served dazed. This couldn''t be the same curt guy that often came to their ramen shop and barely talked, right? Now that she could hear him speak to thisdy, this server realized the man had a very pleasant, though authoritative, voice. This man was truly an enigma, she thought. "This is the menu, Sir," the server handed the menu to Elise and Loriel. The shop was only half-full, so the server was not in a hurry. She stood beside their table patiently, waiting for the couple to order. "What''s your suggestion?" Elise whispered to Loriel. She didn''t want to repeat that she had never tried ramen before, in front of the server. So, she hoped by giving hint to Loriel, the man would help her with her order. Loriel was not dumb. He understood what she was thinking because... well, he knew her inside and out. The man smiled and opened the menu and pointed at several dishes that he knew Elise would like. "This, and this. What do you think?" he asked her. "See the pictures and read the ingredients." Elise nodded. "Looks good. What about this one, next to it?" She asked while pointing at one dish. Loriel tilted his head to check and quickly shook his head. "No, you wouldn''t want that." He knew Elise hated mushrooms and that particr dish had it. "Why wouldn''t I want it?" Elise looked at the man with interest. Loriel swallowed. ''Because you hate mushrooms, Honey.'' However, he could only say that in his heart. With his lips, he replied nonchntly, "Well, we can try it, but don''t me me if you don''t like it." Finally, Elise nodded. She thought it was rude to question Loriel''s suggestion since the man had offered some dishes that he thought she would like. She pointed at the dishes Loriel suggested originally. "Okay, I will have this and this." Loriel turned to the server and mentioned several ramen and side dishes in perfect Japanese. The server almost fainted due to shock. So, not only this man could act polite and friendly, he also could speak Japanese? What the...? Usually, whenever Loriel came here, he wouldn''t bother talking. He would only point at dishes he wanted and then ate quietly. There was almost zero interaction. So, hearing him speaking Japanese without an ent to order their food, impressed this server greatly. Damn! This woman must be super important to him that this annoying guy tried so hard to impress her, was what the server thought. And it worked. Elise looked at the man in admiration. She asked him with widened eyes. "I didn''t know you speak Japanese. How manynguages do you speak?" "Ahh.. it''s nothing," said Loriel with a smile. Actually, he wanted to show off. He could speak 70nguages and 100 ents. However, he knew better than to admit such a thing since it would only make people suspicious. So, he had to hold back his desire to show off before Elise. The server returned five minutester with their order, and the couple ate dinner heartily. Elise was curious and she tasted this new dish with great interest. After several scoops, her face looked radiant and she smiled happily. "You are right. I love these dishes," shemented. "Thank you so much for this lovely dinner." "Ah, you really love it?" Loriel asked her to confirm. "Yes, yes. I love it! I can eat this every day!" Elise gushed. "Ah..." Loriel nodded. He secretly took out his phone and typed another message to his ''great nephew''. [Haruka Ramen Shop in Midtown. Buy it.] *** Marc squinted his eyes in confusion when he read the new message from Loriel. ''Eh? Now he wants me to buy a ramen shop? What is he going to do with it? Why is he interested in small businesses now?'' . . >>>>>> I love this couple! Please vote for this book so it can reach a better ranking. If we get 1000 power stones by next Sunday, I will give a mass release of 4 chapters on Monday. Every additional 500 votes will get an extra chapter. 1000 votes = 4 chapter mass release 1500 votes = 5 chapter mass release 2000 votes = 6 chapter mass release. Let''s start next Monday! xx Chapter 16 - Did He Get The Wrong Woman? Marc quickly called Alex to find out the status of the hostel. She had never failed to do whatever he asked her to do. However, it''s been more than half-hour now and she had not sent any reports that she seeded. Did she fail to do it? How was that possible? Alex The Reliable was no longer reliable? "Alex, what happened to the hostel I told you to buy?" he asked with a rather annoyed tone. He was enjoying a cup of coffee in the cafe next door while waiting for Alex to handle Loriel''s request. "Sir, the owner is abroad and he turns off his phone since it''s the weekend," said Alex in a frustrated voice. She had never failed in every task assigned to her, but this time she had to admit defeat. "I have been calling left and right and nobody can tell me how to reach him." "Gosh.." Marc massaged his temple. It looked like he had to give this bad news to his uncle. Ugh. No.. he couldn''t tell Loriel that he failed. There must be someone in the hostel that he could talk to. If the owner was not around and unreachable, there must be a manager of some sort. He was Marc Sanderman from the great Sanderman Group. Taking this small building was nothing for him. So, he decided to send a message to Loriel, and asked him what the man wanted to do if the building was already his. Marc might be able to do it, despite not having ownership of the ce, yet. "Alex, I am disappointed that this time you failed your task," Marc said nonchntly. "I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. I will send you a new ce to buy. This time, I don''t want you to fail me." "All right, Sir," said Alex firmly. She was curious to know what new ce was her boss looking to buy. [Haruka Ramen Shop in Midtown.] When she read the message from Marc after the man hung up, Alex''s mouth agape. How random? She thought in confusion. She was told to buy a resort, a mansion, and countless stuff in the past, but she always considered them as rich people''s toys. However, today, her boss had asked her to buy two small businesses. This didn''t seem right. What would he do with them anyway? "Don''t ask, Alexandra... Don''t ask," she muttered to herself. "Rich people are weird. Deal with it." *** Marc sent a message to Loriel who was enjoying his dinner with his lovely wife. [I have got the hostel. What do you want me to do with it?] Loriel nced at his phone and quickly read Marc''s message. An evil smile curved up on his face. He secretly typed in his reply under the table, all the while his eyes were on Elise''s beaming face as she dug in her ramen. [Tell them to turn off the electricity and close the business.] [Just for the night.] [All the guests will bepensated with a lot of cash so they can stay in a luxury hotel if they chose to.] Marc read the messages with furrowed brows. Now this made more sense. He could easily do it even if he didn''t buy the hostel or the building. He could just pay the hostel manager to do what he wanted. Money was not an issue. [I am on it, Great Uncle.] After he sent the message, Marc called his driver to pick him up and take him to the said hostel. He would do this now and then went home to enjoy his weekend. *** Loriel was so happy to see Elise eat a lot. Inwardly, he felt sad to see her body looking thin and frail and thought how she must have had a tough life. Before she could say no, he already ordered some dessert for them. A big bowl of ice cream and some other sweet stuff. "Ah.. this is too much," said Elise. "I have eaten a lot." "It''s okay. You can try just a little bit, and then leave it there if you don''t like it." Elise looked conflicting. Ha. Loriel knew she wouldn''t waste food. She always felt sorry for their cooks and the farmers who had worked so hard to make the foode from the farm to their table. And he was right. Elise finally took the ice cream and started eating it. "I love ice cream," she said with a low voice. "They didn''t allow me to eat a lot of ice cream." "They? Who''s they?" Loriel asked. He was wondering who was she talking about. Was it her ''new family''? "My nanny," said Elise. "She said ice cream is bad for my health." Nanny? This word got Loriel confused. Surely she meant something else, right? Elise was a grown woman. Why would she need a nanny? Unless she talked about the nanny who had cared for her when she was a kid and until now she still called the woman as her ''nanny''. But.. But, Elise didn''t spend her childhood in this modern world, so she couldn''t possibly have such a nanny. Unless... Unless this woman was not actually Elise and Loriel had got the wrong woman. Chapter 17 - Sorry? His Pride Wouldnt Allow Him Loriel decided to ask Elise a question to find out what did she mean by the word ''nanny''. He must get to the bottom of this. If this woman was not Elise, then he should immediately take his leave. He must not cheat on his wife by spending so much time with another woman just because she looked like Elise. No.. he must not hurt his wife that way. Elise must not misunderstand him as she did back then. Well.. it''s actually not her fault. At that time, Loriel slipped and mentioned that other woman in front of Elise. It was the woman whom he thought he loved with all his heart. The look on Elise''s face was indescribable. It was at that moment, Loriel finally realized, he had never felt pain like he did that night. The disappointment and hurt on her diamond-like eyes sent literal pain to his heart. And right there and then, Loriel knew... he actually loved Elise. When her pain became his pain. When her disappointment became his disappointment. He knew... he loved her. Loriel felt so disappointed in himself for hurting his wife''s feelings, even though he did it unintentionally. Elise lowered her head to hide her tears. She picked up her clothes from the floor and wore them without saying anything. Loriel could only stare and stood still like a statue. He didn''t know what to say. Sorry? His pride wouldn''t allow him. He already made it clear in the beginning that he didn''t love her and that she was only his wife by name. He didn''t even sleep with her until after six months into their marriage. And when they finally had sex, it was because he was a weak man. After holding back for so long, he was finally defeated by her alluring charm. When she took care of him for his pretend headache, Loriel was spoiled and got addicted to her warmth, care, and even her scent. He would find excuses to climb onto her bed, because lying down in her arms was calming and giving him such beautiful peace of mind. And one night.. they did it. They finally consummated their marriage. It happened so naturally after only half a cup of wine before bed. Loriel started kissing her and Elise didn''t seem to mind it. In fact, she smiled and blushed. Her rosy cheeks made her look even more adorable and Loriel was tempted to kiss her some more. So, he did. He kissed her deeply and thrust his tongue through the opening between her lips. His hands cupped her petite face as he kissed her more passionately. His tongue snaked inside her mouth to find her tongue and twist it. Elise was taken aback by the sudden making-out session and didn''t know how to respond. It was her first kiss. Her eyes widened like those deers in the headlights, and her body tensed. Loriel was feeling conflicted with her reaction. On the one hand, he was happy that Elise was pure and had never even kissed any man before him. He felt special that he got her first kiss. But, on the other hand, he didn''t think he would like it to have a submissive woman who didn''t know how to return his kiss. He didn''t want to kiss a human doll. "Mmm... you can kiss me back," he said as he let go of his lips from hers. Elise''sshes fluttered as she looked up to him and tried to hide her embarrassment. Loriel looked straight at her, challenging her to make a move. She swallowed and then she tried to do what he asked. She wrapped her hands around his neck, tiptoed a little, and then nted her kiss on his lips. It was not awkward at all. Even though it was her first time kissing someone, Loriel could feel sincerity and love from her lips as they touched his. Maybe Elise thought her kiss was amateurish, but to Loriel it was perfect. No matter the execution, it was the thought that counts. He was happy to see her take initiative. That means he could teach her to do things and she would dly learn. She wouldn''t be a human doll in bed. This thought curved up a smile on his face. Loriel returned her kiss and gently taught her to use her tongue to get better pleasure. His kisses then went lower to her neck as his hands were tracing her skin from the top opening of her dress, and then naughtily slipped inside to fondle her breasts. A soft moan escaped from her lips and she closed her eyes to enjoy the foreign pleasure that was slowly coursing through her body from the touch of his skin. Gosh... just her voice when she talked could turn Loriel on, then her moan had that effect magnified by a hundred. No, make that a thousand. As soon as his ears heard her sexy moan, Loriel''s logic instantly flew out of the window. Right at that moment, he wanted her body. He wanted to devour her to his heart''s content. So, he scooped her with his arms and took her to her bed. . . >>>> From the author: Now, I am sure we will have snusnu in the next chapter.. ahahaha. Writing this story is so much fun, but at the same time challenging, since there will be many shbacks involved. Also, the timeline would move back and forth as we follow Loriel''s train of thought. As you can already notice, Loriel''s mind jumps around from the present days to the past and, even in the past, his mind wanders to different scenes and different times. Basically, just like how our own thoughts move around in our head. I hope the way I am writing it is not confusing and you can follow the story as it jumps here and there together with Loriel''s mind. What do you think about the story so far? Chapter 18 - He Is Your Future Husband Loriel kissed Elise passionately and his hands snaked inside her dress and caressed her thighs gently. Gosh.. he knew she smelled so good, but now, somehow she emanated a much more addictive scent. Loriel felt like he was in heaven as he closed his eyes and inhaled her womanly scent. And her skin... oh it''s so supple and soft, he almost felt scared of ruining its perfection with his touches. It felt like sin, touching her down there. Gosh.. this woman seemed so pure and beautiful. Elise''s moan escaped her mouth as Loriel lowered his kisses to her neck and left soft bites on her skin. He didn''t know why, he loved her skin and felt like he wanted to eat her. She was too damn delicious! Her moans made Loriel lose whatever rationale he had left. Even though that little voice in his head told him not to do it, his heart said he should just go for it. She was his wife, after all. He had promised to care for her, to protect her, and take responsibility for her for as long as they lived. That was his marriage vow and also the promise he made to his mother before she passed away. So, if they went to the point of no return, Loriel would take responsibility. Besides.. it''s not like he could be with the woman he loved anyway. That woman was in love with another man, and Loriel wouldn''t be so pathetic as to try to steal another man''s wife. So, he kissed Elise again. This time, his hands reached out to the upper part of her dress and started unbuttoning it. Gosh, why were there so many buttons? Loriel was impatient. He wanted to immediately touch her skin and devour her, but those buttons were getting in the way. "Ahhh..." Elise shrieked in surprise when Loriel tore her dress open. She could see his eyes were filled with lust. This was something foreign to her. Was this is it...? Would they really consummate their marriage and be husband and wife for real? Her governess and grandmother had exined the rtionship between husband and wife and she knew what to expect after she got married. She and Loriel would sleep together, have sex, and produce children to continue the family line. Elise was trained to be an obedient wife and to please her husband. All this time, she had tried her best to always serve him and care for his needs. But this.. this was still foreign to her. Sometimes she would imagine what her husband''s body would look like naked, and how he would have sex with her. But that didn''t happen even after six months into their marriage. So, Elise thought it would never happen. He was clear with his feelings from the beginning. He never loved her. While Elise... she loved him to death. She loved him ever since she saw him fourteen years ago. He was twelve and she was only six. He was such a beautiful sight to behold. Her grandmother was the most powerful witch in Myreen, no, in fact, she was the most powerful witch on the whole continent. One day, she showed little Elise, the boy who would be her husband in the future, and for little Elise, it was love at first sight. She was all smiles and she kept giggling as she watched the boy from the crystal ball. "Do you like him?" asked her grandmother with an amused expression. Elise nodded and batted hershes with a sheepish expression. "He is your future husband," said her grandmother. Little Elise didn''t know what a ''future husband'' meant, but whatever that was, if it was hers, she''d like it! Chapter 19 - The Princess Of Myreen The first time Elise saw Loriel through the crystal ball, Loriel was reading a book in the library. The twelve-year-old boy looked so intelligent and imposing for his age. Elise rested her chin on her two hands and observed the boy. He was so handsome with a serious expression. His blue eyes looked so pale, almost like silver, and his hair was messy and had the color of ash. Elise heard his family name was Ashborn. It suited him really well, she thought. "His name is Loriel Ashborn. Your mother and his mother are best friends. They vowed to match their children in marriage if they have a daughter and a son," her grandmother exined. "As it happened, you are the only daughter in our family, and he is the only son of his family." Elise was an only child. Yearster she found out that her mother died when giving birth to her. Her family hid this knowledge from her throughout her life because they didn''t want her to feel guilty. However, she found out anyway because the courtdies gossiped. Her mother had always been a weak woman and pregnancy took its toll on her health. So, there were no more children born to her family. She was the only daughter. Now, it would fall on her shoulder, the responsibility to fulfill herte mother''s wish to marry into the Ashborn. Elise observed the quiet boy who was reading his book seriously and smiled sheepishly. She wouldn''t mind marrying this boy in the future. After that day, Elise often snuck inside her grandmother''s chamber to get her divination crystal just to watch Loriel and see how was his day. As days went by, she grew to be more attached to him, even though he couldn''t see her or even realized that she sometimes was watching him. Elise often felt sad when she saw how lonely he was. All his older siblings hated him and they always tried to make him feel unwanted. Elise often wished she could be there to console him. "What are you doing, Elise?" "Aahhh!!!" Elise jolted in surprise when she heard her grandmother''s voice calling her from behind. She was now a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl. Her beauty was known throughout all Myreen. To people outside of her kingdom, her beauty became some sort of a myth since nobody had ever seen her. You see, her grandparents hated their neighboring kingdoms for waging wars for decades and decided to hide Myreen from the naked eye. Their family was a really powerful wizard family and hiding their entire kingdom was not a difficult thing to do. By the time Elise was born, her kingdom had been hidden for almost one century. Elise had never traveled outside of Myreen since her family despised their neighbors. So, she could only rely on Loriel to take her to see ces. Yes, after eleven years of watching Loriel grow up, Elise felt like she grew up together with him. She considered him her childhood friend. She couldn''t wait to meet him in person and share so many things they experienced in life together. Her father said she would be allowed to leave Myreen on the day she got married to Loriel. Now, at the age of seventeen, Elise already knew what marriage was and what did husband and wife mean. She couldn''t wait to marry Loriel! She couldn''t wait to be his wife... He was the love of her life... As Elise got stuck in Myreen, Loriel started traveling after he turned twenty. And so.. Elise could see the world through him. Loriel seemed to dislike the life in Summerian royal pce and chose to wander around and going on adventures. Elise couldn''t me him though. His older sisters intentionally made life so hard for him back at the pce. Oh, all the beautiful ces he visited made Elise happy and excited. When he saw a beautifulke, a new town, an interesting performance, Elise saw them too. This made the frequency of her sneaking into her grandmother''s chamber increased. She couldn''t wait to see what he was up to. And Elise would sometimes help him without his knowledge. Like, one day... he was stranded in the desert for three days and couldn''t find water to drink. Elise didn''t have the heart to see his horse looked parched and almost dying. So, she sprinkled some water into the crystal. And sure enough... suddenly the desert where Loriel was stranded was washed by rain, enough for him to collect water for him and his horse to survive. Actually, Elise was not supposed to do that. So, today, when her grandmother caught her sneaking again and called her out, Elise was so shocked and looked guilty. Did her grandmother see what she just did? It looked like it... since her grandmother''s expression had turned sour. "You are not allowed to enter my chamber again," her grandmother roared. "I have warned you enough times. A witch shouldn''t mess up with the world order. You can only watch, but you must not intervene." Elise bit her lip and tears welled up in her eyes. How could she let Loriel die of thirst? He was her future husband. Elise couldn''t let him suffer. . . >>>>> This scene, where Elise sprinkled water to the crystal ball and rain came to where Loriel was, is actually inspired by a scene from a children''s movie I watched when I was a child, around 30 years ago. Because I was really young back then, and I don''t remember the story or the title, I can''t find the movie again after I grow up. But I do remember that one scene. A little girl was watching a boy from a crystal ball and she sprinkled water to the crystal ball. Somehow, the boy felt the water touched his face and he wiped it. The setting reminded me of the Snow Queen or Hansel and Gretel story, but they are definitely not the story I was looking for. If you happened to know which movie I was talking about, I would love to know the title, please... Anyway... I hope you like this chapter. Sorry, the snusnu part is interrupted by Elise''s thought. We''ll continue in the next chapter. XD Chapter 20 - Evanescio! "He is dying of thirst..." she cried to her grandmother and used her best puppy eyes. "I can''t let him suffer and die. He is my future husband." Her grandmother narrowed her eyes and looked at Elise with anger. "You must not mess with the outside world. You can only see. How many times do I need to tell you? He won''t die. You have underestimated his intelligence." Elise pouted and stole a nce at the crystal ball. She was so relieved to see Loriel could drink water and was now resting under a rock with a refreshed face. Even though her grandmother would punish her, she didn''t mind. She would do it again. "You are not allowed to enter my chamber again for two years. From now on, you won''t be able to find this chamber." her grandmother crossed her arms on her chest and gave Elise a stern look. Elise was not scared of the threat since she thought she could always find ways to enter. She could sneak when her grandmother was busy, or she could ask her father''s help. She was his only child and the king doted on her so much, she was spoiled rotten. "If you think you can ask your father to help you, think again," said the old witch. She took a white powder from a pouch that she kept on her waist. Before Elise could dodge, her grandmother had sprinkled the powder on her. "This will keep you out. Evanescio!" Elise batted her eyes in confusion. She felt a massive headache in her head and fell to the floor. When she woke up, she was on her bed. Two chambermaids were sitting on the floor, waiting for her to wake up. She furrowed her brows and massaged her temples. The headache was gone. Wasn''t she at her grandmother''s chamber just now? Why did she end up here in her own chamber? Did someone carry her here? "Where is my grandmother?" she sat up and quickly asked her maids. Elise suddenly had a bad feeling when she remembered how her grandmother sprinkled her with a white powder and said she was grounded for two years. "The Queen Dowager is resting in her chamber," said one of the maids respectfully. "Princess is not allowed to enter." "Why not? Grandma is too strict. I am not doing anything harmful to other people. She shouldn''t punish me so severely," Eliseined. She quickly climbed down her bed and wore her shoes. The beautiful princess walked briskly out of her chamber toward the blue tower at the far left of the pce. That was where her grandmother resided. Elise believed she was treated unfairly since she didn''t harm anyone while helping Loriel. She didn''t want to be punished for that long. She wanted to see Loriel again. She was worried about him. Had he got away from the desert? Was his horse okay? She needed to know. "Grandmother, please let me in..." Elise knocked on the door over and over again, but her grandmother didn''t respond. The beautiful princess knocked tirelessly for almost an hour, and finally, she could only slump herself on the floor, crying. King Alexander Leori was notified of his daughter''s plight and went to see her. The king found Elise was crying despondently on the floor in front of the queen dowager''s chamber. She looked so pitiful. "Did you do something again today?" the king asked in a probing tone. Elise looked up and pursed her lips as she spoke between her sobs. "I-I only sprinkled some water to help Loriel..." "That boy again?" King Alexander twitched his brows. He didn''t really like the engagement between his beloved daughter to a regr man from a kingdom quite far away from Myreen. However, he could only oblige since it was histe wife''sst wish. She met and befriended that princess from Summeria and they made a vow to match their children. She only had one son who was born six years before Elise. When Elise was born, the deal was set and the two families were bound in an unbreakable bond. Elise and Loriel''s marriage was nned and she was supposed to meet him as she turned eighteen. One year from now. In the meantime, she must study to be a witch to carry on her family''s legacy. The Leoraleis were the strongest wizard family in Antea and they were highly respected by humans and wizards alike. However, now the queen dowager was old and King Alexander only had a daughter who didn''t seem keen on studying magic. The king was worried that soon their kingdom would be weaken. If Elise couldn''t protect Myreen, who would? That''s why he understood why his mother was very strict with Elise''s upbringing. "You know that you are not allowed to intervene with human''s lives outside of our kingdom," her father crouched down and patted her knees. His voice was gentle. "If you are so easily swayed by emotions, you couldn''t be trusted with so much power in your hands." Elise lowered her head. Her father was right when he said Elise was too easily swayed by emotions. She was not a cold-hearted woman like her grandmother. Elise was easily touched. She also cried easily and felt immediate sympathy for people in need. "Can you... please open the door so I can apologize to grandma?" Finally, Elise held her father''s hands and begged him. "I know I was wrong. I want to apologize so she wouldn''t punish me for two years." "Fine." King Alexander stood up and helped his daughter stand up too. He only knocked on the door twice and then opened it by moving the handle. "Thank you, father," said Elise with a smile. However, her pretty smile immediately vanished when she realized what spell was cast on her by her grandmother earlier. She couldn''t see the chamber. It was only an empty vastness of space. Her grandmother was serious when she said Elise couldn''te to her chamber again. Whereas everyone could enter and saw her chamber, Elise couldn''t. Chapter 21 - The Lessons From Butterfly Elise''s mouth agape when she realized that her grandmother was really serious with her threat and had punished her by not allowing her to see the chamber. "Father..." Elise looked up to her father and pursed her lips. "Did grandma lock me out of her chamber for good? King Alexander turned to his right and saw Myrce Leori, his mother, who sat gracefully on her favorite chair with a cup of tea in her hand shook her head. The woman raised two fingers. Only he could see his mother, as he also saw the chamber like usual. As for Elise, all she saw was a vast of nothingness. The king immediately understood that his mother had grounded his daughter for two years. "No, only two years," said the king to his daughter. His heart ached when he saw her expression turn gloomy. He turned to the right again and asked his mother with his eyes. Myrce Leoralei rolled her eyes and finally raised one finger. "I can reduce her punishment to one year, if she could finish all her studies by then." King Alexander turned to Elise and told her what his mother said. "However, if you promised to be a good girl and finish all your studies in one year, your punishment will be lifted by then." Elise turned to the right and bit her lip, looking so pitiful. She knew her grandmother was right over there, but since she was charmed by her grandmother''s spell, she couldn''t see Myrce Leoralei. "It''s really up to you if you want to be grounded for one year or two years." King Alexander continued. "You have broken thew of our kind. You are told over and over again, not to intervene with regr humans'' life. Your grandmother thinks it''s time to make you really understand that for every action, there is a consequence. Just because you are a princess, it doesn''t mean you will get special treatment." "Oh, grandma..." Elise went to her knees and begged. "I didn''t hurt anyone. I was only helping Loriel..." "He didn''t need your help," King Alexander replied on his mother''s behalf. The handsome king reached out his hand and motioned Elise toe with him. The young girl sighed and took her father''s hand. She rose from the floor and walked with him, holding his hand. She knew her father was a very busy man, but he always made time for her to teach her important life lessons, and this was one of the things she loved about him. They went down from the tower and walked to the massive garden in front of the pce. It was filled with Elise''s mother''s favorite flowers. The flowers here bloomed all year round no matter what season it was. "What are we doing here?" Elise looked up to her father and asked. She knew this garden had a special ce in her father''s heart since it was her mother who grew most of the nts here herself and she cared for this ce every day when she was still alive. After she passed away, King Alexander spent a lot of his private time here. Did he ask Elise toe here to talk about her mother? She never met that woman because she passed away when she gave birth to Elise. So, it was hard to miss someone you never really knew. Grandmother Myrce was the only mother figure that Elise had in her life. "Come here and see this caterpir," said King Alexander. Elise walked to his side and saw several caterpirs getting ready to wrap themselves in cocoons on a branch of a ckberry tree. This was nothing unusual, she thought. She had seen caterpirs turned into cocoons andter butterflies. It''s part of nature. "Now, let''s see these cocoons over here." King Alexander moved to the next nt and pointed at two cocoons hanging from the branch. Both were at the stage of breaking free from their cocoons and got ready to fly as butterflies. "They have be butterflies!" Elise gushed excitedly. She lowered her head and observed both cocoons with great interest. The newly-transforming butterflies were trying so hard to break the cocoon walls so they could get out. She could see their wings moved inside the cracked cocoons. She waited for a while, but it looked like the butterflies were still too weak to break out. They eventually stopped moving. "They can''t get out, father," said Elise in a worried tone. "They will be trapped forever inside their cocoons. Look, they have stopped moving." "It''s because they are tired," said King Alexander calmly. "They will try again." And the king was right. Ten minutester, one butterfly tried again to break its cocoon walls. After struggling so hard for some time, it could finally break free. Elise shrieked in excitement when she saw the majestic wings came out of the cocoon and spread beautifully as the butterfly leaped to the air and flew. "It''s so beautiful..." She gushed. After the first butterfly was gone, her attention was now turned to the second cocoon. The butterfly inside was much weaker than the first one. It tried to push through several times, but it kept failing. "Father... this one is too weak," said Elise. She looked up to her father and gave him her best puppy eyes. "Can I help it?" King Alexander nodded. He knew his daughter had the kindest heart. She couldn''t see any creature suffer and would always do something to help. So, he understood how much more she would go the extra mile for the people she loved. However, she must learn that sometimes, she had to stay away and let them take care of themselves. Elise smiled when she got her father''s approval. She touched the weak cocoon lovingly and slowly broke open the walls. "Aahh.. so beautiful...." she gasped in disbelief when the butterfly slid out of the cocoon to her hand. Now that the butterfly hade out of its shell, Elise could see its shape and colors clearly. This was one of the rarest sun butterflies that she once read in a book. They had long and slender wings with bright colors that reflected the sunlight like precious stones. She opened her palm and observed the majestic creature. It was simply the most beautiful butterfly she had ever seen. "Come on now... you can fly. You are out of the cocoon," she whispered to the animal. As if understanding her words, the butterfly raised its wings, ready to p them and fly. However.... Suddenly, the wings fell to its sides and it couldn''t raise them again. "Father, why didn''t it fly?" Elise asked her father in confusion. "Does it hurt?" King Alexander shook his head, looking sad. This was a hard lesson to give, but he knew Elise must learn this. "No. It''s too weak to fly. It''s not supposed to be out of the cocoon yet. The butterfly needed more time to grow and gain strength to live in the world outside. Usually, the sign that the wings have formedpletely and it is strong enough to fly is it can break the cocoon walls on its own. However, since you ''helped'' it toe out before its time, now the butterfly is too weak to live outside and it won''t be able to fly." His exnation made Elise gasp in shock. She looked at the beautiful but pitiful butterfly on her hand. It tried to spread its wings again but kept failing miserably. "Oh, no... father..." she cried so hard when the realization hit her. "I have broken this butterfly... I didn''t know..." King Alexander was d that Elise understood his point. "Now, you know." "Oh, father... please heal this butterfly and help him fly. I understand now. I won''t do it again. I won''t disturb the course of nature just to help other people...." King Alexander smiled but he shook his head. "I am sorry, sweetheart. I can''t do that. If I keep correcting your mistakes, you will never learn. This is something that you have to live with. In the future, when you want to smother someone because you love them too much, you will remember how you once broke a butterfly because you wanted to ''help''." Elise broke down in tears when she heard her father''s words. How could he do this to the poor animal? He could have taught her the lessons without sacrificing this innocent animal. She would get it too. There was no need to cripple a beautiful butterfly... . . >>>>> From the author: What do you think about King Alexander''s action? Was it too harsh? Or is this something that Elise really needed to learn, that her actions have consequences? Chapter 22 - Elise Will Take Responsibility Elise never forgot the harsh lesson taught to her by her father. The butterfly was never able to fly, and she was always reminded of her mistake every time she looked at the beautiful helpless creature. Even though an adult butterfly only lived for less than one month, to Elise, it was still a precious life. She was heartbroken when her father advised her to end the butterfly''s life out of mercy. "It won''t survive in the outside world since it cannot find food to eat," King Alexander said sympathetically. "I will feed it," said Elise stubbornly. "I will take responsibility." Her father looked at Elise deeply. He loved this girl with his every breath. She looked so much like her mother. Anwyn Leoralei was the sweetest and kindest woman he had ever met. He knew his wife would say the same thing as Elise in regard to the butterfly. Ahh.. Elise was truly her mother''s daughter. The king looked away to hide his sadness. This conversation reminded him of so many conversations he had with Anwyn in the past. When they knew Anwyn was too weak to give birth to a child, she didn''t want to kill the baby in her womb. Instead, she begged their family to let her carry the baby to full term and give birth to her at the risk of losing her life. The day that Elise was born was the day the king lost the love of his life. It was the day he realized that being the most powerful wizard on their continent meant nothing if he couldn''t even save his own wife. However, he never discussed the matter with his daughter. Anwyn made it clear that her cause of death should be kept secret until Elise was old enough to understand what it was like to love someone, that she would do anything, even sacrificing her own life for that person. Then... she would understand why her mother wanted her, and she wouldn''t feel guilty for being born. "Butterfly is not a pet," said King Alexander patiently after he took a long deep breath. "You don''t even know what they eat." "I can learn..." Elise was really stubborn. "I will not kill it. I made a mistake. Instead of killing the butterfly to solve the problem, I will take full responsibility and take care of it until the day it finally dies a natural death. I will give it shelter and feed it." Finally, the king relented. "Bring the butterfly to your room. You can keep it." "Thank you, father..." Elise wiped her tears with her free hand while the other hand carefully picked up the butterfly from the leaf it was on. She went to her room and ced the crippled butterfly on a basket. She filled the basket with leaves. She kept her word and took care of the butterfly for two weeks until it died of natural death. Elise understood the harsh lessons that her father and grandmother were trying to teach her and didn''t try to protest her punishment. She was scared to death that she would do the same thing to Loriel what she did to the butterfly. No.. she must not interfere and smother Loriel that he would end up weak and crippled. Elise studied so hard so she could reduce her punishment from two years to one year. Her hard work paid off. She finished her studies one week after her 18th birthday. "You did well," said her grandmother in satisfaction. "Let''s have tea in my chamber. I have a gift for you." Elise''s heart was pounding with excitement. She couldn''t wait to see Loriel again. If grandma Myrce invited Elise to her chamber for tea, that meant she had lifted her spell, right? Now, Elise could enter her chamber and she could see the crystal ball again. "Thank you, Grandmother!" Elise jumped into her grandmother and hugged her. Myrce Leoralei only smiled and patted her back. "There, there... you did well. I am so proud of you." King Alexander smiled too when he saw the scene. Ahh... his Elise had grown up. She was an adult now. How time flew by so fast. Soon, she would go and meet her fiance. Then, they would get married and Elise would have her own family. "You can rest easy now, honey. Elise will soon fly out of this cocoon and see the world," he whispered to his wife as if she was there, standing next to him. "She is a wonderful woman. Just like you. The man who will be her husband is the luckiest man in the world." . . >>>>> From the author: Thank you so much for your patience in waiting for updates. I will start publishing daily for "The Cursed King". By the way, this book is now contracted, you can already send gifts... hahahahahahahaha. Btw, what do you think about the current cover? To be honest, I have ordered covers to two artists (one is a backup in case the first one took a long time - he is my favorite artist but he does take forever to finish my previous covers), and both experienced hups. After almost 8 weeks, the artworks are still not done :((( So, I had to ''borrow'' an image I found on Pinterest. Sigh. Crossing fingers we will have the official cover very soon. xx Chapter 23 - Dont Let Anyone Take You For Granted King Alexander didn''t know that even though all men in the world would feel lucky to marry his daughter, Loriel wouldn''t. And Loriel was the man who was supposed to be Elise''s husband. If only King Alexander knew that Loriel considered his betrothal to Elise a cmity... he would never have sent her away to Summeria. When Elise finished her education, she was already 18. That meant, the king had to send the invitation to Summeria for her fiance toe and get her. King Alexander was distraught when he thought about it, while Elise, on the other hand, was ecstatic. She couldn''t wait to meet Loriel in person. After ''growing up'' together for almost 12 years, she felt like she had already known him her whole life. This was time for HIM to get to know her. "Can I see him before I go, Grandmother?" Elise asked her grandmother with a beaming face. "I''ve missed him." Myrce Leoralei had expected this request, so she nodded. "Come. You can see him onest time." "Ahhh.. thank you, Grandma! You are the best!" Elise jumped and hugged her grandmother with delight. Myrce only sighed and nced at her son. King Alexander smiled faintly when he witnessed the scene. Gosh... Elise looked more and more like Anwyn, his wife, by day. He missed her so badly. "Father, don''t you have something important to do?" Elise cleared her throat when she saw her father standing by the doorway, while her grandmother walked to her cab to take out the crystal ball. The king understood that Elise must not want him to see her watching Loriel from the crystal ball. So he pretended that he had a meeting to go to. "You are right. Thank you for reminding me. I will go now and write the letter to the Ashborns so your fiance woulde and get you." The king left Elise and her grandmother to do their own thing. Once the king was gone. Elise sat on the couch excitedly, waiting for Myrce to bring her crystal ball. The luminous ball looked a bit dim when she ced it on the table. "Grandma, how is he doing? Did you check on him from time to time?" Elise asked her grandmother with great interest. Myrce shook her head. "No. Why would I? I don''t have that much time in my hands," shemented. "I am sure he will be fine. Otherwise, we would have heard the news from Summeria." "Oh, that''s right. Sorry, I am just worried since I haven''t seen him for a long time." Elise lowered her head sheepishly. Grandma Myrce sat beside her and touched Elise''s arm. Her voice was gentle when she gave the young girl a piece of valuable advice. "Elise, you are a woman. You shouldn''t love a man too much. Keep your dignity and let hime to you and chase you." She looked at the girl deeply. "I know you love him and you are devoted to him, which is good because he will be your husband. But, he hasn''t proven his worth to you." Elise didn''t know why her grandmother suddenly had this talk with her. Did her grandmother know something that she didn''t? Or... was this just a talk she had to give since Elise was now an adult and would soon leave the family to get married? She was not sure which one. "H-how... would he prove his worth to me?" Elise finally asked her grandmother. "What signs should I look for?" "It''s different for everyone," said Myrce. "When you know, you know." "Hmm..." Elise didn''t quite understand this part, but she kept her grandmother''s words in her heart. She would always remember this and think about it in the future. Maybe someday she would understand. "You like pearl, don''t you?" Myrce asked again. Elise nodded. "Well.. it''s beautiful and precious. People swam to the depths of the ocean to look for it." "Yes. Because it''s precious, people have to work hard to get it," Elise replied. She agreed with her grandmother. "And what will they do if they get something after they work hard for it?" Myrce looked at Elise with a smile. "They will treasure it," said Elise. "You are right." Myrce patted her on the back and sighed. "If people get something easily, they tend to take it for granted. It''s not because humans are evil, like what your father always said, but... it''s just human nature." She ended her talk by giving Elise the most important advice that she would always remember her whole life. "Don''t let anyone take you for granted." Elise looked at her grandmother and then lowered her face. Myrce''s gaze was too intense for her. Elise was smart and she could kind of understand that by saying those words, her grandmother didn''t want her to love Loriel blindly. He, too, must love her and treasure her in return. "I understand, grandma," Elise said with a low voice. "Good. Now, you can see him." Myrce waved her hand over the crystal ball and, soon, Elise could see the sight of Loriel from the ball. She instantly shrieked in delight. "Don''t take too long. I will give you half an hour and then we will have dinner together." "Thank you, grandma." Myrce Leoralei left her crystal ball with Elise while she busied herself writing something in her journal. Elise was delighted to see Loriel again. The man had changed a little bit after one year. He looked a bit rough and more buffed. But he was still the most beautiful man she had ever seen. "Hello, Loriel... how are you doing?" she whispered. Loriel was lying down on the grass with his eyes closed and his head rested on his sped hands. A grass was tucked between his lips and he looked so carefree and happy. Elise wondered where he was. She looked around the area and realized that the man was in a very beautiful valley. There were so many beautiful flowers everywhere. Elise gasped in awe. This ce looked really pretty. It actually reminded her of her mother''s garden, where the flowers were always blooming, no matter what was the season. This valley was like her mother''s garden but on a much bigger scale. Loriel was resting leisurely with the cool breeze blowing over him. As Elise was admiring the handsome face that she had been longing for, suddenly Loriel''s eyes opened and he turned to the right. It seemed he heard something and a smile was instantly etched on his face. Elise couldn''t hear anything. She could only see. So, she was wondering what sounds he heard that could make Loriel smile so brightly. She turned her gaze to Loriel''s right to see it. "Oh..." Elise pressed her lips and her eyes looked confused. Apparently, Loriel was smiling at a woman who came running to him with two fat rabbits in her hand. She looked so beautiful and energetic. Her smile was what made Loriel smile. Who was she? Elise was wondering. . . >>>>>>> From the author: I am sad for Elise, as I think she loved Loriel so much but the man really took her for granted. I see this far too often. Beautiful, kind, and smart women who love their men too much that sometimes they let the men take them for granted. To be honest, this book is one of the hardest for me to write, because the main characters have different perceptions about the story and how they see the people they love. I have to be careful and work hard to present both their visions and perceptions (which are different) through the scenes unfolding and their thoughts, so we understand both sides. I intentionally started the book by giving your Loriel''s side of the story, so we can immediately know that HE LOVES HER, so deeply. He just didn''t have the chance to show it in the past. If I started by giving Elise''s side, I am sure most of you would hate Loriel immediately and might not want to hear his side of the story. Chapter 24 - Will They Finally Consummate Their Marriage? That was thest time Elise ever saw Loriel from a crystal ball. She waved her hand and the luminous ball dimmed. Myrce Leoralei, who busied herself with her journal, looked up and saw Elise got up from her chair. "Are you done?" she asked her granddaughter. Elise nodded and forced a smile. "Yes, grandmother. My head hurts. I think I was exposed to the sun too much today. So, I will rest now." Elise tried not to lie, so she mentioned her regr headache and her proneness to the sunlight. Myrce Leoralei got up from her chair and came to Elise. Her face looked concerned. "Are you okay? Do you need a potion to relieve your headache?" "I am fine. Don''t worry," Elise smiled. "I just need rest." "Hmm.. okay." Myrce didn''t prolong the issue. She believed Elise because the girl had never lied to anyone. She was such a good girl. "You can go to your chamber and rest now." "Thank you for letting me see Loriel, Grandma," said Elise. She kissed her grandmother''s cheek then she took her leave. She looked nonchnt and happy like usual, as she was walking through the pce corridors to get to her beautiful room in the blue tower. Once she entered her chamber and closed the door behind her, Elise cried despondently. She was so jealous to see Loriel smile at that beautiful woman. She still remembered vividly how Loriel immediately got up and came to get the woman. Then they talked about something andughed together. They seemed so close and the sight ached Elise''s heart. She was toote. In just one year, suddenly Loriel had met another woman during his travels. And from the way he looked at her... Elise saw an intense feeling of affection. Elise could tell that it was love on Loriel''s part because that was how her father''s eyes looked when he was talking about Anwyn, her mother. Every time King Alexander looked at the painting of histe wife, his gaze would be filled with tenderness. Her father loved her mother so deeply, and it was apparent from his gestures, expressions, and gaze whenever he talked about the woman he loved. Somehow, Elise could easily recognize that gaze and gesture on Loriel as soon as the other woman arrived with the two fat rabbits in her hands. This was not fair... Loriel was supposed to meet her first and fell in love with her, not some other woman... Elise cried her eyes out. She had never felt her heart pained this badly before. Was this how it felt to be heartbroken? Elise didn''t know. This was something foreign to her. That night, she was crying herself to sleep. *** Elise was moved from her reverie when her husband touched her cheek and looked deep into her eyes. Gosh.. this man was so handsome. He was now 26, a king, and was so much more mature than the man she saw on the crystal ball thest time. Ahh... tonight, her mind wandered to the past as Loriel and she sat together and talked over red wine. Brick, their cat was ying at the foot of the bed. As she looked at the man who was now her husband, she remembered the man she saw two years ago with another woman. It was that woman that Loriel actually loved, not her, his wife. Elise could never get rid of that moment from her memory because it was thest time she would ever see Loriel from the crystal ball. After the incident, she wanted to protect her heart and stop seeing him from afar. Elise would rather wait to see him in person and foster a rtionship with him, instead of looking at him one-sidedly. She was worried if she kept looking through the crystal ball, she would feel hurt and her feelings for Loriel would be affected. So, she ditched the ball and never looked back. It was two years ago, and so many things had changed. Loriel''s father passed away and he was called to return to the capital and took over the throne. Gone were his days of adventures. Loriel was now a king with so much responsibility. And what was more important was.. he was now Elise''s husband. They got married six months ago and Elise had never been happier in her life. This was her dreame true. So, in order to stay happy, she tried to forget everything that made her sad. Even though Loriel loved another woman, the fact remained that he married Elise. Over time, she believed his love for her would grow. Once they spent more time together and he got to know her better, he would love her. Wasn''t this what happened now? Elise touched Loriel''s hand on her cheek and closed her eyes. She wanted to enjoy his touch on her skin. It was oh.. so gentle. She loved this man and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. For six months, she had waited and stayed patient. He never touched her after they got married. As soon as they both drank their wine to finalize their wedding ritual, he left her to stay in this chamber by herself. He said Elise was only his wife by name and he would never touch her. But slowly, he seemed to soften his heart and spent more time with her. And tonight... Would they finally consummate their marriage? Elise was wondering about that when a gentle kiss was nted on her lips. She held her breath and slowly opened her eyes. She found her husband''s beautiful silver eyes were closed and his hand moved to rub her hair. His other hand supported her head as Loriel moved closer and deepen his kiss. . . >>>> From the author: I am happy to let you know that we will have snusnu in the next chapter. (Finally!!) I have nned the way this story will be presented. So, there will be many back and forth between Elise and Loriel''s side of the story, and there will be shbacks every now and then, but the story will mostly move in the current/modern timeline until Elise gets her memory back. And then... I will share the story in the past timeline. What happened in detail after Elise saw Loriel and the woman he loved in that crystal ball, until their wedding day, their marriage life, and what happened between Elise and Loriel that made them end up in the future. Also, I will publish 3 more chapterster today as appreciation for your continuous support (Yeay.. we reached 1800 power stones this week). Keep voting your power stones to this book. I will publish 3 chapters if we cross 1k votes and an additional 1 chapter for every 500 in increment. So, if we can get 2k power stones by Sunday, I will publish 5 chapters on Monday! Chapter 25 - Are We Husband And Wife? Elise''s mind was in a mess. She had never been kissed before. For so long, she had imagined how it would be like to kiss this man. And now, finally, the time came and she didn''t know how to act. Should she kiss him back? How to do it? Fortunately, Elise didn''t need to think for too long as Loriel led their making out. He imed her lips and devoured them passionately. His hand supported her head as he deepened his kiss. Then, his eager tongue pushed through the small opening between her lips as Elise was in a daze. Elise was soon intoxicated by his sweet kiss. She felt like she was floating on the clouds. The man slid his tongue inside her mouth and found her tongue. He twisted it and sucked her tongue and lips, to the point that she was almost out of breath. This was surreal. Her mind soon stopped working. Slowly, her hands touched his shoulder, traced his exposed skin, and then went down to his chest. Ahh... it felt so hard to touch. This man had a toned body and chiseled abs. It was beautiful to look at and mesmerizing to touch. Loriel had a broad shoulder and a sturdy sculpted chest. Elise often admired his physique from afar when she happened to see him training his soldiers. She knew his muscles were hard because she had touched his chest and arms before when she helped him with his migraine. But it was never like this. This was... so close and intimate. She felt her heart pounding so hard. She could smell his masculine scent since they were so, so close. She always loved his smell and could never have enough of it. But somehow, tonight, he even smelled so much better than usual. Elise had to stop herself from sniffing. Gosh.. she was not a dog! "Elise..." Elise''s eyes widened when she heard Loriel call her name. His voice was husky and sounded heavy. The man had let go of her lips. He opened his eyes and looked at her straight in the eye. Their eyes locked. Elise never saw Loriel''s eyes looked this way. They were filled with lust. Was he engulfed by desire? Was this desire to have her? Elise bit her lip and her heart throbbed in anticipation. "Loriel..." Elise whispered his name back. "Are we husband and wife?" Loriel asked Elise with his husky voice. Gosh.. it sounded so sexy! Elise swallowed. Then she nodded shyly. Her husband tugged her chin gently and she looked up to see him. Her cheeks flushed red and felt hot. Of course, they were husband and wife. They were betrothed since before they were born and they got married six months ago. Why was he asking this question? It was a rhetorical question, right? One that didn''t need an answer... "So?" Loriel asked again. Oh, apparently, he wanted an answer, Elise thought. She nodded softly and replied with her small voice. "Yes, we are, Loriel." "So, will you stay with me until we are both old and grey?" Loriel asked again. Elise didn''t understand why Loriel asked such a question. Of course, she would. In her life, there was never another man. It had always been Loriel. She grew up dreaming of bing his bride. Now that they were married, she wanted to stay by his side for as long as they lived. It was Elise who should be asking that question to Loriel. Did he consider them husband and wife? Would he want to stay with Elise until they were both old and grey? The fact was, Loriel didn''t want this marriage. He was betrothed to Elise without his knowledge before he was even born. He only married Elise to keep his promise to his mother. The queen dowager made him promise to take care of Elise as her husband and protect the girl until hisst breath. Actually, Elise was torn by the situation. On the one hand, she was happy that Loriel made such a promise and he was keeping his word. However, on the other hand, she was sad that the man didn''t love her. He married her out of obligation, not out of love. "Yes, Loriel," Elise replied again. She was wondering where was this conversation heading. "So, you will not ask for a divorce to marry another man?" Loriel asked her again. Elise actually wanted to ask the same question. ''So, you will not ask for a divorce to marry another woman?'' However, she knew it was not the right question to ask. The woman that Loriel loved was already married and she loved her husband. Loriel was too honorable to steal someone else''s wife, much less force the woman to marry him when she loved another man. Eliseughed bitterly in her heart. She loved this man so much, but she couldn''t get his heart. Meanwhile, Loriel loved that woman so deeply, but he also couldn''t get her heart. She only thought of him as a good friend. Nothing more. Knowing how sad it was to feel unrequited love, Elise felt great empathy toward her husband. She knew, loving someone so deeply, one-sidedly, was heartbreaking. So, her heart ached for him. He loved that other woman, but here he was, stuck with Elise for... probably the rest of his life. Elise''s question to Loriel should have been, ''So, you will stay with me until the day we die... even though you don''t love me?'' Or, ''Will you... be able to love me back one day?'' But she didn''t utter those questions. She only kept them to herself, like always. Elise shook her head and replied, "I will not ask for a divorce to marry another man." Loriel smiled. He touched her cheek and tilted his head to kiss her again. He was satisfied by Elise''s responses. He wanted to know if Elise really thought of him as her husband and that they would stay together as husband and wife until the day they died. Since her responses were affirmative, Loriel decided to cross the point of no return. He was stuck with her in this marriage anyway. So, why not made it official and imed his right as her husband? His hand free hand sneaked under her dress and caressed her inner thighs, so gently. Elise was already intoxicated by his kiss and unknowingly let out a soft moan when his hand touched her skin under her dress. . . >>>>> From the author: Soy, the bonus chapters are dyed. I suddenly got a ton of work sent my way by clients. I have finished the work and now ready to continue writing. This is the first chapter. I will publish two more soon. xx Chapter 26 - Gosh, She Is So Sexy ** WARNING: This chapter contains an explicit sex scene. (Yeayy... finally!!!!) I know some people live for this, while some others must avoid it (due to being underage or prudish). So, self-discretion is advised. Read this warning and act ordingly. Much love! PS: All future chapters with double asterisks (**) mean it will have a snusnu/sex scene. . . Gosh... Loriel''s desire suddenly went through the roof. This woman could make him aroused just by talking... and now she moaned? Oh... her moan was so sexy! This was truly a woman who couldunch a thousand ships. Loriel felt his temperature rise and it had be too hot to keep wearing his clothes. So, the man withdrew his hand that was caressing Elise''s thighs and he started unbuttoning his shirt, while his other hand still supported Elise''s head and he continued his kiss. His lips went down to her neck and left soft bites here and there. "Aahh..." Elise let out a long sexy moan when Loriel''s lips touched her corbone. Apparently, it was one of her sensual spots. Loriel decided to take his time there. He kissed and sucked the skin around that area. His guess was correct. Elise felt so aroused and stimted. She arched her back and grabbed Loriel''s arms. She moaned again. This time, it was longer and sexier. She sounded oh so alluring. Loriel felt his pants tightened as his penis engorged by his arousal. It had be so ufortable down there. "Wifey..." Loriel had unfastened all buttons on his shirt with difficulty, and now he was calling Elise to help him undress. Actually, Loriel could strip his clothes by himself, but he wanted her help, to get her involved in their soon-to-be lovemaking. Elise''s heart skipped a beat when she heard him call her ''wifey''. Her eyes gleamed with tears. It looked like, Loriel answered his own question too. The man called Elise ''wifey''. That meant... he also considered them truly husband and wife. Right? "Yes...?" Elise looked at the man. She almost couldn''t breathe. Her heart soon pounded wildly in anticipation. Gosh.. he just called her ''wifey''! She wanted to jump up and down from excitement. Finally... he acknowledged her existence and role as his wife! "Help me get undressed, Wifey," said the man. Loriel smirked as he raised his arm, to give a sign to Elise that he wanted her to strip him off his shirt. Elise looked so shy like a kitten when she heard his request. She was oh so adorable. Loriel was tempted to pinch her cheeks and kissed her again. He was so aroused at seeing her blushed face. However, he held back and took things slow. From the looks of it, he realized Elise was truly a virgin who had never been intimate with any man before. It would hurt her if he had sex with her without preparation. First.. she needed to get used to his body. By asking her to help him undress, Loriel wanted Elise to touch him and getfortable with their intimacy from the lowest level. Then, as she got morefortable and rxed, he would continue with the forey to increase her level offort to be intimate with him, and finally, get her ready to receive him. Gosh.. he wanted to enter her so badly... Elise swallowed. She touched Loriel''s arms and slowly helped the man take off his shirt. She was so slow and groggy, that Loriel closed his eyes, to hold back his mounting desire. Ahhh... if he was more selfish, he would just pounce on her and stripped her naked, showered her with kisses, yed with her plump breasts, and then entered her. Loriel had been imagining how she would look naked for so many months. Even though Loriel didn''t love Elise and initially didn''t n to ever have sex with her, he was a normal man after all. Of course, he would fantasize about this woman. How she looked without her clothes on.... What sounds would she make when they made love, what did she taste like, and how it felt to be inside of her... Gosh, why am I thinking of that again? Loriel chided himself. He was trying to hold back his desire, but his sinful mind kept thinking of all the lewd things he would do to her. Loriel realized he must slow down. He didn''t want to devour her right away... This woman was a virgin and inexperienced. Loriel had vowed to care for her and protect her until the day he took hisst breath. So, that meant, he would never hurt her, even during lovemaking for the first time. When finally, his shirt was stripped off of him, Loriel let out a sigh. He smirked and rewarded his wife with a sweet kiss, for helping him undress. "Now...." he whispered to her ear. "... my turn." Elise gulped. She lowered her head and nodded, very subtly, but Loriel saw it. His nimble hands moved and unfastened all the buttons on her dress and soon he had stripped her off of her dress. Because it was nighttime and she was getting ready to sleep, Elise was not wearing any anything under her dress. Now, it was Loriel''s turn to gulp. Gosh... she was... a true goddess, he thought to himself. Whatever imagination he had about her naked body, they were pale inparison to the real-life version. This woman... was the most beautiful and alluring woman he had ever seen. Loriel suddenly felt so lucky that she was his and his alone. Elise had the perfect proportion with a small waist and big hips,bined with a pair of beautiful and plump breasts. Her nipples were erect from the stimtions that Loriel gave her and they seemed to challenge the man to have a taste. And, so, he did. "Aahh..." Elise was caught off guard when Loriel pushed her down to lie on her back and he got on top of her. She let out a surprised moan that drove the man crazy. He must have a taste! So, Loriel went to her left breast and sucked her nipple eagerly, while his left hand kneaded her right breast. Oh, it felt perfect in his hand. He loved how plump and bouncy it felt as he rubbed and kneaded it to his heart''s content. She also tasted amazing! Loriel sucked and licked her left nipple passionately. Then, he alternated between her two mounds. When he sucked her right nipple, he would knead her left breast. Her incessant moan as he pampered her twin peaks sounded like beautiful music to his ear. . . >>>>> From the author: Oops... it''s been 4 am. I''ve gotta stop here. I will continue with the next chapter after I go home from work in... eight hours. Tomorrow (meaning in 5 hours) will be my first time going back to work on-site. I''ve missed it so badly. Working from home for over a year was really boring. I hope you''re okay with this. I still owe you one bonus chapter and a chapter for Monday. I will publish themter. Me need to sleep now. Thank you for your patience and understanding. xx PS: If you haven''t read "The Cursed Prince" and are hungry for MANY snusnu... go there and read. I don''t do slow burns. ^^ Chapter 27 - His Wife Tastes Delicious ** WARNING: This chapter has a detailed sex scene. Readers'' discretion is advised. . . Gosh.. this... is... so unbearable... That was all Loriel thought about in his head. Elise was so damn sexy and if he wanted to be honest with himself, being her husband was not so bad. She was beautiful, hot, and kind. Yes, she was meek and shy... but she had that special charm about her that made her attractive. Loriel actually preferred strong women with a feisty personality, like the woman he loved. Elise was her opposite. However, Loriel could feel rest assured because, from his observation, Elise had a good character. She was sweet, thoughtful, and caring. If she was curt, selfish, and ungrateful, Loriel would not evenst a day being around her. So, in a way, after he epted his fate that he was stuck in this marriage, Loriel tried to count his blessings and thought about all the good things that coulde out of this situation. One of them was, at least the person he got stuck with was a sweet woman that he could tolerate. Now, they would finally reach the point of no return. Once they consummated this marriage, he was bound to her forever. As he said... he wouldn''t ask for a divorce to marry another woman. Yeah.. why would he? His love died when he let go of that woman. Loriel had learned that true love means wanting that other person to be happy, even if it''s not with him. Since his love for her was true, he sacrificed his own happiness so SHE could be happy. Loriel knew himself very well. In his 26 years of life on this earth, he had only fallen in love once and it was so deep that he would do anything in the world for her. To help her, Loriel would move heaven and earth. That woman''s name was Emmelyn and she was his first love. She was also probably hisst love. Loriel believed he would never love anyone the way he loved Emmelyn ever again. Loriel knew Elise secretly hated her. Elise always pretended to be busy whenever the conversation about Loriel''s past with Emmelyn came up. Elise didn''t know this... but Emmelyn was actually the reason why Loriel married her. Sometimes, Loriel was tempted to tell Elise the truth. That she was supposed to be grateful to Emmelyn because that woman was the reason now they could be husband and wife. "Wifey..." Loriel teased Elise with his sultry voice. "You smell so good down there..." Elise bit her lip. She was so aroused by everything that Loriel had done to her and her mind was in a mess. This was something foreign... intoxicating... amazing... She was out of words to describe her feelings at that moment. Loriel was telling the truth when he said those words. Being so close, so intimate like this with Elise turned him on so much. Her skin was oh so soft and her curves were the definition of perfection. And what''s more... she even smelled so amazing! Loriel had had his fair share of shenanigans and sex adventures in the past. Even though he had only loved one woman in his life, he was not an inexperienced virgin. He had seen the world, the women, and had a taste of so many different vors. He could sleep with a woman for fun and it was part of life. None of those sexual encounters was done out of love. Sometimes, he was wondering how it would feel like, to sleep with Emmelyn, the woman to whom his heart belonged. He was sure it would feel different... special. How different? He guessed he would never know. Well.. at least he would know how it would feel to have sex with his wife. She was not bad. This woman was so alluring and he couldn''t wait to have her for himself. That''s right, she smelled so good down there. Loriel couldn''t believe that a woman who was physically perfect like this existed. Not only was Elise beautiful and smelled amazing... but she also tasted delicious. Loriel had lowered his kisses from her breasts, down to her stomach. Then he slowly parted her legs, and after he inhaled her sweet womanly scent, he went down on her. Her pussy was wet with love juice and she was writhing like crazy the moment Loriel''s tongue touched her clit and started sucking and licking her down there. Gosh, even her pussy looked beautiful like a small cute rose. Loriel devoured it hungrily. "Aaaahh....!" After an intense pleasure for almost ten minutes, Elise couldn''t hold back anymore and she let out a scream. Her hands instinctively grabbed Loriel''s hair and pulled it. This act only turned on the man even more. He loved to see this reaction from her. Apparently, his shy kitten could scream too? He couldn''t wait to make her scream some more. So, he licked her more passionately. Elise was out of breath. Soon, she arched her back and lost it. Loriel smirked when he realized she just came and slowed down his work. Everything was wet and messy, but he didn''t mind it one bit. It was really sexy. "Do you like it?" He looked up to see her face and grinned. Elise was out of breath. Her face flushed red from embarrassment. She knew that having sex would have this effect. Her governess anddies-in-waiting talked about stuff like this, to prepare her for the role of pleasing the king in bed. However, she still didn''t have a clear idea of how it would feel like. She had never even pleasured herself to know what orgasm was. And yet.. his lips and tongue just now worked like magic. In just a short moment, he could send her to the seventh heaven. Do I like it? I love it! Elise wanted to say that and then gave her husband a deep kiss. But she could only bit her lip and nodded shyly. . . >>>>> From the author: Do you like the sex scene in this chapter? If you do, don''t worry, we still have a lot where it came from.. hehehe. Loriel had not even taken off his pants. More snusnu chaptering soon. Woohoo!! Remember, I still owe you chapters, so I will work hard to write those. To be honest, when I n to write a story, I don''t really know how a chapter will turn out. I thought the snusnu willst for 2 chapters and then we could move to the future. I already have the chapters ready for when Elise and Loriel finished their ramen and went to her hostel.... Wait, you still remember that thest time we left them in the future they were eating ramen, right? I guess, those chapters can wait. Now, let''s just continue the snusnu on Loriel''s and Elise''s first night together and see how many chapters it will take. By the way, usually, I would ask my readers if they would prefer the sex scenes to be: 1) detailed and steamy, or 2) not detail and not steamy. But apparently, they almost always said "BRING IT ON! WRITE AS STEAMY AS POSSIBLE! So, I will not ask such a silly question here. Hahahahahaha... However, if you are not into steamy and detailed snusnu, do let me know in thement and I''ll see how I can amodate it. xx Chapter 28 - The King Almost Drools At The Beautiful Sight ** WARNING: Yep, that''s double asterisks sign on the title. That means we still have a detailed sex scene in this chapter. Please read at your own discretion. xx . . Loriel smirked when he saw her sheepish expression. She was still a shy kitten, he thought. It''s okay. He''d prefer a shy wife than a promiscuous one. She looked oh so adorable, when she bit her lip and nodded shyly like what she did just now. Loriel believed Elise would change and no longer feel shy after she got used to having sex with him. Judging from their great start now, he imagined they would have lots and lots of sex from now on. Yeah... why not, right? She was his wife and he was her husband. They had marital duties to fulfill. Especially now that he was of age to have children. It was time to think about bringing one heir and several spares into this world. Loriel could imagine the pressure from his brothers-inw would be mounting to usurp power, like his third sister''s husband who rebelled three months ago, if he didn''t have children. Loriel was still young and healthy, yet they already wanted to usurp him... Imagine what would happen after he got old and without an heir apparent? He must be realistic and thought ahead. This kingdom would enter a civil war after he died without an heir. He had five older sisters who all had sons. Those nephews of his wouldpete amongst themselves to be the next king. What happened to Elise if Loriel died and she was trapped in a power struggle? Usually, wives outlived their husbands. So, Elise would definitely still be alive when that happened, coupled with the fact that she was also six years younger than Loriel. No, he must not let anything happened to her. He was a man of his word. Loriel had promised to take care of her and protect her. He must not be selfish and thought about himself. So, when he died, he would leave Elise with a family who would make her happy and take care of her. He and Elise should have sons and daughters to make her lifeplete. Ah, Loriel was reminded of Elise when she was holding Brick in her loving arms. The king secretly thought she would look good with a baby. Loriel gulped. He felt his cheeks hot. Was he just thinking about making babies with his wife? Whoaa.. his mind went wild all of a sudden. Didn''t he just want sex? Loriel had been practicing abstinence for quite a while now. After he married Elise he had not touched her sexually because he considered her only his wife in name. The man thought he didn''t need sex after his heart was broken by Emmelyn. However, Loriel finally came to realize that he was not that special. He was still a normal man who had his sexual needs. He still got his morning wood every time he woke up. And it got worse after he often slept in her chamber to ''relieve his migraine''. Seeing this woman day after day, with her ridiculous charm, was a huge test to his abstinence. Holding back became more and more difficult with each passing day. Actually, Loriel should be proud that hested that long. Six months were not a short time. He didn''t have sex with Elise and he also didn''t do it with other women because he didn''t want to hurt his wife''s feelings. He knew there were many women out there who would jump on the opportunity to warm the king''s bed. However, he preferred not to deal with any of them. If he slept with other women, people would know and they would talk. Eventually, his sexual escapades would reach Elise''s ears. So, no. He would not take that risk. Also, after he thought about it for months, Loriel realized it would be stupid to just torture himself in a marriage of convenience without getting anything out of it. Right? He was not a saint nor a monk, so why should he live like one? Elise was hiswfully wedded wife and she seemed to love him so deeply. So, she would be happy if he finally touched her, right? That was what Loriel thought about all day today before he finally decided to just do it. He brought wine to her chamber and talked to her about her day over half a cup of wine. Then... he started with his advances. Elise looked happy and willing. So, Loriel should just continue to go ahead and sleep with her. He needed sex and she was willing to give it to him. But, why did he suddenly think about children too? Right. Before pration, he must know where he should release his seeds. It wasn''t a question he could ask just before he cum. He had to n it ahead before he entered her. The handsome king smiled seductively and started unfastening the buttons on his pants. His eyes never left her sexy curves. Gosh.. she was so hot when she was lying there naked before him. Her skin glistened with sweat after a hot session just now. He could see her breasts moved up and down at her panting and her pussy still wet with love juice after she got her first orgasm. Loriel almost drooled at the beautiful sight. The king took off his pants and smiled proudly when he saw her eyes bulged at seeing his towering member. Ahh.. that''s right. This was her first time to see him bare naked. It seemed... she liked what she saw. Loriel lowered his head and kissed her again. He could feel her temperature rose by a few degrees and she started panting even faster. She was so aroused. Chapter 29 - Do You Want To Have Children With Me? ** WARNING: Ahem, we still have a detailed sex scene in this chapter. If you are underage (Li Yi Wei, I''m looking at you.. hahaha...) and you are reading this book.. you can skip the ** chapters. xx . . "You can touch it if you''d like," Loriel whispered. He took her right hand and ced it on his engorged shaft. Elise held her breath when she finally held her husband''s manhood. The man closed his eyes. This woman was inexperienced in sex, but her touch was fire! As soon as her slender fingers touched his penis, Loriel felt his rockhard manhood throbbed with pleasure. This was too good! He licked his lips. Oh, how much he wanted to devour her and entered her... drill her insides like crazy. Loriel deepened his kiss again and took her tongue for a sweet dance inside her mouth. He was pleasantly surprised when he felt a response and Elise returned his kiss. It was a bit awkward in the beginning, but she still tried. Loriel led her tongue for another duel and showed her an example of how to do it. Slowly, Elise started to suck back, andter she even slid her tongue inside Loriel''s mouth. She had french-kissed him back. And she seemed to enjoy it so much. The man was so proud of his shy kitten. She was a quick learner. "Hmmm...." Loriel reached down his hand to her vagina and rubbed her clitoris with two fingers while kissing her deeply. This instantly sent Elise to another cloud. She was feeling so good down there. And oh, she started to writhe again like crazy. This woman was so easily turned on, Loriel thought. He was happy to know that she had many sensual spots to explore. ying with her body felt so much fun. He was looking forward to discovering more sensual spots that would make her moan to touch. "Oh... Loriel..." Elise bit her lip when the man ended his kiss and went to her right earlobe and nibbled on it. She was in seventh heaven. Everything he did to her was mindblowing and she didn''t know how to return the favor. The pleasure was euphoric and the next one was better than before. Did he want her to do something? Elise''s mind was in a mess. "You can move your hand up and down..." Loriel said gently as if reading her mind. He said that to give her ideas. "It will make me feel good." The man touched Elise''s hand on his manhood and guided it to stroke his shaft, moving up and down. "You can use both hands to make it easier," he said with a grin. Elise did what he said. And soon, she was stroking his engorged manhood gently with both hands in a regr movement, going up and down. Loriel was genuinely impressed by her progress. She learned quickly. Somehow, even though she was shy and looked unsure of what she was doing, he felt so much pleasure coursing through his body from her stroking him down there. The handjob was done out of love and with so much care. Loriel could feel it. Gosh.. the king felt so lucky to marry this woman. She was smart and intuitive. She also did things to him out of love. Loriel believed she would soon be a great partner in bed. He just needed to show her how. And he was a patient teacher. He would teach her many things. Oh, they would have so much fun. "I feel so good, thank you... you are doing great," Loriel said with his husky voice. He went back to her earlobe. He kissed it and nibbled on it before making his way down to her corbone, and then to her plump breasts. He sucked her erect nipple greedily and kneaded her other breast with his free hand. Elise''s hands were still busy stroking his manhood, and Loriel''s finger was still rubbing her clit. Both he and Elise let out soft moans as the pleasure that they were feeling became more and more intense. Their desire went through the roof. Elise arched her back and subconsciously opened her legs wide as if to invite him to enter her. Her hands pulled his penis closer to her very wet pussy. Loriel knew she was ready. Elise wanted him. She craved him. She wanted him to be inside of her. "Wifey..." Loriel let go of her nipple from his mouth and looked up. His smile was devilish when he asked her this very important question, "Do you want to have children with me?" Elise''s heart skipped a beat when she heard his question. Heavens must be finally on her side, she thought. The day that she had been waiting for had finally arrived. Not only did her husband think of them as husband and wife... but he also wanted to have children with her? [I do! I want to have children with you!] Elise wanted to say those words out loud. She loved this man and dreamed about having a family with him. She sometimes wondered what their sons and daughters would look like. Oh, she couldn''t wait to get pregnant and birth his lovely children. But, as before, Elise only bit her lip and nodded shyly. Chapter 30 - Elise Wants Loriels Babies ** WARNING: Yep, ** sign means this chapter still has a snusnu. Please skip this chapter if you are not supposed to read a sex scene. If this is your cup of tea, by all means, have fun reading this one! xx . . Elise nodded shyly when Loriel asked her if she wanted to have children with him. That was all he needed to know. "That''s good," Loriel grinned before he kissed her lips again deeply. His body pressed on her and he took his shaft from her hands. Then he slowly positioned it in front of her vagina. Elise''s face was filled with anticipation. She had seen her husband''s rockhard manhood and she wanted to know how it felt like to be filled up by his size. Gosh... as soon as the tip of his penis touched her wet fold, Loriel felt his manhood throbbed violently and sent shivers throughout his whole body. Intense pleasure soon filled his brain and there was a strong desire to push through and enter her. Oh, he couldn''t wait to fill her up and hear her sexy moan again. Loriel had to exert his sanity to hold back his primal instinct. It was so, so hard. He kept telling himself, this was her first time and he had to be gentle. Even though Elise was very wet and ready, it might still hurt a bit. "Hold me," he said to the woman with his husky voice. "You can hold my arms or hug my neck. This might hurt a bit." Elise bit her lip and nodded. She wrapped her hands around the man''s neck. Her vision somehow turned blurry. Her eyes were gleaming with tears. She was crying happy tears. Her husband was finally hers, not just in name. Loriel didn''t see her wet eyes, he was too overwhelmed by lust. When Elise wrapped her hands around his neck, Loriel felt his heart soften and suddenly he felt such tenderness that he had never felt for any woman in his life. Well.. they just talked about having children together. So, after this, when Elise got pregnant, that meant she would be the mother of his children. Loriel''s perspective suddenly changed. This woman was no longer just another human with whom he shared a home, but after this, they would be bound by the unbreakable bond... their children. Elise was such a lovely woman. She would make a good mother for his kids. The way she cared for and treated Brick so lovingly made Loriel think she would be an excellent mother. He could count on her on loving their children and raising them properly. With that thought in his mind, he pressed on her body and finally entered her. He finally crossed the point of no return! Loriel moved slowly and gently, not wanting to hurt the mother of his future children. Elise felt something hard and huge was pushing its way in and she felt pain down there. She knew this would happen. All the women in her life, her grandmother and her governess had prepared her for this moment and she knew what to expect. They told her it was part of the consummation. It would hurt for the first time, but it was your duty to please your husband, was what they said. So, Elise bore with it. She bit her lip and tried to distract her mind and thought of all the beautiful things she would have with her husband in the future. Ahhh.. this pain was worth it if she thought about the chubby babies she would get out of it. She felt her body torn with pain when he finally pushed all the way in. Elise subconsciously gripped the man''s neck with her nails. Meanwhile, Loriel felt his manhood mped tightly by the warm silky walls when he was finally inside of herpletely. It felt so, so good, that the man growled softly and closed his eyes. However, the nail grip on his neck made him realize the woman under him might be feeling pain while he was enjoying the feeling of pleasure. He opened his eyes and saw Elise wince in pain. Her eyes were wet with tears. Why didn''t she make any sound if it was painful? He was wondering. "Is it so painful?" he asked gently. Elise shook her head and forced a smile. "You have to tell me if it''s too painful and you want me to stop," he said. Elise nodded. "Do you want me to continue?" Loriel asked again. Elise nodded. Slowly, she let go of her grip on Loriel''s neck. She wanted him to continue. She wanted his babies. This little pain was nothing. "Okay..." Loriel kissed the corners of her eyes alternately and slowly pulled out his penis. Her fold mped his shaft so tightly and he could feel so much pleasure from being inside her. He pulled out until his penis was almost out of her pussy and then he pushed again to enter her. Elise winced in pain, but this time she didn''t grip her nails on his neck. She focused her mind on the babies they would soon have. And, somehow, the pain magically disappeared. She thought maybe... after she gave birth to his son, Loriel could love her. And he would stop thinking about that other woman. . . >>>>> From the author: Okay, Elise was too pitiful in their past life. I feel like I want to hug her and tell her she should stop doing that. She should never try to make a man love her by using babies. PS: I can''t believe after FIVE CHAPTERS of snusnu, we are still not done. hahahaha... this couple''s sex life is just too rich. Do you like it to continue? Or should we just stop here and go back to the future? XD Chapter 31 - Elise Will Count Her Blessings ** Elise loved this man and there had been no one in her life but him. It was true that she was hurt by the fact that he married her out of obligation, not out of love. However, she wouldn''t give up before she tried to win his heart. They were already husband and wife. Look at where they were now! After being married for six months, today her husband initiated sex and even talked about having children with her. So, maybe, over time, things would get better and better? Instead of focusing on what she couldn''t have, why not focusing on what she could have and be grateful for them? Yeah.. that''s what she would do. She would count her blessings. The next time Loriel pressed on her and thrust his penis inside her fold, Elise no longer felt the pain. The eptance filled her heart to the brim and she was only grateful that they had got to the point where they were now. Elise weed him with all her body and soul. Now, her husband''s body was truly hers, as her body was truly his. I love you. I love you so much, Loriel. Elise said those words over and over again in her heart as the man plowed her, his penis moved in and out of her body. Loriel couldn''t hear it, but it was okay. She hoped someday he would know it. When he finally fell in love with her too, Elise would say those words with her lips. Loriel closed his eyes as he felt so much pleasure coursing through his body. The man had to hold back so hard from devouring Elise like an animal. She was so tight and her fold mped his penis perfectly like they were made for each other. Each moment when they touched felt like heaven. After Loriel realized Elise was no longer in pain, he moved faster. He leaned on his elbows and focused all his efforts on pumping her core. Elise instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed his arms. It looked so erotic that Loriel became more aroused. He kissed her passionately as he kept pumping her insides, each thrust sent a wave of pleasure to their bodies, one after another. "Aah... ahhh..." Elise could no longer hold back and let out incessant moans that sounded like sweet music to her husband''s ear. The man smirked and kissed her hair, while he continued his pumping. This felt so good, and he was happy she was feeling the same. Elise had just experienced the joy of sexual intercourse. Loriel would make sure their first time would be so memorable that Elise would be addicted to his body and his manhood. Just like he was to hers now. Yes, he was not embarrassed to admit that it looked like she just became his new addiction. If Loriel would like to be honest, he had never had such wholesome and pleasurable intercourse as what he had with her now. He had met countless women and tasted different vors. So he knew how it was like to be inside different women. Loriel was aware that each woman had their own unique tastes and scent. Their folds shaped differently too. Their breasts also had different shapes and sizes. They were what made a woman beautiful in their own way. However, if he was to say his type, Elise was exactly the type of woman whom he would love to fuck day in and day out. That was what made it hard for Loriel to keep avoiding bedding her. After six months, finally, his weak self won and here they were now. Elise''s body was perfect for his taste. She was slender but curvy in all the right ces. Also, her gentle voice was so alluring that she could make him feel turned on when she spoke. Even when she only talked about mundane things. Elise''s skin was smooth like silk and her long hair looked so sexy. Especially when it sprawled around her beautiful sweaty face, as she moved regrly following his thrusts. Her plump breasts moved up and down and he could hear her panting in between her moans. Gosh.. so, so sexy! Loriel used one of his hands to knead her breast while the other leaned on the bed with his elbow. Elise seemed to like his stimtion on her breast very much. She let out a long growl and then she arched her back. Elise just got her second orgasm for the night, the first one from pration. Her face was glowing with happiness and pleasure. For a shy kitten who just had sex for the first time and was in so much pain a few moments ago, Loriel thought Elise hade so far. He could see her flushed face had that silly smile curved up on her lips, while she was enjoying pure bliss from her orgasm. Gosh.. she looked so alluring, that Loriel stopped what he was doing and looked at her in awe. She was truly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Silently, he thanked heavens that his wife was someone as wonderful and lovely as this woman under him. Maybe... someday he could learn to love her too. Elise opened her eyes and bit her lip in a very shy expression. She looked at Loriel with a glint in her eyes. "Thank you... that was wonderful," she said softly. "Do you like that?" Loriel asked her with a smile. She was the first woman who thanked him after she got an orgasm. His Elise was too polite. Elise nodded and lowered her gaze. She didn''t dare to look at Loriel''s face again. Ahh.. she felt so embarrassed. She had been moaning nonstop and when she came just now, she must look weird. She couldn''t control her facial expression while her mind went to cloud nine. It was too good... Did she look like ady when she came? She didn''t know. Oh, she hoped Loriel didn''t think she was weird, or too passive. She wanted him to like having sex with her and they would start doing it regrly. She was looking forward to having his babies. Judging from his rxed manner in leading their intercourse, Elise concluded that her husband was experienced in sex. She was definitely not his first. Well, she didn''t mind it though. She could only guess, maybe Loriel started being sexually active when he turned 23, that was the time when Elise was grounded by her grandmother and couldn''t see him meeting many women and had sexual adventures. The man was young and strong with a normal appetite for sex. He must have had his sexual needs and curiosity about the opposite sex. After Elise was able to see him again one yearter, she decided to stop looking at him from the crystal ball, since she wanted to protect her heart. Now she thought she made a wise decision with that one. Imagine, how painful it would be for her to witness her future husband meeting all those women and slept with them. One thing that Elise was happy about was the fact that it seemed Loriel was never sexually intimate with that other woman. Elise didn''t even want to say her name. She was so jealous every time she thought about Emmelyn. Since Loriel never had sex with that woman, Elise could pretend that she had something that the other woman didn''t. Yes, Emmelyn night have Loriel''s heart, but at least now Elise had his body and imed it as hers. If Loriel did sleep with Emmelyn, Elise would never be able to ept it. She couldn''t live with the fact that her husband was owned by another woman, body and soul. She didn''t care about his flings in the past, those women didn''t matter. If anything, they served a purpose to train her husband how to please her in bed, like what he was doing now. . . >>>> Wow.. they''re still not done. XD PS: Long chapter today. I hope you liked it. I will publish 4 chapters tomorrow to thank you for your power stone votes. I will have the chapters ready, don''t worry. We will finally end their lovemaking and move forward to the future. ^^ PPS: Have you read "The Cursed King"''s new synopsis? What do you think about the synopsis and new cover? All three artists finally delivered themissioned covers (after I waited for almost 2 months.) I love the current one the most, so I stick to it. Chapter 32 - It Is A Good Session ** Elise had to admit that Loriel knew how to make her feel good. It was the upside of having an experienced husband. Ah... well, it''s also coupled with the fact that he didn''t seem selfish and only wished to get pleasure for himself. He actually cared if she would enjoy their intercourse. Elise was happy about this aspect. That''s right. From now on, she would only count her blessings and focus on the good things so she could be grateful. There was no use being spiteful about something that she couldn''t change. His sexual history all happened in the past and it was not umon for men to have adventures when they were young. She wrapped her legs more tightly around his waist. Their bodies were sweating and the scent of lovemaking was wafting in the air. It was quite intoxicating and she was drunk in love. Loriel was determined to make their first sexual encounter a memorable one because, whether he liked it or not, this woman would be his only partner in bed from now on. Well, he couldn''t actually say he didn''t ''like it. It was okay. She was okay. In the beginning, she was shy like a kitten, because it was her first time, but he believed soon she would learn to be more active. "There are so many things we can do with our bodies," he whispered to her ear seductively. "Let me know if you are tired and I will stop." Elise nodded shyly. She was not tired. She was actually eager to know what else Loriel had in mind regarding their consummation. She had got over the initial pain and afterward, there was only pleasure. Everything he did to her body was exhrating and she was sent to the seventh heaven many times that she had lost count. She loved having his manhood inside her. He filled her up and made her feel so much warmth and happiness, brimming in her chest. The bed was now damp from their intense lovemaking. Sweat and love juice seeped through the sheet but Loriel didn''t seem to mind. This surprised Elise since she knew her husband loved things to be clean and tidy. She was a great observer and she noticed many small details about him after being his wife for six months. She knew he couldn''t even stand dust in his shirt. Loriel was actually an enigma for Elise. He liked clean and tidy only after he moved back to the royal pce and married Elise. When he was outside, going on his adventures, the man was more rxed and carefree. He didn''t seem to care about those things. He could even sleep outdoor under the stars. So, when he wiped his shirt''s sleeve that Elise touched by ident, she thought he was doing that because he hated her touch and wanted to brush off her mark from him. Fortunately, that was not the case. She just misunderstood him. Loriel pulled out and then turned her body around. Now, Elise was lying on her belly. She was wondering what her husband wanted to do. "Get on your knees," Loriel told her gently. He stroked his manhood while waiting for her to do what he said. His hardness throbbed and he really wanted to devour her. Elise did what he asked her to do. She raised her buttocks and got on her knees. With one hand, Loriel helped her lean on her elbow. Elise was a quick learner. She realized he wanted her to be on all four. And so she did. As soon as she was in the position, Loriel gulped. This was such a beautiful sight to behold. Elise''s back view was so sexy that the man felt he almost drooled. He grabbed her thigh with one hand and positioned his hardness in front of her vagina with his other hand. And then he thrust his engorged manhood to fill her up from behind. Elise immediately felt her knees turn weak. She gripped the sheets and closed her eyes to enjoy the new position. Her pussy felt so, so full. She could feel his manhood touched the entrance to her womb. The silky walls wrapped his hardness tightly as it moved in and out in every thrust. And that was not all. Loriel used his hands to knead her breasts while he was pumping regrly. These two-pronged attacks made Elise feel out of breath. The wave of pleasure came one after another in sessions and she soon forgot about her surroundings. What damp sheets? She didn''t care. Her mind was filled with bliss, happiness, and pleasure. The queen''s chamber was filled with the sounds of the couple making love. Her incessant moans, the sounds of their intimate parts pping, and the subtle creaking of the wooden bed caused by the regr motion. They all sounded like music to their ears. A soundtrack to their lovemaking. Loriel bit his lip. This was too good. She was so tasty. Their first intercourse was mind-blowing. Even though Loriel did most of the work, he felt rewarded by her appreciation for her many orgasms. Hearing her moan in delight when she reached the peak boosted the man''s pride. He felt like a stud who could satisfy his woman numerous times. He could do this all night. However, he started to notice that her voice became softer and her panting turned weaker. Was she tired? He was wondering. He already told her to let him know if she wanted them to stop. But it seemed, this foolish woman was too scared or too shy to speak out. Loriel let out a sigh. He hated a meek woman who couldn''t say what they wanted. Fine. He would make the decision for them. He let go of her breasts and held her buttocks. He supported her thighs while he pumped faster and faster... Elise was panting harder. She gripped the sheet more tightly as Loriel was pumping her fold rapidly. She couldn''t think and only let him do what he wanted. It felt so good and she was soon sent to another cloud. Loriel caught up with her and he soon felt he was ready to explode. Loriel halted his movement and his body trembled as he unloaded his seeds inside of her. They were both shaking as they got their release at the same time. Elise''s body dropped to the soft mattress, followed by Loriel''s. The man immediately rolled to the side so he wouldn''t crush her soft body. And then he pulled her into his arms and he hugged her from behind. Both were still panting and their bodies glistened with sweat. It felt so erotic and sexy. Slowly, his penis turned soft and it went out of her fold. When he pulled it out, he could feel the warm liquid seeped out from her pussy. Ahh.. we did it, Loriel thought. It was a good session. Now, it was only a question of whether their union would result in pregnancy or not. . . >>>>> From the author: Yep. I agree with Loriel. It was a good session. Hahaha.. what do you think? By the way, keep voting your power stones for this book. As usual, I will give a mini mass release if we reached the power stone target on Sunday. For 1000 power stones = 2 extra chapters (total of 3) For every additional 500 vote = additional 1 chapter (total of 4) This is the first chapter. I will publish 3 moreter today since we reached 1850 power stones yesterday. Chapter 33 - Elise The Witch Loriel felt her hair smelled different when he was spooning her. Her long hair was messy but smelled great, it actually made his penis hard again. If he didn''t know she was tired, Loriel would have already initiated the second round. He closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind to think about mundane things. Maybe he should think about their ugly cat, Brick. So, he could stop thinking about sex with Elise. "Ugh..." He didn''t realize he was growling in frustration. Elise turned around and looked him in the eye. Her face flushed red and she was looking really shy. Her voice wavered when she asked him what happened. "Are you having your headache again?" she asked him attentively. Oh, no. She hoped his migraine didn''t return after they had sex. This might deter Loriel from doing it with her again. Loriel shook his head and smiled sheepishly. His body wanted another round but his mind was holding back. "I am fine," he said. "How about you? Are you okay?" Elise nodded. "Thank you. I feel good. It was... fun." She lowered her gaze again and her eyes caught sight of his towering manhood down there. She gulped. Did this mean he wanted to do it again? Loriel realized where her gaze was directed. He turned around and climbed down the bed. The man took a night robe from the dresser and put it on. "It was fun, yes," he agreed. The man then took a wet towel and gave it to her to clean herself up. "Take this. I will change the sheets. So we can sleep." Elise took the towel shyly. She realized her husband still loved clean and tidy. She wiped her body and then took a night robe from the dresser too and put it on. She did it quickly so she could help Loriel with tidying their sheet. The bed looked like a mess now, but secretly Elise loved it. It was a testament to their first night together as husband and wife. She subconsciously rubbed her belly and hoped she would soon be pregnant. "Let me do it," she offered and tried to take the new sheet from Loriel''s hand. The man shook his head and motioned Elise to sit. "You can make me tea if you want to do something. I will fix the bed." "Oh.. okay," said Elise. She took a teapot from the corner of the room and filled it with water from the jug and poured some tea. Then she wrapped the teapot with both hands. Soon, the water became hotter and hotter and finally boiled. The smell of nice tea wafted in the chamber. Loriel furrowed his brows. He was focusing his attention on the sheet and didn''t notice what Elise was doing. He didn''t see her leave the chamber, yet she already had tea with her? They didn''t have a stove to boil water in this chamber, did they? "Where did you get hot water?" The man turned to Elise and asked her with narrowed eyes. Elise''s heart skipped a beat. Ah, she was too happy with what just happened between her and Loriel that she forgot to hide her power. She could easily control fire and use it to boil water in the teapot. There was no need for her to go to the kitchen just to get hot water. "I made it..." she finally said. "How?" Loriel became confused. How could someone make hot water in this chamber? Elise realized there was no need to keep hiding her powers since they would spend their lives together. Sooner orter, Loriel would know. She held the teapot with her left hand and her right hand waved gently to create a small fireball on the tip of her index finger. "With this..." Elise replied. Loriel was standing in his ce looking surprised. He looked at the fireball on her hand in awe. Much to Elise''s relief, the man didn''t look scared or annoyed. Loriel just nodded and then waved back. "Okay." Then he went back to what he was doing, removing the damp sheet and reced it with a new and fresh one. He didn''t seem to think it was such a big deal that his wife could create fire out of nowhere and used it to make him tea. Slowly, a smile curved up on Elise''s beautiful face. She was relieved because Loriel didn''t act weird when he saw what she could do. She was a powerful witch from the most powerful wizard family in Antea. She studied magic under her grandmother and father and there was so much that she could do. Even though she looked meek and shy, Elise could actually protect herself well from any enemies. She didn''t need a knight in shining armor to save her from distress. However, she liked to make her husband think that he was the strong one between them. Chapter 34 - Loriel Wants To Make Sure She Is Really Elise The memories of their first consummation were one of the things that Loriel cherished the most. Looking back, he realized maybe by that time he was actually already in love with his wife but wasn''t aware of his own feelings. It took him much longer to realize it. Oh, he was so dumb. When Elise finally left, he lost all sense of direction. Loriel could never forget the hurt expression on her face as she climbed down their bed and picked up her clothes. She wore them without saying anything before she left their chamber and never returned. It was at that moment, Loriel realized how stupid he had be for the past year. Somehow, seeing her looking hurt gave Loriel a literal pain in his chest. He immediately regretted what he just said that apparently hurt Elise''s feelings and became the straw that broke the camel''s back. His meek and understanding wife decided she no longer wanted to put up with him and chose herself. And that''s when Loriel realized how deep he had actually fallen in love with her. Loriel looked at the beautiful woman who was sitting across from him with a longing expression. Elise was clearly enjoying her ramen and she was all smiles when the kind shopkeeper gave her extra miso soup in a small bowl. "Thank you," she said with her melodious voice that tugged Loriel''s heartstrings. His heart told him it was her. This was the voice that he had been missing for over fifteen centuries. Only Elise''s voice had this effect on him. He was wondering what happened to her that she lost her memories of him and where had she been all this time? Judging from her condition now, she must havee to the modern world for several years already. She could already speak thenguage and understood a little bit how to navigate life in this world. Would she still remember if Loriel talked to her in their nativenguage? Or, would she be shocked and thought he was insane? What if she was not really Elise? And what about her ''family'' in this world? She said she had an ailing father, and she also mentioned a nanny. Who were they? Maybe he should start with the easy questions first. That meant Loriel had to ask about her nanny. It was too easy for him to get lost in his thoughts, that he didn''t even notice that Elise had already finished eating her bowl of ramen. Elise looked up at the handsome man lost in his thoughts. She wondered what he was thinking about, but then realized that she needed to get going too. The idea of returning to the hostel when it was already quite dark made her stomach queasy. "I did not know that you had a nanny. You must have grown up well-loved by your family to have them hire someone to take care of you," Loriel said as offhandedly as he could. Elise batted her eyes as her face grew hot. The young woman knew that she hadn''t beenpletely honest about her situation. But it wasn''t like she could tell aplete stranger about what her entire life was like, could she? The woman was not that naive to tell a man she had just met about what her troubles were. Not only was it not smart to do so, it was also not good to spill out her woes to someone who had been good to her. Elise didn''t want to whine orin. Instead, she distractedly brushed her hair back and said, "I can''t exactly say that¡­ but I believe I have to get going now. It''s getting a bitte." And yet Elise soon drank her water and quickly finished the dessert. She made sure to finish every bit of the ice cream to not waste the food, but it was obvious that she was in a hurry to finish their dinner. Loriel realized that she was still wary of him. This was no good at all. He needed to be certain that this was his wife and not someone who merely looked like her, so it meant that he needed to figure it out. If this was his Elise, then he would never let himself make the wrong choice of letting her go away now. Loriel needed to set his prior n into motion. He cleared his throat and stood up. "Then it is with good intentions that I get you to your hostel. It''s too dangerous for you to walk around all by yourself if you''re not familiar with the city." "It''s really close by now, though. I already saw it at the end of this street before we entered this ramen shop," Elise answered with a sweet smile. "I can get there by myself." Drats, she was right. Loriel had chosen this particr ramen shop to dine with her because he didn''t want her to get tired. This had now backfired on him, but he was also quick to answer. "I wouldn''t feelfortable knowing that I haven''t brought you safely to your hostel. Please allow me to do it for my own sake." He ced a hand on his chest and asked politely. "I have been raised to ensure that a woman like yourself is brought to her ce free from any sort of danger. It is a big city." There was a side to Elise that couldn''t say no to a person who pleaded with them. Loriel knew his wife was the kindest woman in the world, she had a soft spot in her heart and wouldn''t reject someone who had shown good intention. His beautiful wife chewed on her bottom lip, unsure, but then finally nodded. "Okay." Chapter 35 - Faulty Electricity So far, the man had been nothing more than gracious and kind to her. Elise didn''t think that it''d be possible in this day and age to have such a caring man, she was very appreciative of this fact. A smile curled up on Loriel''s lips. "Thank you." It was a small gesture that made Elise''s heart pound slightly. It was probably because she had never seen such a handsome man like him before. Loriel paid the server of the ramen shop, tipped, and then offered his hand to Elise. "Shall we get going?" "A-ah, yes. Let''s go. It''s this way." Elise quickly spun to her feet and pointed towards the exit. While she had realized her instinctive tendency to reach out and grab his hand as if it was always meant for her to touch, she couldn''t do this with a man she had only met. The two of them left the Haruka Ramen Shop. It was in good timing because the shop owner received a certain call from a woman named Alexandra who had sudden news for them. She wanted to buy the shop for whatever price they had in mind. *** The moment the two had arrived at the hostel, Elise already saw that something was wrong. She squinted her eyes at the gaudy neon signage outside of the building and rubbed her eyes. "There''s a lot of people leaving the hostel and it''s entirely dark¡­ I hope nothing bad has happened." There was a sense of worry that gnawed at her throat. "We must check then," Loriel said. The man furrowed his brows and motioned to the hostel''s entrance. "I don''t feelfortable leaving you when there seems to be a sudden emergency at where you''re currently staying." Elise looked up at him and anxiously waved her hands. "You''ve already done far enough. I can''t expect you to do this much for me." "Please, I''d like to be of help if the situation allows it," the man insisted. Inwardly, he was happy to see his great-nephew must have done what he asked him to do. Elise rubbed the back of her neck, but finally gave in. "Alright, there''s no stopping you if you insist this much. Please follow me." She didn''t think that there''d be that much of a problem, right? The woman realized that she had spoken far too soon. "Ah, we''re really sorry, Miss." the man at the hostel''s counter apologized. "I''d have to ask that you vacate this hostel. But don''t worry, we''llpensate you for the bother." Elise''s forehead creased. "What''s the matter?" "A terrible ckout urred within the hostel. Faulty electricity problems that we can''t have our guests staying here any longer." The woman bit her lip. The idea of finding another hostel at this time already made her stomach churn. "Can''t it be possible for me to stay the night and leave in the morning?" "Oh, we can''t risk that, Miss." The man exined as he carefully counted out crisp bills from a briefcase hidden from their view. "If there is faulty wiring and electrical surges here, then it''d be too dangerous for any person to stay and jeopardize anybody. Please ept this instead." Loriel bit back a smile. It seemed like Marc had done his job correctly. When he gazed at the cheap hostel that Elise afforded, he couldn''t help but feel his heart ache. That was no ce for a wife of his and he couldn''t help but grow more curious--wait, he wasn''t exactly sure if this was the real Elise. It was easy to forget about it when he saw this woman''s beautiful face, she was an exact replica of his wife. But if she was, the idea that she was staying at such a ce almost reduced him to tears. If it weren''t for him, then Elise would have lived happily andfortably in their kingdom. There would have been no need to search and wait for her throughout the past fifteen centuries. But most importantly, she wouldn''t have had to suffer. Elise reluctantly epted the money from the man at the counter. She understood the situation well enough, and even sympathized with the hostel paying good money aspensation¡­ but it currently meant that she had nowhere else to go at this point in time. Loriel cleared his throat. Chapter 36 - How About You Stay With Me? Elise gazed back at the man she was with. Her cheeks suddenly burned as she realized that he was here all this time and saw how she was ejected from her current ce of amodation. She felt a wave of embarrassment spurn in her chest. "It seems that you are currently vacated from this premise." Loriel''s brows were furrowed. "Ah, yes..." Elise said. She licked her lips and held on to the money she received. "But I''ll find some other ce to stay. I''m sure that I''ll find another hostel around." Loriel wanted to say that the money given to her was enough for her to stay in a five-star hotel in New York, which meant it was A LOT. But that wasn''t the reason why he had asked Marc to distribute such an amount. Instead, it was to strike her with this opportunity. "I do not think that someone who has difficulty navigating around the city can find one easily. Especially one that has vacant rooms at this hour," he said. Loriel did not wish to dishearten her or criticize herck of knowledge, but it was to state obvious facts. He wanted to give her the idea of herck of options right now. Elise already knew that much. "Yes, I know. But I don''t have much of a choice, do I?" There was certain tiredness that afflicted her right now. All she wanted to do was throw herself into bed and sleep after the events of today. Although the two of them had refreshed and eaten their fill at the ramen shop earlier, it still didn''t mean that the time spent walking to the city''s park did not wear her out. Loriel took note of the slight snappishness and attributed it to her tiredness. He didn''t exactly want to just offer it out of nowhere and make her flinch, but the offer seemed essential now. "How about you stay with me?" he asked. Elise looked up at him,pletely startled for a moment. Loriel motioned to the money in her hands. "You are aware that my financial situation isn''t the best right now, but I still manage to have a good ce where I can still live. It''s not too far away from here and I have an extra room that you can stay in if that sounds good to you? You can use the money to get good amodation in my ce and at the same time help me make a little ie." He didn''t want to imagine what he''d do next if Elise refused. Make another reason why it was the best idea out of the other ones she could do, but thankfully, it didn''t seem like he needed to do so. Elise considered her options, and also thought about how the money she had with her might help this man. While the idea of staying at a stranger''s ce was something she knew she should be wary of, there was an inexplicable gut feeling that told her that this man was safe. Elise took a deep breath and then looked him in the eye. "Alright, deal." He nearly sighed aloud in relief, but now, he only smiled and nodded. "Thank you, then it''ll be this way." "Please ept the money first," Elise said and offered it to him. "Let''s do that when we actually get to my ce," Loriel told her. If Elise met a swindler, then it was far too easy for the person to get their hands on her money and run away. Her situation before made him think that she was poor, but now he realized that it might just be a sheltered upbringing. Almost like his own Elise. His head couldn''t help butpare one with the other. The walk to the man''s penthouse was short and brief. The night sky of this city was actually less starry than the ones Loriel had back in the old days. He wished that he had the opportunity to bring Elise to a less polluted ce and rest on a grassy hilltop together to stargaze with one another. *** When the two of them arrived at the penthouse, Elise stared at the ce withplete bafflement. This was this man''s ce? Elise knew that the man had lost some of his fortunes through a bad business deal and crash in the stock market, but this entire ce seemed like a miniature castle in its own right. Loriel took note of her shocked expression and cleared his throat. "Ah, wee to my ce. Please make yourselffortable and take a seat." He gestured to his leather sofa cushions. The man watched Elise step towards the seats slowly and carefully, simr to how a young gazelle took its first steps in the forest. A certain nervousness and clumsiness that was actually cute. Loriel fought the urge to p his face. He needed to make sure that this was the Elise that he was looking for. The former king cleared his throat, "Would you like something to drink? I can make some refreshments. Juice, a ss of warm milk¡­ or maybe hot chocte?" The man already knew that Elise had a sweet tooth, and the same could be said for the woman who finally plopped down on his couch. She fiddled with her fingers together and looked up at him. "We''ve just eaten though?" "Well, we still have to discuss some terms of the agreement on your duration of stay here," Loriel informed her. "Or will you be staying here for one night only? I mean, I live alone here and don''t mind apany." If that was the case, then he needed to find reasons for her to stay longer. It was also his chance to figure out her identity. Elise chewed on her lip. "Hot chocte please?" A smile broke out on Loriel''s lips as he nodded. "Two mugsing right up, then." The man quickly moved to his kitchen ind and set out to prepare their drinks. It was a little too early to be happy, and yet the ease and pleasant feelings couldn''t be rid of his chest. The man felt like he was finally given a chance to do things that actually mattered in his life. After living alone for over fifteen centuries and felt bored with life, he finally got his zest back. This would be the first step that he''d take in amending his errors and searching for the love of his life. . . >>>> From the author: The next chapter is not a part of the story, but it contains important information about this book Do read it if you have time ^^. Chapter 37 - W E B N O V E L Housekeeping - Important To Read Dear lovely readers, This chapter is dedicated to giving you information on everything you need to know about W e b n o v e l and books published here. From the chapter pricing, publishing updates, privilege, etc. etc. If you have any burning questions on how the site works, feel free to write down your question here and I will answer them. I love transparency and I think it helps you and me to navigate the site as we read books that we love. GOING PREMIUM First of all, I would like to announce that the story will be going premium (locked) in ten days, or June 24, 2021. Maybe at around chapter 45. You can unlock the premium chapters with coins or fast passes. If you want to and you can afford to support me and this book financially, you can unlock the premium chapters by using coins. If you are a broke student hahaha... or you are struggling to get by, you can unlock the premium chapters with fast passes which you can get for free every day (I will exinter how). Don''t feel bad about it. It''s okay! I love you too! I grew up reading books for free by standing for hours in the bookstore because my parents couldn''t afford to buy books and I was a voracious reader. So, I know how it feels to crave books but unable to buy anything. COIN PRICING If you are new to the site, this is how the premium chapters will be priced: 200 words = 1 coin, and 1 coin is worth $0.02 (two cents US dor) That means the longer the chapters, the more coins needed to unlock them. For 1200 word chapters, the price will be 6 coins, 2000 word chapters are worth 10 coins, and so on. FYI: Authors cannot publish a premium chapter if the word count is less than 1000 words, but it''s almost impossible to keep the word count exactly at 1k (5 coins), so most of the time you will see our premium chapters are at a minimum priced 6 coins (1001-1200 words) Well, out of these coins that a book earns, the author will only get 35%, minus 5% tax. The other 65% is divided between Google/Apple (as app store providers) and W e b n o v e l. HOW MUCH AN AUTHOR ACTUALLY EARNS? An author gets around 30% of what their novels earn. From a chapter that costs 6 coins, only 2 coins will go to the author. It''s not really much, considering 1 chapter takes 1-4 hours to write (depending on the author''s health, inspiration, research, etc). But the more readers unlock the chapters using coins, the more money an author could make. So.. please open the locked chapters with coins if you wish to support me and this novel. If you see a chapter with 1200 words (around 6-7 pages) and priced 6 coins. It means the cost to unlock the chapter is: 6 coins x $0.02 = $0.12 Out of that $0.12 (twelve cents), the author earns 30% or around $0.036 (3.6 cents) from that chapter if a reader paid with coins. So, please be kind to authors whose books are not popr because they work hard but they earn very little since they only have a few paying readers. I was one of them until a few months ago, earning as little as $20 per month from one book. I only got my big break after my 7th book and now I earn decently. Thanks to my wonderful readers and supporters who help me realize my dream to write more. I hope someday I can quit my day job and write full time. Sometimes a book isn''t popr not because it''s bad or the authorcks talent, a lot of times it was actually down to luck. If you read my previous books, you will see that they are not bad and my talent is not sub-par. I just got my lucky break on book no. 7, "The Cursed Prince". So, I believe many fellow authors are like that too. FAST PASSES If you cannot afford to unlock the chapters with coins, but you really want to read premium chapters, you can get fast passes every day for free. Just go to your PROFILE Tab and click the REWARD button on the top left. You can do the daily missions to get fast passes. A fast pass looks like a key that can unlock chapters. You can get them by doing: 1) daily check-in 2) vote power stone for the book you like 3) vote energy stone for trantion book on the trial pool - basically, just follow the instruction on the REWARD page. I hope someday you will be blessed abundantly so you can support the content creators that you like with coins too. Unlike content creators on streaming tforms like YouTube, for example, writers on digital writing tforms don''t get any ie from ads, we rely solely on the kindness of our readers. AUTHOR''S NOTES If you haven''t noticed already, I love writing my thoughts about stuff and the story under the chapter, not in the author''s note box. I have my own reasons to do that. One of them is readers don''t read from that box, so why would I write things that nobody would read? The second thing is, I sometimes write A LOT on my notes. When I have a lot to exin or I wanted to share important things, I don''t want to be limited by a small box. If you are annoyed by this fact, I am sorry, I can''t help it. You can skip my notes, obviously. I don''t write gibberish and I''d like to think that the notes are important, otherwise, I wouldn''t waste time writing them, just like this housekeeping chapter. To longtime W e b n o v e l readers, everything written here might bemon knowledge, but for some people, this chapter might provide valuable information that they really wanted to know. FYI, MY NOTES WON''T COST YOU EXTRA COINS If you are new to this site, I would like to rify that W e b n o v e l allows authors to add words after a premium chapter is published, but it doesn''t allow us to delete. Also, the price for each chapter will be automatically set by the system when the chapter is published. It won''t change even after edit. So, if I published a premium chapter with 1200 words (7 pages), the price will be 6 coins. However, if I want to add more text to the chapter, like adding a long exnation, announcement, or author''s note (I do it after the chapter is published and the price is set) then the chapter will stay 6 coins, even though after I add more text it bes 2000 word (15 pages). That means, if I want to add my authors'' thoughts in the chapter, I will do it AFTER the chapter is published so you won''t pay extra coins for them. You can also rest assured that authors won''t cheat on you by publishing 2000 words so the chapter will cost 10 coins andter delete half of the content to be only 1200 words but still with 10 coins price. Remember, the authors CANNOT DELETE the original word count from the premium chapter. WE CAN ONLY ADD. You will see in theter chapters that I add important announcements and my thoughts at the bottom of the chapters. Don''t worry, you are not paying for my notes. All my notes are added after the chapters are published. PRIVILEGE Now, this is another animal that many new readers find confusing. Okay, let''s talk about PRIVILEGE + RELEASE RATE + MASS RELEASE Privilege works like P a t r e o n for W e b n o v e l. It''s a way for readers to support the books and the content creators they like by giving them monthly support in the form of a privileged subscription. Just like P a t r e o n, readers will get exclusive ess to early chapters ording to the level of support they show. IT IS NOT MANDATORY TO SUBSCRIBE TO PRIVILEGE. Only do it if you like the book and want to support the book and/or the author to make extra ie. Once you buy privilege, you will get early ess to 2, 5, 10, or 20 advanced chapters AHEAD OF REGULAR READERS (depending on the tier you purchase). So, if the regr readers are in chapter 100, you will be in chapter 102, 105, 110, or 120 depending on the privilege tiers you have. This privilege must be renewed each month if you wish to stay ahead. If not, you can just wait until the privileged chapters be regr chapters. I want you to know everything about privilege before you decide to purchase, so you won''t feel scammed etc., when you realize you have to renew it next month. My privilege for this book starting from July 2021 will be: Tier 1 is 1 coin with ess to 2 advanced chapters Tier 2 is 5 coins with ess to 5 advanced chapters Tier 3 is 300 coins with ess to 10 advanced chapters Tier 4 is 1000 coins with ess to 20 advanced chapters + 99% disc for chap The cost per tier is 1 coin (2 cents), 5 coins (10 cents), 300 coins ($6), and 1000 coins ($20) per month, of which I get to keep 30% or around $1.8 and $6 from the higher tiers (all revenue made by this book will be split 3 way between Google/Apple, W e b n o v e l and yours truly.. including gifts and privilege). I will keep repeating that purchasing PRIVILEGE IS NOT MANDATORY. It''s just a way provided for readers who wish to support this book further, beyond the coins they pay for each chapter, and in return, they arepensated with early ess to the future chapters. Since this book is joining W e b n o v e l Spirity Award, W e b n o v e l''s biggest writingpetition, I have to do my best to make sure this book earns good money because that is actually the main consideration to win. Even if a book is AMAZINGLY GOOD but it EARNS A LITTLE, it is considered A FAILURE and won''t win. That brings me to my release rate. RELEASE RATE To make more money, an author has to write more chapters every day since there will be many chapters avable to purchase. I know I have only been publishing once a day for this book since I was quite busy, but after it goes premium, I promise to work my a$$ off for this book and make it worthy of your support. I will start publishing the book with a minimum of 2 chapters per day starting July. Maybe I will even publish more. We''ll see. If we reached certain targets, like Win-Win target, power stone target, etc, I will also throw in mass releases. Okay... I think, that will be all from me. I hope it answers some questions and gives rity on some things that you have been wondering about. If you have anything to ask about the site, the books, etc, feel free to write your questions in thement. I will reply to them. ^^ Thank you for reading this important housekeeping chapter. I can''t wait to publish more on Loriel and Elise for you. x Vina - Missrealitybites Chapter 38 - How Long Will You Stay Here? Loriel had already waited for a really long time for this moment to arrive. His chest was filled with warmth and happiness to the brim. His heart kept telling him this woman was his wife. His steps were light and he moved like he was dancing. He had to hold back from humming when he prepared the hot chocte for Elise. It would be weird to look this happy just because a stranger came to stay the night. Loriel knew he had to manage his reactions. Meanwhile, Elise studied the man preparing their drinks and she tapped her slender fingers on herp. She didn''t know how she managed to stumble upon someone who''d simply take her in¡­ Her nanny warned her of predators and bad people in big cities, but Loriel didn''te across as a bad man. Even though she didn''t know the man, Elise''s gut feeling told her he was okay. The man didn''t have any evil intentions toward her. She didn''t exactly know how she could be certain. She just did. Hmm¡­ Loriel said they need to talk about her stay. Would he really wee Elise to stay longer than tonight? She looked around her and think of her situation again. She would love to stay here if he really meant what he said. They could talk about the arrangement. He might want to know who she was and what''s her background. It was only logical to do if someone was to share a home with a roommate. She didn''t mind telling him who she was. However, she needed to find ways to exin her situation properly. Elise was currently in great trouble. However, thest thing she wanted to do was to burden other people with her problems. She watched the man''s precise and smooth movements and couldn''t help but wish that she was as collected as the man. Loriel looked like someone who still had it all together despite all of the circumstances that befell him. Elise remembered the man said he lost his fortunes and yet he still looked calm and rxed. She wanted to be that calm in her situation. The truth was, Elise just ran away from home. She had led a sheltered life until her dear father suddenly fell ill and had to be treated in a long-term treatment facility. From then on, things went downhill. Those people wouldn''t allow her ess to him because¡­ Because they said she was not his daughter. She was just an impostor. Loriel approached the woman who was lost in her thoughts and handed her the mug filled with hot chocte. "Here you go," he said in a kind tone. "Please be careful, it''s still hot." A grateful smile formed on Elise''s face. "Thank you." She reached out and epted the mug from him, their fingers brushing together. A bit skittish, she drew back and carefully held onto the cup. Elise did not wish to give the man any wrong ideas, but her heart raced wildly. Loriel finally took a seat opposite of hers. He really, really wanted to stay by her side and hug her waist, or even¡­ pull her onto hisp. However, the man managed to restrain himself and keep his mind focused on the important details, one of which was ascertaining whether she truly was his Elise. Silence befell between the two of them for a moment. The wonderful aroma of the sweet drink eased Elise''s nerves, but she still fidgeted in her seat and looked at the man in front of her. Loriel still hadn''t actually taken a drink and was instead watching her as well with such an intense gaze. It made her extremely shy. Elise''s face crawled with heat as she looked down. "Thank you very much for the drink¡­ I guess it''s time for us to speak about the terms of arrangement for my stay here." "Yes. How long will you be staying?" he asked with a sweet smile. Loriel hoped his expression now didn''t look like a pervert, or a wolf ready to capture amb. He wanted to look sincere and honest. "I can leave in the morning if it''s bothersome!" Elise quickly offered. She loved this ce. She liked how big andfortable it was. There was a sense of familiarity as soon as she entered the penthouse. It had a calming and rxing vibe in it, and when she looked at the furniture, somehow she thought they could have been the furniture that she would have picked for herself. It looked like this man''s taste was quite simr to hers. Loriel ced his mug on the coffee table first and shook his head. "Not at all. I''ve already told you that I''m in need of someone to help me¡­ with my circumstances." Elise blinked and looked around their surroundings. "It''s actually very hard for me toprehend that you''re someone in need of my money. Your ce is very gorgeous. No... actually, it looks really expensive." "Well, this ce has a lot of history in it so I cannot sell it no matter how badly I need money," Loriel exined. "Besides, I still need to keep up appearances when I meet potential investors or old friends. They must not know that I have lost all my money." "Oh¡­" Elise nodded. Apparently, Loriel understood what she wanted to ask even before she asked him. "I don''t n on being financially bankrupt for too long," Loriel said. "Although the recent situation has put me at a certain strain, I''m certain that I''ll be able to bounce back soon enough. This is not my first time. My life has been going through so many ups and downs." Elise smiled. "You sound like a very talented and intelligent man." The man cleared his throat. "If I wish to maintain this lifestyle, then it is imperative for me to return to my financial state. However, this conversation isn''t about me, but about your stay." "A-ah, I''m very sorry." Elise quickly waved a hand in apology. "It is interesting to know about you, so I couldn''t help it." "That''s fine¡­ but yes, simr to you. I share the same curiosity that you hold for me," Loriel said. "It doesn''t seem like you are from around here and yet you traveled here for a specific purpose. Is it only to visit Central Park where your mother and father met for the first time?" Elise took a careful sip of her hot chocte and was deep in thoughts, She was thinking of the best way to share about herself without giving away too many things. She finally made a decision. Chapter 39 - Loriels Offer "Well, the reason why I''m here is that I want to look for a job as well," she finally exined her situation. "I have to support myself and I heard people say I can easily find work in New York." "Work? What kind of work are you looking for?" Loriel asked. His mind went to Marc and his Sanderman Group of which Loriel held a big share. It would be very easy for him to make his great-nephew hire Elise. Actually, Loriel wanted to ask Elise about her family. From his observation and all the bits and pieces of information he received from her, he concluded that the woman came from a sheltered background. Perhaps her ''new family'' in this modern world was wealthy that they could hire a nanny to help her. If this was HIS Elise, Loriel assumed the nanny was hired to teach Elise thenguage and how to behave in the modern world. That''s why she could speak English and seem to fit well in this modern world. But, all this sounded crazy! Loriel, you''re pushing it! The man chided himself. He was worried that he made up things on his own just to force his belief that this woman was Elise. What if he was wrong? He must not be that invested in her. If she was not really his wife, Loriel would have a hard time epting reality and letting her go. How could he check if that was really her? What to do? Ah, he must probe her about her family. There was no other way. If he could get at least their name, he could ask Marc to investigate the family and eventually find out the truth about Elise''s origins. Before the beautiful woman replied to his first question, Loriel couldn''t help but ask another. "I am very sorry to be asking this, but have you run away from your home?" Normally, this question would sound weird if he asked other adult women because, usually, people started living independently after they turned 18. However, someone who had a nanny and certainly came from a well-off family with loving parents wouldn''t be stranded in the city and was desperate for a job like she was now. Did something bad happen to her back home that the soft and demure Elise decided she couldn''t stand it anymore and chose to leave? If she was bullied by someone and ran away, Loriel wanted to know. He wanted to protect her and punish anyone who had wronged her. Elise''s face turnedpletely red. It was as if the man had read her mind! Was it really that obvious? She lowered her head for a moment but eventually said it. "Yes, that is the case." "Forgive me again for being rude, but may I ask, why?" Loriel asked. His eyes looked sympathetic and sincere. Elise''s heart thumped in her chest. She was still hesitant to tell everything to the man. She didn''t want to be judged or seen as strange at all by someone who she had just met. And yet the man''s voice was nothing more but respectful and polite. Loriel seemed like someone who was not judgemental and very rxed. Perhaps, he would understand her situation if she shared it with him. Well¡­ maybe she shouldn''t tell Loriel everything, but just enough for him to understand her situation. Elise cleared her throat and met the man''s gaze. "There are some troubles at my home that require me to find a job of my own and leave the ce for a while¡­ That''s why I decided to go here." "Ah, I see," Loriel said. She still hid her identity, but Loriel could work with that. While there was no clear answer as to who she was, Loriel could not let this woman go after hearing how she was in trouble and had to find ways to support herself. The man decided he would be patient and waited until Elise trusted him enough to tell him everything. He must gain her trust. "I am not so sure how long I''ll need to find a job, but if it is possible to stay here and pay you with the money I have right now¡­ I''ll do my best to find another ce once I secure a better position," Elise promised him. Loriel shook his head. "I don''t think that''s necessary at all." "Eh?" Elise batted her eyes in confusion. Loriel bit back a smile and nodded. "I don''t think you have to look for any other ce to be. You can simply opt-in to stay with me if you don''t mind being with me. In fact, you can even keep your money." A confused look appeared on Elise''s face. He didn''t want Elise''s money? Didn''t he say he was having a tough time and needed cash? Wasn''t that why he offered Elise to stay with him and use the money she received from the hostel to pay for her amodation? Loriel cleared his throat. "Well, I know I told you that I could use some extra cash by renting out one of the rooms here to you. However, I suddenly have a change of heart." "What do you mean?" Elise narrowed her eyes and looked at the man intently. Did he want something else aspensation? Loriel noticed her difort and quickly exined what he had in mind. "Now that you told me you are looking for a job to support yourself, I am thinking maybe¡­ you can pay the room by doing some work around here. That way, you can save your money. I was once like you, falling on hard times. I know how it feels. At that time I so wish other people would help me so I can pay it forward." "Oh¡­" Elise didn''t know how to respond to such a kind offer from this stranger. Did he offer her a room in exchange for a job? What kind of job? "What I mean by this is simply offering you a position as¡­ well, you could stay here at the penthouse and ensure that it''s clean. If you do that, you can remain here for as long as you like," he said. Elise pursed her lips. "A maid?" Chapter 40 - No, Not A Maid! "No, not a maid!" Loriel quickly refuted her. There was no way that he''d hire her to be a maid when by all means it was he who wanted to serve his wife by hand and foot. However, there was no other option for him to make her stay without making it strange and worrisome for her. Elise nced at the beautiful and luxurious penthouse. The man''s offer whether it was to be a maid or not was already quite a good one. If Elise could stay here for a while and simply clean things, then she didn''t have to worry much about her amodations. "I just need you to tidy up things for me when I''m out of the house," Loriel said. He wanted to say that it was a bit simr to the old-fashioned ideal of when a man leaves to work and his wife stays home¡­ but Elise didn''t have to lift a finger at all. He was no cluttered and messy person. Loriel loved clean and tidy and this penthouse had the most sophisticated home automation system. Everything was cleaned and handled by an artificial intelligence household manager. In short, aputer. The home automation system took care of everything for him from the moment he opened his eyes in the morning, until the moment he closed them to sleep at night. This was such a fantastic technological advancement. When Loriel heard that this group called Rhionen Industries was developing the AI for household application, he asked Marc to buy some of their shares so he could support the initiatives. This was a perfect technology for someone who disliked being surrounded by human workers. As soon as the prototype was avable, Loriel was one of the first ones to use it. It had been working well and he never needed to hire a housekeeper or cleaner ever again. Even if Elise agreed to ''clean up'' the penthouse, she wouldn''t need to lift a finger. She only needed to stay. Elise currently looked lost in her thoughts. Loriel worried if he hade off too strong and it pushed the woman away from him¡­ if it made her wary. Loriel was suddenly worried that Elise would think he was being too pushy. She might suspect that he had a hidden agenda or a pervert who wanted to take advantage of a woman in distress. And yet that wasn''t exactly the case. Instead, Elise was actually thinking about how much she liked the man. Loriel had been nothing but the most polite and gentlemanly person she had ever met. She was not worried that this man would take advantage of her because even though she looked shy and meek¡­ Elise could hold her own. This man didn''t know she was NOT a weak woman. Elise might need help to navigate the city, but if she was to encounter harassers¡­ it was they who had to fear for their lives. Being a capable woman made Elise feel more rxed and could easily ept help from other people. She didn''t suspect each and everyone who came to offer help. To her, they were all nice people until they weren''t. It was not good to be on her toes all the time and suspected everyone as bad people who tried to scam her. Some people might be sincere. She would miss out on meeting good people if she thought everyone was out to take advantage of her. If they turned out to be evil and tried to hurt her, Elise would make sure they regret messing with her. That''s the good thing about being powerful. She could have more room for trusting people. Elise imagined physically weaker women didn''t have the luxury to think that everyone was innocent until proven guilty if they were stranded in a foreign ce and many people offered them help. There were too many wolves in sheep''s clothing in this world. If women trusted the wrong people, they could end up harassed, abused, or even killed. Now, so far, this man had been nothing but kind to her. He helped her reach Central Park. Thanks to him, she got the chance to see all the beautiful blossoming trees and flowers at that time. Loriel actually spent the entire day with her and then he took her to the ramen shop. And when the hostel asked her to leave and she had no ce to stay, the man brought her here. Actually, even before that¡­ the man offered to help her father. He mentioned that he knew top surgeons. So, all this time Loriel had been showing kindness to her. She didn''t see a reason to doubt his intention. If this man needed some help in cleaning his penthouse, then she''d do it. Fine. She could learn to do chores and help him clean this ce. Elise looked up to see the handsome man''s face. She finally gave him a nod. "I ept your offer, Loriel." The way she spoke his name tugged his heartstrings. "Alright, Elise," Loriel said with a brief smile. "Thank you for epting my offer. Your presence will be a great help to me." He was sooooo relieved. He couldn''t wait to go to his bedroom so he could jump in joy. She would think he was crazy if he did it here. Loriel couldn''t help but relish the way his name came out of her lips. Even though he wasn''t so sure of things right now, the mere fact that this woman spoke, acted, and looked like Elise made it that everything she did make his once numb heart beat again. Waiting for fifteen centuries was nothing, he told himself. But after doing so many things, watching how the times have changed and everyone else he knew and was familiar with was gone¡­ it was actually a little hard to say that it did not change him. He''d wait more centuries and even a thousand more for Elise, but he deeply hoped in his heart that the woman in front of him was the one he had been waiting for. Chapter 41 - Are You Okay? Elise picked up her mug of hot chocte and quickly drank the rest down. She had no idea what to say to him now. "Can you please show me where I''m staying?" Even if she was to sleep on this very sofa cushion, she didn''t think it was a loss at all. This ce was quite luxurious, no less luxurious than her home back in Connecticut. She lived in a big mansion and everything was splendid and grandeur. However, this man''s ce was nice too. It had really high ceilings and gave the feeling of massive space. There were also many floor-to-ceiling windows from which she could see the unobstructed view of the skyscrapers around them. The living room where they were now was furnished with antique furniture that looked ssic and expensive. Everything in this ce screamed elegance and opulence. She could imagine Loriel must be really wealthy before he lost his fortunes. Elise was busy with her thoughts when they were going up to this floor, but she thought they might be somewhere in the 50s story. Ah, she should check the name of the building tomorrow so she could know where she was. Once she finished her drink, Elise fiddled with the surface of the mug. Then an idea finally came to Elise''s mind and she looked up to him. "Ah, can you please show me where the sink is? I''d like to clean my mug and yours as well if you''re done." Loriel lifted his brow. "You want to wash my mug?" It was obvious from the coffee table that the man barely touched his drink yet. Loriel only prepared two mugs of hot chocte to make her feelfortable around him. He wasn''t actually that eager for a sweet drink at night. Elise smiled. "You don''t have to rush drinking at all, I can also wait. I''m just excited to tidy things up." "There''s not much to worry about the cleaning of dishes, I have a dishwasher for us to use," Loriel said with an amused smile. "Are you sure?" Elise asked, but then shook her head. "Sorry for asking, I shouldn''t contradict you. This is your ce after all." Loriel wanted to say that this was their ce now... but held back. He gave her a reassuring smile. "It''s alright, Elise. It''s much better that you ask questions now than to be confusedter." "I''d like to instead know how things work around here¡­ but in the morning! I am sure that you are exhausted now." Elise smiled sweetly. "It is quitete now and I''ve already consumed a lot of your time with our talk." "You don''t have to worry about things like that, I actually am grateful for your presence." Loriel picked up his own mug and drank as well. He finished his entire drink and stood up. Ah, he remembered Elise and he had their ritual of drinking a ss of wine before bed. They would spend half an hour in bed with their drink and talked about their day. She would talk about her garden, Brick, gossips from herdies-in-waiting, and Loriel would share about his boring work as the king. Loriel missed their talks over wine, and their banter. Oftentimes, when Lorielined about so many meetings he must attend and court issues that he had to listen to, Elise would soothe him and encourage him to be a good king. Once she was gone, he really didn''t see the reason why he should care about his kingdom. Ahh.. too bad, their situation right now was far from that of a husband and wife. It wasn''t his ideal. But if this was Elise¡­ his Elise, then he believed their rtionship would develop over time. He''d figure out the secrets to her current past and help her remember their own. Loriel was unsure of what happened to Elise if this was the woman he loved. Was her memory erased by that time master? The thought of it made him want to grit his teeth. If the Time Master wasn''t already dead, Loriel would want to kill him again. Okay, Loriel would want to kill him a thousand times more. "Are you okay?" Elise asked. Loriel eased his expression and nodded with a smile. "Yes, can I have your mug?" Chapter 42 - The Beautiful Guest Bedroom Elise quickly got up to her feet. "I told you that I''d be the one who''d take care of the mugs, Loriel. You want me to make sure things are clean, right?" "Ah, don''t worry about it." Loriel chuckled. "Tonight you are my GUEST. We can talk about the arrangement tomorrow. Will that be okay?" "But..." Elise wanted to say something but she was at a loss for words. The woman really wasn''t the argumentative type. She also already considered that it wasn''t a good thing to disagree with the man who had decided to take her in. Loriel approached her and finally reached for her mug. "You can start tomorrow in the morning, Elise. Like I said, tonight you are my guest and I''ll ensure that you make yourselffortable here first." He''d show her the ce where she''d sleep and make sure that she felt safe and secure in his home. Loriel had no desire at all to have this kind of employer and employee rtionship between them. At the very least, he wanted them to be friends first. Elise smiled and eventually nodded. "Okay, thank you very much." Once again their fingers brushed together as he took the mug away from her. Loriel focused on getting himself to the sink, but then Elise followed him. "If you don''t mind, I''d like to follow you around and see how you do it?" Elise said with her melodious voice. Loriel smiled and nodded. "Sure. I don''t mind." He assumed since Elise seemed toe from a sheltered background, perhaps she was not used to doing house chores and now feeling nervous about how to do things correctly? Loriel could be proud that he was one of the few people who had this sophisticated AI household management system, thanks to his investment in thepany that initiated it, Rhionen Industries. Now, they hoped the final products could soon beunched globally and people in the whole world could take advantage of a seamless life with the technology taking care of all the heavy and not-so-heavy lifting. To Loriel, washing dishes was part of the lifting and he was happy to demonstrate to Elise how cool the technology that he used in his home. However, tonight was not the time. "Well, actually, this home has an AI system that takes care of most of my personal needs and it already knows my preferences. Now that you will live here too, we will need to teach it about your preference. I will show you how to use it tomorrow. For tonight, let''s just leave the mug in the sink." Elise nodded in understanding. "Okay. Got it!" She didn''t follow when Loriel brought the cups to the kitchen ind and put them on the sink. Instead, she stood in her ce admiring the big living room with the open-n design. "Very well, let''s go to your room so you can rest," said Loriel after he was done. The man went to get Elise''s bag that he helped carry earlier from the hostel. He noticed she only brought a small backpack with her. This made Loriel wonder if Elise would need some clothes. Ah, he would ask her tomorrow. If she needed to shop for clothes, Loriel could easily take her to Bloomingrose, owned by Sanderman Group obviously, and pretended that he still had a lot of points that he could redeem to get her free clothes. His mind was busy with ns while Elise''s mind was filled with questions. The girl noticed how fancy everything in the penthouse was. Somehow, this didn''t make sense. Even If Loriel didn''t want to sell his home to make money, he could at least sell some gold ornaments that decorated his walls and cabs, couldn''t he? Or¡­ was it possible that this man was so into memorabilia that he''d prefer to be poor than selling his precious items? Elise couldn''t understand such a man. Oh well. She wouldn''t judge him for the choices that he made. She knew her ce as an outsider who was invited to stay here out of the man''s kindness. Elise was determined to help Loriel get back on his feet and saw the man rise again. In the meantime, she wouldn''t be nosy. Loriel walked across the huge living room and took Elise to a beautiful bedroom at the end of the corridor. "This ce has 3 bedrooms. One master bedroom at the far left and two guestrooms at the far right. I am giving you one of the rooms on the far right because they have a better view. What do you think?" Loriel asked Elise as they walked toward the rooms he just mentioned. "Sure, I am fine with anything," Elise replied. She followed his steps until they arrived at the said bedroom. Loriel opened the door and stepped in. He motioned Elise to enter. "This is where you''ll be staying from now on," Loriel said. He hoped Elise would like this bedroom. It was designed for a female guest. The other one was designed for a male guest. These guestrooms came with the penthouse when he bought it. Loriel never expected to host anyone at his home. As you might already know by now¡­ he was not fond of people. However, he was now d he kept the guestrooms maintained since he could use one of them now that he suddenly found Elise. "Let me know if you need anything in this room," Loriel said. "I haven''t received any guests since I moved in here two years ago." Elise was granted the sight of a beautiful bedroom just for her. A queen-sized four-poster teakwood bed with exquisite carving awaited her alongside arge closet, dresser, and other furniture that were clearly expensive. Everything was designed very meticulously. Elise knew that something like this wasn''t suited for someone who''d only work by helping around and cleaning the penthouse. She stood still in her ce, looking awkward. "This is too much." "Unfortunately, this is the only room type I can offer to you. So I do not think you can refuse it." Loriel chuckled. "I have no other rooms except for the broom closet. I don''t think it''s humane to let you stay there." "Oh¡­" Elise couldn''t refute the man. She finally said thank you. "I love this room. It''s really nice." "Please have a goodnight, Elise." Loriel smiled at her. Elise smiled back at him and said, "The same to you, Loriel. Please have a goodnight." Once Elise had closed the door, the man returned to his own room. He''d see her in the morning. Chapter 43 - Grumpy Grandpa Loriel smiled to himself as he left Elise''s room. His heart was filled with warmth to the brim. Ahhh!!! After enduring this wait for over fifteen centuries¡­ finally, he saw a glimmer of hope. He just needed to make sure that this was Elise or not. Once he knew, he could decide on what to do. When Loriel entered his room, he started his next n. The man took out his phone and contacted Marc. He hadn''t thought of it earlier, distracted by the presence of Elise¡­ but now he knew what to do to find out who she actually was. So, as usual, he sent a message to Marc. Even if Elise didn''t trust Loriel yet to give away her private information, he could still get his hands on it. Elise actually provided it when she stayed at the hostel. So, they must have it on their record. It was true that Loriel was thinking to make Marc hire Elise in his office, so she could work in a safe ce and made good money. Now, Loriel didn''t need to wait for her to be hired by Marc to get the information about her family background and her home. The hostel held Elise''s ID details that he wanted to know. And he didn''t want to dy it by another day, he wanted to figure it out as soon as possible. For someone like Marc who had been dealing with Loriel''s requests and demands throughout the years, this was piece of cake. Loriel soon provided the details about Elise''s appearance in order for the hostel''s employee and Marc to identify her. He also mentioned that the woman was the one who had been reluctant to leave the hostel yesterday night. While Loriel didn''t have her real name, a striking woman like Elise was easy to remember. He was sure that the employee in the hostel would remember her. *** Marc suddenly received a text again and the man blinked. "Did Uncle need something from me again? This is the fourth or fifth consecutive time." He loved this uncle of his, but sometimes Loriel could be difficult. Even though he looked so young, like he was in his early thirties, Marc knew how old he actually was. So, in his mind, Marc kept thinking of Loriel as a grumpy grandpa. And that was how he was most of the time. Loriel wouldin about noise from fellow hotel goers where he went for a holiday and asked Marc to buy the hotel, or he would suddenly want a new home in Australia just because he felt like it. However, those requests didn''te often. Don''t get Marc wrong. Loriel was chilled most of the time. So, Marc never resent him for his requests. Besides, he had Alex The Reliable to do all the dirty work. Well.. not actually dirty, because they never did anything illegal to reach their goals, except for one or two instances. Ah, okay¡­ except for one or two dozens instances. Cough cough. Marc would not be apologetic with some of the means he used to reach his goals. Loriel told him that rules were only made for themoners so the royalty could have an easy life. And since Loriel was a king, even though his kingdom was no longer around,moners'' rules didn''t apply to him. This means, by extension, those rules also didn''t apply to Marc. Anyway.. where were we? Ahh.. that''s right. Loriel''s five consecutive messages in one day. You see, just like Loriel often had his mind wander everywhere, Marc had the same problem. His mind was easily distracted. When he was thinking of something, suddenly another thought could pop up in his mind and he wouldn''t remember what he was thinking or even doing earlier. Like, have you ever walked into a room to get something, but as soon as you passed the door you didn''t remember why you were there? That''s exactly how Marc''s mind works. The handsome man took out his phone and checked the iing message from his uncle. His brows furrowed as he realized that this was Loriel''s fifth message for the day. This was quite rare to happen and now Marc was curious to know what on earth was going on with his uncle? When he read the new request submitted by his uncle, he soon rolled his eyes in annoyance. [I need you to find the identity of a woman who was checked in to the hostel earlier today. She has creme long hair and is extremely beautiful.] [Imagine the most beautiful woman in the world.. times one hundred. That''s her.] [She is the reason I asked you to pay the hostel to kick out their guests with faulty electricity excuse.] [I believe she returned to the hostel at around 7 pm to collect her bag.] "What¡­?" Marc sighed but said yes to Loriel. That was all he could say after all. His grand-uncle should have asked him while he was still in the hostel earlier. Now, he had to return to that ce and ask this detail. He didn''t want to ask such a private question by phone. At least the details of this woman''s appearance were given to him, but he doubted he''d be able to get it tonight. "I need to drop by myself or Alex tomorrow at the earliest time." That was another errand he needed to do first thing in the morning. He set an rm for 8 am and made a note to himself to go there before he left for work. After everything was set, Marc looked down on his phone and whispered to himself. "Has my uncle gone crazy? This doesn''t sound like him at all. Is he finally chasing after a woman? I thought he is gay or asexual. He has never dated any woman before. Has love finally struck?" Chapter 44 - Loriels Regrets Meanwhile, Loriel tried so hard to close his eyes. It was hard to sleep when the woman he loved, the one he had been waiting for his whole life, was only dozens of meters away from him. He had never had another woman in his life after Elise left him. His heart was frozen and impossible to thaw. Only her love, her melodious voice, and her sweetughter could make his heart feel something again. That was what happened the moment he saw her under the cafe awning, reaching out her hand to touch the raindrops. When she introduced herself as Elise, that was when all the walls in Loriel''s heart crumbled. That was why he was so sure that this woman was Elise. No one has this effect on him, but her. Loriel only needed confirmation that it was her, which he would get tomorrow morning, as soon as Marc went to the hostel to get her identity. The anticipation made Loriel giddy, he couldn''t sleep even though he tried and took two sleeping pills - something he never did before. The man kept tossing and turning in his bed, trying so hard to get rid of her image from his eyes so he could sleep. Ah, he really missed hugging her in his arms. He missed kissing her luscious lips and making sweet, sweet love to her. Loriel was fully aware that even though tomorrow he would know that Elise was truly his wife, she would still think of him as a stranger. A kind stranger, but still a stranger. Their rtionship might develop slowly into friendship, and after gods know how long, maybe she would finally trust him and opened her heart for him. Loriel decided that he would immediately investigate her circumstance and found out how did Elise lose her memory and if her condition could be cured. Since the stupid Time Master was dead, Loriel might have to chase other gods from Cretea and forced them to give him information. He had not seen any gods for centuries. He didn''t like them and they didn''t like him, so it was best if they all kept their distance. However, they might know what happened to Elise and how she could recover her memory. That way, Loriel could really have his Elise back, fully andpletely. So, they could stop acting like they were strangers, as they were now. This was what happened when they were strangers to each other. He didn''t get to hold his wife and tell her how much he loved her. He had to hold back and kept things to himself. Ahh... even though Elise was his wife, she would keep sleeping in the guestroom like tonight, instead of in his loving arms. It felt so close, yet so far. This reminded Loriel of their sleeping arrangement after they got married. He was the one who insisted that they should sleep separately because¡­ they were only husband and wife in name. Now, as he was lying down in his bed, Loriel was thinking, how did his wife feel back then? She must be feeling the same thing he was feeling now. She had to hold back and kept things to herself. He was such a jerk, he thought. He KNEW she loved him. He was not dumb nor was he a naive youth who couldn''t recognize love in a woman''s eyes. From the moment she saw him, Loriel could see that Elise was in love with him, which was quite strange because they just met. How could she fall in love with a man she barely knew? That was one thing that became a turn-off for Loriel. He had no respect for a woman who didn''t have a mind of her own. How could she obey her parents who wanted her to marry a stranger? Didn''t she have her own feelings? Didn''t she have a life? An ambition? She was too mindless. The only thing attractive about her was her physical beauty. Loriel had been living for over fifteen centuries and he still had not met anyone more beautiful than Elise. Unfortunately, beauty alone was not enough to capture Loriel''s heart. He was a well-traveled, well-educated man who had seen the world before he became king and he needed a partner who could be his equal. He thought Elise couldn''t match him in that regard. She spent her whole life in Myreen and that kingdom was hidden for over a century. She had no real-life experience outside of Myreen. So, when she came to Summeria, she was like a country bumpkin,pared to other women in the capital. Oh, how wrong he was. Loriel only found out after she left how amazing his wife actually was. She traveled on her own from Myreen to Summeria and saved two kingdoms from monsters with her own hands during her journey. She was a powerful witch who didn''t like to brag about her powers. She liked to stay humble and let other people take the credit for the amazing things that she did. In fact¡­ Loriel was embarrassed when he remembered how it took him seven years to reach the holy mountain Cretea to get the immortality potion, ying monsters and gods here and there, while Elise entered it in less than two weeks. If this woman who slept in the guestroom was truly his Elise, Loriel would tell her how much he admired her guts, her bravery, her kindness, and her powers. And he would apologize, for the words he said to her, on that night. He didn''t mean to hurt her feelings. He didn''t know she was feeling broken inside when he told her the reason why he married her. How could he know? He was not a sensitive man. And he had spent seven years and fifteen centuries regretting that one sentence. If Elise truly forgot about him, he would work hard to make her remember him again. He would do whatever it takes to show her that he was a changed man. He would prove himself to her and beg her to take him back. Hopefully, he could make her remember him again and fall in love with him again. And then, they will live together as husband and wife, getting their happily ever after. And when she was ready, Loriel would ask Elise to let him know what happened to their child. Chapter 45 - Elises Pregnancy Ah¡­ that was right. Elise was pregnant when she left. Loriel didn''t know it until the court physician told him. That was the reason that prompted him to chase after Elise. That was the reason why he was so desperate to get her back. Knowing that Elise was pregnant with their child made Loriel took the curse of immortality and bear the loneliness for fifteen centuries¡­ so he could see her again and keep her safe, and meet their child. The man couldn''t let anything happened to his wife since she was pregnant. Elise had a weak body, just like her mother, thete queen of Myreen. Herst pregnancy ended in a miscarriage and it was so heartbreaking. After the incident, Loriel vowed to never let Elise have any more miscarriages. He was careful and always checked her condition every day after they became intimate. He wanted to be ready and prepared should the next opportunity came. Unfortunately, after the first pregnancy, which ended in miscarriage, Elise never got pregnant again, even though they had sex very often. Eventually, the court physician deemed his wife sterile after the miscarriage, which further broke her heart. The flowers in the whole Summeria didn''t blossom for the year when she was feeling that sad. After one year Loriel stopped asking if she missed her period because he didn''t want to keep tearing the wound open. Finally, he epted the fact that he and Elise would never have children together. He pretended that it didn''t bother him and focused his attention on developing his kingdom. They never talked about trying to get pregnant again. Elise became more reclusive and rarely spend her time outdoor. They coped with the devastation in their own way, with each finally learned to be content with never having children of their own. That''s why Loriel didn''t know Elise was pregnant when she left. How could she be pregnant when the doctors told them she was sterile? Maybe it was a miracle? Loriel didn''t know. "Why didn''t she tell me?" Loriel asked with a hoarse voice after the court physician told him that Elise was actually three months pregnant when he checked her health two weeks ago. The king''s voice roared in the pce hall. "WHYYY??!!" The old doctor shrank in his spot. He didn''t dare to offend their young king. He was worried if he told him the truth, King Loriel wouldsh out at him. But the king just asked him a question... that means he should answer. If he didn''t tell the king what he wanted to know, the king would be angry. So, finally, the old man cleared his throat and spoke, "I believe Her Majesty just wanted to make sure that her pregnancy is healthy and cross the first trimester before she told you, Your Majesty." "She should have told me so I can care for her better," said Loriel impatiently. "Instead of telling me about it... she ran away from the pce." The court physician lowered his head and didn''t dare say anything else. Who could know what was in the queen''s mind? He was not a wizard who could read minds. So, he didn''t have an answer for the king. It was something that King Loriel had to find out for himself. "Lysander! Get my horse now!" Apparently, Loriel thought the same thing. He could only find out the answers to his questions if he went to find Elise and asked her in person. The king walked briskly outside the royal hall and went to the courtyard. He waited for his right hand to bring his horse. Ten minutester, Lysander came with the impressive stallion that had be the king''s mount for the past year. Loriel immediately jumped on his horse and dashed to chase after Elise. No, he couldn''t let her go anywhere. He must get her back to his side. Initially, Loriel wanted to give her some space before he went to find her. Maybe they needed to have their own moment to be alone and reflect on their marriage after the incident. He thought Elise must have gone back home to Myreen. It was a safe ce and she would be surrounded by her family. So, it should be okay. However, when he found out Elise was actually pregnant without letting him know, Loriel couldn''t let her go. Not with his child. Loriel was already three dayste, but beingte was better than never. Right? The soldiers who were guarding the pce gate were shocked to see the king dashed his horse and quickly disappeared after he passed through them, leaving only dust behind. They were all wondering where he was going. Some of the guards who were well connected to the servants in the inner court started gossiping about the queen''s disappearance. Maybe the king was going to search for her? But, why now? Didn''t she leave three days ago? Yeah, exactly! Why now? Loriel asked the same question to himself. Why was he so dumb and insensitive that he let three precious days pass before he did something? He wanted to cry as he whipped his horse to run faster. The memory of Elise''s first pregnancy came to his mind and it haunted him with the nightmare of the miscarriage. Chapter 46 - The First Consummation Is A Success Loriel was happy when he found out that their first consummation apparently resulted in a pregnancy. This made the king feel proud of his sexual prowess. Not only he was good in bed, but he also could impregnate his wife immediately. He knew it because they didn''t have sex after the first time because Loriel suddenly had to go to the battlefield and wipe out the rebellion, started by his third brother-inw''s family. They had worked together with three of their colonies and tried to sneak attack his army in the west. To teach them a lesson, Loriel went to the battlefield in person. He was a great warrior and warmander. Thest war with Draec, another empire from the continent across the ocean, showed his unmatched leadership and battle strategy. He could confidently say that Summeria would have won the war had they continued. However, both parties finally came to a peace agreement and decided to never bother each other again. But everyone knew not to mess with Loriel. Well¡­ everyone but his stupid and power-hungry brother-inw. That morning, the news of his brother-inw''s attack broke when Loriel was still in bed with Elise. Loriel opened his eyes to a really nice scent from beside him and felt the soft body in his arms. The man batted his eyes and adjusted his vision. When he could see better, he lowered his gaze and looked at the beautiful woman who was sleeping soundly in his embrace. She was still naked and her body gave out a natural scent that made him feel dazed. The memories of what happenedst night were reyed in Loriel''s mind. He still remembered every single detail of their lovemaking and every inch of her skin. Thinking about it made him hard instantly. He rubbed her hair and kissed her forehead. The kiss woke her up and Elise fluttered her longshes before she opened her eyes. Loriel''s eyes and hers locked. "Good morning," said the young king with a smile. Elise looked dazed when she realized she was still naked and was lying down in his embrace. The memories ofst night came to Elise and, immediately, her cheeks flushed red. They finally consummated their marriage! She looked him in the eye, trying to see any sh of regrets in his silver irises. There was none. She remembered they drank wine before they did the deed. So, she was a bit worried that Loriel was not himself when he initiated sex and now he would regret it. But, it looked like, there was no regret. So, did this mean, they''re good? Were they now really husband and wife? Would they do it again? Would Loriel move into her chamber tonight or would he still opt for separate chambers like usual? Gah... so many questions! "G-good morning," Elise replied with a low voice. She was so embarrassed because she couldn''t keep her eyes off of him. His silver eyes were so mesmerizing. "Did you sleep well?" Loriel asked her. Elise could only nod. She could feel his breath slowly turned faster and his body temperature rose. And... there was something hard and hot poking her down there. "So, you have rested?" Loriel asked again as if trying to confirm that she had nourished her energy after their vigorous lovemaking the night before. Loriel remembered he ended their session even though he still desired her because he noticed she was already tired. Now, his manhood was erect and demanded a reward for being so patientst night. He had been so nice and ended it after just two rounds when he could go so many more times. So, now that she had properly rested and regained her strength, shouldn''t they be doing it again? Elise was not dumb. She knew where his question was heading to. She was overjoyed to think that her husband wanted her again. After he ravished herst night, he wanted more of her. She smiled and nodded again. Loriel smirked and tilted his head to im her luscious lips. He had kissed countless women, but these lips were the softest and most delicious he had ever tasted. He thought he had started getting addicted to them. A soft moan immediately left Elise''s lips. She was feeling euphoric by his deep kiss. His nimble tongue immediately explored her mouth and took hers for a dance, while his hands groped her sensitive spots, initially slowly... and then without mercy. Soon, he was already on top of her and pressed on her body as he slowly entered her. It was sweet lovemaking, perfect to start their new day as true husband and wife. Secretly, Elise was thinking she would ask their butler to redecorate her chamber so Loriel would feel morefortable spending time here more than he already had. She hoped he would decide to move in with her and share this chamber together. . . >>>>>> From the author: I really enjoy writing the part from the past, so expect to get more of that going forward. Btw, this is what I have prepared for the book, so you know what to expect: 1. Loriel finds out Elise''s new identity 2. He works so hard to gain her trust and love and then he would marry her again 3. There will be plenty of face pping scenes when people who have wronged Elise get their punishment 5. Elise finally gains her memory back and it opens Pandora''s box. What did actually happen in the past? 6. We will have theplete story of the past. From the moment Elise left Myreen to search for Loriel, her adventures, and how she met the Time Master. 7. The war between Summeria and Draec over the woman whom Loriel loved 8. Loriel''s wedding to Elise 9. Their marriage life for the first two years, pregnancy and miscarriage, and then the straw that broke the camel''s back, as Elise finally left. 10. What happened to Loriel after Elise left and how he reached the holy mount of Cretea to get the immortality potion. 11. How Loriel lived his life with guilt and regret and finally met his wife again after 15 centuries. 12. What really happened to their child and several other mysteries. I also haven''t introduced so many characters in the story. The other ''gods'' or immortals that are like Loriel, who are still roaming the earth, and of course the Time Master himself. So, as you can see, the story has many shbacks but only in the first half of the story as it is set in the modern time, but once it reaches the peak, we will restart the story from the beginning and all the pieces of shback from the past will be shown as apleted puzzle. Things are not always what they seem, so we will have so much fun with twists and turns that you might never expect. I am confident with giving you my nned storyline above because I still have so much to present. There are so many mysteries and feelings left to uncover as you read along. What you read from Elise''s or Loriel''s perspective, might not be the whole truth, they are just one-sided representation. We will know everything once we get to the second part of the book. If you want to know how good I am with plot twists and how I write a story with this type of puzzle piece, feel free to read mypleted and free book on this tform called . It has only 60 chapters and set in modern times. You can just click on my profile to see the book. Again, it''s FREE and COMPLETED. Are you excited about the nned storyline? Do you have any feedback about the story so far? Let me know in thement. Also, please write reviews for this book so more people can know what''s good and not so good about this book (if any). Thank you so much and love ya! -Missrealitybites Chapter 47 - It Is A Good Morning The lovemaking was sweet and, with renewed vigor after resting all night, the king''s desire was satisfied. It was a good morning. No, more than good. It was beautiful. As they ended the intercourse, birds were singing from outside the window and flowers were blooming. The gardeners were surprised to see everything was green and flowers popped up in every corner. The pce today looked like a castle in the fairy tale. ''I love you.'' Elise kept those words in her heart as she looked at Loriel with a beaming face. She was happy to see him satisfied. And he showed it by peppering her face with kisses. "Shall we have breakfast?" Loriel asked her. Elise nodded. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sounds of nature. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the man was staring at her in awe. "You look happy," he teased her. Elise fluttered hershes adorably. Was her feeling that obvious to see? "I am happy..." she finally said with a low voice. ''You make me happy,'' were the words she didn''t say. "Hmm.. I am d to hear that, Wifey." Loriel nodded in satisfaction and hugged her again. Mmmm... she smelled so great, he thought. Elise''s heart fluttered at the mention of the word ''wifey''. He still called her that. So, it was not a dream on her part. Loriel climbed down from her bed and picked up his clothes from the floor. The king only realized that this was not his chamber when he wanted to find fresh clothes to wear. Since he couldn''t go out naked to call his servants to bring him clothes, he resorted to wearing his clothes fromst night. Elise watched the man putting on his trousers and then shirt. She loved admiring his physique. Her husband was truly a feast to the eyes. His body was significantly taller than average men, and it was big with muscles all in the right ces. He looked very manly. When they stood side by side, she looked to be on the smaller side, when actually she was average in height. His physical strength made her feel safe and protected to be by his side, even though Elise was a powerful witch herself. It''s good to have this kind of feeling toward her husband. That way she would always revere him and admire him. In this regard, they were the opposite. Loriel had a very strong and manly physique, but he didn''t have magic, while Elise was a magic caster, but her body was weak. Maybe they were fated this way? They would be each other''s protector in ways that they were good at? This sounded like a match made in heaven, right? Elise would like to think they were indeed a match made in heaven. It just took Loriel a bit longer to realize his feelings for her. "I just remembered I don''t have my clothes in here," Loriel murmured after he got dressed. "We need to do something about it." Elise nodded with a smile. She didn''t want to be the one to suggest that he should move in with her. It''s good to hear that Loriel realized he needed to have some of his clothes here. Once she redecorated this chamber to suit a man''s taste, he might just naturally move here with her. "I will talk to Horatio," said Loriel again. Horatio was their butler. He did everything the king and queen needed to be done in the pce. "Good idea," said Elise. She was finally ready to get dressed too. Ah, she actually wished they could stay in bed longer and savor the moment, but it seemed he was hungry. "Are you okay?" Loriel asked while Elise chose a new dress from her closet. He was admiring her back view as she was standing naked with only the thin nket wrapped around her body, but it was loose at the back and lowered down to show her naked back and half her buttocks. Elise was distracted and turned to look at him with a question mark on her face. The man cleared his throat and tilted his chin toward her intimate part. "I mean... are you okay? Does it still hurt?" Elise''s cheeks flushed red again and she quickly hid her embarrassment by looking away. No, it didn''t hurt as of this morning, but she did feel some weird void between her legs when Loriel''s engorged manhood was filling her up. It''s been half an hour already, but the feeling was still there. But of course, she couldn''t tell him this. It was too vulgar. Loriel didn''t know what she was thinking, but her expression was enough to let him know that she was not in pain and she was happy. That was good enough. Loriel waited until Elise finished wearing her clothes before he called the servant toe and prepared breakfast for them. "Your Majesty, General Melchior has been waiting for you since before dawn." The servant entered and bowed down in front of Loriel. Chapter 48 - The Glowing Wife Loriel growled when he heard the servant. The poor servant immediately flinched. "What happened?" Loriel looked at the man with an annoyed expression. He just wanted to eat and enjoyed a rxing morning with his wife, but this servant brought news that almost immediately ruined his mood. He knew that if General Melchior was mentioned, something must have happened at the border. Was there any attack from the enemy? Or was this just a regr trolls or goblins invasion on some district? Nah, General Melchior would easily handle those things without feeling the need to send the king any reports. They all knew Loriel didn''t like to micro-manage his men. He would delegate tasks ording to each person''s capability and scope of authority. and he would just listen to their reports once a month. Summeria controlled so many small kingdoms in the Antean continent and if he had to check every single thing done by each officer, duke, prince, and general, he would just tire himself out. It was counterproductive. Loriel just made sure he put the right man in the right job. He didn''t discriminate. Even if it was a woman, if she was capable, she would receive the authority and responsibility. For example, Lady Branwen from the House of Lafey, who ruled in Brinchester after her husband passed away was acknowledged as the king''s representative in that province. She was a capable woman and did her job well to serve as a regent while her sons were still underage. Now, the fact that General Melchior came to the pce and waited for him since dawn... could only mean one thing. A rebellion had ensued. F*ck. Who is it this time? Loriel was really annoyed. Thest rebellion happened two years ago and it was initiated by his third brother-inw. Was it him again this time? Or maybe it''s another brother-inw? Didn''t they learn their lessons, already? Gah..! So annoying. Loriel nced at his wife and let out a sigh. They just had a wonderful night together, and this morning, everything seemed perfect too. Unfortunately, it didn''tst long. "I have to go," said Loriel to Elise and, without looking, he walked out of her chamber. His wife who wanted to say something had to swallow her words. Elise could only stare at Loriel''s back view until the man disappeared behind the door. "Be careful," she muttered to herself as if Loriel could hear her. She was so sad that he had to leave her after they consummated their marriage. She thought they would have the opportunity to talk about their situation and... Sigh. Didn''t he want to move his stuff here? Would he still do it? Should Elise ask Horatio to bring some of Loriel''s clothes to her chamber so they would be ready for him when he returned? Or.. would he change his mind and think Elise was presumptuous for doing things for him without being asked? Elise didn''t have an appetite for breakfast after her husband left. She preferred to stay longer in bed and closed her eyes to enjoy what remained of his scent around her, and think about their lovemakingst night. Ahh... they were finally husband and wife for real. He called her ''Wifey'' several times too, and they even talked about having children. This was the happiest day of Elise''s life. And that happiness was multiplied by leaps and bounds when she found out she was pregnant one monthter. The loneliness that she experienced because her husband went to the border to quell the rebellion for weeks after their first consummation waspensated greatly when the court physician told her that she was expecting. Those severe morning sicknesses and herck of appetite, the pain she kept experiencing, no longer mattered as soon as she found out they were all symptoms of pregnancy Elise was over the moon. She couldn''t wait to tell her husband that they would soon have a baby. Loriel returned two monthster and the rebellion was quelled. To set an example, he made a point to execute his third brother-inw and his entire extended family and spared only his wife, who was Loriel''s sister. The king even killed the couple''s children. It may seem like a ruthless move, but for someone in Loriel''s position, this was something that he had to do. His third brother-inw had done this for the second time. The first coup failed and Loriel pardoned him, considering he was family since he was married to his third sister. However, the man was ungrateful. He pretended to regret his action, while secretly he exerted his whole family to conspire with three colonies and rebelled for the second time. Loriel realized that he shouldn''t show mercy again, else people would think he was a weak king. His enemies andpetitors would keep trying to usurp power. So, it was better to make an example out of this brother-inw of his. It was the man''s own fault to rebel and he only received the punishment for his actions. What made Loriel sad was the fact that he also had to execute his nephews and nieces since they would be threats for him in the future if he let them live. The king''s decision sent a strong message to all his other sisters and brothers-inw. They would think twice, or even a thousand times, before they rebelled. Loriel''s expression was grim when he reached the royal pce. The scene of the execution was still fresh in his mind. As the king who ordered the execution of his brother-inw and his children, Loriel had to attend it himself. It was a gruesome sight, but he watched till the end and made sure people get the message. When Elise heard that the king had returned after being away to be on the battlefield for two months, she hurriedly went down from her chamber and met him at the pce entrance. "Your Grace," she greeted the man with a curtsey. Loriel looked up and saw her beautiful face smiling. At that moment, the king felt like time was suddenly moving slower. Seeing her running toward him with a beaming face made him feel like he saw a slow-motion scene. Elise''s beauty today looked even more prominent than before and she was obviously glowing. Loriel was wondering. How could she look even more beautiful than she already was? How was this possible? Chapter 49 - He Feels Such Tenderness For Her In Loriel''s opinion, Elise had always been beautiful. Even after fifteen centuries passed, he had never met anyone who could evene close to her level. Well, call him biased but, to him, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. However, Elise was even more beautiful when she was carrying another life inside her, the life that they made together. That was why she looked so glowing when Loriel returned from the battlefield and saw her greet him by the pce entrance. As soon as his eyes caught sight of her, Loriel was in awe and he halted his steps. Elise thought he was sick or wounded in the battle because he suddenly stopped moving. She hurriedly came and touched his arm. "Are you okay?" Loriel batted his eyes and he was immediately moved from his trance. This woman... was so alluring. When she came so close to him, he could smell her sweet intoxicating scent. Loriel suddenly couldn''t hold back his desire and pulled her into his arms. He nted a long deep kiss on her luscious lips. Elise was caught off guard and she almost lost her bnce. Fortunately, Loriel was quick to support her by holding her waist tightly. They kissed for a long time, while the servants and some knights who came with the king looked the other way. When the kiss ended, Elise suddenly realized that they were not in their private chamber. Her cheeks flushed red and she hid her face on his chest. She was too embarrassed to show her blushing face in front of outsiders. Elise was a very private person. So she was embarrassed when other people witnessed their making out just now. However, secretly, at the same time, she was happy that Loriel disyed his affection to her publicly. She felt acknowledged and ted. "How was the battle, Your Majesty?" she asked him in a whisper. "Were you injured in any way?" As the king''s wife, Elise always made a point to call her husband using honorific in public. She only called him by name in private. "I am fine," said Loriel. "The rebellion is quelled now. I also have punished all people involved. I am sure it sent a really strong message to other people who would be foolish enough to try to usurp power." "Oh.. that''s good to hear," said Elise, looking relieved. Well, she shouldn''t have been worried about her husband. She knew he was a formidable man and he led a massive army with many powerful knights under him, but she couldn''t help but think about him every day. Did he eat well at the border? Did he sleep well? Was he injured? Did he think about her...? Or did he miss her? "Let''s go in. I want to stretch my back. I rode my horse for hours on end and now I am a bit tired," Loriel said. He stepped back and took her hand to walk together inside the pce. Elise followed his steps sheepishly, trying to look nonchnt toward the knights and servants around them who obviously saw Loriel kiss her but pretended to look the other way. Loriel went to Elise''s chamber and was pleasantly surprised to see some of his clothes were folded neatly inside her cupboard. "Thest time you were here, you said you wanted to have some of your clothes here. So, I make it happen," Elise exined before Loriel asked. Hershes fluttered adorably when she spoke. In modern times, Loriel would say that Elise was giving him her best puppy eyes. The king was astonished to see how cute his wife was when she behaved this way. He thought Elise was always meek and quiet, but apparently, she had this other side of her. Loriel crossed his arms on his chest and pretended to listen to Elise''s exnation with a serious face. "Hmm.. so you entered my chamber without permission to get my clothes and brought them here?" Loriel asked her after Elise finished her exnation. His words made the girl step back and press her lips with both hands, like a thief being caught stealing. Her face looked guilty. "I-I... I am sorry I didn''t ask your permission," said Elise with a low voice. "I thought that''s what you want. I am sorry for being presumptuous." Loriel was just teasing her. Of course, he wouldn''t demand Elise send pigeons to the frontline just to ask him if he would allow her to enter his chamber and get his clothes to bring to her chamber. That would be ridiculous. Besides, Elise was right. That was what Loriel wanted thest time he spent the night with Elise in her chamber. So, seeing she paid attention to what he said in passing made him feel ted. Elise was a good listener and she was observant. Loriel was happy to see Elise take initiative and did this for him. He liked a confident woman who took what she wanted and did things unapologetically. He thought It was sexy. However, seeing how cute she was when she looked guilty like this, Loriel became tempted to tease her further. "Do you understand what is the meaning of ''privacy''?" The man looked at Elise intently. "Entering another person''s private chamber without permission and rummaging their stuff is a vition of their privacy." Elise lowered her face and looked at the floor. She suddenly regretted her actions. Apparently, as she feared, Loriel thought she was presumptuous for viting his privacy by entering his chamber without permission. Actually, Elise was contemting it for days before, finally, she made a bold decision to just do it. It was not an easy decision to make and took a lot of courage since she needed to prepare for the consequences if Loriel didn''t like what she did. "I am sorry," was all she could say. Loriel cast his nce around him and noticed how his wife''s beautiful and feminine chamber was now barely recognizable. The colors in this chamber were now mostly darker and the decoration was simpler. The furniture and colors looked like something that he would choose for himself. Did Elise intentionally redecorate her chamber for him? Did she so desperately want him to move in here with her? At that moment, Loriel felt such tenderness for her. This woman obviously loved him so deeply and did everything she could to please him. Chapter 50 - I Was Joking "Wifey, I was joking," Loriel finally decided to stop his tease. He saw how guilty Elise looked because he ''used'' her of viting his privacy. Suddenly, he didn''t have the heart to keep ying her. She looked like she was about to cry. Elise looked up and stared at Loriel with a confused expression. "Wh-what did you say?" The man grinned and stepped forward until his front body almost touched hers. Then he tugged her chin and said, "I was joking when I said you vited my privacy by entering my chamber to get my clothes. I did say I want my clothes here. So, you did the right thing." For a moment, there was no reaction. Elise was stunned by his statement. And then, she pursed her lips. They started to tremble as tears slowly streamed down her face. Apparently, she was so distraught earlier because Loriel said she vited his privacy. As the unloved wife, Elise knew her ce. She felt like she always had to tiptoe when doing things, so her husband wouldn''t dislike her even more. She wanted to do things that make him happy and feel that her presence brought more benefit than nuisance. So, she was very conscious of his reaction. Any signs of negative response would make Elise know that Loriel disliked certain things and she would never do it again. She honestly thought he was serious when he said he didn''t like her entering his chamber and rummaging his stuff. But it turned out, he was just joking? How could he do this to her? "Why are you crying?" Loriel was confused when he saw tears streaming down hard from her eyes. He thought Elise would be happy and relieved to know that he wasn''t serious with his words. But she was actually crying? What a crybaby! Now, Loriel started to feel annoyed. Elise was too uptight and didn''t seem to have a sense of humor. Elise shook her head and wiped her tears with difficulty. Gosh... she was obviously crying but she dared lie and said she was not crying? Did she think Loriel was blind? "What? Are you offended by my joke?" Loriel asked curtly. "I was just teasing you. I thought you would get the joke." Emmelyn would get his joke and y him back. However, Elise was too uptight. His mood was ruined by her tears. When Loriel saw her at the entrance, looking so beautiful and alluring, he was immediately turned on and wanted to spend some time with her, perhaps making out and then making sweet love together. He had been missing her body for more than two months while he was away. It was so hard to stay in the frontline, especially after he just consummated his marriage with a really sexy wife. Her beautiful face, her naked body, and her sexy moans were all he could think about as hey down to sleep in the tent alone at night. Now that she was here with him, Loriel wanted to vent his longing for her body. That''s why he kissed her and took her to her chamber. But now the mood was gone. He just wanted to go to his chamber and sleep. So, Loriel shook his head and turned around to leave the chamber. Elise could only cry as his back disappeared from view. Only after he ate dinner alone and got the court physician to check on his health, Loriel find out the reason why Elise was crying so easily today for the most trivial reasons. She was pregnant and it affected her mood terribly. "What did you say?" Loriel asked the physician to repeat the information he conveyed in passing just now. "She is pregnant?" They just did the deed once, right? Well, several times, but in the span of one day. And she was pregnant already? "Are you sure?" Loriel asked again. Zaff the physician nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. Ah... I am sorry, I shouldn''t have said anything. I thought Her Majesty has told you about it because I saw you both kissed and then went to her chamber. She must want you to hear it from herself." Zaff was quite close to the king, so he didn''t feel the need to pretend not to see Loriel kiss Elise earlier today. Loriel furrowed his brows. "No, she didn''t say anything. She just¡ª" His mind went back to the event several hours ago. Elise was crying before she could tell him that she was pregnant. Because he made her cry with his stupid joke. Now, Loriel realized how inappropriate it was to tease his wife with something that she was obviously tip-toeing about, and at the time when her pregnancy hormones made her mood messed up so terribly. "So... how many months in?" Loriel suddenly realized his question was stupid but he couldn''t help it. The question was already out of his mouth. Since he only had sex with Elise over two months ago, that means she must be in her first trimester now. People said the first trimester was the most difficult part of pregnancy since the body started experiencing so many changes that could affect the woman''s physical and mental health. "Don''t answer that," Loriel hurriedly said. "So.. during her pregnancy, she will be easily upset and I have to expect a lot of tears?" Zaff nodded. "Well, it''s different for each woman, but based on my observation, the queen showed that tendency. So, her feelings are very vulnerable. Please don''t make her stressed. I think her body is quite weak. You may need to provide extra care for her." "Understood," said Loriel. He let out a long sigh. The man turned around and looked outside the window at the emerald tower where her wife''s chamber was located. What was she doing now? Was she still crying? She didn''te to the dining room to eat dinner together with him. Did she even remember to eat something? Gosh.. that woman. Shouldn''t she pay attention to the baby in her womb? Chapter 51 - Loriel Apologizes Loriel decided to visit Elise in her chamber. He asked the butler, Horatio, to bring a tray filled with food for his wife. He would make it his excuse toe to her. "Elise." Loriel knocked on Elise''s door. "Please open the door." He waited for five minutes before the door was opened from the inside. There, he saw his wife stand by the doorway. "Your Majesty." Elise curtseyed. She was no longer crying. Loriel suspected that it took her a while to open the door because she was pulling herself together and removed the traces of tears from her face. He decided not to discuss it, pretending that he didn''t know. Didn''t Zaff tell him not to make his wife stressed? "Have you eaten?" Loriel asked her. His right hand signed Horatio to bring food inside. Elise looked up and pursed her lips when she saw the butler enter her chamber with the tray. "Your Majesty..." she said with a halting voice. Loriel furrowed his brows when he heard her tone. "Yes?" Elise turned to Horatio and pointed at the man. "Can''t I have my privacy here that a butler can just enter my chamber without asking my permission?" Loriel raised his hand and motioned Horatio to stop. The butler was frozen in ce and looked at the king and queen alternately. He halted his movement so suddenly that it looked funny. He was half walking when he stopped and one of his legs was only inches away from the floor. After Loriel motioned him to stop, he was standing in that funny position, not daring to move an inch. "I was worried about you, so I asked Horatio to bring you food," Loriel exined. He was annoyed by the fact that Elise seemed to intentionally pick a fight with him by throwing back his words at him. He was the one who ''used'' Elise of viting his privacy by entering his chamber without permission. And just now, Loriel did exactly the same thing. He only knocked and, before Elise allowed him toe in, he told Horatio to enter with food. Now that he was faced with the same situation, Loriel no longer felt his teasing her earlier was funny. Deep inside, he felt frustrated because he couldn''t joke around with her. She was too uptight. Was it her.. or was it her pregnancy hormones? Loriel didn''t know. He had never had a pregnant wife before. "I am sorry for being presumptuous." Finally, Loriel took the high way and apologized. If it was other people, he would angrily tell them that as the sovereign of this empire, he had the right to enter anywhere he pleased, no need to ask for anyone''s permission. However, since this woman was his wife and she was currently pregnant with his child, Loriel decided to lower his pride and please her. His change of attitude surely surprised Elise. It also made her confused. Why did a king apologize to her? Did this mean, Elise was right? "Thank you for the food," Elise said. "I am not hungry." "But you have to eat," Loriel insisted. "Even if you are not hungry, you have to eat for the baby in your womb." Elise pressed her lips when she heard Loriel''s words. She had not told him about her pregnancy because... Well... because he made her cry earlier. But now he already knew? Who told him? "Zaff told me," said Loriel, as if reading her mind. "Now, will you let me in to bring you food, or...?" Elise was still dazed when she stepped back, giving a sign to Loriel to enter her chamber. Loriel gave Horatio a side-eye and the butler immediately stepped in with the tray of food. He put the tray on the table in the middle of the chamber and stood by to wait for Loriel''s next order. "You can go," said Loriel. Horatio bowed down and took his leave, leaving the monarchs to enjoy their privacy. After the door was closed, Loriel turned to Elise and asked her, "Don''t you have anything to say to me?" Elise shook her head. "There is nothing I have to say that you don''t already know, Your Majesty." Her calling him using honorific when they were in private like this, somehow, annoyed Loriel. He didn''t know why. Apparently, he was already used to hearing her sweet voice calling him by his name when there were just the two of them. His brows twitched. "Don''t you think I deserve to hear it from you personally?" Elise bit her lip and she looked down. She did want to tell him personally, but what happened earlier today ruined everything. Secretly she med herself for being so uptight that she didn''t get his joke. Instead, she became a crybaby about it. She could see he was disappointed in her when he left her chamber and went to his ce. Elise felt so bad that she no longer had the desire to do anything. She lost her appetite and didn''t want to go down to eat. She was sure Emmelyn must have got his joke and be cool about it. And this thought was killing her from the inside. She thought Loriel and her already got something when he decided to consummate their marriage, and she felt so blessed when she became pregnant immediately. But now, they were back to square one. "Wifey, look... I am sorry for teasing you earlier today. I was not supposed to do it." Loriel spoke gently. He was older than her and must know better. "I don''t mind you entering my chamber and going through my things. I did say I want my clothes here. So, you did the right thing." He continued his words when he saw Elise''s tears were slowly dripping down her cheeks. "Thank you for taking the initiative and for paying attention to what I was saying, no matter how small." Elise''s body started to tremble. Loriel stepped forward and touched the corner of her left eye to wipe the tear that was forming there. Then, he wiped the tear on her right eye. This gesture only made Elise cry even harder. Chapter 52 - Loriels First Love "What happens now?" Loriel asked in confusion. Elise didn''t say anything. She just buried her head in his chest and cried silently. Loriel was astonished and for a moment didn''t know what to do. How to coax a crying woman? He was not good at this type of thing. The woman he loved almost never cried. Emmelyn only cried once before him and it was then Loriel realized things had be too hard for her¡­ so he offered to step in and help her. But Emmelyn''s situation back then was really, really dire, so Loriel understood why she broke down and cried. However, this woman he married cried so many times for trivial reasons. So, Loriel didn''t know when her tears were shed because things had be so hard for her, or if it was just her pregnancy hormones. After his shirt was damp with her tears, he slowly wrapped his arms around her back and hugged her. He didn''t know what to do with a crying wife, but he thought she would like him to hold her. After several minutes, finally Elise''s tears subsided, and her faint sobs were no longer heard. Loriel stepped back to look at her face. "Are you done crying?" Elise nodded faintly. "You should eat something," said Loriel. He took her hand and led her toward the small table where Horatio put the tray of food. Elise sat on the sofa and obediently took the te of food and ate slowly. She realized Loriel was right. No matter how awful the food tasted like, she had to eat something. Now she realized how hard it must have been for her mother when the queen of Myreen was pregnant with her. Elise took after her mother in having a frail body. During her pregnancy, she had a really bad mood swing, her whole body felt sore, the food tasted horrible, and she couldn''t sleep well. It was torture. But.. she loved her baby and didn''t mind going through hell and back for him. Loriel watched Elise eat her food. As he looked at her side profile, he realized Elise had gotten thinner than thest time he saw her before he went to the battlefield. Was she suffering because of her pregnancy? He was wondering. His gaze went down to her abdomen. She had not shown a protruding tummy. It was still t. How big was their baby inside her now? Would it be a boy¡­ or a girl? What would he want? He was asking himself. Ah, it would be better to have a son, Loriel thought. A son could take over power from him. Loriel could retire when his son was of age to be the next king. There would be no power struggle if he had an heir. But a daughter would be nice too. He remembered Emmelyn had a daughter and she was the most beautiful and cute little girl he had ever seen. That little girl could easily make even the most ferocious beast be weak and gentle toward her. Loriel looked at his wife and thought Elise was much more beautiful than Emmelyn. If they had a daughter together, she would definitely look even cuter than Emmelyn''s daughter. Loriel had to pinch himself for thinking that. This was not apetition, wasn''t it? It''s not apetition, but he was certain that he would have a more beautiful and cute daughter. A faint smile unknowingly curved up on his face. A daughter sounded good too. Anything would do, as long as their baby was born healthy, he finally decided. *** In the master bedroom of his penthouse, Loriel still couldn''t sleep. His mind wandered to the past. During his 15 centuries roaming the earth, he had seen so many things and experienced so many events. There was too much memory stored in his brain that it might soon exceed the capacity. However, he always tried to keep thinking about the past and remember every single detail, so he wouldn''t forget how his wife looked like, how she sounded like, and whatever happened between them, With exercise, now all his memories about her became fresh and instilled in his heart permanently. He often thought back to them and reviewed the situation. He had fifteen centuries to reflect on what happened and now Loriel felt stupid that he didn''t immediately suspect that Elise was pregnant on the day she left. Loriel should have recognized all the changes in her body. Elise looked glowing, like she did during her first pregnancy. Her breasts also grew slightly bigger. Her skin was softer and more supple. And her mood became a mess. She cried so easily, like in her first pregnancy. Gosh¡­ how could he miss all the signs? Maybe he was traumatized by the court physician''s verdict after the miscarriage who said that Elise had be sterile. Loriel was afraid of feeling disappointed if he harbored any hope that she was expecting. So, he brushed aside all his suspicions and set his mind to ignore those signs. His brain just immediately thought that it was impossible for them to have another child. So, even though all the pregnancy signs were there, he still missed them. Gosh.. her mood swings. She cried so easily when she was pregnant. Now, Loriel could imagine how his seemingly innocent words could break her heart and triggered her yearlong resentment, that Elise finally decided to leave him. Loriel cupped his face with two hands and cried silently in his bed. He had vowed, on the day he found out that Elise went to the future, that he would make up for what happened between them. He promised himself, he would see all the signs. He would be more attentive to Elise''s feelings. He would watch his words and be more considerate. He would make her happy and he would always tell her how much he loved her. He would tell her that he had loved her long before they consummated their marriage, he was just too dumb to realize it. He would tell her, he finally knew Elise was his real first love. Chapter 53 - Madeline York When morning came, Loriel finally gave up trying to sleep. He thought it would be better if he got up and prepared breakfast for them. If he could keep himself busy, it would be good for him to distract his mind. So, the man went to the kitchen and prepared some bread, eggs, sausages, and bacon. The nice smell of food immediately wafted in the air. Elise opened her eyes and twitched her brows. What smell was this? It''s good. Suddenly she felt hungry. Was someone cooking? She was wondering. Was the smelling from this penthouse, or was it from the neighbors? But... being at the top of the building, there was no neighbor, right? Elise saw a night robe was provided in the cupboard. She climbed down from the bed and took the robe to wear it. After she wore the robe, Elise decided to get out of her room and get something to drink from the kitchen. The smell of food also made her thirsty. When Elise went to the kitchen to get water, she didn''t expect to see Loriel sitting at the dining table. Her eyes widened momentarily when she saw some nice-looking food before the man. "Good morning, Elise," Loriel looked up when he heard the sound of footsteps and immediately guessed it was Elise. His guess was correct. "Good morning Loriel," said Elise with a smile. Her eyes were fixed on the food and she looked confused. "Did you make breakfast?" "Yes, I did," Loriel replied proudly, In fifteen centuries he had perfected his cooking technique and he could make pretty much whatever. He was happy to see Elise looked impressed by his cooking skills. At least she seemed to like the presentation. Well, once she tried the food, she would be even more impressed. "You woke up earlier than me and prepared breakfast. You should have woken me up. I could have helped you." Elise stood awkwardly and stared at the food and Loriel alternately. She felt like a freeloader. Wasn''t she the guest here.. wait no, wasn''t she ''the maid'' here? Why did it feel like Loriel was the one who did all the work? "Ah, it''s okay. I will not wake you up for this small matter," Loriel chuckled. "I hope you slept well." Elise nodded. "I did, thank you. The bed is really nice." Loriel rose from his seat and motioned to the table. "Please have a seat, I have trouble sleeping. I have bad insomnia. So, I decided to cook something for breakfast. I hope you''re hungry." "Oh, I see¡­ insomnia is terrible," Elise said with a small frown. She felt sorry for Loriel who couldn''t sleep properly. She knew how unpleasant it was. "Thank you. I''ve lived with it for a while now, I am used to it by now," said Loriel calmly. He was d to see Elise cared about his insomnia. Elise cleared her throat and looked at him. "Have you tried to drink chamomile tea to alleviate the symptoms?" Those words of hers made Loriel remember when she used to make him tea. He smiled briefly and shrugged. "I could perhaps use a cup, or maybe a pot of tea. Although, I tend to prefer jasmine more than chamomile." "That is a nice type of tea." Elise agreed. "Would you like to drink some tea with me? I can brew a pot for us." Loriel started to get up, but then Elise waved her hand. "You''ve already made breakfast, so please let me make the tea for us." Elise turned toward the kitchen and walked there. She stopped by the kitchen counter and gazed up at the shelves. "It''s in the cupboard right?" "Yes. The one to the right has the canisters for tea and the pot and cups are in the third cupboard." Loriel instructed her, and Elise moved quickly to gather them. Loriel temporarily nced away to give her some privacy. He didn''t want to seem intense by staring at her for far too much than necessary. It was at the exact moment that Loriel''s phone rang. Loriel answered it and realized that it was Marc. "How did it go?" he immediately asked. "Uncle, I just got the identity of the girl you are looking for," Marc chirped from the end of the line. He sounded proud of his achievement. Obviously, he wanted Loriel to praise him for a job well done. Marc went out of his way to find this information for Loriel. He woke up early and made a stop at the hostel before he went to the office. "I''m listening," said Loriel tly. His eyes were focused on the beautiful woman not far from him who was preparing tea for them on the kitchen counter. "So, her name is Madeline York. She is from Connecticut." Marc paused and waited for his uncle to ask him for further details. Even though Loriel had not told him to investigate who Madeline York was, Marc already did. If Loriel wanted more information, he would have the answer ready. "Did you find any more details about her?" Loriel asked Marc. His heart skipped a beat. So, this woman was Madeline York. Was it her real name? Or¡­ "Did you read the news from twenty years ago?" Marc asked Loriel back. Loriel almost threw his phone to the ground. He didn''t follow the news. Why should he? It had always been depressing. War, greed, hunger, crimes.. gah. He stopped reading the news for peace of mind. So, why would he read the news from 20 years ago? "Madeline York was very famous," Marc quickly added. "I am sure you have heard of her many years ago." "Marc, I don''t have time for trivia," Loriel snapped at Marc, but he managed to keep his voice low, so he didn''t want to attract Elise''s attention. "You have one minute to exin the whole thing." "Uhm.. okay, Uncle. The thing is, this information is hidden by her family. They are the affluent York family from Connecticut. I had to use my influence to get all the details." Marc finally told Loriel of his findings. . . >>>>> From the author: Since we got around 1800 power stone votes this week, I will give 3 bonus chapters and I will just start now (start early). Expect the other two bonus chapters on Monday. ^^ Chapter 54 - The Tea Marc cleared his throat and started recounting his finding of Madeline York. "Madeline York went missing when she was 4 years old. Her family went on a vacation to Smanca in Spain and she was kidnapped from the vi they were staying in." "Her family was looking for her for fifteen years. They hired so many private investigators and provided a reward for anyone who can give any clues that would lead to her being found." "They worked with Interpol, the anti child-traficking agencies, they spoke to many news outlets to beg anyone who saw or kept their daughter to return her to them. For over fifteen years, nothing happened but they never gave up." Loriel held his breath when he heard Marc''s exnation. This sounded logical. Maybe, the York family thought Elise was their missing daughter when they found her and decided to take her in. "How did they find her?" Finally, he asked the question. He nced at Elise who was busy in the kitchen preparing tea for them, and he basked in her presence while listening to Marc''s reply. "Well, five years ago someone reported to the private investigator that they found Madeline in a vige on the mountain in Germany. She was in a pitiful condition and the York family immediately sent theirwyer to check on her and brought her home to US." "How did they know it was their missing daughter? Did they do any DNA tests? How was the result?" "They didn''t need to. She looked a lot like thete Mrs. York, and she was also autistic, just like the missing Madeline," said Marc. "They immediately thought it was her. Usually, DNA tests are only done if the people involved, in this case, the parents are doubting that the person they found is their child, but the Yorks are very certain. They didn''t want to do any tests." "Autistic?" Loriel furrowed his brows. Elise didn''t seem like an autistic person. She was shy and quiet, but she could express herself well. "Yes. When they found her, she couldn''t speak, just like the missing little girl who was autistic. So, her spitting image to the young Mrs. York and coupled with the fact that she was autistic, Mr. Daniel York, her father, immediately knew it was her." He added, "They brought her back home and tried to find out what happened to her throughout the years, but they couldn''t get anything. However, with the help of some experts and live-in nanny, she could slowly talk." Ahh¡­ now everything seemed to fall into ce. Loriel could now guess what happened. He put the bits and pieces of information he received from Marc and started to put all the puzzles together. So, Elise arrived in the modern world five years ago and she was thought as the missing daughter of the York family. Madeline York. Since she was shy and couldn''t speak thenguage, the people who found her thought she was autistic. The Yorks might be too obsessed by the idea that they had finally found their daughter after 15 years of disappearance, that they didn''t bother doing any DNA test. Now, after 5 years, Elise could already adjust to living like modern people. She learned thenguage and learned about the world. Yes, she lived a sheltered life and had not known how to use Google Maps, for example, but overall, she could adjust to this new life pretty well. Since she didn''t have her memory when she arrived here, Elise finally epted the fact that she was Madeline York. She just remembered her name, Elise, when she suddenly needed to give a fake identity to Loriel when they met for the first time in the cafe. Elise didn''t know that it was actually her real name. That''s why it came out automatically from her lips. The Yorks must have been grieving about their lost child for years and then when they found someone who looked exactly like Madeline in another country, she was then imed to be their long-lost child. It was very difficult for Marc to unearth some of this information because it was something that the family itself wanted to bury and hide. Since the Yorks were affluent too, it wouldn''t be possible to uncover the information if Marc was not a Sanderman. For this, Loriel was grateful for having such an efficient nephew. Now.. what happened to Elise that she decided to run away from home, leaving behind thefortable life she had with the Yorks? Did anyone bully her? Loriel furrowed his brows, trying to think of all the possibilities. Wait.. Elise did say that her father was ill and she was not allowed to visit him. Did something happen to Mr. York? "Marc, do you know where their family resides? Also, is the father okay?" He decided to ask Marc. "Oh¡­ Mr. Daniel York is now in a long-term care facility. He had a stroke and went into aa several months ago." "Oh.. what about his wife?" "She passed away ten years ago. She was very stressed after losing their daughter and the media attention on their family. Some people even used them of killing their daughter and hiding her body, then pretending that Madeline is kidnapped." Loriel sighed. He turned to look at Elise and thought about the poor family who had taken in his wife and cared for her for five years before Loriel could find her. The former king could imagine the grief and pain that the couple went through. Losing the daughter they loved to the kidnapper and then having to face usations from mindless people¡­ must be so hard. "I see¡­" he nodded. "Yeah, Mr. York thought she looked so much like his wife when she was younger and so, he didn''t want to do any DNA test. They gave Madeline York''s identity to her and took her in." Marc paused from reading the information he kept on his tablet. "The ID that she gave to the hostel is real. She is really Madeline York." Something came to his mind when he was talking to his uncle. Why did Loriel feel so interested in Madeline York? Did his great uncle know the woman personally? Did he know something that thewyers and private investigators didn''t? "Do you know her, Uncle?" Marc finally decided to ask Loriel. "Is she there with you now?" Marc was not dumb. He had put two and two together and realized that Madeline York must be the girl whom Loriel wanted to chase out of the hostel, for some mysterious reasons that now he was dying to know. But why did Loriel do that? Where would Madeline go after the hostel imed to have faulty electricity? Didn''t he feel sorry for the girl? Why chased her out of her amodation? Also, what was she doing in a hostel? Wasn''t the York wealthy? As the only daughter of the York family, Madeline could easily stay in five-star hotels in New York. Wait.. Loriel said Madeline went to the hostel at 7 pm to get her bag. How did he know? Did Loriel go there with her? What was the rtionship between Loriel and the girl? For the first time in his life, Marc felt his great uncle acted so mysteriously. "Yes, she is with me. She is safe," said Loriel calmly. "Now, I need to know why she left home and came to New York on her own. Please find the information for me. Thank you." Hisst sentences were uttered in such a gentle tone that Marc thought he was dreaming. Did Loriel speak gently to him just now? How weird! "All right, Uncle. I will do my best," said Marc. Before he could say anything else, Loriel had hung up. The man''s hand became weak all of a sudden, that he dropped his phone to the carpeted floor. He was looking at Elise with eyes filled with longing. The woman seemed to try to turn on the stove several times to no avail. She was starting to look desperate because she didn''t really know how a kitchen and stove worked. Finally, after thinking about it and refused to let despair won, she resorted to holding the teapot with both hands. She didn''t pay attention to Loriel because she thought the man was busy with his phone call. When she thought Loriel was not looking, Elise warmed up the water to boil tea in the teapot. Soon, the wonderful smell of tea had wafted in the air. She didn''t realize Loriel was watching her every move with tears forming in his eyes. Chapter 55 - Breakfast Right then, there was no question about it. This woman was Elise Leoralei Ashborn, his long-lost wife. Elise looked relieved when she could smell the tea from the pot she was holding. She smiled happily and looked up. "The tea is ready," she said. Right at that moment, her eyes locked with Loriel''s who was looking at her with tears in his eyes. Elise was stunned and she turned to the teapot in a panic. Her voice stammered when she spoke, realizing that she just showed her magic in front of another person. "I-I... didn''t know how to turn on the¡ª" Loriel quickly realized Elise was worried that he would freak out when he saw her use magic to boil the water in the teapot. He batted his eyes to remove his tears and smiled dotingly. The man acted like what just happened was no big deal. "Bring the tea here," he said with a smile. "It smells so good." Elise was dazed when she heard his calm, almost nonchnt, voice. She was wondering if Loriel saw what she did just now, or not. If he did, then why didn''t the man act surprised or freaked out? No regr humans would use heat magic to boil water like what she just did, right? Didn''t Loriel think she was weird if he knew what she was capable of? Would he feel scared of her? Or... maybe he didn''t see anything? He was busy talking on the phone just now. So, he might not see her using her magic. With those thoughts raging in her mind, Elise walked toward Loriel and brought the teapot with her. Her steps looked hesitant and she stopped right before the man. Loriel reached out and took the teapot from her hand. He poured tea for them into two cups and gave one to Elise. "Let''s have breakfast," he said calmly. Since the man didn''t say anything, Elise''s heart became calmer and she decided that whatever happened, whether Loriel saw her using magic, or not, Elise wouldn''t make it a big deal. She would pretend that it never happened. She also kept a mental note to be extra careful next time. Today, she was lucky. Some other time, she might not be as lucky. What if the people she knew saw her using her magic and thought she was a freak? She must not let it happen. Loriel pretended not to notice Elise''s concern. He took some grilled bacon, cheese, tomato slices, and eggs and put them on Elise''s te. "Here, eat a lot. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Elise could only nod. She looked at Loriel in awe and couldn''t take her eyes off of the really handsome man. There was something nice and familiar about this man that made her feel sofortable being around him. Her nanny warned her of stranger danger and that she shouldn''t trust men easily. However, her heart told her that she could trust Loriel. She had never been wrong, She could immediately tell if someone had bad intentions just by looking at their eyes. That''s how she knew that Julian and his father were trouble. She could escape and run away from home before they tried to do bad things to her. She had not seen any bad intentions in Loriel''s eyes. If anything, this man had been nothing but kind and helpful to her. "Thank you," Elise said with a low voice. She wanted to break her egg but suddenly, Loriel had taken the eggs from her te and started peeling the shell for her. The girl could only watch in surprise. This man was so nice. "Here you go," said Loriel. He gave her two peeled eggs and then continued eating his own food. For a moment, Elise looked at the eggs with a slightly opened mouth. She didn''t know what to say. Loriel did it so naturally, without any hint of awkwardness, as if they had known each other for a long time already. "What''s your n for today?" Loriel asked Elise to break the ice. He thought she still needed to feel morefortable around him. "Well.. I need you to show me how things work around this house, so I can clean up and take care of it, as per our agreement," said Elise. She raised one egg to her lips and said, "Thank you for this." "It''s my pleasure," said Loriel. "Let me know if you want more eggs." "This is enough," Elise replied. "I cannot eat more than two in a day." ''Yeah, I know, honey. That''s why I only peeled two eggs for you,'' said Loriel inwardly. Of course, he didn''t say it out loud. The man just smiled. "I will show you how the household assistant works," he said to Elise. "It''s quite amazing. I should say, a one-of-a-kind technology. You''ll love it!" "Ahh.. I look forward to it," said Elise. She had a nice home back in Connecticut, but they still hired staff and maids to do most of the work. She didn''t see any staff in this big and luxurious penthouse. So, she assumed either Loriel hired a part-time housekeeper to do the work or he just had to do it himself because he could no longer pay people to do it. This ce looked spotless and very tidy, she thought. If Loriel did all the cleaning, then this man must be very meticulous and clean. This was something rare among men, she thought. At least that''s what she knew from the books she read and the people she met. This made Elise determined to do her best to keep this amazing ce clean and tidy, like what Loriel was doing now. "There is not much to do around here, to be honest," Loriel added. "My household assistant is very efficient. But I think, what I need the most is actually apanion to share this ce. I have no one and it can be quite lonely at times." Chapter 56 - Horatio His voice wasced with deep sadness. From his tone, Elise could hear how lonely the man was. "Oh.. I am sorry to hear that," Elise lowered her head. She felt sad for Loriel. "Don''t you want to know what happened to my family?" the handsome man asked. Elise looked up and shook her head. "I don''t want to invade your privacy." "No, you are not invading my privacy. No worries. I am happy to share it with you. I have nothing to hide," said the man calmly. "Okay." Elise looked at the man attentively and listened to what he had to say. "What happened to your family?" Loriel smiled and said, "They all passed away a long time ago. I have been alone for most of my life. How about you?" He hurriedly added, "I don''t mean anything by my question. You can keep it to yourself and not tell me anything about you. Just because I share with you about my life, it doesn''t mean you have to." Elise looked at the man and bit her lip. She thought the man was nice and didn''t mean any harm. So, maybe she could tell him a little bit about herself? "Well, you already know that my father is sick. I am trying to work and make money so I can be independent and..." Elise paused. "By the way, you told me you can help me get a job?" "Yes. I know some people who could hire you. What do you want to do? Do you have any particr interests?" Loriel asked. He didn''t want to push Elise to share about herself if she was still feeling ufortable. "Uhm... I am not good at many things, yet, but I am a quick learner. I will take whatever jobs avable," said Elise firmly. "I am not picky." "That''s a good attitude." Loriel nodded. "I''ll see what I can do." "Thank you so much," said Elise. She looked relieved and continued eating her breakfast. Loriel only watched her with a smile on his face. He let her eat and not asked her any more questions. After they finished eating, Loriel showed Elise how the AI household assistant worked. "Horatio, please clean up the table. We have finished breakfast," said Loriel to no one in particr. Elise was surprised to hear Loriel''s words. She looked around her to see the man called Horatio whom Loriel talked to just now. However, she didn''t see anyone. Was Loriel talking to someone remotely? "Right away, Sir," a reply rang from the air, and Elise was startled. She widened her eyes as she looked at Loriel. "Who is that?" "That''s Horatio. He is the AI household assistant. Aputer." Loriel exined slowly and clearly. "I am using a new technology that uses artificial intelligence to take care of everything rted to the house. He checks if I need to get groceries and orders them online. He also arranges cleaning robots to clean the ce, to mop, doundry, etc." "Oh... how amazing!" Elise pressed her lips in awe. Before she could say anything, a white robot with four hands came and took their tes from the table. Another one came to clean up with a sponge and water. It worked so quickly and efficiently that in no time, the table was now clean and spotless. "Wow..." Elise batted her eyes in amazement. Two robots came out of nowhere and did the cleaning in such a short amount of time. She and Loriel didn''t even need to lift a finger. "What would you like to eat for lunch, Sir?" Horatio''s voice rang again. Loriel looked at Elise and decided to ask her something. "Do you have a work outfit to wear for the job interview?" "Oh..." Elise just realized she didn''t have any. She only brought a small backpack with her essential items. They didn''t include work outfits. She shook her head. "Unfortunately no." "What do you think if we go out shopping for business attire for you today?" Loriel asked. "Then we can have lunch outside." Elise remembered she just received a lot of money aspensation from the hostel. She could use it to buy clothes. Wait.. would it be enough? How much would business attires cost? As if reading her mind, Loriel exined that Elise didn''t have to worry about money. "I am a regr customer in Bloomingrose. It''s a big shop that sells clothes. I never use my points. I think I have umted quite a lot over the years. You can use my loyalty points to get you some nice outfits for free so you can go to work interviews." "I-I... have some money," Elise insisted. "I can pay for them. I don''t want to use your points. You''ve helped me so much already." "Well, those points expire every end of the year anyway. So, if I don''t use them, they will just expire. I think it''s such a waste," said Loriel. "You can just use your money to buy me lunch. So, we can eat outside after shopping? What do you think?" "Uhm... why don''t you use your points to shop for yourself?" "I don''t need anything," Loriel said with a shrug. "I have everything I would ever need. And as you can see, my clothes are nice and I don''t have to get new ones. I would rather let you use my points and you return the favor by treating me to lunch. I think that''s only fair." "Are you sure?" Elise asked again. "I feel bad about taking advantage of your kindness. You have done so much for me." "It''s okay, Elise, don''t mention it." Loriel smiled dotingly. "Please say yes, so I can tell Horatio not to prepare lunch for us." Finally, Elise nodded. "Yes. I will buy you lunch." "That''s great!" Loriel grinned and then he pped. "Horatio, you''ve heard thedy. No need to get us lunch. We will eat outside." "Understood, Sir. Have a great day outside," said Horatio. "The weather is perfect for shopping and lunch. Have fun." "Thank you, Horatio. We will," said Loriel with a happy smile. The usually-curt man looked angelic when he smiled like this and, for a moment, Elise was mesmerized. Chapter 57 - Im Happy To Finally Meet You Elise quickly looked away. "When should we go shopping for clothes?" Elise asked Loriel to distract her mind from his mesmerizing smile. "Ah, let''s rx for an hour or two, then we can go at 10 am. Shops are usually open around that time," said Loriel. "Ah, okay. Then, I will go to my room and get ready," said Elise awkwardly. She actually expected to clean up after breakfast, but apparently, there was nothing she could do here. "You can also explore the house if you want," Loriel said. "I have a lounge, a huge library, and an entertainment center. You can watch a movie on the big screen, read books in the library, or do whatever you''d like." "Ah, this is not my ce. I don''t want to inv¡ª" "You are not invading my privacy," said Loriel with a smile. He could already guess what Elise was thinking about. "This ce is open for you. Just don''t sell my artwork collection¡­ hahaha." Eliseughed too. She felt more at ease now because Loriel was very rxed about everything. She couldn''t believe her luck. This man was so kind to her and he seemed to understand all her worries and difort. He was also really handsome. Elise could never have enough of staring at those light blue eyes of his. They sometimes could look like silver, depending on the light they reflected. So mesmerizing. Was he not human? Maybe he was an angel who was protecting her? Ahh.. Elise wanted tough at herself. There was no such thing as an angel, she told herself. Well, he may not be an angel, but this man was still an enigma to her. She wondered who he was really and why he was so kind to her. "Maybe I will check the library," she said. "Which way is it?" Loriel pointed to the right. "It''s over there, just go to the end of this hallway. It is a loft library with tens of thousands of books." "Oh.. sounds amazing," said Elise. "Yes, I have an extensive collection of books and artworks," said Loriel proudly. "Feel free to immerse yourself in them." As he had been living for such a long time, he had met and got acquainted with many famous people in the past. He even bagged himself some never-before-seen Davinci''s and Raphael''s artworks. If the public knew what he had in his storage or little ''museum'', he was sure they would go crazy. Loriel also had some Greek statues which were still very well-reserved, unlike those they kept in Louvre where Venus already lost her arms, for example. Loriel loved arts and he made an effort to maintain his collections in perfect condition. He couldn''t wait to share all his wealth and collection with his wife. He was sure Elise would enjoy and appreciate them as much as he did. "Oh, by the way, let me officially introduce you to Horatio." The man cleared his throat and soon they could hear Horatio''s voice in the air. "Yes, Master?" Elise turned to Loriel and looked at him in awe. So, this man could call his ''AI butler'' just by clearing his throat? How neat! "Horatio, please meet Elise. Thisdy will stay with us for the time being. I want you to get to know her and help her with everything she needs, so she could navigate her way around the house," said Loriel. "Understood, Sir." Horatio then spoke to Elise. "Good day, Madame Elise. My name is Horatio. You can think of me as your digital butler in this house. I will be taking care of you during your stay in our humble abode. Please speak so I can record your voice for the voice recognition system." Elise fluttered hershes and her mouth agape. "He.. he just spoke to me¡­" she whispered to Loriel. "Did you hear that?" "Yes, he just did," Loriel whispered back. "You can talk to him back and ask him to do things for you." "I can?" "Yes, you can," said Loriel with a chuckle. Seeing Elise looking so impressed by his technology made Loriel feel good. He thought Elise was so adorable. He couldn''t wait to show her more things they could do with the technology in this modern world. "Uhm.. okay." Elise held her breath, then she breathed out. Her face looked excited as she spoke to Horatio. "Hello, Horatio. My name is Elise." "Hello, Madame. It''s an honor to finally meet you," said Horatio with an overly friendly voice. "I hope you are well." "M-me? You have been waiting to finally meet me?" Elise thought she misheard the AI. She turned to Loriel. "Did he just say he has been waiting for me?" Loriel coughed violently when he witnessed the exchange between Elise and Horatio. Shit! He forgot to tell Horatio not to disclose his rtionship with Elise. Loriel had told everything about him to that digital butler and of course, now Horatio knew this woman was Loriel''s wife. Who else would Loriel be bringing to live with him in this penthouse if not his wife? "Uhm¡­ don''t listen to him. Horatio is just ying with you," said Loriel who could lie so easily. He quickly found an excuse to exin what Horatio just said. "I think he was just teasing me because I have never brought any woman to this ce before. You are the first. That''s why he said he has been looking forward to meeting you... a woman, in this house." Elise looked at the man with rounded eyes. He said what? This handsome man had never brought any woman home before? Was he telling the truth? It''s so hard to believe. This man was devilishly good-looking, charming, and pleasant. Surely, it was very easy for him to meet women and bring them home to have... a one-night stand, maybe. So, he had never done that? Elise looked at the man to assess whether he was telling the truth or if he was lying. However, she didn''t sense anything negative from Loriel. The man didn''t seem like the liar type, who only said those words to charm a woman and pretended that they were never interested in other women before her, to make her feel special. "Is that true, Horatio?" Elise was smart. She asked Horatio directly what he meant by his words. The butler cleared his throat, in an act to imitate a human''s reaction. He replied to Elise''s question in a sincere tone. "Yes, Madame. Master has never brought any woman to this ce before. You are the first, and only, and I am excited to finally meet you." Loriel secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Horatio gave a perfect answer to Elise''s question. This would give Loriel an extra point in Elise''s eyes. She must appreciate the fact that Loriel was never involved with another woman before he met her. Why would he? He was not interested in other women but her. And plus¡­ Loriel was a loyal man. He took his marriage vow seriously. In the past, even when he was still not in love with his wife, he never cheated on her with any woman. So, of course, now that he loved her, he would be even more devoted to her. The past fifteen centuries were no joke. Chapter 58 - They Dont Seem To Add Up Elise was so impressed. She nudged Loriel to exin more about Horatio. She found it fascinating. Loriel finally told her about the prototype given to him by Rhionen Industries as he was one of their shareholders. He exined to her whatever things Horatio was capable of. "Wow.. so, impressive." "It is." "Howe I don''t see many people use this technology?" she asked him. "At the moment, only a few are lucky enough to get the prototype. These few people are able to get their hands on thetest technology and test the product. I am one of them. However, I am sure in ten years or so, all homes would already have this AI installed in them. This is the future." "That sounds very likely," said Elise in awe. "So, howe you get the prototype in the first ce? Are you involved in the development?" Loriel shook his head. "No, but I made an investment years ago on thispany that focuses their business on automation and AI. Their vision matched mine, so I wanted to be part of them." "Ah, you seem to have a keen eye for business. You can predict what works and what doesn''t work," Elise praised the man. "I believe you are right. This digital butler is the future and many households will get a lot of benefits from automating their daily tasks." Loriel was happy because Elise saw what he saw too. This woman was very smart. Ahh.. if it took Elise less than five years to speak the newnguage fluently and live like a regr human in the modern world, he could imagine how much she would aplish if given more time. Especially now that she had Loriel by her side. The man was the only person who understood her inside and out, and he could help her learn whatever she needed to learn in this modern world. He already imagined taking her on trips around the world, so Elise could see different ces and learn from so many different cultures and people. But first... he needed to regain her trust and her love. Then, everything else would follow. "Yes, I agree. As soon as we can all confirm the benefit, thepany will make it avable to the public," said Loriel. Elise nodded. "I am sure it will be beneficial for so many people. If they could delegate all the household tasks, people could save time and use it for things that matter, like spending time with their family and do more productive work." ''Yes, exactly." After he listened to Loriel''s lengthy exnation about Horatio and the investment he made on the initiative, Elise looked at Loriel with a confused expression. The man quickly noticed her confusion and asked Elise what was on her mind. "Is there anything you would like to ask me?" Loriel looked at Elise attentively. "I can see a big question mark on your face." Elise bit her lip. "Uhm.. I am sorry if my question will offend you, but this doesn''t add up. You seem to have good business acumen and understanding of the market because you invest in thepany that produces Horatio. So, howe you lost all your money in the stock market?" Loriel was stunned by her sudden statement. Ah... he knew Elise was really smart, sooner orter she could see through his lies. But he already lied to her about why he lost his wealth. So, what to do now? Loriel was desperate yesterday when he saw Elise. He really wanted to take the train with her to Central Park and the only way to do it was to im that he was poor. Too poor to afford a taxi. Now, pretending to be poor was harder than it looked, because he had to find a usible reason for his poverty. Was he robbed? Did he have a gambling addiction? Was he scammed? Or did he just blew out all his wealth by having poor money management? Or did a gold digger leeched off of him? Of all those avable excuses, Loriel chose the first thing that came to mind. He told Elise he lost all his money in the stock market and now he was trying to get back on his feet again. Loriel didn''t think Elise and him would talk about his investment and this eventually made the woman see through his lies. What should he tell her now? If he admitted to her that he was lying about losing his wealth, Elise might not trust him anymore. Worse was, she might even think Loriel was a creep for lying to her just so they could take the train together, and Loriel could pretend to offer her amodation at his home. Gosh... what to do? What excuse he could give her now? Loriel felt like he wanted to smack himself in the head. The man finally cleared his throat. "You are right. They don''t add up. There is something that I cannot tell you. I am sorry. But please know that I don''t have bad intentions. Everything I said or did is sincere." He looked at the woman with a pleading gaze that could melt anyone''s heart, including Elise''s. The girl realized that she would be really invading Loriel''s privacy if she insisted on finding out why the man could have one sessful investment but lost his wealth in another. "I am just curious. That''s why I asked. Please, don''t think too much about it," said Elise with a smile. "I am sure you have your reasons and the story behind it. I will not ask again. I am just grateful that you offered me a ce to stay. You are really nice." "Thank you. I will share with you the whole story when the timees," said Loriel. "In the meantime, I hope you don''t mind me keeping some things to myself." "No, of course, I don''t mind. It''s your life. I am just a concerned outsider." Elise didn''t want to prolong the issue. She rose from her seat and walked toward the library. "Can I see the library now? You make it sound so interesting, now I just want to see what books and artworks you have." "Of course," said Loriel. "You can take as much time as you want there. The library is open for you. We can meet again in two hours to go shopping together. What do you think?" "That sounds perfect." Chapter 59 - Shopping At Bloomingrose Loriel watched as Elise walked toward the library and then disappeared from view. His chest was filled with love and warmth to the brim. Once he knew he was alone, Loriel cupped his face with both hands and cried silently. All the wait, those lonely nights for fifteen centuries finally paid off. He could find his Elise. Now, there was nothing in this world he wanted. He already got what he had been dreaming of, day in day out. His wife returned to him. There was no ce he would rather be, than here with Elise. He didn''t know what had happened to her from the moment she left him, until the moment they met again, but he was determined to find out. He would make up for his past mistakes. Now that Elise had returned to be with him, Loriel had a lifetime to do things right. The man was overjoyed and relieved after confirming Elise''s identity this morning. He was so happy that he was shaking. Marc''s phone call made him suspect that Elise was really his wife. And when he saw her use magic earlier, all her suspicions were confirmed. This was such a good day. After he pulled himself together, Loriel decided to pick up his phone from the floor and contacted Marc again. He needed his nephew to make their shopping spree a seamless experience for Elise. The woman didn''t have much money with her, and it was obvious she wouldn''t want Loriel to help her with mary aid. So, Loriel had offered her to use his loyalty points, which would expire anyway if he didn''t use them. That way, Elise wouldn''t feel bad about getting free clothes. Well.. there was one problem. There was no such thing as the loyalty points he mentioned earlier to her. Loriel didn''t even have the membership card. He never shopped in Bloomingrose departement store, obviously. All his clothes were tailor-made just for him. He had his personal designer and seamstress who provide him with clothes all year round. And for other things that needed to be bought, he had Horatio to do it. Loriel didn''t even like going to such crowded ces like the mall. Now, how could he make sure he could have a card with loyalty points when he and Elise arrived in Bloomingrose? "Marc, I want to shop for clothes in Bloomingrose this morning. Can you get staff ready to give me one of those loyalty membership cards with unlimited points that can be redeemed with free products?" Loriel spoke without further ado. Marc who was enjoying his coffee in the office, to get ready for another weekend meeting with his board of directors, almost spouted his drink. "What did you say, Uncle? You want to shop in Bloomingrose?" Marc couldn''t believe his own hearing. Did his great uncle just say he wanted to shop??? "Yes, is that wrong?" Loriel pursed his lips when he heard Marc''s reaction. "No.. nothing wrong with that," said Marc with a chuckle. "I am just surprised. This doesn''t sound like you." "Well, get used to it." Loriel cleared his throat and repeated his request. "I need those points. Can you make it happen?" "Definitely! I will send someone to stand by at the cashier and help you. You can just show them my business card, they will know what to do," said Marc. "Have fun shopping!" Loriel already hung up the phone. *** At 10 am, Loriel and Elise left the penthouse together for their shopping trip. This time they took a taxi, ordered by Horatio. Elise had stopped asking questions about why Loriel suddenly could afford a taxi when yesterday he said he didn''t have the money to get one. She believed him when he said his circumstances were quite unique and personal. So, she epted the fact that he didn''t want to share it with her, yet. She would just wait until he was open to her The two of them soon arrived at Bloomingrose. It was the biggest and fanciest high-end department store, which also happened to be a subsidiary of Sanderman Group. It was easy for Marc to arrange a nice shopping experience for his uncle. He knew Loriel hated the crowd, so he made a point to tell the staff to put a CLOSED sign by the windows, as soon as Elise and Loriel entered. This was something he did without Loriel asked him since Marc knew his uncle very well. He hoped this little surprise would get noticed by Loriel and Marc would get apliment. Hehehe. "This ce looks really fancy," said Elise when she and Loriel arrived at the store. She looked up and noticed the beautiful sign hanging outside written in beautiful and glossy letters. There was a certain luxury feeling to it that made most of the people just gawk outside of the ce. Loriel led her into the store. Once they entered the boutique of Bloomingrose, the two were quickly weed by two attendants, while another one switched the OPEN sign on the window into CLOSED, to prevent more people from entering the shop. "Good morning and wee to Bloomingrose. How can we serve the two of you today?" one shop attendant spoke with a big smile. "Oh, good morning." Elise greeted. "We''re here to look around, I want to use some of my membership points that I''ve gathered here before." Loriel smoothly pulled out a card from his wallet and showed it to the twodies. It was Marc Sanderman''s business card. From that angle, Elise didn''t see what card it was, so she assumed it was really the membership card, but the two shop attendants knew. These were really the people that the big boss told them about. Everyone in the entire store was expected to provide the best of service or risk losing their jobs if they performed any less to the high expectations provided to them. "Is that your membership card?" Elise nced at Loriel''s face. The man nodded proudly. Elise furrowed her brows. She asked him again. "So, you are a member here?" Loriel nced at their immediate vicinity and noticed that most of the items on disy were for women. Shit! He forgot that Bloomingrose catered to mostly women''s fashion. It would be weird to admit that he was a regr shopper here, to collect that many loyalty points. When he offered to take Elise shopping for clothes, he just mentioned the name of this store without thinking too much about it. Now, how could he exin his membership at a women''s fashion shop? Chapter 60 - What Is That Woman Doing Here? Fortunately, Loriel was a witty person and a fast thinker. He could easily make an excuse on the spot. The man shrugged and replied nonchntly. "I frequently shop here before, they have a very good men''s fashion line despite it being more well-known that they cater to women." Nobody could contradict him here because that was how well his grand-nephew dealt with things. Loriel cleared his throat and motioned to the entire store. "But we can save this conversation for another time, for now, have a look around." "I¡­ don''t feel veryfortable using your membership points." Elise had seen how luxurious this store was. The price of the products they sold here must be exorbitant. She was worried that she would use all Loriel''s points and ended up owing him so much. The truth was, Elise was determined to pay back the points she used to buy her work outfit in mary value once she had her own money. But seeing that she might not be able to earn a decent ie with her limited skills and education, she was worried about piling up debts. It would be better if they went to other more humble stores. She would just buy one work outfit and pay with the money she had now. Loriel waved a hand nonchntly. "Don''t worry about it. Clothes here are not expensive, and the store has big discounts for the cardholders." Bloomingrose wasn''t the type to ever lower their prices at all. And yet the two female attendants quickly nodded their heads and smiled brightly at Elise. "That''s true, Miss," said one of the staff to confirm Loriel''s words. "We are having big discounts today." Whatever the man in front of them said, it was the truth now. If Loriel were to even say that Bloomingrose had a dog''s fashion line, then the employees would go along with that story. "Ah, okay, then." "What kind of outfit do you need, Miss? We can help you search¡­" said one attendant with a very friendly attitude. "Can I see your collection?" Elise asked back. "Yes, definitely. We have a special collection on the second floor which I believe you will love. Pleasee with us," said the other attendant. Loriel nodded and motioned Elise to follow them. Elise nced at Loriel once before she was ushered and taken away by the attendants. The two women were actually eager to help assist Elise and maybe even suggest some clothes. There was always something about seeing an already beautiful woman getting dressed up in gorgeous clothing that made anyone excited. It was almost like dressing up Cindere. Loriel followed after them to keep an eye, but he still gave them some distance to make Elise feelfortable. After half an hour in the store, the two attendants were too busy picking out clothes for Elise to try on and chattered happily. It was almost like they were eager fairy godmothers about to transform Elise into a princess. That gave Elise enough of a breathing room to look around on her own. It wasn''t like Elise was going to pick everything they''d suggest when she was supposed to get an outfit more appropriate for her work. Soon Elise was browsing at all the avable business attire in the boutique when a sharp woman''s voice sounded within Bloomingrose. "Don''t you have anything in this color? This turquoise blue doesn''t match my cool skin undertone at all." A womanined to her own attendants. It was a voice that Elise recognized at once. Elise froze in her tracks for a moment and Loriel who stood close to her noticed the expression on Elise''s face. "What''s wrong?" Loriel didn''t see anyone actually worth noticing, there was no one except the sight of a woman harassing some of the attendants. It was an off-putting scene in an otherwise high-end establishment. "Uhm¡­ can we get out of here, please?" Suddenly Elise begged him to leave. Her unexpected request made Loriel wonder if something happened to Elise in the store. She had not even picked clothes to buy. Was she annoyed by the other woman''s voice? Or, did she not find anything worth buying in this store? He noticed Elise nced in the direction of the voice. Her face paled. "Does her voice bother you?" Loriel asked her gently. To be honest, he felt annoyed by the woman''s squeaky voice too. He might ask the shop attendants to just kick her out, "No, it''s not it. Can we just shop in another ce?" asked Elise with a pleading voice. She tugged into his sleeves and Loriel finally nodded. "Sure, Let''s go." As much as it was possible to let the woman get thrown out of the store, Loriel allowed himself to be dragged away by Elise. The two headed to a spot far away from their current location. Once they were a good distance away, Elise sighed in relief. "Sorry about that, I just¡­ saw someone I didn''t want to see," Elise exined. She didn''t expect to see that wicked woman in New York while she was shopping for clothes. Ugh. What was Tessa doing here? She was wondering. No matter what, she must not let herself be found. If Tessa saw her, she would let everyone know and soon Elise would find herself dragged back into that house. No. She needed to stay far away from them. But there was no way that it would be a good thing for the two of them to meet right now. "I see," Loriel said. There was no use trying to pry into Elise unless she wanted to tell him and so he nodded. Loriel changed the topic. "What about your clothes though? We still need to buy them." "Ah, about that¡­" Elise looked back and forth. Probably ensuring that nobody followed them. "I''m not exactly sure what to choose, but I do know that I need work-rted clothes." Loriel nced around them and realized they were in another section of the store. It was a different building, but still part of the same establishment. He pulled out his phone and offered it to her. "If you''re having difficulty choosing, why not use the inte to help you?" Chapter 61 - Elise Uses The Internet "Inte?" Elise had heard about this and knew a little bit about how to use it. But she was not that savvy. So, she looked at the man with batted eyes. "Yes, we have inte in a device to search for answers for whatever it is we need to know. Here, you can use mine," said Loriel. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and showed it to Elise. Patiently, the man opened the screen and opened the browser, and taught Elise how to search for her query. "You can type in your questions in the search engine, and it will give you answers from millions of data stored on the inte. You can think of it as a virtual library, filled with all data and publications that we have had since decades ago. If you remember my library at home, this thing called inte keeps data like a million library." Elise looked at Loriel in awe. "Wow¡­" "Pretty cool, eh?" Loriel smiled sweetly. "Yes." Elise looked at his phone again and reached out her hand to ask for it. "Can I try?" "Yes. You can type in your search." Loriel gave her his phone. "Let me know if you need help." "Thank you." Elise epted the man''s phone from Loriel. Ah.. this device looked very handy, she thought. Maybe she should buy one for herself once she had enough money. She typed in the keywords that she was looking for with little help. Loriel just pointed at the field to type and how she could get the result in images. WOMEN WORK OUTFIT The search result soon came up. [ Women Work Outfit] [ All ] [ Images ] [ Shopping ] [ News ] [ Maps ] [ More ] [About 11,070,000,000 results (0.15 seconds) ] Elise checked out the first image in the avable ones and quickly looked over at the avable clothes on disy. There was a multitude of clothes of varying colors and styles in different racks. Once she figured out the dress code, Elise quickly moved and started gathering her clothes. Loriel watched the woman walk around the disy section andpared the outfits there to the images she saw online. Her face was beaming with excitement, made the man feel so happy. Ahh¡­ they lived in a different time now. In the past, clothes were not as easily essible as they were today. It cost more to buy clothes than to get a beautiful artistic painting But now was the era of fast fashion and synthetic material. Clothes were easy to get and avable at the tip of your finger. Loriel hated it actually. Human waste from the fast fashion industry was piling up day by day and soon it ruined the environment. However, today he was grateful for them since he could bring Elise to buy clothes. Even though he would prefer to call a designer and seamstress toe and make her clothes, he couldn''t do it just yet. Elise would be suspicious because his gesture would be seen as excessive for someone who just met her and imed to be poor. His designer could wait. In the meantime, he would let Elise buy clothes from the shop. Elise picked out a peach cream zer, a white buttoned blouse, and then a dark pencil skirt for herself. It was the first image result that came up and so she was done. Were there any shoes here? There actually were shoes, sandals, and other footwear avable in apletely different section of Bloomingrose. Elise ended up picking up a pair of ck heels for her to wear in the office, the exact same one shown in the photo. This was truly a store that fitted a person from head to toe. A one-stop-shop for all of one''s fashion needs. Elise saw hats, hair essories, and other essories to pair with one''s outfit. Her gaze temporarily wandered to a butterfly brooch. Elise carefully picked it up and noticed its beautiful iys of gold and silver dust. It was a good touch to the outfit that she picked, but it wasn''t an essential item for her to get. She returned it to the disy and then walked over to Loriel. "I''m done." "Is that all?" Loriel asked. Elise only picked out a set of clothing and nothing else. He cleared his throat, "You might need more than one set unless you want to keep washing them and wear them every day during your work." "Oh¡­" Elise looked at him, thought about it, and then gushed. "You are right." She returned to the disy of clothes, picked out two more sets, and then returned to him. "I''m done, I think this is enough alternate clothing." Maybe she should have chosen more. Even her own closet back at home definitely had more options to give, but things were different now. However, she didn''t want to owe people too much. Even though Loriel said his loyalty points were useless for him and they would expire anyway since he didn''t use them, Elise didn''t want to owe him more than what she could afford to pay back. She was determined to return those points in money, for how much they were worth after she got a job and made money. She didn''t tell Loriel this, worried that he would say no, but she was checking the prices of the clothes she was buying and calcte how much money she should pay him back. "Are you sure?" Loriel asked her. "Yes, I am sure," said Elise. "Thank you for this¡­ and for letting me know how to do the search." Elise felt so grateful that Loriel taught her gently and patiently how to use the inte on his phone and did her search. She felt so bad about not knowing many things and was worried people would think she was weird and they would judge her. However, this man was so nice and understanding. He didn''t even look surprised to know Elise didn''t seem to understand how the inte worked. His reaction was quite nonchnt about it. He didn''t make Elise feel awkward or embarrassed. Everything he did was actually pleasant and nice. Chapter 62 - Gift Cards Elise didn''t know yet, how Loriel was probably the only person in this world who knew her so well and understood the challenges she was facing, being transported into a new, modern world that was very different from the world she was used to. He would never judge her. In fact, he was so impressed and proud of what Elise had managed to achieve in the five years that she lived in the modern world. Loriel knew Elise would learn new things quickly if she wasfortable enough and open about whatever things she needed to know. He was determined to make her feel sofortable around him that she would confide her feelings to him and let him help her navigate life in this world. Even if Elise didn''t want to learn, Loriel was ready to take on all the responsibilities to care for her here, in modern times. His knowledge about the world was enough for both of them. He looked at the woman dotingly. "You did a great job. Next time you need to find any information, you can just look things up on the inte." "Thank you. I will do that," said Elise. "Or, you can ask me," Loriel added. "I know things almost as much as the inte." "Ahaha.." Eliseughed and nodded. "Okay." "Okay. Are you really done? We can go to the counter and get them wrapped." Loriel pointed at the cashier at the end of the section. Elise nodded, affirming that she had finished getting all the clothes she needed." Loriel and Elise went to the counter. A cashier greeted them, epted Marc''s business card handed to her by Loriel, and smiled politely at them. They were already instructed by the big boss about what they should do, if a man and woman came to their shop and gave them Mars''s card. "Dear customer, it seems like you have a lot of value points to redeem. Would you like to use them now?" "Yes," Loriel said. "Ah, the points you''ve redeemed are more than enough to cover these clothes and you''ve also earned freebies too. Actually, the freebies are gift cards to this very store and other rted brands and establishments of Sanderman Group, so you''re in for a treat." "Sanderman Group seems to know how to treat their customers, huh?" Loriel said. He puffed up his chest when he heard the cashier''s tactful words. It seemed, Marc really knew how to make his people lie when needed. "Here you go, Miss. You receive two gift cards to shop in our shop, each with a value of $5000. They are valid for a year." The cashier took out two purple cards and gave them to Elise. The woman batted her eyes in surprise when the cards were ced on her hands. "Wh-what is this?" "These are the gift cards for you. Next time, you can shop here anytime and buy whenever. The value of each card is $5000. You received two cards. So, with those, you can shop again with a total value $10,000. We hope you wille back here and spend them." "Are they not losing money over this¡­?" Elise asked. "It''s A LOT." Loriel thought gift cards worth only $10,000 was too little, and wanted to scold Marc for being so stingy with it. However, when he heard from Elise that the gift cards'' value was high, he decided that ten thousand was a good amount after all. Perhaps, Elise would be suspicious if she received gift cards with double or triple the value. "Bloomingrose does their best to take good care of all of their members. It''s much better to offer discounts and free things over choosing another brand for your outfit needs, ma''am." The woman at the counter offered her their shopping bags. "We hope you cane again." Loriel grabbed them for her. "I can carry these." "Well, you don''t have to do it," said Elise haltingly. "I can carry them. They are my shopping bags." "Nah, no need to stand on ceremony with me. I am a man, I should be the one to do the heavy lifting," Loriel said. Finally, Elise decided not to argue with him about it and epted it as it is. Instead, Elise took the gift card and another small bag from the cashier. "We''ve added in a small item to thank you for your patronage!" the cashier said. "Oh, thank you as well," Elise said. Loriel waited for her to finish her shopping spree before the two of them left Bloomingrose. "Now that we''ve bought your clothes, shall we go grab some lunch?" There was amon stereotype on how men didn''t enjoy shopping and preferred to leave women to do that by themselves, but Loriel stayed with Elise all throughout the entire time she shopped in Bloomingrose. There was no ce on earth he would rather be, than with her. So, of course, even though Loriel hated crowded and public ces like the malls and department stores, he enjoyed the day because he could spend it with Elise. "Lunch?" Elise didn''t realize she was hungry until Loriel spoke about having lunch. "That sounds like a good idea. I can''t wait to get back and sit down." "Me too," said Loriel. He was happy he could spend dinner, breakfast, and now lunch with his beloved wife. "Let''s go this way." He motioned her to follow him after they went out of the shop. "Can I help you with carrying these bags? They''re mine and I feel like it''s too much if you carry them for me," said Elise as they walked together. "It''s fine, this isn''t heavy at all so it''s not troublesome at all," Loriel reassured her. "So let''s go and eat lunch now." Elise smiled. "Where do you have in mind?" "I know just the ce," Loriel said with a smile of his own. Now that he already knew that this was his Elise, Loriel couldn''t help but feel sentimental and brought her to the ce where it all started. Chapter 63 - Lunch At Loriels Favorite Cafe (1) Elise and Loriel returned to the very same cafe where he first saw her. The two of them walked in as Loriel exined how this ce was his most favorite ce to dine at and how it had a very receptive area. He came here almost like a routine. "Their food is just okay, but I like the ambiance and their friendliness," said Loriel, exining his reason to take Elise to this caf¨¦. "Their hospitability is top-notch." He didn''t say that the main reason he liked this caf¨¦ was that the waiters left him alone most of the time. And they knew he liked his tea hot. Without him asking, they would always refill his teapot with a new one. He still remembered the rain that fell when he saw Elise. It felt like a dream. Now, looking back, he could picture her standing there under the awning, admiring the rain he created earlier that day. Elise''s penchant for rain was obvious. He should have known it was her just from her dreamy eyes when she looked at the drops that fell to the ground. Ahh¡­ that''s okay. As long as now she was here with him. Loriel would just cherish the moment that he could have her again. "Good day, Sir. A table like usual?" A caf¨¦ attendant weed them by the door. She served Loriel the same thing every single day and was half-expecting the man toe at this hour. She suddenly blinked at the sight of the two of them. She had never seen hime with a woman before. In the mind of this attendant, Loriel was a customer of theirs who was quiet, even a bit lonely as he spent hours in their cafe all by himself. Now he was apanied by a stunningly beautifuldy. "Yes," Loriel replied shortly. He walked inside casually with the shopping bags like he owned the ce. Elise followed suit. The attendant walked behind them with furrowed brows. Loriel ced Elise''s shopping bags in the corner of a table before he pulled out a chair for her. "Please have a seat first, Elise." "Ah, thank you, Loriel." Elise sat down and epted his politeness. She nced around at thefortable atmosphere of this cafe and thought it was a nice ce. "I think I can understand why you liked staying here." "I like to read by the window, and it''s actually quite rxing to look out and just enjoy the rain too," Loriel exined. "The rain is really lovely," Elise agreed. "It''s a little shame that most of us are busy with our day-to-day lives and staying inside our ces to fully appreciate it." Loriel rested a hand underneath his chin. "And that must be why I caught you outside, then. You were enjoying it more properly, unlike the rest of us." Elise blushed. "I''m not sure if it''s only me, but the scent of the air after a light drizzle is really soothing. It''s stronger when you''re at a park and closer to nature than the slippery pavements in NYC, but it''s still great nheless." "It''s not only you, Elise. Many people enjoy it too. I think they''ve finally coined a term for it. Petrichor if I remember correctly," Loriel said. "That is a great name." Elise ducked her head. "But I can''t believe that you were staring at me back then, I must have looked weird just standing outside with my hand out." "Not at all, it must have been refreshing to do it without a care," Loriel answered. "Plus, everyone''s free to do whatever they want to." Just a day ago, Loriel was dreaming of talking to his sweet wife and exining how the scent of the rain was called petrichor, but now Elise was finally in front of him. This felt like a dream. A sweet dream that he never wanted to wake up from. "Would you like to have your tea as usual?" The attendant asked with a smile. She had got over her confusion and just assumed Loriel had finally met a woman he liked enough to ask for a date. Among the caf¨¦ staff, he was an enigma, a handsome one that made them all curious to know. He was always impably dressed, with the most expensive fashion, even though the style was simple and not over the top like many noveau rich people. So, they assumed he came from old money. He was always alone and didn''t seem to have any work to do, unlike many people they knew who came to their caf¨¦ to grab a bite amidst their work, meet people for business lunch, or have a lunch date with people they met online. He was always reading something or daydreaming. One time, a really curious staff followed him home and found out he lived in nche Astoria Tower, the most luxurious building in Midtown, within a walking distance from this ce. Someone who could afford to live in such an expensive ce without having the need to work¡­ they just assumed he must have a lot of savings or perhaps a trust fund under his name. In the first few months, most of the female staff would try their luck to get his attention. They would dress up nicely and took turns to get his orders, hoping he would notice them. All to no avail. So, they thought¡­ he might be interested in men. The male staff tried their luck too and failed all the same. So, now, they just left him be. He was out of their league anyway. Whenever he came, they would serve him politely and in a friendly manner. "No, actually we are here for lunch," said Loriel happily. He reached out his hand to ask for the menu which the attendant gave right away. "Sure thing, Sir," said the attendant. She stood by their table and waited patiently until Elise and Loriel could decide on what they wanted to eat. Once their orders were taken, the two of them leaned back in the seat to rx and simply enjoyed the silent hubbub around them. Chapter 64 - Lunch At Loriels Favorite Cafe (2) Loriel and Elise engaged in polite conversation and talked until their meal was brought to them. Loriel exined a little bit about thepany which he thought would be a good ce for Elise to apply for a job at. She was grateful that Loriel seemed to care so much about her and went to great lengths to help her get a job and even buy clothes for work. Deep inside, Elise vowed to pay back this man''s kindness once she could get back on her feet. *** DING A message entered Loriel''s phone. He didn''t want to be rude and took out his phone while he was eating and chatting with Elise. So, he turned it into silent mode. He could guess it might be ping from Horatio, telling him that the butler had bought a phone for Elise as Loriel asked before they left the penthouse this morning. There were some things that Loriel noticed from when he first met Elise, and one of them was theck of a phone. It was something essential in one''s daily schedule in this modern times. So, while the two of them were out¡­ he had one delivered to their penthouse. As usual, Horatio was very handy in taking care of such tasks. He was almost as efficient as the real-life Horatio who worked for Loriel in his pce fifteen centuries ago when he was still the monarch of Summeria. He already nned an excuse for the phone. Elise wouldn''t be able to say no. He would say something like his mobile service provider''s n always sent him a new phone every six months and he forgot to cancel it. It was a legitimate excuse that was actually believable. Loriel wished to keep in touch with Elise during the moments that he wasn''t at her side. He couldn''t possibly stalk her wherever she went. She would freak out. It would be best to make himself avable whenever Elise needed him. He would be just at the tip of her finger. "How''s the food?" Loriel asked. The man sipped his drink and rested it on the oak table and watched Elise eating her meal. "It''s good." Elise smiled brightly at him. "Not only is the environment rxing, but the food is great." "You think the food is great here?" Loriel raised a brow in genuine curiosity. Elise tilted her head, but then eventually nodded. "Yes?" "Hmm, you should wait for me to cook us dinnerter," Loriel said with a chuckle. "You''re going to cook?" Elise looked at the man with her mouth agape. So¡­ this handsome and kind man could cook too? How perfect could he be? "Why the face?" Loriel teased her yfully. "Do you not believe that I can really cook?" No¡­ said Elise in her heart. She couldn''t think Loriel could be any more perfect. He was like the ultimate husband. Wait.. what was I thinking just now? Elise shook her head to get rid of the thought she was having just now. How could she think of Loriel that way? They barely knew each other! Yes, he had been helping her, he was really kind, and Elise didn''t sense any dangering from him. But that didn''t mean she could think of him¡­ like that. "No¡­ I was thinking¡­ it will be nice to try your cooking," said Elise, smiling sheepishly. "Can I help?" Loriel nodded. "Sure. Oh, by the way, I''m inviting someone over for dinner, but I''ll be the one preparing it mostly since I want to showcase my cooking skills. The person who''sing is someone I''d like you to meet since he''ll be the one who''ll decide to hire you." Elise''s eyes widened. "A-Ah, I see." "Don''t worry about it, think of it as something close to just mere formality," Loriel reassured her. "My old friend is really looking into hiring someone, and I think you''ll be the perfect one for the job." "That makes me consider if it was a great choice to buy clothes already." "I''m sure you can start right away by Monday," Loriel told her. "The man really needs someone in this position and I don''t think there''ll be any dys. We made a good choice to buy now. You also got two additional gift cards which you can use to buy anything you need, should you think the clothes you got are not enough." "Yeah¡­ it''s amazing. Ten thousand dors worth of clothes could get me so far." Elise furrowed her brows and looked at Loriel intently. "You know what, you could actually cash out the points and gift cards for money. You need it more than I do. Soon, I will work and get an ie." "Ah, well¡­ I am not that poor to sell my points to people. Besides, I don''t like a hassle," said Loriel. "Just enjoy it and pay it forward. I am sure you can help more people if you pay forward the kindness you have received." "Mm¡­ you are right," said Elise finally. "You should have bought more clothes, but it seems like you were in a rush," Loriel said. Elise gazed down at the table and rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry about that, I''m not toofortable sharing it. I don''t want you to get dragged into my problems," Elise said. "I didn''t want to stay there longer because I wanted to avoid someone who will bring me trouble." "I see¡­ Well, if you ever need to talk about it with someone, I''m here. I can lend an ear to you." Loriel offered with a kind smile. "Most of my clients tell me that I''m a good listener." That was obviously another lie. Loriel hated listening to peoplein about their lives. He was not fond of people in the first ce. So¡­ yeah. Elise smiled faintly to hear his kind offer. "Thank you, Loriel. I''ll make sure to consider that." The incident earlier was something that still stuck heavily in his mind. Loriel assumed it was something rted to Elise''s adoptive family now that he was aware of her past. Someone sheltered didn''t have much opportunity to interact with other people, after all, so the ones who she must have gotten in contact with were only her adoptive family''s rtives. Now that Loriel was here, he''d make sure not to have anyone bother her. Chapter 65 - A New Phone For Elise Once the two of them finished their lunch, Loriel and Elise traveled back to the penthouse. When they arrived, the two of them saw something left at the doorstep of the penthouse. It was a small inconspicuous package. Loriel''s brows furrowed. "Huh, what''s that? I don''t remember ordering anything?" He tried to act confused, but Loriel knew what this package was. He was the one who ordered it after all. In reality, this was the phone that he personally picked out for Elise to use. He even made sure the courier delivered it to his doorstep, instead of his mailbox like usual, so Elise could see it and he could pretend to be surprised by it. "I can pick it up for you and check," Elise said. Before Loriel could say anything, Elise already moved and went for the package to see what it was. "What is it?" Loriel asked. "...something about a phone?" Elise''s lips pursed together as she read thebel. Loriel pped a hand over his forehead. "Ah, it must be from my mobile n, I get a new phone whenever a brand new modeles up to rece my old phone. I should have cancelled it, but¡­ just bring it inside." "Oh, okay." Elise waited for Loriel to unlock the door and then the two of them stepped inside. Loriel ced the shopping bags at the sofa and took a seat, as Elise did the same. Now that their little shopping trip was finally over, the two of them could finally take a seat and rx. Elise ced the package in the coffee table carefully. Elise didn''t know what to exactly think. It did appear that Loriel really didn''t consider his financial situation a lot when he was confident that he''d be able to bounce back from it. Simr to how Loriel refused to sell even a single item in his penthouse, even additional expenses like this one was allowed to continue and go on. It seemed like the man did not have any concerns at all about his current financial limitations. Loriel picked up the box and gave it a scrutinizing look. Once he assessed the package and deemed it satisfactory, Loriel cleared his throat. "It''d be a hassle to return it, so why don''t you use it instead?" "Huh?" Elise batted her eyes. Loriel ran his fingers through his hair. "If you''ll be working and staying outside of the penthouse, it''s essential that you have a phone." "...We could have bought one outside," Elise said. If what Loriel said was correct, then it meant that the phone in the box was thetest model and that meant it was expensive. Elise couldter buy an affordable one after she received her sry if Loriel and her were talking about work. "It''s a lot more convenient to use this one now that it''s with us." Loriel replied with an offhand shrug. "Besides, shelling out for a phone at once can be a tad expensive whereas this onees with my mobile n, it''s amortized." Could Elise argue with that exnation? After some moments, Elise eventually nodded her head and agreed with him. Without waiting for another moment, Elise carefully unwrapped the package and took out the phone that was now hers. Her forehead creased over, but she turned on the phone without any troubles. "Here, let me show you how it works," said Loriel casually. He walked to Elise''s side and touched the phone screen, showing Elise which buttons to use for which functions. The beautiful woman nodded several times and tried to remember his exnations. It was hard to concentrate on her phone though, when this handsome man was standing so, so close from her body, that she could smell his really pleasant scent. What kind of perfume was he using? It smelled so nice and so familiar. There was something about this man that piqued her interest. "What do you think? Is it fine?" Loriel asked politely. He tilted his face to look at Elise and found the woman close her eyes and smiled faintly. He was in awe. What was she smiling about? Was there something that made her especially happy? What was it? Loriel was dying to know. He decided not to move her from her reverie. She seemed to think about something good. He wouldn''t disturb her. So, he just watched her with a smile. Finally, Elise opened her eyes. She was surprised to see Loriel was looking at her with a smile on his face. The man looked so handsome and mesmerizing, she thought. "Uhmm.. what did you ask me just now?" Elise asked Loriel with a sheepish expression. "What do you think about this phone? I have showed you how to use the basic functions. You should be fine, but if you have trouble with it, don''t hesitate to let me know. I will help you," said Loriel. Elise nced down at the screen. "Ah, well, I can use it¡­ but there are some functions that I''m not familiar with like GoogleMaps. I''ll have to get used to using it, but thank you so much for letting me have this." She made a mental note to search for the price of this particr phone and added it to the amount of money she owed Loriel. She would pay it in installment once she got a job and made money. "If you want to, I can help you learn how to use some of the more advanced features of your phone, Elise. Would you like some help?" Loriel offered. "Alright, I''d appreciate that. Thank you." "Then can I sit right next to you?" Loriel asked. "It''s easier to do it that way." Elise smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it''s fine. How else can I learn?" If Loriel didn''t wish to teach anybody, and even if someone were to ask him help then he''d say no. Loriel might have said something about watching a tutorial online instead of wasting his time on this. But things were different for his wife, Loriel moved quickly and plopped down beside her on the sofa. "Alright, let''s get started. What would you like to learn first?" Loriel asked. Chapter 66 - Loriel Plans A Candlelit Dinner Elise scooted closer to Loriel and showed him the screen of the phone. She motioned to one of the apps. "Ah, I''m having trouble with how to use this one and then this¡­" "Oh, this one? Well, this is simple enough. How about you open the app first and I''ll walk you through it?" "Sounds great." For the next half hour or so, Loriel and Elise were stuck close to each other enough for him to take in the fragrance of Elise''s hair and feel the warmth of her body right next to his. Loriel taught Elise how to maneuver through various functions of her new phone and also the ins and outs of how to use each one of them. The two of them went over it at a nice pace that kept them a little busy. It was easy for time to slip by, until finally, Elise opened up the camera app. The two of them appeared in the front camera to which Elise quickly shifted over to the proper camera. The phone quickly showed the image of the coffee table right in front of them and she smiled. "This camera really is crystal clear, and I know how to use this one just fine." Elise nced over their shoulders and right out the windows. "I''d love to head back to Central Park and take a picture of those trees and flowers in bloom again." That was an easy request. "Yeah, it''s quite beautiful there," Loriel said. He always thought Central Park was overrated, but hey, Elise seemed to love that ce. So, he would like it too. But his mind went to other ces in the world that he would love to show her. Once the two of them traveled, Elise would be able to see a lot more things than just that. Elise nodded happily. "Yes, it will be lovely. Maybe I will go there again next weekend. With this phone, I would already know the way." "You''ll get to look back on the photos and refresh your memory on those particr moments or encounters, that is the brilliance of devices today." Loriel smiled briefly. "Some people do forget to live in the moment though," Elise said. "But yes, I''d like to take photos and videos to help me remember how things went. It''s good for a keepsake too." Loriel held his breath. He truly wished to know what happened in the past. What led to his wife forgetting about him? He quickly removed the thoughts from his mind. It could wait, he told himself. What''s important was to get Elise to feelfortable around him and trusted him enough to let him help her. Yes, he could already help her with amodation and clothes, but it was not nearly enough. He must know what happened to her in the York''s home. She seemed to notice someone in Bloomingrose that she wanted to avoid. Did the person hurt his Elise? Loriel wanted to know. He would make them pay dearly. "I will let you y with your phone and get used to using it," said the man. Loriel eventually got up from the sofa and stretched. It was time to prepare for dinner. Although it was nice that he managed to spend time with Elise and teach her how to use her phone, Loriel wanted to prepare a sumptuous meal for Elise to eat. He wanted to make something that she''d love. "I''ll need to start cooking since my friend ising over. Please take a seat and rx for a bit," Loriel told her with a smile. He then made his way to the kitchen. But like a cat, Elise followed him and gave him her best smile. "What will you be making for dinner, Loriel?" Elise asked. She was on standby and prepared to help him with whatever task that the man might ask of her tonight. Loriel smiled at her. "We''re making one of the most delicious cuisines in the entire world right now, Elise." Elise tilted her head. "And which cuisine is that, Loriel?" "Italian," Loriel said with a big smile. He made a chef''s kiss with his fingers, a gesture that made Elise chuckle. "Ah, that sounds really nice for dinner. I also like Italian." Elise smiled at him. "Does your friend like Italian food?" "He does. So, I''m sure he''ll be happy once hees here," Loriel answered. "We haven''t been able to keep in touch for quite some time, so tonight is a little special. You can think of it as a celebration of a reunion." "Oh, your friend must be so close to you," Elisemented. Loriel nced at her. Elise was actually the one Loriel had in mind when he said he wanted to celebrate a reunion with. This meticulous preparation wasn''t for his nephew at all. Who cared what Marc ate for dinner? He could go hungry for days for all Loriel cared. Hmph. Loriel wouldn''t go to such lengths for other people like what he was doing now. Secretly, he thought it would be the perfect dinner date for him and Elise. To celebrate their reunion after being separated for fifteen centuries. Loriel would cook and y beautiful music, set the mood right for a pleasant evening for the two of them. Inviting Marc for dinner was just an excuse on his part. While Marc would visit them for dinner, it was only to inform Elise about her job eptance and schedule, and then the man might as well leave. More than anything though, Loriel wanted to bring a smile to Elise''s face. Enjoying a meal together was one thing he had in mind. Delicious dishes enough to make one''s mouth water and drinks to finish it off like how Loriel and Elise used to do in the past. He thought if he could have their routine back, Elise would slowly remember him. Loriel nced at his phone for a moment. There were several dishes that he wanted to make for tonight from Veal Osso Buco, veal shanks braised in wine and broth, then slowly simmered with vegetables and Risotto ai Fruitti di Mare otherwise known as seafood risotto. It was the perfect meal for a candlelit dinner too. Rich, savory, and delectable. Chapter 67 - Marc Is Invited To Dinner Loriel checked on the recipe on the inte just to double-check them for onest time. While he appreciated the instructions, Loriel usually ended up using ingredients that he thought matched the dish more if necessary. "Is there anything I can do to help with the preparation?" Elise asked. Loriel nced back at his wife and smiled. "Thank you for the thought, but I''d like to handle this fine on my own. Haven''t I told you earlier that I''d impress you with my cooking skills when we chatted at the cafe, Elise?" Elise brushed back some of her hair. "Well there''s that, but your friend ising over. Besides, I don''t want to just sit down while you''re standing around and cooking." Elise also had her own stubborn nature. "Alright, I''d like you to gather some things from the fridge and shelves then, Elise. Olive oil, some unsalted butter, and a small onion and heat it up in arge saucepan. I''ll go get the rice and fish stock." "Okay, I''ll do that." Elise quickly moved around to do it. Loriel turned on the stove and put the pan on it. "We can start with low heat," he exined. "Low heat?" Elise repeated his words. "Yes, low heat. It means we will cook it with small fire. Just five minutes of your time, a little saute till the butter melts, onion is tender then you can turn it off. I''ll add the rice right after that." It was a small task that his wife would befortable doing. Elise would be happy that she contributed to the cooking process, and Loriel didn''t have to worry she would tire herself. While she did her tasks, Loriel on the other hand would do his best to prepare both meals at the same time. The veal would take about two hours in the pot, but the prep work for it was just fifteen minute tops. He gathered the essential ingredients for both the risotto and veal and then started his cooking duties. Loriel then prepared the bouquet garni for the veal by cing rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and then securing it with twine. Loriel then took out the veal shanks, removed the excess moisture and then secured the meat to the bone with some twine. "Is this also for the risotto?" Elise asked. "Ah, this is for the Veal Osso Buco where you''ll get to enjoy the bone marrow. That''s why I''m tying it properly. Osso Buco trantes to "bone with a hole" in Italian." He wanted to impress her with his Italian, but s, she wouldn''t understand what he was talking about. Maybe he should take her to eat at an Italian restaurant next time and spoke to the waiters in his perfect Italian. They would understand his words and Elise would be impressed. "I see¡­" Elise eyed the meat. She then returned to watching over her own saucepan. While she did that, Loriel finished seasoning the meat and then prepared the pot. As it would take two hours to cook, he focused on the veal first before he finally moved on to the risotto. Loriel grabbed one and a half cups of Vialone Nano rice as he picked out a bottle of white wine and then finally got some of the fish stock. The next thing he did was actually get the main ingredients of the dish. He went over to the fridge and grabbed some mussels, scallops, and squid. Most of them were prepared beforehand and were just ready to pour into the dish. Loriel then went for the vegetables and herbs, tomatoes, fresh parsley, and then salt and ck pepper for voring. Once he was done, Loriel took his ce beside Elise and ced another saucepan for the fish stock, and warmed it up. "I''m done with the butter and onion." "Perfect, thank you for the help, Elise." Loriel poured in the rice and then took over the saucepan. He began to toast it slightly as he nced back at Elise. Elise was watching him cook with great interest. There was something really sexy about a man who could cook, and the sight of Loriel with an apron, despite his manly appearance was so lovely to see. Loriel smiled and poured himself half a cup of the white wine and tossed it into a saucepan and then added the warmed fish stock. He lowered the fire to a simmer and asionally stirred the pan and soon added in the rest of the ingredients after a while. *** Meanwhile, in his beautiful mansion in Magnolia Drive, Marc Sanderman thought that his grand-uncle''s requests were alreadypleted. He finally ended the weekend meeting with his people and went home to wind down. So, he yed the music and enjoyed a nice ss of expensive wine while musing over the new venture that hispany would soon handle. A virtual reality technology that would give people the opportunity to learn about history, the past, and whatnot. It was something that he was so excited about, and that''s why he forced his executives to work hard on this. After working so hard all week, he thought he deserved his rest. He really didn''t expect Loriel''s requests were far from done. After all, he already did a lot in the span of two days which wasn''tmon for his uncle''s requests to go this far. He''d like to think that his aplishments were satisfying. Marc figured out who Madeleine York was and even paid private investigators to learn more about her family background. He thought it was all done. Marc even wanted to pat Alex''s back on doing everything andpleting her tasks sessfully, but then Loriel sent him another text. [Come visit me at my penthouse for dinner and meet the woman who you''ll be employing.] [Me? I am not hiring¡­] Marc replied with furrowed brows. His uncle became more and more mysterious. [Yes, you are. You are in need of a new assistant.] [Huh?] Chapter 68 - Marc Comes For Dinner [I already have Alex.] Marc finally added. Was his uncle trying to use nepotism and get Marc to hire someone without qualification, especially when he didn''t actually need a new assistant? [Well, you already have a man for an assistant. You will need a female assistant.] Loriel insisted. [Alex IS female. Her name is Alexandra.] Marc quickly exined. Lauriel who was sending the text messages while Elise was choosing her clothes from the disy in Bloomingrose, raised an eyebrow. What was it with women wanting to be called using men''s names? In his mind, Alex meant Alexander, like Elise''s father, King Alexander Leoralei, for example. [Then, hire this woman to be Alex''s assistant.] Marc wanted tough out loud when he heard this silly request. So, his assistant will have her own assistant? This was too funny. [Okay. What can she do?] Marc decided to see where this was going. [What are her hard skills and soft skills?] [She is kind, patient, a breath of fresh air.] Uhm¡­ that''s very vague, Marc thought. Truly, Loriel had be so weird in thest few days. He asked Marc to find information about this woman whom he called the most beautiful woman in the world. And the way he described her was funny too. He said Marc had to imagine the most beautiful woman in the world, and time her beauty by one hundred. Too funny. And now, he described her skills as being kind, patient, and a breath of fresh air? All his life, Marc had never witnessed this side of Loriel. Were these the signs that his grand-uncle was falling in love? Now, Marc became so intrigued. He wanted to know how special this woman was, that she could melt the ice named Loriel Maxim Ashborn. The man quickly typed in his reply. [Okay, grand-uncle, I''ll be there for dinner and meet her.] Marc closed his eyes and smiled to himself. Ahh... Loriel was a normal man after all. He could fall in love like the rest of us and do silly things in the name of love. All right. It was quite easy for Marc to give what his uncle wanted. He would just hire that woman and tossed her to Alex to take care of. *** Marc Sanderman stepped out of his Maybach and made his way to Loriel''s penthouse. He told his driver to go home ande backter to pick him up because he thought it was going to take him a while. Loriel invited him to dinner? Ha. This was truly an extraordinary event. He didn''t remember thest time he had dinner with this grand uncle of his that wasn''t Christmas or his birthday. Marc wasn''t used to being called to visit Loriel so he even brought a gift to offer to them. Once he was at the door, he knocked and was weed in by Loriel himself. "Ah, grand¡ª" "DON''T call me grand uncle. I am your oldest friend and you owe me your life, okay? So you would do whatever to help me." Loriel quickly corrected Marc''s words in a whisper, before his nephew could call him ''grand-uncle''. "Just call me Loriel." "Ahh. I see¡­" Marc smiled. Of course, he should know that his uncle wouldn''t tell the girl he was dating how old he actually was. Especially if their rtionship was very new. He could imagine the woman would freak out or call him a liar. "Ah, you''re finally here, Marc," Loriel greeted Marc loudly. He patted his nephew''s back and then nced back at Elise. His smile softened as he motioned to Marc. "I''ve invited my old friend, Marc, to join us to eat. He''s the one I told you about." Elise looked up and offered Marc a polite smile. She quickly paused from setting the dining table and approached him. She offered out her hand. "It''s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Elise." And right then, Marc realized Loriel was telling the truth. He had never seen a woman this beautiful before. Elise was not just beautiful physically, but there was also something special about her that made Marc stunned in his ce. This woman was blessed with the perfect face, big brilliant colored eyes that reminded him of two shining emeralds. She had a tall and slim nose, perfectly shaped full lips, long hair that reminded him of the flowing waterfall, and a perfectly sculpted figure that seemed to be only achievable by countless of cosmetic procedures or so much workout. But, she didn''t seem to do any of those. However though, it was not even her physical beauty that enchanted Marc to the point that he stood in his ce with his mouth agape, but it was her elegance, gracefulness, and smile. She looked like a princess from the fantasy stories he sometimes read when he was younger. This was the typical beautiful damsel in distress that all knights and princes risked their lives to save. Loriel was really unhappy to see Marc''s reaction. He already guessed that this would happen. Sigh. How could he keep Elise''s beauty to himself? He didn''t need to worry about his nephew since Marc wouldn''t dare do anything to Elise, but what about many other men out there? No wonder the Yorks kept her life sheltered all this time. They might want to protect her from the world and the lustful eyes of other men. Loriel couldn''t possibly forbid Elise from going out and work or do whatever she felt like doing on her own. She was not his property, and he didn''t have the status that Daniel York, her adoptive father had. As her ''father'', Daniel York could just advise Elise not to go out and work. He could provide for her. However, Loriel didn''t have such rights. He was a nobody to her, at least for now. She only saw him as a kind new friend. She wouldn''t possibly be okay to have Loriel provide everything for her so she didn''t need to work. How could he make her his wife in this world, if she still couldn''t remember him? Chapter 69 - Marc Feels Like A Third-Wheel "Ahem¡­" Loriel hit Marc''s back and gave him a serious side-eye. "Thedy has introduced herself. Don''t be rude." Marc batted his eyes and realization immediately dawned on him. He smiled sheepishly and shook Elise''s hand. "Oh, hello, Miss. My name is Marc Sanderman. Nice to meet you." Marc was surprised to see no reaction whatsoever from Elise when he introduced his name. Didn''t this woman know him? His name was all over the news in recent years as the most eligible bachelor, the most sought-after executive, New York''s No.1 Dream Husband, and many other nicknames he was pleased to hear. It looked like his name meant nothing to her. Okay, this woman was truly Loriel''s match, Marc thought to himself. She must not read the news. Did she hate reading the news too, just like Loriel? "Wee," said Loriel curtly. He closed the door and walked back to the kitchen. Marc nodded and then stepped inside the penthouse. "I brought a little something for tonight''s dinner," Marc said and held up the wine bottle. Loriel''s penthouse was always stocked, but he still decided to bring something. It had been some time since Marc and Loriel met in person. Marc actually felt awkward as he did not actually interact with Loriel besides the much older man''s requests and their asional family gathering at Christmas when his father was still alive. But he did his best to act like they were truly old friends. "It''s great to see you again, Loriel," Marc said and then nced at Elise. "So this is the one you wanted me to meet today?" "Yes, I heard that you were open to hiring at a certain position. A paid internship program if I remember. Didn''t you say your assistant Alex needed an assistant? I think Elise is the perfect fit for that role," Loriel said and motioned to Elise. How would things work? Elise already introduced herself as Elise, but her papers and ID showed that her name was Madeline. Would she tell Marc that her real name was Madeline? "I see, I see. She''s the one who''ll be working with Alexandra then," Marc said with a smile. He rified that Alex was short for Alexandra so Elise would immediately know that she would be working for a woman. "What do I need to submit?" Elise asked Mars as she received the wine bottle from Marc. "Do you need to interview me tomorrow?" Marc turned to Loriel and asked the man with his eyes about what he had to do in regard to Elise''s question. His grand-uncle looked him dead in the eye and Marc immediately knew what Loriel wanted. "It''s not a strategic position, so I won''t need to go in-depth with the interview and everything. Just consider yourself hired," said Marc with a sweet smile. "I will give you my card and you can meet Alexandra tomorrow morning. She will take it from there." "Oh my¡­ that''s very kind of you," Elise looked so touched that her eyes were gleaming with tears. She couldn''t believe her luck. She kept meeting kind people who helped her without asking anything in return. First Loriel, and now Marc, his old friend. It seemed this world was full of kindhearted people. Well, she did meet some less than kind ones, but that didn''t change her perception of this world being a beautiful ce with many good and generous people in it. "Let''s have dinner," Loriel interrupted their conversation. He came with a saucepan fresh from the stove and put it on the table. "I am making risotto and veal for dinner." The food smelled amazing. Marc was so impressed. So, his uncle cooked too? How wonderful! He wanted to help by going to the kitchen, but Loriel stopped him. "You are our guest tonight. Just sit and enjoy the food." He motioned to the dining table. Marc chuckled and did as he said. The man sat at the dining table and waited for the food to be served. He should enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience. The world mighte to an end before Loriel would serve him like this again. Loriel acted like a good host. He brought dish after dish throughout dinner and all of them were perfectly prepared. To bepletely honest, Marc was very surprised to find out his uncle had this talent for cooking. He had never tasted food better than what Loriel cooked for them today. Maybe being an immortal had its advantages, he thought. Loriel had all the time in the world in perfecting his cooking skills. Just like he had learned to speak 70nguages fluently. "Ah, this is really good," Marc said as he tasted the food. "Thank you, the two of us prepared dinner together," Loriel said with a smile. He wanted Elise to notice it more than Marc though. "He says that, but it''s him who mostly did the work." Elise smiled at Marc. Loriel was right when he mentioned that Elise was the most beautiful woman in the world. There was something about Elise''s gentle and yet charismatic nature that appealed to Marc, and yet he stayed strong. He should never feel attracted to this gorgeous woman. He didn''t want Loriel to kill him in his sleep. "You''ve helped me a lot with the food preparation, so give yourself some credit." Loriel chuckled. Elise lowered her gaze and smiled sheepishly at Loriel''spliment. This made Marc suddenly feel like he was the third-wheel in this otherwise romantic dinner. "The way you phrase it makes it seem like I did a lot of things," Elise pouted. "You''re the one who practically told me to just take a seat and leave the work to you. But it did seem like you didn''t need my help at all." Loriel shook his head. "I needed it, it''s a lot more fun cooking when I have someone who can talk with me." Marc blinked at the two of them. He already knew that his grand-uncle thought of this woman as a special person to his life, but Marc didn''t imagine seeing such a soft and gentle expression on Loriel''s face. Marc had never seen Loriel acting this sweet before. The grumpy grandpa was watching Elise''s every move in a doting expression. Chapter 70 - Marc Is So Hungry! This was not real, wasn''t it? Marc had to pinch himself to assure him that he wasn''t, in fact, dreaming. Somehow, it felt like it was wrong that Marc was even here in the first ce. He was disturbing a home date, wasn''t he? If Loriel really cooked everything, then it meant that his grand-uncle was showing off fine dining and delicious meals to Elise. No, it wasn''t just that either. If Loriel wanted to, Marc was sure that the man could have gotten world-ss chefs to prepare their dinner tonight. Instead, Loriel himself cooked dinner¡­ which meant he was showcasing himself as a perfect husband! Husband material. Unbelievable! Marc sipped his wine and tried to act like he wasn''t actually with Loriel and Elise right now. He was better off acting like some kind of backgroundmp in the corner of the penthouse, wasn''t he? He needed to excuse himself right after dinner to let the two have their alone time. If anything, that was what Loriel probably had in mind already, didn''t he? Marc was a little nuisance on this asion and he was only here to deliver the good news and then leave the two lovebirds alone. Marc was actually genuinely happy to see this scene despite all of his thoughts. He always thought that his grand-uncle looked lonely and separated from the rest of the world. Even though the Sanderman was the closest thing Loriel had to a family, they weren''t people he held much affection for besides their ties by blood. "Thank you so much for the food," said Marc tactfully after he ate a small amount of food. He decided to leave early since the purpose of his visit was aplished. He came here for decoration, obviously. So, after he confirmed Loriel''s statement that he was in need of a second assistant, and tasted Loriel''s super delicious food, his job was done. And it was time to leave. He shouldn''t be third-wheeling his uncle. Loriel had never been interested in any woman before, at least not to the best of Marc''s knowledge. Maybe that''s why he was so curt and annoying at times? He had not had a woman to soften his stone-cold heart? Come to think of it, did Loriel ever had sex? Marc was wondering. He initially thought his uncle was asexual or aromantic, since he was not interested in thepany of other people, be it women or men. But now, Marc realized Loriel just had not met the right person that he could be attracted to like he was to Elise. So¡­ all this time¡­ did he ever have sex? Marc gulped and downed his wine. What was I thinking? He chided himself. He shouldn''t think about his grand-uncle''s sex life. It''s rude. Right? "Are you done?" Elise asked in surprise. "You have only eaten a little." "Well, I do have a small stomach," said Marc with a smile. Loriel smiled too. He thought Marc was truly rted to him by blood. Lying must be in their gene. They could lie so easily and convincingly. He patted Mar?''s shoulder gently. "Ah.. that''s too bad. I still have more dishes prepared and desserts too!" Marc was actually hungry. The smell from the kitchen was truly mouthwatering, but he had to force himself to say no. "Thank you, but I will have to leave now. The food is great and I enjoyed it a lot," he nodded his head slightly. "Thank you for the delicious food, Grand-Unc¡­ Loriel." Gah.. Marc almost called Loriel his ''grand-uncle'' again. Loriel''s side-eye quickly made Marc realize he almost made the terrible mistake. He cleared his throat and nodded at Elise. "Miss. I''m very pleased to meet you. I will look forward to seeing you in my office tomorrow morning." "Thank you so much, Mr. Sanderman," said Elise with a beaming face. This was so nice. She was surrounded by many kind people. "Uhm, please.. just call me Marc," said the grand-nephew with a smile. If Loriel was really in love with this woman, she might be his grand-aunt in the future. Marc must get used to treating her as such. "Ah, okay. It was a pleasure to meet you too, Marc. I promise to do my best in my role to help you in the office. Thank you for the opportunity," said Elise. " She wanted to rise from her chair and hug Marc who just got up to leave, but Loriel immediately stood between them and shook Marc''s hand. "Take care, Marc. I''ll see you again sometime," he said firmly. Marc knew it was his cue to leave. The man smiled at Loriel and Elise, then he took his suit from the chair and put it on. "I''ll be off now. Good night!" Elise watched as Loriel took Marc to the door and talked to him a little bit before the nephew went home. "Thanks for tonight, Marc," said Loriel. "This woman is very important to me. Please treat her like you would treat me. I am counting on you to make her work experience pleasant and enriching." Marc was stunned to hear his grand-uncle speak so sincerely about Elise. This piqued his interest even more. Aside from her stunning beauty and her obvious charm, was there anything about Elise that drew Loriel to her this way? Loriel was clearly head over heels for her. And from the looks of it, he only met her yesterday. That''s when he started asking Marc to use his power to find out about her identity and shower her with clothes. But from the way the two interacted with each other, they seemed close and intimate, unlike two people who just met for two days. Who was she really? So many questions filled Marc''s mind. He couldn''t get his mind off of Elise and Loriel when he entered his Maybach and asked his driver to take him to the best restaurant in town so he could eat dinner. The food he ate at Loriel''s ce was not nearly enough to satisfy his hunger. He must eat real dinner. Gosh.. he was so hungry! Chapter 71 - Pot And Pebble "Your friend is very kind, " Elisemented after Loriel closed the door behind him and went back to the dining table. "Well, he is kind to ME," said Loriel with a shrug. "I told you I saved his life once and he has been feeling indebted to me ever since. He owns a small business downtown and is ready to help me anytime. So, you see.. my situation is not so dire that I need to sell my loyalty points." He chuckled when he remembered Elise''s suggestion to make extra money by selling his points. First, of all, there were no such points. He made up everything. Second, even if he badly needed money, he would never resort to such actions. He could just sell the artworks or whatever stuff he had in this penthouse. He was lying when he said they were too valuable to him that he would never sell them. Living for over fifteen centuries had taught him one thing, that was, material stuff was meaninglesspared to people. At the end of the day, the people he loved would always be more valuable to him, than mere possession. So what if the artworks he had in his collection were worth a lot? They meant nothing to him aspared to Elise. Just like home was not the house, but the people we shared our life with. Home was not a ce, but a person. Real wealth was not our material possession, but the people we were blessed enough to have in our life. To Loriel, such people were very few in number. Aside from Elise, he only liked Marc and his family. Other people could all burn in hell, for all he cared. "Well, then¡­ I should thank you for introducing me to Marc and making him hire me, despite myck of experience¡­" said Elise. She didn''t even have a high school diploma. It would be impossible for her to get a job in any office without at least a diploma. So, she had Loriel to thank for it. "Don''t mention it," Loriel said with a sweet smile. "Now, you have to eat more so you can look fresh for tomorrow. We haven''t even eaten the veal." "And desserts!" Elise eximed. "Yes, desserts. Very important!" Loriel replied. Humming, he went to the kitchen to prepare the veal and came back five minutester with two tes of piping hot dishes that smelled amazing. "This is really good," said Elise after she tasted his cooking. "Gosh.. you are so talented." "Thank you," Loriel was smiling ear to ear when he heard herpliment. He would toil in the kitchen and cook for her every day if she wanted him to. He would dly do it, just to hear herpliments and see the smile on her beautiful face, like tonight. "You should teach me how to cook," said Elise. "Definitely! We can start whenever you want," Loriel replied. "As you can see, I have quite a flexible time. I am not busy." "That''s so kind of you," said Elise. She seemed to think of something for a moment and decided to ask Loriel something. "What about baking? Can you bake? I am very interested in baking. I love bread and pastries." Loriel pouted. No, he hated baking, so he didn''t learn the skills. Besides, it was so easy to get bread and pastries that suit his taste around the world. He didn''t see the need to learn it. But it was the skills that Elise wanted to learn? Okay, he could ask Marc to find a ce where Elise could learn baking. It should be easy. He made a mental note to ask Marc about it tomorrow. "I know a good ce to learn baking for you," he said. "You can learn from them. And from me, you just learn cooking. What do you think?" Elise sighed. "Hmm¡­ I don''t think I have the time to learn baking somewhere else. I have to work." "Ah, don''t worry about it. You can just do it on the weekend or after office hours. Courses like the baking course are usually done on the weekends anyway." "Oh.. then, it sounds good," said Elise who became excited again. "Thank you, Loriel." "Don''t mention it," Loriel poured more wine into their sses. "Eat more." They continued dinner in a very pleasant atmosphere. Loriel talked to Elise about trivial things. How he learned cooking, what were his favorite things to do, and the beautiful countries he had visited in the world. Elise seemed to enjoy their conversation so much. She found Loriel to be a very interesting person. *** It was finally time for Elise to go to work. After the events ofst night, having dinner with Loriel and Marc, Elise woke up early to prepare. When she padded outside of her bedroom fully dressed and ready to leave, Elise found Loriel already awake and at the dining table. The man was on his phone and looked up to see her. "Ah, good morning Elise. Would you like some breakfast?" Loriel greeted. "Oh," Elise said. But before Elise could say anything else, she suddenly heard a couple of mewls. Two cats appeared from underneath the sofa and came out. The two cats finally approached her timidly. One cat was ck, and the other one was brown. They were both fat and had long fur. At a nce, they looked like two fur balls. Loriel scratched his cheek. "When you first arrived, they were a little shy toe out, but it seems like they''ve finally started to get more familiar with you." A bright smile crossed Elise''s lips as she crouched down and held out her hand. One of the cats walked bravely over and sniffed her before it then licked her. Elise giggled and looked up, "They are so cute!! What are their names?" "Oh, these are¡­" Loriel chuckled and replied, "Pot and Pebble." "Ahh, is that so? They''re nice names¡­" Elise said and paid more attention to the cats. Loriel wanted tough at her reaction. Elise was truly pure at heart. She didn''t think those names ugly nor funny. Chapter 72 - The Annoying Receptionist Actually, Loriel had three cats. They followed him everywhere he went when he moved to a new ce. The oldest one just passed awayst year after living with him for 25 years. Her name was Brick. The other two were Brick''s sons. Loriel named them Pot and Pebble. Pot waspletely ck and Pebble waspletely brown. Loriel was so proud of the names. Unlike Elise who sucked at naming, he actually intentionally named the ck cat Pot, from the saying ''Pot calling the kettle ck''. Get it? Pot and Pebble were theziest cats he had ever met in his life and he loved them to death. "They seem to like you," said Loriel with a smile. "They do? Well, I like them too. They are beautiful!" said Elise. She patted both cats with her hands. She was smiling so broadly when Pot and Pebble rubbed their heads on her knees affectionately. It looked like they understood how she just called them beautiful. Loriel cleared his throat. "Why don''t you eat first? You need to eat well since it''ll be your first day on the job. Working with an empty stomach isn''t a good idea." "Thank you, you''re quite considerate." Elise pulled up to her feet after she petted the two cats and then she took her seat. "I''ll promise to spruce things up once I get back from work." "I''d appreciate that." Loriel smiled. Elise soon ate her breakfast and savored the taste. It wasn''t a simple meal, Loriel prepared numerous types of breakfast dishes for her to eat and she enjoyed her fill with different food options from toast in a box, oatmeal, grilled bacon, boiled eggs, and even a bowl of fresh fruits. Once she was done, Elise thanked the man and stood up. "I''ll put these in the dishwasher and I''ll get going, Loriel." "Would you mind if I joined you?" Loriel said. "It''s around the area and it''ll let me enjoy a morning walk." "It''s fine, you don''t have to apany me." Elise smiled. "I can do this on my own. Remember, you already taught me how to use GoogleMaps." "Yes, I did. Well, that''s fine then. Enjoy your first day at work, Elise." Loriel smiled at her. "You''ll do great!" "Thank you." Right after that, Elise quickly went out of the penthouse and made her way to the streets. There was no way that she''d bete on her first day of work. Elise opened the GoogleMaps app and typed down the address that her now-boss Marc told her fromst night. While Loriel offered to bring her there, she turned him down. How would she be independent if the man kept helping her out? As much as Elise appreciated having such a helpful person around, it made no sense for her to bepletely reliant on Loriel. Once the map finally showed the address, Elise smiled in relief. So, she just followed this arrow sign and walk in the direction showed? She could do this. It was really great that Loriel''s building was located not far from the Sanderman Group office. She could take a taxi or bus, but walking would not take long either. She thought it was good for her to get a morning workout to keep herself healthy. The temperature was quite cold, but luckily she had a decent coat to protect her from the wind. Elise walked leisurely toward her new office, enjoying the scenery and the city. *** Loriel nced at the woman walking alone on the street pavement. He was currently behind a tree and keeping himself out of sight. Although Elise turned down his offer to help her arrive at the Sanderman Group''s building, that didn''t mean he''d simply let her go all by herself. It was for his own wife''s protection and for his peace of mind that Loriel trailed after Elise and kept his distance. Whenever someone else appeared on the street, Loriel''s gaze hardened slightly. If Loriel could close the entire block from the rest of the people then he''d do it, but that would be too suspicious when there were other residents living here and othermercial buildings that people visited. So in the end, Loriel was forced to follow after Elise. He didn''t want topare himself to a stalker, but if Elise were to catch him tailing after her¡­ then it would sour things between them. However, he only wanted to keep her safe. Once Loriel saw that Elise arrived safely at the Sanderman Group''s building, he felt relief flood into his chest. There was no harasser or any unsavory people that Elise encountered on the road. Loriel actually wanted to stick around and see how Elise would fare, but if she looked out the window then she''d see him and eventually realize how suspicious he was. He needed to get out of sight. But first, Loriel sent a text to Marc and reminded the man about their arrangement. [Make sure to take care of Elise once she meets up with you, Marc.] *** Elise blinked at the phone screen before she looked up at the tallest building in front of her. It was difficult to tell how many stories this building was, but it was obvious that it was extravagant and exclusive. This was the address that Marc gave to her. The two of them reassured her that it was a smallpany where Elise can workfortably, but it seemed like their idea of ''small'' was different from Elise''s. Elise nced around her immediate vicinity to see if she got it wrong, but then eventually stepped inside of the building. While Elise was able to enter the building without any problems from the security in charge at the door, she quickly found herself under a scrutinizing stare from a woman in the receptionist area. Elise walked towards the woman and smiled. "Good morning, I''ve been instructed by Marc to meet up with him here. I have an appointment with him." Did SHE just say Marc? The receptionist eyed Elise up and down. This woman couldn''t be talking about THE Marc Sanderman, could she? An appointment with the man himself? Surely this woman was trying to pull her leg, wasn''t she? The receptionist wanted to scoff at the suggestion. Chapter 73 - Alex Misunderstands Elise While it was obvious that Elise was beautiful and also dressed in respectable business attire, the receptionist didn''t simply take the woman''s word for it. If anything, this was very suspicious for the receptionist. A woman just suddenlying to see Marc? Why wasn''t security doing their job properly? The receptionist received a headache from this situation. "Please take a seat, Miss. There''s a waiting list for CEO Marc Sanderman so we''d have to check and verify the list first," The receptionist curtly said. "Oh, okay¡­" Elise smiled sheepishly. Elise wasn''t sure if this woman was informed about the arrangement since Loriel and Marc only conversed about it with herst night. It was a sudden thing and Elise doubted it was quickly disseminated to everybody in this office. Elise tried again. "I''ve been mostly asked to head directly to his office though. Can I just get the floor number¡ª" "You''ve heard me, Miss. We can''t just believe everyone iming to have an appointment with the big boss Marc Sanderman. Please don''t give me any more trouble when work''s barely started." The receptionist frowned at Elise. Elise sighed inwardly. "I apologize, but we''ve only discussed it over dinnerst night so I''m not sure if it was informed immediately to you." The receptionist didn''t know if she wanted tough aloud. Was this woman saying that she and Marc enjoyed dinnerst night? Surely this woman didn''t expect her to believe that kind of crap, right? "I told you that I''ll be checking the appointment list, haven''t I? I''ll do that, so why don''t you take a seat." the receptionist snapped at her. "Yes, I understand." Elise winced and stepped back. This was something Elise was nervous about¡­ She could only hope that Marc did have her on the list. A couple more employees passed by Elise and the receptionist. It couldn''t be helped that they noticed the smallmotion happening. A couple of them eavesdropped on it and quickly began to whisper at one another. "Appointment with Mr. Sanderman himself? Very hard to believe." The woman whispered to her friend. "It''s not really trustworthy to take someone''s word for it." "Did you hear what she said about dinner? Gosh, some people." "Totally unbelievable. If she''s someone that our boss dines with, then shouldn''t she be meeting with Marc directly instead of staying here?" Elise did her best to pretend that she didn''t hear any of them speak a single word. She allowed the receptionist some space to look at the appointment list and yet Elise wasn''t actually holding out hope for that. The thought of texting Loriel came to Elise''s mind. Maybe he could help her? But Elise quickly dismissed it and pushed the thought away. She already made the decision to be more responsible for her own actions so she''d stay here and wait for the receptionist to do her work. Surely it wouldn''t take too long? If anything¡­ Marc would realize that she wasn''t around yet and find it suspicious? *** Alex stepped into the lobby of Sanderman Group''s office building and quickly saw that a woman was standing around and looking confused. Alex wasn''t exactly runningte to meet up with her boss, but the sight of the peculiar woman made her stop from rushing to the elevator and catch the next trip to the top floor. Why was someone like her just standing around lost? After interacting with so many people, Alex thought she was a good judge of important people and it seemed like thisdy was one of them. Although the way that this woman carried herself didn''t exactly make it that way. Alex passed by the woman and quickly approached the receptionist. "What''s with thisdy just standing around? Have you not been able to deal with her concerns?" She whispered to the receptionist. The receptionist quickly looked up and saw Alex''s face. "O-oh, good morning ma''am Alex!" Her gaze quickly flitted to Elise and she grumbled underneath her breath. Why was the woman still there? She should have gotten the hint but now the receptionist was being reprimanded by Alex. The receptionist rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "Sorry, ma''am. This woman has been pestering me about having an appointment with Mr. Sanderman. I''ve checked the list but she isn''t on there¡­ I don''t know why she''s still here loitering around like a fool." Alex nced over her shoulders and pursed her lips. "That''s not a very nice thing to say, you should at least inform her that she wasn''t on the list so she could leave." But judging the woman''s beauty and appearance¡­ along with the slightly fretful appearance, a certain scenario popped into Alex''s mind. Was this one of those women that Marc slept with for one-night stands? This was not the first time, a gold digger came looking for Marc, saying she was pregnant with his baby and wanted him to take responsibility. Gosh, that boss of hers was such a womanizer. Yet, he was always careful not to get anyone pregnant. Those women in the past were all proven to be lying gold-diggers and he was not hesitant to counter sue them for nder. However, this woman looked so sweet, and not the gold-digging type. Was Marc really involved with her and this time he really got his karma? Maybe she was really pregnant and just wanted to let him know about it, but Marc had been avoiding her call. So, she took thest resort ofing to his office? Alex chewed on her bottom lip and resisted the urge to sigh and rub her face. It wasn''t hard to imagine a na?ve and beautiful woman such as this sweetdy falling for her boss and then giving up their first time with him. Was that what happened to this woman? Alex might have guessed that this woman was some kind of heiress, actress, or a top model that slept with Marc. Although her boss would also sleep with anyone just pretty too right? Alex eventually sighed and took out her phone. She didn''t want to keep the poor woman waiting all day for her dick of a boss. She rang up Marc and called him. Chapter 74 - Nepotism At Its Finest *** Marc received Loriel''s text and was waiting for Elise. He responded politely to his uncle and thanked him for this opportunity¡­ Yes, he was the one thanking the man for trusting him with this responsibility? Honestly, Marc didn''t know a thing at all. Oh, Marc was aware of the ins and outs of this woman called Madeline who introduced herself as Elise. This was all enshrouded in mystery for him. Why was his uncle so interested in a woman with such a past like that? It was a good thing that this wasn''t his problem at all! He had Alex to handle all of these things for him. Hehehe. Marc could already imagine the two of them¡­ getting along? While Alex was a headstrong woman, Elise seemed like a good and sweet person. The two of them were probably going to end up as good friends or something simr like that. Marc''s phone started ringing. His eyes widened and he thought it was Loriel, but sighed in relief when he realized it was Alex. "Hey, where are you now? Aren''t you a bitte¡­" Wait a second, if Alex waste already then it meant Elise waste too. Marc''s blood started rising. Gosh, did he lose the dear woman that Loriel wanted him to watch over?! Alex''s words suddenly made him listen to her voice. There was a woman waiting for him in the lobby? "I haven''t slept with anyely at all!" Marc said in annoyance when he heard of Alex''s hinted usations. Hey¡­ that was Elise, wasn''t it? Marc pped a hand over his face and started talking. "Alex, I want you to stop talking and start treating this woman correctly while I go down and meet her. If my guess is correct, then this is the one who''s supposed to work as your assistant. It''s vital that you treat her properly." Marc decided that this was the best option. If Alex knew how to treat this woman then there would be no harsh encounters between the two of them. He wasn''t sure if Elise wanted to be treated as a new employee, but if she had the chance to gain favor from Loriel then it was best to be used. Marc rushed out of his office and headed into the closest elevator. *** "There you are!" Marc shouted in relief once he stepped out of the elevator. He saw Elise and Alex standing together in the lobby. "Ah, good morning, Marc." Elise waved her hand at him. "I mean¡­ Sir... Boss?" "Are you alright? Did you wait long?" Marc asked her with such respect that Alex thought she was hallucinating. Elise smiled and shook her head. "No, not too much." Alex nced to see her boss and pursed her lips. It was a strange sight to see her boss nearly fall over his heels trying to greet this woman beside her. Alex received the careful instruction that she needed to be kind and respectful to this woman. So if this wasn''t someone Marc slept with, then who was this woman? Marc was so polite like he was talking to a grandmother. In another area of the lobby, the receptionist''s jaw dropped at the sight of their boss running to meet up with the same woman that she turned away harshly. The receptionist began to worry about how it would reflect on her. "Still, I need to apologize for still making you wait, I failed to inform my people about your arrival." Marc smiled apologetically. He nced over his shoulder and checked the people who were around. "Oh, I did think it was something like that," Elise said. "But it was a sudden arrangement so it can''t be helped." Marc smiled. "But since you''ve met my assistant, Alex. I think the two of you can start working immediately." "What?" Alex batted her eyes at her boss. Did she hear him correctly? "You''re going to work as an intern under my assistant Alex. I hope the two of you can get along." Elise smiled sheepishly, turned to the right, and extended her hand. She already noticed earlier, but this beautiful ck woman truly was Marc''s assistant. "Nice to meet you, Miss Alex, I''m¡­ Elise. I''m looking forward to working with you." Elise introduced herself properly. It was a difficult thing to juggle. She introduced herself as Elise, but her ID would be showing Madeleine. Alex sent another look to her boss, but eventually epted Elise''s hand and shook it. Marc''s problem was solved immediately. Marc wiped the sweat off his brow as he saw the sight of the two women shaking hands. His job was done and now he could focus on other more important matters to the Sanderman Group. While it was true that Loriel certainly helped bring their family''s sess, Marc still needed to keep running it. Most importantly, Marc needed to ensure that Elise wasfortable. He cleared his throat, "I''d also like to receive a report of your daily learnings and activities, you can submit it to Alex too and she''ll send it to me." It was important to be up to the news with the things that''ll happen around Elise. While Marc will consider this as a mistake on his part for forgetting, there should be no other problems, right? *** People often forget how fast news spread within apany. Alex was showing Elise around the building to familiarize herself with her working space when a group of people was enjoying their coffee break together. One of the workers nudged at their friend. "Who''s that prettydy?" "What is she supposed to be? Is she Alex''s girlfriend?" A woman snickered. It earned a couple ofughs and jeers with her coworkers. But theughter quickly died down when somebody else spoke up. "No, that''s supposed to be someone working here. New employee." "For real? There aren''t any open positions. I work in HR." A woman frowned slightly. The person next to them shrugged. "It seems like the higher-ups are the ones in charge of it then." "Nepotism at its finest then." Somebody rolled their eyes. Chapter 75 - Only The Best For His Wife Another personined. "Some people work hard to get in here and a prettydy gets epted to work here because of connections. What is she supposed to be? Some heiress?" "A child of one of the board people?" "Do you think she can actually do anything then?" "Who knows. I kinda doubt it." Alex narrowed her eyes at the group of employees gathered together in their break. "Do you guys have anything else to gossip about?" she called out. "Quit wasting your time on nonsense and get back to work." The employees quickly dispersed from one another and headed back to their positions. Alex sighed and clicked her tongue. "Some people really don''t know how to spend their time besides bringing other people down. Ignore them and let''s go." "Yes." Elise nced back at the people before she moved ahead. While she probably thought they had a point about her only getting here through connections¡­ Elise needed to keep her head up and pretend she didn''t hear a thing. If they only knew how much Elise needed a job then it would be different. Although it appeared that her circumstances were favorable, Elise had swallowed her pride and epted this position. The rest of the day was spent listening to Alex exin how things worked in thepany. Elise was made to familiarize herself with the important people in thepany as well as her fellow employees. "You''ll be helping me around, usually with the paperwork and other tasks that my boss will be giving us," Alex said. The two of them stopped in front of a vending machine. "I''ll do my best, Miss Alex. You can count on me." Elise smiled. Alex idly looked at the contents of cans of juices, soft drinks, and even iced coffee. "So what do you drink? Juice? Coffee?" "Oh, I''m fine¡ª" Alex simply swiped her ID in a scanner and then quickly took out two cans of iced coffee. "Don''t worry, it''s on me. Here''s to your first day of work." Elise epted the can and said thanks. She quickly opened the can and took a quick sip. "Thank you for showing me around, Alex." "It''s not a big deal. My boss probably hasn''t bugged me much since I was busy showing you around so we''re cool." Alex grinned slightly. "It''s a little breather." *** "Now that the day is over, would you like to have a chauffeur take you back to your ce?" Alex said after their work day ended. "Huh, I can get home by myself," Elise said. "It''s actually quite near." Alex raised her brows. "Ah, is that so? Thepany has a carpooling arrangement which takes its employees to their respective destinations and it would be a shame to not take advantage of thepany''s arrangement." "It''s fine, I''m within walking distance so I''ll be fine," Elise reassured the woman. Alex nodded. "Oh, alright, but if you ever need to head somewhere else after work, you can use the chauffeur. You don''t necessarily need to be dropped off at home, but it can be somewhere else." "That''s quite kind of thepany to do so," Elise said. "Indeed, the Sanderman Group takes care of its people. So I''m d to have you with me. Although we''re still showing you the ropes, you''ve done great so far. I''ll see you tomorrow." "See you, Alex!" *** Elise made her way back to the penthouse. She stepped inside and was greeted by the aroma of delicious foods and the sight of Loriel carrying a tray of dishes. "Oh, wee back, Elise. How was your first day of work?" Loriel casually asked. He just finished setting up the dining table and it was dinner fit for two. While Loriel may have prepared a fancy dinner while Marc was around, it didn''t mean that he could skip out on today. Once again, Loriel fixed up an Italian dinner. It was more rxed than yesterday, but it was still a sumptuous meal that could make any person''s mouth water. If Elise were to find it odd, Loriel wouldment on how he liked to eat fancy food whenever he could. That was a believable lie. Elise smiled at him and immediately walked over. "Uh, it was good. Thank you once again for helping me out." The memory of other employees talking badly about her slipped her mind, but Elise didn''t mention that. "That''s great to hear." Loriel took a seat. "Would you like to eat dinner now?" The handsome man was standing with an apron on his waist, and his eyes looked hopeful that Elise was hungry and wanted to eat his food. So, even if Elise was not hungry, she didn''t have the heart to say no. "I''ll take a shower first. Please feel free to eat if you''re hungry now, though." Elise reassured him. "You don''t have to wait for me." Loriel raised a brow. "I will, and that''s because I want to¡­" "Um, okay." Elise smiled sweetly. She left Loriel and went to take a shower. Once she was gone, Loriel took out an envelope. He received some documents earlier. Marc had ordered Alex to find a good baking course as requested by Loriel. There were two requirements to meet, the first one was the chef must be a woman since Loriel didn''t want Elise to admire another man''s cooking or baking skills. And the second one was the chef had to be world-ss. Loriel wanted nothing but the best, obviously. He had standards. So, earlier today, Alex had sent the brochures from the most renowned pastry chef in New York, Lucy Fournier. While Elise was taking a shower, Loriel decided to check the documents. It was the schedule of Elise''s baking courses and a student guidebook specifically prepared by the chef. All of this was actually taken care of by Marc himself, but it was better to let Loriel think it was Alex who did it for him. As he eyed the document, Loriel was actually impressed as he read out the name. "Chef Lucy." Loriel checked out the credentials written down and couldn''t help but grin slightly. Only the best for his wife. Chapter 76 - Chef Lucy Elise returned to the dining area to find Loriel reading some documents. But Loriel quickly looked up and smiled. "I received the pamphlets and other learning materials from my friend who rmended you to study under Chef Lucy Fournier." "Oh." Elise''s eyes widened. Loriel already helped her get in touch with Marc to have work, but he still got in contact with a chef? A smile pursed on Loriel''s lips and he said, "Did you know that thest name Fournier in French means the man responsible for cooking the dough in the fourneau or ''oven''? If I can tell anything, your instructores from a line of bakers." "That''s interesting." Elise took a seat in front of Loriel and smiled. "I can''t help but feel grateful for doing so much for me. It feels too much, but I''ll do my best to repay your kindness." The rtionship between the two of them was truly acquaintances with strange circumstances at best. Elise''s nanny''s warning about stranger danger flew out of the window the moment she met Loriel. This man was a stranger to her, but look at how kind he was toward her? On the other hand, the people who imed to be her family tried to hurt her for money. Tsk. From now on, Elise decided to treat everyone, including strangers, as kind people until they were proven to be bad. She didn''t know, in this regard, Loriel actually did the opposite of her. To him, everyone was bad, until they could prove their worth to him. Loriel and Elise spent the rest of the evening dining and talking together. When Elise asked Loriel about how his walk in the morning went, Loriel only smiled and said it was a good one. *** The next day soon arrived and was over in a sh. It was right after Elise''s work in the Sanderman Group that she ended up traveling to the baking studio courtesy of the chauffeur of thepany. Marc did his best to ensure that traveling to and fro from thepany to her baking studio was a smooth process and he texted Alex to mention the chauffeur services discreetly yesterday. Marc didn''t want Loriel toin and nag him about it and it was sort of true that certain employees did get drivers. Mostly those who were on the higher-ups, but Elise didn''t need to know that. When Elise arrived and stepped out of the car, she headed inside a small butvish building. It was clear that the people whom Loriel knew were one of the elites. The front view provided posters and disys of assorted pastries and cake, each one delectable and a feast for the eyes. Elise stepped inside and was greeted by the sight of the chef. A handsome man was busy setting up things at the counter of his store. He looked up and smiled, "Ah, you must be my new student?" Elise looked around and expected there were more people, but it was just her. Elise stared at the man. "Um, I was told that I''ll be taught under the Patissier, Chef Lucy?" The man nodded and grinned. "Yes, that''s me¡­ were you expecting a woman?" "Actually, yes..." Elise said. Lucy chuckled but waved a hand. "Yeah, most of those whoe to study and be my protege are often surprised. ¡­ But enough talk, shall we begin, Miss?" "Oh, alright." Elise nodded. Chef Lucy smiled and led her to his kitchen. "You see, my name is Lucius. Lucy is a pet name I received from my dear friends and family when I was growing up and it''s stuck with me. I kind of like it now. Seeing people''s faces when they found out I was actually a man is priceless¡­ hehehe." "Really?" Elise''s eyes widened and stopped in her tracks. It was different from what Elise herself experienced. Tessa once called her ''Mad'' as an ''affectionate'' nickname for Madeline. "They sound¡­ kind of harsh." "No, not at all," Lucy told her and only gave a resigned grin. "They''re affectionate like that, although the time when my parents dressed me up in a girl''s dress when I was in seventh grade does make me question their choices." Elise couldn''t help butugh out loud at Chef Lucy''s exnation. She decided she liked this baking teacher of hers. *** Loriel was pacing in his living room restlessly. Tonight was the night where Elise came home a littleter than usual due to her baking courses. It was so hard for the man to let her out of his sight for this long. Just letting her going to work had taken a lot of patience from him. And now, she also added a baking course to her list of things to do outside of the house. Sigh. As much as Loriel wanted to just have Elise around his side and recover her memory, that wasn''t right. Elise needed to enjoy her life and have her own independence. As far as Elise was concerned, Loriel was nothing but a kind man who helped her out to have these opportunities. Loriel was the reason why Elise found a job and was able to learn baking from a renowned chef. So, not liking any of it didn''t mean that he had any right to stop her. And thus this was the only way to meet with her. Loriel couldn''t just happen to suddenly arrive there at the front porch of the baking building to meet with Elise ande out as a stalker, but there was always the option to be around the area. It wasn''t weird that Loriel was going out shopping, right? Well, Elise knew how much food he had stocked in the pantry. Or he could just meet up with some of his clients, could he? "How did your first lesson go with Chef Lucy?" Loriel asked once the two of them met together. Elise smiled at Loriel. "It was great, my teacher was pretty cool and helped introduce me to pastry chef terms and dishes avable in their country. By the way, you were right, my teacher came from France." "Ah, that''s neat," Lorielmented. --------- Imagine when Loriel finds out that Chef Lucy is actually a man? What do you think he will do? ^^ Chapter 77 - Elise Is Excited About Baking "Hehehe¡­ yes, it is." Elise gushed. She proceeded in telling Loriel everything she learned from Chef Lucy. All the pastries mentioned suddenly made Loriel feel hungry. She continued, "I learned interesting things today, like cr¨¨me patisserie which is actually just custard made from eggs, milk, sugar, and cornstarch. Well, you can also use flour as an alternative and then enrich it with butter and then vor it with vani." "Ah, that sounds delicious," Loriel replied. "They are! I hope someday I can make them. There''s also brioche which is a yeast bread enriched with eggs and butter. But what''s interesting is that brioche is created in various shapes. It can be rings to tall cylinders depending on which region you came from of France¡ª" Elise suddenly stopped and pped a hand over her forehead. "Hmm?" Loriel raised a brow. "What''s the matter, Elise? Is there something wrong?" "No, nothing¡­ but I may be boring you with all of these details," Elise shyly said. "I mean you''re supposed to be a business or finance guy. Why would you be interested in aerate? Macerate? Leavening and all of those?" "Not at all, it''s great to hear you talk about them so enthusiastically. It means that you really are interested in pursuing baking." Loriel smiled. "I think it makes it worth it that I''ve rmended you to my friend to sponsor you." While the two of them talked yesterday about work, there was still a certain hint of reservation in Elise''s expression and movements at that time. It was as if she was a tad ufortable. Whereas now, Loriel simply asked about baking, and Elise already delved into interesting details about pastries. Not to mention that Elise had such a warm smile on her face when she talked about them. He loved watching her express her enthusiasm for her baking course. She looked beaming with happiness. This was the only expression he wanted to see from her. Happiness. In the past, she seemed sad most of the time. Ahh.. thinking about it made Loriel''s stomach churn. He must have been such a jerk to his wife for a long time. Ah.. now, he couldn''t wait to teach her cooking too. He hoped she would be just as excited. He could teach her to make delicious food and n dinner dates where they could try the dishes they made together. Who cares if Elise didn''t see it as dinner dates. He would. Ahh, thinking about cooking together with Elise made the man smile so broadly. "Are you sure?" Elise asked. "You''re not just saying that because you''re being considerate?" "Yes, besides, I''d love to hear about what''s special in this brioche," Loriel answered. "Plus, I don''t think anyone would be uninterested in hearing about these delicious treats." "Well, the pastry may also be stuffed with various items, such as nuts, raisins, other dried fruit, or cheese. I''m looking forward to doing it by myself," Elise said. "Hmm, if you want to. There are ample ingredients to use in my kitchen pantry." Loriel offered. "You can make them if you''d like. I''d love to taste your pastries. You can use the kitchen here to practice or do whatever. Tell Horatio if you need any other ingredients you cannot find here and whatnot." "Yes, Miss. Do tell me if you need anything." Horatio''s voice rang in the room with his usual efficiency. "Ah.. you''re too kind. Thank you, Horatio. I really appreciate it," said Elise. Loriel was happy with the progress. If Elise liked learning baking, he would support her. Besides, the faster Elise learned and got a hang of it¡­ the faster the lessons could end, right? Elise grinned sheepishly. "I''ve done a little bit of baking, but such terminology and other styles of preparation isn''t something I''ve been familiar with. Chef Lucy and I will go over the fundamentals first before I do actual baking." "Is that so? Well, if you feelfortable and just want to experiment, just let me know." Loriel smiled. "Yes, feel free to use the kitchen whenever you like. I''m sure the two cats will like to see you around." "Ah, Pot and Pebble!" Elise eximed. She remembered the two cats'' names. "That''s right." Elise nodded. "I need to wake up a little earlier to see them then. I''ll make sure they get enough milk so you can take it easy and focus on jogging when you go out in the mornings, okay?" Did Elise associate Loriel as someone who jogged often? He didn''t actually need to do any workout to maintain his physique. Elise didn''t know this, yet, but Loriel was no longer a regr human. His body was not like them who needed a lot of physical training. He had been living like this for over fifteen centuries. He was not getting old and he was never sick. Ahh.. he couldn''t wait to share this life that he had with Elise. Once she was herself again and could remember him, Loriel would ask Elise if she would join him and be an immortal, or if she wanted him to be a mortal again. Whatever she chose, he would dly grant it. ''You don''t have to wake up early to feed the cats. They are very self-sufficient and they would never appreciate you anyway. They are cats," said Loriel. "I, on the other hand, would know how to appreciate your kindness.. hehehe¡­" Elise looked at the man with a yful smile on her face. "So, does this mean, you want me to wake up early to make you breakfast? I can do that. If the cats are not appreciative, I better feed you since you know how to appreciate good food." "No, what I meant was¡­" Loriel was so happy to see her acting this way. It seemed Elise was bing more rxed around him. "I would love to have breakfast with you every morning. I can make breakfast and you can make us tea. What do you think?" "Oh¡­" Elise was surprised to hear his offer. This man was really too kind, she thought. Loriel winked. "I hate eating alone and you also can''t go to work on an empty stomach. So, breakfast is a must." "Well.. that sounds good," said Elise with a smile. Chapter 78 - A Kiss On The Cheek Before either Loriel or Elise even knew it, several days already passed by as the two of them became more situated with the routine of living with each other. It was as if the two of them had lived together before. "I''ll be going now, Loriel!" Elise called out to him before she left the penthouse and headed to the office for her work. But before she could leave, Elise heard the door swing open as Loriel came out and held up a bag. He took out a lunch box from it and showed it to Elise. "I have prepared you lunch. This way you can save your money." "Oh¡­" Elise batted her eyes at the lunch box in Loriel''s hand. The man looked so handsome and manly with his apron on. And his smile¡­ oh he had such mesmerizing and angelic smile! It was hard to get her eyes off of him. Elise didn''t know Loriel took the opportunity to whip her lunch because after breakfast she went back to her room and got ready to leave for the office. More importantly, the lunch was prepared in a cute Hello Kitty lunch box. Elise was not aware of the cultural significance of Hello Kitty, but she thought it was cute. When did Loriel buy this lunch box? She asked herself. Elise would never guess that while she was working in the Sanderman Group''s office, Loriel was restless at home, waiting for the office hours to end so he could see her again. Finally, when he was stuck, not knowing what else to do while waiting for her return, he ended up checking the online marketce. He wanted to get her a lunch box so he could prepare her lunch every day. He could find an excuse for this gestureter, but what''s important was he needed to do it. "Well, we have leftovers fromst night''s dinner," said Loriel, making an excuse. "It''s good and nutritious food,pared to the crap they serve at the cafeteria. Besides, you can also save money by bringing your own food. What do you think?" Elise nodded. She agreed with everything the man said. However, she just felt bad seeing Loriel prepared lunch for her. Didn''t this feel a bit odd? She was the woman, but she worked outside of the house, while Loriel, the man, was staying home and prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner for them. If they were married, this reversed role would make Eliseugh. She was the breadwinner and Loriel was the househusband. Except that she was not their breadwinner. Her sry, as an assistant was meager - Loriel still had more money than her - AND the man was not really her husband. He just seemed obsessed with cooking and would always find excuses to cook something for them to eat. It was good that he could actually cook well. Elise always enjoyed the food he made. "Thank you so much," said Elise. She epted the lunch box reluctantly. Her reaction made Loriel furrow his brows. "What''s wrong? You don''t like the lunch box? I got it as a gift and don''t know what to make of it," said Loriel innocently. "So, I thought why not give it to you to bring your lunch to the office." Secretly, Loriel hoped Elise would never search about the price of this lunch box. It was a limited edition and a collectible. People would dly pay ten thousand dors just for it. He bought it on a whim because he thought it was so cute, just like her. "No.. I really like it," said Elise. She bit her lip. "But?" There must be a ''but'' if a girl said they liked something but their face looked ufortable. Did she feel forced to ept his lunchbox? Loriel smiled and reached out his hand to take back the Hello Kitty lunch box. "You don''t have to take it if you don''t want to. I will not feel offended. I just thought the leftover is too good to waste. You did sayst night that you like the food." "I do like the food," Elise gripped the box more tightly. "But¡­ I don''t want to feel more indebted to you, more than I can repay you." "Indebted? How?" Loriel furrowed his brows. "If anything, I am the one who feels indebted to you for keeping mepany and eating the food I make. I like cooking and always feel sad that I have to eat it by myself." "Oh¡­ you do?" "I do," said Loriel firmly. "After youe and live here with me, I found a new zest for life, and my passion for cooking is reignited. You might see this situation works in your favor because you get amodation, but the truth is, I get benefits too." He added, "I find a friend andpanion in you. And my boring life suddenly changed for the better. Now, I even cook every day. I love doing more things with my life, and for that, I have to thank you." Of course, nobody could win against Loriel in any argument because he had the wisdom of a fifteen-century-old immortal. He had seen it all and knew the right words to say every single time. That''s why, for him, it was easy to make Elise think that he was the one getting more benefit from their current living situation. And she shouldn''t feel like she owed him anything. "Oh¡­ you are so kind," Elise looked at the man with awe in her eyes. "Now, you make it sound like I am doing you a favor by staying here and eating your food." Loriel smiled. "Because that''s the truth." Elise looked down at the lunch box in her hands and finally, she decided to just ept the kindness shown by this man. "Very well, thank you so much. I will take this." She smiled sheepishly and, after thinking about it for a brief second, she tip-toed and kissed Loriel on the cheek. "I will be off then. See youter!" She quickly went out and left the stunned man. Elise walked briskly and didn''t look back. Her cheeks flushed red. She didn''t know what drove her to kiss Loriel''s cheek just now. It just felt right to do it. Meanwhile, the former king was frozen in his ce when Elise kissed his cheek. It was utterly unexpected. His heart was pounding so hard and his chest was filled with so much warmth that the chilly autumn morning didn''t affect him at all. She just kissed his cheek. He touched his cheek with his right hand and closed his eyes. This was such a beautiful morning. --------------- From the author: Thank you so much for purchasing the highest tier privilege for the book, "The Cursed King" and supporting this book further. I will work hard and publish more chapters every day (now my aim is 2 chapters per day, but hopefully I can do more) to justify your support. Btw, a special reward for July ''21 for the highest tier privilege readers (1000 coins for 20 advanced chapters), you are wee to name a character. I still have many characters nned and haven''t decided on their names. You can send me a screenshot of the highest Privilege tier you have purchased by email to: [emailprotected], or my Instagram DM at @missrealitybites and a name that you wish to be immortalized in this book. When the character appears and it has the name of your choosing, I will mention who picked the name. You can send me any male or female name, and I will find a character that will match the name. Chapter 79 - Is Loriel A Womanizer Too? Elise''s initial days at Marc Sanderman''s office were a difficult period, most of the people disliked her for getting epted into thepany so suddenly. But a few people started to open up a little with her presence. Her sweet smile every day was hard to resist and they would feel bad about treating her rudely even if they thought she entered thepany through nepotism. "Good morning, Miss Annie!" Elise greeted the attendant in the lobby of the building. It was the same one who made her wait incredibly long for Marc Sanderman, but Elise already let it go. The woman at the counter waved her hand with a smile. "You''re early, Elise... That''s a cute lunch box you have." "Thank you!" Elise walked past the woman and only waved at her before she headed towards the elevators. Once Elise stepped inside the tform and took several stops on her way up, she found herself meeting and exchanging some polite greetings with people from various departments. Although the documents she submitted to Marc contained her ID as Madeline York, she still introduced herself as Elise to everyone else. Alex herself didn''t seem to mind at all and went with Elise too. The troubles of getting associated with the famous history as Madeline York was something anyone wished to avoid for obvious reasons. She wished to be seen as a regr person, not as someone with a famous past. It was hard to forget the past, but it wasn''t impossible. Elise had a new life now. And she was going to live that life to the fullest. Being a part of thepany meant a lot to her. This was her first shot at bing an independent person. If it weren''t for Loriel''s help then she would have never gotten this in the first ce. Elise wasn''t going to mess that up by being someone that would make people look at her as less of a person and more of a caricature. "Good morning, Miss Alex!" Elise said once she arrived at Alex''s own office. Compared to other employees, it seemed like Alex had an entire office to herself for being the assistant of their boss. Elise did whatever she needed to, in order to make sure that people would ept her in thepany, and that they would like her as well. "Ah, Elise you''ve made it." Alex greeted her back with a smile. "I''ve got something to show you." As far as Alex was concerned, Elise wasn''t a full assistant yet and more of someone she needed to chaperone and watch over. But Alex didn''t mind it at all,pared to the stunts that her boss, Marc requested of her... this one was easy. Elise was a smart and eager pupil. It was a little surprising that she wasn''t familiar withputers that much except for the basics, but Alex taught and assisted Elise. "I''d like you to do market research with me, and it''s nothing too hard," Alex said. She pointed to three desktops in front of her that depicted both financial graphs and other figures. "Nothing''s too hard when you''re the one teaching me, Miss Alex," Elise said. Alex bit back a smile and motioned for Elise to take a seat first before she continued. "You don''t have topliment me, but this is Company X and we''d like to see if it''s a good match for Sanderman Group''s desired standards." "Standards for acquisition or investment?" "Yeah, we want to see if it''s an excellent fit. Simr to the stock market analysis, I want you to get a fundamental analysis of Company X. So what that means is you''ll concentrate on data from various sources avable from financial records, economic reports,pany assets, and market share." "I see." Elise stared at the screen and made out the different details that popped out to her. While she enjoyed her baking courses with Chef Lucy, there was something about this task that made her interested in it. Alex nced at her and asked. "Do you think you can handle it?" Elise nodded and smiled. "Yeah, it''s simr to making an empire expand by knowing which kingdoms to vassalize." "A vassal... what now?" Alex raised a brow. She was a bit taken aback by the suddenparison. While it was true that the Sanderman Group was arge and powerful conglomerate,paring it to an empire was new. Elise blinked and sheepishly ducked her head. "Uh, thepany reminds me of a kingdom? I''m sorry, I love reading history books and came up with the analogy, I guess. We need to check out if this Company X will be worth putting our investment and energy towards." "Yes, that is correct." Alex nodded and then stifled a chuckle. "I guess I never really looked at it that way, but it seems simr. And I guess if the Sanderman Group is an empire, then Marc would really like to hear him referred to as a king." "You think so?" Elise asked and smiled a little. "Yeah, he gives me too many orders that are far too much than what I signed up for," Alex said, thinking about all the recent requests that Marc asked from her. "But I guess you''ll eventually learn to just not question it." Elise tilted her face to look at Marc''s office from where she was sitting. She thought there was something familiar about Marc. The man actually reminded her of Loriel in many ways. If she didn''t know they were old friends, she would think Loriel and Marc were brothers or as least rted. Now, she was wondering what was the story behind their friendship. Loriel said he saved Marc''s life once. What happened back then between them? Also, was Loriel simr to Marc in his way of life? After working with Alex for several days, Elise had started to pick up on gossips about Marc Sanderman''s womanizing ways. She was wondering if Loriel had dated countless women too in the past. Suddenly her cheeks felt hot when she thought about it. Why did she care if Loriel had dated countless women? She was not his girlfriend. She was just freeloading at his ce until she could afford her own t. Chapter 80 - Lunch With Marc "What are you thinking about?" Alex''s words moved Elise from her reverie. She fluttered hershes and smiled sheepishly before she shook her head. Elise hoped Alex didn''t notice she was daydreaming earlier. What was she daydreaming about? Ahh.. the handsome man who had been helping her a lot. As she turned her gaze away from Marc''s office, her eyes caught sight of the cute lunch box on her desk. Loriel truly spoiled her with good food. He even prepared lunch for her with the excuse that they had leftovers from the previous night''s dinner. This made her feel so happy. "Nothing. I was just thinking about the task you assigned to me," said Elise with a smile. She went back to herputer and asked Alex to repeat her instruction. Alex narrowed her eyes and looked at Elise suspiciously. "Are you sure?" she asked Elise. She turned to look at Marc''s office and then at Elise. Why did she feel there was a special rtionship between Elise and her boss? "Yeah... I am sure," Elise replied. She made herself busy with her research and pretended not to notice Alex''s suspicion. Finally, Alex left her to do her job. Elise was grateful because Loriel took the time to teach her how to use the inte and also ways to get the best results when searching for information. After she had her phone, when she was alone, Elise often tinkered with her device and asked questions about anything to the search engine. She would get lost among so many articles. It felt a lot like being surrounded by books in the library and drowned in them. She loved it! She could learn so much. In a matter of days, she had searched about many things and absorbed so much knowledge. She no longer felt strange and confused by day-to-day things that she was not exposed to before. Elise made a point to learn new things every day and catch up with the world. Maybe, someday she could also find out why she didn''t remember the first twenty years of her life. *** "Hey, aren''t you going to the cafeteria for lunch?" Linda from HR knocked on Alex''s door and entered. Alex looked up from herputer and then checked her watch. "Oh, you are right. It''s lunchtime already. Let me turn off my PC and go with you." She rose from her chair and took her phone and wallet. "Are youing with us?" she asked Elise who also turned off herputer but didn''t seem to make a move toward the cafeteria. Elise shook her head. "No. Today I brought lunch from home." "Why?" Alex asked. "Isn''t it wasting time to prepare food from home? Our cafeteria has many options." "No, this is leftovers from dinner," Elise exined. "Besides, I want to save my lunch money." "Oh¡­ " Alex and Linda already saw the Hello Kitty lunch box on Elise''s desk. Alex shrugged. "Okay then. See youter." "Have a good lunch," said Elise to Alex and Linda who left her to go to the cafeteria. "You too, Elise," Alex replied. After the twodies went out, Elise opened her lunch box and got ready to eat her lunch. Some staff from the cubicles around her rose from their seats to go to the cafeteria too. They all looked at the woman who chose to eat alone at her desk. They had heard how Elise brought lunch from home to save money. With that information, they concluded that she was not the daughter of some high-ss family who entered thepany through nepotism. She must be poor if she wanted to save money that badly, that''s what they thought. "Hmmm... What is this?" Marc, who just left his office to go out and eat lunch, was attracted by the smell of familiar food and his nose led her to Elise''s desk. He sniffed the air and had to swallow his drool when he saw the food on her lunch box. Elise already opened the lid and he could see cooked veal and risotto on the separate containers. Marc immediately remembered the food Loriel cooked for dinner when he was invited toest week. They smelled sooooo good. The risotto tasted awesome too. Unfortunately, Marc didn''t have the chance to try the veal because Loriel subtly kicked him out of his penthouse. Marc left Loriel''s home feeling so hungry. And he didn''t initially realize this, but the fact that he didn''t get to try the veal after smelling the wonderful vor made him be obsessed with the dish, that he kept thinking about it when he smelled food. And now, Elise actually brought the exact same dishes as thest time? Marc almost drooled. He licked his lips and tried so hard to remove his eyes from the lunch box. "Is that your lunch?" he asked the woman. Elise nodded. "Yes. Do you want some?" She asked him the question innocently. Elise just thought it was nice to share. That was why she offered him to try her lunch. She had seen him licking his lips. Marc seemed so hungry. In addition to feeling sorry for Marc, Elise also remembered Loriel''s words to pay forward the kindness she received from other people. Well, today she received Loriel''s kindness by providing her with lunch in a brand new and cute lunch box. So, she felt that it was only right for her to pay it forward by offering Marc some of her food. "Ar-are you offering me your food?" Marc couldn''t believe his hearing. His heart never pounded for food before, but apparently, there was always the first time for everything. "Yes. If you want some, I can share it with you," Elise replied with a sweet smile. Marc felt ecstatic when he heard her offer. His face was beaming with happiness. Ahhh.. finally! He could know what the veal tasted like. He could finally stop thinking about it. "Ah.. please, thank you so much," Marc gushed. He waved to the office attendant and asked him to get him a te and cutlery from the pantry. Ten minutester, the CEO already sat next to Elise and enjoyed the heavenly dishes together. Gosh, he didn''t know his grand-uncle was so talented in cooking. Welp, maybe that''s one of the perks of being an immortal, he thought. Loriel must have perfected his cooking techniques for centuries. Marc had never tasted food this good before. Everything was perfect! All vors blended perfectly and they melted in his mouth. Elise chuckled when she saw him eat voraciously. "If you want, I can bring extra tomorrow." "You can bring extra?" Marc was so impressed. He could clearly see how special this woman to Loriel was, that his grand-uncle cooked for her a lot and made her bring lunch from home, specially made by the former king himself. Elise nodded. "Yes. I think so. If not, we can just share my food. I don''t eat a lot." She treated him casually because Elise feltfortable being around Marc as she would to a friend when they were not around other office staff. It was because Elise first got to know the man as Loriel''s friend and not her boss. Marc also didn''t treat her like his subordinate when they ate together just now. She liked that he seemed to really appreciate the food, unlike some people who looked at her way with a mocking expression just because she brought lunch from home. "No.. don''t. I will only eat your food if you have extra. Next time, no need to share yours," said Marc, albeit reluctantly. Even though he loved the food, Marc wouldn''t dare to take her share if she couldn''t bring extra. He could imagine Loriel''s wrath if he found out Marc took food from his favorite person in the world. "Ah, you don''t have to stand in ceremony with me," said Elise with a chuckle. "We have a lot of leftovers fromst night. Had I known that you would want to eat the food, I would have asked Loriel to give me more, so we wouldn''t waste food." "Well.. if you insist, I won''t say no, then," said Marc with a grin. He got up from his chair and took his te and Elise''s lunchbox. "Let me wash this and return it to you since you already shared your heavenly food with me." Before Elise could say no, the big boss already disappeared with her lunch box. Chapter 81 - Who Is Elise Actually? When Alex and the other girls returned from the cafeteria, they were shocked to find Marc came back from the pantry and gave Elise her lunch box back. It was already washed clean. Wait a minute. Did their boss wash the lunch box for this new girl? They all wondered in unison. "Thank you, Marc¡ªUhm, I mean, Boss¡­." said Elise with an awkward smile. She couldn''t stop Marc from taking her lunch box and washed it for her. Before she had a chance to say anything, Marc had disappeared with the hello kitty container. Finally, Elise could only let him be. She knew Marc must have done it to show his gratitude for the delicious food that she shared with him earlier, so she also felt bad about rejecting the gesture. Well.. she just didn''t expect Marc to like Loriel''s food that much. "Hm," said Marc with a t expression. He wiped his lips and turned around, leaving behind the female staff around Elise looking dumbfounded. He must keep his cool, he thought. He was, after all, still the boss of thispany. So, he pretended as if nothing happened and waltzed into his office nonchntly. "Did you¡­ eat lunch together with Mr. Sanderman?" Linda, the finance girl, asked Elise, looking really intrigued. "Uhm¡­. I did, yes," said Elise innocently. She didn''t expect they would all gasp in unison when they heard her response. The girls all stared at Elise like she just grew another head. They looked disbelief and jealous at the same time. How¡­ how could this new girl eat together with their big boss? And¡­ HE did the washing? Were Elise and their boss involved romantically outside of work? But¡­ if he was indeed dating her, why did Elise only have three sets of work outfits? They had noticed her for the past week. She only wore three sets of outfits that she mixed and matched every day. So, it seemed, she didn''t have many nice clothes for work in her closet that she had to recycle her outfit. A woman who was dating Marc Sanderman would never have to experience fashion cmity. She would be showered with free clothes from all the highest-end brands since their group had some luxury brands and upper-ss department stores under it. In fact, even by showing their employee ID cards, they could already get discounts if they shopped in those brands. So.. it was really hard to believe that Elise was in a romantic rtionship with Marc. It''s true that she was stunningly beautiful, but some of them had seen the type of women that Marc would date and dump all this time. Even though the man was very good at separating his private life from business, his curious staff had seen snapshots of him holding new girls every few weeks in the magazine or online entertainment news. Those women were usually very sexy and not afraid to show off their assets. Most of them were models, B-rated movie stars, or some famous influencers. Marc didn''t date C-rated, or worse, D-rated actresses because he said they were usually too clingy and only wanted his wealth or his influence to boost their careers. He also didn''t date A-listers because those stars had the power to create a scandal if he dumped them and they didn''t want to be dumped. Basically, B-listers were his go-to. Both parties would have fun and end the flings amicably when the time came. Those who would create scandals or sell his private life to the public would be instantly cklisted. One or two models had experienced this treatment. They couldn''t get gigs and had to retire from the industry. That''s who Marc Sanderman was. His staff knew this. So, unless they were some sort of star with a beautiful face and sexy appearance, they didn''t even dream they could attract their boss. However, today, he looked like he was sharing a wonderful moment, having lunch together from a lunch box with this new hire... Elise was not a model, nor an actress, even a socialite. She was very beautiful but looked very humble. There was nothing sexy about her pink cardigan, ck top, and purple pencil skirt. This was so confusing! "Why are you all looking at me that way?" Elise tilted her head and looked at the other women around her with a confused expression. It was Alex who finally responded, on behalf of the others. "Nothing. You can go back to work." She nced at the others and gave them a side-eye. Somehow, Alex believed that what happened between Elise and Marc was quite innocent. Maybe Marc was just starving and toozy to get his own food? Alex knew Elise was not Marc''s type. And a naive woman like Elise wouldn''t possibly be Marc''s mistress like many staff had wrongly assumed. Sometimes, the best exnation was the simplest one. She shoved the others to go back to their cubicles while she went back to her room and continued her work. Meanwhile, Elise didn''t think about the incident further. She made a note on her phone to bring more food tomorrow and shared it with Marc. Elise didn''t know that she became the talk of the office because of the lunch she had with Marc. It added fuel to the gossip that she entered thepany through nepotism. However, nobody could really guess who she was to Marc actually and if she really worked there because of nepotism. So many things just didn''t add up. For example, if she went in by nepotism, it meant she shoulde from an upper-ss and wealthy family. But why did she walk to work? She also only had a few sets of work clothes. Another thing to consider was, her job was an entry-level with a low-level sry. There was nothing special about that. If she was dating Marc, why would she need to work in the first ce? Marc could easily pay for all her needs. Plus, she didn''t look the part. Remember, Marc only date models and B-list actresses? Right. So... who was Elise actually? Chapter 82 - Watching The Moon "She walks to the office every day, right?" one staff started gossiping when she visited her friend''s cubicle with a mug of coffee. "What? She cannot afford to take the bus?" "Maybe she lives nearby?" "Only rich people live around this area," the first staff furrowed her brows. "People who live here wouldn''t need to work at all." "Hmm.. you are right. This is so mysterious." "Maybe we should follow her and solve this mystery," one girl suggested. Her friends looked at her with narrowed eyes. Stalking Elise seemed a bit too much just to satisfy their curiosity, didn''t it? "Let''s do it!" another one stood up and patted the first girl''s back. "I am dying to know." They exchanged nces and nodded. The others could see the determination in their eyes. "Fine. If you both have that much time in your hands, feel free to investigate. We will wait for your report... hehehe." Cindy and L, the names of the two girls who wanted to find out where Elise lived, kept their word. After office hourster that day, they sneaked behind Elise and followed her to see where she lived. s! It was Elise''s schedule to go to her baking ss. She took the bus with the help of Google Maps on her phone and went to see Chef Lucy, or Lucius. The two women who were following her with a taxi were surprised to see Elise get off in front of a building with a big and fancy bakery downstairs. "Do you think she stopped by to buy cakes?" L turned to Cindy to ask her opinion. Cindy shrugged. "I don''t know." "Let''s wait." They entered the bakery, pretending to buy some pastries. After half an hour, they still didn''t see Elisee out and the two girls became more and more confused. "Maybe she lives here?" L asked Cindy. None of them knew the answer. Their investigation met a dead-end. Cindy finally decided to go home and continued stalking Elise the next day. *** "Hello, Loriel," Elise called Loriel when she entered the penthouse. As she didn''t hear any response, Elise went around to see if Loriel was outside. She didn''t find him in the library. He was also not in the kitchen. Maybe he was in his bedroom? Or... could it be that he was out? Yeah.. that''s a possibility. He must have a life outside of this penthouse, Elise thought to herself. She decided to ce her bag on the couch and walked outside to see the moon. When she left the baking course, she could see such a beautiful full moon in the sky and decided to enjoy it when she arrived home. She entered the garden through the side door and looked up to the night sky and watched the enchanting moon. She didn''t realize Loriel was sitting on the sun chair to her left in his boardshorts after taking a dip in the swimming pool earlier. The man was enjoying the moon too with a ss of wine in his hand. When he heard her footsteps entering the garden, he knew Elise had arrived. He was about to greet her, but he changed his mind when he saw her smile and look up to the sky. She was so beautiful and mesmerizing. Unknowingly, tears fell down to his cheeks as he watched his dear wife admire the moon. This was how he remembered the woman he loved. Elise could always see beauty in every little thing. It was very easy to please her. She also made mundane things feel interesting. Like watching the moon. Gosh... he missed her so badly. Now, Loriel felt greedy. Yes, he already found her, after waiting for so damn long. But he couldn''t treat her as his wife because she didn''t remember him. She felt so near, yet so far. Elise was here with him, but she was basically a stranger until a few days ago. And now, they were... friends? Loriel really wanted to kiss her and hug her to his heart''s content. He wanted to make love to her. He wanted to confess his love a thousand times, and a thousand more. He could only keep those desires to himself. Elise smiled happily when she saw the moon. It was such a beautiful night, she thought. After she was satisfied, she decided to go back in. It was almost dinner time. She better made dinner, so when Loriel returned home he could eat a hot meal. She was grateful for the inte because secretly she could learn how to turn on the stove and many other kitchen appliances without asking Loriel. Horatio helped her a lot too. "Okay.. time to cook," Elise muttered to herself as she turned around and wanted to enter the penthouse. Her movement halted when she saw Loriel was sitting on the sun chair only several meters away from her. "You...? How long have you been there?" Loriel smiled sweetly. "Uhm... an hour?" "What? Why didn''t I see you?" Elise pressed her lips in surprise. Gosh.. did Loriel see her admiring the moon? He must think she was weird, right? "Well, you were so focused on watching the moon. You didn''t care about your surroundings," Lorielmented. He got up and walked toward Elise. "How was your day?" Right at that moment, Elise suddenly realized that Loriel was only wearing boardshorts. It looked like he was swimming before he decided to rx on the sun chair. Elise didn''t know why he would swim at night. especially on an autumn night like this. Didn''t he feel cold? And now she couldn''t help but stare at his beautiful physique. This was her first time seeing a man wearing so little garment on his body. Loriel had all his muscles in the right ces. His body was slightly buffed with a chiseled chest and toned arms. There was something about his appearance that made Elise gulp. This man was so sexy, she thought. His slightly damp hair and the sweet smile on his devilishly handsome face made him look so alluring. Wait.. was alluring even the right word to describe a man? Elise really didn''t know. Loriel smiled yfully when he saw her reaction. Aha. Apparently, Elise liked what she saw. Chapter 83 - Elise Wants To Cook Dinner "M-my day¡­ was good," said Elise. She looked away, didn''t dare to stare at the delicious hotness before her. "How was yours? What were you doing?" Loriel spent his day discussing new yarns with Horatio and asked him to buy some from the online marketce. He nned to knit a sweater and scarf for Elise because winter wasing. They both agreed purple would be a nice color for her sweater and light grey would be nice for a scarf. "Oh, I was talking to my hedge fund manager. We were discussing some investment stuff," he said nonchntly. "Do you want to have dinner?" Elise nodded. "Yes. I was just about to head to the kitchen and cook something." Loriel was interested in hearing Elise wanted to cook dinner for them. Could she cook? He didn''t remember she could do it in their past life. She was raised in a pce with a butler and countless servants who could do all the work. After she married him, he also provided her with maids and servants to take care of all her needs. Elise never needed to lift a finger. She did insist to take care of the garden, together with the royal gardener, but that was more like a hobby, instead of chores. So, Loriel let her. "Then, I am hungry," said Loriel. "Let''s eat." He reached out his hand and Elise automatically held it. They walked together holding hands inside. The man was happy to see Elise feltfortable enough with him to hold his hand, as she would to a good friend. There was a certain naivety on her that allowed her to trust people and act friendly. Loriel thought she reminded him of an innocent child who always saw the world as a good ce and thought people were out to help each other. He, on the other hand, believed the opposite. However, he loved that Elise had this childlike view of the world. It was pure and that was just who she was. "What do you want to make?" Loriel asked Elise as he apanied her to the kitchen. The woman looked at him and coughed. "Are you not going to change?" Loriel was still wearing only his boardshorts, didn''t seem to intend to shower and change. The man shrugged. "No. Should I?" Elise shook her head. "No... I was just asking." "Good evening, Madame. What would you like to have for dinner?" Horatio greeted Elise with his friendly voice. Elise thought she could make chicken soup. It should be easy, right? While on break at work today, she was pondering about her need to learn cooking. It would be much cheaper to cook food for day-to-day consumption than to buy from outside. She also didn''t want to let Loriel do all the cooking all the time. She thought there woulde a time when she had to be independent, get her own ce and cook her own food. So, it was better to start learning how to do it. While taking the bus to her baking ss earlier, Elise checked online for simple dishes she could make for their dinner, and her choice fell on chicken soup. "I would like to make chicken soup. Do we have the ingredients?" she asked Horatio. The digital butler cleared his throat and replied. "Of course. We are always stocked with the best organic ingredients." The big fridge doors swung opened and Elise could see certainpartments were lit up to show her where the ingredients she needed were stored. She gasped in glee at the wonderful sight. Truly, Loriel''s home was equipped with the most advanced technology that made life seemed like a walk in the park. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Loriel asked her. The man reached out to the top shelf and got two aprons. Ahh.. he should get Elise her own aprons for next time, he thought. The ones he had right now were all for his size. He would check the marketce for cute aprons tomorrow while she was at work. "Sorry, this is too big for you," he said. "But, this will make do for now. I don''t want you to ruin your work clothes." He remembered she only had a few sets of work outfits. The man massaged his temple as he realized Elise still had not used her gift cards to purchase more items. What good would it do if she only kept the gift cards and not used them to buy more clothes? "Oh.. this is so neat!" Elise pped excitedly. "You are right. I should wear an apron." "Here, let me help you put it on," said Loriel. He turned around and walked behind Elise to help her tie the apron''s strings. He did it so innocently that Elise didn''t feel the need to say no. "Thank you! Now, I am ready to cook," said Elise looking very excited. The apron was too big for her and she looked like she was drowned in it, but she didn''t care. The girl opened up her phone screen and check the chicken soup recipe she saw online earlier. While reading the name of the ingredients, she took them one by one from the fridge. Loriel grinned when he saw her getting busy in the kitchen. Gosh.. she was so cute! Her oversized apron made her look even cuter. He really, really wanted to kiss her. "I will cut the chicken," the man offered after he pinched himself to suppress his desire to kiss her. "Oh, I can do that," said Elise. "You have cooked for us so many times. I think it''s my turn now." "Ahaha.. okay," Loriel smiled. "Then, what can I help?" Elise looked around and, finally, her gazended on the half-empty wine bottle on the kitchen counter. Loriel opened a bottle tonight after swimming and he sat with a ss of wine to chill out. "Maybe you can just pour me wine and talk to me about your day. What do you think?" she asked. "That''s what you usually told me to do while you were cooking." "I can do that," said Loriel. He took out two wine sses and pour wine for them. He handed one ss to Elise which the girl epted happily. He did as she asked withoutining. If Elise wanted him to just sit by the kitchen counter looking handsome with a ss of wine in his hand, he would dly do it. Her wish was hismand. Chapter 84 - Elises Cooking He watched her cook in glee. The man was so engrossed in watching her cooking that he forgot to sip his wine. Elise cut the chicken into small pieces and washed them. Her movement was awkward at first, but then she became more confident. Several times, Loriel winced his forehead, worried that she would hurt herself, but he managed to hold back from taking over the cooking. He must let Elise do what she wanted to do. If he always did things for her, treated her like a helpless child, she would feel smothered and he didn''t want that. So, sometimes he held his breath, and sometimes he looked away when Elise almost cut her fingers. Luckily, it didn''t happen. "Pour some salt and spring onion slices," she muttered while reading the instruction on her phone screen. The soup was almost done and they could smell it in the air. "What''s for the starter?" Loriel asked when he saw Elise turned off the stove. He just realized that it looked like soup was the only thing they would eat for dinner. Elise pressed her lips in surprise. "Oh, you are right! I haven''t prepared any..." She was too busy getting the soup ready that she didn''t remember to make other dishes. Loriel just smiled when he saw her reaction. He went to the fridge and took out some big red tomatoes, mozzare cheese, basil, and some dried oregano. "I can make Caprese sd for us," he said reassuringly. The man sliced the tomatoes and ced them nicely on a tray. Then he sliced mozzare cheese and put it on top of the tomato slices, added basil leaves, sprinkled some dried oregano, a tiny bit of salt and pepper, and.. vo! He gave one to Elise. "Try this." Elise took the Caprese sd and ate it. Her face instantly lit up and she smiled happily. "This is so delicious!" she gushed. "And you made them in less than five minutes! That''s amazing!" Loriel was ted by herpliment. "Italian food is the best. As long as we have fresh ingredients, we can make delicious dishes using very simple recipes. In my opinion, less is more." Elise looked at Loriel in awe as the man exined about several simple dishes he liked. This man reminded her of her baking teacher, Chef Lucy, when he was passionately exining stuff about pastries. "You told me you will teach me how to cook," Elise said. "I am so excited to learn." "We can do it this weekend if you want," said Loriel. "I can prepare the list of simple dishes you can make." "I would love that!" "All right. Now, let''s have dinner." Loriel winked and brought the tray of Caprese sd to the dining table, together with the wine bottle. He returned to get tes, cutlery, and sses for them. Ten minutester, they were already sitting at the dining table, facing their dinner. They had bread, Caprese Sd, sliced fruits that Loriel took from the fridge, and chicken soup. "Bon appetit," Loriel said after he scooped the soup into two bowls and gave one to Elise. "Thank you." Elise didn''t dare to look at Loriel when she epted her soup because the man already took off his apron but he still had not changed his boardshorts into shirts and pants like usual. She kept wondering why the man didn''t feel cold, being shirtless at this hour. She didn''tin though, because his chiseled physique was a feast to her eyes, a bonus to this lovely dinner they were having. After he had enough of the sd, Loriel tasted the soup in his bowl. He was curious to know how Elise fared in cooking. The man winced. It looked like Elise sprinkled the salt a little bit too much. However, he kept his cool and kept eating. "What do you think?" Elise asked Loriel''s opinion on her cooking when she saw the man had started eating the soup. "Do you like it?" The soup is horrible, Loriel said these words only in his mind. With his lips, he replied excitedly, "I love it!" "Oh... that''s a relief," Elise''s eyes lit up in excitement and pride. She was happy she could contribute to their dinner from now on. She was determined to practice some more, so her cooking skills could be improved. Loriel quickly finished his bowl of soup and added another big scoop to his empty bowl. Elise was so delighted to see the man enjoy her cooking voraciously. She actually thought the taste was bad. It was a bit salty. However, seeing how much Loriel liked eating it, unconsciously her mind thought the soup must be good. "Ahh... I am full," Loriel stretched his body and grinned. "Such a good dinner." "If you like it so much, I can make it again tomorrow," said Elise sheepishly. "I''d love that," Loriel responded. "However, let''s try something new so we can expand our ptes." "Ah, okay." "Let''s talk about the menu tomorrow. I would love to share with you my favorite recipes." "That will be wonderful, thank you!" After dinner was over, they chilled out a little bit with wine in their hands. Elise shared how her day went, and Loriel lied about how he was hard at work, talking with his financial and asset manager on trying to recover his wealth. "Basically, I will be rich again," he exined to Elise. "Oh.. that''s wonderful," said Elise. "I am happy for you." "Ahaha.. thank you." Loriel was impressed by himself for being able to utter lies so easily. He finished his wine and got up. "I will shower and get changed. What about you?" Elise also hadn''t changed her work attire into a morefortable outfit. She thought taking a bath after dinner sounded like a good idea. Well, dinner actually ended half an hour ago. This was a perfect time to rx her muscle in a nice warm bath and then got ready to sleep. She also got up. "I will take a bath and sleep," Elise said. "Good night. Loriel." Uff... Loriel gulped when he heard her response. Why did she have to mention that she wanted to take a bath? Now, all he could think about was her sexy naked body... sitting in the bathtub, immersed in the sweet-smelling foamy bathwater. As Elise walked to her room, Loriel opened a new bottle of red wine and poured himself a big ss of wine. He downed it in frustration. Chapter 85 - Its Payday! Elise woke up early, with the intention of preparing breakfast for them before Loriel woke up. But apparently, he still beat her to it. When she entered the kitchen, she already smelled the delicious smell. Ahh.. did Loriel wake up early again? "Good morning," she greeted him. "What time did you wake up?" Loriel didn''t sleep. Actually¡­ he couldn''t sleep. It was so hard to get a wink of sleep when he was longing to make love to his wife who was sleeping not too far away from him, but he couldn''t touch her. So¡­ after fighting blue balls for hours, he finally went out of his room to exercise in his private gym and break some sweat. Then, when morning came, he decided to prepare breakfast for them. "Oh.. not too early," he lied so easily. "I did a simple workout and ended up feeling hungry. So, I made breakfast." "I see..." Elise was still wearing her nightgown and a robe. She walked to Loriel''s side and remove her robe and then took an apron from the kitchen counter. "Can I help with anything?" Loriel wanted to say no, but Elise already put on the apron. Finally, he gave her a simple task to make her feel like she contributed. "You can make us tea," he said with a smile. "You know where the tea is, right?" "Yeah, I do." She happily made tea for them. This time, because she already knew how the kitchen worked, Elise didn''t use her power to make them tea. She wasn''t sure if Loriel saw what she did back then, but she didn''t want to take any risks now. What if Loriel thought she was a freak when he clearly saw her power? He had been so kind to Elise. She didn''t want their friendship to be ruined just because she was not ''normal''. At least by Tessa''s and her family''s standards. Loriel finished preparing the breakfast in no time and soon they were sitting at the dining table, facing a delicious meal. "Thank you for breakfast," said Elise. She got up to get ready for work. She still needed to take a quick shower and change. "No problem," said Loriel. "Oh, too bad we don''t have leftovers fromst night''s dinner. So, you cannot bring your lunch box." "Ah, that''s fine. I can eat lunch in the cafeteria," said Elise. "Okay then." Loriel nodded. He actually preferred it if Elise ate his food for lunch, butst night he had let her do the cooking and the soup she made was awful. He couldn''t possibly let her bring it for her lunch today. Hmm... he could just ask Marc to take care of today''s lunch. "Bye, Loriel. See youter after work," said Elise when she passed by Loriel in the living room, ready to leave for the office. The man looked up from his book and nodded with a smile. "Bye, Elise." Pot and Pebble came out out of nowhere and stopped her. Elise chuckled and got down to pet both of them before she finally continued her journey. *** By lunchtime, the staff in Sanderman Group head office was surprised by an announcement made by the HR that special for that day, they would enjoy a five-star buffet provided by the best catering team from St. Laurent Hotel New York''s main restaurant. "I think it''s the birthday of thepany''s founder or something," some girls talked among themselves. "Yeah, but this never happened before." "Ah.. who cares what is this for. I am just so happy we can eat for free such good food from the best restaurant in the city." "What a beautiful day! Not only do we get to eat for free, but we will also get our sry today," another girl gushed. "You are right! Today is payday!! I am soooo excited!" Elise felt lucky that she didn''t bring her lunch box today. If Loriel prepared food for her, she would feel bad about taking the free food provided by thepany. So, in the end, it all turned out for the better. Judging from her colleague''s enthusiasm, it looked like the lunch provided by thepany today was quite special. She wanted to try. Wait a minute. Did they just mention... payday? Elise became excited too. Did this mean, she would also get her sry? But she had only worked for ten days. Was she eligible for sry? Didn''t people need to work the full month to get paid? She turned to Alex and voiced her concern. "Oh.. of course, you will get paid," Alex reassured her. "Your sry will be pro-rated." "Pro-rated?" Alex batted her eyes and looked at Elise attentively. There were so many things that she couldn''tprehend about Elise. This woman was beautiful and smart, but some little things about her were a bit... off. How could she not understand the simple fact that she would get her sry even though she had not worked for one month? As this was the end of the month, all staff would get their payment. If staff had not worked for a month, that means their sry would be divided by the total workdays of the month and then multiplied by the number of days she actually worked. However, considering Marc paid so much attention to Elise and had explicitly told Alex to take care of the girl, Alex tried to brush off her suspicions. She kept telling herself that it was none of her business. It was none of her business. It was none of... "Yes, you will get paid for the number of days you have worked. A bank ount was set up under your name on the day you were hired. You can check the bnce after work today," Alex exined patiently. "Ah.. that''s wonderful! Thank you for exining it to me. I understand now." Elise was so excited. If she really got money today, she would use it to buy Loriel a nice dinner. The man had been so kind to her. Taking him to eat out was the least she could do since she sucked at cooking. Chapter 86 - Elise Wants To Treat Loriel Dinner The two of them were in the penthouse when Elise suddenly went up to Loriel. Elise was dressed in a fine dress that she had gotten from Bloomingrose back then. Her face was beaming with happiness. Loriel on the other hand was on the sofa, rxing. He was thinking about what to have for dinner when Elise suddenly graced him with her presence. "Ah, Elise? Are you going somewhere?" Loriel furrowed his brows. He couldn''t remember anypany dinners that Elise needed to attend to unless Marc failed to inform him. It was impossible that this attire was suited for her baking course either. "I want to take you out for dinner, Loriel," Elise said. She stared up at the surprised face of Loriel and smiled. The expression of surprise on Loriel''s face as he was caught off guard by her suggestion was rare. "I mean yes, but why?" Loriel asked. He thought Elise enjoyed staying in the penthouse after work and baking sses. It had been that way for the past weeks that they had lived together. This was something that brought Loriel great pleasure. So why the sudden change in heart? "I just got my pay today," she giggled. The beautiful woman looked so happy and her expression was adorable that Loriel just wanted to pich her cheeks and kissed her. "Oh, congrattions! You finally get the results of your hard work." "Thank you," said Elise. She smiled sheepishly and finally exined her n. "Since you have been so kind to me, I want to treat you to dinner. I wish I can cook as well as you do, but I can''t. So, I decided to take you to eat somewhere nice and enjoy good food." She had tasted the food from St. Laurent Hotel and liked it very much. So, she thought she could take Loriel to eat at their restaurant. Alex helped her make reservation earlier for tonight. It was only something that could be done using Marc Sanderman''s connection which Alex had control over. Other people would need to make a reservation for weeks in advance to be able to dine in their fancy three-starred Michelin restaurant. "Oh¡­ you don''t have to. I love doing things for you," said Loriel. He didn''t want Elise to waste her hard-earned money. Besides, didn''t she know¡­.? He hated people and the crowd. Eating in a restaurant would mean sharing his space with many strangers who would also eat at the same establishment. Even in a fancy ce, there would be way too many people to his liking. He sometimes ate in some small ces, like Haruka Ramen Shop, only because he liked the food, and he didn''t have to care about dining alone. Since he had Elise with him, he actually wanted to always have meals with her in thefort of their own home. "Please don''t say no. This is the least that I can do for you." Elise told him. She wore a cute pout on her face. "I want to treat you to dinner and you can''t say no. I already booked us a table in a fancy restaurant anyway." "Where did you book a table for us?" Loriel finally asked Elise. "My boss helped me with the reservation. It''s the Blue Orchid restauant," the girl replied. Loriel knew that restaurant. It was one of the bests in New York. This means Elise was going all out. He didn''t have the heart to say no. Finally, the man chuckled. "Then there doesn''t seem to be any choice then, is there?" "Nope. You''reing with me." "Then I will," Loriel said. Well, he would do anything for Elise. Even though he hated eating outside with her, he didn''tin. Loriel got to his feet and nced at his outfit. "Should I wear something more formal to match you?" Elise looked at him from head to toe. "You always wear formal business wear, and I don''t think you''d want to change to a suit and tie now, do you?" "If you wish. But I think this much is fine," Loriel said. Loriel always wore something rxed and formal around Elise to impress her. Elise was happy and she couldn''t help but grab on to Loriel''s arm. She giggled and said, "Then let''s go. Let me just pull up the address on GoogleMaps then we''ll be there soon." Elise pulled out her phone and tapped the screen, bringing up the directions. Loriel found himself staring at this beautiful and bright woman. It was about just half a month and yet he could see the change in her. Elise was now more confident in her actions. She didn''t hesitate to make a move on Loriel and invite him out. She looked more rxed and happy in her own skin and nothing could make him happier than to see her happy. "You''re very beautiful," Loriel said. He couldn''t help but say it. "Huh?" Elise blinked and looked at him. She pursed her lips and then batted her eyes at him. "Well, I did dress up for the asion so I guess you can say that. Thank you, Loriel." In five minutes, the two of them then left the penthouse together. It was far easier for Elise to navigate in NYC now and they were able to actually get there in a short amount of time. The penthouse Loriel stayed in was situated in one of the mostplete areas of the city. It had a little bit of everything. Once the two of them arrived at the restaurant, the maitre d'' greeted them with a smile. "Ah, Ms. Elise. We''ve been expecting you. Please follow me." Elise smiled and nodded. She pulled Loriel along with her and they went to their table which was situated near the window. The restaurant that Elise booked was a very posh one and Loriel was wondering if Elise knew the prices of food in this establishment. Did she even have enough money? She had just worked for slightly over ten days. So, the pro-rated sry she received must be meager. However, he decided to let her do whatever she wanted andter he could take care of the bills if needed. Everything was perfect and Loriel couldn''t have asked for anything more. When one allowed somebody the freedom to do as they wished, it seemed like the person blossomed and grew wonderfully. Elise thanked the maitre d'' before the man left. The maitre d'' told them that the waiter will be there to assist them soon. Elise smiled and nodded. "Thank you," she said politely. She then turned to Loriel and smiled. "So, what would you like to eat? "What I''d like to eat? Hmm..." Loriel rubbed his chin. The waiter soon arrived and handed them the menu. Loriel took one and started looking for a perfect date dish. Meanwhile, Elise couldn''t help but smile when she noticed that a vast majority of the avable dishes were Italian. Elise remembered Loriel told her that Italian was the best cuisine. "How about some aperitivo then?" Elise nced at the waiter and surprised them with her knowledge. She wasn''t even looking at the menu. "What kind, Miss?" "Ah, maybe a ssic Aperol Spritz? Hmm, something to nibble on before dinner would be Whipped Ricotta Crostini? Are you fine with that, Loriel?" Elise asked him. "Sounds perfect." Loriel told her with a smile. Chapter 87 - The Lovely Dinner Loriel was impressed to see Elise tried to learn more about Italian food before she took him here. She not only chose a ce with Italian dishes, but she also decided to follow the dinner customs of Northern Italy. Aperitivo came from the Latin verb "aperire," and it was something that meant "to open." It was the idea of opening your tastebuds to new vors and cuisines before diving into dinner. Loriel thought that this was going to be the perfect dinner with Elise. He was also happy because finally, he could show off hisnguage fluency. "What do you want to order?" he asked Elise with a smile. The girl pointed at several dishes, from the starter, appetizer, side dish, main dish, and dessert. Loriel nodded and turned to the waiter. He repeated Elise''s order in his perfect Italian. The waiter looked dumbfounded. He was American and didn''t speak Italian. So, he was taken aback by this guest''s Italian. Once or twice a month they would have Italian guests in their establishments, but even those people didn''t order in Italian because they could quickly see that the waiters were not Italians and wouldn''t understand them anyway. Once, the chef came out to greet two Italian guests, and spoke Italian with them, because the couple was actually very famous movie stars. But this man here, albeit very handsome, wasn''t a movie star. Should he call his chef and let him know there was an obnoxious Italian in their restaurant who insisted on using Italian to order food, even though the menu was in English? "Pardon?" the waiter finally asked Loriel to repeat what he said in English. "I am very sorry, Sir. I don''t speak Italian." Loriel could only roll his eyes and scoffed. He couldn''t help it. He wanted to impress Elise, but this fool didn''t even speak Italian, working in this fancy Italian restaurant. "You are amazing," Elise gushed. "You speak thenguage that even the waiters don''t speak." Loriel''s face beamed again. He smiled and shrugged. "Ah, this is nothing. I learned it when I lived in Tuscany for several years." In fact, he had a nice castle in Tuscany that he still visited several times a year. The region was one of his favorites in the world. He couldn''t wait to bring Elise there and show off his perfect Italian to real Italian farmers as they visited the vineyards and mamma''s and nonna''s home restaurants. Those older women loved talking to him and they were all so happy when they heard him speak theirnguage. "You are very interesting," Elise said, "You speak Japanese, and now Italian too? Wow.. what othernguages do you know?" Loriel puffed up his chest when he heard her question. "I speak 70nguages fluently and know around 100 local dialects." The waiter was now staring at Loriel in awe. Wow.. no wonder this man spoke Italian, he thought. Apparently, he knew so manynguages. "That is amazing! How did you learn all that? It must take years and years to learn a newnguage for regr people. You are still very young, yet you already speak so manynguages¡­" said Elise. "You must be a genius." Loriel huped when he heard herpliment. Well... if only Elise knew that he was not as young as she thought he was. "Thank you," he said. To change the topic, he turned to the waiter and repeated their order in English. The waiter breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded to take their order and came inside to get their food. He came back five minutester with their wine and starter. Loriel had ordered the wine pairing for each dish and the waiter came with their orders one by one with meticulous precision. "The food is good," Lorielmented. "Not as good as yours," said Elise, much to the man''s delight. "But I hope you like it." "I do," said the man. "Thank you for taking me to dinner. This is really nice." "Yeah, I figured, it is nice to eat out from time to time. We spent way too much time inside. I mean¡­ now I can already earn some money, I want to treat you." Loriel was suddenly in a panic when he heard Elise said they spent too much time inside the penthouse. Did she not like it? Did she want them to go out more? Did she like ces like this? Should he take her out to eat too? He hated public ces and meeting a lot of people. Should he start liking them now? "What''s the matter?" Elise asked Loriel. She had seen the man''s face paled. "Are you unwell?" The man downed his wine and motioned the waiter for a refill. Then, he shook his head. "No. I am fine." Elise thought Loriel was quite mysterious but she didn''t probe him further. She thought he would share with her if he felt the need. They both enjoyed dinner with a light chat over food and wine. Sometimes, Loriel would exin the dish, where it originally came from, and the many different variations of the recipe. He was enjoying their dinner so much and slowly changed his mind about going to public ces to eat with Elise. This was not too bad, he thought. As long as he was with her, even hell sounded like an amazing ce. There were always things that would ruin one''s evening if one allowed them to. Sometimes little idents urred when a waiter clumsily spilled their drink or served the wrong dish. Maybe it was a minor disagreement or something else came up that made dinner with loved ones estranged. And yet Loriel never imagined that his lovely dinner with Elise would be ruined because of some other people who could have been very much called the scum of the earth. It was when those two arrived. Loriel and Elise were enjoying their main dishes when two new guests arrived in the restaurant. They were a couple, and they instantly caught Loriel''s attention. Their eyes were focused on Elise and the two immediately started to head toward their table and ignored the maitre''d that was asking about their reservation. Loriel nced at his wife who was still happily tasting their light meal. "Elise, I think¡ª" "Madeline!" the woman shouted and drowned out Loriel''s voice. "You''re here!" The two instantly came up to their table without any hint of hesitation. Elise froze up in her seat at the sound of Tessa''s voice. She nced up and saw that it was her cousin Tessa and her boyfriend, Julian. Something cold went down Elise''s spine at the sight of the two of them. Chapter 88 - Tessa And Julian What were the two of them doing here? Elise thought she escaped Tessa back then at Bloomingrose so why was the woman here? This was only a mere chance, wasn''t it? "We didn''t expect to see you here, I''m so d we found you," Tessa said. "Why did you run away from home, Madeleine? You know that your father is sick and yet you''re here causing trouble for the family." "That''s not..." Elise stammered for a moment. It was as if the words were caught in her throat. A patronizing gaze was present in Tessa''s eyes. On her face was an unkind smile. "I also didn''t realize that you''d stoop so low to this. But I''m d you''re doing well, cousin." It was there that Julian nced briefly at Loriel. "Who is this man you''re with? It pains me as your fiance to know that you ran off to NYC to be with other men." Julian said, ring at Loriel but then clicking his tongue at Elise. The two of them acted like Elise was a sinful woman that deserved to be scorned. Already there were some hushed staresing from the other dining guests and even the maitre ''d seemed to have given up in trying to lead the couple back to their table. Loriel red back at the man and didn''t bother to hide his distaste for him. For the two of them at once. "The two of you have--" And yet none of it mattered. Loriel''s words didn''t matter here to Elise or to anyone else because Elise shakily stood up on her feet. Elise nced at Loriel with sad eyes, tears slightly pricking them as she mouthed the word sorry and then pushed back Tessa and Julian. Before the two of them could grab her, Elise ran away from the restaurant and into the streets. "Hey¡­! Elise, wait for me!!" Loriel immediately chased after Elise. Actually, he really wanted to stay and punch these two pests, but his main priority was Elise''s wellbeing. When the maitre''d met him at the door, Loriel quickly gave him his card. "I''ll pay. Just use this card. I need to chase my date." The maitre''d held Loriel''s ck card in his hand, looking very impressed. He knew exactly what type of card he was holding now. It was none other than the exclusive billionaire club members card. Meaning, only less than 200 people in the world right now owned this card, they had to prove their worth in billions of dors, before they could be eligible for it. Whaaa¡­ he didn''t expect his restaurant would be visited by one of the billionaires on that list. He was wondering who was Loriel among those high rollers. Ah, he decided to look the man upter. Loriel was worried about Elise and wanted to make sure that she was okay. He didn''t want her to be alone at a moment like this. Loriel soon found Elise in one of the alleyways of the city. Elise was leaning on the wall and she was breathing heavily. There were tear marks on her face "Elise, are you okay?" Loriel asked her. He was right beside her, waiting for her to say something back. Elise didn''t answer immediately and she took a moment to breathe. Loriel simply held her shoulder. As much as he wanted to pull her into his arms, Loriel knew that she might have thought of him as a friend now, but not close enough for physical affection. Elise finally turned to face Loriel. The sight on her face made Loriel''s heart tighten. "I''m sorry, it''s all my fault." Elise sighed and wiped her tears away. "I shouldn''t have brought you here. I...I''m sorry." Elise gazed back down at the streets. She couldn''t look at him right now. Elise felt guilty about what happened. It was supposed to be a wonderful dinner between the two of them, but somehow she was so unlucky that it was ruined by Tessa and Julian. Loriel was quick to grab her hand. He held it tightly and Elise couldn''t look at him. "It''s not your fault," Loriel said. "But it is!" Elise insisted. "They wouldn''t havee there and humiliated us if I wasn''t there with you. All of those people were staring at us. It must be so embarrassing for you." "You didn''t do anything wrong. You didn''t do anything at all." Loriel told her. "I''m the one that should be sorry." He continued. "I''m here for you, okay? I''m here for you." Elise turned to look at him. Elise had tears in her eyes. "I didn''t even tell you the entire truth of who I am. Did you hear them call me Madeline? That''s my real name too and yet you never questioned it at all." "Whether it''s Elise or Madeline, I don''t care at all. You introduced yourself to me as Elise and that''s who you are to me. I know you Elise and you''re not the person that they im you to be. I trust you." Loriel said, holding her hands. Elise stared at their hands for a moment and then nced at Loriel. "Thank you," she said. Elise had never felt so safe and sofortable with someone as she was with Loriel. And that was the truth. The two of them didn''t say anything else and they continued to stare at each other. Elise''s eyes were filled with tears and made Loriel''s heart ache for her. Loriel wanted to say that he loved her. He wanted to say it a million times. But he knew that the timing was all wrong. Loriel had to wait for the perfect moment and he knew that it woulde. Loriel had a feeling that it woulde soon. "I don''t understand why they came and found me," Elise said, turning her attention back to the streets. "But... I think you deserve to know the truth." "Don''t force yourself if you''re not feeling ready yet," Loriel said, albeit his heart was already filling up with anticipation. Elise was finally opening up to him. Chapter 89 - Elises Story (1) Loriel looked around the alleyway and then back at Elise. He held her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "How about we go back to the penthouse first? This is no ce for a proper conversation." "A-aah, okay," Elise said. "Yeah.. you are right." Loriel smiled. "If you still feelfortable telling me once you''ve rested a bit, then I''ll listen to you." "Thank you," Elise muttered. She was not really scared of Tessa and Julian, but she was worried she wouldn''t be able to control herself¡­ like thest time. They were in a public ce just now. People would see what happened and freak out if she lost control and hurt Tessa. So, Elise was d Loriel left the restaurant and followed her. "Wait¡­ what about the bill?" she asked worriedly. "We have to go back and settle the bill first." "No, it''s okay. I already gave them my card." Loriel calmed her down. "Oh, you mean, you asked them to call you to pick up the money?" The handsome man chuckled. She honestly thought he gave them his business card? "Yes, something like that," he lied. "Well... I should have given them my card. I have one too," said Elise. She took out her business card given to her by Alex yesterday. Now that she was a staff in Sanderman Group, she was also given business cards. "Let''s not go back there," said Loriel. He took the girl''s hand walked with her to the taxi stand. "Let''s go home. You can talk or not, up to you." Elise obeyed and followed him. Loriel and Elise then soon headed back to the penthouse. The lights quickly opened to the penthouse and the two of them stepped inside. Loriel led her to the couches to take a seat before he stood up. "We weren''t able to dine properly at the restaurant when those two came in. Would you like something, Elise? I can prepare something quick for us to eat." Loriel offered her. Elise shook her head. "N-no, I''m not really feeling hungry." "Alright, I''ll get us a drink then, if you''d like?" Loriel asked gently. "Maybe... hot chocte again?" Elise said shyly. It was the first drink that the two of them shared when Elise first came into this apartment and it was aforting one. "With tiny marshmallows?" Loriel asked. "With tiny marshmallows." Loriel soon whipped up the drinks for the two of them and then returned to Elise''s side. Unlike thest time, Loriel finally sat down beside her and offered the mug to Elise. Elise epted the drink and thanked him. She immediately took a sip as the two of them stayed silent for a while. It was as if the two of them were lost in their own thoughts. Loriel allowed her to rx for a while and gave her enough time to feelfortable. As much as he wanted to stay back at the restaurant and confront those two idiots, Loriel prioritized Elise''s safety and well-being first. Elise looked up to Loriel''s face and steadied her breathing. It felt like thest month was a chance for Elise to live a brand new life away from all the troubles she had back at her home. All of the memories, good and bad, yed in her mind. From her meeting Loriel outside of the cafe, their time together in Central Park, and to when Elise started working as Alex''s assistant to even her training under Chef Lucy. Even though Elise faced certain difficulties when she first started out working at Marc''spany and it felt like Alex didn''t quite like her at first, things were mostly good. Somehow, even the event of the other employees disliking her and thinking she wasn''t fit for thepany now seemed silly in the light of all these precious events that happened for thest weeks. It was as if Madeline York never existed at all and there was only Elise. And yet her past all came back to her. Elise sighed softly. She couldn''t keep running away like this, couldn''t she? As much as she wanted to keep herself happy and content, Elise couldn''t bring down Loriel with her due to her circumstances. After one final gulp, Elise finally talked to Loriel and exined the situation surrounding her and her family. Loriel deserved this much. "My real name is Madeline York¡­ and I think you''re familiar with the news surrounding my family." Loriel shook his head. "No, I am sorry. I don''t follow the news." "Oh¡­ is that true?" Somehow, Elise felt so d that this man didn''t know who she was from the news. People could write nasty things and deviate from the truth. "Yeah. Sorry.. should I know about who Madeline York is?" Loriel asked her. Elise bit her lip, trying to think about how much should she tell this man. They had only known each other for two weeks, but it seemed she had been feeling sofortable around him like they had known each other for a long time. "Well.. if you read the news, you will find articles about me missing in Spain, when I was 5 years old." Elise took a deep breath and slowly recounted what happened to her and how she ended up being back with the York family. "My parents were so devastated, but they never stopped looking for me. Until one day, five years ago, the private investigator they hired found me in Germany. I couldn''t remember anything that happened during my disappearance and I could barely speak. My father knew it was me right away because I look so much like my mother when she was young." Loriel didn''t really believe the logic. He had seen how thete Mrs. York looked like when she was young. She didn''t really look simr to Elise. Perhaps, they only shared the same hair color and slightly simr facial features, but surely they didn''t look so much alike. Maybe, in his grief, Daniel York just wanted to tell himself that this was really his long-lost daughter. Chapter 90 - Elises Story (2) "So, they took you back to the United States?" Loriel asked. "Where are your parents now?" "Yeah, they took me in five years ago. My mother, sadly, had passed away years earlier, but my father is very devoted to me. He helped me navigate life back home, even though I have lost my memory and¡­ I couldn''t really speak English. He had some nanny and teachers to help me." She looked down dejectedly when she continued her words and talked about her father. "My father got sick three months ago. He is now being treated in a long-term care facility. I wanted to visit him, but my uncle, his brother, and their family forbade me to go." "Why? Isn''t he your father?" Loriel asked gently. "They have no rights to keep you from seeing your father." Elise cupped her face with both hands and cried. "They said¡­ I am just an impostor... They secretly did a DNA test and found out I am not blood-rted to my father. They wanted to send me to jail for fraud." "No fucking way! Why would they do that?" Loriel was furious to hear what happened. Elise wiped the tears from her eyes. "They said since I am not really my father''s daughter, I have no right over his property." "As the only daughter of my father, I am the one who is set to inherit everything under his name and Tessa''s family couldn''t ept it. Even when my father was hospitalized, they refused to acknowledge it." Loriel stayed silent and listened to her. A silent urging to continue. "However, they couldn''t do anything to me because, even if I am not my father''s daughter, he already transferred the deed to all his property under my name and named me his heir in his will." "Oh¡­" Loriel felt d that Daniel York was thinking ahead to ensure Elise was taken care of should anything happened to him. Elise continued her words. "It seems they couldn''t sue me for fraud because they are not the people who are directly affected by my ''crime''. They want my father to wake up so they could tell him I am not really his daughter and he could change his will." Loriel really wanted to pull Elise to his embrace and consoled her. She looked so sad when she was talking about her father. "So¡­ that''s why they don''t allow you to visit your father in the hospital?" Loriel asked again."They don''t want you to tell your father about their crime." Elise nodded tearfully. "Yeah.. I am so sad that they deny me ess to see my own father. I don''t even care about the wealth." Loriel suddenly remembered the man who imed to be Elise''s fiance. Was she really engaged to the asshole? "The man called you his fiancee," Loriel asked her gently. "Was he lying?" Elise nodded. "Yeah. His name is Julian Berkshire. His father is our familywyer. He and his father are evil. They work together with my uncle''s family." She continued her words, "I overheard them talking that they n to marry me off to Julian so he could be the legal guardian. Then, as my husband, he would get me admitted to a mental asylum and take over my family''s wealth." "Fucking hell!" Loriel was so furious to hear that, he rose from his seat in anger. "I was so scared. That was why I immediately run away from home. I don''t want to end up in a mental asylum. I am not crazy." Elise cried harder. Loriel''s brows furrowed as things started to connect in his mind. The reason as to why Elise ran away from home in a rush and why she came here to NYC to find work and far away from Connecticut. Oh my god¡­ this was inhumane, heinous, and very low. Loriel could really imagine the scenario now. Elise arrived in modern times, unable to speak thenguage, and didn''t know how life worked in the modern world. So, she would be suspected of having mental retardation or autism, like the real Madeline. It would be very easy for Tessa and Julian to make their ims that Elise needed to be sent to a mental asylum. This would make her unable to ess her parents'' wealth. Elise sighed and nced at the streets. "Julian is actually Tessa''s boyfriend. She asked him to do this for her and he agreed. I hate them so much. I hate those golddiggers." "I see¡­" Loriel wanted to talk but he felt like he needed to stop himself from talking or else scare Elise with how red his eyes had be. "Thank you for listening to me, Loriel," Elise said as she nced at her mug. It was still far from fully being emptied at all. But at least Elise managed to exin the situation to him. Elise waspletely unaware of the thoughts that flowed in Loriel''s mind. Every inch of him wished to go out and seek those two. Loriel''s blood boiled with fury. It was simr to the time when Loriel''s own father died and his half-sisters wanted to take the throne for their husbands even when he was the rightful heir to it. This was a situation Loriel was unfortunately familiar with and to hear that it was happening to Elise infuriated him. Loriel''s blood simmered as he nced at Elise''s face. While her tears were gone and dried, the image was still in his mind. He immediately reached for his phone and contacted Marc. He needed to pay those two a visit. Loriel wished to call Marc and demand the location of Tessa and Julian¡­ but he didn''t want to scare Elise or have her try to stop him. He was always aware of how soft-hearted she could be. Instead, he texted Marc for the details and where he could find those two. Loriel already visualized Julian''s face and he how wanted to beat the hell out of it. What a pair of conniving snakes. People like them were the lowest of the low and deserved no ounce of mercy. Chapter 91 - Loriel Wants To Punish Tessa & Julian Loriel decided he would teach those scums a lesson. He waited until Elise calmed down before he contacted Marc and asked him to locate Tessa and Julian. He would pay them a visit and give them a ''friendly'' reminder. "Are you feeling okay now?" Loriel asked her. "I am d you are no longer in that hellish ce and they cannot do anything to you. You did the right thing by leaving." Elise wiped her tears. "I don''t even want the wealth. As you can see, I would rather work hard and pay for my own things. Even if I am not my father''s daughter, they shouldn''t have limited my ess to see him. They treated me like I am a criminal or something." "I understand. It''s really not your fault," Loriel soothed her. "I will find a way to help you see your father again. And I will teach those people a nice lesson." Elise''s else widened at the mention of teaching Tessa and Julian a lesson. "What are you going to do with them? I don''t want you to break thew. Julian is awyer and his father has his own firm. They are quite powerful." Loriel touched her arm and soothed her. "I will not break anyw, my dear. Don''t worry about me." Loriel lied again. He would not break anymoners''w. It didn''t apply to him since he was a king. That''s what he always told Marc. Laws were only formoners. He was not one of them. So, of course, Loriel would beat the shit out of Julian. He could never forgive a man who tried to bully his dear wife. The asshole wanted to marry Elise to im her wealth and then send her to a mental asylum? Fucking hell! That''s what cowards and schemers did. That man was not even a real man. This made Loriel feel disgusted. "Thank you for your help, Loriel," said Elise. "I owe you another dinner. I hope next time things will be better." "Don''t mention it," said Loriel with a smile. He pped once and two robots came to the dining table and cleared their tes. "Now, would you like some ice cream?" Elise nodded. She wiped her tears and tried to regain herposure. Loriel touched her shoulder lightly and then went to the fridge to get the ice cream for them. He wanted to hug her and tell her that everything was going to be all right, he would handle it, but he knew his ce. At the moment, he was not the husband his wife remembered and loved. He would take things slowly and gain her trust and love again. Even if he had to wait, he had all the time in the world. "How do you feel now?" Loriel asked Elise after the girl finished her ice cream. "I am better. Thank you," Elise replied. She did feel better after sharing her story with Loriel and took a long deep breath. She knew she was safe here. She was grateful that Loriel was not judgemental and didn''t care about who she was. Even when she told him the DNA reports said she was not really Madeline York, the man didn''t flinch. It''s like¡­ he didn''t even care. Loriel truly epted her for who she was. "I will go to my room and rest," she got up and bid Loriel good night. "See you tomorrow, Loriel." "Good night, Elise. Sweet dream," said Loriel sweetly. He watched her leave the dining room to go to the guest bedroom. Once Elise was out of sight, he quickly messaged Marc. *** It was a sudden text in the night that disturbed Marc''s quiet evening, but when he saw his grand-uncle''s text, it was there that he realized that something was up. The times where his uncle requested to buy a business, establishment, or any other simr instances were normal. However, it was rare for Loriel to ever get annoyed at anything. Loriel Ashborn was a man who had been alive for the past fifteen centuries, and it offered him an opportunity to be a more mature and patient man. He wasn''t easily riled up by anything. But this text was different. [Locate Madeline''s cousin, Tessa York and her boyfriend Julian''s amodations in NYC. Buy the entire hotel, give me the address, and don''t let them leave. Have the employees blind their eyes, bribe them--I don''t want any interruptions.] To anger an immortal was something close to messing up real bad. There was no joke with this. [Of course, grand uncle.] [Give me the address in half an hour.] [Yes, I''ll do that.] It was a little unreasonable and almost impossible to gather that much information in such a short amount of time, but Marc already forwarded the request to Alex and prayed that she found it fast. Marc actually wasn''t afraid that his uncle would turn his anger towards him if he failed. Loriel wasn''t unreasonable, but something like this would really get nasty if Marc didn''t perform any fire control. What were the chances that Madeleine or Elise''s cousin would try to sue them? Marc needed to keep the hotel''s reputation in check and other little details that Loriel left with him to take care of. "Let''s hope that things work out for the best," Marc said, but as he looked at the text again. He felt a shudder run down his spine. Even from this distance, Marc could already tell that his uncle meant business. DING He opened up his tired eyes and checked his phone to see the iing message. [Boss, the couple is staying in the St. Laurent hotel. We cannot buy the property because¡­] Marc understood immediately why Alex didn''t continue her message. Dang it! Apparently the people that his grand uncle wanted to find were staying in one of the most expensive hotels in New York. St. Laurent hotel chain was owned by the Schneider Group. They were an even bigger business than Sanderman Group. So, offering to buy one of their hotels was the same as invitingughter from them. Shit. What to do? Chapter 92 - Loriel Teaches Julian A Lesson Finally, Marc told his uncle the truth. He decided to call and exin what happened. Honesty is the best policy, right? "Uncle, I know where they are now, but we cannot do anything to them since they are staying at St. Laurent hotel. It''s owned by the Schneider Group," Marc said haltingly. "Terrence Chan willugh in my face if I tried to forcefully buy their hotel." "Who is Terrence Chan?" Loriel asked. He didn''t read the news and didn''t know that both Marc Sanderman and Terrence Chan were known as the most eligible bachelors in New York and they hated each other. Marc was the president of Sanderman Group and Terrence was the president of Schneider Group. Fortunately, their businesses didn''t ovep, otherwise, theirpetition would be so much fiercer. "Okay. Then, just let me know which room they are staying in. I will pay them a visit," said Loriel. He had waited for Elise to fall asleep first so she wouldn''t know about what he was about to do¡­ Now that she had gone to her bed and rest, Loriel was itching to m Julian''s head into a wall right now. It was something that might have scared people in this modern age. But Loriel lived in a time where kings, people, and their kingdoms fought and slew one another to obtain what they wanted. So in his mind, just bashing Julian''s skull was actually pretty tame for him. He didn''t survive all of his sisters'' treachery by acting soft or forgiving. There was no mistake this time. "Well, Alex bribed the reception guy and he told us the couple is staying in room 1080." "That''s good enough. You did well," said Loriel. He ended the call. Marc looked at his phone with a broad smile. Huh? His uncle said he did well? He was so happy to hear that. Loriel went to his room and changed into an all-ck outfit. It was to hide blood stter. When he left his room and walked toward the door, his steps halted when he saw Elise walking out of the kitchen. "Hey, why aren''t you sleeping?" he asked her. Elise shook her head. "I was thirsty. So, I got water for myself." "Oh." Elise narrowed her eyes and observed Loriel''s appearance. "Are you going out? It''s reallyte." "I cannot sleep. So, I will jog a little around the block and get some air." "At this hour?" Elise couldn''t believe his words. "Yes. Do you want to jog with me? It''s good to get a good night''s sleep." Loriel lied. "I usually do that when I have trouble sleeping." Elise shook her head. "Maybe next time. I have to rest because I still have to work tomorrow." "Then, you should sleep now. I won''t bother you." The man headed to the door. Before he closed the door behind him he waved to the girl. "Have a good rest, Elise." "Thank you. Good night, Loriel." Loriel closed the door and walked to his private elevator. He got off in the basement and drove his car to the St. Laurent hotel. Tessa and Julian didn''t know what wasing for them. *** The hotel that Tessa and Julian stayed in was a really respectable and luxurious property even for the rich. Tessa''s family didn''t have much money. That''s why they really wanted to get their hands on the York''s wealth. However, she liked to present herself as someone from the upper ss. That''s why she insisted to always stay in the most expensive hotels and eat in Michelin-starred restaurants. Julian''s family actually was not too shabby. His father owned a smallw firm in Connecticut, but the man loved gambling. This bad habit of his had depleted their family''s money severely. Finally, they saw the opportunity to get back into the rich people''s scene by getting Julian to marry the autistic daughter of the Yorks, one of their important clients. However, Julian fell in love with the other York girl, the poor one, much to his father''s annoyance. After he could convince his father that he would still marry Madeline York, Julian made ns with Tessa to send Madeline to a mental asylum several months after his wedding to her and Julian would then act as his wife''s conservator who would oversee all her wealth. However, that damnable girl ran away from home before they could execute their ns. They immediately hired private investigators to search for her. One reliable private investigator reported that they found Madeline''s tracks in New York. That''s why Tessa and Julian went here to try to find her. Tessa and Julian saw it as a good omen when they saw her eating dinner in the restaurant where their hotel was located. That little mouse was so shocked and left immediately. Ha. That''s okay. Julian had a way to find her. When Loriel arrived in front of their room, he overheard their conversation. "Hah, what a bitch." Tessa''s voice sounded. "Madeline really gets on your nerves, doesn''t she?" Julian chuckled. The woman was currently resting in her bed and unwinding as she eyed her boyfriend. "It seemed like shended herself a man to survive in the city. I suppose that''s how she operates. I can''t decide if she''s a leech or a parasite. What do you think, Julian?" "Well, it wouldn''t matter once we expose her identity," Julian said as he loosened his tie. "I think it''ll change the man''s mind once they figure out that she''s Madeline York who''s in very much need of psychological treatment. Asylum rather." "You should have acted better. How are you going to get her to marry you with how you acted earlier?" Their conversation was cut abruptly by a sudden knock on their door. The two of them exchanged looks. "Did you get room service?" Tessa asked. "No. But who else wille out here?" Julian frowned. Tessa rolled her eyes and motioned at him. "Well, open the door, will you?" "Fine, I''ll get the fucking door," Julian grumbled underneath his breath and swung open the door. He ced a fake smile on his face and didn''t even bother looking at the neer, "Hey, we didn''t ask for room serv¡ª" Loriel''s fist hurled down on Julian''s face. Chapter 93 - Humans Are Rotten To The Core Crack. Something broke as Julian crashed backward. The man ended up getting tossed back by the strength of Loriel''s punch. Julian copsed to the floor as Loriel grunted. "Pathetic. Is one punch all that is needed to do you in?" He had seen better than this pathetic excuse of a man. Gosh... he was embarrassed to fight someone this weak! Julian was scheming and conniving, and not even a real man. Once Loriel heard all of their ns to have this guy marry his Elise and then send her to the asylum to get the riches for themselves, he couldn''t contain his anger any longer. While traveling to the hotel, Loriel reconsidered stopping at a single punch and a warning, but that wasn''t an option now. Loriel weed himself inside of the hotel room. "Julian? What the heck was that¡­ Julian?" Tessa''s voice was rather shaken up. And yet the sound of a crash didn''t even make Tessae all the way here¡ªinstead possibly made the bitch cower and lock herself in the bathroom. Did she have her phone? Would she try to contact the police that her boyfriend was getting assaulted? Well, it didn''t matter. Such things could be fixed at ater time, but not this man''s face. Loriel watched Julian''s eyes blear open in pain, with blood trickling down his nose as he tried to get up. It was clear that the man was no warrior. Loriel stepped forward and stepped on the man''s hand, crushing it lightly. A pained scream strangled out of Julian''s throat while Loriel nced at him in revulsion. This was the man who thought he could marry Elise and then treat her as nothing but a stepping stone to wealth? He had never seen such a man with such scummy ideals. "You''re too slow. I can see why you and your woman needed to go through this pathetic little act just to have a chance. It''s disgusting." Loriel barked. "Get up and fight me." "I-I''ll sue you!" Julian shouted in a hoarse voice. "I''m awyer¡ª" "I don''t fucking care." Loriel threw another punch into Julian''s face and knocked the man unconscious. This really was ridiculous. Loriel stepped back and let the man go after pitifully passing out. But suddenly Julian swung back to his feet and wildly threw himself at Loriel. A poor mimic of a battle-cry sounded from the man as Julian attempted to attack him¡ª It was too easy to dodge, but Loriel blocked it instead. Loriel grabbed the man''s fist and twisted it slightly, causing another scream to recoil from the man''s throat. As much as Loriel wanted to shove the man''s fist down his own throat, he disgustingly threw him backward again. Julian''s back hit against the hotel''s walls and he sank down into the floor. "Hah¡­ I''ll screw you up!" Gone was the mirage of any semnce of a well-functioning human. The appearance of a calm and collectedwyer was gone as Julian howled at him. "I''d like to see you try," Loriel said. "And yet you seem to have missed how badly you''re doing right now. If this is what you people have amounted to, then I don''t want to waste any more time with the likes of you." "You''ll regret this!" Julian shouted. "Did Madeline put you up to this? That whore''s got her little fingers wrapped around you like¡ª" Loriel snapped. He grabbed the man''s cor and mmed him against the wall. "Don''t you dare say anything about Elise¡ª" Julian spat some blood at him. "Is that how you know her? Geez, that bitch lied to you, she''s not the person that you know. Can''t you see? We''ve actuallye to help her and put her where she''s meant to be. I''m her fiance-" Loriel grabbed the man by his throat. "If you dare call yourself her fiance again, I''m going to cut off your tongue and feed it down your throat. Do you hear me?" Julian stared at Loriel in shock. It was as if his words weren''t reaching the man at all. The way that Loriel red at him and said each word made it seem like more than just a way to scare him off. Loriel was actually willing to do all of those to him if he ever dared try to say Elise''s name again. Julian passed out in fear. Loriel walked out of the suite with a disgusted face. Julian''s face was barely recognizable when he left him. Ha. It would take him several days in ICU before the scumbag could do anything or even think about going after Elise. Loriel took off his suit and threw it into the air when he was outside the hotel. He felt disgusted to have Julian''s blood on him. The suit went up flying, getting carried away by the wind, andnded on someone who was lying down on a sunchair with his eyes closed, on the top of a tall building. "Fucking hell!! Whoseundry is this?" He shouted in displeasure as he yanked the suit from his body. The man seemed to be moon-bathing beside his swimming pool in his birthday suit and was enjoying bliss when suddenly his rxing time was ruined by the flying suit. He quickly got down from his sun chair and cursed non-stop. Since he was not wearing anything. the blood stter on the suit left red marks on his chiseled chest and even his handsome face. "Eww.. blood!" He coughed violently and held his nose as if smelling the most stinking trash in the world. "For goodness sake, you were the god of war, if anyone could love the smell of blood, it should be you," someone blurted from inside the penthouse. The naked man winced his eyebrows in disgust. "Look, I am a changed man, okay? I don''t like war now. I have retired centuries ago." "Yet, humans still love going to war to this day," the second person chided him. "You have ruined them. Now they are rotten to the core." . -------------- Yes! One by one, the other gods are showing up. I wee you to send me the name of your choice to name the characters of this book. Only for July ''21. Send me DM with the name to Instagram @missrealitybites or email to [emailprotected], together with the screenshot of your highest privilege tier. Chapter 94 - Elise Wants To Sell Muffins And Cupcakes The naked man rolled his eyes when he heard his friend''s words. "It''s not my fault. They just love waging war." He closed his eyes and smelled the air. "By the way¡­ the wind is not natural. There is no way someone''sundry can fly this high. We are 300 meters above the ground!" He turned to the right and narrowed his eyes. "This is not your doing, is it?" "Nah¡­. I am not that free to y games with you. I am busy," said the other man from inside the penthouse. "I am getting ready for important work tomorrow." The naked man clicked his tongue in displeasure. He waved his hand and casually tossed the bloodied suit into the air. Then, out of nowhere, lightning came and struck the suit. SWOOSH!! The lightning burned the suit in the air and then it disappeared, leaving behind only a bit of ash particles. After making sure he had got rid of the stinking smell of blood, the naked man felt happy again. He went back to his sun chair andy down in a rxed manner. He closed his blue eyes and enjoyed basking in the moonlight. Ahhh.. it felt so good and peaceful. The man had messy white hair that went down to his shoulder, light blue eyes, tall and buffed body, with perfectly sculpted muscles in all the right ces. Anyone would agree to call him handsome. He was often pissed because humans never got his appearance right when they made his statues or paintings. However, as he said just now, he had retired centuries ago. He no longer easily angered by small things such as those. He was now a man of peace. Moonbathing helped a lot in dissipating aggression. He wished more people would do this. "The wind didn''t feel natural," he muttered as he tried to enjoy his rxation. "I wonder if there is another god roaming around this city." TICK TICK He opened his eyes and looked to the sky. Dammit. It looked like it was going to rain. *** Loriel arrived back at his penthouse and immediately changed. He took off his clothes and threw them into the trash. Then he entered his bathroom naked and took a hot shower. He was very annoyed by what happened tonight. He could have enjoyed a lovely dinner with his wife, but those two pests dared to ruin the asion. Beating up Julian in their hotel room was not enough punishment for them. Loriel clenched his fist and punched the bathroom wall to vent his anger. He had never been this angry in ten centuries. Hmm... maybe after Julian had recovered from his injuries, Loriel coulde to him again and teach him another lesson. Then, he would take care of their whole family. Yeah... that''s what he should do. *** "Good morning, Elise! I couldn''t sleepst night," Loriel waved at Elise when he saw the girl enter the dining room for breakfast. "So, I cooked." Elise batted her eyes in surprise. "You cooked?" "Yeah, I love cooking when I am stressed or bored. I think you know it by now." Elise pressed her lips sympathetically. "Oh, no¡­ What made you stressed?" Loriel quickly waved his hands and chuckled. "No.. I was not stressed. I was bored." "Oh¡­" "Yeah, I was feeling bored. So, I tried a new recipe. You can bring the food to the office for lunch. Let''s not waste it." Elise remembered that Marc was so happy when she said she would bring extra food for him. Ah, maybe she should just take Loriel''s food and give some to that guy. "All right. I will bring some. Thank you." She sat down at the dining table put her bag on the chair next to her. "What time did you return from your jogging?" "Around ten PM," said Loriel. He poured tea for them and pped. A robot came and started serving breakfast for them. "I had a good exercise." "I am d to hear that. " They ate breakfast and talked about their ns for that day. Loriel would meet his wealth manager again (which was, of course, a lie) and Elise would go to her baking ss after office hours. "I am so excited. I will learn to make muffins today," Elise gushed. "I will make delicious pastries and sell them to make extra money once my skills are good enough." "You want to sell pastries for money?" Loriel didn''t expect this. He thought Elise was just interested in baking. He didn''t know she was learning so she could make extra money. "Yeah. I mean¡­ everyone loves a good muffin and cupcake," she shrugged. "Why not learn to make them and earn extra money?" "Oh¡­ don''t you make enough with your current job?" Loriel asked. "No. My sry is meager. I want to make more," said Elise. "I heard that modeling pays a lot, but I don''t have any contact in the industry to enter." "What? No, no... don''t go into modelling. The industry is shady and there are many sexual predators there," Loriel quickly waved his hand worriedly. "You better sell muffins." He knew it would be very easy for Elise to be a model. She was the most beautiful woman on this. She just needed to say the word, put her picture online, and express her desire to be discovered. Photographers would flock to her and designers would worship her. Loriel couldn''t let it happen. "Really? Oh.. that''s horrible." "Yeah, and the pay is not even good. Many models only get ''exposure'' for payment, or clothes from designers. They may look morous from the outside, but in reality, they are struggling to get by," Loriel added. "You are better off making cupcakes and sell them." "I see¡­" Elise finally shrugged again. "So, I think it will be better if I just make pastries and sell them. I can sell them in the office. I can also take orders for special asions." "Yeah.. good idea," said Loriel. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling relieved. Chapter 95 - The Unwanted Guests Loriel then added, "You can learn from Chef Lucy all about muffins and cupcakes, and then practice at home. Once you are confident with the results, you can open for business." The man suddenly thought about something. He looked at Elise intently. "By the way, do you want to open your own bakery?" Elise, who was sipping her tea, slowly lowered her cup and put it on the table. She looked up and stared at Loriel. "Opening my own bakery?" She loved pastries and that was the main reason why she wanted to study pastries from Chef Lucy. However, did she want to open her own bakery? "I don''t have the money to open a real bakery," she said with a low voice. "If you really want it, I am sure I can help you make it happen," said Loriel smugly. That''s right. He could make whatever she wanted to happen. She just needed to say the word. "You''re too kind," said Elise with a smile. "I don''t know. Maybe someday. Let''s not talk about it now." "Okay, but please remember that I can help you if you really, really, really want to open your own bakery. I am here." "I know," Elise reached out her hand and touched Loriel''s cheek and then smiled, looking grateful. "Thank you." Loriel would rather see Elise open a bakery than walking the runway on fashion shows or getting photographed as a model in magazines. No, he was a selfish man. He would not want to share his Elise with other men out there. *** Several days soon passed by from the time that Tessa and Julian ruined Elise''s dinner treat to Loriel. While it was something that bothered Elise, she returned to work the next day after and before she knew it, it was as if the day never actually happened. Alex gave Elise a task to distribute some files to her co-workers on the second floor of the building and so she went there with an eagerness to prove herself capable. Elise greeted them with a smile. "Good morning guys, Alex asked me to give you something. Here are some folders that are named ording to each member of this department. A specific set of new tasks were assigned to all of you." "Oh great, more work." One of the guys groaned but then happily epted the folder from Elise. When the delivery person of work was someone as beautiful as Elise, it wasn''t actually hard to look forward to it. Although it may have been mostly the guys who were happy to see her. A good number of people, in general, weren''t eager for new responsibilities. "I swear, Alex is a workaholic trying to work us to the bone though." A girl said as she looked at the new tasks they received. "Elise why don''t you ask her to be a little nicer to us?" Words like those were said in simple jest, but it held a hint of whaty in their hearts. Elise smiled and shook her head. "I think it''s just because she trusts you guys a lot. I don''t think she''d push these tasks in this department if she didn''t think that you guys were capable." "Aww¡­" One of them tried to wipe a tear and loudly sniffed much to the amusement of everyone. "When you say it that way, I can''t help but feel energized to prove Alex right." "Elise really is an angel." "I think that''s a bit too much, but thank you for thepliment." "You are good with words and now you make us want to do more work," one of them raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Sanderman should have raised your sry." "He should, shouldn''t he?" Elise replied with a smile. It was so easy to pretend that what happened with Julian and Tessa was nothing but a small disruption in her new life. Loriel never brought it up again. Even though he now knew that she was Madeline York, Loriel still thought of her as Elise. The people in the office also helped her focus on just work. All was well again in the world. But perhaps Elise spoke too soon. Right before Elise could leave the department and head towards Alex''s office, a loud racket sounded in the hallways of the building. Tessa was pushing past some people trying to stop her with Julian following them in tow. "I demand to see Madeline York! What floor is she, Julian?" "The top floor based on what I gathered." Elise froze in her tracks. The sight of them made her realize that the two of them would not stop at anything to get her back home. It was a little too naive of Elise to think that they''d give up so easily. "Ohno." Elise whispered underneath her breath. She didn''t want these people to drag down thepany at all. Here they were right now¡­ probably hiring a professional investigator to track her down. Now they were about to ruin everything that Elise managed to achieve and aplish for the past weeks. Behind Elise were the whispers of the people in the department. Even within this office, they could hear the noise of both Julian and Tessa as well as take note of their appearances. "Who the heck is that woman? So unprofessional." "Does anyone know a person by that name?" "Doesn''t ring a bell." "I know a Madeline from HR, but I don''t think that''s who the woman is looking for." Without waiting for anything else, Elise ran out of the hallway and called out to the two of them. "Tessa, stop. I''m right here." Tessa and Julian whirled around to see her. Tessa lookedpletely the same asst time, but Julian himself looked injured. He had numerous gauzes wrapped around his face for some reason. "You¡ªso you''ve been here all along, Madeline¡­ or should I call you Elise now?" Tessa eyed her up and down with a dismissive look. "Do these people know who you are? That you''ve been hiding so long under a new identity? Tch... they don''t seem to know that you are a fraud, do they?" Chapter 96 - Marc Is In A Terrible Mood "Tessa, let''s talk about this elsewhere," Elise said and tried to move back to the elevator. "What happened to Julian?" "Y-You dare even ask?! Bitch! You did this to him and now you dare ask what happened to Julian???" Ahead of them were a couple of security guards that didn''t actually manage to stop Tessa and Julian. These people tried to talk the two people down, but whether it was through bribery or Tessa''s insistence and her family name, she managed to reach this floor of Sanderman Group. Right now, one of them took the opportunity to send a quick report to one of their higher-ups in concern of this situation. Elise gritted her teeth and looked at Tessa. "Let''s go out of the building and discuss these things without making a scene out of it." "You don''t want me to make a fuss?" Tessaughed. "Oh sweet and dearest cousin, you asked for this to happen. The people in thispany have the right to know what kind of person you are." "Tessa!" Elise shouted. She tried to look at Julian who sometimes could be reasoned with. "Please let''s talk outside and don''t involve them. We''re disrupting work hours right now." "Sorry Madeline, but Tessa is right. What you did was wrong and I know it as awyer--we can''t have you faking an ID to work here just because you want to. Let''s just go home right now before things start to get worse." It was a sudden change in Julian''s tone. Almost like a bad cop and good cop scenario, Julian tried another method to get Elise to back down from this conversation--and that was because the two of them assumed that she did something wrong. Elise did nothing of that like. But before Elise could say anything else, someone thundered down the stairs and arrived at the second floor to find them. *** Marc Sanderman had a lot of work that day and he was also in a terrible mood. He got nominated for the most eligible bachelor in the world again this year. The announcement and award ceremony would be held at the end of the year by the Ritz G association. However, he was pissed because this year his ranking fell down from 5thst year to 9th this year. So many new young bachelors popping up in the scene and they took the world by storm. In the year 2045 nomination, they had this prince whatshisname from Sweden, the youngest president in the world from Malta - also whatshisname, Alexei (who was only known by his first name) a famous model from Germany. There was also Terrence Chan, the president of the Schneider Group, Marc''s nemesis for years. Lastly, there was this new guy who shot to stardom just because hispany created a new virtual reality technology that could be used to connect people tomunicate better, called Virconnect. His name was Elios Linden from this technology group called RMI and women were crazy for him. Tch... Marc had tried Virconnect and was not impressed. He didn''t know what was so good about it. Basically, it was just a technology that enabled people to have a 3D experience while theymunicate with other people. Anybody could make that... right? It was said that many people could use this to connect with their families in long-distance rtionships. They would feel like they were in the same room when they talked. Influencers could also travel to exotic ces and shared their experience in 3D with people who were willing to pay good money for it. So, if you signed up to their space during their live moments, you could see aurora when they witness it in d as if you were there with them. You could also feel like you were climbing Everest when the traveler took you there. Many people gushed about this new experience and were excited to try it. Tch¡­ only poor people would enjoy this type of thing, Marc concluded. Poor people couldn''t afford the real thing, like traveling in person to d to see aurora because the cost was extremely high. They also couldn''t attend an exclusive ssical concert for the same reason, so they had to feel satisfied with the fake one, sharing a secondhand experience from those who did it themselves. Unfortunately, there were way too many poor people in the world who would love to use Virconnect. So, that made thepany''s poprity skyrocket. RMI''s businesses also branched out to media (they owned Splitz, thergest social media app in the world), themunication industry, AI, and basically all technology-rted businesses. Since RMI controlled the media, Marc was suspicious that Elios took advantage of it to boost his poprity that he now topped the ranking as the most eligible bachelor. Yeah.. he must be cheating, Marc pursed his lips. Elios was not on the listst year¡­ in fact, he was nowhere before 2044. It was as if the man never existed. Elios Linden only suddenly appeared out of nowhere and led the two big groups, Meier Group and Rhionen Industries, which conveniently merged under him to be what was now known as RMI (Rhionen Meier Industries) and he quickly became such an important figure in the technology industry. In just one year he took the world by storm. This was suspicious as hell, wasn''t it? Actually, Marc didn''t care if Elios won the stupid award. He just didn''t want to have his ranking lower than Terrence, his nemesis. This year Terrence was ranked 3rd, while Marc was on 9th. This was a humiliation for him. He had beenpeting fiercely with Terrence for many years and he had never lost this badly. "Aaargh!! I must do something to boost my poprity," Marc muttered to himself. If Terrence was at 3rd, he should at least be 2nd or 4th. Ninth was just too embarrassing. Hmm.. maybe he should spread a fake engagement gossip with an actress or something. Only after they announced the award, he would deny everything. He knew what he was doing was stupid, but Marc couldn''t help it. He couldn''t lose to Terrence Chan. This feud that he had with that man was childish, but Marc wouldn''t budge. It all started when they were dating the same woman, years ago. Ah... it''s a long story. He didn''t want to think about it now. Chapter 97 - Marc Teaches Julian A Lesson Marc took out his phone and tried to check his long list of exes, meaning the women whom he was dating for some time and then leaving for the next ones. He wanted to see which one of them he should call and ask to create a gossip together. He had quite a few of them. Marc was focused on his phone when urgent matters came to his attention. It was Alex who called him first. There was a rush in Alex''s voice. "Hey, Boss. Elise is currently in danger. She''s on the second floor of the building. I''m on my way down there. Some people are iming to be¡ª" "I''ll meet you there. Stop them." Marc immediately let his phone drop into his pocket as he rushed out of his office and towards the elevators. For whatever ill-luck, they happened to be preupied and so Marc Sanderman hurried down the stairs and barely made it in time to stop them. He even made it before Alex arrived, right in time to hear thest statemente from these people. "¡ªwe can''t have you faking an ID to work here just because you want to. Let''s just go home right now before things start to get worse." Marc arrived at the scene and clicked his tongue. "Hey.. are you okay?" He came to Elise''s side and checked on her. The thing he did first was check on Elise''s state because he remembered his grand-uncle made him promise to take care of Elise on his behalf. Thankfully she didn''t seem hurt or that shaken up. Once he could assure that she was fine, Marc turned to the intruders and his security. "Who are these people? They''re not employees but they made their way here without any problems at all. It seems like my security is unable to perform their jobs properly." Marc glowered at his security at their sheer ipetence at this particr situation, before he finally looked at the two people in front of Elise. He had already recognized them, thanks to the previous research he did when Loriel asked him to find more information about Elise. Well, they weren''t going to be here much longer. Without a hint of reserve, he red at them. Right at that moment, he directed all his anger to Terrence and the stupid nomination toward the two intruders. "I want the two of these meddlers out of mypany at this very instant. I don''t care if you have to handle them roughly. Get them out. They have no right to harass one of my employees or use her of anything that isn''t true." "Are you the head of thispany?" Tessa asked in shock. "I''m not sure what happened but you clearly don''t know¡ª" "Huh. Is this woman trying to tell me that I can''t do my job correctly?" Marc raised his brow coldly. "Youe to thispany and dare to throw heedless usations in the air? I can sue you for nder and trespassing." Tessa ground her teeth. "Has this wench seduced you too? Did she sleep her way out of here¡ª" Marc gazed at Julian. "I know who you are. You''re awyer, aren''t you? You, of all people, should know that these false usations are a criminal offense. The Sanderman Group won''t take these lightly." Julian was surprised to hear Marc''s words. So, this man knew who they were? He Julian didn''t announce that he was awyer, yet Marc knew? He looked at Tessa and inwardly sighed. He reached out to his girlfriend and grabbed her shoulders. "We should go now while we still have the chance. I think they are on her side." "Don''t try to tell me what to do, Julian." Tessa pointed a finger at Elise usingly. "This bitch faked her ID to get here and slept her way up to be with the boss! You no-good dirty little wh¡ª" Julian mped a hand over Tessa''s mouth. He warily looked at all of the security ready to apprehend them. With one final look he gave to Elise, he cleared his throat. "Maybe next time we can discuss this properly. Let''s go, Tessa." Marc crossed his arms on his chest and narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Don''t you want to apologize for harassing this woman?" Four burly security guards hade and stood next to Julian in a threatening manner. Julian who was stepping back, trying to flee, swallowed hard. He turned to Elise and pointed at her. "Madeline, you are my fiancee and you dare to sleep with other people to trick them into defending you. Soon, the truth will prevail. These people will know who you really are." Elise clenched her jaws when she heard Julian still dared to call her his fiancee. Her body trembled in anger and unknowingly she slowly raised her hand. She couldn''t take it anymore¡­ PUNCH! Before Elise could do anything, Marc had jumped into Julian and hit him hard with his fist. All his anger today at the stupid nomination was directed at a new victim. He didn''t care if he would hurt Julian. He had greatwyers. "Aauwhh..!!" Julian spurted blood when his body fell to the hard floor and didn''t move. Everyone around them shrieked in shock at the scene. "Get them out of here!" Marc roared at his security. The four burly men immediately lifted Julian''s body, followed by the hysterical Tessa. "Oh my God¡­ did you see that?" "Our boss is so fierce!" "He defended Elise." "Oh, look¡­ he is so manly!" "I wonder if he would defend us if a jerk came to harass us too. Or is it only for Elise?" "I am not sure. You do know Elise seems to have a special rtionship with him." "I am sure any man will defend Elise. She is so beautiful. The typical damsel in distress that all men would love to save." Marc couldn''t care less about his surroundings. Once Tessa and Julian were escorted and led out of the building, Marc immediately approached Elise and ced a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright there, Elise?" Elise sighed deeply and tried to smile. "I''m fine, thank you." Chapter 98 - Please, Dont Tell Loriel "Are you sure?" Marc asked her gently. "Do you need to take half a day off?" Elise quickly shook her head. "No. I am really fine. I didn''t expect you to be here at all. I was afraid that they would have kept insisting. But you have taught them a lesson. Thank you." The doors of the elevator finally opened as Alex rushed out and then threw her arms around Elise. "Where are the fuckers who tried to hurt you? Did you throw them out of thepany, boss?" "Yes, I did. Have their faces and names listed down. I don''t want to see them again stepping into thispany at all. cklist them." Marc sighed tiredly and rubbed his face. "Also, get in touch with mywyers and prepare for anything." "Okay, Boss. I''ll also make sure these people don''te here again." Alex nodded her head and then looked at Elise. She was very surprised to see Marc went the extra mile to protect Elise. When Alex contacted him, the man was in his floor, but he was here first? Did he take the stairs? That''s crazy! Alex didn''t know that Marc would do anything to protect Elise. She was his grand-aunt. Or at least, his future grand-aunt. If anything were to happen to Elise under his watch, then Loriel would me him for it. Marc didn''t want to get on his uncle''s bad side at all. Although Elise herself was shaken up and upset about everything that happened, she pretended to be fine. She was grateful to both Alex and Marc that came all the way here to help her. "Thank you for all your help anding all the way here, Alex. How did you guys know?" Marc cleared his throat and replied to her question. "Any unnatural urrence that happens within thepany is directly reported to Alex and then to me. I prefer to handle the cases on my own when I can." "Oh, I see." Marc turned to Alex and barked more orders. "Make sure the security will work properly and those two fuckers will never set foot in this building again," Marc spoke firmly. His murderous re was directed at the four security officers who had walked in with guilty faces. "I am sorry, Boss¡­ They said they are important guests. We were fooled," said the older security guy, looking regretful. "Idiots!" Marc grumbled. He turned around, patted Elise on the shoulder and then went back to his office using the elevator. Alex quickly started checking on Elise. "Did they hurt you in any physical way at all? Would you like to go to the clinic? Rest down for a minute? I shouldn''t have made youe down if I knew this was going to happen." "I''m really fine. Thank you, Alex." Elise smiled and tried to assure them that she was fine and that there was nothing to worry about. Unbeknownst to all three of them in the hallway, a great number of people on the floor of this building saw the entire thing y out in front of them. One never usually saw their boss Marc Sanderman get up in a rut like this. He literally descended down the top of the building all the way here to chase these people harassing Elise. It was clear that Marc didn''t do things like this one out of the blue. In front of his people, Marc Sanderman was a calm and collected person. While he was somewhat known as a womanizer who dated a lot of women, it was the first time that his employees saw him do something a heroic action like this for someone whom he was not dating. Or¡­ maybe he was actually dating Elise secretly? Or at least¡­ maybe he was attracted to her and wanted to pursue her? So many scenarios popped up in their minds as the people were trying to decipher what happened and what could be the rtionship between their big boss and the new girl. Elise was shaken by the incident, but she kept her cool. She smiled and walked back to her work ce as if nothing happened. She was this close to defending herself with her power. If Marc didn''t punch Julian immediately, Elise didn''t know what would happen. She might have killed the man out of instinct to protect herself. Elise only realized that she could create fire several months ago. At that time, she was so furious that her father was taken to the hospital but she was not allowed to go and visit him. She burned down the gazebo out of anger. Back then, many people were suspicious, but they couldn''t really pinpoint it at her. So, Elise was safe. However,ter she realized that having the power to burn something was not normal. She was worried that this would help make Julian and Tessa''s case against her. She was afraid that people would think she was a freak and should be put in the mental asylum. Elise could face Julian and Tessa and their families. Heck, she could even kill all of them. However, it would be impossible for her to escape if she had to fight the whole world, and that was exactly what would happen if she became a fugitive. She would be hunted by so many people and thew enforcement. She couldn''t let it happen. *** KNOCK KNOCK "Come in," said Marc without looking up from his phone. The man was busy, still thinking of ways to boost his poprity on the most eligible bachelor award this year. "Boss," Elise''s voice rang from the door. The boss immediately looked up and smiled at her. "Yes, Elise?" Marc asked gently. Elise had been used to sweet treatment from Marc. So, she never thought much about it. She didn''t even realize that Marc was never this sweet and friendly to any of his other staff. "Uhm¡­ Thank you for your help today," Elise said haltingly. "I wasn''t helping you. I just happened to pass by on my way to the cafe and saw what happened." Marc shrugged nonchntly. He didn''t want to make Elise think he went out of his way to help her. "I will do it for anyone, not just you." He was almost as good as Loriel at lying. His expression looked so convincing. "Oh¡­" Elise nodded. "Still I have to thank you. And¡­" Marc somehow thought the main reason Elise came to see him was not to say thank you. "And..?" He repeated her words. "Is there something bothering your mind?" "Ah, yes¡­ well¡­" Elise looked worried. "Could you please not say anything to Loriel about the incident today?" Elise didn''t want Loriel to know that the same people who disrupted their dinner came to her office to harass her. The man might think there was something really wrong with her. "Oh¡­" Marc felt so relieved to hear Elise''s request. He was actually worried that she would talk to Loriel about the incident and Loriel would think Marc was useless and incapable of protecting his grand-aunt. Fortunately, Elise wanted to keep it a secret. So, of course, Marc was so happy. Loriel wouldn''t need to know that two pests came to this building and harassed his woman. "Will you please not tell him? I am worried about his reaction," Elise pleaded. "Besides, you handled it so well. I feel safe here. There is no need to make him worried." "You are right. You are safe here," Marc smiled broadly. "I will not say anything to Loriel." "Ah¡­ thank you so much!" Elise let out a sigh of relief. "In that case, I will go now. Bye." Chapter 99 - I Have A Boyfriend *** Gossip and rumors spread fast in the Sanderman Group''spany. It started with one department and then scattered across other departments that even the clerk on the ground floor would look at Elise funny sometimes. Before Elise even knew about it, people were already calling her the boss''s mistress after the situation with Tessa and Julian. Not only was it something that became a well-loved topic amongst colleagues¡­ It was something that people weren''t even afraid to tease her with. The nickname stuck with Elise all throughout the following days and weeks, even when the time when Tessa and Julian visited was already way past them. It even stayed when thest month of the year came up and Elise was working a good chunk at thepany. That day, Elise was running some errands for Alex to help her out when she came across some people rxing in the hallway. The Sanderman Group''s building held a lounge for its employees to rx during their break time. It was one of the earliest adopters of a work-life bnce regimen that gave its employees precious hours to unwind whenever necessary. Right now, some of them were getting some drinks in a vending machine and talking with each other before they saw Elise arrive. People already liked her enough to not be exactly swayed by the rumors, but it didn''t mean that they let it die at all. "Excuse me, Mrs. Sanderman!" One of the women called out to her. Elise sighed inwardly as the rumor did get old to her. She eventually raised her brow and paused in her tracks. "What is it?" "Aww, she''s not even denying it anymore." Another one of the peopleughed and even clinked soda cans with the person standing right next to them. Elise crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "I don''t think you guys will be convinced even if I say otherwise." "Yeah, but we''ll obviously shut up if Alex or the boss is around." The other people nodded in agreement. While they enjoyed teasing Elise in good humor, they were aware that something might happen if they dared to call Elise as Marc''s mistress when the man or his assistant was around. Luckily for them, or maybe they knew it, Elise wasn''t the most confrontational type. She didn''t actually report them to Marc or Alex. Perhaps Elise should have, but being a snitch was not something she wished to do. There was also the feeling that her coworkers would really dislike her if Elise was to do that. It meant that she was truly epting the role of ''Marc''s woman'' and she didn''t want that at all. "Hey Elise, since you''re new here--we''d just like to inform you to take it a bit easy. Christmas ising up soon!" A woman smiled at her. Elise blinked. "Yeah¡­ paid leave?" Elise was actually looking forward to catching a break and maybe preparing something special during Christmas. What kind of treats could she make for Loriel? It was the least that she could do for him after all this time. "Not just that, but we will also have the end of the year g!" Another person said happily. "There''s booze and music!" The woman elbowed the guy. "Don''t mind him, he''s just a heavy drinker. Since this is your first year, you have a lot to look forward to. Even when thepany makes us work hard, they also know how to treat their employees during the g." "We''ll be taking part in raffles. One of the people in the ounting department got a vacation for two in Hawaii! The other in the legal department got an actual car. The Sanderman Group doesn''t hold back at all during prizes." "And if you''re not lucky with draws and raffles¡­ then there''s naturally the bonus sry and awards night." "You''ve been working so hard, I wouldn''t be surprised if you got the Best Staff or Best Assistant Award, Elise." "Although, thatst one always belongs to Alex." "Quit kidding with Elise. That one doesn''t exist at all." "Were you even actually paying attention during the awards ceremony or were you so busy gorging on the food that you couldn''t hear anything?" "But who knows? Maybe that''s the time when our boss finally reveals Elise as his woman during the g? Wouldn''t that be utterly romantic Elise? The two of you can go down the red carpet together--" "Guys, you know I''m not his woman," Elise said. "I''d really appreciate it if you guys quit calling me that." "But there''s not enough proof for that. Everything you''re saying is going against you. Don''t you remember how our boss literally burst out of the stairwell toe and defend your honor from those lunatics back then? I don''t think our boss would do that for anyone at all." "He''s a great boss, but he''s usually scary and intimidating." "Plus Alex is so kind to you when she usually just barks at us and swallows us alive with her criticism." Another one pointed out. "She knows that you''re the specialdy to our boss so she treats you well." Elise rubbed her forehead. She thought this gossip really needed to be put to rest. Her mind quickly thought of an excuse. She looked at them with a tired expression, and said, "Here''s the thing, it''s impossible for me to be the boss'' woman when I have a boyfriend." "What?!" All of the women in the group turned to her in surprise. "It''s true." Elise smiled. "I have a boyfriend and he''d be really upset to hear that I''m being thought of as someone else''s woman." "Oh¡­ so you had a boyfriend all this time." Some of the guys present were shocked and even a little disappointed. It was easier to ept rejection when they thought that Elise was someone who their boss imed. Everyone was none the wiser. "Well, we''re excited to meet him during the g then," One of the girls said. "Huh?" Elise blinked at them. Another woman nodded and stared at Elise curiously. "If he actually exists that is. I mean you can probably be just saying that you have a boyfriend to hide the truth. How can we actually know if we don''t meet him?" Chapter 100 - You Must Bring Your Boyfriend "This is a challenge, Elise. You need to bring him or we won''t stop at all. We need the confirmation." Elise bit her lip but then nodded. "Of course, I''ll bring my boyfriend to the g. You''ll meet him by then." Actually, it was none of anyone''s business even if she was dating Marc Sanderman. Who cared if she did! It was human''s rights to date anyone they fancied. However, Elise didn''t like confrontation and she was tired of the ongoing gossips in the office. She just wanted to work and make honest money so she could stand up on her own two feet. It''s good that now she had Loriel who was kind to her and had been helping her, but for how long? What happened if things went south between them? "What is he like, Elise?" This time around, the people were actually interested in the person that she was dating. The man couldn''t be more awesome than their boss, who had been nominated as the most eligible bachelor in the world for three years in a row, could he?. "My boyfriend?" The people in the group nodded their heads. One of the women spoke up and motioned to herself. "I mean if I had the option to date my boss, I would want it. But your boyfriend must be amazing if our boss'' acts don''t mean much." She was actually trying to say that Elise must be crazy to reject Marc''s move to date another man. Her boyfriend surely couldn''t match Marc''s level. That guy must be poor that Elise had to keep working to afford her life. They still thought that Marcing during Elise''s time of need meant that there was a chance that Marc considered Elise as a special person. But if Elise already had a boyfriend then it meant that Marc Sanderman''s act before in saving her from Julian and Tessa didn''t have the same effect on Elise. OR... Elise was just pretending to have a boyfriend, a cover, so people would stop gossiping about her rtionship with Marc. Whichever it was, everyone was curious to know the truth. "Well¡­ he''s one of the most handsome guys you''ll ever see," Elise started. "But it''s not only his looks that''ll make you fall in love with him or like him. My boyfriend is sweet, thoughtful and considerate." "The guys here should start taking notes. Elise''s listing out a dream man." The women started joking and teasing theirpanions and even Elise. It wasn''t easy to convince them when their minds were still stuck on considering her as Marc''s woman. "How is he sweet and considerate?" A woman raised her brow. "I mean a boyfriend would at least try to drop you off at work or pick you up when our work''s over, you know? I''ve never seen a whiff of him." Elise shrugged. "He''s a busy man. But when I get home after work or my baking course, he''s often done preparing dinner." "Wait wait¡­ you live with him?" Elise probably said too much. She really did. The men in Elise''s life were actually so few that she didn''t have much reference at all and started describing Loriel by default. If it was between him, her father, Julian and Chef Lucy. Loriel was the ideal boyfriend that came to her mind? "Man, I thought you and your boyfriend are still taking it slow or recently got together¡­ but all this time you''ve been staying with him? That''s incredible." Another woman gushed. Elise quickly found an excuse to end the conversation. She got carried away and spilled way too much. "I''m sorry, Alex needs me in her room now," she waved at them and took her leave. "Don''t forget to bring your boyfriend to our end-of-year g!!" "If not, we will think that you made him up." "Bye, Mrs. Sanderman!" Elise''s face flushed red when she heard their teasing before she stepped into the elevator. She pinched herself for what she just did. Why did she have to put herself in this situation? She could have just smiled and left, not caring about what they said. Now, not only did she fake a boyfriend, but she also told them that she was already living together with that man. What should she do? Would she dare to ask Loriel to go with her to thepany g? What would he think about her? If she told him the truth, that she only did it to avoid being gossiped with Marc, would Loriel scold Marc? Ufff¡­ Elise was conflicted and didn''t know what to do. *** When was the ging up? Elise checked on her phone''s calendar and stepped inside the penthouse. It was a little worrying how Elise ced herself in this predicament when she had no clue of Loriel''s schedule at all. Loriel was always at home when she arrived. It was easy to assume that he spent his days at the penthouse and never left. But that was impossible. Loriel surely went out around the same time as she did and just frequently arrived back in the penthouse before she did. At least, that''s what she assumed. If only Elise knew that Loriel spent most of his time ying with his two cats, swimming, working out in his private gym, watching new cooking shows, knitting her a sweater¡­ she must be coughing blood. The man was enjoying life to the fullest. Now that he already found his wife, he was content. He didn''t want to do anything stressful. He was happy to let Elise enjoy her new life, doing things she liked, and he patiently waited for her to return to him every day. "Ah, Elise, good evening." Loriel greeted her with a gentle smile. Horatio had told him about her arrival before Elise entered the penthouse, so Loriel could hide his knitting projects. He had finished twin scarves for Elise and him and was in the middle of finishing a nice cozy sweater for her. Winter wasing in the next few days and he wanted her to have warm clothes. Chapter 101 - Boyfriend For Hire Elise looked up to Loriel and smiled back. "Hello, Loriel." The man was wearing a cooking apron And held vegetables in his hand. After he hid his knitting gears, he put on his apron and pretended to get ready to cook dinner. The two cats, Pot and Pebble were mewling around Loriel''s feet. It seemed like they were eager to delight and sample the dishes that Loriel was nning to cook. "Can I get your cloak, Miss Elise?" Horatio''s voice rang in the air and a robot strolled and came up to Elise. "Ah, I''m good. Thank you." Elise hung the cloak in the coat rack and nced at Loriel once again. How was Elise going to approach Loriel about this g? It was best to be honest and forting about this, right? Elise can do this easily. "So how did your day go, Elise?" Loriel suddenly asked. "There seems to be something on your mind. Would you like to eat first? I am preparing a quick dinner. It will be done in fifteen minutes." Elise looked up to him and then quickly approached the cupboard. "I''ll set down the dining ware then. I''m looking forward to eating since your cooking smells delicious as always." It was as if the man could readily see and read her expressions even when Elise didn''t even say anything at all. This was probably what Loriel learned to do after all the time they''ve lived together for the past two months. Now that Elise didn''t immediately answer his question, Loriel didn''t insist on getting her response. Loriel hoped Elise would open up by herself and so, he didn''t want to pry at all. The man kept his word. He whipped a quick dinner and soon the scent of delicious and fragrant food once again filled the entire penthouse. Elise helped him by preparing the dining table and cutlery, while Loriel served the food for them. The two eventually settled down at the dinner table and began dining together. Once again it seemed like Loriel cooked another Italian dinner for them--it seemed to be perfect for a date. While eating, Elise was busy with her thoughts as she remembered how her coworkers kept bringing and interrogating about her fictional boyfriend. "Uh¡­ Loriel?" "Yes, Elise?" "You don''t happen to be free around December 15, are you?" Elise finally asked. She looked at the man with her best puppy eyes. Loriel looked up to her from his meal. "My schedule''s free by that time. It''s usually around that time when business operations and meetings slow down ande to a halt as the end of the year approaches." "Then would you like to attend a g with me?" Elise asked. Loriel raised a brow. "Is this the end of the year g at Marc''spany?" "Yes! I should have known that you already know about it." Elise smiled at him. At least Elise didn''t need to exin about the g when Loriel was already familiar with it. "Indeed, I''ve attended it in the past when I wasn''t so busy," Loriel said. "It''s your first year there so I''m sure you''ll love the party." "Yeah¡­ about that. Would you like toe with me to the party? If you''re attending this year, then perhaps the two of us can go there together?" "I''d love to." Actually, Loriel hated the crowds and meeting many people¡­ However, if Elise needed him to go with her to this stupid g, he would dly do it. That''s how much he loved his wife. "Great!" Elise smiled in relief. "You see, there''s something at work that I need to prove¡­" "And that is?" "It''s a really funny story actually. My colleagues started teasing me about being Marc''s woman. Probably because I got in thepany with your help. I told them that I have a boyfriend¡­ but now they''re expecting me to bring someone." "And the boyfriend is¡­ me?" "If you don''t mind." Elise''s face looked so red from embarassment. She quickly added. "Just for the g!" Loriel wanted tough when he saw her shy expression. She looked so cute and adorable. He really, really wanted to kiss her luscious lips. "Ah, just for the g?" he repeated her words. Elise nodded. "Yeah. They only asked me to show you during the g." Loriel rubbed his chin. "Hmm¡­ don''t you know nowadays it''s so easy to rent a boyfriend online? You can find them anywhere with rates as low as $100 per hour." Loriel just happened to stumble into such sites when he was browsing the inte out of boredom. The world nowadays was a crazy ce. Search, and you would find. That''s basically what happened now. A wide array of services were avable, you just need to look and use the right keywords. Elise''s eyes bulged when she heard him. She pressed her lips in surprise. "For real??? B-boyfriend for hire??" "Yes. Not only girlfriend for hire, but boyfriend for hire is quite popr too," Loriel added, "In this modern times, many people choose to rent boyfriend or girlfriend to show to their families or friends during social events or Christmas family holidays to avoid being pestered." "Pestered?" Elise didn''t understand why would people do such a thing. "Yeah. Fewer and fewer people in modern times want to get married, while their conservative parents might want to see their kids get married and produce grandchildren for them. This is especially true for people in Asia, where marriages and family are still valued greatly. I''ve seen such services offered here in the US too, by the way." "Really?" "Yeah. Also, socially awkward people who cannot have any real rtionship might need to show a romantic partner on social events to boost their careers in politics, industry gathering, and whatnot." "But they are¡­ paid escorts, right?" Elise confirmed his words. "Aren''t they the same as prostitutes and gigolos?" Loriel quickly waved his hand. "No. They are different. Sex workers are easy to get. This boyfriend and girlfriend for hire usually don''t offer sex. They are there for the conversation, as arm candy. They have to look like people from the upper-ss or well educated, or something to create a good impression. They have to look like the boyfriend or girlfriend that you want to bring to your parents." "You seem to know a lot," Elisemented. Loriel shrugged. He did know a lot. When he was bored, he would read and search on stuff. He ended up knowing so many useless things, including this one fact. "What''s more interesting, I also know people who offer services as a cuddle buddy. They charge $80 per hour to cuddle with you and that''s it. It''s because research shows that cuddle is good for physical and mental health," he added. "This is a new business niche that apparently bes quite popr too." When he saw Elise''s face, Loriel realized he had talked too much. The man immediately waved both hands in a panic. "No, I just read a lot. I have never used their services. Not a girlfriend for hire nor cuddle buddy¡­" Elise must think that Loriel had done those things since he seemed to know so much. She forced a smile and shook her head. "I''m not judging you, Loriel. It''s okay if you have." Loriel felt like eating his own shoe. Chapter 102 - He Is Dying To Kiss Her Back "No, I never use those services," Loriel insisted. He was lonely, but it was because he was missing her a lot, not apanion per se. Loriel didn''t need anyone to keep himpany, especially to cuddle him or be his arm candy. Nah¡­ he had Pot and Pebble for that. He couldn''t really tolerate most humans. So, why would he pay people to be with him? That just didn''t make sense. Now, the man looked really annoyed. He pursed his lips as he said, "Do you think¡­ someone like me needs to pay people to keep mepany?" Elise realized the usually calm and sweet man had be irritated. So, she quickly apologized. "I am sorry if I offended you with my words," she said sweetly. "I know you don''t need to pay people to be your girlfriend. I am sure girls would flock on you. I was just joking earlier. I am sorry it wasn''t funny." "Oh¡­" This time, it was Loriel''s turn to feel surprised. So, Elise was just pulling his leg? He didn''t expect that. He really thought she was serious. Well, Elise was just saying those words spontaneously. If Loriel used services for hire, she would not judge him. But seeing how offended he was just now, the woman quickly concluded that Loriel really didn''t do it. That''s why she apologized and just made light of the situation by saying that she was joking. Loriel looked at his wife deeply. He didn''t remember Elise joked around like this in the past. Now, she was acting so carefree and rxed, unlike his wife in the past who was uptight and easily sad. Loriel liked the new Elise. But, to be honest, even if Elise was as uptight as she was before, Loriel would love her the same. He was just d to see her looking confident and happy like she was now. "I am sorry," Elise lowered her face. She felt bad about what she said just now. Of course, she knew someone like Loriel wouldn''t need to pay anyone to be his date. For one, the man didn''t need to impress anyone that he had to feel the need to get a girlfriend. And secondly, he also wouldn''t have any problem getting girls. Not only he was wealthy, but he was also really handsome. If Elise wanted to be honest with herself, this man was the most good-looking man she had ever met. Loriel was also kind and smart. He was exactly the type of man that most women would want to marry. "No... don''t say sorry, you are not at fault," Lorielughed awkwardly. "I think I was just being too uptight. So, I misunderstood you. That was a good one¡­ hehe. Yeah, I don''t use girlfriend for hire nor cuddle buddy, but I know such services exist, because I read a lot¡­ of useless world trivia. Anyway¡­ What I was trying to say was¡­" Suddenly, Loriel didn''t remember what he was trying to say. He was distracted because he wanted to convince Elise that he never rented a girlfriend or someone to cuddle with him. Dammit. "Yes?" Elise asked him attentively. "What do you have in mind?" "What I meant to say was¡­" Luckily, Loriel remembered at thest minute. "People would be suspicious if I only show up during the g. Since it is easy to rent a boyfriend, especially a handsome and sessful-looking dude from the inte, people who are suspicious of your rtionship status might think you got me from the inte if they only saw me that one time." "Oh¡­ I never thought of it that way," said Elise. She pressed her lips, looking distraught. Loriel was right. If renting a boyfriend was that easy, her office mates might suspect that she hired Loriel to be her fake boyfriend just to distract their minds from the gossip between Elise and Marc. Then, bringing Loriel to the year-end g would be counter-productive and waste Loriel''s precious time. Uff¡­ what should she do? "You can prevent such issue if I also show up in your office several times, after the g. You know¡­ I can pick you up or drop you off, or something. They will be convinced that we are in a rtionship and you don''t have to worry about being gossiped again," Loriel suggested. "What do you think?" The former king was actually very happy with this situation. If Elise needed a fake boyfriend, he would jump into the opportunity and offered himself. Of course, he hoped it could open the door to her heart and he would be her boyfriend for real. Later, after they were dating for some time, Loriel nned to propose to Elise properly and marry her. Even though Elise was already his wife, but Loriel didn''t mind marrying her again and started over from zero. Anything would do. He didn''t mind. As long as he was with her. In a way, he would also see this as an opportunity to make up to her and rebuild their rtionship from the beginning. This time, he would do everything right. He would love her and care for her with all his heart and soul, and most importantly, he would let her know how much he loved her. "Oh my¡­ you are absolutely right," Elise let out a sigh. She looked at Loriel with a shy expression, trying to ask him if he would consider going to her office too. She thought he had a point and his suggestion was good. However, would he do it for her? Was it not too excessive? The man must have so many other more important things to do than going to her office and picked her up just to fool her office mates into thinking that he was Elise''s boyfriend¡­ "Well..? What do you think?" Loriel didn''t want to offer himself. He wanted Elise to ask him for it. He wanted to hear from her lips that she wanted him to be her boyfriend, even if it was only a fake one. Elise bit her lip. She must ask him. If you never asked, you would never get, was her motto. If Loriel was too busy, or he was out of town, then Elise could find another solution. Finally, the words he had been wanting to hear, came out of her lips. "Loriel¡­ would you mind being my fake boyfriend in front of my office mates?" Elise asked the man with a barely audible voice. "This means, going to my office and pick me up several times, just to kill the gossip." She quickly added, "I would totally understand if you are too busy for this or if you feel ufortable. I will just rent a real boyfriend-for-hire from the inte to make things easier." "Wait¡­ what?" Loriel batted his eyes when he heard her words. The man quickly waved both hands, "No! Don''t get a rented boyfriend from the inte. I will do it for you. Just use your money for other more important things. Don''t spend it on renting another man." "Ah¡­ so, will you do that for me? Will you really pose as my boyfriend?" Elise grabbed Loriel''s arms excitedly. "Do you really not mind?" "I don''t mind even if you want me to be your boyfriend for real," said Loriel with a chuckle. He was serious with his words, but of course, Elise thought he was joking. "Thank you so much!! I will treat you to dinner again after I get my sry. Next time, we can have a nice dinner without any interference," said Elise happily. Because she was so excited, Elise spontaneously kissed Loriel on the cheek. This simple and sweet gesture made the man''s heart flutter. Gosh¡­ he was dying to kiss her back! Chapter 103 - The $10k Gift Cards Loriel was dying to kiss his wife. Her luscious lips brushed his cheek and felt so soft when she gave him a peck. It made Loriel''s heart palpitate. The man had to swallow his drool and looked away, trying to divert his attention to their two cats, so he would stop thinking about Elise''s lips. The former king couldn''t possibly kiss her back. He had to exert his self-control and wait until Elise became his again. At the moment, she was just a¡­ friend to him. "Don''t mention it," Loriel said with a smile. "I don''t have much to do anyway in December. It will be fun." He went to the fridge and took out a bowl of ice cream and served them each two scoops of ice cream for desserts. "Tell me about the g and what I should be wearing to go there," he said. Elise took her ice cream and excitedly told him what she knew. It was an annual celebration held by thepany to show the employees how much they were valued. It was not a formal event, but attendees were expected to dress up and look good. The CEO will announce thepany''s achievement for the year, their ns going forward, and he would give awards to employees who had done excellent works in the respective year. He would also announce the end-of-year bonus that would be received by each employee. Alex told Elise thatst year, in addition to their paid holiday bonus, every employee received an additional $500 together with their sry for the month. It was a really exciting time. And of course, the moment that many people were waiting for was music performance, quizzes, and raffles. The door prizes prepared, ranging from holidays in Europe, the newest gadgets, to self-driving cars. Loriel listened to Elise''s exnation with a big smile on his face. From her expression, he could guess that Elise hoped she could win one of the door prizes. Hmm¡­ maybe he should make it happen. What could she possibly want now? A new car? She didn''t need it because her workce was within walking distance from home. But, maybe she could sell the car for money. She seemed to like money. Didn''t she secretly wish to open a bakery once her skills were good enough? Hmm¡­ Loriel would think about it. *** "Loriel, I will being homete today," Elise informed Loriel before she left for work. "Don''t need to wait for me to have dinner." Loriel just finished packing her lunch and handed out her Hello Kitty lunch box to her. The man furrowed his brows when he heard her. "You don''t have any baking ss tonight." Elise nodded. "That''s true. Wow¡­ you know all my schedule." She smiled sweetly, feeling happy that this handsome man was so attentive. Loriel pretended to shrug nonchntly. "I just have a really good memory." "Ah, I see. Thank you for the lunch," Elise epted her lunch box and put it inside her bag. "Yeah, I don''t have any baking ss tonight, but I will be shopping for clothes with my office mates. You know¡­ we need new dresses for thepany year-end g." Loriel was so happy to hear that. That means Elise would finally use her $10k gift cards. He didn''t give them to her for nothing. He felt sorry to see Elise only had a few office clothes. Maybe she was feeling ufortable shopping with him back then, so she only bought a little. But now, if she went shopping with fellow women, she might feel more excited about getting tons of new outfits. "Ah¡­ sounds good," Loriel nodded. "You should use the gift cards. I think they will expire if you didn''t use them right away. Didn''t the girl at BLoomingrose said it''s valid for the year? 2045 is almost over." "Wait.. didn''t she say the gift cards are valid FOR ONE YEAR? Not for the year¡­" Elise looked confused. "Maybe I am wrong." "Well, just spend it and buy a lot of things as soon as possible." Loriel schemingly persuaded Elise. "You don''t want to regret losing the points if they really expire this year." "Ah.. you are right," Elise nodded. She tip-toed and kissed Loriel on the cheek and bid him goodbye. "Thank you for the advice. I will do as you said. Bye!" The handsome man only smiled as he saw his wife walk through the front door and left. He had stopped following her to office secretly after the first week. He realized Elise could manage on her own and he shouldn''t smother her. He should let Elise enjoy life at her own terms in this time and age.. Loriel was happy to see Elise started making friends. He thought it was best that she went shopping with the girls from the office. *** Elise and her colleagues went to Bloomingrose to buy clothes for the year-end g. Christmas was just around the corner and it was time to buy gifts, clothes, and other things essential for the holidays and gatherings. There might have been sudden events like Tessa and Julian visiting thepany, the jokes about Elise being the mistress of their boss--but at the end of the day, Elise was still a well-liked person in theirpany. Almost everyone liked being around such a sweet, wholesome, and kind woman. "It''s a good thing that we work at Sanderman, employees get a small discount here," one of the women said. "But it''s still so expensive usually," another of themined. "Well, if we want to look our best at the end-year g where people in the higher-ups and special guests all arrive in what looks like A-list outfits for a runway model, then we have to buy here." "What about you, Elise? Don''t you agree that it''s expensive here?" All of them thought that she would say yes. Instead, Elise picked up an envelope from her purse. "Ah, I actually brought some gift cards with me." When she presented all of them with $10k gift cards, her colleagues were dumbfounded and rendered speechless. They had never seen such a big amount for spending on gift cards before, and they wondered where she got them from. Chapter 104 - Elise Doesnt Want To Be A Freeloader Elise looked at the gift cards and quickly came up with an idea. She said, "You can spend as much as you want from the $10k gift cards I have. I want you guys to choose whatever you like, and you only have to pay 50% of the actual cost." "Huh? What do you mean?" "I mean.. I have so many points in these gift cards that will expire soon if I don''t use them. So, I am thinking of making extra money. You can use the value in these gift cards to shop and you only need to pay me 50%. That way, you can get nice expensive dresses for half the price, and I will get some money for myself. What do you think?" Elise quickly exined. "That''s awesome!" One woman gushed. "I want to wear the $700 outfit that Susan wore when she was attending the pitching for our newest project. She said she got it from here." "Hey,e and check out to see if this dress will look good on me." This is what Elise wanted: the colleagues to choose what they want to buy. It also allowed her to earn money. She knew that Loriel was recovering money after he talked with his wealth managerst week, but it wasn''t fair that she offered him nothing at all. She had been living rent-free at his ce for so long, and she felt bad about it. So, if she could make extra money by selling his points to her colleagues, wouldn''t it be a win-win for everyone? Elise''s coworkers were happy, but they were still speechless. It seemed too good to be true. However, it didn''tst long as the giddiness of shopping took over them. There were colleagues who were willing to spend a lot of money on things that they wished to buy and didn''t have to worry. They would get an additional discount besides theirpany discount. "Thank you so much, Elise. A few of us have been saving up to go shopping again. In fact, Susan and I have been nning to go shopping for the asion," another woman said. "I''m d I am able to help out," Elise said with a smile. Elise''s colleagues started spreading across the entire store to find an outfit for themselves and it was time for her to do the same. While she wanted to find a gift for the people that suddenly became part of her life like Alex, Chef Lucy, Marc and especially Loriel... Elise really needed to get an appropriate outfit for the party. The reason why Loriel probably gave her these gift cards was because he knew that her current clothes wouldn''t look good when she was with him, didn''t it? While Elise was looking at the dresses and outfits that could be worn during the g, she couldn''t help but wonder what Loriel would wear. He agreed with being her date for the end-year party but she had no idea what outfit he was going to wear. Her fingers brushed against the fabric of a sheer flowy dress. "Are you going to wear a matching outfit with your boyfriend?" na from Finance asked Elise. "What will your boyfriend wear?" Elise turned to her right and saw na browsing through the same disy of outfit. na''s question got her thinking. "Do we have to match our outfit?" Elise asked her back. "Why?" "Of course you have to. That''s one of the things that you need to look forward to as a couple." na replied. "That''s what I usually do with my boyfriend when we attend an event together. It''s like¡­ a fashion statement, to show the world that you are together. Also, to make those bitches who try to steal my boyfriend know that he is taken¡­ hahahahaha." Elise chuckled at na''s joke. She closed her eyes and thought of herself walking with Loriel during the party, wearing matching outfits. They would surely look good together. Ah, well.. Loriel would look good in anything. Even just a pair of boardshorts. Wait¡­ she couldn''t help but remember the time when she went home to find Loriel chilling on the sunchair wearing only his boardshorts after swimming. He looked so¡­ good. The imagination of it made her cheeks heat up. Emmelyn quickly shook the image away from her head. "I see... well I don''t think he''s that type of person." "Really now? He doesn''t like to wear matching outfits with his own girlfriend? That''s a shame." "Yeah. It''s okay. I will just wear what I want. He will look good in anything. I am not worried about that," said Elise with a smile. "Okay, if you say so." "But I think I found something that I''d like to wear." Elise eyed the white dress and ran her fingers through the silky material. Secretly, she wanted to wear matching outfits with Loriel. However, it was difficult to match with someone when you didn''t have any idea what they were going to wear. However, by choosing this dress then she''d be able toplement whatever Loriel chose to wear. Elise already asked for too much by asking him to be her date. Once Elise and her other colleagues finally finished picking out their clothes, all of them went to the cashier counter. Elise prepared her gift cards and used them to pay for the entirety of the dresses brought by her colleagues. That was also the time that these colleagues also started paying Elise the amount that she requested from them. It was a fairlyrge amount of money that made her colleagues look at Elise. "I think you should deposit the money fast. I don''t think I ever held that much money in my own hands before." "Mhmm, agreed." Elise ced the money in her bag and looked up to them. "But don''t we have other ces to go to?" "We can go there next time. I may actually have spent too much money getting the dress I wanted." An awkwardugh came from her colleagues. "My son is also looking for me." "The dog for me." The women that were with Elise became more willing to splurge because of the gift cards. But now it seemed like they were all eager to get back to their respective homes. Elise nodded. "Alright then, I''ll see you guys at the office." "See you, Elise!" "Thank you for today!" "Have a safe trip~" *** Elise returned back to the penthouse feeling excited about seeing Loriel. Once she stepped inside the ce, she was quickly given the sight of Loriel having the two cats in hisps and simply rubbing their bellies. A smile crossed her lips at the sight. It seemed like Pot and Pebble kept their word in keeping Lorielpany. "Ah, good evening Elise." Horatio greeted her and rolled up to her. "May I get your coat and scarf?" "Oh, thank you." Elise handed it to him and then met Loriel''s gaze. "Wee back, Elise." Loriel greeted her with a smile. Loriel eyed the one shopping bag in Elise''s hand and wasn''t exactly that surprised she didn''t buy herself that many outfits, but this was something that could be fixed by another trip to the store. Elise quickly shuffled through her bag and picked up the envelope. It was now thick and wad with cash. Elise strolled up to him and presented it to him. "Loriel, I wanted to give you this." Loriel blinked and looked at Elise. "What is this for?" "I want to contribute my fair share in staying here at your home," Elise said. This time her voice was firm and she looked serious. "It''s not fair that I can stay here simply for being yourpany, I''d like to pay you. I don''t like being a freeloader." "That''s..." Elise scratched her cheek. "I may have uh, used the gift cards to get some money so don''t worry about it. I don''t have anything I want except to pay you properly." Loriel studied Elise''s expression and knew it was true. He eventually nodded and smiled. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Elise, but I don''t need your money." "It''s only right that I pay you," Elise insisted. "Please ept this. I don''t want to be a burden or freeloader." Loriel looked at her for a long time. He wished he could just tell her who he was and that all his money and his property were hers too since she was his wife. ''Oh, Elise¡­ you are NOT a freeloader. You are my dearly beloved wife. All I have is yours.'' He was dying to say those words to her. However, he couldn''t. Not in this condition. Elise didn''t know who they were and what was the real rtionship between them. Loriel must wait until the right time came. For now, he had to understand her perspective and ept the money she offered. She must not want to depend on other people and be a burden. "Let''s put this money in the drawer and talk about itter." Finally, Loriel relented. He took the envelope and put it in a kitchen drawer. Then, he stood up and offered a hand. "Since you came back earlier than I thought, would you like to have dinner with me?" Elise already reached out to Loriel and grabbed his hand by instinct. "Ah, you haven''t eaten dinner yet?" "Nah, I didn''t feel well today so I took a nap and only woke up just now. In time for dinner." "Oh no¡­ are you okay? Have you taken any medicine? Did you see a doctor?" Loriel chuckled to see Elise look so worried. "No, I am fine. Just got some light migraine. It''s gone now." He remembered how he often faked his headache in the past to get some attention from his wife. Now, he was too honest to use that cheap trick. A smile crossed Elise''s lips. "Alright then." Chapter 105 - A Surprise For Elise They ate dinner merrily while talking about their day. "What did you buy from the shop today?" Loriel asked after the robots cleared their dining table and the two were left with their sweet wine to unwind. "Oh¡­ I bought a dress for the g and some more office clothes," Elise said. She took her paper bag and put it on the table. "Do you want to see?" "Yes, sure." Loriel wanted to invite his designer toe sometimes and ask him to make some clothes for Elise too, but that had to wait. This was not yet the right time. "Okay.. here they are," said Elise happily. She took out a simple silk dress in white. It had embroidery on the V-neckline. The length was probably slightly above the knee and looked very elegant. Loriel could immediately imagine how it would look on Elise''s body. She would look amazing in anything, but this particr dress took his breath away because¡­ it was white. It looked like a wedding gown if Loriel wanted to see it that way. Ahh¡­ how he wished he could make Elise his wife again in this world. He would love to see her walk down the aisle in white with the wedding march yed in the background. There would be only the two of them. Ah, well.. maybe Marc could be his witness. Or.. perhaps, Daniel York, her adoptive father could attend or give her away. She would like that. By the way, speaking of Daniel York¡­ Loriel wanted to smack himself in the face. He had been wanting to reunite Elise with the man she called as father after he found out who she was. However, since Loriel was a selfish person who couldn''t care less about other people, he only focused on Elise and their time together. Hepletely forgot about her ''family'' in this modern world. Daniel had taken care of his Elise for five years. It was only fair if Loriel paid back his kindness in some sort. And he believed Elise would love to meet her adoptive father again. Yeah¡­ Loriel would make it a surprise. "You are smiling. What are you thinking about?" Suddenly Elise''s voice moved Loriel from his reverie. The man turned to her and shook his head mysteriously. "I am thinking of a surprise," he said. "For you. "For me?" Elise tilted her head, looking very interested. "What kind of surprise?" "Well.. If I told you, it will not be a surprise anymore." "Ah¡­ you are right," Elise chuckled. "Okay. I am excited. I will patiently wait for it." "Good girl." Loriel was all smiles that night. He knew this would be a nice surprise for Elise. She deserved if after what she went through. "Do you want to see my other clothes?" Elise asked Loriel. "Yes, of course!" Elise took out more outfits from her paper bag and showed them to the man. Loriel knew Elise had good taste. All the outfits she bought looked elegant and great for mix and match. He thanked his luck that Elise didn''t choose to go into modeling. She would definitely kill it and perhaps be so famous that it would be hard for him to keep her to himself. "They are all nice," praised Loriel. "Next time when you go to Bloomingrose again, you should buy more." "Oh, I cannot buy more. I have exhausted all the points in my gift cards," said Elise. Loriel remembered Elise gave him a stack of money that she made out of selling the points. Uff¡­ He should find a way to give her more gift cards. Maybe make her win them from the raffle? Hmm.. that''s a good idea. *** Loriel quickly made preparation to surprise Elise. He wanted her to meet the man who took care of her in this world, Daniel York, the man she called father. The situation surrounding Madeline York''s disappearance was depressing and heartbreaking for the York family, but because of it, Elise was able to survive in this world. If the real Madeline was never missing, Elise would be alone and didn''t have anyone to take her in. Where did they find her? A vige in the mountain in Germany, right? Loriel didn''t dare to think about what would happen to his Elise if she was stuck there with the vigers who didn''t know who she was and thought she was mentally ill because she didn''t understand theirnguage and how life worked in the modern world. For that¡­ he would be forever grateful to the York family. With all his heart, he wished they would find their real daughter and they could live happily ever after. However, with Daniel York''s current condition¡­ it might never happen. Loriel learned from Marc that Daniel York''s condition was terminal and they only needed to wait until the inevitable happened. Truly a devastating situation. When Loriel met Elise for the first time in New York and Elise said she wanted to go to Central Park together, the man had thought that Elise already married someone else and she was reminiscing about where she met her new husband. He was so relieved to hear that it turned out to be the ce where her adoptive parents met. Loriel had no idea back then about the circumstances surrounding Elise''s new life as Madeline York. But Loriel still remembered the sadness in Elise''s face when she mentioned her father in Central Park. Her sadness made Loriel''s heart break a little. He was reminded of the old King Alexander Leoralei and queen dowager Myrce Leoralei, Elise''s father and grandmother. They had passed away centuries ago, both were heartbroken by Elise''s disappearance and they med Loriel for what happened. The former king carried the burden of guilt for such a long time. Now that he had found his wife, he felt so sad because she didn''t know that the father and grandmother that she deeply loved was no longer alive. She would be truly devastated when her memory came back and she remembered them. Oh well¡­ Loriel decided to keep tomorrow''s worry for tomorrow. He should not think about it today. Right now, he must reunite Elise with Daniel York, her adoptive father while the man was still alive. Soon, it would be toote. Finding out Danie''s medical record was not as easy as finding out other information about the York family. The data was protected by the government. It took quite a bit of an effort by Marc to find out where Daniel was treated. Madeline York''s father was finally discovered in a private treatment facility, apparently not far from New York. Loriel''s anger grew knowing that both Tessa and Julian kept this information away from Elise. Their attempts to seize the wealth of the York family for themselves were despicable. On the weekend, Loriel promised to take Elise out and meet her father as a surprise. After they had breakfast, Loriel cleared his throat and asked Elise. "Elise, would you care to apany me somewhere?" Elise looked up and nodded. "Of course, I''d be happy to go with you." Loriel sighed in relief. "Thank you, I''ll wait for you to get ready. Horatio please take a stock of the fruits we have in the fridge and prepare a fruit basket for me." "All right, Master," replied the ever-efficient Horatio. "I also have prepared the flowers." "Good." "Where are we going, Loriel?" Elise asked. The idea that the two of them were to go somewhere that needed a fruit basket and flowers as necessary items made her think of it as a housewarming gift. "You''ll figure out when we get there," Loriel told her with a gentle smile. "Alright, I trust you." The two of them took a private cab and traveled towards the medical facility. Loriel already had Marc take care of it, so when the two of them stepped out, the nurses and doctors weed them. "Are you Miss Madeline York?" One of the nurses asked. Elise''s expression changed from the moment they arrived here. She had her suspicion when she saw that the car stopped in front of a medical facility. And when she saw the doctors calling her name, her eyes suddenly pricked with tears. After all this time, Elise was going to meet her father and it made her emotional. "Loriel... did you really find my father?" Elise asked. She couldn''t believe it. Loriel grabbed her shoulders reassuringly and gave her a smile. He even brought a finger up to wipe her tears and answered her gently. "Yes, I did. And I''m quite sure that Mr. York would love to see his daughter with eyes that aren''t swollen. He might think that I made you cry, won''t he?" Loriel chuckled. "Okay," Elise sniffed. A father''s love was amazing. If Elise reacted this much to a man who adopted her, then it meant that Daniel York was a great man and an outstanding father. *** The private lodgings of Daniel York was a spacious room with white walls and with arge window that allowed sunlight to filter in. Elise stepped inside the room and found her father currently reading a book. It seemed like he had two personal attendants that took care of his needs. Loriel brought a basket of fruits and flowers for the patient. He cleared his throat and took the side of the room to allow the daughter and father to reunite. Chapter 106 - Visiting Mr. York Elise was so touched when she saw the middle-aged man. She couldn''t believe that she finally could see her father again. Tears slowly rolled down her face as she walked closer to Mr. Yok. "Father?" Her voice was hoarse when she called out to him. The older man turned in the direction of the voice and his eyes widened when he saw Elise and also noticed Loriel''s presence. His face instantly beamed and a smile curved up on his face He ced his book aside and tried to get up from his bed to approach Elise. "Maddie! You''ve finallye to visit." His voice was hoarse and filled with longing. "Yes, yes I have. I am here father," Elise said and ran up to his bed. She knelt in front of her father and smiled. "I''m terribly sorry that I wasn''t able toe any sooner..." Daniel York coughed lightly and took Elise''s hand in his. He simply smiled at her. "I''m just d you finally came here and that it seems like you''re doing well." Elise smiled back at him. "I... I am. I have so much to tell you, but how are you doing? Father, how are they treating you?" She wanted to tell him that Tessa and her family treated her badly, basically locking her up in the house and made many sinister ns to snatch the family''s wealth from Elise and put her in the mental asylum. However, seeing how frail her father look, Elise didn''t have the heart to burden him with her problem. She better pretended that everything was fine and she was doing well. "I''m doing as fine as I can be while staying here." Danielughed. "However, I''d like to hear your story, my child. It seems like there is a good reason as to why you haven''t been able to visit." "No¡­ there''s never going to be a good reason for that." Elise bit her lip and forced a smile. "Something happened at home and I ended up moving to NYC. It''s great. I even visited the ce where you and mother met." "Ah, how was it?" "The Blue Jacaranda trees were blooming wonderfully when I got there. I wouldn''t be surprised if that was the moment that mother fell in love with you." Daniel York smiled at that. "I can imagine. It must be so pretty." He looked up and saw Loriel, then pointed at the man. "Is this.. your friend?" Elise looked at Loriel, blushed, but nodded. "Yes... I met him by chance. Father, this is Loriel. He is a friend and he has been helping me a lot." "Hello, Mr. York. Nice to meet you," said Loriel with a smile. He reached out his hand and shake the older man''s hand. "Madeline is a really sweet woman and I am d to be friends with her." "Where are you staying in New York?" Daniel York looked at Elise attentively. "And what have you been doing there?" "I am staying in the city center," said Elise. "Loriel has been helping me to find amodation and he also helped me get a job. I''m currently working at a goodpany and also taking baking courses." Daniel smiled and cupped her cheeks. "I''m relieved to hear and see that you''re doing great, Madeline sweetheart." Elise wanted to cry when she felt the man''s bony fingers on her cheeks. Her father was so frail and thin. In just several months that she didn''t see him, he had changed so much physically. She wiped her tears and forced a smile. "I miss you so much." "I miss you too, child," Daniel York hugged Elise and rubbed her hair affectionately. "I was worried about you. I keep asking Tessa and her mother to bring you but they gave me so many excuses. I thought something bad must happen to you and I was right." "No¡­ I am fine," Elise quickly said to her father. "Father, you don''t have to worry about me. Tessa and Auntie Liz can''t do anything to me now because I no longer stay with them." "..." Elise''s words unintentionally indicated that when she was staying with her uncle''s family, they could do bad things to her. And this didn''t escape Mr. York''s observation. Elise immediately realized this too and she regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. "I mean¡­ I am really okay," she whispered. "Isn''t that what matters?" She let go of herself from her father''s embrace and looked at the older man deeply, and her lips were smiling sweetly. "To be honest, I have never felt so happy and free and alive until I left home. Now, I have learned so many things and I am excited about a new chapter in my life." Mr. York looked at Elise with gleaming eyes. He wanted to cry for his inability to protect his beloved daughter when he was sick like this. However, seeing how healthy and happy she looked, and how she seemed to function well in the society and even made friends with this lovely man who came with her¡­ Daniel York felt some sense of relief. He was always worried about Madeline. How she would take care of herself after he was gone. She was autistic and couldn''t speak like normal children, and when they found her again after being missing for more than 15 years, her condition was so heartbreaking. He thought she would need a guardian to help her care for her life. But.. it looked like she could manage really well on her own now. This made him proud as a father. The man finally nodded and smiled. "I can see that you are well. I am very happy." KNOCK KNOCK A nurse came with a tray filled with a teapot and two cups for Elise and Loriel. She smiled and nodded her head to Mr. York. "Sir, this is tea for your guests," she said. She entered and put the tray on the small table next to the patient bed. Chapter 107 - He Can Be Poetic Too "Why, thank you Lindsay," Mr. York said to her. "This is my daughter, Maddie." "Ah, hello, Ms. Maddie," the nurse greeted Elise. "My name is Lindsay. I''m pleased to meet you." "Hello, Lindsay. I''m pleased to meet you too," said Elise. "Thank you for taking care of my father." "Ah, it''s my pleasure¡­ really. Mr. York often told me about his daughter. You are more beautiful than what he told me," Lindsay smiled warmly. She poured tea into the two cups and gave them to Elise. "Tea?" "Thank you." Elise epted the cup and sipped it. It was starting to get cold because Mr. York''s window was opened. So, she offered to close it after she put down her teacup back onto the table. "No, please let it open," said Mr. York gently. He touched Elise''s hand and motioned her to sit down. "Today is the first day I could sit by my open window and enjoy the beauty. I want to see the leaves fall from the sky. Look... they are falling like rain now. It is so beautiful. Don''t you think?" He was right. From his window, they could see the gentle breeze shook the trees outside, enough to create a shower of leaves falling from the trees. It looked quite magical. Elise looked at the nurse, asking with her eyes what did her father mean by saying it was his first day to sit by his open window. The man was thin and frail but still looked quite healthy. Surely he could sit by his window easily¡­ right? So.. why did he say those words, as if he had not done it for a long time? The nurse shook her head lightly and whispered, "Actually, Mr. York was paralyzed for months because of the stroke and only recovered several days ago. He is still weak, but he is finally able to sit and even walk for a bit." "Oh¡­" Elise could only clench her fists to the sides when she heard this exnation. She hated Tessa and her family so much more. They were the reason why she couldn''t be by her father''s side during the toughest time of his life. If only she was informed of what happened and allowed to visit her father, Elise would havee here so much earlier and tried to make things easier for him. She would always be by his side. "Isn''t it beautiful?" Daniel York looked outside with a dreamy expression. His gaze seemed to wander further than the small garden beside the facility where he could see several trees which leaves were now falling down when a breeze blew gently. Elise sat next to him and held his hand. She affirmed her father''s words and said, "Yeah¡­ it is." "I met my wife in autumn like this. She loved seeing the leaves falling down from the sky, like rain, and that was our favorite pastime together. We would sit with a book and a cup of tea and enjoy nature." Mr. York turned to Elise and smiled faintly. "I remember when my wife was still alive, we would always sit together like this with a cup of tea in hand, and talked about how much we miss our lovely daughter. It was a shame that she passed away before she could meet you. She would have loved you." THUMP Loriel felt his heart beat faster when he heard Mr. York''s words. The man didn''t mention ''your mother'', but he used the word ''my wife'', as if talking to an outsider. Did he actually know in his heart, that Elise was not really his biological daughter? Was this his way of saying goodbye? Loriel saw the leaves too and he realized there was something special about it. He remembered that God of Death was poetic and he loved giving a sweet experience for the people he liked when they took theirst breaths. So, Daniel York loved watching the leaves falling with his wife? Was that why he was granted this beautiful sight at the end of his life? This made Loriel feel sad. He realized that Elise would soon lose this man she considered her father. She had been missing this man so much and was very happy to finally see him again. And it seemed, Elise didn''t notice that Daniel York no longer talked to her as if to his daughter. He spoke about his missing daughter and histe wife, as if talking to an outsider. "My wife would have loved you." Elise nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. "Yeah¡­ I wish I could see her. She must be a really wonderful woman." "She was¡­ She is the best. She is the love of my life, and I miss her so badly." Mr. York wiped his eyes too as tears started dripping down to his cheeks. "We were so tired¡­ in our efforts to find Madeline. We spared no expenses and time¡­ just to see her again." The atmosphere slowly turned gloomy when he reminisced the time when he and his wife was still looking for their missing daughter after years and years of effort. Daniel York let out a long sigh. "She never gave up. It was years of frustration and mental fatigue that finally took her from me. I am happy that she has finally rested. That''s my constion whenever I see the leaves falling like rain like today¡­" Elise started sobbing faintly. She, too, had a feeling that the conversation she had with her father today might as well be theirst conversation together. Both were now watching the garden from the open window without saying anything. Loriel who just received his cup of tea suddenly felt bad about drinking tea when the old man didn''t have any drinks in his hand. Didn''t he say his favorite pastime was watching the garden with his wife with a book and a cup of tea in their hands? Why shouldn''t he hold his cup now? Loriel motioned the nurse toe closer and whispered to her, "Lindsay, why didn''t you make tea for Mr. York as well?" The nurse shook her head apologetically. "I am sorry. He must not drink anything that the doctor didn''t allow." "Why?" Loriel asked curtly. He thought at a moment like this, it was appropriate for the father and daughter duo to enjoy theirst moment together to the fullest. "Because..." Loriel rolled his eyes and without paying any heed to the nurse, he decided to give his own cup to the older man and whispered to his ear, "Mr. York, please enjoy thest day of fall with your tea." The man epted the cup, looking grateful, and nodded. Loriel then gave Elise her cup and motioned her to sit and enjoy the tea with her father, while Loriel asked everyone to leave them to have a private time together. Elise wiped her tears with difficulty and mouthed her thank you. She got her cup and leaned her head on her father''s shoulder, continued watching the scenery from outside the window, while Loriel drove everyone away. Before he walked through the door, he turned around and smiled at the window. Suddenly flowers popping up in the garden and the breeze carried not just leaves but also flower petals from god knows where. It was such magical sight! Loriel was so proud of himself. He could be poetic too. Chapter 108 - Saying Goodbye (1) Loriel closed the door behind him and he stood still in front of it, as if protecting a gate from any monsters who were trying to enter. "Give them time to be alone," he said to the nurses who looked at him in confusion. He couldn''t me them for their reaction. They didn''t know what he knew. Daniel York''s condition seemed to improve after being so bad for months. So, they thought he would slowly recover. If they knew that the man was on hisst flicker, they would respectfully and willingly let Elise stay with him and say their goodbyes. "But the patient shouldn''t be drin¡ª" "So?" Loriel narrowed his eyes dangerously and looked at the nurse impatiently. "I will take responsibility." His charisma was so great that the nurses stepped back and didn''t say anything else. Meanwhile, in the patient''s room, Daniel York and Elise sat together and talked in a low voice about trivial things. Both had a cup of tea in their hands. "He seems like a nice guy," Daniel Yorkmented as he turned to Elise and looked at her with a yful glint in his eyes. "What do you think?" Elise was caught off guard by the sudden question. She looked at the man with batted eyes. "What do I think about what, father?" "Do you think he is a nice guy?" Daniel York repeated his question. "Ah¡­" Elise bit her lip and lowered her gaze. Then she looked around and realized Loriel and the hospital staff were no longer there. Mr. York and she were left alone to get privacy. No wonder her father asked her such an embarrassing question, the woman thought. If Loriel was still here, she would feel so embarrassed if he heard Mr. York asked whether she thought Loriel was a nice guy. It was as if Daniel York wanted to match her to Loriel. What would the man think? He might feel cornered by a dying man to take care of his daughter. Fortunately, Loriel didn''t hear it. So, Elise let out a sigh of relief. "Well¡­ he is a really kind man," she finally replied. Then, she turned to look at her father and smiled sheepishly. "But we are not in that type of rtionship." "Why not?" Mr. York asked Elise. "I can see that he loves you. Hasn''t he told you his feelings for you?" Elise''s eyes widened when she heard his words. Loriel? He was in love with her? How was that possible? The man never said anything to her. Besides, they had not known each other for long. Only less than two months. He never made any hints that he harbored feelings for her other than friendship. He had always treated her respectfully. "Do you not know that?" Mr. York scoffed at Loriel who was no longer in the room. He could clearly see how much the man loved his ''daughter''. So, Mr. York thought Loriel had said something to Elise to express his feelings for her. Apparently not. "No, father. He is not interested in that type of re¡­." Elise didn''t continue her words. She didn''t know Loriel that well to assume if he was into a rtionship or not. She had never seen him with any woman and he also never talked about other women in his life. He never even shared about his family. Loriel only mentioned that all his family members were gone, and Elise didn''t prob him on that matter. "It''s okay. Maybe he is waiting for the right time to express his feelings for you," said Mr. York to Elise. He had seen how his words bothered Elise and now the woman started thinking about Loriel from that perspective. He regretted asking, since now Elise would wonder if that was true and question if Loriel really did things for her because he was in love with her. "Can we not talk about it?" Elise lowered her face, shyly. "I want to know how you are doing. I missed you so much and was worried sick about you." Mr. York patted Elise''s hand and replied. "I''ve missed you too. I am d you can make it toe here." He put down his tea on the small table beside the bed and then pulled Elise closer to lean on his shoulder again. His voice was hoarse when he whispered. "You know what? I dreamed about my wifest night." Elise''s tears slowly dripped down to her cheeks as she listened to her father speak about his dream. He said his wife came to him and sat by the bed. And then, they talked for hours. He missed her so badly. He was also very tired. "I want to be with her, but I am worried about you¡­." he muttered softly. Elise understood what Mr. York wanted to say. He was missing his wife and his frail body no longer allowed him to live life as he wanted. He had been confined to his bed for months and he was also getting older. His mind and body were slowly giving up. Now, Mr. York just wanted to be reunited with his belovedte wife. However, mentally, he couldn''t leave behind his daughter who was struggling to live a normal life because of her condition. "Father¡­" Elise took a deep breath. She wrapped her arms around the man''s waist and hugged him dearly. "You don''t have to worry about me. I have a good job. I start making friends. I am learning many things¡­ and I am happy." Daniel York didn''t say anything. He cast his gaze outside. There were so many flower petals flowing in the air now. It looked so much more beautiful than flowing leaves. The temperature was really low, but he didn''t feel the cold. In fact, his heart was warm. "I love you, father¡­" Elise whispered. "Thank you for taking me in when I had nobody¡­" Two drops of tears rolled down the man''s cheeks when he heard Elise''s heartfelt words. He smiled faintly when he spoke. "I love you too, Maddie." Then, he added, "No matter what people say... you are still my daughter." Elise remembered how Tessa yelled at her while tossing the DNA test report to her face three months ago. Tessa said she was an impostor, and that she was not really Madeline York. DNA didn''t lie. She had no blood rtion with their family. Since then, Elise had always wondered if Daniel York knew this fact¡­ or not. But it seemed like... he actually did know. . ---------- From the author: If you don''t already know, I have a Discord server where I share visuals and spoilers, and trivia rted to my books. It''s here: bit.ly/missrealitybites Currently, my servers are filled with authors... ahahaha, so I feel shy to talk a lot on the server. Once I have more readers join the server, I promise to be more active on my Discord server. XD You can also connect with me on Instagram or my Facebook page, both use my handle @missrealitybites. I share visuals,test updates, announcements, teasers, etc there too. Chapter 109 - Saying Goodbye (2) *** HALF AN HOUR LATER "Help¡­ please help¡­" Loriel''s sharp ears heard Elise''s soft pleading for help from the inside. He quickly motioned the nurses to enter and he opened the door. When he walked inside, he saw Elise looking panicked. Daniel York was sitting on the bed, holding his chest with his hands and his face winced in pain. The nurses quickly moved into action. One of them pulled Elise from her father. "Please step back, Miss." Another of the attendants quickly summoned a doctor with a call. "Emergency. Patient York is currently experiencing arrhythmias--need for defibrition from a doctor!" "Elise, I am here¡­" Loriel whispered. He pulled the woman into his arms and led her to step aside so the medical professionals could do their job. "Please wait outside, Miss. We are trying to do our work," said one of the nurses politely. Right before Elise could say a thing, or even do anything at all, both Elise and Loriel was forced to evacuate the room. Several doctors started rushing into the private room and carried along various medical equipment. Elise shook as she stayed outside of the door. Loriel was beside her, and yet she didn''t even seem to process the man''s presence. Elise''s own heart started beating wildly in her chest as she held a hand to her head. A greatly disturbed look was on her face. She was devastated by what happened. Elise had just met him after such a long time and now she had to let him go. She thought they still needed more time together. Couldn''t she ask a little bit more time? Elise still needed to make it up to him after being gone for too long. She wanted to tell him about how her work was like, Elise wanted to tell her about her colleagues teasing her at work and how her boss Alex was a great one. There were cookies and other pastries that she wanted her father to try and taste. Elise wanted to be with her father and for them to go to Central Park and see the Blue Jacaranda Trees together. Elise wanted to do so many things with her father now that they''ve been reunited. Frantically, she waited and hoped at the door. Every moment and second that continued without the doctorsing out only contributed to Elise''s anxiousness. Suddenly, Elise felt a squeeze on her shoulder and she looked up to see Loriel''s face. "It''s going to be alright, Elise," Loriel said. His gaze was worried and concerned, but it was also a reassuring one. Elise''s eyes brimmed with tears as she threw herself into Loriel''s arms. She buried her head into his chest and sniffled to hide her tears. She didn''t want to cry and for her father to realize that she was pathetically sobbing outside of his room. "I need more time¡­.." Elise whispered quietly. Her shoulders shook slightly. She greatly enjoyed their time just now, talking about the little things. She had missed him so badly for these months. Though she realized that her father wanted to be somewhere else, she thought it was too soon to say goodbye now. Loriel took a deep breath. He knew what it was like to lose his parents. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one. It was sad and painful, but over time the pain would subside. Elise would be okay. She just needed to go through with it now. And then... life would move on. Loriel would make sure she would be okay. He rubbed her hair dotingly and let her cry on his chest until his shirt became damp with her tears. After what seemed like hours, one of the doctors finally left the room and removed their surgical gloves. The doctors saw both Loriel and Elise sitting down and waiting for the news. Elise looked up expectantly at the doctor. "How''s my father? Is he alright¡­ can I go see him now? Please." It was situations like this one where the doctor hated rying the news himself. There was a solemn expression on his face as he gazed at the young woman and man in front of him. "Miss York, were you aware of your father''s condition?" The doctor inquired politely. Elise bit on her lip. "I¡­ I''m not too sure." What Elise remembered was that her father was simply taken away and she never got the chance to see him again. Tessa didn''t allow her to know where her father stayed and the specifics of it weren''t avable to her. The doctor nodded slowly. "I see¡­ are there any other rtives that could be called right now? It''s best to discuss this with all of the family members who can visit, or at least participate in a call." Elise shook her head. "N-no¡­" There was an inevitable terrible churning sensation in Elise''s stomach that she refused to admit. She didn''t like where the conversation was going at all, and still clung to the hope that her father was alright and okay. But the doctor quietly led her back to the seat with Loriel. One of the passing nurse aides seemed to have also picked up on the mood and returned to the quiet and empty hallway with a box of tissues. The nurse aide left the tissue nearby for easy reach but didn''t give it directly. Elise still pretended that she didn''t see it at all. There was a hollow feeling in Elise''s chest right now and it was as if there was a deafening silence that blocked out everything else. The doctor seemed to be hesitating at seeing her expression, but then finally settled with a grim look on his face. "I''m sorry for your loss, Miss York¡­ but your father has passed away." An unbearable silence clung tightly in the air. "... I see, thank you, doctor." Elise barely got the words out as a tight smile formed on her lips. Before the doctor could even exin the medical details surrounding the death of Daniel York, the expression on Loriel''s face was already a clear sign for the doctor to remove himself. "If you''d like, Miss York¡­ I''d like to give you some time to process this situation by yourself. Mister Daniel York''s death was an obscene waste of life. Once the need and proper time arise for any inquiry or questions, my office is open." The doctor rose to his feet and bowed his head. "My condolences to you and your family." Soon everyone else was gone except for Elise and Loriel. The entire hallway was emptied and vacated by most of the employees¡­ and only the soul-crushing sobs of Elise reverberated in the walls. Chapter 110 - Tears Loriel didn''t like seeing Elise in so much pain. The woman was currently bent over and sobbing alone in the hospital benches. She looked so small as if she was making herself disappear from sight. Elise buried her face in her hands as she couldn''t hold back the tears. It was a terrible sight. His own heart hurt at the sight of Elise in so much pain that he tentatively reached out at first, unsure if it was right for him to do it, before simply pulling her into a hug. Now wasn''t the time to hesitate and think about the boundaries between their current level of friendship. It didn''t matter right now. Elise lost her adoptive father and Loriel needed to be there for her. Loriel soothed his wife and held her to his chest. Elise was shaking in his arms and even dampening the shirt that he wore today, but he couldn''t care any less. He was more concerned about her than he was about what was dripping down his shirt. Loriel remembered how much Elise didn''t want to show him this side of hers, but now the tears didn''t seem to stop flowing at all. His wife wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, crying against his shirt. Loriel couldn''t do anything but hold her like that until the storm passed. Closing his eyes, he tried to think back to the time he''d seen Elise cry so much like this. He rarely did so, or never bothered about it that much because Elise didn''t want to bother him. Once again another wave of guilt formed within him as he remembered how he once didn''t care about it at all... But now Loriel was here and he''d do his best to love Elise dearly. He didn''t want for Elise to go through this pain alone, because he was now with her. After waiting all these centuries, it was time for him to make it up to her. "I''m so sorry," Elise said. "No, you don''t have to be sorry, Elise. I''m here." Loriel whispered and rubbed the back of her head. Elise soon ran out of tears to cry and she realized she was sobbing too much into Loriel''s chest. She pulled away slightly and looked at the pitiful mess on Loriel''s shirt. "I... I ruined your shirt. I''m so sorry, Loriel. I''ll do my best to clean it properly." Elise croaked. Only a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. In Loriel''s eyes, it seemed like his words didn''t register in Elise''s ears at all. She was still entrenched in the pain of losing her father. "Elise," Loriel said, this time speaking louder. "No, don''t worry about it, it''s okay." Though he wanted to fix the situation, Loriel knew that he couldn''t make Elise feel better. So instead of giving her another word of encouragement, he gave her a reassuring smile. Loriel''s smile only made Elise''s feelings grow even deeper. Although Elise was still in grief, she still cared about the state of his shirt. It must have been a terrible experience for Elise to suddenlye into Loriel''s life, didn''t it? First she was someone who didn''t have any ce to go when she arrived in NYC. Someone who didn''t even know how to use GoogleMaps to go around the city and Loriel met her under these circumstances. Even though two months had passed, Elise didn''t think it was right to ce the burden of grief she was feeling on Loriel by doing it when he was around. Loriel already did far too much for her. Loriel even searched for Elise''s father and brought her to meet him. Elise was able to meet her father before he died and that was something she didn''t think was possible. But Loriel did it for her. Loriel was the reason why she met her father. Though her father was gone forever¡­ Another wave of emptiness filled Elise''s heart. She was now all alone in the world without her father. Elise was sure that her father reunited with her mother now, but now Madeline York only had her cousin Tessa''s family. People who didn''t care about her and only about the wealth that Daniel York left behind. There was no one for Elise to turn to. It was a terrible feeling. Elise felt her tears start to flow again. Loriel put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. "It''s painful, isn''t it?" Loriel whispered. Elise looked back at him with teary eyes, "Can you imagine how painful it is to be left by someone you loved forever¡­?" She suddenly remembered how Loriel also had no other family. "I know how you feel," Loriel said. He smiled a little sadly. "I know what it''s like to lose the one person that gives meaning and depth to your life." "I''m so sorry, Loriel, I... that was thoughtless of me." Elise was so used to seeing Loriel as an independent and capable man, that she forgot how he also must have cared about his family as well. Loriel shook his head. "It''s alright, when we''re in so much pain... we tend to be callous over everything else. We start focusing only on ourselves, our grief and how we''re all alone in the world." That was how immature Loriel was when he was young and caught up in a frenzy over Emmelynn. He never paid attention to anybody else and only focused on the pain and desire to be with her that he failed to see Elise had been there all along. Loriel smiled weakly at her. "Unintentionally through our own ignorance, apathy... we hurt the people who love us." Elise thought it was like Loriel read her mind. "I''ve lost my father, Loriel. I have no one left in the world anymore." Loriel gently wiped the tears away from Elise''s cheeks. "You must remember that there will always be people out there who do love you and care for you immensely. People like your co-workers, friends, and colleagues. Someone like me¡­" . ------------ Even though it''s sad that Elise lost her ''father'', but I believe this will be a good entry for Loriel to win her heart and get her to be his again. PS: NEW PRIVILEGE IN AUGUST I will publish the next chapter in a few hours. After that, please be patient and wait for two days as I am preparing the next tier for Privilege (I need two days to add 8 chapters in the new tier and 2 more chapters for regr readers). They will be ready on August 2. The new Tiers in August will be as follows: Tier 1 - 1 coin - 2 advanced chapters Tier 2 - 5 coins - 5 advanced chapters Tier 3 - 300 coins - 11 advanced chapters Tier 4 - 1000 coins + disc 99% for chapters - 20 chapters Tier 5 - 1500 coins + disc 99% for chapters - 28 chapters As always, privilege is notpulsory to read this book 2 chapters per day. You can downgrade your privilege to a lower tier, upgrade to a higher tier, or stay in the same tier. It''s all up to you. Even without privilege you will be able to read chapters 2 per day. If you want to purchase the privilege, you will have to renew it next month in order to stay ahead. Chapter 111 - Can We Get Out Of Here? Loriel let Elise cry on his chest for as long as she needed. Time seemed to stand still and there were only the two of them in the vacuum of space. The hospital staff left them be. They knew the daughter must need time to process her grief. "Uncle! What happened to Uncle Danny?!!" The gloomy atmosphere was suddenly ruined by the voice of Tessa who just arrived. The hospital staff called her parents to inform them that Mr. Daniel York had just passed away. So, they immediately came to see him onest time. Loriel winced in displeasure when he saw the wicked woman he hated appeared by the door. To his ears, her voice sounded like a rat screeching for getting stuck in a cheese trap. So annoying. Tessa arrived with her father, Daniel York''s brother, and mother. They all looked sad and had tears in their eyes. "Where is my brother now?" Edward York asked the nurse with an urgent tone. "What happened?" "Mr. Daniel York passed away two hours ago," said the nurse patiently. "He was talking to his daughter. That''s Miss Madeline." She pointed at Elise who was still crying silently in Loriel''s embrace in the corner of the room. Edward York, his wife, and Tessa immediately turned toward Elise, and an expression of contempt immediately filled their faces. "That''s not Madeline York, my niece!" Edward roared angrily. "That is an impostor!" "That''s right! She is a criminal who lied and imed to be my cousin with the sole intent of stealing from our family...!" Tessa gritted her teeth in anger. She walked toward Loriel and Elise with brisk steps. She pointed her finger at Elise. "How dare you...! How dare you came here and pretend that you care about Uncle Danny!! You impostor! You already saw the DNA test results. I have outed you and we know your scheme! How dare you still try to im you are Madeline!! Elise, who was feeling devastated by her father''s passing, was shocked and angry by the wicked usations. She looked up and see Tessa with tears dripping down from her eyes. "Tessa...! My father just passed away... please don''t do this now..." she bit her lip, trying so hard to hold back her anger. She didn''t want tosh out here. Her father just passed away and people were taking care of his body. She didn''t want to be provoked and attacked Tessa. "Can''t you shut up?!" Loriel couldn''t stay still when he saw his wife was bullied by the woman he despised. He immediately stood up and threw Tessa a murderous re. His killing intent was so strong that Tessa unknowingly stepped back. She felt shivers rand down her spine and cold sweat dripped down her back. What was this? Why did she feel her knees turn weak? She lost her strength and suddenly fell to the floor. Loriel''s intimidation was so great that Tessa thought she was going to die. It was so horrifying. "Oh my god... Tessa, honey.. Are you okay?" Her mother screamed and immediately ran to get her. "What happened to you? What did this man do to you?!!" "Mom... I-I''m scared..." Tessa cried to her mother and she struggled to get up by holding on to her mother''s arm. "That man is threatening me..." "Oh my god..." The older woman looked at Loriel with fury. "Who are you? Are you her aplice? I will report you to the police for assault!" She helped her daughter get up and quickly took out her phone and called theirwyer, who was also Julian''s father. "James, where are you? Come here quick. We are already at the hospital and someone is trying to attack Tessa." She closed her phone and pointed her finger at Loriel. "Watch out, you criminal. Mywyer will be here soon. He will throw you in jail and make you pay for what you did to my daughter!!!" Loriel smirked when he heard the threat. He was looking forward to meeting all these cockroaches who had made his wife''s life miserable. "Good! I can''t wait to destroy all of you in one swoop," he replied, looking disgusted. The man crossed his arms on his chest and stared at the old woman and Tessa with his murderous re. He was thinking of ways to make them suffer. "Loriel..." The man was moved when he heard Elise''s soft voice from his side, and she tugged his sleeve. He turned to her and his gaze instantly changed and he looked at her dotingly. "Yes, Elise?" "Please... can we get out of here?" she whispered. Her eyes were filled with tears. "I don''t want to see them." That was the difference between Loriel and Elise. The former would destroy people he hated so he didn''t have to see them, while thetter would choose the non-confrontational way and left to avoid seeing the people she hated. "But your father is here," Loriel replied. "You have all the right to be here. Don''t you want to be here for him?" Elise shook her head. "My father is gone. I don''t want to stay here and see these people..." The expression of contempt on her face was something that Loriel had never seen before. His Elise was the sweetest and kindest woman he had ever known who never hated anyone. During their married life in the past, Loriel had never seen Elise hate anyone to show this expression of contempt before. Even toward Emmelyn, Elise never showed such hatred. She was only sad whenever the topic of Emmelyn came out. This was enough to make Loriel understand that Elise really, truly hated Tessa and her family, together with Julian and his family. She didn''t want to see them because it would only spark her anger even more. He looked at his wife attentively and he realized Elise might not want to see those people because she was afraid she would unleash her power and kill them. He already knew what his wife was capable of. In the past, Elise was much more powerful than him. Did she know her powers? Could she use them? Loriel only witnessed Elise created fire when they first met, so Elise must know that she could conjure fire. But, did she know that she could do many other things? Was that why she was afraid that she would kill people? Chapter 112 - Loriels Dilemma "Let''s get out of here.. please," Elise whispered again. This time Loriel was fast. He nodded and scooped her up gently. Then, he carried her in his arms. "Let''s go home," he said. Elise nodded and wrapped her arms around her neck. She felt sad, angry, and devastated at the same time. Her head hurt. Tessa and her parents didn''t dare to block their way because the murderous re from Loriel was enough to send shivers down their spines. They could only grumble among themselves once Loriel was out of sight. "Who is that man? Do you know him, Tessa?" Linda York asked her daughter. Tessa shook her head and gritted her teeth. "I don''t know him, but I saw him eat dinner with Madeline once in an upscale restaurant," she replied. "The man is evil. He went to our hotel and viciously beat up Julian." "Oh.. so, it''s him who assaulted Julian?" Her father asked in surprise. "We should report him to the police!" "Julian already did, and the police keep saying they are doing their job to investigate the case and asked him to be patient," said Tessa in annoyance. "Maybe they don''t know who he is and are still looking?" Edward York asked again. "You must tell Julian about meeting that man here today and ask him to report it to the police. Didn''t you say you know where that impostor works? Send the police to her office!" "Okay, father.. I will do that..." Inwardly, Tessa didn''t have a high expectation that the police would get anything if they went to Sanderman Group''s building. She and Julian went there to harass Madeline and ended up getting kicked out and beaten up by the group''s CEO himself. She had a suspicion that Madeline and the CEO must have a good rtionship. Surely that wench seduced the CEO to protect her, right? And now, this man too. She probably slept with all of them and these men didn''t know each other. Madeline was really beautiful, Tessa gave her that. However, she was sure once those men knew who she really was, they would not want to have anything to do with her. *** Loriel had arrived in the car and he gently put down Elise on the back seat. He entered and sat beside her, then asked the driver to go. "I am sorry you have to see that," said Elise apologetically. "That''s my cousin and her parents..." She felt choked when she mentioned the word ''cousin''. She already told Loriel that she was not rted to the Yorks by blood. The man was already kind enough not to bring up the matter and acted as if she was really Madeline York. However, seeing how Tessa and her mother yell at her earlier and called her an impostor again, Elise couldn''t help but feel aggrieved and ashamed. They tore open the wound in her heart that was not yet healed. She, too, would love to know who she was. She didn''t ask to be brought to the US and given the identity of the missing Madeline York. However, she had no choice. She didn''t even know her own name and where her family was. She liked the name Elise and used it when she required a new name to introduce herself. But was it really her name? What if she had a dark past and the reason why she forgot about everything was that it was too violent or embarrassing? How could she face Loriel if that was really the case? Would Loriel still like her around him? Her father''s words rang in her mind. He said Loriel must be in love with her from the way he looked at her and spoke to her. As a man, he could read another man. But was it really true? "No, I am sorry you have to experience that," Loriel said sincerely. He med himself for what happened to Elise. If it was not for him, Elise wouldn''t be stranded in this world where she was wronged and bullied by those people. Loriel had matured considerably during the past fifteen centuries and he understood that it was all his fault that things had turned up this way. He must take responsibility for Elise''s sufferings. "No.. it''s not your fault," Elise cupped her face with both hands and started sobbing. "I dragged you into my problem. I am very sorry." ''Oh, sweetheart.. it IS my fault,'' Loriel wanted to say those words, but he held back. He pulled Elise to his embrace and rubbed her back to soothe her. He didn''t say anything else. No words were needed and no words could do anything to make Elise feel better. She just lost the only man she considered family in this world. She loved Daniel York as her father. This sight truly broke Loriel''s heart. He didn''t have the heart to imagine how much more devastated Elise would be when she got her memory back and found out she had another family, but she had lost them too? She would break down in sadness. And... Loriel didn''t even want to think about their child. Elise was truly heartbroken when she had a miscarriage. She was never the same after the devastating experience. After thinking about it for weeks, Loriel had a suspicion that Elise also miscarried her second pregnancy before she went to the future, and that was the reason why she lost her memory. She must be truly heartbroken that she didn''t want to remember any more painful memories... and so she decided to forget about her unborn babies, about Loriel, and about her wretched life as his wife. Loriel cried for days when this realization hit him. Elise never knew this because the man always looked happy and content when she arrived home from work. He acted like nothing happened. Today, seeing his wife sob despondently after losing the man she called father, who was not even her real father, Loriel felt as if his heart was stabbed by a hundred knives. Elise would be destroyed if she got her memory back and she would remember all the sufferings she went through because of him. Tears slowly fell down his cheeks when Loriel thought about the possibility. People said ignorance is bliss, didn''t they? Maybe he should find ways to keep Elise in this state and not try to make her gain her memory back? Elise that he knew today was much happier than the wife he knew in the past. She enjoyed learning new things, she started making friends, she was happy to make a little money, she also liked him around her. She said he was kind and charming and she liked spending time with him. If Elise remembered, would she hate him and left him again? He hugged Elise more tightly. Suddenly, he was really afraid of losing her again. His chest was filled with worry and fear. He had waited to meet her again for far too long. He wouldn''t want to let her go. But... would it be fair for her to live with him without ever knowing the truth? What should I do? Loriel asked himself dejectedly. If he worked hard to help Elise remember, at some point, she would finally remember who she was. Was Loriel''s redemption enough to get her forgiveness and she would want to ept him as her husband again? Or, would it reignite the old me of hatred and she would hate him again? Should Loriel just keep things as is? He could work hard and make her fall in love with him and asked her to marry him, without ever telling her the truth that they were married in the past life. Loriel could forget about the past and start anew. If Elise never knew what happened in the past, she would never feel hurt. Right? He didn''t want to hurt her. "I love you, honey... I promise to make anyone who hurt you pay," Loriel whispered emotionally when he rubbed Elise''s hair. He kissed her hair dotingly and tighten his embrace. Elise was too devastated to pay attention to what Loriel just said. She kept sobbing silently and damped his shirt. When the car arrived in the basement of their building, Elise was asleep on Loriel''s embrace. The man made a sign to the driver to open the backseat door so he could get out and carry Elise to his floor. The driver did what he ordered. Soon, Loriel was already walking with Elise in his arms. The woman''s face looked so pitiful and had tear stains on her cheeks. When they arrived in front of his private elevator, the driver quickly pushed the button for Loriel so the man could enter. "Thank you. You may go," Loriel nodded at the driver. "Good night, Sir." The elevator doors closed and it went up to the 50th floor. DING When the doors opened, Loriel stepped outside of the elevator and walked with Elise''s body in his arms. Horatio greeted him as usual when the penthouse door was opened and the master entered with his wife. "Good evening, Master." "Hey, Horatio," Loriel replied with a tired voice. Pot and Pebble came meowing and rubbed their heads on his pants. "Hello Pot, hello Pebble." The man finally felt relieved after he arrived at his home. This was his sanctuary. The only ce that made him feel better after a tiring and long day outside and met some pests like the Yorks. Elise opened her eyes. She, too, instinctively felt that she was in a good ce. When she looked up, she locked eyes with Loriel. The man was looking at her with a worried expression. Elise took a few moments to realize she was in Loriel''s doting arms. Chapter 113 - The Weak Elise "Thank you for taking me home," the woman whispered. She was embarrassed for giving this man so much trouble. "You can put me down." Loriel didn''t want to put her down. He wanted to hold her in his arms like this forever if she would let him. However, he didn''t want her to think he was a creep. So, he walked to the nearest sofa and gently put her down. Loriel touched her knees lovingly and spoke to her with the softest voice. "Wait here. Let me make you a cup of hot chocte." He had noticed that Elise''sfort drink nowadays was hot chocte. So, he decided to make her one cup. Elise was shaking and nodded weakly. "Thank you." She had shed so much tears that she couldn''t cry anymore. Elise looked at Loriel''s back view who went to the kitchen to make her a drink. She felt grateful for having the man in her life. Maybe she had saved a country in her previous life that now she got so lucky that she met a man so kind and attentive like him. Maybe her father was right when he said Loriel harbored romantic feelings for her. If that was true, Elise felt ttered. However... would Loriel still liked her if he found out the real her? She was wondering. She might actually be a freak. She didn''t know her origins and she also had these strange powers. What would he think about her when Elise''s real identity was exposed? Would it be better to just ept who she was now and stopped thinking about her past? What if the past buried dark and terrible secrets? Would she open the pandora''s box? "Here, drink this..." said Loriel who came back with a cup of hot chocte and gave it to Elise. He didn''t make one for himself, just for Elise. "Thank you," Elise whispered and epted the cup. Her tears were already dry. If she had any more tears to shed, they would definitely fell to her hot choco. Loriel felt a pang of pain in his heart when he saw her condition. He really wished he could hug her and cuddle her to sleep, talked to her soothingly, and rubbed her back to make her feel better. He sat on the floor and touched her knees with both hands, showing his support to his wife. Elise drank her chocte and she slowly felt better. Yes, she was really sad that her father passed away, but at least that meant he was no longer in pain. And didn''t he say he was missing his wife so badly? If there was heaven and he could meet histe wife again, then his death would only mean good things for him. Elise shouldn''t be selfish and only thought about her own happiness. It was better for Daniel York to leave and be reunited with the woman he loved. Elise could already take care of herself. Daniel had prepared her to be independent by providing everything that she needed in life. The teachers and nanny he hired to help Elise learn how to live life like normal people had done a great job. Look at her now, functioning as a regr adult. She could even hold a job and socialize with other people. Surely, she would be fine alone. And actually, she was not really alone. She had friends now. She also had Loriel by her side. From now on, her life would only get better. "You should take a break and not go to work tomorrow," Loriel finally spoke after a while. "I will talk to Marc and notify him that you are having a family problem." Elise shook her head. "Thank you, but I cannot ask for special treatment just because he is your old friend. People will talk." "Let them talk," said Loriel. "You don''t have to think about other people''s opinions. You should take all the time you need to recover your heart. I will be here with you. Tell me what you want. Do you want me to take care of your father''s funeral?" Elise bit her lip. "It''s too much work..." She couldn''t possibly let a stranger take care of her father''s funeral. Loriel was not family. She had troubled him enough. She should step back and let the Yorks arrange the funeral. She was not really Daniel York''s daughter anyway. She was worried they would really send the police her way if she insisted on going to the funeral. They would involve Loriel in this matter further and the man would be in trouble. "No.. it''s okay. I am sure Tessa''s family will be taking care of the funeral. I think my father has a family plot where he wanted to be buried, next to his wife." She looked at Loriel worriedly. "Just... could you make sure that they bury him beside his wife? I don''t want anything else." "Definitely. I will do that," Loriel replied. "Anything else you need?" Elise shook her head. "No, thank you." "Okay," Loriel rubbed her shoulder and then took the cup from her hand. "Let me bring it to the dishwasher." "Thank you." Loriel came back after he put the cup in the dishwasher. "Do you want to eat something? I can cook dinner." Elise didn''t have any appetite to eat. She shook her head. "I want to take a bath and then sleep." "Okay. Can you walk?" Loriel asked her. Elise nodded. She slowly got up from the sofa and leaned on Loriel''s arm. However, she only stood for a few seconds before she became limp and almost fell back to the sofa. "Ahh..." Loriel quickly held her shoulders and supported her. "Let me take you to your room." Without waiting for her to protest, Loriel lifted her and carried her in his arms. His heart ached when he saw her looking so weak. Sadness always did this to her. Elise didn''t change in this regard. He remembered when she got the first miscarriage. She was utterly devastated and her weak body was almost giving up. That was when he realized how weak his wife was physically and that made him be more careful around her. Today, the sadness that she felt from losing her father must be so great that her body became this weak. She couldn''t even walk properly. Elise wanted to protest, but she couldn''t say anything. Her voice turned into a silent sob. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head on his chest. Why did this man seem to know very well how to handle her? She felt so safe and cared for with him around. "Please wait here," Loriel whispered as he put her down on her bed. Before Elise could say anything, he went to her private bathroom and run a hot bath for her. He poured some rxing aromatherapy bath salt and adjusted the water temperature. In fifteen minutes, he was done. The man had rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and his shirt and pants were damp from her tears and the bathwater. He looked like her guardian angel when Elise looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. "The bath is ready," said the man with a smile. "I will take you to your bathroom and you can soak in the bath for however long you need. I will be waiting here in case you need my help." Elise nodded weakly. "Thank you." . ---------- I am itchy to give Loriel and Elise another snusnu... ahahaha. OMG. I just want them to be together soon and get married, have lotsa snusnu.. Unfortunately, the story has to move at the right pace. So, I have to write other parts too that will lead to their union. But to be honest, I am so impatient. Chapter 114 - The Caring Husband Loriel helped Elise to get to her bathroom and left her there. She said she could handle it on her own. So, he closed the door and waited in her bedroom while she soaked in her bath and tried to calm her mind. The man sat on her bed and cast his nce around him. This guestroom looked almost exactly like it was before Elise moved in here. She didn''t redecorate or add anything personal to make it look like hers. Did she still consider herself as a guest and didn''t want to take ownership of this room? This thought ached Loriel''s heart. He wanted her to enjoy life and get the best of everything. However, she didn''t even make her bedroom be morefortable ording to her preferences. She kept it as is. Loriel remembered how Elise redecorated her chamber in the pce, in their past life, to suit his taste because she wanted him to spend more time in her chamber. He saw the beautiful four-poster bed, the dresser, the cupboard... they were all tidy like a hotel room. She only had one backpack where she kept her lunchbox and her phone when she went to work every day. The backpack was ced on the cupboard. Aside from the bag, Loriel didn''t see anything personal in this room. When he checked the cupboard and drawers, he only found a few clothing items. Elise really didn''t have a lot of worldly possessions. This made him feel guilty. How could he convince Elise to buy more stuff that she needed? Money should never be an issue. He wanted her to live in luxury and didn''t have to worry about money or getting anything her heart desired. How could he make her think that what was his was hers too? Should he propose to her and ask her to marry him before telling her who she was? He could confess his love to her and told her he couldn''t see his life without her in it. Would she think it''s too fast? They had only officially known each other for slightly over two months. Even though Loriel had known her for over fifteen centuries, Elise didn''t know all that. "Ahh..." The man closed his eyes and pressed his temple. He shouldn''t dwell on that thought. What''s important now was Elise''s health. She must rest well and recover her health before Loriel could even think about proposing to her. Meanwhile, Elise also closed her eyes and tried to remove all the heartache and anger from her heart. She realized her mental state affected her physical state a lot. When she was in deep grief like this, she became so weak and sick. She must recover quickly, so she didn''t trouble Loriel further. The man had been so kind to her, but she kept bothering him. She felt so useless. *** An hourter, Loriel was pacing back and forth in Elise''s bedroom. It''s been an hour but Elise still had note out of her bathroom. Did something happen to her? Did she pass out? Gosh.. what should I do? Loriel asked himself. Would Elise get angry if he barged in and saved her should something bad really happen to her? "Elise... are you okay?" He knocked gently and called her. "I am here if you need help." He knocked again, but there was still no response. Loriel became panicked. He wanted to kick the door open when suddenly he heard her weak reply from inside the bathroom. "I am alive..." said the girl, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. Then she added with a nervousugh. "I can''t seem to get up from the bath. My legs feel so weak." Loriel let out a sigh of relief. "Can I enter?" "Mm." Loriel opened the door and entered the bathroom. "I will not look," he said. He looked away while he took a towel from the cupboard and draped it on his shoulder. Then he reached out his hand to Elise who was sitting down on the bathtub, covered by foamy water. "You can hold my hand and I will pull you." "Th-thank you..." Elise felt so embarrassed. She didn''t know after calming herself down in the bath, she would be too weak to get up on her own. "But.. I want to wash up first and get rid of the soap." "Okay." Loriel turned around and focused his attention on the bathroom door, while Elise unplugged the bath and let the soapy water drained. Then, she took the showerhead and turned on the water to wash her body clean in a sitting-down position. Loriel waited patiently until she was done. His heart palpitated as his mind imagined what she looked like naked in the bathtub when he heard the sound of water touched her skin. Ahh... he missed being intimate with her so badly. He wanted to kiss her and hug her and cuddle her in his arms. "I am done," Elise''s voice moved the man from his reverie. Loriel turned around and reached out his hand again. This time, Elise held it with both hands. He grabbed her hands and pulled her to get on her feet, still looking away. "Thank you," Elise whispered as she got to her feet and automatically leaned on him. Loriel''s heart skipped a beat when he felt her soft body touching his. He took the towel from his shoulder and wrapped her body with it and then carried her in his arms, out of the bathroom. When he gently put her down on the bed, he was surprised to see tears dripped down her cheeks again. He looked at her with confused eyes. Did he do something to make her cry again? "Is there something wrong? Are you in pain? Did I hurt you anywhere?" he asked her softly. "Or... do you need anything?" Elise shook her head. "No, you didn''t hurt me." She hugged her body with her hands, looking like a sad child. This sight made Loriel''s heart ached. He crouched down and touched her knees. "Can you get dressed? If not, I will help you." Elise shook her head again. She bit her lip, looking so embarrassed. "I think I will need your help again..." she said in a barely audible voice. . ---------- If you like this story, please show your support by voting your power stones for this book. Thank you!! xx Chapter 115 - Do You Love Me? Loriel realized it must feel so awkward and embarrassing for Elise to say those words to him and asked for his help. So, he acted as rxed as possible and showed her that he didn''t feel awkward at all. Also, it was very important that he didn''t look like a pervert when he helped her get dressed. Stop looking at her breasts, he told himself. Loriel was a normal man after all, who had not been intimate with a woman in a long.... long time. So, even though he tried to do his best to act like nothing happened, his breath started panting. Her skin was so smooth and tender. Her natural scent smelled sweet and made Loriel want to kiss the top of her hair to inhale it more. Gosh.. he wanted to kiss her all over and made love to her. Loriel pinched himself for thinking about sex while Elise was feeling devastated like this. He looked away and tried to think about other things. He helped dry her body with the towel. Then, he went to the cupboard and took a nightgown from it. Loriel often saw Elise wear this gown, so he thought she would like to wear it for sleeping. When Loriel saw the other clothes in the cupboard, he felt his throat dry. Why didn''t she have so many outfits? He couldn''t let it. Emmelyn had too few clothes for his liking. His wife must have more dresses, gowns, and other apparel. "Let me help you put this on," he said gently. Elise nodded. She raised her hands and let Loriel help her get dressed. The man was so attentive and it made her heart flutter. She kept thinking about what her father told her. Daniel York said Loriel must be in love with her. Now, she could really see the truth in it. Someone who was just being kind and thought of her as a friend wouldn''t go the extra mile to do things for her, like what Loriel was doing now. "Thank you," she whispered with a flushed face when Loriel had finished helping her. She tried to think that Loriel''s help was simr to what the nurses at the hospital did for their patients. At the moment, Elise was sick and she needed other people''s help. That was it. That''s how she could stop feeling embarrassed when the man''s big hands touched her skin as he dried her body and then put on the nightgown on her. "Don''t mention it," Loriel said with a smile. Fortunately, Elise didn''t wet her hair when she was taking the bath, so it was not damp. Loriel didn''t mind helping her dry her hair with a hairdryer, but it was not necessary. "Do you want to sleep now?" "Yeah... I want to rest," Elise said. She had not eaten anything and Loriel was worried about her health, but he didn''t insist that she had to eat dinner. He thought she wouldn''t have the appetite anyway. He just wanted her to rest and recover her strength. Tomorrow, she could eat something when she felt better. Loriel patted the pillow at the end of the bed and motioned her to lie down. "You can sleep now. I will let you rest." Elise did what he asked her to do. After shey down in bed, Loriel pulled the duvet to her chest and covered her. "Are youfortable?" Loriel asked her. Elise nodded. A robot entered the room with a tray. It had a ss of water on it. Loriel took the ss and put it on the bedside table. "This is for you, in case you are thirsty." Then, he cast a nce around the room and checked if there was anything else he could do before he really let her rest. Nothing. He just needed to turn off the light and let her sleep. "Loriel..." Loriel turned to see Elise when the woman called his name. "Yes, Elise. Is there anything else you need?" Elise looked straight into Loriel''s eyes, her expression was filled with gratitude. Her diamond-like eyes looked so gentle and loving. Gosh... Loriel missed being gazed at like this by his wife. What was going on in that beautiful head, he was wondering? "Why are you doing so much for me?" Elise asked him with a low voice. "I am not your family. We were just strangers before." Loriel was frozen in his ce when he heard her blunt question. Did she suspect anything? Why the sudden question? ''You are my family, Elise...'' Loriel could only say those words in his heart. He didn''t dare to open the can of worm now. "Why are you doing this...?" Elise asked again. She wanted to confirm what her father said. Was it true that Loriel was in love with her?. She took a deep breath and continued with her next question. "Do you love me?" BA-DUMP "Elise," Finally, Loriel sat by the bed and held her hand. He looked at the woman with a serious expression. "If... I someday I got sick and I need your help, the way you need my help now... would you help me? Would you help me eat and get dressed if I cannot do it on my own?" Elise nodded. "Of course." "Then... why would you do it? I am also not your family..." The man asked again. "Would you only help me if I am your family?" Elise shook her head. "No, right?" Loriel patted her hand gently. "Because you are a kind woman, you will help me even though I am just a stranger to you. That''s exactly why I am doing this for you now." Elise bit her lip. She understood why Loriel said those words. He was being diplomatic. The man didn''t want to admit to her that he was doing this out of love. So, was Loriel lying? Was he doing this because he loved Elise but he didn''t want to admit his feelings? Or he was simply just being kind and Elise was the one who thought too much about something that was not there. Maybe her father was wrong when he thought Loriel was in love with Elise. "You are right," said Elise. She smiled and pressed Loriel''s hand gently. "Thank you for being kind to me, and helping me out, even though I am not your family. I hope someday I can return your kindness in many folds." Loriel nodded. "Don''t mention it. I just want you to recover and be happy again." He got up and got ready to turn off the lights. "Good night, Elise. You just need to call Horatio from here if you need me. He will wake me up. He can hear you from anywhere in this house." "Good night Loriel." Loriel turned off the lights, then he walked out of Elise''s room. After he closed the door behind him, the man stood dejectedly, leaning on the wall. When Elise asked him if he loved her, Loriel intentionally avoided the subject. He was not ready to tell her that he loved her so deeply. That confession from him would open the can of worm and he would have to sit her down and exin everything. Elise was currently very weak. He didn''t know if she would be able to receive more bad news in one day. She would be devastated to find out the fate of herte biological father, her beloved grandmother... and her unborn babies. "I am sorry, honey. I love you so much. But I cannot confess my love to you today," Loriel muttered to himself. "I will find the right time." *** Elise slowly drifted to sleep after Loriel left her. In her sleep, she had a dream. Loriel cooked a delicious dinner and they ate together. The handsome man was so attentive and caring. He treated her so sweetly. Elise saw herself falling in love with him. When Loriel gave her a ss of dessert wine, Elise asked him if he loved her. Loriel shook his head and said no. Tears slowly dripped drown from both corners of Elise''s eyes. She was crying in her sleep. . -------------- From the author: I will publish the next chapter in a few hours. After that, please be patient and wait for two days as I am preparing the next tier for Privilege (I need two days to add 8 chapters in the new tier and 2 more chapters for regr readers). They will be ready on August 2. The new Tiers in August will be as follows: Tier 1 - 1 coin - 2 advanced chapters Tier 2 - 5 coins - 5 advanced chapters Tier 3 - 300 coins - 11 advanced chapters Tier 4 - 1000 coins + disc 99% for chapters - 20 chapters Tier 5 - 1500 coins + disc 99% for chapters - 28 chapters As always, privilege is notpulsory to read this book 2 chapters per day. You can downgrade your privilege to a lower tier, upgrade to a higher tier, or stay in the same tier. It''s all up to you. Even without privilege you will be able to read chapters 2 per day. If you want to purchase the privilege, you will have to renew it next month in order to stay ahead. Chapter 116 - Watching TV *** Loriel informed Marc that Elise couldn''te to work for several days because she was sick. Marc informed Alex about this so she wouldn''t be looking for her assistant. This, of course, created confusion on Alex''s part. Shouldn''t an employee call the office to inform them about their medical leave and the HR would notify their supervisor? In Elise''s case, it was the opposite. The big boss himself was the one to inform Alex so she could inform HR. Elise was too OP, Alex thought to herself. She had been wondering about the nature of the rtionship between Elise and Marc since the beginning, but Alex didn''t want to probe Elise about it. She did have her suspicions, but she always kept it to herself. Alex suspected that Elise''s and Marc''s rtionship was not simple. However, she brushed it off since Elise didn''t seem like one of those beautiful women that Marc dated and tossed away after he was bored. [Elise, I heard you are sick. Please rest well and get better soon. Don''t think about work. I''ll see you soon after you recover! xx] After she sent the message to Elise, Alex went back to her work. *** Loriel took good care of Elise for three days. She slowly recovered her strength. On Wednesday, she thought she could already get back to work, but Loriel insisted that she must take at least two more days rest. "But, they will cut my sry if I take too long for time off. I have taken Monday to Wednesday off. I should at least go to work tomorrow," Elise protested. "Look, I am better now." "They won''t cut your sry if it''s for genuine medical reasons," Loriel shook his head stubbornly. "Besides, I already told Marc if he saw you in office before next Monday, he should kick you out and send you home." Elise looked at the man in disbelief. She couldn''t imagine Marc would kick her out foring to the office. But¡­ who knows, perhaps he would. The man seemed to always do whatever Loriel asked him to do. And Loriel was so adamant about wanting Elise to recuperate longer. "I am really well now. Look¡­!" Elise wanted to jump from the bed, but since her movement was too sudden, she became limp and lost her bnce. Fortunately, Loriel caught her in time before she fell down. He ced her back gently on the bed. The man shook his head and gave Elise a stern look. "You know how I''m never angry at you, right? But I will be angry if youpromised your health for some stupid thing like money. Nobody will deduct your sry. You have my word." Elise looked at the man pleadingly. "I know you can make Marc do whatever you want, for my sake¡­ but I don''t want special treatment." She added, "People already talk bad about me having a secret rtionship with Marc that I received preferential treatment in the office¡­ I hate that. That''s why I asked you to go with me to the office g and pretend to be my boyfriend, so I can quench the gossip." She pursed her lips, trying to show her protest but somehow still ended up looking so adorable. Loriel felt exasperated by her attitude. This was not the meek wife he knew who would always do whatever he told her to do. She now argued with him and talked back. He liked this new Elise very much, but somehow he felt like he needed to get to know her more since she was no longer the same woman he married fifteen centuries ago. This thought suddenly made him feel worried. What if¡­ what if Elise no longer wanted him? If her personality changed.. could she love him again? What if her standards changed? What if she didn''t want to marry him again? What would be of his long wait to see her again? "I didn''t know it''s that bad," Loriel said. "Did they treat you badly in the office?" Elise shook her head. "Not really¡­ but people talk and I don''t like it." "Well.. thepany''s end-of-year g is around the corner. I will go with you as your boyfriend and they will stop spreading gossip about you. So, you don''t have to worry about special treatment. If you want, I can also ask Marc to just deduct your sry. What about it?" Loriel asked Elise seriously. "But I need the money¡­" Elise sighed. "I don''t want my sry to be cut, and I don''t want special treatment. That''s why I have to go to work, now that I have recovered." "But you have money. You shouldn''t worry about it¡­" Loriel said. He was very wealthy because he had umted mind-blowing wealth throughout his fifteen centuries on earth. Elise had everything she would ever need because everything he owned was hers too. However, Elise actually thought the man was talking about the York family money. She shook her head dejectedly. "I am not really Daniel York''s missing daughter. Tessa and her family will contest the will and take my father''s inheritance for themselves." "I can make sure they won''t get a cent," said Loriel. "No¡­ please don''t do anything. I am not really Madeline York¡­ I am not entitled to her father''s wealth," said Elise to exin her reasoning. She, too, felt that she had no right to im the inheritance left by Daniel York. "But Tessa and her parents also have no rights to keep your inheritance," said Loriel again. "I will not do anything if you asked me to stay away from it. I couldn''t care less about other people''s money. But, I am just telling you, they also have no rights." "Hmm¡­ my father is a really kind man. And he was destroyed by the disappearance of his daughter twenty years ago. Maybe¡­ we can donate the money to a good cause? Like organizations that fight human trafficking, or children''s welfare, etc. What do you think?" Elise really didn''t want to touch even one cent of the York''s family money. But she thought Loriel was right by not letting Tessa and her family get all the money to themselves. "I will see what I can do," Loriel nodded. "Thank you." Elise touched his arm. "By the way¡­ did they bury my father beside his wife''s grave? I need to know." "Yes. I already checked. He is there." "Ah¡­ thank you. I am happy to hear that." "Yeah." Loriel got up from the chair beside Elise''s bed and asked if she wanted hot chocte. "I will make hot chocte for us. Do you want some?" Elise nodded. "Yes, please." "All right. I will be back." Loriel left her to go to the kitchen and made the hot chocte. He returned in ten minutes with two mugs in his hands. He gave one mug to Elise and sat down on the chair. "Do you want to watch a movie? I know you''re bored, but I won''t let you go back to work until you are fully rested and recovered." Loriel took the remote and turned on the big TV on the wall. Elise never watched TV when she was in her room. She was fascinated by the wall that suddenly turned into a giant screen and showed such amazing clear pictures. "Ah.. sounds good," she said. "They have this new show. I read the review online this morning. It should be pretty good," said Loriel. He turned on a new historical TV show that people were raving about. He thought Elise might like watching this show to distract her mind from work. Elise leaned on the headboard with her mug and watched the show with interest. Loriel sat leisurely on his chair, next to her bed, also with his mug. He wished he could sit with her on the bed and cuddled her while watching TV. Wasn''t it what couples normally did in the modern days? Chapter 117 - The Companys Christmas Gala Loriel could only swallow his desire to cuddle with Elise while they were watching TV. He told himself that the time woulde. He just had to be patient. He had waited for her for such a long time. He surely could wait a little more, right? *** The annual Christmas g was a very important event in the Sanderman Group. All of the employees looked forward to it and they were eager to spend their evening in splendor,vish and exciting events that fulfilled one''s night. It was a great opportunity for thepany, and for the employees, to enjoy all sorts of festivities. The organizationalmittee of this event had worked hard to draw up an exciting program and soon the people drew up to the hotel. Everyone was waiting in therge hall of the hotel. This year they rented the venue at the ballroom of the Continental Hotel. It was one of the fanciest hotels in New York. When one arrived, they were given the view of a lush red carpet meant for formal events. Marc Sanderman thought it was great for the employees to feel like they were all celebrities and stars in this fine evening. The Sanderman Group did not hesitate in throwing a g that would be talked upon by many for days. Marc even proposed that the hall be decorated with beautiful chandelier lights that glimmered and sparkled like snowkes. Alex and the others in themittee took his feedback and presented many of the employees of what may have been their most extravagant g as of to date. The ce was decorated with red carpets, crystal chandeliers and a never ending fountain in the middle of the room to set the mood and atmosphere. na and her other friends were already in the halls of the hotel, drinking wine and sharing stories together. Not everyone of them had dates, so the women all stuck together to gossip and talk with each other. "I wonder when Elise wille here." na whispered to her colleagues in the Finance Department. "She promised to bring her boyfriend this time, so I''m looking forward to it." "Haha, or else we''ll still be bound to think that it''s our boss who''s with her?" Another said. "I can''t wait to see what he''ll be wearing during his weing speech. I think I can stare at him all night long." "I do hope that our boss wins the most eligible bachelor award though, although I can''t help but think that Elios Linden might win it this time." "I''m not sure if our boss will win anything when Elise seems to have a boyfriend that''s top bachelor material if he were single." One of the women sipped her drink. "Huh?" Each of the women looked at the grand entrance of the hotel and rubbed their eyes. Both Loriel and Elise arrived together and they appeared like A-list celebrity couples. It wasn''t only na and her friends that found themselves looking, other people in the party seemed to have their gazes turning to the two people. Elise looked very elegant that day in a white silk dress. It had an embroidered neckline with a few pearls around the neckline, and it hovered above her knee and she looked very elegant in the dress. Loriel stood beside her and he wore a dark suit thatplimented his date''s white attire. Both of them stood out from the crowd of guests as they walked inside the premises of the hotel. "He really is so handsome." One of the women''s jaw dropped in surprise. "Look at what he''s wearing, I think that''s some luxury suit... cashmere, maybe?" "It seems like Elise has quite a rich boyfriend." na wagged her finger at them. "They''reing this way, be on your best behavior." But right before Elise and Loriel could head towards her friend''s direction, they were quickly greeted by someone they knew. The employees eyes bulged when Marc Sanderman and Alex both walked up to them and greeted the man. "Gosh, it seems like our boss knows the man!" "I mean it makes sense now." "What do you mean?" "Marc Sanderman knows Elise''s boyfriend, so that''s why he has always been so kind and attentive to Elise. How lucky and fortunate!" "I wonder if we can also meet him." One of them wondered with a sigh. "Well, let''s find out, shall we?" Another tugged at her colleague so they could meet up with Elise. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us this evening for a night of enjoyment and splendor. Wee to Sanderman''s Annual Christmas G, the program shall soon begin." A host announced from the center of the stage. It seemed like na and her friends could only meet up and join Eliseter. "Ah, I''m so d that the two of you could make it!" Marc said and smiled at the two of them. "Thank you so much for throwing this wonderful g for the employees," Elise said and tried for a smile. She looked at Alex. "You guys did so well in organizing this." Alex smiled lightly at Elise. "We do this every year in order to celebrate. I hope that the two of you can enjoy and rx tonight." Marc answered and motioned to one of the front row tables. "The tables are reserved in the front for the two of you to join us. I''ll be giving a speech quite a bit before the festivities all begin." Marc Sanderman was actually eager to show his grand-uncle around the area to show that he did his best to create a g fit for a king and queen. He also made sure that Alex was aware that the two of them treated Loriel with the utmost respect. Loriel shared a look with Elise and he smiled a bit. "I think I''d like to take a seat where Elise would like to be. As far as I remember, I''m supposed to meet with your colleagues, am I right?" Elise looked at the tables in the front row and then found her colleagues near the middle area of the hotel. Everyone seemed to have seated based on their respective offices and departments. She promised them that they''d meet her boyfriend. Chapter 118 - Christmas Raffle Loriel looked at Elise deeply, as if to remind the woman that she wanted him to meet her colleagues to quell the gossip. Elise nodded and smiled to confirm. "Yes, I think they need to see you first." "Then it''s settled," Loriel answered. He''d make sure to stay wherever Elise felt mostfortable with. He nced at his grand-nephew. "Maybe we''ll join youter, Marc." "Okay, grand-unc-er, Loriel!" Marcughed and shook hands with his grand-uncle. It was important to not give away anything at all. "I''ll drop by with Alex if not. Have a good evening!" Elise and Loriel both arrived at the table where her colleagues were seated together. The Christmas G was in full-swing, and the band in the corner managed to y festive Christmas hits, while their staff partook in the appetizers and drinks avable at the banquet tables. "Elise!" na called out to her with a smile. "Is this your boyfriend?" Elise waved at them as they were ushered into two seats beside one another. She quickly nodded her head and said, "Yes, he is." She smiled sheepishly when she introduced the handsome man as her boyfriend. This didn''t escape her colleague''s attention. They thought Elise''s rtionship with this man was still quite new because she was blushing so much. "The two of you look so good together." Her friends and colleagues gushed. "I really love your dress, Elise. It looks great on you!" One of them said. "Thank you so much, Sarah. Yours looks really great too," Elise said. Everyone right now was really friendly and also in a good mood because of the party. All of them had their tables filled with a variety of snacks and drinks and were eagerly waiting for the program to start. They also happened to be really eager to meet Elise''s boyfriend after observing them when they first arrived at the venue. Loriel smiled and quickly introduced himself. "Hello, my name is Loriel Ashborn, a pleasure to meet all of you." "Woah, he''s quite a gentleman!" The women at the table whispered at each other. Loriel was easily the most handsome man they had ever met. Now, they thought Elise might not be interested in Marc Sanderman because she already scored such an amazing boyfriend. "It''s finally good to meet you. We''ve been so curious about Elise and her rtionship, but we''re d to finally see you for ourselves. Loriel truly hated small talk, and except for some people like Marc who he was rted to by blood, he couldn''t care one bit about everyone else in this entire hotel. But because he promised to be Elise''s boyfriend, he was polite and engaged in conversation with her colleagues When they asked about how Loriel and Elise met, both of them shared a look. It was something they haven''t been able to discuss since Elise was still quite somber during the times that her father, Daniel York died. But Loriel''s gentle smile was confident. He recounted the time when he saw her outside his favorite cafe. "It was almost as if the heavens were giving me a sign, it was raining that day when I met Elise right outside of my favorite ce. She looked as if she just came down from the heavens," Loriel said. Elise found herself blushing at Loriel''s words. Somehow there was such a romantic and dreamy tone to Loriel''s voice that it was almost as if he was narrating a scenepletely from a romance book. Elise didn''t think he would see it that much. And yet he did. A part of her remembered her father''s words and she couldn''t help but wonder if what her father assumed was true¡­ but before Elise could fully think about it, a sudden round of apuse sounded within the hotel. Marc Sanderman strolled up towards the stage and gave all of the attendees a weing and warm speech. Once again it was reminded that this party was for all of them to celebrate and unwind. "... and to start off the evening, let''s begin with what you''ve all been waiting for. The Annual Christmas Raffles for this year." The host announced cheerfully. "We''ve got so many wonderful prizes awaiting for all of our lucky winners." Everyone at Elise and Loriel''s table were stoked. "Oh man, you know, I didn''t think it was possible to have a 10k grand gift card, but thepany is giving them away in this raffle too. From 1k gift cards to all the way to a 20k grand!" One of the people at their table said. "That''s really quite a nice prize, but imagine if one of us were given the chance to win thetest model of the hottest brand of car." na smiled. "That''s no more transportation for all of us." "If anybody wins that, let''s all start carpooling together, alright?" A guyughed. "Those all sound really good, but what gets me going are the fully-paid for trips this year." One of the women swooned. "It seems like our boss goes all out this year, it makes me wonder if that''s because he wants to gain the love of the media. There''s not only a flight to Bali, but there are also some holiday packages to France and Japan too!" Right after he spoke, the host started announcing that he would start taking out names from the three big round ss bowls in the middle of the stage. He said thepany had printed the names of all the staff and he would take names randomly to win rewards. Everyone in the ballroom held their breaths in anticipation. "We have three bowls here. That means each of you got three chances of getting rewards. Now, I will take the name from the first bowl. This person will get a brand new smartphone." The host dug deep into the first bowl and took out a name on a small piece of paper. "John Miller from Finance Department!" Someone shrieked from the back of the room. "That''s me!" "Come on up! You just get a new phone!" The MC called the man toe on stage and receive the reward. Once he gave the phone to John, the MC took out another name from the second bowl. "Now, let''s see who will get a new smart fridge." Chapter 119 - You Should Try Lottery One, by one, he called the names of the lucky winners and invited them on stage to receive their presents. There were some colleagues who won brand new home appliances in their home that were of thetest technology, a smart fridge or television. Some came up and received the most up-to-dateptops andputers perfect for both work and home use. There were even people who received a gift card simr to what Elise received. Loriel only watched in silence and apuded whenever it was needed. The people at the table thought he was handsomely cold and attractive this way and thought it matched with Elise''s sweet and warm personality. Loriel was waiting for the MC to have Elisee on stage. It was once again another way for Elise toe into a chance to afford new outfits and possibly even more. "For another winner of an all-exclusive Bloomingrose Gift Card worth 20k gift card, please join us on stage¡­"The MC took out a name on a piece of paper from the first ss bowl. He opened it and read the name with a big smile on his face. "Elise York from the Marketing Department!" "Elise, that''s you, right?!" Her friends gushed and shook her shoulders excitedly. "Come and get the prize. Whoaa... you just won another gift card for shopping!!" Elise blinked in surprise. She didn''t think that she''d win anything at all. This was a really nice surprise! She rose to her feet and walked on stage. Marc Sanderman was waiting for her on stage to distribute the prize himself. "Congrattions, Miss Elise." "Thank you so much." The two of them shook hands and Elise returned back to her seat with her friends and Loriel. A small smile was on her face as she sat back beside Loriel and she couldn''t help but look at the prize in her hands. "This is quite a lot isn''t it?" Elise said quietly under her breath. "You could fill the entire wardrobe you have back at home with brand new clothes," Loriel said with a smirk. "I think that''s only fair." But right before Elise could fully settle down, her name was called again. "Oh, someone seems to have been blessed by Lady Fortune tonight, can we have Miss Elise from the Marketing Department again? im your all-expense paid ticket for two to Japan here!" Elise furrowed her brows. Before she even had a chance to sit down, the MC already called her for another gift? Ah.. maybe she misheard. "Elise, it''s your name again," Sarah whispered from across the table. "You are very lucky tonight," said the others with an envious expression. They couldn''t believe someone could be so lucky as Elise. Not only did she have a really handsome and rich-looking boyfriend, now she also won two raffles in one go? "Maybe you should try your luck in Vegas," another onemented with a wink. Loriel immediately threw that man a murderous re. Who was this lowly human? How dare he try to corrupt Elise with gambling addiction? Steven, the man who spoke earlier, suddenly felt chills down his spine. He didn''t know what happened, but he just felt so ufortable. Did someone turn up the AC? "Go ahead, get your second reward," said Loriel with a smile. He was satisfied by how the raffle turned out. He was the one who chose the all-expenses-paid trip to Japan for Elise and made his want known to Marc. He remembered how much Elise enjoyed eating ramen in Haruka ramen shop and he thought it would be nice if Elise could taste the real ramen in its origin country. Japan was a really beautiful country to visit. They also had such rich culture. Loriel had visited the country so many times already and he couldn''t wait to show it to his wife. Finally, after Loriel convinced her that she didn''t mishear the MC, Elise got up from her chair and went back to the stage. "Th-thank you¡­" she said sheepishly as she epted the gift card as the symbolic reward. After the event, she could redeem the cards to the event organizer to get the tickets and hotel bookings. "This is your second raffle for the night," the MC gave her the microphone to ask her opinion. "How do you feel?" "I am really happy and grateful¡­" Elise bowed down toward Marc Sanderman who was sitting leisurely at the table of honor with the top brass. The man coughed when he saw her showing her gratitude in such a manner. He waved nonchntly and smiled as if showing her that it was nothing. "Well.. thanks to our boss''s generosity, this year we have so much more rewards provided for the raffle," the MC said. "Please give a big round of apuse to our boss, Mr. Marc Sanderman." Everyone who attended the event gave a big round of apuse for their charming boss. Marc Sanderman smiled and waved at everyone. He had ensured that Elise''s winnings that night didn''t seem so suspicious by making her win only the second or third prize. Never did Elise win the grand prize, a brand new car, or anything like that. "My uncle can buy those if he really wanted to," Marc said to himself as he sat back at his chair in the guest of honor seats. Either way, all of Elise''s friends were so surprised and happy for her. "You should try joining the lottery, Elise," Sarah said,ughing. "Imagine if with your luck, you won the grand amount of money then you''d be so rich and you won''t even have to lift a single finger your entire life anymore." "Well, I think Elise already seems quite lucky even now. You don''t need that much money as long as you have a handsome boyfriend, don''t you guys agree?" Elise felt her face heat up. She knew her colleagues loved to gossip. So, she already expected they would make suchments in front of Loriel. Elise didn''t know how to feel and wondered if Loriel would feel upset or offended byments like that. But instead, Loriel just wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled Elise close. Chapter 120 - Slow Dancing Before they left for the g, Elise and Loriel had agreed that some skin contact was needed to make it convincing that they were together, but Elise still felt her skin prickle at the contact. Her heart fluttered and she looked at the man with a blushing face. "I''d like to think that it''s the other way around," Loriel said. "The one who''s lucky in this rtionship is me¡­ I didn''t think it was possible that I would have such a sweet and loving girlfriend like Elise." "You guys are such a dream couple," Sarah gushed. "I wish my boyfriend would say such things like that." na looked obviously jealous. "Elise, I''d marry the man right this instant if I were you." The people around the table oohed and aahed at Loriel''s smooth words. With the two of them together, it really seemed like Elise and Loriel were a match made in heaven. Everyone at the table couldn''t get enough of the man''s presence and felt incredibly lucky they were eating with them. Elise wanted to agree with them as they admired Loriel. Right now, she still couldn''t imagine that she''d meet someone like him. After everything that happened for the past few months, throughout all the struggles and troubles that she encountered¡­ Loriel was always right there with her. How and why did he do such a thing? Elise didn''t know. Or maybe Elise actually did. She nced at Loriel at her side and felt her heart race slightly. Her father''s words about Loriel didn''t exactly leave her mind and she wondered if that was true. Elise didn''t know what to think at the moment. Her father said Loriel did all those things for her out of love. However, Loriel didn''t seem to want to admit it. He replied in diplomatic words when Elise bravely asked him if he was in love in her. Ahh¡­ Now, Elise didn''t know what to think. Finally, instead of getting caught up in her thoughts, Elise decided to enjoy the night. "Here, take this. I think you might enjoy this." Loriel offered Elise a creme brulee with a gentle smile. What he wanted for Elise to do was to truly smile tonight and maybe even enjoy her time. "What is this?" Elise asked. "It''s creme brulee. It''s really good. Try it," said Loriel. "Ah¡­ okay." Loriel knew that nothing like this could rece the loss of one''s father, but hopefully, soon, Elise would recover from her grief. He was determined to make her happy and distract her from her grief. Perhaps, they could travel to Japan after Christmas and spent a nice holiday there. Loriel remembered what she said while at the hospital. Elise sobbed about the fact that she didn''t have anyone else in this world anymore. That wasn''t true at all. While Madeline York may have lost her father¡­ Elise still had Loriel and he would do anything to make her feel loved. Amidst the festivities of the Christmas g, from the raffles, live performances from well-known and famous people to the delicious banquet avable for all of the employees in the Sanderman Group, Loriel stood up. The music from the live orchestra changed to a harmonious melody. Loriel offered his hand to Elise and gave her a smile. His gaze was on her, and her alone. "Elise, may I have this dance with you?" Behind Elise were the swoons and quick urging from her colleagues. The people were usually content to eat and enjoy the atmosphere of the g night along with the asional upbeat dances for those willing, but this time, Loriel asked Elise during a slow dance. Elise stared up at Loriel and wondered if this was what it felt like to be asked and courted by a prince. "Of course, Loriel." A soft smile crossed on her lips as she epted his hand and he pulled her to the center of the grand hotel. There were several other couples too in the background, encouraged to join in the music and spend their time with their loved ones or colleagues. Office romances were actually quite a thing despite what may have been prescribed by the Sanderman''s HR. Even Marc Sanderman couldn''t help but look at the dance floor and wonder if this was what true love actually meant? He thought it was cheesy and silly. The no-strings attached rtionships were convenient for someone like him. But the way that his grand-uncle looked tonight was of someone with genuine joy in their eyes as Loriel and Elise arrived together in the center of the room. Elise ced her left hand on Loriel''s shoulder, while he took care of her right hand. Both of them seemed to have naturally rxed in this position. "Do you know how to dance, Elise?" Loriel asked. Elise shook her head and smiled awkwardly. "Uhm¡­ I have never danced before." "Don''t worry, I''ll take care of you." "Thank you." "No, thank you for epting my offer to dance," he whispered. "It wouldn''t be fair for a boyfriend to ask her girlfriend out to dance and for them to refuse," Elise said. There was a small twinkle in her eyes as she said it. "But don''t get upset if I step on your foot by ident." "That won''t happen at all. I''ll lead." "Then I''ll trust you." A long time ago, Loriel had never once invited his wife into the ballroom, too focused and readily burying himself in his duties to ever have the time for something like this. Tonight, Loriel and Elise spent the next song and two together in each other''s arms. They immediately attracted the attention of all the g attendees. Both man and woman were ridiculously good-looking that all eyes couldn''t help but get fixed on them. The other employees who had never seen Elise before were curious to know who she was since she was so beautiful and they didn''t see her at thest year''s g. Whispers were soon heard among the audience. Chapter 121 - The Salty Remark Loriel closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment as they were slow dancing to the music. Instinctively, he pulled Elise''s body close to his. He could feel her heartbeat and it made him feel extremely good. If he could freeze time so he could have her close to him like this forever, he would. Unfortunately, he didn''t have such power. He could only enjoy this fleeting moment where he could touch her and have her in his embrace. "Don''t you think they look like the perfect couple?" Sarah asked her friends. "I wonder where they met." "She said she lives with her boyfriend. Elisees to work on foot, right? If they live around here, it means, he must be really wealthy." "Ahh¡­ she is so lucky. She seems to have everything! A beautiful face and stunning look, a doting, and wealthy boyfriend¡­ I am jealous." "But I still don''t get it. If her boyfriend is really that wealthy, what is she doing working at Sanderman Group? Couldn''t he support her financially? Or is he one of those stingy boyfriends?" "Who knows, maybe he did offer, but Elise wants to be independent. Not all women are like you who only want to date men for the money." "Oh, shut up!" The people kept talking about Elise and Loriel, trying to specte about their rtionship, how they met, etc. "It works," Elise whispered to Loriel''s ear when she overheard their conversation. "They really think you are my boyfriend." Now, she didn''t have to worry about being gossiped about as Marc''s mistress or sugar baby. "But I will stille to pick you up from time to time, to ensure that they won''t doubt our rtionship," said Loriel with a smile. "I don''t mind." Elise blushed at his words. She nodded sheepishly and replied, "Okay." When the songs finally ended, Loriel reluctantly let go of his embrace from Elise and they went back to their seats. "You look so good together," Sarahmented. "Do you have a single friend or brother, Loriel?" "I do," said Loriel casually. He nced at Marc who was sipping his wine at the table of honor. Sarah''s face beamed when she heard this. "Oh wow... is he handsome?" Loriel nodded. "He is." "Will you introduce him to me?" Sarah became so excited. This time, Loriel shook his head. "No, why should I? He won''t be interested in you anyway." Sarah spouted her drinks in embarrassment. Loriel really didn''t hold back his words. The other people at the table didn''t talk to Loriel after his salty remarks and he couldn''t be happier. Meanwhile, Elise only hid her smile. She knew Loriel meant Marc and she agreed with him. Marc would not be interested in dating his employees. However, she quickly saved the awkward atmosphere by saying, "He is just joking." Loriel was not really joking, but everyone thought he was. When they heard Elise said Loriel was only joking, theyughed and pped. John even said, "Hahaha¡­ that''s a good one." Elise pinched Loriel under the table. The man just grinned and didn''t say anything. *** The end-of-the-year g of the Sanderman Group actually urred before Christmas. It happened like that in order for the employees of thepany to enjoy a beautiful party before they enjoyed the final weeks of December with their family. Last night to her seemed like a dream. But it actually happened and everyone was now on their work break. It was going to be Elise''s first Christmas without her family. She could no longer spend it with her father, but that didn''t mean that she was going to be alone. And there was something that she wished to do for Loriel. Elise wanted to bake him a fruit cake. There were a lot of ingredients avable in the penthouse and all thetest appliances, but Elise wanted it to be a surprise to Loriel. Thankfully it so happened to be thest day of her baking course with Chef Lucy, so she could do it there. "Ah, Elise, where are you going today?" Loriel asked her. He stepped out of his bedroom and was actually wearing a white shirt that showed off his physique. "I thought you didn''t have work today." Elise couldn''t believe that this was the same man who held her in his armsst night during the g. "Elise?" Loriel asked again. "A-ah, I''ll be meeting with Chef Lucy tonight and I want to work overtime during this week. Marc is paying double for those who can attend after the party." Elise smiled at him. There was a blush in Elise''s cheeks before she raised her eyes to look him in the eye. Somehow, what her father told her at the hospital seemed to have made her extremely aware of Loriel. Every little thing that Loriel did and him simply just being Loriel made her self-conscious. Elise quickly turned around and waved at him, "See youter at the office." "Take care, Elise," Loriel replied. He furrowed his brows. Why did Elise said ''see you at the office''? Actually, Loriel thought that he''d have the entire day with just Elise and him, but he forgot about the chef and work. Elise made her way to the door before she suddenly nced back. "But ah, if you have ns with your colleagues or anything, then it''s alright too." "What do you mean?" Loriel raised a brow. In Elise''s mind, someone important like Loriel would get invited to a lot of banquets and gs¡­ and yet he still made some time for her and attended as her boyfriend. Elise didn''t want to say it aloud because it was obvious that someone like Loriel was busy. But she stopped at the door. "I mean... if you had any ns with your business associates and you cannot pick me up at work, it''s okay. I think my colleagues will understand if you''re a little too busy to pick me up today," Elise said. Loriel suddenly remembered that he promised to pick up Elise from work to show her office mates that he was really her boyfriend. This made a smile curve up on his handsome face. Chapter 122 - Marc Is Sulking "Nonsense. We made an agreement and I''ll pick you up as your boyfriend." Loriel smiled at her. "Then I''ll take you to Chef Lucy for your baking lessons." It was actually a good idea since Loriel never met the chef yet. He had been wondering how Chef Lucy taught Elise baking. "Ah, if that''s what you want to do, thank you," Elise said. She didn''t want to argue with him about it and it didn''t actually interfere with her idea to surprise him with fruit cake. If anything, Elise was happy about him promising to pick her up. *** Marc was sitting in his office, sulking. He couldn''t get his mind off the Ritz G event fromst night. It took ce every end of the year and it was where all the A-listers and socialites in the world met. The event was very exclusive and anyone always felt so honored to be invited. However, it was also something that Marc Sanderman detested because of the ''world''s most eligible bachelor award'' that the Ritz G association presented annually. He was on this list for the fourth year now and every year his ranking went higher, except this year. There were many new faces that became the crowd''s favorites. Well, Marc loved the fact that people thought he was most eligible bachelor material. It meant that he still got it. But Marc Sanderman disliked beingpared, scrutinized, and ranked against other men, especially the newer mening in and stealing the spotlight and his previous rankings. Well, he didn''t really care about those other people, but he really didn''t want Terrence Chan to win. All Marc Sanderman cared about was defeating his old rival, Terrence Chan to keep his pride. He was so happy when he saw the organizer announced that this year''s winner for the most eligible bachelor was Elios Linden. This was not surprising because the man was currently one of the most popr and most searched men on the. Marc thought his rising poprity must be due to his ownership of Virconnect, Splitz, and RMI. He was indeed a very strong contender. However, when Marc saw the man in person, even he thought Elios deserved to win. The man was very impressive. Elios was imposing, super handsome, and had this mysterious aura about him that made even men feel in awe when they looked at him or heard him speak. Marc agreed that Elios should win the world''s most eligible bachelor award. Initially, Marc thought anyone but Terrence Chan was okay, but after he saw Elios, he wholeheartedly agreed that Elios should win. However, that bastard dared to leave the Ritz G event just one minute before the announcement? He did it as if to give the world the middle finger and said he didn''t care one bit about the award. Dammit. His absence forced the organizer to immediately announce the new winner to save face. Since Terrence Chan was in second ce, the award was immediately given to him. Marc felt like eating his shoes when he witnessed Terrence pretended to look shocked and epted that stupid award with a sheepish smile. Who cared about the Prince of Malta or whatever his name was and the new uing Elios Linden from RMI? They were just lucky that from the Ashborn and Sanderman family line it was only Marc on the most eligible bachelor list. If Loriel Ashborn hadn''t decided to stay away from the spotlight, then their bloodline would have surely triumphed as the best amongst the entire world. If not the absolute best! Marc Sanderman knew that. And yet the man was sulking in his office and he had even pulled out the celebratory wine he intended to drink once he beat Terrence Chan. But now it was to drink his cares away. He poured wine, one ss after another, and drank his expensive wine to console his heart. Ahh¡­ he intentionally came to work to keep himself busy. There were a few other employees in the office. Those who would take overtime and do extra work at the office because they needed the extra money or they simply didn''t have a social life. There were still some documents that Marc needed to check inter in order for thepany to always be on top of its schedule. While other people were rxing, Marc Sanderman and the people who were willing to work extra hours for extra pay were here to help usher in the new yearpletely prepared. Marc suddenly received a call. "Hello?" He blinked out of his stupor and realized it was his grand-uncle. Did he hear about the results on the awards night and decided tofort him? Marc Sanderman had been so glum about it and he was excited to finally have a listening ear. Ahh.. maybe his uncle should step up next year and bring the award to their family. Loriel would definitely be a new crowd''s favorite because he was incredibly handsome, imposing, and powerful. Women would want to be with him, and men would want to be like him. "Ah, Elise will be here? So she wants to get the holiday overtime benefit?" Marc Sanderman blinked and then chuckled nervously. "Of course, I''ll make sure that there''s not much work to do for her here¡­ Well, there isn''t actually much to do at all. Of course, you can drop by and visit here too if you want, uncle." Loriel naturally called to check up on Elise because he was worried about her. Marc Sanderman thought for sure that both Elise and Loriel would have been on a flight to Japan right now since they were eligible for it. And there was that 20k gift card to shop in Bloomingrose! Elise could have gone shopping for today and bought stuff to her heart''s content if she had wanted to. The work ethic that Elise had seemed to be even better than Marc''s now that he thought about it. Here he was, sulking about not winning the awards night when everybody else in hispany was going to work. Marc Sanderman needed to pull himself together. . -------------- From the author: If you haven''t already known, "The Cursed King" is set in the same universe as all my other books: "The Alchemists", "Finding Stardust", "The Prince Who Cannot Fall In Love" and of course, "The Cursed Prince". They just have different timelines. It''s so much fun to write them together and do crossovers from time to time. ^^ Elios Linden, who should have won the ''world''s most eligible bachelor award'' is the male lead in my book "The Alchemists". It has 4 different love stories with 4 different doting husbands. If you read "The Alchemists", you will meet Elios Linden in Volume 2 of that book. He is a really interesting character. A viin but a doting husband who won''t hesitate to destroy the world to save his wife. Chapter 123 - Marc Is Watching Over His Future Grand-Aunt There weren''t a lot of people at thepany when Elise came to work. It seemed like a vast majority did want to spend their vacation with their family, but for Elise who didn''t have much to do, going to work was what was best for her. The number of people who came was so few that they even stayed in one lounge office together. Elise also realized that the workload was so much lighter than she expected. It was possible to do all of this work next year, but the Sanderman Group wanted to wee the start of a new yearpletely prepared. There were people that Elise knew who happened to be around like Sarah and Alex never seemed to be the type to take a break at all either. Elise found herself chatting with them and talking about what they''ll be doing during Christmas. "I''ll probably have to go visit my family that day," Sarah sighed. "I would have rather spent it with my boyfriend but he also needs to stay with his family." "Have you not introduced both families to each other yet?" Elise asked. "A joint party sounds lovely." "Haha, I don''t really think we''re at that level yet to do something like that. But what about you Elise? Will you stay with your boyfriend or are you going to visit family too? I''m sure they must love Loriel." Elise didn''t want to tell na that the only family that she had left was Tessa York and her family. People who couldn''t care less about her, only the fact that her father''s will was named solely to her. These people were probably also going to spend Christmas together so they''ve stopped from trying to harass her to even enjoy the holiday seasons. "I''ll probably stay in the city with Loriel," Elise said. "How romantic," na gushed. "Did you think of a gift? I bought my boyfriend a new jacket. It''s a little tricky to find a nice gift nowadays, but he can''tin about it. I was being considerate since it''s so cold this time of the year." "That''s really nice. I was thinking of making him something. I''ll be baking a cake for him." Elise smiled. She realized that usually at Christmas, people would spend time with their loved ones and exchange gifts. Since she didn''t have anyone, and so did Loriel, it was a no-brainer that they would spend Christmas together this year. She had been thinking about the gift to give the man. When she did her shopping with her colleagues two weeks ago, she thought of buying him something from Bloomingrose. However, after she thought about it again, she realized she wanted to gift him something personal. Something that she made with her own hands. Finally, she decided to make him a cake. "Woah, you must really like him a lot. I don''t think I have much time to spare to do that." Elise was excited about baking him the cake and the look that will be on Loriel''s face when she''ll give it to him. Elise thought back to how Loriel had always cooked dinner for them and almost always prepared breakfast too. He really took good care of her. And what touched Elise''s heart the most was how he handled everything so well when Elise lost her adoptive father. The three days that followed were hell and Elise was drowned in sorrow. Yet, Loriel didn''t bat an eye. He stayed by her side and took care of her during that tough times. Ahh¡­ he was truly a dream boyfriend. That was once again another reason as to why Loriel seemed like the type of man that many women would want as a partner. "But on another side note, I''m d that there''s not so much work¡­ I was almost afraid that our boss would give us a ton of paperwork." Another one of their colleagues said. Elise raised a brow. "Howe?" "Didn''t you watch the news or go online on social media? The results from the world''s most eligible bachelor award came up¡­ and man did our boss really go off." One of the employees stopped speaking. They weren''t inside of the lounge office, but the appearance of the boss and his assistant was obvious. "You''re dead now, I wouldn''t be surprised if you get sacked today," Sarah teased the guy who spoke up. "Oh shut up, he didn''t hear anything. Those polls or voting whatever doesn''t seem to make sense at all either. We all know who''s the best boss and that''s what matters. Aren''t I right, guys?" Elise couldn''t help but smile at her coworkers'' conversation and teasing. But she nced towards the window and didn''t see Marc as they said. He must have only passed by the lounge? It was a shame since Elise wanted to see Alex. *** It wasn''t every day that Marc Sanderman himself came down to meet with his employees, but he needed to check on Elise for Loriel. At least make sure that she was doing fine during her overtime hours. But now Marc Sanderman knew that even his own employees were talking about him and his failure at keeping up his rank in the world''s most eligible bachelor award. His eagerness to work again instantly kind of gave up. "Alex, make sure that everyone in the office is doing fine and alright," Marc whispered to Alex beside him. "Don''t let them work too hard. It''s the holiday already." His words just now made Alex batted her eyes in confusion. Was her boss abducted by aliens and they reced him with a reptile monster who took a human skin and posed as Marc Sanderman??? She knew Marc was a vicious CEO when he wanted to be. He could work his people to the bone to ensure that the Sanderman Group continued to be a sess. Alex was the brunt of all his requests as his assistant. So, she knew how demanding Marc could be when it came to work matters. But, today, he wanted his employees to work less? Alex thought Marc''s mood swing must have something to do with the result from Ritz Gst night. So, she cleared her throat. "I don''t think that the opinion of many people is that important. Just because everyone believes that something is true, doesn''t make it right at all." "Huh? What are you trying to say, Alex?" Marc Sanderman asked. "I think that you''re already quite a well-sought after bachelor, Mr. Sanderman," Alex said. "Who cares about some stupid award from the Ritz Foundation." Alex then quickly reached for the door to the office where Elise was and stepped inside. She turned to Marc and smiled sweetly. "I''ll get right to the task you requested and will reportter." Alex left Marc Sanderman outside of the hallway with furrowed brows. There were quite a few times that Alex ever spoke and attempted to cheer him. This must be one of those attempts. Marc muttered in annoyance under his breath. Gah..! Alex must think Marc''s sudden kindness today was caused by his disappointment for losing the award, when in fact he just wanted to make sure Elise didn''t overwork herself to make extra money, as per his grand-uncle instruction. He was trusted with a mission to watch over his future grand-aunt. Of course, he would do his job as well as possible. Marc Sanderman scratched his head and walked away while rolling his eyes. He felt so misunderstood. Until he picked his phone up again at a call. "A-ah, uncle, she''s doing great and wonderful at work as usual. There''s nothing to worry about at all." Chapter 124 - Loriel Meets Chef Lucy Loriel was in the business district this evening to pick up Elise for her special evening ss at her baking school. When Loriel arrived outside the premises of the Sanderman Building, he saw Elise leave with her fellow colleagues. His wife truly looked beautiful. Loriel could look at her pretty face forever and he would never feel bored of it. Loriel stepped out of his car and came to meet her by the entrance. "Hey, love..." His voice was sweet like honey and made the women around Elise swoon. Already, her colleagues were teasing Elise or gawking at the luxury car that Loriel brought, but his eyes were only Elise alone. He gave her a smile and offered her his hand, "Shall we get going? We can''t miss your baking lessons." "O-Oh right!" Elise said. "Thank you for picking me up." She grabbed onto his hand and found their fingers intertwining immediately. Even though this was all pretend, she couldn''t help but blush slightly. Elise gave her friends apologetic looks but they were all epting of this situation. "Enjoy your evening with your boyfriend, Elise!" "Have a safe trip~" "Actually use the Christmas break too!" Even though she hadn''t been able to join them in many outings, the mere fact that she also joined these extra work hours with them was already telling in and of itself of her personality. Despite having a rich and handsome boyfriend, Elise was a humble and hard-working woman. It was truly admirable. So, not only she was beautiful and charming, but she was also independent and did not rely on her man to support her financially. Loriel gave the others a polite goodbye before he and Elise stepped into the car. Loriel already exined to Elise that he had a luxury car at his disposal. He just didn''t use it much because he didn''t like going out. Both of them stepped inside the backseat and Loriel''s driver immediately drove them away from the Sanderman Building. Elise smiled at him. "Thank you for picking me up, they''re all convinced." Loriel wanted to say that next time, they''ll really think that they were a couple. He had already been thinking about when to confess his love and he already started preparations. "No problem. I''m really looking forward to it, actually, I''ve never been to this bakery before but I hear that your instructor is an acimed chef?" "Chef Lucy is the absolute best!" Elise said, "Such an excellent teacher who doesn''t mind yfully teasing me or giving me a hard challenge to make me learn better, so I love it!" "Sounds good." Loriel nodded, he thought that it was the kind of person that Elise would like to be around. The car was driving on the streets near the bakery as they were approaching the front entrance. Elise was already halfway excited to see her teacher and it was evident in her face. Loriel was unaware of Elise''s true excitement, but he smiled lightly. "It''s such a wonderful ce, isn''t it? I want to take a tour of the whole bakery," Loriel said. "Of course~ I''m sure Chef Lucy doesn''t mind having visitors and observers," Elise assured him. "If not, even a quick visit would suffice. But I think Chef Lucy would be happy to meet you." "I see, then it''s only right that I meet your teacher." Loriel already knew that he would need a way to justify a visit to the bakery for his wife if they were to go there together. When the two of them stepped down the car, they were given the front view of the bakery. It was arge building with a huge front entrance and beautiful ss windows that allowed them to see the avable desserts. When they entered the building, it really looked like a luxurious bakery. Different cakes and bread were ced in delicate containers, and some in grass-woven baskets. Loriel knew it gave off a rather Parisian atmosphere. "Ah, good evening, Elise," a person greeted them. Loriel stopped cold at the voice and appearance of a man. Huh? Who was this man? He looked so handsome with his slick brown hair and an apron that hugged his chiseled chest and t stomach. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing toned his arms and some traces of flour in his hands. Loriel thought nobody could look as good as him in an apron, but this dude just proved him wrong. Elise turned to Loriel and gushed innocently, "This is Chef Lucy, my baking teacher." Her cheerful words instantly made Loriel cough violently. Gosh! What''s this??? Chef Lucy was a man??? So, Elise had been learning baking under a male teacher? And a handsome one at that!!! Didn''t Loriel tell Marc that he wanted Elise''s instructor to be a woman and so did all of their employees? This is totally uneptable!! Was this why Elise was always eager to attend her baking courses? Oh my goodness! Elise strolled up to the chef and motioned to Loriel. "Chef Lucy, it''s so good to see you. I brought my friend, Loriel. He said he is interested in seeing the baking process." "Didn''t you tell me your baking teacher''s name is Lucy?" Loriel asked in confusion. "Who is this man?" Before Elise could exin it, Chef Lucy quickly had answered his question. "Well, my name is actually Lucius Fournier. People call me Lucy since I was young, and the name kind of gets stuck with me now. Hehehe¡­ You seem surprised. Do you have a problem with my gender?" Loriel pursed his lips. This was not what he wanted at all. Somebody needed to answer for this mishap. How could he let Elise spend so much time with this sexy chef who¡ª just look at his shirt, did he intentionally unbutton his three upper buttons to show off his chest muscles? Dammit! Even Loriel, a man, would admit that this chef was sexy as hell. He didn''t know the chef was a handsome hunk. He was deceived by the name, Chef Lucy, and thought it was a woman. Jeez... Loriel didn''t understand what was it with those people who loved to wear their names in such a way to defy their genders. For example, Alexandra who preferred to be called Alex, and now this man who was actually Lucius but asked people to call him Lucy? Didn''t they know that this could create confusion and misunderstandings??? What had this world be into? Chapter 125 - The Jealous Husband Lucius looked at Loriel intently. "So, do you have any problem with my gender?" "Nah, I am just surprised. I don''t have a problem," Loriel quickly lied. "Can we see the baking ssroom? I am interested in learning baking too. That''s why I came here with Elise today." Loriel was quick-witted. If he suddenly forbade Elise from attending her baking ss with Lucius, she might suspect that Loriel was petty and it might make her resent him. No¡­ Loriel didn''t want to risk it. Maybe it would be better if Loriel joined her in the ss. That way he could spend more time with Elise, and he could also keep an eye on Lucius. So, he just pretended to be interested in baking. Loriel was a good liar and he could make his words sound convincing. Well, it seemed Lucius bought it. "Is that so? Please, lock the front door and I''ll show the two of you around." Chef Lucy smiled at them both. He was a indeed handsome and attractive young man. "The front area is where we disy our finished products, even those of my students." Elise nced at Loriel. "I actually finished brownies when I was herest time." "Those were immediately sold out." Chef Lucy chuckled and opened one of the doors and led them into the back portion of the bakery. He turned to Loriel and smiled broadly. "This is where the magic happens." Elise and Loriel entered a long hallway and soon arrived at the baking facility. The baking room had a sink, an oven and an extra sink for cleaning utensils and the oven. The sweet aroma of baked foods and the wonderful sights of the baking room immediately reminded Elise of her baking ss and how she was going to bake Loriel a cake. "Oh, this smells wonderful!" Elise said. "You have a good nose, I''m whipping something up for Christmas." Chef Lucy said. The whole bakery was filled with a soft sweet heavenly aroma, as if this area was always filled with constant baking. Something was baking in the oven right now. In one of the tables were flowers perfectly arranged in one of the tins, but they weren''t ordinary flowers, they were chocte white roses. Elise knew that Chef Lucy must be using white roses for some of the desserts. She walked up to the first white cake decorated with white roses. "What are these for? Besides it being for Christmas, Chef Lucy?" Loriel asked. "It seems like it''s intended for something else too? A wedding?" "They''re a small present I wanted to give." Chef Lucy said with a small smile. "It seems like you''re familiar with flower meanings, so you must be quite a romantic, sir Loriel." "Everybody knows what they mean," Loriel said bluntly. "So someone''s getting married?" Elise said. There was a slight wonder in her voice. Loriel hoped that it meant that weddings were still something that Elise wanted for herself. "It can also simply show one''s pure devotion, a budding and young romance if you will." Chef Lucy answered. Loriel was surprised at the sweetment and wondered if it was directed to Elise. As for Elise herself, she looked at the Chef and beamed, "Oh, that''s so sweet!" "I hope they appreciate it when I give it to them," Chef Lucy said. "I''m sure they will!" Elise replied. The Chef''s own words made her think about the present that she was going to give to Loriel. "If she doesn''t want the cake, it''d be a pity to throw it away too." Lucius chuckled. "... I''m sure that no one can resist a cake from a renowned chef like you, Chef." "You tter me too much, shall we get on with the lessons this evening?" Elise and Chef Lucy seemed to be quite close and friendly with one another. That made sense because it wasn''t only Loriel who spent thest three months with Elise, Lucius was also present around those times, even if his presence wasn''t immediately felt. "Uh, if you guys don''t mind¡­ I don''t have anything to do at my ce, can I stick around here and observe the lessons?" Loriel asked. "Of course," Lucius smiled at him. "Actually, feel free to wash up and get yourself ready if you want to bake too. I''ve always taught Elise alone, so it''d be nice for her to have apanion." "That sounds perfect then." Loriel barely stopped himself from gritting his teeth. Elise and Lucius were all alone together for the past months. Gosh¡­! He didn''t know this. He had given another man a chance to get close to Elise for a long time. It''s time to mark his territory and showed Lucius that Elise belonged to him only. It made Loriel stay at the bakery and soon he received an impromptu baking lesson. That night Elise and Loriel learned how to decorate cake through the frosting, little desserts, and other items to make a cake look appetizing. It was for that reason that Elise wasn''t able to bake him the present right away. She didn''t want to ruin the surprise by doing it in front of him. Elise hoped that Loriel enjoyed the lessons from Chef Lucy. However, it was quite the opposite actually. Loriel saw that Elise and Lucius were already working together like a good team. Whenever Lucius wanted something, Elise was quick to give it to him or even guessed what the chef needed even before he asked. "Here''s the vani syrup, and I got the msses too." "Thank you, Elise." Lucius smiled at her. "Not a problem, thank you for teaching us." "It''s always a pleasure teaching you, so you don''t have to thank me," said Lucius with a wink. This action invited a murderous re from Loriel. He was so tempted to create ''an ident'' where Lucius'' oven would explode in his face and scare him for a bit. Lucius wouldn''t hurt, of course, but he would be shocked and probably take a year or two from baking. Gosh... shut up, Loriel. Don''t be so childish, the former king chided himself. Elise was glowing and seemed to be so happy doing all her baking work. He didn''t want to take that away from her. He must bear this annoyance and let Elise continue her baking sses with Lucius. It took a lot of effort on Loriel''s part to not get too upset. Unlike Tessa and Julian, this Lucius dude was a decent person... if only he hadn''t be too close to Elise. It was one of the first times that Loriel truly felt jealous. This was a sickening feeling and he couldn''t help but wonder how Elise managed to be so kind whenever he brought up Emmelyn before. Just seeing the two of them interact was making his chest tighten. If Loriel never met Elise, someone else might have met and helped her. What did she think of her baking teacher? Did she like him a lot and it gave her more eagerness to attend her lessons? What if she wanted to start a business with the man right in front of him? What if this Lucius had offered it to Elise? Terrible thoughts filled Loriel''s mind and he paused for a moment to be calm again. . --------------- From the author: I will publish the next chapter in a few hours. After that, please be patient and wait for two days as I am preparing the next tier for Privilege (I need two days to add 8 chapters in the new tier and 2 more chapters for regr readers). They will be ready on August 2. The new Tiers in August will be as follows: Tier 1 - 1 coin - 2 advanced chapters Tier 2 - 5 coins - 5 advanced chapters Tier 3 - 300 coins - 11 advanced chapters Tier 4 - 1000 coins + disc 99% for chapters - 20 chapters Tier 5 - 1500 coins + disc 99% for chapters - 28 chapters As always, privilege is notpulsory to read this book 2 chapters per day. You can downgrade your privilege to a lower tier, upgrade to a higher tier, or stay in the same tier. It''s all up to you. Even without privilege you will be able to read chapters 2 per day. If you want to purchase the privilege, you will have to renew it next month in order to stay ahead. Chapter 126 - Loriel Wants To Confess His Love "Loriel, you''ve got a little something on your face," Elise said suddenly. She faked a concerned expression on her beautiful face. "Huh?" Loriel looked up from decorating his own cake with frosting. "I don''t have anything on my face." He was holding on to his pastry bag filled with blue frosting when Elise came up to him and she was holding one of her own frosting-filled pastry bags. She was a lot quicker in finishing the decoration since she wasn''t distracted. Elise smiled and raised her pastry bag and dotted his cheek with a drop of frosting. Loriel blinked at the sudden action. His old Elise was meek, feminine, cute... and the current one was yful, happy, and stubborn. Why did she change so much? Loriel was wondering to himself. He loved the current Elise, just as much as he loved the old one. He just thought she became more interesting by the day and he kept finding out another side of his wife. Loriel chuckled and took a dollop of frosting from his cake and ced some on Elise''s nose. She looked so inviting and appetizing to eat, but he knew that he couldn''t say that aloud. "Hey!" Elise backed up with a slight squeal. Elise noticed that the usually happy and friendly Loriel was deep in his thoughts. He seemed a bit upset. She wanted to see him smile and so she took initiative to tease him. Her own actions prompted him to smile a little, and even for Loriel to give her some frosting as well. The two of them eventually chuckled together. They were acting like silly kids and it was a surprise that Chef Lucy hadn''t scolded them for wasting ingredients like this. Not that Loriel cared about the man, he could have filled the entire bakery with frosting if he wanted to. "We should finish decorating these cakes." Loriel said with a gentle smile. His heart was filled with warmth to the brim. Elise nodded and whispered to him. "We really should, I''m excited to get home." "Me too." Loriel wholeheartedly wanted to leave this ce and hopefully never return. He nced at Lucius who seemed to be so focused on designing the white rose cake that he only left Loriel and Elise to do some of their own cake decoration. If the object of Lucius'' affections were Elise... surely the man would have paid more attention to Elise, right? The thought of that made Loriel feel a little better. Although he wasn''tpletely convinced that it wasn''t Elise and that maybe the chef was just a perfectionist. "Chef Lucy truly loves baking and is so passionate about it, that I''m surprised that he wants to give someone a present. That person must be really special since Chef Lucy is giving so much effort to it," Elise said. "It''s impressive, isn''t it?" Loriel asked. He nced at her face and tried to gauge Elise''s reaction. Even if it wasn''t Lucius who liked Elise, if it was the other way around then he couldn''t do a thing about it. Luckily, the look of admiration on Elise''s face seemed to be more of genuine pride at being Lucy''s student and not harboring any lingering affections. Surely, if Elise wanted it to be Chef Lucy, then she could have approached the man for the same fake-boyfriend request too, couldn''t she? Loriel felt immensely proud that it was him, and not the Chef that got the role of being Elise''s fake boyfriend. He was preparing himself to turn their fake rtionship into a real one. Loriel nned to confess his love to Elise this holiday. *** It was finally Christmas day and it was going to be the day where Loriel would confess his love and adoration to Elise. He couldn''t forget the time when Elise asked him if he loved her and he evaded the question. Loriel thought it was a bad time back then. Elise recently lost her father, she was weakened from the emotional events and was at a bad point in time. Loriel was afraid at that time that she might have only epted his love back then because she was desperate for someone to love her and was distraught at the loss of her father. Elise might have not genuinely wanted his affections that time. Now that some time has passed since then, he thought that this Christmas was the perfect time for him to confess. Loriel spent the past few days acquiring expensive and rare ingredients from across the world to cook her the most perfect dishes for Christmas. With these ingredients, he was going to cook a sumptuous Christmas dinner to make Elise enjoy her first Christmas spent with him. Although Daniel York died this year and Elise felt that there was no one around her anymore, Elise needed to know that Loriel was there for her and it was not because he was a kind man. Loriel wasn''t like this to any other people. He was only doing it because it was her. She was the love of his life. Everything he did, he did it for her out of love. Loriel was going to confess his true feelings for her. After thinking about it for a long time, he decided to confess his love for Elise and make her his. He would not disclose their past rtionship until Elise was ready. This was finally the day. Ever since he saw her outside his favorite cafe, all Loriel ever wanted to do was dere his love to her and show how much he truly felt sorry for being a terrible husband. That would have to happen next time. For now, Loriel was going to confess and hope that they enter into a rtionship as boyfriend and girlfriend. This was something that didn''t exist back in their days, but now he was going to cherish it. Loriel made his way into the kitchen, his heart was beating faster than he ever had before. He could already envision the Christmas dinner he was going to cookter and the smile on Elise''s face. She always enjoyed his cooking but this time he would make the dinner even more special. He would make it the most romantic dinner and when the time was right, the atmosphere was perfect, he would confess his love. The former king was so excited! Chapter 127 - Christmas Day Loriel was excited about this day. He couldn''t wait to confess his love to Elise. After spending so much time with her and lived together for almost three months, he was finally ready. Loriel was sure that this time around, he could woo his wife because now he was a changed man. He was more sensitive, understanding, and loving. He couldn''t wait to make Elise see how he was a much better man than he was before. Loriel started preparing breakfast. He couldn''t help but hum as he head to the kitchen. It was a song that his wife often sang in the past and he loved hearing her humming or singing it whenever she was in a good mood. Breakfast today was sumptuous and made with love. Even though both Loriel and Elise didn''t celebrate Christmas, they enjoyed the holiday happily. They ate while talking about Elise''s baking progress and other trivial things. It was such a good start for the holiday. In thest few days before today, Loriel had picked her up from work and also stayed with her during the baking lessons with Chef Lucy. Since Elise had introduced Loriel to her coworkers as her boyfriend, Loriel felt the need to always show up in front of the office building, to ensure they would know that he was really the boyfriend. It was done as an indirect way to tell her male coworkers that Elise was really taken and they shouldn''t dream or think that they had a chance with her. Loriel intentionally came to pick up Elise in his best suit and he even used his driverless and fancy car to take him to the Sanderman office building. Even people who didn''t understand cars could guess that the car he rode must be so expensive from how fancy it looked. Loriel was not one to unt his wealth, but special for this case, he didn''t hesitate to look wealthy and charming. All his effort seemed to work, because Elise''s colleagues had stopped talking about Marc Sanderman and Elise. They actually thought Loriel was a better catch. As for the baking ss, Loriel insisted that he wanted to join Elise and learned baking himself after he attended herst ss. His excuse was he suddenly found the beauty in baking and would want to add a new life skills where he could make his own food, including bread and pastries. In actuality, Loriel was jealous of Lucius. The chef got to spend so much time with Elise, teaching her how to bake? This was uneptable! If the chef was a woman or if he was an ugly or old man, Loriel wouldn''t feel upset. But the fact was Lucius was a very attractive man. Loriel had also checked his sexuality and found out Lucius was straight. If Lucius decided to pursue Elise, Loriel would find a worthypetitor since Lucius seemed like a nice and handsome man. He could cook, bake and he also looked sexy as hell wearing his apron. No. If Loriel learned anything from his centuries of roaming the earth and met countless humans, he knew that he shouldn''t look down on hispetitor. He must not take anything for granted. That''s why, he tagged along with Elise to her baking ss. The woman didn''t think too much about it, but Loriel could tell that Lucius understood what was going on. The chef was not dumb. In three days that he attended the baking ss, Loriel learned to make two pastries and he was quite happy about it. Meanwhile, Elise was busy thinking about gifts to give Loriel. The man had been so kind to her and helped her during the toughest times of her life. She wanted to show him how much she appreciated him. Since she knew that people usually exchanged gifts for Christmas, Elise was thinking of getting Loriel something special. Now was her only chance to get him his present. Elise thought of baking him something with her own hands, but she could have probably gotten him something else too. She had the gift card to Bloomingrose and she was sure that she could buy him something he''d like. However, Loriel was already a wealthy man. He saidst week that his wealth manager hade with some very good news on his investment. Loriel no longer had problems with cash. He was a wealthy man again. So¡­ what could she gift a man who had everything? For someone like Loriel, Elise thought that getting him a present where he knew it was something that she made would be more impactful than something she bought from the store. Finally, she made up her mind to stick with the cake. She would pour her heart into making a cake that could make Loriel feel her gratitude to him. Last night, Elise sent a message to Lucius and the man was willing to let her use his kitchen in the bakery to create a Christmas cake. He even let Elise use the ingredients avable in the kitchen for her project. Elise promised to rece them but Lucius justughed it off and told her not to worry about it. "Thank you for breakfast," Elise said to Loriel after she finished eating her meal. "I will take a shower and get ready." Loriel nodded with a smile. Well.. today was Christmas day. He wanted to confess his love to Elise. So, he, too, should get ready and look his best. He must not risk getting rejected. "I will shower too. See youter," he said. Elise went to her room and got ready. Loriel did the same. *** Elise wore a nice blue dress and a grey overcoat to protect her from the cold. December in New York was quite cold. Even though she could easily warm up herself with her power, she didn''t want to look out of ce among other people. Once she was prepared, she stepped out of her room and went to the living room. However, she was not ready for what she just witnessed as soon as she stepped inside the living room. Chapter 128 - Like Christmas Wonderland "Huh? What''s this?" The soft mewl of Pot and Pebble wearing little Christmas hats appeared in her immediate sight.?? She instantly pressed her lips in awe.. "Oh my gosh¡­ You two look so cute, don''t you?" Elise gushed and petted the two kitties before she looked around some more in the penthouse. It wasn''t only the two cats that looked filled with the festivities of Christmas. Loriel didn''t seem like the type of guy to decorate the penthouse, but now the entire penthouse looked like some winter wondend. It looked so, so beautiful! Elise held her breath in amazement. When did Loriel do this, she thought. She only left the man to take a shower and change, but during such a short amount of time, he could already turn their living room into such festive Christmas wondend? This was just too amazing! There were tasteful white gands that resembled snow. Decorations hanging from the chandelier that looked like snowkes and other crystalline designs. There was a beautiful Christmas tree present in the living room with several presents at its feet. Where did he hide the Christmas tree? "This is really beautiful¡­" Elise turned around and found Loriel enter the living room in his best dress shirt. "When did you decorate this ce?" "I hope you like my surprise," Loriel smiled. He cast his nce around them and was happy with the result. He did hide the Christmas tree and gift boxes in the storage to make it a surprise. When Elise went to her room, he immediately told Horatio to get everything to the living room. The AI butler also exerted the two robot servants to quickly add more decorations. In only half an hour, everything was ready. "I don''t like it," Elise shook her head. "I love it!" Loriel chuckled. "I am d to hear that." He came near her and stood in awe as he looked at her fresh and beautiful appearance. Elise looked more and more beautiful by the day. He felt so lucky. But then Loriel noticed her attire, she was wearing an overcoat over her dress. It was not something someone would be wearing indoor, right? Did she n to go somewhere? So, he asked her. "Will you be going anywhere today, Elise?" "I think I''ll be going on a quick trip to the bakery and meet up with Chef Lucy," Elise said. "I may have forgotten something there." "Perhaps I can ask the driver to get it?" Loriel offered. He could hire a driver from the frencer app to drive his car to the bakery and get whatever it was that Elise forgot. Loriel felt uneasy when he heard Elise wanted to visit Lucius. Why was this Chef even open his bakery on Christmas day? Ugh. Loriel really needed to scold Marc about this error and wished that it could have been fixed earlier. "No worries, it''s fine. It''s really important that I should be the one who gets it myself," Elise said with a smile. "There''s¡­ something I actually have to do there." "Alright, but I''ll see you for dinner, okay?" Loriel asked. "I wouldn''t miss it for the world," Elise beamed. Loriel believed that and smiled back. "How about I get you there?" Although he needed to prepare for their Christmas dinner and the proper way of confessing to Elise, there was ample time for that. Elise batted her eyes but soon nodded and smiled. "If you don''t mind or have nothing to do." Ahh.. even if Loriel had something to do, he would leave it at a drop of a hat if Elise asked. Loriel would always have time for her. Elise didn''t know it, but to Loriel she was his everything. "I don''t really have anything to do today," Loriel said. "Let me get my coat and we can go to the bakery." "Thank you," said Elise. Loriel went to his room and quickly got his coat. He took Elise''s hand and left the penthouse in his private elevator. Once they arrived at the basement, he got his car ready. They went to the bakery together. *** "We''re here¡­" said Loriel as the car stopped in front of the bakery. He tilted his head to check the window disy and realized that the bakery was actually closed. He had initially thought that Lucius would still open his shop. "Chef Lucy went to see his parents and all his staff have a day off," Elise exined before Loriel asked. She could kind of guess what the man wanted to know. "This is Christmas, after all. He wants them to spend quality time with their family." "Oh¡­ so, there is nobody in the bakery?" Loriel furrowed his brows. "Do you want me to apany you?" Elise hurriedly waved her hands and rejected Loriel''s kind offer. It would defeat the purpose ofing here to borrow Lucius'' kitchen if Loriel stayed with her and found out she would be making a cake for him. Elise could just make the cake at home. She wanted to make it a heartfelt surprise. So, of course, she had to tell Loriel that she didn''t want him around. "I have something to do¡­ alone," said Elise. She looked at the man deeply and hoped he would understand that she needed alone time to do something. "I hope you don''t mind." Loriel was a much more sensitive man now,pared to he was in the past. So, he could immediately guess that Elise wanted to do something for him. She seemed to n a surprise. So, of course, he wouldn''t spoil it. Deep inside, Loriel felt all warm and fuzzy because Elise wanted to give him a surprise. Ahh.. she was the sweetest! She was the best! "Okay, I will leave you to it," said Loriel dotingly. He opened the car door for her and let Elise out. "Do you want me to pick you upter?" The woman shook her head. "There is no need to do it. I will just get a taxi. I n to do some other things and stop by in different ces." Chapter 129 - Preparing For Christmas Dinner "Okay, then¡­" Loriel nodded in understanding. Elis''s answer confirmed his suspicion that Elise nned to make something special for him, maybe a cake? And she wanted to make it a surprise. He touched Elise''s shoulder and said, "I will see youter tonight?" "Yes. See you."?? Elise stood in her ce to watch Loriel enter his car and then drove off. Once the car was out of sight, she went to the bakery and opened the door using the passcode give to her by Lucius. Once she was inside, Elise went straight to the kitchen and got ready to work. *** When Christmas evening was fast approaching, Loriel finished the preparation for the special dinner he nned to confess his love to Elise. He was in a very good mood because of the opportunity to create the best possible setting for tonight''s event. With Elise being away to prepare her own surprise, Loriel got ample time and freedom to make his own preparation. With Horatio''s help, Loriel prepared a table with a white tablecloth and candles on it. The penthouse looked very festive because of the decorations, including the Christmas tree in the corner with presents underneath it. Loriel had bought Elise a very expensive present that he couldn''t wait to give her. Well, there were several gifts underneath the Christmas tree that belonged to her, but there was a special one inside his pocket. The man brought it out and practiced a smile. "Elise, I hope that you''ll be happy with this present," Loriel said as he pretended to hand her a small box. She wasn''t yet here to open it, but when she did, he sincerely hoped he liked it. It wasn''t an engagement ring. Not at all. Instead of something that could make her worried, Loriel decided to gift her a lovely ne with a singr jewel. It was simple, delicate, and had a refined taste. Its appearance was deceptively simple, but the price was something that he wished for her to not discover. Needless to say that for someone as wealthy as Loriel who could buy the whole of New York City with a click of his fingers, and had devoted his whole life to his wife, he would definitely get something exorbitant in price. Well, how much it costs was irrelevant to him. Loriel just hoped that Elise would like it and also ept his confessionter. What was left for the both of them was seeing each other during dinner. Loriel looked around his surroundings once more before he went to his room to clean himself up for the asion. *** Elise returned to the penthouse carrying the beautifully boxed cake. It had a cute bow tied around it and one can see the contents of a delicious-looking threeyered cake. She was aware that no doubt, Loriel prepared a feast for them. The man enjoyed cooking dinner and had a wonderful pte. Elise relished and looked forward to his cooking, so she hoped that Loriel would like her own baking. It was a small present that she''d like to give him this Christmas and a dessert that the two of them could share together. "I''ve returned..." Elise''s voice trailed off. The lights in the penthouse were dimmed and only the chandeliers cast off a romantic atmosphere around them. Soft ssical music yed in the background once she arrived and Horatio''s voice rang to greet her. The two robot servants strolled as the digital butler weed Elise home. The robots looked particrly dressed up. "Wee back home, Miss Elise. Shall we take your coat for you?" Horatio asked Elise. One robot reached out his hand like a professional butler to ask Elise''s coat. Elise batted her eyes and looked at the robots. Then, she looked up and asked Horatio. "What''s the asion?" "Our Christmas dinner." Loriel stepped into the living room and gave Elise a gentle smile. He always wore clean and well-pressed suits, but this time, he looked even better than when they attended the Christmas g together. "I wanted to make our first Christmas together special." "You shouldn''t have..." Elise was startled by his appearance and the effort done all over the penthouse. Loriel truly did so much for her, that she felt as if her gift wasn''t enough. "But I wanted to," Loriel said with a smile. "I hope you like it." Elise snapped out of her reverie and strolled up to him. "I do, I really do. This ce looks amazing." Loriel smiled. "That''s a relief." If it weren''t for the fact that Elise wanted to surprise him, she wouldn''t have left at all. Elise looked up to him and offered the box to him. "U-uh, I well¡­ speaking of which, Merry Christmas, Loriel. I have this for you, I wasn''t sure of what to get you, so I decided to bake you this cake instead." Loriel epted the cake with a beaming face. So, he guessed right! Elise did prepare a surprise for him. She baked a cake for their Christmas dinner. However, even though he already guessed that Elise wanted to gift him something, Loriel still pretended to look surprised. Heplimented himself for his talent in acting. "Oh¡­ when did you make this?" He checked the cake and gushed happily. "It looks so nice!" "Uhmm¡­ I made it today when I went to the bakery. That''s why I said you didn''t need to stay with me there. I don''t want to ruin the surprise," Elise replied. "Why, thank you!" Loriel kissed her right cheek to show how much he appreciated the cake. "It''ll be perfect for dessert. You made the perfect cake. It''s quite a goodbination." Elise immediately smiled at his words. He always knew how to make her feel happy and at ease. "I''m not sure. I should have thought about what if you already made desserts?" Loriel shook his head and epted her present. "I think I like your cake more, it''s your forte. I''m excited to try this cake with you, Elise. How would you like to have dinner now?" "Of course, I''m starving." Eliseughed. Chapter 130 - The Lovely Dinner Ahh, everything seemed to go ording to n and it made Loriel feel very happy. Now that Elise was here, the food was ready, the mood was set, Loriel was ready with his love confession. "Then let''s eat," Loriel ced the cake on one of the kitchen ind. "I''ll save this for our dessert, alright?"?? "I think I should change first, Loriel," Elise said. She looked at her overcoat, scarf, and gloves that she quickly chose before she went out earlier this morning. "Compared to you, I feel a little underdressed." "You''re beautiful no matter what you wear, Elise." Loriel readily answered. Elise blushed at his words and she crossed her arms. "You really know what to say at times like this, don''t you, Loriel?" He chuckled and looked at her. "I speak from the heart, so I mean what I say. Whatever you wear, you look beautiful." "I''ll still change, okay?" Elise smiled. She started heading to her room and stopped right at the door. "I want to dress up a little since you did say it''s a special asion, it''s really our first Christmas together. Thank you, Loriel." *** The two of them were now seated together underneath the chandelier-lit room, enjoying their dinner together. After some short conversation over their dinner meal, Elise looked up at Loriel and smiled. "Thank you so much for doing this, Loriel." "It''s the least I could do, I always spent this day all by myself, so I am happy to do something different this time. I''m grateful for your presence, Elise." Loriel looked at his wife tenderly. "I feel like I''m the one who should really be thanking you," Elise said with a low voice. Loriel chuckled and cleared his throat. He may have gotten too emotional. "Would you like more wine?" "Thank you. You''ve really outdone yourself, Loriel. The food is amazing!" Elise raised her wine ss. "Well, besides all of that¡­ Christmas is the final holiday of the year so it''s best to celebrate it." Loriel lifted the bottle and poured her a drink. "A little holiday spirit never hurts anybody, Elise. Cheers." The two of them then clinked their sses together. Elise sipped her wine and smiled at him. She was happy to see Loriel was all smiles tonight. He looked genuinely happy and feeling festive. Loriel stood up and smiled at her. "I''ll go get our cake, Elise. It''ll pair well with our drinks, so I''ll be right back." This was the moment he had been waiting for. The moment of Loriel''s confession was already near. He had waited for this moment and he couldn''t hold it back any longer. Elise looked up in surprise at Loriel''s words. She was already enjoying their dinner together, and now he was going to get and slice the cake she brought him. She started to rise up from her seat. "Oh, I can help you¡ª" "It''s fine. Please just stay here and let me do it, Elise." Loriel reassured her. "I''ll be grateful if you can stay there and wait for me. I''ll be back quickly." Loriel came back with the dessert tes in his hands, he nced at Elise and smiled. There was a certain twinkle in his eye that caught her attention. He was always kind and yet serious. So, to see him pleased and even excited right now, made Elise''s heart jump lightly. Loriel didn''t return to his seat immediately and instead stood close to her. He set the cake right in front of her and inclined his head. "Thank you for the gift, Elise. You''ve really surprised me, this is thoughtful of you and I''m grateful for it." "I''m d you like it, Loriel." "I have one for you as well." "Oh you didn''t have to get me one." Elise looked at him in surprise. The dinner he prepared for them was already grand and amazing. She was content and pleased already. "You''ve already done so much for me." "But I already prepared my surprise for you and I did it because I wanted to." Loriel smiled tenderly. "Once again, I have to remind you that you don''t have to feel bad about it." Loriel bent slightly in front of her until he was staring at her face to face. "These were all my own choices, Elise." Elise''s heart pounded slightly. Elise and Loriel had always been around each other for thest few months, it wasn''t the first time that he got close to her¡­ but this moment was just different. It felt extremely intimate. Loriel pulled out a small and beautiful box and presented it to her. "Merry Christmas, Elise. This is my gift for you. I hope you like it." "Oh¡­ thank you." Elise carefully epted the box. Their fingers touching for a moment as she took it in her hands. Slowly, Elise opened the lid and saw what he bought for her. A beautiful ornate ne came into her view and glimmered like a crystal jewel. Elise looked up to him in surprise and wondered how much he spent on this. Even if it looked simple, she could somehow tell that he thought hard about this. This was no doubt expensive and yet for Elise to refuse it now was too much. "Do you like it, Elise?" Loriel asked. He chose it because it reminded Loriel of her, but he was nervous if her tastes had changed over the course of months in NYC. Elise smiled brightly at him. "This is too beautiful. I love it!" She thought it was the most thoughtful thing that anyone could do for her. Loriel held back the sigh of relief caught in his chest. "Would you like to wear it now?" Loriel asked. Elise looked down at his gift and carefully picked the ne up and held onto the string, watching the jewel hang gracefully in the air. Once again, Elise was reminded of herte father''s words¡­ the reason why Loriel was doing this much. Could it be true? Chapter 131 - The Love Confession Elise nced at Loriel and sheepishly smiled. "I''d like that, Loriel." "Then allow me to help you," he said.?? "I think I can do it by myself," Elise wanted to reject his suggestion because she felt it would be too intimate. She was worried her heart would beat like crazy. "It''s easier if I help you, Elise." "Alright, please assist me." Elise gently raised her hair. Loriel took the ne in his hand as he went behind her. The soft curve of her nape and the sweet scent of her skin engulfed Loriel''s senses as he resisted the urge to kiss her then and there. He sped the ne around her neck and then looked back at her with a smile. "Thank you for the help, Loriel. I love it." Elise gently touched the ne and returned his smile with one of her own. The way that the ne hung and rested around her neck was a beautiful sight, that Loriel was almost at a loss for words. He couldn''t believe that he was once again seeing the smile of his wife. It was far too easy to get lost in her eyes and to drink in the smile alone. But Loriel was here to confess, and so he looked at her and said, "Elise I need to tell you something." "What is it?" Elise asked. Her heart once again started beating at the seriousness of Loriel''s tone. She thought that she knew what he was going to ask, and it made her heart pound. Loriel stared at his wife with all the affection in the world. He knew he wanted to tell her the truth, but it wasn''t the right time. Instead, he just wanted to be with her like how they used to be before. "Ever since the day that I met you at the cafe during the aftermath of the rain, I always think back and look at it as the most grateful day¡­ and that was because I was able to meet you, Elise." He finally found her again. "It''s a little sudden because we''ve only known each other for the past three months." He had waited and loved her for thest fifteen centuries. "But I want you to believe and trust me when I say that I have fallen for you, Elise." Loriel smiled at her. "You''ve given me a chance to know what it feels like to truly care for someone in a way that''s far beyond just silly infatuation. Whenever I''m with you, I want to be good to you and make you happy." He wished he treated her right at the start. Elise was dazed when she saw what Loriel was doing. Her heart pounded and she looked at the man with flutteredshes. "Loriel¡­" Perhaps, herte father was right. Maybe men knew other men better? So, did Loriel really love her? She could see his eyes speak a thousand words, even before he said anything. Elise felt her heart flutter as she locked eyes with Loriel. The man was devilishly handsome, his smile was angelic, and his treatment was gentle. Suddenly, Elise was thinking of the future with this man. He was the first man she knew outside of the York family. He was kind to her, and Elise always felt safe around him. "My life has be so colorful and pleasant, ever since the day you enter it," Loriel reached out his hands and took Elise''s hands with his. He looked at her deeply. She could even see the longing in his beautiful grey eyes. She loved looking at his eyes because they seemed to change colors, depending on his mood. She noticed that his eyes were light blue most of the time, but when he was in a really good mood, they became like silver. It''s very unique. She could tell he was feeling very happy now because of the color of his eyes. They were like sparkling silver. She bit her lip and smiled sheepishly. Elise felt overwhelmed by Loriel''s sudden action, but deep in her heart, she was very happy that he chose this moment to confess his feelings for her. He did want to confess his feelings, didn''t he? She looked at his lips, waiting for those words eagerly. "I love you, Elise." Without further ado, Loriel finally said what was in his heart. He felt his chest was filled with so much warmth when finally he could tell her that he loved her. Before today, he could only say those words silently because to her he was just a stranger who helped her and then became her friend, her roommate, and nothing more. However, today, after three long months, plus fifteen centuries, he didn''t want to wait any longer. He was dying to confess his love, he wanted to make her mine again. He wanted to shower her with his love. He also didn''t want any other men, not the chef, not her coworkers, not anyone, to try and approach Elise because she was single and she was the most beautiful woman with the kindest heart. He squeezed her hands gently, and his voice became hoarse. Loriel was starting to feel emotional. Gosh.. he missed his wife so badly. Now that she was here, right before him¡­ she was still not really here, because she didn''t remember him. She only knew him as the kind friend who had been helping her out. She didn''t remember how much they were intimate as husband and wife, and they even had children together¡­ even though they lost the babies. "Elise¡­ I don''t want to be your friend forever. I also don''t want to keep being your fake boyfriend¡­" he whispered. "I am so in love with you and I want to be your real boyfriend. I want to be in a rtionship with you. I wish to someday marry you and make you my wife." Elise opened her mouth to say something¡­ but nothing came out of her lips. She didn''t expect Loriel to mention the word ''marriage'' and ''wife''. Was he serious? This felt surreal. Chapter 132 - The Kiss "Elise sweetheart¡­." Loriel raised his hand and touched her left cheek. "You are the most beautiful, the kindest, and the smartest woman I have ever known. I am so fascinated and enamored by you and I really hope we could take our rtionship to the next level." He had not wooed any woman for so long and didn''t know if he was saying the right thing. Being old didn''t mean he knew everything in life. He was even nervous. ?? "I am not good with this thing..." Loriel took a deep breath before he continued his heartfelt confession. "Will you ept my love for you? I promise to make you happy. I will do anything for you. If you would give me a chance, I will show you that I am worthy of your love." He ended his confession right there because he didn''t want to get carried away and say more than what he was allowed to. At this stage, he must tread carefully, not to say things that would make Elise confused. He just wanted to confess his love to her and asked her to be his girlfriend for real, no longer pretend. There was silence in the room. Elise swallowed, trying to find the right words to say. She had never received a love confession before. So, she didn''t know how to respond to it. Did she like Loriel? Yes, she did. She was a normal woman who could appreciate the opposite sex''s interest in her. She thought Loriel was a really kind man and she felt special to him. But love? She didn''t know if she loved him back. She had never felt such a deep feeling for any man before. "I understand if you don''t love me back, or if you think my love confession is silly and you want to reject me," said Loriel after a while. Since Elise was still quiet, he felt the need to break the ice. Deep inside, Loriel was worried sick that Elise really didn''t like him. He would be heartbroken if she rejected his love. However, he didn''t want to make her feel awkward. If Elise really didn''t love him back, he didn''t want her to feel cornered to say yes just to make the situation between them less awkward. He pressed her hands with both his hands and looked at her in the eye with a big smile. "You don''t have to answer now," Loriel said. "I am just letting out what''s in my heart. You can even say no, if you don''t like me, and I will be cool about it." "Loriel¡­" Elise could feel the warmth shared from Loriel''s hands when the man sped their hands together. She loved it! "Yes, Elise?" Elise cleared her throat and finally responded to his confession. "Loriel, I ept you," Elise said gently. She smiled and touched his cheeks too. She didn''t know if she loved the man, but she was willing to take their rtionship further. She had not met any man who was kinder and sweeter to her than Loriel. At that moment, she realized she woud be stupid to say no. Loriel felt ecstatic when he heard her reply. The man was worried for a second there, thinking Elise might reject him. Maybe he was too early. He should have waited. He was already thinking of ways to make things less awkward between them should Elise say no. He didn''t want her to leave his home. It would be more difficult for him to gain her trust and love back. "Gosh.. you make me so happy today¡­" he gushed. "Thank you." Elise''s heart fluttered when she saw how happy he was. She lowered her head and said sheepishly, "I am happy too." "You are?" Loriel finally felt all his wait and effort were worth it. Elise nodded softly. The man took a deep breath. He tugged her chin and raised her face to see him. As their eyes met, Loriel smiled sweetly. This was his Elise. Even though it was not as obvious as it was in the past, but in her eyes now, he could see love. She loved him back. He moved his head closer and tilted his face, When his lips touched hers, he kissed her gently. Elise had never been kissed before. At least that''s what she thought. As soon as Loriel''s moist lips touched hers, she felt something strange but pleasant coursing through her veins. She loved the taste of his lips. It was almost sweet. His lips felt soft. She didn''t know a man''s lips could feel this way. She liked his kiss. Loriel touched the back of her head, to support her as he kissed her deeper. Since Elise seemed to enjoy his kiss, the man became more daring and decided to pull her into his embrace as he slid his tongue through her slightly open lips and explored the inside of her mouth. Something in Elise felt awaken. She didn''t know what it was, but somehow Loriel''s touch and kisses felt awfully familiar. Had she been keeping her desire for him, that unconsciously her body wanted him? Elise didn''t know what was going on. Her tongue and lips responded to his kiss out of instinct. She kissed him back, and soon both their tounges were twisting and dancing together. Loriel was pleasantly surprised when he realized Elise responded to his kisses. Even though she didn''t remember him mentally, but her body remembered him! Her body responded to his affection in the same way. This was the woman he loved and married. This was his Elise! This was how she kissed him when they made out and made love. Gosh.. he missed this so badly. Tears started forming in his eyes as he peppered her face with kisses. He cupped her face and kissed her lips again. He could never have enough of her. He only stopped when he realized she was getting out of breath. He withdrew his face and looked at her deeply. His eyes were gleaming with tears and he tried so hard not to cry in front of her. Elise would be suspicious if he became so emotional just because she epted his love. Chapter 133 - Loriels Christmas Gifts "I love you," he whispered again. I love you so much. ?? I am so lucky to have you in my life. From now on, I am content and happy. He only said those words inwardly. Loriel didn''t want to scare Elise by keep saying how much he loved her, over and over again like a madman. This rtionship that they had was still very new. He must not get carried away. "I love you too, Loriel," said Elise. Her cheeks blushed. Her mind was filled with the scene just now. They kissed. Oh my god... It was wonderful. Elise was very surprised because of how it happened so effortlessly. It was her first kiss, but it felt so natural and pleasant with him. Was all first kiss like this? It was sweet and adorable. Everything just felt right when it was with Loriel. Maybe, when one did it with the right person, first kiss, and all other firsts would feel natural like this? She didn''t feel awkward kissing him. In fact, she actually liked it very much. She loved the feeling of his lips on hers, and she loved the taste when they kissed. Both Loriel and Elise stood facing each other with their eyes locked and smiles curved up on their lips. Loriel could stay still like that and just look at Elise to his heart''s content. He loved her so much. When they finally kissed, he felt so damn happy. Loriel had never been this happy in fifteen centuries. He missed her so much. He missed their intimacy... Even though they lived under the same roof, he had to hold back and didn''t even try to do anything that could make Elise feel awkward or threatened. He really trod carefully with their rtionship. And today, all his efforts and meticulous care paid off. "Ahh.. you make me so happy today," Loriel stepped forward and hugged Elise tightly. Elise slowly wrapped her hands around his waist and hugged him back. Mmm... this was the first time for her to hug the man in this manner. He had hugged her several times in an innocent setting, like when he congratted her for her new job, or when he consoled her after her father passed away. On all those asions, Elise felt nothing but a friendly hug from him. But now.. her heart was pounding and she felt slightly nervous. However, the hug also felt nicer. It gave her warm and fuzzy feelings inside. "I have Christmas gifts for you," Loriel said after he was satisfied hugging her. He just remembered that he still needed to give his Christmas gifts to Elise. He had worked hard to knit a sweater and two scarves for her in the colors that would look good on her. Winter was not as cold as usual this year, perhaps due to global warming. So, he used thinner yarns so the sweater and scarves wouldn''t feel too warm to wear together with her overcoat when she went outside. Loriel kissed Elise''s forehead and let her go from his hug. "Let me get them for you." Elise was dazed. She really liked Loriel''s warm embrace and felt kind of lost when he let go of his hug. She walked behind Loriel and followed him. "Gifts? Don''t you give me enough already?" "No.. no... this is special," said the man happily. He reached out his hand and held Elise''s hand. She held it and they walked together, holding hands toward the Christmas tree near the antique firece that was kept for decoration. Loriel bent down and took out one of the biggest boxes on the floor. He gave it to Elise with a broad smile. "This is for you." Elise pressed her lips, looking pleasantly surprised. "This box is big, What is this?" Loriel winked at her and said, "Open it. It''s something to keep you warm. Just tear open the ribbon over here." He gave her instruction on how to unwrap his gifts and watched her do it with a happy smile stered on his face. He really hoped Elise would like his gifts. He spent countless hours knitting them. They were made with love. Elise took the box and sat on the sofa nearby. Excitedly, she unwrapped the box and opened the lid. Once she saw what''s inside, she squealed in delight. "Oh my gosh... this is amazing! The scarves and sweater are sooo beautiful!" Loriel puffed up his chest when he heard herpliment. Ah... so, she liked them, he thought. "Try put them on..." Loriel said to Elise. "I want to see if they will look good on you." Elise did what he asked. She wore the sweater and scarf from the box. They fit perfectly, and she didn''t need to worry about cold anymore. This sweater was not too thick but also was not too thin. It was perfect. "They look so good," Elise kissed Loriel on the cheek to show her gratitude. "Thank you so much." "Ahh.. don''t mention it," said Loriel, feeling like he was floating in the cloud. "I am just d you like them. I knitted them in my spare time." "What? You knitted them yourself?" Elise was dumbfounded. She really liked the scarves and the sweater. The ones that Loriel gifted her looked so good that she thought the man bought them from the high-end store. However, apparently, Loriel made them himself? "Yes. Didn''t I tell you that I love knitting?" Loriel asked Elise. "I wanted to gift you with something special, something handmade. So, I decided to knit you a sweater and scarves so my gifts will be useful for you." "Ahh... you are right! These are the best gifts," Elise said with a smile. She was touched when she realized Loriel must have spent so much time on them and he knitted them with care. The knitting was perfect and it felt sofortable to wear. "I love them." This man never ceased to impress her. Elise could only imagine the hours he spent on her sweater. Ahh.. he was such a dream boyfriend, she thought. Chapter 134 - Fashion Show "I am happy you like them. They looked very good on you." Loriel was relieved and happy. He patted her back dotingly and took more boxes. He gave them one by one to Elise so she could open them. "These are for you too." "Uh, what? How many gifts did you get me?" Elise asked him. "This is too many."?? She actually thought those boxes were just decorations toplement the Christmas tree. Maybe only one or two were real gifts, and the rest were just empty boxes. However, she didn''t expect that all of them contained gifts. Gosh.. now she felt bad not buying him more things. The cake she made for him now seemed insignificant and shabby. "There is no such thing as too many gifts," Loriel said. "Come on, unwrap them and see if you like them too." He had consulted this with Horatio. They both worked together to choose the best gifts for Elise. Loriel really took this opportunity to splurge. He wanted to get her things to fill her bedroom with clothes, jewelry, shoes, bags, and so many other things. "Oh my god..." Elise could only gasp or held her breath at each newly opened gift. She was at a loss for words. So many beautiful shoes, expensive bags, jewelry and more jewelry... anything that a woman could ever dream of. She looked at him with bulged eyes. "Do you want me to open my own shop or what?" Loriel chuckled when he heard her words, uttered in a joking manner. "No, of course not. They are all yours to keep. Please don''t open a shop and sell them." He remembered the Bloomingrose gift cards that he gave her indirectly. Instead of using the bnce to shop for herself, Elise let her coworkers used them and gave them a 50% discount to make extra money which sheter gave to Loriel. This time, he was smarter. He gave her the stuff, not another gift card, and she could just wear them immediately since they were all in her size. "No.. of course, I won''t sell them," Elise replied. "That would be rude." "Ahaha... I was just pulling your leg," the man said with a chuckle. He was so satisfied when he watched her unwrap the gift boxes one by one and shrieked at any new outfit, bags, or shoes she found inside. Suddenly, Loriel got an idea. "Why don''t you wear it and see if the size is correct. I am sorry, I was just guessing when I bought them." "Oh... they look like the correct sizes, but I will put them on and see," Elise replied. She took some of the outfits to her room and got ready to change into them. "I will show them to you." She returned five minutester with a new outfit. It was a beautiful pink dress with a deep V-neck. She looked so pretty and young wearing this dress. Loriel held his breath in amazement. Gosh.. she was so adorable. He really wanted to pull her into his arms and kissed her all over. He quickly got rid of the thought and raise his thumb. "It looks really good." "Thank you. You have good taste, Loriel," said Elise. "Do you want me to try the other one?" Loriel quickly bobbed his head excitedly. "Yes, please. You can also wear the shoes and bags, and jewelry. I want to see how they look on you." "Ahh... okay," Elise said. She was excited too. All women loved ying dress-up, especially with so many new beautiful dresses. She went back to her room, put on a different set, and then came out to see Loriel. The man was super happy. He admired those clothes on his wife''s sexy body. Elise could wear a gunny sack and still look beautiful. So, of course, when she wore a pretty or sexy outfit, her beauty would be more glowing. Seeing how much her little fashion show made the man happy, Elise decided to do it with all the other outfits Loriel gifted her. She was happy and impressed by the man''s impable taste and the fact that all the outfits and shoes fit her body perfectly. The night went by with a fashion show performed by the beautiful woman, while Loriel watched with glee, with a ss of wine in his hand. Eliseughed so many times as she stepped out of her room and walked like a model on the runway, showcasing her new outfit and shoes. Loriel knew Elise would be perfect for modeling, and he was so d this fashion show was for his eyes only. He didn''t want anyone else to see what his wife was capable of and offered her to do modeling. No, no... no. Elise already had a nice job at the Sanderman Group. She didn''t need to be a model. "Ahh.. so many clothes..." Elise said after she showcased thest dress. She plopped her butt next to Loriel and leaned her head on his chest. "I am tired." The man rubbed his hair dotingly and adjusted his position so Elise could feel morefortable. He pulled her to sit on hisp and he hugged her waist. The man whispered, "You are so beautiful. Those clothes feel honored to be worn by you." Eliseughed when she heard his cheesy words. Was this what people call as ''pick-up line''? Loriel seemed to be good at it, she thought. This made her wonder about Loriel''s past rtionships. It''s true that Loriel said he didn''t have family and he was not dating anyone. But what about the past? Did he have anyone he loved in the past? Elise could imagine how the man must be a doting boyfriend to the women in his previous rtionships, seeing how well he was treating her now. Loriel was such a dream boyfriend. If he was really this perfect, what could possibly be the reason that his rtionships ended? These thoughts filled her mind as he wrapped her hands around his neck and looked at him deeply. Chapter 135 - The Happiest In A Long Time Loriel suddenly felt his chest pounding. This position felt so intimate. Elise was sitting on hisp, facing him. He hugged her small waist, while the woman wrapped her arms around his neck. Their eyes locked as their faces were only inches from each other.?? Elise decided not to ask Loriel about his past rtionships. She didn''t want to think about other women today. She wanted to enjoy this night with Loriel. Now that they were officially in a rtionship, she couldn''t wait to get to know the man more intimately as they spend more time together as a couple. Loriel looked at her dotingly. He smiled and then tilted his head to the side and kissed her luscious lips. This was perfect... As he hugged her body in his embrace, he got to kiss her again. This was the best Christmas ever. Elise liked this too. She immediately got used to kissing Loriel and also couldn''t have enough of him. And so, they made out on the couch. Everything felt so pleasant. When Loriel''s hand started to snake inside her dress, Elise suddenly moved from her daze and instinctively moved her body away from him. Both Loriel and she were surprised. Loriel immediately ended the kiss and cleared his throat. "I am sorry, I got carried away..." he apologized. Gosh.. he was so happy and on cloud nine when he made out with her, that his desire was awoken. His naughty hand was slowly trying to grope her. Of course, Elise would feel ufortable because they just started dating and she must want to take things slow. At least at the beginning. "I-it''s okay, Loriel... really," she smiled awkwardly. "I am fine. I was just surprised." She got up from hisp and tidied her messy hair. Loriel got up too. He was in a panic. He really hoped Elise didn''t freak out and left him. He promised to better behave next time, and be more patient. "I am sorry," he pleaded. "I will not do it again." Elise smiled and touched his cheek to reassure him. "It''s really fine. Isn''t it what boyfriend and girlfriend do? I am just surprised and need some time to get used to it. Our rtionship is very new and I have never been intimate with anyone before..." Loriel knew that. Elise had always loved him, ever since she was little. There was never another man in her life, just him, her husband. Loriel was the same. After he realized how much he actually loved his wife, he vowed to never touch any other women and he kept his word. For over fifteen centuries, he never stained himself by sleeping with any other women. He wanted to save himself for his wife, for when the time they could meet again. "You can take all the time in the world," Loriel said gently. "I will wait until you are ready." Elise closed her eyes as if to inhale Loriel''s sweet essence and kept him with her. She loved hearing his voice. He always spoke dotingly to her and this made her feel so special. When she opened her eyes, she touched his cheek again and then nted a kiss on his lips. "Thank you for all the wonderful gifts. I love them all." "Merry Christmas, honey," said Loriel, feeling extra happy because he got to call her ''honey'' again. "Merry Christmas, Loriel. Good night." Having said that, Elise went to her room and called it a night. Loriel touched his lips that Elise took initiative to kiss earlier. Tonight was his happiest in a long time. He slept so well that night and even had a wonderful dream. *** The next day both Elise and Loriel woke up feeling refreshed and happy, especially Loriel. Now that they were officially a couple, he was more confident in discussing their current living together over a meal. Last night during their time together, filled Loriel with such bliss and he was entirely grateful that Elise granted his wish. Loriel truly wanted to be by her side and cherish her. As he set their breakfast together and Loriel sat with Elise, he gave her a warm and loving gaze. "Elise, now that we''re together, I think I want to speak to you about something." "What is it, Loriel?" Elise asked. She ate some of their food and thanked him for the meal with a warm smile. Loriel sped his hands together. "Do you still remember when we first met and I told you that I encountered a financial crisis?" "You did, I remember that you couldn''t even get a proper ride... but you''re alright now, right, Loriel?" Elise''s brows furrowed with worry. "Yes, I''m already back on my feet." Loriel chuckled. "My finances are in order thanks to the financial advisers and manager that I have around me, so everything is good now and you need not worry about paying me for the penthouse at all. I''d actually like to return the money to you." Elise blinked. "Well, that''s¡­" Elise and Loriel were now a couple and they were living together under one roof. Of course, it made sense to Elise that she didn''t have to pay for living here, but she paid him before this happened. "Actually, Elise, you no longer need to worry about working at all." Loriel smiled. "The two of us can actually afford to just stay here together in the penthouse and live on all of the trust fund and assets that I''ve acquired over the years. You need not lift a finger any longer." "Well... I don''t think so, Loriel." Elise said. "Huh?" Loriel blinked. "Please don''t get me wrong, Loriel. You''ve been quite so thoughtful and considerate of all my circumstances, and we''re even together now." Elise blushed. "But I don''t want to be relying solely on you." "I don''t mind if you do it," Loriel said. "I''d be more than happy to have you not worry about your finances and any other troubles, Elise." Chapter 136 - Would You Like To Go To Japan? The thought of that was indeed enticing. Elise wondered if this was what it was like for Loriel. He was treating her like some kind of princess who didn''t even need to worry about a single thing in her life. Loriel thought about it some more and smiled. "You wanted a bakery, didn''t you? We could immediately start a shop if you''d like¡­ I think you''ve already learned quite a lot from Chef Lucy. You''re quite a pro already."?? Oh, how much Loriel wished to have that handsome chef out of the picture already! Elise smiled at Loriel and shook her head. "I have to refuse, Loriel. You know me, I have my aspirations in life and that includes being an independent person. That''s why I''vee to New York." Loriel couldn''t say a word to that. If Elise truly wanted to be rich and live affluently, then Daniel York''s inheritance to her was already a sizable sum that could have allowed her to live in prosperity even with that wench Tessa and her family trying to steal it. However, it was this humble and gentle nature of Elise that allowed Loriel to meet her again. "I really want to work for myself and also meet other people from different walks of life," Elise exined her reasoning to Loriel. She added, "I''ve been cooped up so much in my home for the past years that I hadn''t experienced what it was like to make friends and enjoy such rtionships. I want to experience all of that, Loriel." Loriel gazed at his wife and wondered how so much had changed about her. Back in the past, Loriel''s presence alone was enough to satisfy Elise. All she ever wanted before was to obtain his love and affections, and for her to be someone who could make him happy as well. Things were a whole lot simpler back then, and maybe it was selfish of him to want that. Times have changed so much, that the rtionships of the old and how they were now considered outdated. Perhaps that was also holding Loriel back a little. Loriel gazed at Elise and watched the woman that he dearly loved give him a serious look. No matter how much she changed since theyst met, she was still Elise through and through. The both of them loved each other now and that was all he ever wanted. "I hope that you can respect my decisions, Loriel," Elise said. "I''m really grateful and thankful for all of this and what you''re trying to do for me¡­ you''re treating me like, well¡­ as if we''re married." Elise couldn''t help but blush at those words. Loriel wanted to say yes, that was why he was willing to do all of these things for her. But Loriel eventually nodded and relented to his wife''s desires and wishes. "Of course, I''ll support your decisions wholeheartedly, Elise. Whatever you choose, I''m more than happy to just be with you." Now that they were together, Loriel could finally say the words that were on his lips after so long. It was satisfying to see Elise''s reactions and responses to them. "Thank you for understanding, Loriel." Elise smiled in relief. "No, thank you for letting me know," Loriel said. "If there''s anything that you want me to know, I will always be willing to lend you an ear and pay attention to whatever you want me to notice." "Ah, now that you''ve mentioned that, there is something that I did want to talk about with you," Elise said. "I''m ready to listen." Loriel smiled. Elise sheepishly returned a smile. Loriel was truly an amazing boyfriend that wanted the best for her and yet listened to what she wanted. Perhaps it was a little early to suggest this right now, after this talk, and yet Elise wanted to bring this up ever since the Christmas G. "Would you like to go to Japan with me?" Loriel didn''t say an answer immediately. He was surprised by the words that came out of Elise''s lips and wondered if he was still dreaming. Maybe he was caught in an illusion that revealed to him his greatest desires? Elise looked at him and started worrying instantly, she waved her hand a little frantically. "Ah, maybe it''s a little too fast for us to n a trip together? You know I won the ticket from the raffles in Marc''spany so I thought we could go visit it together." Now that Elise thought about it, why was she even suggesting something like this? Trips were expensive and although Elise received her Christmas bonus from thepany, it was still a little shameless to suggest it outright. It was almost as if she were asking Loriel to cover most of the expenses. Elise rubbed her chin. "Maybe I can just sell these tickets online to anyone who''d like to purchase them. Perhaps Sarah or someone from my friends can get it since these tickets are¡ª" "Elise, I''d love to go to Japan with you." Loriel smiled. This was one of the things that Loriel wanted to do with Elise now that they were together. Loriel had already traveled the entire world countless times, but now that he was going to do it with Elise then it changed everything. He could finally look at the world with a more vivid and beautiful perception thanks to Elise. She was the one who''d bring color to the world that already seemed dull to him. "That''s great, Loriel. If you have anything that you need to do before we travel though¡­?" Elise assumed that Loriel was still busy with his business affairs unlike her who was employed under apany. Loriel shook his head and smiled. "Nope, it''s usually arranged that even my financial adviser is able to take a break during the holidays. If there''s an urgent matter that needs to be taken care of, we just conduct an online video conference." "O-oh, that makes sense." Elise nodded. Loriel reached out and grasped Elise''s hands in his. "I''m eager for us to take our first trip together, I''ve always wanted to travel with you." Chapter 137 - Traveling To Japan "Huh?" Elise blinked. It sounded strange that Loriel had always wanted to travel with her. They just knew each other for three months but from the way he said it, it was like he had wanted it for a long time. Loriel blinked and cleared his throat. He just realized that his words just now didn''t sound natural. So, he quickly exined his reasoning. "I just think that taking a trip with someone is one of the most wonderful things that a couple could do together. So I am always eager to do it, and now I can do it with you."?? "That''s great, I''m a little worried about Pott and Pebbles though since we''re going to be gone for a bit. Can Horatio take care of the cats?" "You underestimate the sophistication of the AI in this generation," Loriel chuckled. Elise chewed on her lip. Perhaps her father was a little old-fashionedpared to Loriel who seemed thoroughly immersed in the new technology. Loriel noticed her expression and added. "Although, to be fair, we can leave both Pott and Pebbles in a lovely pet hotel for them to live together while we''re gone. Have you seen such things online before? I can show you some videos." "Oh, that sounds great, Loriel." Elise smiled at his words. Yes, Loriel who spent countless centuries alone had also taken into the somewhat regr hobby of watching videos when boredom truly struck him hard. It wasn''t difficult to watch a great number of videos to fill in the void when he wanted to. Granted they were mostly about his hobbies like knitting, cooking, and taking care of the two cats in his penthouse. *** Once Elise was settled with the idea of leaving the two cats under the care of a very pampered pet hotel, the two of them soon started preparing for the trip. If it was up to Loriel, they could have left at this very instant. He had his private ne parked at the airport ready to be used whenever he wanted to travel, when he was feeling impulsive. So.. they could actually go anytime. Elise also didn''t need to pack anything at all and and waste precious time because they could simply purchase anything they needed when they got there. However, to truly experience the authentic feeling of travelling together with her, Loriel didn''t mention that at all. "Ah, alright. I''ll bring my hygiene kit, my clothes and my phone," Elise said. Per usual, Elise didn''t have a lot of belongings she could carry and she didn''t think that she''d have to bring a lot either. "Did you pack your winter clothes, Elise? Japan is also in winter right now," Loriel said as he visited her outside her door. He could have easily just slipped inside, but Loriel still wished to give her some privacy and didn''t invite himself. "Oh, of course I did." Elise grinned at him. "I searched up Japan and the things we need to know before we travel there. Guidelines and suggested ces, it''s going to be so much fun." Loriel chuckled. "Indeed we will." "Not to mention, I can''t forget that my boyfriend is fluent in Japanese too," Elise said. She remembered the time when Loriel ordered their meal in Japanese at the Haruka Ramen Shop and when he spoke in Italian during their restaurant. Loriel nodded. "You can count on me to take care ofnguage barriers, though I''m also happy to teach you if you wish." "That''d be really great, Loriel." Elise smiled. "I''d love to be immersed in the culture of the country. There are so many great ces to visit. I am feeling very excited." Loriel truly enjoyed the pleasant look on her face. At first he was reluctant to have Elise exposed to the dangers of the world, but to see that bright smile on her face was all he needed. Loriel just needed to be by her side and protect her throughout everything that might happen. Now that he thought about it, there was something Elise could use. "Well, some people have created an app that helps trantenguage instantly with one''s phone¡­ there are a lot of those now," Loriel said. "But instead of relying on an app to do a lot of the interpreting, it''s still great to know thenguage yourself if you can." "I agree with that kind of sentiment," Elise nodded. "I''m really excited, Loriel. I''ve checked everything and we can leave tonight at the earliest." "Then we should." *** New York City was once again bustling with city life, traffic congested the street even during the holiday seasons. There were numerous peopleing and going to visit their rtives and friends, enjoying the time where people could rx and be with their loved ones. Loriel and Elise arrived at the airport together. Elise wore a light jacket over her outfit, and her luggage was small and easily carried by herself. Loriel wore a ck jacket and carried his own backpack as well, while he could have brought a luggage trolley, simr to Elise, he didn''t need much. The two of them only brought the bare essentials. All Loriel ever needed was just being with Elise anyway, so even if he only went with her without a single thing with him, Loriel was fine. He''d just purchase everything that they needed if the asion arose. For now, the two of them navigated through the airport. "Alright," Loriel said, with his hand intertwined with Elise''s own. He looked around and took note of the signs. "Let''s go, based on the tickets you received, we just need to go to the airline VIP check-in counter and the staff will take care of the rest for us." "Then we should hurry up, I''m excited to ride in a ne." Loriel wondered if Elise ever got the experience to fly on a ne aside from being transported back to America from Germany when the Yorks'' private investigators ''found'' her. Loriel wasn''t so sure if Daniel York was that overprotective with his daughter, but Elise truly seemed to be pumped to board one. On the contrary, while Elise was excited about Japan and flying¡­ She was happy for different reasons. Elise was excited to travel with Loriel, now that she had made her decision to be with him as a couple. Chapter 138 - Loriels And Elises Luxury Travel The two of them boarded a ne here in New York that flew directly and non-stop to Japan. They got the ticket to fly with Japan Airlines with their newest and most sophisticated ne. Elise had checked the tickets and amodation and was surprised by the luxurious arrangement.?? The tickets were truly very special. The tickets and trip that Elise won were not First ss but were even more luxurious than it, it was a Residence Suites in the airlines. When Elise looked up the cost of a singr ticket that was one-way, it cost nearly $30,000 for one person alone. Crazy!! She still couldn''t fathom that Sanderman Group was more than willing to indulge their employees by giving two of these tickets. A full round trip too! The truth was, even Marc would actually hesitate over giving something like this. It was too over the top and costly. However, because his dear grand-uncle Loriel wanted Elise to win a couple of raffles, the man ensured that the prizes were something that his uncle would be pleased with. The MC didn''t mention the price of the holiday package and whatever was included in it because Marc didn''t want other employees to be suspicious. So, the MC only said the raffle was a holiday package to Japan. Only after Elise redeemed the reward did she find that it included two first-ss round trip tickets in the airline''s Residence Suite, presidential suite amodations in five-starred hotels and resorts in many important cities in Japan, and allowance money to shop for souvenirs which amounted to another $30k. Marc couldn''t imagine his grand-uncle traveling in less-than-perfect or non-luxurious arrangements. That''s why he handpicked the best flights and amodation in Japan for Loriel and Elise. Loriel''s wealth was so great that he deserved only the best of the bests. Marc Sanderman already kind of messed up with the chef, so this was only barely enough to mitigate what the man failed to aplish. Loriel was quite happy with what Marc prepared for him. It''s okay if he couldn''t use his own ne for this trip. Elise was excited to travelmercial and still thought she won the reward by luck. So, Loriel would y along. It seemed, Elise was so proud to be the one who contributed to this nice holiday. Loriel understood that feeling and he let her take the pleasure of giving something into their new rtionship. The next time around, it would be his turn. "Wee Mister Loriel Ashborn and Miss Madeline York to Japan Airlines. We are happy to have you for the flight to Tokyo today," A man greeted them as they checked in at the VIP check-in counter. He quickly processed their documents and led them to the first-ss lounge where they were pampered by their own butler who came to bring the most expensive champagne and delicious hors-d''?uvre. Loriel and Elise only needed to wait for half an hour before the airline staff came to bring them directly to the ne for boarding, ahead of other passengers. The flight attendant smiled sweetly when he saw them enter the ne. "Wee to Japan Airlines. Today we will be flying to Tokyo. Thank you for choosing Japan Airlines for your trip. We hope you enjoy your flight," the man added, "I''m James and I will be your personal butler throughout the entire flight." Elise''s eyes widened, but she smiled and thanked him. Ahh¡­ this was amazing! So, they would be given their own butler here too? How awesome! Loriel did the same. "If you''d follow me, we''ll bring you to the quarters within this ne," James said and led them to what appeared to be their own ce within the ne. The man opened the door for them and Elise looked at the space in surprise. She already read about it, but to see it in person? It was breathtakingly huge and spacious for a trip that would take them to Japan in less than a day. "Your flight to Japan will be within this three-room apartment for the two of you, there is a bedroom, lounge area, and a personal bathroom. I hope you enjoy your trip with our airlines." James smiled. "Thank you so much," Elise replied. Loriel responded the same way, although he didn''t quite like how the butler was speaking quite friendly to Elise and him. It didn''t help that even a mere butler in the ne was already a young and handsome man. This may have been a requirement in the airline''s hiring and yet Loriel didn''t like it. James gave them a respectful bow. "If there is anything that the two of you will need of me, please find the desktop notification and summon me anytime you wish, Sir and Madam." Once the man was gone, Loriel luxuriated in shutting the door behind them and settling in their quarters. It was great that the two of them could enjoy and bask in this trip all by themselves. "I can''t believe we''re actually doing this, Loriel." Elise smiled. "Gosh... it will be so much fun." "But we actually are and the two of us are going to enjoy every moment of this trip and vacation of ours." Loriel stepped closer to Elise and pulled her into his arms. He gave a gentle kiss on her forehead and smiled at her warmly. "Alright, I like the sound of that very much." "As do I, though I prefer hearing my namee from your lips," Loriel whispered into Elise''s ears. Elise flushed within his arms. She couldn''t believe that Loriel could say something like that when they just boarded the ne. "Did you really just say that?" "Yes, I did." Loriel nuzzled her neck gently. "What do you want to do while we enjoy our flight, Elise?" "Uh, I''m not too sure," Elise said with a blush. There were actually a lot of things that Elise still couldn''t believe were happening to her. Elise didn''t imagine that she and Loriel would start doing a couple of activities like traveling together immediately. Somehow, this felt like something a couple did when they''ve been together for quite some time. And yet Elise was thrilled about this. It still felt like yesterday when Loriel confessed to her during Christmas evening and they became an official couple. Of course, they started doing what she deemed as boyfriend-girlfriend activities... and the thought of it made Elise''s cheeks heat up at the memory of doing it with Loriel. Would they also do ''it'' while they were in Japan? Elise remembered when their make-out session became a bit too hot and Loriel started groping her. The man seemed ready to touch on the second base. However, at that time, Elise was startled and it ended just like that. So, she had been thinking about it for a few days and thought about how she should respond if it happened again next time. Elise was not against it. She could tell that loving couples expressed their feelings for each other through physical union. She was just not yet ready to do it. It was a bit too sudden. But maybe, after they spent more time traveling Japan in an intimate setting, she would be ready to take things to the next level with him? Chapter 139 - Loriel & Elise In Tokyo Loriel and Elise arrived in Japan and were greeted by the cool atmosphere of the country. The two of them checked in at the five-star hotel prepared by the tourpany that was engaged by the Sanderman Group before they went around to tour the city of Tokyo. "We have a lot of ces to go to, Loriel," Elise sighed and looked at her phone. Severalndmarks were saved in her phone, along with many spots and activities that caught her attention. ?? "You don''t have to worry about it that much, Elise." Loriel smiled broadly. He knew Japan like the back of his hand. "The tourpany provided all the flights and hotels, but they didn''t give us a tour leader or guide," Elise furrowed her brows and turned to look at Loriel. "It''s like they think we will be able to find our own way here. Don''t you think it''s a bit strange?" Loriel intentionally asked Mars to leave the tour guiding to him since he knew Japan like the back of his hand. He didn''t want some people intervening his holiday time with Elise. He wanted it to be an exclusive trip, where he spent quality time with his wife. The man cleared his throat. "Maybe there is an error somewhere. Well, it''s okay though. I can show you around. I''ve been to Japan many times." "You have?" "I have." "Ah¡­ okay. Then, I think we''ll be just fine." Elise nodded. "I''m not sure if we''d be able to leave Tokyo and visit other cities though, but let''s still try it." "Of course we will," Loriel nodded with a smile. "Hmm, how about we get some authentic ramen, sushi, and other Japanese dishes?" Elise suggested excitedly. The shop in NYC was great, but actually eating from where the dish originated was also inviting. "Hold on a second, let''s ask someone here." Loriel watched a person walking by and immediately talked to them in Japanese. The person stopped in their tracks and looked at Loriel in surprise for a second. This man who looked like he was from a western country knew how to speak Japanese fluently? Within minutes though, the person already suggested the best ces to eat their local cuisine. The man gave Loriel a smile and said something to him. The man seemed to be carrying something in his hand but he was willing to let it go. Soon enough, the two of them arrived at an amicable agreement. Loriel shook the person''s hand before the guy left, his mission now aplished properly. Elise looked at Loriel and asked, "What did he say?" Although Elise had the app, she hadn''t been able to use it as she was taken by surprise. She spent a great portion of their time around Tokyo by taking photos of them and saving them. "Oh he offered to take us there," Loriel chuckled. "The man seemed to be rushing to get home though, so I told him that we could handle ourselves." "He''s so kind, I didn''t think some people would go that far forplete strangers." "Well, you''d be surprised. Tokyo is not New York. The people here are some of the nicest people in the world." Loriel smiled. "Now let''s go, Elise." Eliseter realized that Loriel was right. Compared to when Elise was in NYC and met people who looked at her funny before for not knowing how to use Google Maps, the people in Japan were the most polite and respectful she''d ever met. There were people who were willing to go the extra mile and help someone out. Elise was reminded of Loriel when they first met, and she was unused to the kindness and hospitality that he gave her. Now that they were in Japan, the country was abundant in it. That day, both Loriel and Elise spent their time hopping around from different restaurants in the city. They visited an authentic ramen and sushi bar, enjoying high-ss dishes and the freshest ingredients. "How about the street market too?" Elise said right afterward. Loriel looked at Elise in surprise but soon nodded. Elise seemed quite eager to sample every dish avable here. They had tried delicious, seared and skewered chicken known as yakitori. "Try this, Loriel. It''s still a little hot." Elise held onto the small container of takoyaki and offered Loriel one of the balls. It was a savory snack made from octopus and garnishedvishly with herbs and spices. A smile formed on Loriel''s face as he epted and chewed the food. "There''s yakisoba too if you''re interested to try them. Now that I think about it, there are also those very neat vending machines near the train station." "I read that Japan has those bullet trains!" Elise said. "Can we try them?" "Sure. In Japanese, they refer to it as the Shinkansen trains, by the way," Loriel told her. "You''d be surprised at how fast these trains can now go, back in the early 2020s, they were around 300kms/hr but we''ve reached the point where a train can reach nearly 500kms/hr." "That''s so fast." "I think we can visit Kyoto very easily due to these trains." Loriel smiled. "They''re quite convenient. While the nightlife and metropolis in Tokyo are amazing, Kyoto is its own capital for the culture of the country." Elise listened to Loriel in surprise. While she read about them online, it seemed like Loriel knew this information right from the heart. "I''d love to go there. I''ve read that there are multiple Shinto shrines, imperial pces there and I think that most of the houses there are still wooden?" "Mhmm, they made sure to preserve the history and tradition by keeping them." "That''s amazing, it''s a shame for some cultures to suddenly just disappear over the course of time," Elise said. "Somehow, I can''t help but think we''ve lost quite a number of kingdoms that didn''t deserve to die out at all." Loriel gazed at Elise''s face and wondered if it was her suddenly remembering something about the past. And yet Elise didn''t seem to have that look on her face, instead, she simply looked thoughtful. "Other kingdoms simply change over time and focus on other things," Loriel said. "I guess so, still I find it a shame." Elise sighed. "I would have loved to go to somece like Antis if it were real. For now, though, I''m thrilled to go to Kyoto once we''re done here in Tokyo." Loriel received a quick squeeze from Elise and he quickly returned it. "Me too." Chapter 140 - Fujiwara Hotel & Spa "Wee to Fujiwara Hotel & Spa," the hotel butler greeted Loriel and Elise as soon as they got off the car in front of the hotel lobby. He was a handsome man in his early 20''s who wore an expensive suit. Everything about the hotel screamed elegance and luxury that the staff was also good-looking and well-dressed. Loriel felt he was right in his element. This fancy hotel was truly his taste.?? Loriel was not a spoiled man who could only enjoy the finer things in life. However, he would prefer to spend his first holiday together with Elise infort. It would be nice to have a stress-free holiday so their trip would be memorable and pleasant. Their rtionship was very new, so he didn''t want to take any risk if they went on adventures that would turn out ugly or unpredictable. nned vacation in a luxury hotel was a guarantee for a stress-free holiday. "This is really nice," Elise whispered to Loriel when she saw the butler. She still couldn''t believe her luck to be able to get such a luxurious holiday from the Sanderman Group. Loriel nodded. He was happy to see Elise happy. Then he turned to the butler and spoke to him in perfect Japanese. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Elise was impressed by hisnguage skills. As for the butler, he was dumbfounded for a good three seconds when he heard this caucasian guest spoke to him in Japanese. Then, he smiled broadly and bowed down his head several times. He was really impressed too. He spoke to Loriel in Japanese, then finally switched to English. Loriel had told the butler that he wanted fresh new flowers for Elise for tonight and every day that they stayed in this hotel. He didn''t say it in English because he didn''t want Elise to know. Loriel wanted it to be a surprise. Then, he told the butler to switch back to English so Elise wouldn''t feel left out. "Ah, I hope your flight was enjoyable," the butler said to Elise with a sweet smile. "My name is Akira Fujiwara, and I will be your personal butler in Fujiwara Hotel." Fujiwara? What a coincidence, Elise thought. The hotel they were staying at was called ''Fujiwara" too. "Thank you. Our flight was pleasant," Elise replied. She was happy the butler spoke English so she could respond to the butler''s hospitality. "Ah, let me help you with the check-in. It will only take five minutes. Then, we can see your suite." "Thank you. These are our documents," said Loriel. He took out his passport and Elise''s from his coat pocket and handed them over to Akira. Akira epted Loriel''s and Elise''s documents and went to the receptionist counter to check them in. Meanwhile, a well-dressed staff came with a tray of cocktails, mocktails, and sake as their wee drink. "Wee to Fujiwara Hotel & Spa, Sir and Madam," she said with a sweet smile. "Please have the wee drink on us." "Thank you." Loriel turned to Elise, "I will take sake to warm up my body. You can try it too." Elise was interested in trying it too. She didn''t expect the hotel would provide sake as one of the wee drinks. "I will try a little." She didn''t have a problem with the cold, but since Loriel seemed cold in this temperature in winter, Elise didn''t want to look weird. She sipped her sake and smiled. "The taste is quite unique." They enjoyed their drink until Akira came back with their room ess. "Everything is set, please follow me, Sir and Madam." Loriel and Elise followed the butler happily. Even though their flight in the airne''s residence suite was really nice, nothing could beat the real suite in a fancy hotel. They took the elevator to level 35 and entered a really nice suite facing Tokyo tower. The room was well-appointed and had all the best amenities to ensure a pleasant stay. "Wee, Sir and Madam," said Akira as he spread his arms to show the majestic suite. "This is really nice," Elisemented. "I''m d you like it," Akira was very pleased to hear it. "Let me show you around." Akira took them around the suite and showed them the huge terrace, the kitchen, living room, dining room, and¡­. bedroom. "Uhm¡­ why is there only one bedroom?" Elise asked innocently when they were shown the only bedroom in the suite. She and Loriel were staying in a suite with double cabins on the ne, so they each had their private space. However, this hotel only had one bedroom? Did that mean, Elise and Loriel would have to share it? Akira looked surprised by the question. He looked at Elise and Loriel alternately and his mouth agape. Weren''t this beautifuldy and the handsome man in a rtionship? Didn''t they sleep together? Why asked for another bedroom? "Uhm¡­ well.." Akira looked like he was feeling guilty for not doing the best job that was expected of him. "I''m sorry for the mishap¡­ Maybe I identally gave you the wrong suite. Let me double-check." Elise didn''t want the young man to beat himself up for just such a small inconvenience. So, she touched his hand. "It''s okay. I like this suite. I was just asking about the bedroom because I thought there will be another room. This is fine. It''s beautiful." Akira now looked so relieved. "Thank you, Madam." Elise decided not to talk about the bedroom in front of Akira Fujiwara. She wanted to discuss with Loriel about their sleeping arrangementter. "You may go," Akira bowed down several times and finally left them in their suite. He still had to buy the fresh flowers that Loriel asked him to buy. "Ahhh¡­. I love the suite," Elise walked around it with genuine admiration. "This is really nice." Loriel crossed his arms on his chest and watched Elise with a faint smile. He knew Marc made sure to give a one-bedroom suite for Loriel and Elise so they would be forced to sleep in the same room. He didn''t even mind if he had to sleep on the couch, as long as he could spend the night with Elise, he would love it. Chapter 141 - Sharing Bedroom Loriel looked at Elise and smiled faintly. Ahh... what would she say regarding their sleeping arrangement? Would she ask him to sleep outside? The living room had a fluffy couch, but Loriel was too tall to be able to sleepfortably there. However, he didn''t mind sleeping there if Elise wanted it. He knew their rtionship was quite new and she might still feel awkward about sharing the same bedroom.?? "I am sorry about the bedroom," he said apologetically. "I think the travel agent only prepared a room for couples who are used to sleeping together. I can take the couch." He pointed at the couch to his right. Elise bit her lip and shook her head. "No... you don''t have to apologize. I am sure they assume that couples do sleep together and..." She didn''t continue her words. Her face flushed red. Yes, now that they were a couple, she started thinking about it too. She knew that loving couples usually became intimate after a while. Some even slept together before they bound themselves in a rtionship. You know.. to test the goods before beingmitted to the person. She and Loriel had only touched the first base and it was wonderful. After their first kiss, they had not been doing it again until they arrived here. And it was quite a big step to suddenly share a bedroom together. However, seeing how small the couch was,pared to Loriel''s big and tall body, she flinched. Elise could already imagine how he had to bend his leg to fit on there and how ufortable it would feel. Of course, she didn''t have the heart to let Loriel suffer. The man seemed used to luxury andfort. She asked him to go with her to Japan because she got lucky with the raffle and wanted to see the country. She shouldn''t make him suffer just to keep herpany. "We can share the bed," Elise said sheepishly. "I don''t mind." "You don''t?" Loriel was really happy and excited with this development. However, he could keep his cool. After all, Loriel was a man with centuries of experience and good talent for lying. He walked closer to Elise and touched her shoulders lovingly. "I really don''t mind sleeping on the couch. I don''t want to make you feel ufortable." Elise felt her heart pounding when he touched her. She was thinking of sleeping on the same bed with this man and having Loriel suddenly touch her shoulder, she suddenly became nervous. However, she brushed off the feeling and looked up to Loriel as she smiled. "I don''t mind, really. The bed is huge andfortable. We can share it." "Are you sure?" Loriel asked her again. Inwardly, he hoped she would say yes. Please don''t say no. Please don''t say no. "Yes, I am sure," Elise''s words sent a feeling of relief to Loriel''s heart. The man was overwhelmed with happiness as he took her to his embrace. "I love you," he whispered tenderly. They hugged for a while before Loriel let her go. The hug was proven effective to remove the awkwardness on Elise''s part because she feltfortable in Loriel''s embrace. She actually quite liked it. The man had a specific scent that was both manly and sweet. His strong arms were also giving her a feeling of protection andfort. She enjoyed their touches and kinship. She loved hearing his voice saying he loved her. In short, she loved having this man around her. DING DONG The bell suddenly rang from the door and they could hear Akira''s voice from outside their suite. "Good day, Madam and Sir. I have the flowers for you," he said politely. Loriel was happy because Akira was very efficient. He opened the door and epted the huge bouquet of flowers from the butler. "Thank you," he said. What Loriel wants, Loriel gets. That''s what happened most of the time. However, sometimes it could take a while or a phone call to Marc since some of Loriel''s requests were difficult to obtain. It should have been quite difficult to have this many beautiful fresh flowers in the middle of winter, but Akira proved himself to be capable. In a short amount of time, he had aplished what Loriel asked him to do. The former king was very satisfied. He gave the flowers to Elise and smiled broadly. "This is for you." "Oh..." Elise pressed her lips in surprise. She didn''t expect Loriel to give her flowers all of a sudden. When did he ask Akira to get her flowers? Her mind went back to the scene earlier in the hotel lobby. Loriel was speaking to Akira in Japanese. Maybe he was asking the butler to get the flowers as a surprise? She epted the flowers with a beaming face. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent. It was really wonderful! When she opened them again, she smiled so big and then tip-toed a little to kiss Loriel on the lips. "Thank you! I love this!" Akira looked away and pretended not to see the couple''s intimacy. Loriel waved at him and gave the butler a sign to leave them alone. Akira stepped back and left the suite. He closed the door behind him. "Now, do you want to rest after the long trip?" Loriel lifted Elise with his arms, with her still holding the flowers. He carried her princess style and went to the bedroom. Elise wrapped one arm around his neck and nodded. "Yes." "You can rest now and then we can start exploring the city after you are fully rested." Loriel put her down on the bed and took the flowers from her. "I''ll put them in a vase and give water." "Thank you." After Loriel left for the kitchen to take the vase, Elise looked around her and admire the huge bedroom. It was well appointed and looked very luxurious. She especially loved the fluffy bed. Ahh.. tonight, she would share the bed with Loriel. Chapter 142 - I Hate Liars The Most Loriel came back with one vase filled with flowers and put it on the bedside table. Since the bouquet was quite big, he divided it into two and put them in two separate vases. He put the first one in the living room, and the other one in the bedroom. He saw Elise closed her eyes andy down in bed, looking like sleeping beauty. For a few moments, the man was standing rooted in his ce to admire the view.?? Ahh.. she was so, so beautiful. He was such a lucky man to have her in his life. He took off his shoes and climbed the bed. Hey his body down near his wife and rub her hair lovingly. He was in bliss, being able to hug her and kiss her again was the best gift he could ever want in life right now. Elise opened her eyes as she felt his body touched her. Their eyes met. She smiled and moved her head toward his chest and rested it there. Then she closed her eyes again. Loriel felt ecstatic. He realized that Elise had started feeling reallyfortable around him in a romantic setting. This should only get better. He kissed her forehead and hugged her closely. Then he closed his eyes too and enjoyed a good nap together with Elise. Meanwhile, from outside their window, snow started falling from the sky and made the earth turn white. It was such a beautiful day. *** When Loriel and Elise got up from their wonderful naps, they both felt well-rested and fresh. Loriel ordered room service and they ate an early dinner together. The view from their big window showed the beautiful Tokyo Tower with the snow falling from the sky. It looked so peaceful and pretty. "Do you like the food?" Loriel asked Elise after they were done eating. He ordered some typical Japanese dishes to introduce Elise to Japan''s specialty and unique dishes. He taught her how to use chopsticks properly and she had been eating her food in a proper Japanese way. Elise really loved the experience and was grateful to have a boyfriend who seemed to know it all and could teach her many new things without being patronizing. "I do! It''s very unique," she said. They ate unagi, sushi, sashimi, and miso soup, paired with sweet sake. She actually recognized the miso soup as something that Loriel cooked for her several times in New York. "As we have nned before, since we will be leaving from Tokyo to go home, we can explore other cities first and thene back to Tokyo to visit ces of interest in this city," said Loriel after he sipped his sake. "What do you think about Kyoto? That''s the ce to visit to see Japanese culture." "That sounds great," said Elise. "How far is it from here?" "It''s not far, especially with shinkansen. We can do day trips from here," Loriel replied. "However, to get the best experience, maybe it would be good to stay there for one night or two." "I''d like that." "Good. Then, it''s settled." Two waiters came to clear their dinner and soon there were only the two of them in the suite again. It was only 8 pm and both didn''t want to sleep so soon. So, Loriel offered Elise to watch a movie while they wind down with sweet wine. "That''s great," Elise agreed. "Maybe we can watch the movie in bed since we will be sleeping soon?" "Oh.. that''s a good idea," said Loriel happily. This was what he had been wanting for a long time. To sleep with Elise in his embrace after they spent time watching TV together. "Okay. Let me wash up quickly and change into somethingfortable." Elise took out her nightgown from her bag and went to the bathroom. She took a quick shower to freshen up and changed into her nightgown. Fifteen minutester she appeared at the bedroom door and ready to rx. "It''s my turn now," said Loriel. He did the same thing, wash up and change intofortable shorts and a thin shirt. He usually slept shirtless, but tonight he put on a shirt to avoid making Elise feel ufortable, "What do you want to watch?" Elise asked after she climbed the bed and leaned on the headboard. The wall across the bed turned into a TV screen after Loriel pushed a button on the remote in his hand. He climbed up the bed too and sat beside Elise. "Let''s see what''s rmended," he said. The man clicked some buttons and saw movie options for them to watch. He showed the top ten list to Elise and asked her to choose what she wanted to see. "What about this one?" Elise mentioned a movie about a royal princess in modern times who wanted to experience how it was like to live as amoner. So, when she went to another country for a visit in a royal capacity, she sneaked out and went outside as amoner woman. She met a journalist who immediately recognized her as the princess but pretended not to know her and became her friend. He showed her ces and did many ''ordinary'' things with her. This was something that she always wanted to do. They ate cheap food, went to a concert, watched a movie in the cinema, had a pic in a park, took a motorcycle ride, and many other ordinary things that the princess never got to do because of her royal status. She was very happy with her new life and the fact that she could be free. No more annoying nannies and strict royal parents. She didn''t even have bodyguards tailing her wherever she went. She thought her new friend was kind to her, and she slowly fell for the man. The princess finally returned to her parents because she found out the man actually had known all along who she was. He had also been recording her and took many pictures to sell to magazines to make a lot of money. She felt betrayed and decided to never trust anyone again. "This movie is a remake of an old movie called ''Roman Holiday''," said Loriel. "I watched the old one. It will be interesting to watch the new version." "Then, let''s watch it," said Elise happily. "Okay, princess," said Loriel. He pressed the button and the movie started ying. As they watched the movie, Loriel hugged Elise in his arms and enjoyed her presence. He didn''t care about the movie for one bit. What''s important was he had his wife in his embrace and tonight he could hug her to sleep. "The movie is good," Elisemented after the movie ended. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "I understand why the princess chose to leave the man. He had been lying to her and only wanted to take advantage of her." "Yeah, but the man regretted what he did and the princess finally forgave him," said Loriel. "It''s true, she forgave him because she was kind, but she couldn''t trust him again. That''s why she chose to end their rtionship and focused on her duty as the princess. I don''t think I can forgive someone who lies to me as the man did. I hate liars the most." Elise''s words made Loriel''s heart skip a beat. What did she say? She hated liars the most? Loriel swallowed hard. Chapter 143 - Jetlag Elise realized the man suddenly fell silent because he didn''t say anything afterward. She opened her eyes and looked at Loriel with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?" Loriel shook his head and forced a smile. "I just got a minor headache. It''s not a big deal."?? "Oh no.." Elise immediately felt worried. She sat up and touched Loriel''s temple. "Does it hurt so much? Let me see if they have some medicine provided." Loriel quickly touched her hand and took it with his hands. "I''m fine. I don''t like taking medicines. If I sleep it over, I will be better." He remembered how he often faked migraines in the past to get onto Elise''s bed. She lovingly took care of him whenever heined about his headache and slowly they spent more time together whichter led to them being intimate. He knew Elise loved him deeply. So, she always loved taking care of him to get the opportunity to be with him. But that was in the past. The current Elise had only gotten to know Loriel for several months and her feelings for him might not be deep as what she had for him in their past life. "What can I do to make it better?" Elise asked. "Nothing, honey. I will just sleep it," Loriel didn''t want to take advantage Elise''s kindness as he did in the past. She would worry and take care of him, even though Loriel didn''t actually have any headache. Loriel had learned his lessons. Besides, Elise was very strict about hating liars. He was worried she would find out his lies one by one and hate him. No, Loriel couldn''t take that risk. He would stop lying to her, or at least he would try not to lie again. Elise deserved a husband who never lied to her for whatever reasons. He would slowly find ways to tell her the truth about who he was and what was their actual rtionship. He hoped Elise would take him back and they could be husband and wife again, and spend the rest of their lives together. He didn''t want anything else, just her. Once the truth was revealed, he promised that he would NEVER EVER lie to her again. He would always say the truth. "Are you sure?" Elise looked at Loriel worriedly. "Maybe I can give you a head massage or something?" Loriel coughed and shook his head again. He knew she would say that. She was just too kind. Gosh.. he should really stop lying. He only mentioned his headache to distract her from his change of mood after he heard how much she hated liars. "I am fine, honey. Actually, my headache is gone. I think it must be the sake. I drank too much of it during dinner. It''s okay now," he said cheerfully, to show that he was really fine. "Let''s sleep now. We want to explore Kyoto tomorrow, right?" "Ah, you are right," Elise nodded. Shey down in bed again and closed her eyes. Loriel did the same. He pulled her into his embrace and covered their bodies with the thick duvet. Ah¡­ it felt so heartwarming. Lying down next to his wife again, even if they didn''t have sex, felt so amazing. Loriel was so touched that he almost shed tears. Elise snuck her head closer to his chest and rested it there. Her arms naturally wrapped around his stomach and hugged the man. Loriel was on cloud nine. *** Because of the time difference, Elise woke upte and she felt slightly sick. Loriel was used to traveling the globe and never had problems with jeg. So, he helped Elise to limate until she felt better. "We can just rest and do nothing until you are okay," said the man as he came from the kitchen with hot chocte. "Let''s watch the snow from the window and talk or read, or do whatever." Elise pouted her lips and massaged her head. "But we can watch the snow and sit back at home. Why not do something and sightsee while we are in Japan? I don''t know when I can get another opportunity to visit this ce." Loriel huped when he heard her words. His Elise seemed to be quite frugal and pragmatic. She wanted to take advantage of their free holiday to see Japan and do things here, thinking that she wouldn''t be able toe here again? Ahem¡­ the man she was ''dating'' here was super-wealthy that he could take her traveling to Japan again without batting an eye. Not just Japan, but also all other countries if she asked for it. His wealth was immeasurable. Just taking Elise back to Japan was a very, very easy thing to do. "It''s okay, honey. We don''t have to force ourselves. There are plenty of opportunities to visit Japan. I promise," the man said with a smile. He gave her the mug and asked her to drink her chocte. "Take this to make you feel better. I also have some pills that can help you limate faster. Once you feel better, we can go to Kyoto." Elise epted the mug and sipped her cocoa drink. She realized that Loriel was right. If she forced herself to go and sightsee with her current condition, she would just give the man trouble. She didn''t want to bother him to take care of her. Finally, she nodded. Elise took the hot cocoa and sat by the window. The snow had stopped falling and they could see the view outside. Tokyo was a very busy city, it reminded her of New York, however, everyone was so polite and organized. She couldn''t wait to see more. However, she told herself to be patient. They took things slowly on their first day in Tokyo. After Elise felt better, Loriel took her to Shibuya, Tokyo Tower, and ate ramen in the small shop which he called the best ramen in the world. Finally, on the second day, Elise felt a lot better and they could go to Kyoto. Chapter 144 - Traveling To Kyoto Their next stop in Japan was Kyoto. Elise and Loriel boarded on the bullet train and arrived in Kyoto in about an hour and soon discovered that Loriel was right, there was a distinctive air to Kyoto that was calming unlike the bustling streets of Tokyo. The two of them hopped off with Elise carrying a small bag filled with assorted goodies. Elise took out one long strip of gummy candy and quickly took a bite.?? "You really enjoyed the vending machines, didn''t you?" Loriel chuckled and nced at his girlfriend. "They were pretty affordable. Plus it''s so varied, there''s candy, snacks, juices, and... even vegetables and batteries? They sell everything on the vending machine." "Japan likes to make everything convenient and a seamless transaction." "They really do, it''s great that they do that and yet still retain this air of culture," Elise said. "Where are we going next?" "There''s a lot of ancient castles and temples to visit andter in the evening, we can soak in one of the very rxing hot springs here." "Oh, that sounds quite lovely." "Indeed." Loriel nodded. "Before one hops into an onsen as hot springs are referred to here, there''s a need to be fully clean prior to that. and bathing suits are not allowed in the hot springs." "Wait, they aren''t?" Elise''s eyes widened. Loriel chuckled. "Yeah. It''s a long-held tradition that one dips into an onsen fully naked." "I didn''t know that." Elise blushed at the thought. He already saw her naked once, when she was taking a bath after her father passed away. Elise was too weak and couldn''t dress herself. The man helped her. But it was a special case. Loriel also acted so naturally, without any hint of being perverted. "You don''t have to worry about that though, we''re renting a private onsen for ourselves. So you can wear whatever makes you feelfortable." "Oh, why didn''t you tell me that in the first ce?" Elise pouted at him. "It''s because you''re so cute." "You really know what to say to keep me less upset, don''t you Loriel?" Elise sighed but eventually smiled. "Well, we should get going now and visit all the ces that we can!" "Don''t worry, we''ll stop at all of the most prominent ces. Whether it''s to the north, south, east, or west part of Kyoto? We''ll get there." "Thank you so much, this trip would have been so different without you." "I''m just lucky enough that you asked me to go with you." Elise grabbed his arm and smiled. "Who else would I go with? You''re my boyfriend." There was a beautiful smile on Elise''s face that brought him joy. Even until today, the little and small things were enough for her to be happy about. It was a sight that he wished he had been able to make more for her when they were just newlyweds. *** The two of them were in Central Kyoto and took advantage of the many beautiful ces there. They visited both Nijo Castle which Elise learned to be a former residence of a shogun, an old ruler of Japan in the past, and even the Imperial Pce. Their visits there were quite prompt and fast, both agreeing that they could spend more time there when they were about to go. Loriel and Elise caught another train station and headed out. One of their first destinations was around Eastern Kyoto. It took about only ten minutes for them to arrive at the base of a forested mountain. Higashiyama mountains was a cool and rxing ce to be in, and even more so once they arrived at the Zen temple. The sight of Nanzenji Temple left Elise in awe. When they first arrived, both she and Loriel came across its massive entrance gate, which extended over the treetops. It was something that was more thanmon in this time and age, but to see it built in the past was another thing entirely. "This ce is amazing." Elise breathed aloud and walked through the temple''s grand halls that were free for the public. Loriel and Elise walked hand in hand. "I agree." He did think that this ce was a rxing ce to be in, but for an immortal who had spent his earlier centuries doing everything to end his boredom... it only mattered that Elise was here with him. There was a thoughtful look on her face. Elise said. "If we want to enter the other sub-temples around this ce, there''s a small fee to keep this ce protected. I wonder how long this temple has been around? Wait, I can search that up." Before she could break away from Loriel to grab her phone, Loriel was quick to answer her with an informative and rxed tone. "The history of Nanzenji dates back to around the middle of the 13th century. If I recall, thete Emperor Kameyama built his retirement vi at this location which waster converted into a Zen temple. Although most buildings we see now were built after the Muromachi Period, it ended around 1573." Elise''s eyes widened. "Wow, you don''t only know thenguage but even the history?" "I like to read when I have the time." Elise smiled at him. "That''s impressive, you''re quite well-read. Your exnation almost makes me feel like we''ve lived in that time period. I wonder how the Emperor thinks of how the world changed? He must be so surprised to see how far we''ve reached." Loriel thought about it and shrugged. "If he were alive today, I suppose he''d be impressed... but he might yearn for the older and more nostalgic times." "Really? But I think the Emperor would think it''s amazing that there are vending machines everywhere now. Look at what I got earlier?" Elise dug into her bag and revealed two small lucky charms. Loriel raised a brow at the two trinkets. "It was outside of the temple, but even they sell good-luck talismans." Elise smiled. "I got two lucky charms, one for you and one for me. They''re bound to protect us and also make us lucky." Loriel looked at it and smiled. "I guess the Emperor would think that this is quite nifty." Chapter 145 - Enjoying Onsen Their hotel in Kyoto was one of the oldest but fanciest in the city and it had its own onsen. The onsen was an indoor one, but it was still connected to a natural hot water bath and decorated with beautifulrge rocks. Soft water vapors rose around the room and kept the temperature at a rxing heat.?? "And this is our onsen, all for ourselves," Loriel exined with a small smile. "Compared to other hot springs, an onsen is natural water that contains various healthy minerals believed to be beneficial for one''s health." "I read about them earlier," Elise said. She stared at the bubbling water and smiled. "What minerals does ours contain? Sulfur? Sodium chloride or iron onsen?" "Magnesium and calcium. They''re great for the skin. Most women enjoy soaking here for anti-aging properties if I recall," Loriel said and then smiled. "Although I doubt that you need it, you''re already glowing. But it''s a nice way to pamper yourself. It would feel soooo rxing." Elise looked excited. "Well, we''re still going to try it right? It''s an experience we can''t miss. I don''t care about glowing or whatever, but I wish to try it because it''s an authentic experience." "Of course." Tonight was going to be the time where they''ll try to enjoy the onsen or hot springs located in one of the five-star hotels included in the trip. Loriel''s words earlier that day made Elise blush. He said something about needing to bepletely naked during the onsen as it traditionally was. Loriel now reassured her that it was not needed since they had a private onsen for themselves. It was alright even if they did not adhere to tradition. This ce for themselves after all. Loriel nced at Elise''s face and wondered if she was still ufortable at the thought of trying the onsen because he was around. He cleared his throat and spoke up. "If you''d like to enjoy this onsen all by yourself, Elise. I don''t mind it at all, you can have it for yourself for the entire evening." Elise looked up at him in surprise. Loriel was once again being considerate of their situation. Even though the two of them have already slept on the same bed and even made out, they still had not gone further than kissing. Seeing each other naked while going to the onsen was a big step and Loriel was still concerned with how Elise would feel about it. So, he acted like a gentleman and let Elise enjoy the onsen to herself if she wanted to do it naked but didn''t want to be naked around him. "No, you don''t have to do that, Loriel," Elise said. "How can I spend the entire evening at this onsen without you? It''d be really lonely without you." "Ah, then I''ll start changing then." "Okay, me too." "It''s important that we wash before dipping into the onsen, so take all the time you need." Loriel smiled at her gently before stepping into their room to shower and get changed. Elise remembered the time when she saw him at the penthouse with Loriel only wearing his board shorts. Even she could appreciate the great physique of the man at that time and once again, she was going to see it up close. No, she wasn''t only going to see it¡­ she could touch it as well. The idea of that made Elise''s heart throb even faster than normal. Elise followed after Loriel and walked into their hotel suite. It was almost asrge as their penthouse and it was amazing that they were simply going to stay here for one night and then move into another five-star hotel ce. Spacious enough to have more than enough facilities, Elise stepped into the second bathroom of their room to shower and clean herself up. But right before she could find herself a bathing suit¡­ she slowed down. While it was true that they could dress however they like, it was still a tradition to soak into the onsenpletely naked. People said¡­ when in Rome, do as the Romans do, right? What was there to be shy about? She would just cover herself with the towel and then remove the towel when she dipped herself into the water. Elise wondered how Loriel would take it if she were to go outpletely naked. Some part of her knew that was too bold, but she''d like to see the look of surprise on his face. *** Loriel was the first one to step out of the shower and change into the appropriate swimming shorts to dip into the onsen. He was already pleased and satisfied that Elise was willing to have him with her. "Elise, are you still in the bathroom?" He knocked gently on the door. "Oh, yes! I''lle out in a second." Elise replied from inside of the room and there was a sheepish tone to her voice as she said, "If you''d like to head to the onsen, I''ll follow you. Please go ahead and check the waters if it''s not too hot?" Elise was still embarrassed and perhaps working up the courage to go out and join him. Loriel nodded and said, "Okay, I''ll see you there and will let you know." "Thank you, Loriel!" He smiled and made his way out of the room to their onsen. The hotel room was not only luxurious, but they had their own private indoor onsen. Loriel would have tomend Marc when they got back after the trip. Albeit, after this trip in Japan¡­ wouldn''t it be better to explore elsewhere? How would Elise like it to go to Europe? Not where she was found, but other beautiful destinations like Paris and London. Cities like Rome, Venice, and Florence were his favorite locations and Loriel was sure that Elise would be bound to enjoy herself there. Loriel dipped into the onsen and rxed immediately. The hot waters soothed his muscles and eased his mind as he imagined the various locations that he and Elise could travel together. Japan was just the beginning of it all. He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined the different destinations for them to go to and the beautiful smile on Elise''s face. If she was already d and enjoying herself in Japan, then other ces would make her thoroughly happy. Loriel could even have his own private ne get here to take them around. The sound of footsteps suddenly padded towards the onsen which he recognized to be Elise''s. Loriel smiled and opened his eyes to greet Elise, but he found a growing heating about him. Elise was wearing only a towel around her body. The man suddenly felt his throat parched. He thought she would be wearing her bathing suit to soak in the onsen. But¡­ she was wearing a towel? Did she wear anything else underneath it? Or¡­ His imagination immediately ran wild. "I have never been to Japan and tried onsen before," she spoke shyly. "I don''t know if I can have the opportunity toe back. So, I thought, I should do it properly." Loriel was at a loss for words. He tried to digest Elise''s words. She was saying she wanted to do it properly¡­. Properly as it¡­ naked? Loriel swallowed. He could only nod faintly and smiled. His brain kept telling his face muscle to keep his expression cool. He didn''t want to be seen as a pervert by his dear wife. Don''t drool¡­ he told himself. Look the other way. "I-I''ll look the other way while you enter¡­" he said with difficulty. "Thank you," Elise replied. She walked closer and dipped her feet to the hot water. Her face looked so satisfied. She loved the peaceful atmosphere in the onsen already and could imagine how rxing it would be to soak in it. Loriel looked the other way, while Elise took off the towel from her body and folded it nicely. She ced the towel on the floor, and slowly entered the pool. "You can look," her sweet voice was mesmerizing. Loriel turned to see her and smiled broadly. Ahh¡­ she sat nicely in the onsen and the water and the steam covered her body all the way to her breasts, but Loriel''s imagination could fill the rest. Ahh¡­ he loved her so much and was happy they had gotten this far. She didn''t mind soaking naked around him in the onsen. It means she was feelingfortable with him physically. He thought this was a good sign. Soon, they might be able to take things to the next level. "Do you like it?" he asked her. Elise nodded. "I do. It feels so rxing." Loriel was happy Elise found it rxing. As for him? Cough cough... not so much. He used to love onsen, but today he couldn''t rx one bit since he knew Elise was naked under the water. His blood boil and his penis immediately got hard just by thinking about it. Oh my¡­ what should I do with this temptation? Loriel thought in frustration. Chapter 146 - Do You Want To Do It? "Why are you so quiet?" Elise turned to Loriel after not hearing the man said anything for a good while. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Loriel didn''t look rxed as she thought he would. Elise scooted closer to the man and touched his cheek. "What''s wrong? Are you unwell? Is your headache back?"?? Now, her skin touched his during such a difficult moment and Loriel had to exert all his sanity so as not to pounce on her and kiss her senseless. If he did, he wouldn''t be satisfied and would want to go all out. He had been keeping his desire to himself for a long, long time. It was easier when he was on his own. He could masturbate and think about his wife. He was never interested in doing it with another woman. He couldn''t have sex without love involved. At least, not anymore. Not after he realized he was so crazy in love with his wife. In the past, Loriel could easily sleep with any woman. In fact, he also had sex with Elise, six months after they were married, without love on his part. He was a man with healthy sexual needs and he had a wife who was deeply in love with him and would dly serve him in bed. So, of course, he would take advantage of the situation. Besides, he needed his heir too. So, after the first consummation that led to pregnancy, they had been doing it regrly as husband and wife, until that fateful day when¡­ when Elise left. However, being celibate was easy when Elise was not around. Now, it became super hard because she was with him and he was mentally, physically, and sexually attracted to her. All he ever thought about when he saw her luscious lips was to kiss her. And when she was sitting close by like this, naked, of course, Loriel''s mind was filled with lewd thoughts, everything he wanted to do with her. Loriel looked at Elise and forced a smile. Ahh, his wife was too kind. She still remembered when he onlyined about his headache once. And she was not even in love with him like she was in the past, yet she still cared about him. "I am fine," he lied. "I am just enjoying the rxing atmosphere. What do you think? Do you like it?" Elise nodded. "It is really rxing." "We can make the pool in the penthouse like an onsen too," Loriel suggested. "It will take some work to get the system ready, but that''s doable. With current technology, you can do whatever. Or... I actually have another house, it''s not in the city." He added, "It''s a very rxing ce to be, in the mountain in Switzend. It doesn''t have onsen, but I am sure something can be done to get the sulfuric steam water in there and make an onsen since Switzend is surrounded by mountains." Eliseughed out loud at Loriel''s silly remarks. She was taught geography by her personal teacher back home and learned that none of the volcanoes in Switzend was active even though it was surrounded by the alps. Loriel realized the same thing after he said those words. He just blurted nonsense because he was feeling nervous. Elise was so close to him and his nose had smelled her sweet distinct scent, even among the distinct smell of the onsen. "I am d you found it funny," he said with a smile. "Yeah... you are funny when you said you can do this or that and make things happen," said Elise. "Don''t you like it?" Loriel asked back. He tried to focus his gaze on her face, not on her breasts. They were hidden under the steam water, but some parts were exposed and his imagination could fill the rest. "I do," she said. "I am happy to hear that." Loriel pretended to enjoy the onsen and closed his eyes. Elise stopped asking him questions, seeing the man was immersing himself in the rxing atmosphere. She closed her eyes too. When Loriel didn''t hear her voice again, he opened his eyes and turned to look at his wife. Ahh... he could see her side profile from this side uninterrupted. Elise was so beautiful. Her side profile was perfect. He could never have enough of watching her from this close range. Some beads of sweat started dripping down her face and he was tempted to wipe them for her. However, he held back. She must be enjoying the soaking and he must let her be. The man admired the view to his heart''s content. His mind went to the past and he thought about their time together as husband and wife. Would he ever get the chance to make her his wife again in this lifetime? He was already her boyfriend after three months together, but he didn''t want to take things for granted and just assumed she would want to be his wife. He had learned his lessons. He would still do his best to woo her, and make her fall in love with him again. Before finally, he would propose properly and marry her. Elise suddenly opened her eyes and turned to him. She felt watched and, instinctively, she opened her eyes to find out who it was. She smiled when she saw it was Loriel. "Loriel," Elise whispered. "Hmm?" Loriel smiled at her. Wondering what Elise thought about him watching her earlier. Hopefully, she didn''t consider him a pervert orme. "This is such a wonderful night," Elise turned her body to face Loriel and slowly her hand touched Loriel''s cheek. Her fingers ran down his skin and then she wrapped her hand around his neck. Soon, her other hand followed suit. Now, she had had both hands around his neck and then she tilted her face closer. Loriel''s heart was immediately pounding. What did she want to do? Did she want to kiss him? Please kiss me... Please kiss me... His gaze was filled with longing and Elise noticed this too. She smiled faintly and slowly moved closer and touched his lips with hers. She closed her eyes and kissed him. The former king was ecstatic, he immediately hugged her waist and kissed her back. The water in the onsen was hot, but their passion was hotter. Loriel felt so moved and relieved when he realized Elise took the initiative to kiss him and she didn''t reject his advances when he hugged her waist and slowly, by instinct, his right hand snaked around her left breast. In fact, she let out a soft moan that immediately sent the king to cloud nine. "Oh... honey.." he whispered between their kisses. It was so hard to resist temptation in this condition. Loriel became bolder because Elise didn''t mind him groping her breast, so he used his other hand to rub her back and supported her body, while he deepened their kiss. Elise was surprised by her own actions. When she saw the man watch her from the side with that gaze filled with longing, something in her heart awakened. She felt moved by his obvious affection and love for her. How could someone seem to love her this much when they had only known each other for three months? Were his feelings for her real? So, she was moved to kiss him, to show how much she appreciated him. But then... when he kissed her back and started to fondle her, all her rationale flew out of the window. Elise enjoyed their intimacy so much that she let him do more to her. This was the first time that he touched the second base. And it felt great! Her body responded to his touches by sending pleasure signals to her brain. Her head was flooded with dopamine, the happy hormone. She was on cloud nine, feeling the happiest she had ever been! "Oh... Loriel..." Elise started to mutter incoherently when she felt her breast was pleasured by Loriel''s expert hand. The man was so happy to see the result of his handiwork. Combined with the back rub and his french kiss, Elise felt her body was on fire. "Honey..." Loriel whispered. "Do you want to do it?" He looked at her deeply, trying so hard to conceal lust from his eyes. He was very aroused and his penis had been throbbing, asking for release. However, he didn''t want to ruin his chance of getting his wife''s love back. He must do things carefully and meticulously. He would let Elise decide on their first consummation. Even if he was dying to enter her, he would wait if she didn''t want to do it tonight. Elise looked him in the eye, bit her lip, and finally nodded faintly. She wanted him too. At that moment, Loriel felt like he wanted to climb the highest rooftop in Japan and shouted his happiness to the world. This was the moment that he had been waiting for for so long. Now, his patience paid off. Chapter 147 - I Love You So Much ** "Honey..." Loriel felt his heart palpitated. Gosh... he was too excited. His long wait finally bore him the fruit. Loriel was proud of himself for keeping himself pure while he was waiting to be reunited with his wife. Elise looked at the man with a flushed face. She, too, felt desire started burning inside her. Somehow, seeing this man from up close made her heart flutter. She didn''t know why she felt such a connection with Loriel from the first moment they saw each other.?? He was handsome, dashing, kind, and filled with mystery. In short, he was intriguing. Elise considered her lucky to have met this man during one of the lowest parts of her life. He helped her, gave her shelter, got her a job with an old friend of his, did whatever things to make her happy, and even cooked for her. Loriel Ashborn was the definition of a perfect man. However, this perfection scared her. Because... nobody was supposed to be perfect, right? She liked being around him and felt grateful for his affection and love, but she still kept her guard up because there was an air of mystery about him that made her curious. However, after she finally decided to ept his love confession and found out he knitted scarves and a sweater for her, Elise''s wall crumbled and she let herself be vulnerable before him. "I love you..." Loriel was teary-eyed when he peppered her face with kisses. His hands gently traced her skin and kneaded her breasts alternately. Elise bit her lip as her mind went into a mess. This felt so, so good. "You can touch me too," the man said dotingly. "I am all yours." He rose from the water and carried Elise''s body with his strong arms. Elise instantly wrapped her arms around his neck and let out soft moans as their bodies touched in such an intimate position. Loriel wanted their first experience to be perfect and memorable. So he took her back to their bedroom and ced her gently on the bed. Even though he wanted to be adventurous and did it in the onsen, he still thought a fluffy mattress was still the best ce to do it for the first time. "The bed will get wet..." Elise whispered. She instinctively covered her private part with one hand when she wasid down on the mattress. Of course, Loriel didn''t care about the mattress ruined by water, but he cared about Elise''sfort. So he came back with two towels and help dry her body lovingly. "It''s okay," he said with a smile. "We have towels." Elise remembered the days when she was heartbroken by her father''s passing and Loriel also took care of her. The memory gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling. This man was truly godsent, she thought. She got up and took the other towel from Loriel and offered to dry him too. "Then, let me help you with¡ª" She didn''t continue her words when she saw the bulge from outside the man''s boardshorts. She could guess what was hiding behind the fabric but, still, her heart beat so fast when she realized this was what an aroused man looked like. "You... you should take it off," she said in a low voice, pointing at his shorts. "... so I can dry you." She was naked herself, but she was not as shy about Loriel seeing her naked because the man had seen her nude when she was unwell after her father''s death and the man could act like it was nothing. He didn''t look awkward nor perverted, so Elise feltfortable around him even after the event. She was more embarrassed by the fact that Loriel was now aroused and they were finally ready to do the deed. "Okay..." Loriel nodded sheepishly and took off his shorts, to let Elise dry him. As soon as he was naked, Elise gasped at his towering member. This was her first time seeing a man fully naked. Her face became so red. Gosh... Loriel really wanted to pinch her cheeks. She looked so adorable, exactly like Elise when they had sex for the first time in the past. She was shy, but she kept her cool because she was taught that, as a wife, it was her duty to please her husband in bed. Well, this time, she shouldn''t think about such a thing. Loriel was determined to please his wife in bed every day if she wanted him to. "You can start drying me," said Loriel, teasing. He smiled broadly and took Elise''s hand and ced it on his hard stomach. She nodded and started to do her job. She rubbed the towel on his shoulder, down to his chest, down to his stomach, and then... to his engorged manhood. "I love you so much," Loriel took the towel from Elise and tossed it on the floor. Then he pushed her gently to sit on the bed and started fondling her. A soft moan started toe out of her lips as Loriel traced her skin from her breasts, down to her abdomen, her lower abdomen, and finally to her private part between her thighs. He went on top of her and pressed her body with his. He kissed her deeply and moved his lips to pepper her face with kisses. Soon, he went to her earlobe and nibbled on it while his right hand started to massage her clit. "Aaahh...." Elise couldn''t hold back and let out a long moan. When Loriel started doing circr motions on her clitoris, unconsciously she spread her legs open, as if giving the man broader ess to do his job. Loriel smiled to himself when he realized what she was doing. Ahh.. he was proud to know that he still had it. After being celibate for so long, he knew he still had his sexual prowess. Tonight, he would show Elise how much she was loved and longed for. Chapter 148 - Making Love With Love ** Loriel smiled as he lowered his kisses to her corbone. He knew all her sensual spots and pleasured them equally. The man truly spoiled his wife rotten with his affection and knowledge of what she liked and didn''t like. Elise didn''t understand how the man could know her so well and seemed to know her body like the back of his hands. All his touches were fire. She didn''t even think that a kiss on her earlobe and corbone would send her to a high ce. But it did!?? "Aahh... Loriel..." Elise wanted to scream when she felt overwhelmed by pleasure as Loriel lowered his kisses and now stopped at her left breast. He kneaded her breast and sucked her nipple hungrily. It felt so, so good! Then he switched to her another breast and did the same thing. Elise could only writhe in ecstasy as the man pampered her senseless. She felt such familiarity after the man touched her intimately and her embarrassment was now gone. Who had time to be embarrassed anyway when she was busy enjoying wave after wave of pleasure? Loriel suddenly stopped his work on her breast and looked up with a smile. "Do you like it?" Elise opened her eyes with difficulty and nodded sheepishly. She couldn''t even say anything. Gosh.. what a tease, she thought. Things were getting so good and he paused to ask her a question? Loriel could guess what she was thinking and immediately went back to work with a sheepish smile on his face. Even though Elise made sounds that indicated she was happy, he wanted to make sure that she was enjoying what he was doing. He wanted things to be perfect. "Oh, Loriel..." Finally, Elise could say something. She was wondering if she should do things to him too. Shouldn''t sexual intercourse between two loving individuals include both parties doing something? So far, Loriel was the only one doing the work. She didn''t want to be selfish. Even though her mind was a mess and she could barely contain herself, Elise decided to try and take initiative. She reached out her hands and touched Loriel''s rockhard manhood. Funnily enough, she was surprised by herself when she started rubbing his shaft naturally. Was she actually a lewd woman? This was her first time having sex with a man but she didn''t feel awkward at all after she got past the initial embarrassment. And now, she could touch him down there without hesitation... "Oh... honey.." Loriel was pleasantly surprised by his wife''s initiative. It seemed Elise''s body remembered him. Was this part of her muscle memory? Gosh.. he was so happy and feeling moved. Slowly, he hoped to bring back her memory about him and their life together. The more they became intimate, the more she would remember how much she loved him in the past. "I have never slept with another woman before you came into my life," he couldn''t help but make a confession right at that moment. "I have never loved someone like this..." Elise felt moved by his confession. So, this was how it felt to be loved, she thought. It felt so good. Loriel went up to her lips and kissed her passionately. "Thank you..." Elise rubbed his hair as she kissed him back. Their tongues twisted each other and danced together inside their mouths. It was a really passionate kiss that took their breath away. Their bodies were now intertwined in bed. Loriel moved to be on top of her and started showering her body with more kisses. He went back to pampering her breasts, then he moved his lips to her stomach. Then... they went lower and stopped on her fold. Loriel used his hands to touched her inner thighs and slowly opened her legs and went down on her. Elise was immediately sent to a high ce when Loriel''s tongue started licking and sucking on her clitoris. She moaned non-stop as the man continued his work on her pussy and his hands moved up to knead her breasts. The three-pronged attacks were too much for her that in no time she arched her back and got her release. Loriel was very happy to see his wife got her first orgasm. Her love juice seeped out of her fold and he immediately licked it clean. Oh, it tasted better than what he remembered! His penis throbbed harder and it became more difficult for him to hold back. So, the man finally positioned his penis before her pussy and started pushing his way in. She was very wet and slippery, so she wouldn''t feel strange that he could enter her easily. "Ahh... honey..." Loriel supported his body with his left elbow, while his other hand rubbed Elise''s hair lovingly. As he pushed inside of her, hended another deep kiss on her sweet lips. They locked lips and had another passionate kiss while he entered her. Elise felt her fold was entered by a massive object and she felt so, so full. So, this was how it felt to be filled up, she thought. It felt so, so good. She immediately wrapped her legs around the man''s waist and growled softly. Loriel felt his penis was mped by warm and soft silky walls. It felt amazing. He missed having sex with his wife. He missed her so terribly and now all his longing for her finally got released. Once he entered her all the way in, he paused his movement and just enjoyed the fact that he was inside of her. This was what making love really felt like, he thought in satisfaction. When they were together in the past, he had sex with her without understanding that he loved her. It was one-sided on Elise''s part. By the time he realized that he actually loved his wife so, so deeply, she was already gone. Now, it was time to actually have sex with love involved. Gosh.. it truly felt amazing. He took a long deep breath and pulled his penis out slowly. When his head was almost out of her pussy, he pushed back in and started pumping. Elise bit her lip as he pumped her in and out and, with each thrust, she felt a wave of pleasure coursing through her body. Chapter 149 - Their First Lovemaking Is A Success Their ''first'' lovemaking was a sess. At least that''s how Elise saw it. She didn''t know that the man she had sex with in Kyoto was her own husband who had been waiting for her for a long, long time. She was surprised by how easy and pleasant it was to have sexual intercourse with her boyfriend of a few weeks. She thought it must be because they had known each other intensely for over three months. They had lived together before Loriel confessed his love to her. They had shared many moments where she let herself be vulnerable before him. He made her feel sofortable and at peace that she would even trust him with her life. "Thank you," said Loriel as they ended their lovemaking with a satisfied smile on his face. Elise had got so many orgasms that she lost count. Her voice had be hoarse when she moaned and Loriel knew it was time to call it a night. So, he pumped rapidly for several minutes and focused his mind on getting his own release. Before he shot his load, Loriel whispered to Elise where she wanted him toe. The woman only muttered, "Up to you." Loriel wouldn''t let this opportunity go to waste. Since Elise had given him the freedom to choose where he was going toe, he decided toe inside of her. It would be good if she became pregnant from this lovemaking. He really wanted to have a child with her. His body was shaking as he got his release and shot his load in her womb. Loriel bit his lip and closed his eyes, enjoying the magical moment they had now. Gosh.. he missed her so much. He loved her so deeply, more than she would ever know. Loriel couldn''t wait to see Elise pregnant and carrying his child. This time, Loriel promised to do it right. He would pamper her and protect her with his life. He would make her pregnancy as nice and rxing as possible. After he was done, Loriel rolled to the side and pulled Elise into his embrace. He inhaled her scent and thought about their future together. He was in bliss. Both were enjoying the afterglow in each other''s arms. Elise felt sofortable and happy as she rested her head on Loriel''s chiseled chest and his strong arms hugging her waist. They stayed that way for fifteen minutes and didn''t say anything. "I''m hungry¡­" Suddenly, Elise spoke shyly. "Can we eat something?" They already had dinner earlier, but apparently, their vigorous sexercise drained her energy and now she felt hungry again. Loriel opened his eyes and looked at Elise dotingly. He nodded. "Of course. Let''s order in-room dining." He kissed her hair and then sat up. The man took the phone from the bedside table and made the call to the room service. Elise mentioned the dishes she wanted to eat and Loriel ordered them for her. He also added wine to their order. "Do you want to shower while we wait for the food to arrive?" Loriel asked Elise. "The operator said they will deliver the food in twenty minutes." "Sure." Elise sat up too and then got ready to get down from the bed. Loriel held her hand and pulled her to his embrace again. The woman squealed and hit his arm because she was surprised. "Gosh¡­ you will give me a heart attack. What are you doing?" Loriel didn''t reply. He rubbed her hair and nted a deep kiss on her lips. They looked so red and swollen because he had been kissing her non-stop throughout their lovemaking. He could never have enough of her. "I love you," the man whispered after he finally let go of her lips. "I love you so much, honey." Elise chuckled and pressed her lips. "I love you too, Loriel." "Ah, this is the happiest day in my life¡­ to date," the man gushed. He peppered her face with more kisses before he finally ended it. "Let''s wash up." He got down from the bed and scooped her up in his arms, then he carried her to their bathroom. Elise felt so pampered by this man. After having mind-blowing sex earlier, it seemed their intimacy didn''t just end there. All this was a new experience for Elise and she felt so happy with how things turned out. Loriel and Elise showered together and in ten minutes they were done. When the room service staff came to deliver their food and wine, the couple already dried their bodies and wore night robes to sleep. "Thank you," said Elise to the room service staff when she gave them a tip and closed the door behind them. She then turned to Loriel. "The food smells so good. I am so hungry." "Then, let''s eat." They sat together at the small dining table next to their living room and ate their second dinner. Their faces flushed red after their lovemaking earlier. It still felt surreal on Loriel''s part. It was like a dream. One that he didn''t want to wake up from. *** Elise and Loriel spent the next few days traveling and going around Japan to their heart''s content. Whether it was from Tokyo, Kyoto, or to other destinations in Japan, they were able to arrive there so quickly thanks to the bullet trains. Before either of them knew it, they were about to head back to Tokyo to catch the next trip to America as provided by the raffle tickets. It was something that Elise met with a cheerful smile. While their trip and holiday in Japan were the best she had ever taken because it was with Loriel and they did a lot of things that she couldn''t imagine doing all by herself, she was actually eager to get back to the US. The holidays were still ongoing as the raffle to Japan only took ce for one week, but she was excited to get back and maybe take advantage of the Sanderman extra-pay for bonus work during the holidays. Chapter 150 - I Wouldnt Want To Go Anywhere Unless Its With You It was about time for them to return. Elise was ready with her bag and thought they would immediately go to the airport. It was a morning flight and she didn''t want them to bete. However, Loriel grabbed her hand and gave her a smile. "How about we have some breakfast first before we head to the airport?" "Can''t we have it at the airport?" Elise asked. "There''s something I''d like to ask you actually, but after we eat first," Loriel told her with a pleasant look on his face. This was something that surprised Elise, but she relented to it. Both of them stopped at a fancy breakfast ce in Tokyo and were given a private spot to dine together. They were served so quickly that it felt like they knew beforehand that Loriel and Elise wanted to dine there. Elise was enjoying a beautiful meal with Loriel and appreciating the sumptuous meal. It was nothingpared to Loriel''s own cooking, but it was a pleasant meal for them. Elise was sipping on some jasmine tea and had finished her omurice dish when Lorielid out his suggestion. The man held up their passports and ced them on the table. "I''m aware that the raffle has only taken us to Japan and we''re supposed to head back to America right now¡­ but since we''re already out of the country, why don''t we visit another continent while we''re at it?" "Huh?" Elise blinked. She lowered her cup and looked at Loriel with furrowed brows. "What do you mean?" "I can''t help but be excited about our possible future trips¡­ and since it''s still actually the holiday season, why not go somewhere else? Japan has been lovely, but we could get on the next flight to Europe. France, Ennd, or Italy, wherever you''d like." Elise could hear Loriel speak clearly and there was a natural enthusiasm in his eyes. A clear gaze that was excited about heading to another continent¡­ see other countries and enjoy their vacation together. How could she say no to something like that? Elise hesitated and Loriel noticed her expression and he was quick to assuage her fears. "You don''t have to worry about the travel costs and expenditures, I can have it covered. Right here, right now¡­ we could choose another ce to visit. It doesn''t even have to be Europe if you have another destination in mind." Loriel was being considerate of her desires and wishes. It was almost difficult to say it aloud, but Elise knew where her heart was and she said it. "I don''t want to go anywhere else now, Loriel." She didn''t want to be spoiled. Going on a holiday like this was nice, but she thought they shouldn''t do it often. She just started to be independent. Unlike Loriel, she didn''t have money to splurge to her heart''s content. She had to budget and do more work to get extra money. She didn''t want to leech on her boyfriend for an easy life. At least not until they were married. The look on Loriel''s face made Elise feel a little guilty, even when he tried to hide it¡­ he swallowed the look of disappointment and immediately smiled back. "I see, that''s fine as well. Let''s go back to the States." "Thank you," Elise smiled at him. "No, thank you for letting me know what you want." "I know you have all of these wonderful cesid out for us to visit and I appreciate how thoughtful you are, but I''m notfortable traveling and having you cover them all. We went to Japan because I won the tickets¡­ but this is different." "Elise, you know that I don''t mind at all." "I know that you don''t care about spending money, but I''d like it if we''re able to n a trip in the future with me helping out," Elise said. "I''d like us to be equals and that I don''t have to rely on you for things like this." "And we are. You''re my girlfriend and I don''t see you as any different than me." "That''s true¡­ but people are bound to look at it differently. Before, people already assumed that I was Marc''s sugar baby because I managed tond a job at the Sanderman Corp." "And we''ve already handled that." Loriel reached out and grabbed her hand. "They now know that we''re together." Elise smiled a little. "I didn''t really like their assumptions at all, and I''m afraid that others would think the same way between the two of us." Loriel could understand what Elise was trying to mean with her words. The disparity in their current wealth made her feel the need to at least match him, or work hard and not be seen as simply taking advantage of him, but it really didn''t have to be that way at all. This was why Elise still wanted to work and earn her own money. There was also the desire to experience things for herself, socialize and interact with other people and have friends. These were everything that Elise would like to have for herself after being with the Yorks for years. Loriel couldn''t take that away. But would things be a little bit different if they were married? Elise didn''t worry about those things when they were married and she could concentrate on doing whatever she liked back then. "I guess we''re a little different in this regard, Elise." Loriel squeezed her hand. Elise raised a brow. "Hmm?" "I know what you''re trying to say, and yet I don''t think you should care too much about what other people think about you or us. People always talk when they couldn''t be bothered about their own lives. Just do what you want and be happy, that''s all that matters." "Thank you, Loriel." Elise smiled at him. "I guess we''re both going back to America then. Unless you''d like to travel more by yourself? You don''t have to hold back because of me." "Of course not," Loriel said. "I wouldn''t want to go anywhere else unless it''s with you." Chapter 151 - Back In New York "Wee back home, Mister Loriel and Miss Elise." Horatio''s voice rang within the penthouse. "Shall we receive your luggage and take them to your rooms?" "Oh thank you. You guys did an amazing job at keeping the penthouse sparkling." Elise eyed the area and it felt like the two of them have never left at all. It was exactly the same before they left for Japan. Even before they arrived, Loriel left instructions for the AI butler to keep everything clean and spotless. Not to mention that there was even a small banner that said just those words. Elise smiled and thanked Horatio right before she was met with the onught of the two cats. Both Pott and Pebbles had missed them terribly and she was the same. Loriel watched Elise get down on her knees and pet the two cats. She really missed being in the penthouse. Loriel was actually d about this because it meant that Elise saw this ce as her home now. "Are you feeling hungry, Elise? I can order some food or I can actually cook something if you wish." Elise looked up and gave Loriel a look. "Are you not tired at all, Loriel? We just got back and you''re already trying to cook. Even if the food isn''t as good as yours, let''s just order something and rx." "Understood." Loriel smiled at Elise''s concern. "Then what food are you in the mood for? We can get some takeout from that Italian restaurant where you took me, or are you in the mood for Haruka''s Ramen shop?" Eliseughed a bit. "No more Japanese food please, let''s get with that Italian restaurant. It''s your favorite after all." "Well, I''m also open to trying anything else that''s on your mind." "Nope, I''m good with whatever we used to have." Elise smiled at him before returning to rubbing both Pott and Pebbles'' stomachs. "I''m really d we''re back home now. Did you guys miss me?" Both cats mewled and purred at her affection and attention. Loriel watched it a little and ordered their food, before he settled down beside Elise and helped her rub the cats. He was thoughtful right now. It may have been a little too much for Elise who was used to staying in one ce to keep traveling all over across the world. Loriel failed to consider that, not realizing that it might have been his adventurous side while he was Maxim, but now he was settled. All he needed to be happy and content was by being at her side. "They must have missed you so much, they''re really needy for rubs right now." Loriel chuckled and scratched Pott''s head. A sleepy yawn escaped the cat as it rxed underneath his touch. "I don''t mind giving them just that," Elise said and gave Pebbles some petting and rubs. "I missed these two cats as well." "They''re incredibly lucky." "I feel lucky too." Elise said and looked at Loriel with a smile. She quickly gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Thanks foring back here with me, Loriel." "Of course, you only need to ask." If Elise just wanted to stay in one ce and spend most of their days in the penthouse with one another. Then it was amazing. The location didn''t matter at all, just being with her was all it took. *** In a little less than an hour, the both of them were settled back in the penthouse again. Loriel and Elise were at the dinner table and enjoying their Italian meal together. Elise happily ate and the two of them conversed about their trip in Japan and the little events that she enjoyed the most. Not to mention, she was also talking about her work already. "I''m so excited to meet up with others in the office again, I actually bought some souvenirs for them." "Oh, right, you did." Loriel smiled briefly and remembered the number of little charm tokens that Elise bought while they were in Japan. "I''m sure they''ll all love what you got for them." "I didn''t bring anything too heavy, but I''m sure the goodluck charms are great gifts." Elise agreed with him. "I even got some lucky love charms for some of my office mates who are still single. I wonder if Alex or Marc would like one of these." Loriel thought about and tried not to chuckle. "I''m sure they''ll like it." "Well, it''s not like Marc himself needs any kind of luck with women in general." Elise shrugged as she brought out one of the love charms and showed it to Loriel. "But I think Alex might find it nice to have one of these. She''s too workaholic." "She must have gotten it from her boss." "Ah, those two are peas in the same pods, huh?" Elise smiled. "They really get along well and know how each other thinks and works. Marc even calls Alex as the reliable one." "Really?" Loriel thought about it. "Mhmm, they''d be great together," Elise said. "I don''t think that there''s actually any policy about not dating co-workers, and even if there was something like that? Marc can easily change it." "That''s true." Loriel wouldn''t mind if Marc actually dated someone like Alex if that made him happy. They were a good match¡­ but Loriel didn''t really like to intervene in his rtive''s rtionships. As long as the Sanderman continued to prosper, they were free to love whomever. "I''ll probably try to work after a day or so," Elise said. "I''m also going to check on Chef Lucy about his schedule as well. Maybe he''ll probably start opening the baking lessons after the holidays though." Loriel nodded. "That''s good." "Hmm? What''s good?" Elise raised a brow. "I think there should be time to rx and enjoy the holidays. I know that Marc has this special bonus for those who work during the holidays, but even your Chef Lucy knows that a break is good. Don''t overwork yourself, okay Elise?" Elise smiled a bit. "I won''t." Chapter 152 - Chicken Soup While Loriel was currently at the penthouse kitchen all by himself, he started considering the next step in his and Elise''s rtionship. The two of them have been living with each other for the past three months. Those were the days, weeks, and months of bliss. Oh, it was a little torturous first. In between the times where Loriel needed to pretend that his affections for Elise were nothing but friendship¡­ hebored hard to keep himself from telling her that he loved her. It was difficult to not simply adore her back then. Every little thing that Elise did fill his heart with love for her. He missed her terribly and Loriel was almost afraid that it would take more time for Elise to open up to him. Loriel was grateful that the necessity for a fake boyfriend came up. That was the starting point for the change that brought them to actually be really together when he confessed and she epted his love. Things started turning better after that. Loriel was now free to act more loving, but even until then, it was a boyfriend and girlfriend rtionship. In Elise''s eyes, the two of them had already consummated their rtionship together during their holiday in Japan. She had been willing to do it with him in that short amount of time, probably because she felt a connection with him. This was fast progress already and it was even cemented by Elise asking Loriel to go to Japan and be with her. The thought of that made him smile. Loriel was busy once again in his food preparation and lost in his thoughts. Sure, Elise may have not wanted to go to Europe and she even denied living under his wealth because she didn''t see it as the right thing to do¡­ but he wanted the best for Elise. Loriel''s numerous prepared expensive gifts during Christmas weren''t the full extent of what he''d like to provide for his beloved wife. If Loriel wanted to have Elise epting that his wealth was also hers, then the next step in their rtionship was marriage. Or to be more specific... a wedding proposal. After they were in a rtionship, and finally became intimate, he thought the most logical step would be to take it to the next level. Gosh¡­ he hoped Elise didn''t think it was too early. He was dying to make her his wife again. The two of them needed to be engaged and he knew just the right person to ask for that. Loriel reached for his phone and contacted his grand-nephew. [I want you to start looking into the best methods to propose and prepare them for me within the next few days.] [Okay, grand-uncle.] If that woman, Alex, was Marc''s reliable assistant, then Marc was pretty much Loriel''s. The man knew how to keep Loriel pleased and ensure that everything was taken care of. Loriel needed to find the perfect time to propose to Elise and possibly while it was still early for others to move. Loriel was still unsure if he liked Chef Lucy hanging around Elise, but once Loriel and Elise were married¡­ he''d feel a little more at ease. Yes, this was the proper next step for them to take. Once they were married again, it would be the turning point for their lives. It was at this time that Elise stepped out of her bedroom, having just woken up. The trip to Japan really must have made her tired. This was why he thought it was proper for her to not work immediately. "Jetg?" Loriel asked with a kind smile as he set the table for breakfast. "Jetg." Elise agreed. "Let me make chicken soup for you," said Loriel dotingly. He reached out and pulled Elise to his embrace. Then he kissed her forehead. "Come to the kitchen." Elise smiled and nodded. She felt spoiled by the man. After they became intimate in Japan, their rtionship felt like it went to the next level. She felt even morefortable with him. They had been sharing a bed throughout the trip and sometimes they had sex, sometimes it was just an innocent cuddle. He never acted like he was in it just for the sex. Whatever Elise wanted, whether it was to be intimate or to have her own space, he always seemed to understand what he should do to give her what she wanted. Now that they had returned home to New York, where they had their own bedrooms, she was wondering if she and Loriel should start sleeping together in the same room. Would it be something that he wanted? Elise was thinking about this while she watched the man got busy in the kitchen. But if she suggested they ''move in'' together, it would be a big step for them. It means they couldn''t move back out if they didn''t find sharing a bedroom and bed permanently to be a good thing for them, yet. She could live in the same house with Loriel, that''s for sure. They had been ''roommates'' for months without a problem. Mostly it''s because Elise was respectful of other people''s property, clean, and considerate, while Loriel was amodating and understanding. They seemed to be a good match. However, sleeping together every night on the same bed¡­ She had to think about it. Elise was relieved that Loriel didn''t bring up the subject when they just arrived home. He seemed to gauge her feelings about the whole thing and waited for Elise to make a decision. He acted as if nothing happened and let Elise went to her bedroom to rest after the trip. And now, he was making chicken soup for her. "The soup is ready," said Loriel with a broad smile. He saw her deep in thoughts and was wondering what Elise could be possibly thinking. "Do you want to eat now?" Elise was moved from her reverie and nodded with a smile. "Yes, thank you." She received the bowl of soup from Loriel''s hand and started eating. Loriel sat by her side and started eating his soup too. . ---------------- Yes! Loriel wants to propose. Do you have any proposal ideas to help Loriel in his mission to make Elise his wife again? Chapter 153 - Marc Is Connecting The Dots Marc Sanderman was just rxing on his living room couch during the early holiday morning when he received the text from Loriel. His eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets once he ascertained that his grand-uncle was really looking into marriage proposals. Huh? After Marc sent a confirmation to his grand-uncle, he put his phone down. The man massaged his temple and shook his head in confusion. "Isn''t it a little too fast?" Marc asked himself aloud. He still remembered the day when his grand-uncle asked him to find the identity of the woman who stayed in a hostel (which now belonged to him) and all of a sudden she had entered Loriel''s life and became part of Marc''s too. Oh, it wasn''t like he would oppose his grand uncle''s decisions. However, Marc could still vividly recall when Elise first arrived in their office. Even before that event, there were a series of requests that surprised him that turned out to be rted to Elise. The purchase of a small Japanese ramen shop, Marc personally gave a lot of money to a not-five-star hotel where he paid for the guests to leave the hotel and head somewhere else. Those were the times where his uncle became active again. Marc always thought Elise was special, but he didn''t know who she really was. Based on his findings, she was not really Madeline York. She was assumed to be the missing girl but the family never did a DNA test. Daniel York''s brother was adamant that the girl was not his niece and he contested the will left behind by Daniel. However, it seemed, Elise also didn''t care about her inheritance. Once Daniel York, her supposed father, passed away, his estate donated most of his wealth to charities and organizations, especially those that worked on anti-human trafficking and child trafficking. It was quite a noble thing to do. So, why did Elise donate all the wealth that could have been hers? Didn''t she need the money to live? New York was such an expensive city to live in. Why did she choose to work in the Sanderman Group to make money? Was it because she was an impostor and she thought she didn''t deserve to im someone else''s wealth? Or did she just do it because she genuinely cared about victims of human trafficking? Or.. it was also possible that Elise thought she wouldn''t need the money since she was dating Loriel Ashborn? Marc''s grand-uncle was probably one of the wealthiest men in the world to date. All the wealth and artworks that he had collected for over fifteen centuries were no joke. He could easily buy the city they were in now if he wanted to. So, yeah¡­ the York family''s wealth was very pale inparison to Loriel''s. However, Elise didn''t seem to know who Loriel really was. Did she even know how wealthy the man was? So many questions were raging in Marc''s mind. He wanted an answer, but he didn''t dare to pester his uncle to know the truth. Marc could only do what Loriel asked and wait until his uncle was kind enough to exin the reasons. Hm¡­ so, Loriel wanted to propose to Elise, huh? He wanted to marry her already? So soon? How long had it been? Three months and two weeks. However, even though it''s only been three months, Marc knew better than to question all the crazy and impulsive things his uncle did. He had known Loriel and understood the man wouldn''t propose to a woman if he wasn''t sure. This woman must be special to him. Loriel never even consider any woman worthy of his affection for the many years that Marc knew him. Loriel never dated anyone. He was not Marc who would fool around with many beautiful women and find a new girlfriend when he was bored with the old one. So, all the mysteries surrounding Elise''s identity became more interesting with the fact that Loriel had decided that he wanted her to be his wife. Marc pulled out hisptop and started browsing through some wedding sites. He tried to read and visualize the proposals but after trying hard for half an hour, he finally gave up. Really.. proposals and weddings were not his cup of tea. Eventually, he just sent the links to Alex and chatted with her to look up the best for him. [Alex, can you prepare aption of all the best wedding proposal arrangements? Send it to me as soon as possible.] [Okay, boss.] Alex held her breath after she hung up the call. Marc just asked her to find the best proposal ideas????? So, the womanizer was finally thinking of tying the knot? Was this for real???? Who was that woman so unlucky to capture Marc Sanderman''s heart that he was thinking of settling down? Did Alex know her? She tried to remember thedies that Marc was dating in the past three months. None of them stood out, it seemed. In fact, he was actually single by the time the ''World''s Most Eligible Bachelor Award'' was announced. Did he meet anyone when Alex was not looking? How mysterious! Meanwhile, on the other end, Marc was relieved because he already delegated the task to his assistant. He didn''t have the talent to propose. Ask him how to woo women, and he woulde up with so many ideas. But to propose? Nah¡­ "Hah, no questions asked at all. That''s Alex, alright." Marc chuckled to himself when he remembered Alex was unfazed when he asked her to get him the best ideas to propose. He suspected Alex would assume the proposal was for him, but he didn''t care. As long as he got the job done. He looked at his watch and realized it was time to go to the office. Even though it was actually the holiday, Marc still went to the office. He had so much nned for next year and he didn''t want to lose time by rxing too much at home. Soon, it would be 2046. Ha. It looked like Loriel hit it big this time. Marc had known his uncle for his whole life and the man had always been alone. However, if he really proposed soon, the next year, he would finally be a married man. Marc finished his tea and started preparing himself to go to work. He didn''t simply offer additional remuneration for his employees if he didn''t go to the office himself. Along the way, he thought about the situation some more. Marc Sanderman knew he needed to recontextualize the situation in Loriel''s perception. This was his immortal grand-uncle who had been alive for who knows how long? Approximately fifteen centuries if his memory served him right. At least, that was what his father told him when Mr. Sanderman senior exined to Marc about who Loriel was in his death bed. So when it came to a person that Loriel loved and cherished, there was the obvious decision that he should spend those times with her. An ordinary human''s life was brief. If Loriel fell in love with Elise, then he wanted to be with her and do everything that he dreamed of with Elise. Compared to Loriel, Elise wasn''t immortal as far as Marc was aware. So if Loriel was really going to love her, then it was natural that Loriel wanted to get married as soon as possible. Marc knew that gaining immortality was a hard and difficult thing. If that hadn''t been the case, then maybe his ancestors would have attempted to be like Loriel. Marc didn''t know the full story of what happened to Loriel that turned him into the immortal that he was today. He hoped someday Loriel would trust him enough to share, even though Marc didn''t want to live forever like his uncle. Loriel must have had such a sad life that he became an annoying and grumpy grandpa in Marc''s eyes. Just imagine, he lost everyone he loved and one by one the people he knew would die too. In a way, he had to redo his life over and over again with new people, most of whom didn''t know who he was. Was his immortality permanent? Could he be a regr human if he was tired of life? Maybe not, Marc thought again. Otherwise, Loriel would have died a long time ago. Marc often saw Loriel looking bored or sad and he could swear his uncle looked like he wanted to die. If he hated life so much why didn''t he just stop living? What kept him going all this time? Marc''s steps halted. Suddenly, a crazy thought came to his mind. Was Loriel waiting for something? Was that the reason why he kept going even though he hated his life? Was Loriel waiting for¡­ someone? Marc swallowed and his brows knitted together. This thought was too mindblowing that he had to stop and thought about it deeply. Things changed drastically three months ago when Loriel suddenly asked Marc to buy a hostel, a ramen shop, hire a woman in his office, and then¡­ WHOAA... So many light bulbs suddenly turned on in his mind, and slowly, Marc started to connect the dots. Elise''s background was very mysterious. Loriel changed so much after he met her. Loriel, who never even gave a woman a second look, was acting like a teenager in love around Elise. And now he wanted to marry her right away. He also seemed to know a lot about Elise despite her mysterious background. Was she¡­ the person that Loriel had been waiting for? Marc couldn''t help but be in awe of Loriel''s dedication to one woman alone.. Love really made people do so many unthinkable things. Chapter 154 - The Proposal [When do you need to propose, dear uncle?] Chapter 59: [When do you need to propose?] Marc sent a message to his uncle. He was sitting leisurely on his office chair that looked like his throne in thepany. The filial grand-nephew just received a list of proposal ideas from Alex on hisputer. They were all amazing. Some were over the top, some were sweet and simple. When he checked them one by one, Marc was very impressed. Even a man who was not interested in marriage like himself was touched by the beauty of some of the proposals. "Gosh.. this is all so good," Marc wiped his wet eyes and gulped down a big ss of water. "My uncle will be so happy." He couldn''t decide which proposal ideas to send Loriel. They were too many and all were nice. In fact, Marc wasted so much time today just to check them and visualize the perfect proposals. Now, he had to go back to work. Hmm.. which proposal ideas he should send to his grumpy uncle? Loriel would beat the crap out of him if Marc sent him dozens of ideas, instead of short-listing the options. He didn''t like hassle. "Okay¡­ I better check with my uncle to understand his preference". Finally, Marc decided. That''s why he sent the text message to Loriel and asked him more details about Loriel''s own ideas for the perfect proposal. [As soon as possible.] Came the reply from Loriel. Marc scratched his head. Even though he knew his uncle was sometimes weird and unpredictable, he was still astonished by the reply. He had his suspicion that Loriel and Elise had an unusual rtionship. What it was exactly, Marc didn''t know. He read his uncle''s reply and quickly typed another message. [Do you like fancy and luxurious proposal ideas, or simple and sweet?] [What I like doesn''t matter. What Elise like is what''s important.] Marc didn''t know he could receive dog food remotely in this way. Seriously! His uncle sounded like a sweet puppy whenever he talked about Elise. His affection and love was so obvious. Wait¡­ this made Marc think. Loriel and Elise went to Japan together and he arranged for them to share the same bedroom in all their amodations wihile they were on the holiday. Marc wondered if something happened between Elise and Loriel in Japan. If the took advantage of the opportunities created by Marc, then, no wonder Loriel could think about proposing to Elise this fast. Did they have sex? Marc''s mind went wild with guesses and imaginations. They must have had sex¡­he thought with a lew smile on his face. He thought his uncle was often annoying because he had not done it for too long. Maybe after he finally got his release, he would change and be a nicer man? Ha. It would be interesting to see, Marc thought again. SLAP He suddenly pped himself. He was supposed to be taking care of his uncle''s once in a lifetime proposal. Not thinking about older people''s sex lives. [I think Elise would prefer something simple, sweet and personal.] Marc replied. [Then, you know what to do.] Loriel replied again. [Ah, okay then.] Marc quickly chose five of the best sweet and simple proposals from the list and sent them to Lorie. Since they were simple, Loriel could take care of them easily and propose to Elise even today, if he wanted it. Loriel narrowed his eyes and opened his phone. He checked the ideas sent by Marc and tapped his fingers while reading them. Hm¡­ Marc had good taste, he thought proudly. It must be the Ashborn''s gene. *** Elise York was an ordinary young woman who happened to find herself dating one of the most eligible bachelors in the entire world. Now, Elise didn''t know any of that and she considered herself far from normal with her ability to use her power. But Elise didn''t expect what would happen once she arrived back at the penthouse after working. There was soft music that yed in the background. It was simr to twinkling chimes, crystals and violins and was a harmonious melody. When she stepped inside, beautiful, purple and soft jacaranda flower petals fell all over her and were littered across the entire penthouse. It reminded her of the day at NYC''s Central Park where she first went with Loriel. Huh? Was there a jacaranda tree here? She knew the sky garden outsisde of the penthouse had many beautiful nts, but she didn''t remember seeing a jacaranda tree. Did Loriel just nted it? Or, maybe Elise was too unobservant and didn''t pay attention on such things. Gosh.. why was the penthouse filled with flower petals today? She was wondering. Elise could already tell that Loriel prepared something special for her, but she didn''t know what kind of surprise he''d done for her. "Loriel?" Elise called out but received no immediate answer. The man truly wanted to put an effort into making her smile, Elise''s heart fluttered a little as she walked in and ced her bag on the sofa. All around her were little things that made her remember their time together for the past months. There were ornamental Japanese ramen bowls that were ced near the entrance. Several pictures of their time together seemed to pin the walls with beautiful photography. Whether it was from their recent trip to Japan or the seemingly unimportant days, Loriel managed to take a picture. There was Elise holding snow with a great smile on her face. The two cats, Pott and Pebbles,id on their backs and showed off their tummies. Even the every-day cooking that Loriel did or the baking that Elise tried to do were decorating the walls like gands of memory. Elise noticed the trail of flower petals that was leading her to her bedroom. Her heart started pounding louder as she noticed the smell of freshly cut flowers in the air, a fragrance sweet and subtle. Simr to Christmas, Elise wasn''t sure when Loriel took the chance to decorate at all. Once she finally stepped inside of the bedroom, Elise was almost expecting her bed to be covered in red rose petals with Loriel probably waiting for her to join him in bed¡­ contrary to such expectations, the man was sitting in one of the plush chairs but not the bed. The gentle music yed more visibly in her ears. It happened to be the exact song that was ying when they attended the Christmas G and danced in each other''s arms. How Loriel found the song and figured it out was amazing in and of itself. But there was something else that Loriel wanted to do for her. "Wee home, Elise," Loriel whispered gently to her. Elise smiled a little and nodded. Her heart fluttered as she cast her nce around and batted her eyes, still couldn''t believe what she saw. "What''s all of this, Loriel?" Loriel stood up to his feet and approached her, almost as if he was going to ask her to dance, but then he fell on one knee and held out his hand. "Elise, you know how much you mean to me." Elise''s eyes widened at his sudden actions. She knew where this was leading up to now. Loriel smiled gently at her and took her hand. "The past months that we''ve been together are the most colorful and bright periods of my life. You made my life infinitely better and I couldn''t imagine spending the rest of my life without you by my side." Elise didn''t say anything at first. She knew that she shouldn''t interrupt Loriel as he was only starting. His words reminded her of his first confession during their Christmas dinner, but the weight of his words this time was more heavy and substantial. This wasn''t just Loriel revealing his affections for her but his intentions as well. Loriel wanted to be by her side. It wasn''t enough to be just girlfriend and boyfriend anymore, Loriel wanted more. He wanted to be with her in the closest way a couple could ever be together. Loriel wanted her to be his wife and him to be her husband. He wanted things to be the way they used to be. "I want to wake up each day and find you here with me. And I do not mean just in the same penthouse or across different rooms, but I want to wake up in the morning and find you sleeping in the same bed as me. I''d want to wake up to see your face, to have you in my arms and show you how much I love you." Loriel cleared his throat. He was speaking from the heart but he was almost afraid that it would scare Elise away. This was a sudden proposal and he prepared as best as he could to make her remember all of the good and precious times that they were together. The two of them were a team, partners, and a match that suited one another like no other. "This is sudden, I know," Loriel said as he gently kissed her hand. "You don''t have to say a word because I''m aware of it already." Elise was at a loss for words. She had that look on her face that held surprise and shock. But Loriel pushed through it with a smallugh. "And yet when I think about what I''d want our life to be like in the future, this is the only thing I can imagine. The two of us together as husband and wife, that''s all I ever want. It''s all I could ever ask for, Elise. I''m already the happiest man alive to have you here with me, and I want to make you happier too if you could let me." Loriel looked at his wife with his best puppy eyes.. He bit his lip, hoping to hear her saying she would ept his proposal. Chapter 155 - Where Is The Ring? Elise was dumbfounded throughout the entire process. She looked at Loriel in disbelief. This man was faster than a rollercoaster, she thought. Didn''t they only know each other for slightly over three months? And they got into a rtionship likest week. So fast. This was so, really fast. However, why didn''t Elise think that Loriel was out of his mind? In fact, she was ttered by his action. And another weird thing was¡­ she felt like she had known this man all her life. Was this normal? Elise didn''t know about her family and her background. What if she was already married before she came to the United States? She lost her memory when they found her five years ago. "Loriel¡­" she bit her lip. "You don''t really know me. How could you decide that you want to spend the rest of your life with me?" Elise added bitterly, "I don''t even know who I am. What if¡­ I have a dark secret? I don''t remember anything about my life before five years ago." Loriel''s heart ached when he heard her words. He really, really wanted to tell her that he was his wife. She loved him so deeply and they also almost had children together. Gosh.. should he just tell her the truth? But¡­ what would she think about it? There were so many possibilities. She couldugh it off and think Loriel was joking. She could believe Loriel and demand him to tell her everything. Loriel was not ready to tell her EVERYTHING. He didn''t even know what happened to Elise after she left him. He didn''t know how Elise lost the baby in her second pregnancy. And he didn''t know if she would be able to bear the truth. Their past was truly sad and heartbreaking. Loriel didn''t have the heart to see her cry again. Elise was physically weak. She lost her first pregnancy because her body was too weak to carry a baby. She also had a physical breakdown when Daniel York, the man she considered as a father, passed away. No.. Loriel couldn''t risk losing Elise this time because she was feeling heartbroken and fell ill. He had waited for so long to get his wife back. He wouldn''t let her go out of his life again. He must wait until the coast was clear and it was safe to tell her the truth. Not today. "Elise... honey, I don''t care who you are..." Loriel got down on his knees and took Elise''s hands dotingly. His voice was hoarse because he was feeling so moved. "Even if you had a deep dark secret in your life, I don''t mind. Heck, I will even help you bury dead bodies if you need me to." "Oh, Loriel..." Elise was out of words. She couldn''t help butugh at the man''s words. Not only he was smart, good-looking, sweet, a great cook, he always knew the right words to say and knew how to do the right thing... he was also funny. He didn''t like most people, but that only added to his charm. Even though women all looked at him with admiring gaze and were ready to throw themselves at him, Loriel never even gave them a second nce. Elise could tell this from every time they went out together. When they went to the mall, the cafe, the high end restaurant, to Elise''spany year-end g, and during their holiday to Japan. Loriel''s eyes and undivided attention were only on her alone. How could she not feel ttered and valued? She knew this man was one of a kind. Ahh... he made Elise feel so, so special, desired, and treasured. She thought she would be dumb to say no. Right? And even if Loriel turned out to be bad, Elise could protect herself well. However, she actually trusted that the man wouldn''t do any harm to her. She didn''t know how she knew it, but she just did. She looked at the man intently and tried to visualize their life together, and she actually liked what she saw. For their future, Elise could see a lot of cuddles while watching TV together or spending time with nice books, great food prepared for dinner and breakfast, new knitted scarves and sweaters in wintertime, and... ahem, lots of mind-blowing sex. Ah... Her face flushed red when she remembered their first time doing that in Japan. She didn''t know sexual intercourse was THAT fun. Loriel made things easy and pleasant. She didn''t even feel the pain from her first time. It was THAT good. She was still shy when they did it again the next day, but after the third time, she became sofortable and didn''t feel ashamed of even initiating it, subtly, of course. It seemed like Loriel always knew when she wanted it, and how she wanted it. It was really amazing. Elise didn''t know if she would ever meet another man who was as kind, understanding, and loving as Loriel. Most humans were greedy. They would want to wait and see if a better offer woulde along. Ah, I can get a better man than this one. I should wait, they thought. And when the better man came, they again thought that they must wait to get an even better one. And it became a neverending cycle. By the time they realized that the best one had passed them, it was already toote, and in desperation, they took the next avable one, that might not be as good as what they had rejected in the past. Elise was not like most people. She was grateful and never took people for granted. When she saw this man, on his knees, asking her hand in marriage, she realized that she, too, loved this man. And she thought, if he was willing to ept her for who she was, good and bad, no matter how dark her past actually was, then she must ept him too. 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. "Hmm...." A faint smile curved up on her face. "Aren''t you going to give me a ring?" "Huh?" Loriel was struck dumbfounded by the question. That''s right. He had poured his heart out to ask her to marry him just now, but he forgot the ring? Oh my god. Please don''t reject me because of my stupidity, he begged internally. I just forgot about the ring because... I was nervous. His face paled and he quickly groped his body to find the ring that Marc had sent his way earlier. "I-I have it... wait..." Elise was amused by his frantic reaction. This man looked so adorable when he was in a panic like this, over a ring. She said sweetly, "Okay." Loriel wanted to kill himself when he couldn''t find the ring. He got up and groped all over his pockets, his shirt and pants, but still couldn''t find it. He even jumped up and down to make sure the ring was not stuck between the lines of his clothes. "Noooo...." He looked at Elise apologetically, "I swear... I had it..." "Well.. without a ring, I cannot say yes, even if I wanted to," said Elise, teasing Loriel. The man''s eyes went droopy and he was almost crying. "B-but... you wanted to say yes?" Elise nodded. "Yes. If you have the ring with you." Actually, Elise would say yes regardless, but after seeing Loriel in a panic, she thought it would be funny to tease him. The man let out a relieved sigh. He quickly took out his phone and called Marc. "Marc, I need a new ring. Immediately. Can you deliver a ring here in half an hour?" Elise was astonished when she saw Loriel called Marc and ordered a new ring, just like that. She quickly snatched Loriel''s phone and dropped it on the couch. "No! Don''t make Marc get you a new ring. He is my boss!" She shook her head in horror. Loriel was too much, she thought. Elise knew how hard Marc had worked even during the holiday and he needed his rest. He shouldn''t be on Loriel''s beck and call like this and sacrifice his well-deserved rest to get Loriel a new ring. "B-but... you only ept my proposal if I have the ring..." Loriel pouted. He tried to get his phone back. "I need the ring. Marc wouldn''t mind." "No... you don''t need the ring," Elise decided to end her tease. She blocked Loriel''s hand who tried to take the phone back. "I will marry you." Loriel''s body froze when he heard the words that he was dying to hear. He looked at Elise with widened eyes. Tears started forming in the corner of his silver eyes. His irises always turned silver when he was in a good mood. This time, they were like bright silver, filled with happiness. Chapter 156 - I Will Get You The Biggest Ring Humanity Has Ever Known Loriel couldn''t believe what he just heard. His beloved wife said¡­ she was willing to marry him? He hoped his ears didn''t y 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 epting me into your life¡­" Elise was touched by the man''s reaction to her epting 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, Eliseined 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 regr 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 shy, 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 epted 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 ns? Ahh¡­ Marc tended to believe that it was thetter. 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 andints. However, Marc didn''t receive any such messages from Loriel. So, it looked like the proposal was a great sess! Well, first, Marc needed to congratte his uncle because he was pretty sure that Elise said yes. Who could resist the Ashborn family? "Hey, uncle¡­ Congrattions on¡ª" "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¡ª" Thud. Marc heard something drop and he soon realized it was the phone on Loriel''s hand.. He could hear their voicese from the other end. Chapter 157 - Elise Wants An Intimate Wedding "NO! Don''t make Marc get you a new ring for you. He is my boss!" Elise''s voice echoed. "B-but... you said you will only ept my proposal if I have the ring..." Loriel said. "I need the ring. Marc wouldn''t mind." Marc Sanderman realized that his uncle was panicking so much to ask for the ring. He could hear the entire conversation happening over the phone. They forgot to hang up the phone, didn''t they? The man looked at the phone in his right hand and his brows furrowed. What should he do? Should he hang up and wait for Loriel to call him again if he still needed the ring¡­? Or¡­ he could listen to their conversation to understand what was going on? Loriel never told Marc anything about his life and who Elise really was. Marc was dying to know. This would be a good opportunity to get a glimpse into the secrets that his grand-uncle was hiding. For a few moments, Marc was conflicted. Ughhh¡­ tough choice. He should end the call immediately to give them some privacy. But he wanted to be a good nephew by listening to his uncle''s request and gave Loriel what he wanted. Cough cough. Marc didn''t mean to eavesdrop. "No, Loriel... you don''t need the ring," Elise said. "I will marry you." "What did you say?" Loriel thought he didn''t hear her properly. His heart felt like it was bursting out of his chest. "I¡­ I ept your proposal, Loriel." Elise batted her eyes and gave Loriel a smile. "You don''t need to give me a ring right away, I will marry you." Marc Sanderman didn''t want to admit it aloud, but this dog food was almost like all of those dramas that he sometimes found himself watching. It was both entertaining and exciting that hanging up right now seemed like a terrible idea. What happened right after this? "Really? You ept?" "Yes, I''ll repeat it again, Loriel. I will marry you." Both Loriel and Marc couldn''t believe their ears when she said it, but Elise just said yes! Meanwhile, on Elise''s side, she felt her heart pound when she heard Loriel propose to her. Tears also started dripping down her cheeks. It was as if she heard the most beautiful solemn oath to her. Elise didn''t realize that she was looking for something like this after all. She knew that marriage was a huge leap in their rtionship, but she blushed as Loriel pulled her into his arms. Satisfaction and a sense of unexinable relief flooded her chest. It was as if there was a certain part of her that was always holding back a little, but hearing him promise that he loved her and wanted her to be his wife made Elise incredibly happy. "Shall we get married as soon as possible?" Loriel whispered into her ears after they kissed again. His breath was warm and it tickled her ear. The way that he whispered with his hoarse voice made her heart beat a little faster. "That''s fine with me¡­ but can it be a simple one?" Elise responded as she hugged him back. While she epted his proposal, she still didn''t want him to spend too much money on avish wedding. It didn''t seem right. Elise simply wanted to enjoy the two of them dedicating their lives together. Elise already imagined what their future would be together and she was already happy. "I can give you the grandest and most festive wedding the world has ever witnessed, or we can also do it in private, because I am greedy and I don''t want to share you with anyone else, even if it''s only to witness our nuptials," Loriel replied. "As long as we get married, it doesn''t matter what kind of wedding we have at all." Elise looked at Loriel deeply and smiled. She really liked the man''s voice when he promised her the world and how he much he loved her that he wasn''t even willing to share her with other humans. She said again, "I think I would like the intimate small wedding." "How intimate?" Loriel grinned and asked her with his husky voice. The man pulled back a little, to give a chaste kiss on her lips. "We can actually have our own wedding ceremony here in this very room if you''d like. It cannot get more intimate than that." Elise coughed violently and hit the man on the chest. "Are you serious, Loriel?!" The manughed and said, "So, is that a no? Okay¡­" Elise loved the man for his sense of humor. She pinched him and said, "We don''t have the wedding in the bedroom, but the consummation. You seem to mistake the proposal for marriage as a proposal for sex." "I did?" Loriel said yfully. He grabbed her close and nted a deep kiss on her lips. Elise remembered that the two of them were together in her room and the bed was incredibly close for them. Why did the realization of this make her feel excited? "Anything you want, Elise. Speak the word and I''ll make it happen," Loriel promised her with a doting smile. Elise stared at his lips and found her throat a little dry. She couldn''t possibly be thinking about sleeping with him right after he proposed to her, could she? Elise gulped slightly and pushed some hair behind her ear. "Well, I do want to invite some people when that happens, so a bedroom wedding is definitely not what I envision for it. I think that this room is only fit for the two of us." "That''s right, hmm¡­ would you like to ask for some help in nning the wedding? I know you said that you want it to be simple, so asking for some assistance will make it easier." "Well¡­ I think I have to let Alex know, so maybe I can consult with her," Elise said. "That sounds like a great idea." Loriel cupped Elise''s cheek with his hand and smiled gently. The thought that the two of them would be together again as husband and wife made him incredibly excited. Elise leaned against his palm. Even just his touch was enough to make her heart pound. "But I''ll have to do it tomorrow during work." "That''s fine too, we can spend the rest of the evening together." Elise was getting distracted having his warm body pressed against hers, and she was bing all too aware of their closeness again. "Ah, now that we have our ns for the wedding covered¡­ what do we do next?" "What do you want to do, Elise?" Loriel asked. He recognized the suddenly shy demeanor of Elise. She sometimes became like this whenever she wanted to have sex with him¡­ was he imagining it? So, he smiled broadly and asked her yfully. "We''ll get Alex to help with the wedding. So, it''s covered. You did say you want an intimate wedding. Since Alex will cover the wedding part, should we cover the intimate part tonight?" Elise huped. Loriel always knew what she wanted, it seemed. She was feeling aroused by their closeness and the euphoria from his proposal earlier. She did want to celebrate their engagement by having mind-blowing sex tonight. It was only fitting. So, she bit her lip and nodded shyly. Marc couldn''t hear Elise''s reply, but his gut told him it was time to hang up. . . ********** PS: Thank you so, so much for your support to this book. I am sorry, I couldn''t publish chapters in September because I was focusing on Loriel''s story in "The Cursed Prince". I will resume new chapters on October 1. I will give mass release on October 1 topensate for theck of chapters in September.. I hope you are okay with that. xx Chapter 158 - I Love You So Much, Wifey ** Should he hang up, though? What if¡­ what if his uncle needed him? Marc pped himself and immediately disconnected the call. He suddenly heard a moan from the other end, and it was not Elise''s voice. Oh my god¡­ my perception of Loriel is tainted forever, Marc thought while massaging his temple. He could guess what the couple was doing now after the romantic proposal. Usually, that''s how a proposal ended, right? They would be drowned in euphoria and felt drunk in love. The feeling was intoxicating and made them wanted to vent it. Making love would be the best way to do it. Ahh¡­ well, Marc could only guess though. He was never so invested in a woman that he wanted to end his bachelor days and get married to one. He was happy for Loriel. Elise seemed to be exactly what he needed in his life to be happy. Marc didn''t need a woman to make him feel happy and fulfilled. He had his job and his many girlfriends for that. Ahh.. speaking of girlfriends, he actually had not had a new one in weeks. He was so busy with the end-of-year projects and taking care of Loriel''s requests. Maybe he should get a new one soon. The man took his phone and dialed some numbers. He leaned on the back of hisfy chair and talked on the phone. "Natalie, honey¡­ how have you been? I am thinking of spending the weekend in Paris. Life has been so hectictely. Are you in town?" *** Elise and Loriel were overwhelmed by the celebration of their love just now with Loriel''s proposal. They kissed and started to undress each other. Loriel''s heart fluttered with joy and excitement and it was filled with love to the brim. He was over the moon because in this life, his wife fell in love with him again. She had epted his love confession and they had be intimate. The next thing to do was formalize their union in a wedding. Gosh¡­ he couldn''t wait to walk down the aisle with her. He couldn''t wait to take her traveling the world. He wanted them to try to conceive again. He wanted their home to be filled with theughter of their children. This time, he believed Elise could be able to carry their babies to full term because the modern medicine advancement could help strengthen her weak body. She would be all right. Their children would be all right too. Loriel envisioned the family he would raise with Elise as he peppered her face with kisses and then lowered his lips to her corbone and gave her more sensual kisses. Then, he went lower and yed with her breasts, which immediately made Elise let out a long moan. She gripped her nails on the man''s back. Loriel smiled and continued his attacks on his wife. He yed with her breast, kneaded them and suck on her nipples alternately, eager to please her and made the night of their proposal a memorable one. "Oh, Loriel¡­" Elise felt overwhelmed by pleasure and kept calling the man''s name. He was so good to her. And he seemed to know her like the back of his hand. He went to her stomach and then went even lower. Elise remembered how good she felt when he went down on her, so instinctively, her body slowly opened her legs, as if asking the man to do his job there. Loriel was only happy to oblige. He held her knees and supported them as he went to her fold and suck her clitoris greedily. She was so wet down there and he couldn''t get enough of her love juice. "Ahh¡­." Elise closed her eyes and screamed. She grabbed Loriel''s hair when she got her first release. It felt so, so good. Loriel looked up and saw her face in a state of bliss. Gosh, she was so beautiful! How could he be this lucky twice? He thank his lucky stars and went up to her lips and kissed her. Elise automatically responded to his kiss and hugged his back lovingly. Their bodies intertwined on the soft bed and they continued making out to their hearts'' content. Loriel continued pampering his wife with more kisses and slow forey, to satisfy her before he decided to take his turn. Elise had got her third orgasm when the man turned her around and raised her hips. "I will make you feel good," he whispered and licked her earlobe. Elise''s tickled and squirmed under his arms. Loriel positioned his wife to be on all four and he showered her back with kisses, before he slowly entered her from behind. Elise instantly felt full. This position never failed to fill her up in a way that other positions couldn''t. Loriel''s rockhard manhood touched her insides and filled every space. She arched her back and let out a long moan. Her breath started panting and she gripped the sheets tightly when Loriel started to push his shaft in and out of her pussy. Loriel took his time because he felt so good. His penis was mped tightly by her fold and every time he moved it, his brain received massive pleasure signals that were spread all over his body. Loriel pumped faster when Elise''s moans became more intense and he became more and more aroused. He bent down while pumping and grabbed her breasts. He kneaded her nipples erotically much to Elise''s delight. She was overwhelmed by pleasure from both her pussy and her breasts, and when Loriel''s speed increased, she could no longer hold back. She screamed her lungs out and she copsed to her bed. She was sent to the seventh heaven andpletely forgot her surroundings. Loriel immediately pumped more rapidly to catch up with her. Several minutester, his body trembled slightly and he reached his peak. The man didn''t remember to ask again, he just assumed Elise would want him to release his seeds inside her. So, he did. He let out a long moan when he shot his load and then fell on top of her. "Aahhh¡­." Loriel kissed her nape and immediately rolled to the side.. He pulled her into his embrace and nted more kisses on her nape and hair. "I love you¡­ I love you so much, Wifey¡­" Chapter 159 - Should We Move In Together? They enjoyed the afterglow together for a good half an hour before they decided to leave the bed and had dinner. Loriel wanted to continue with their lovemaking for the next rounds and if possible until morning came. However, he didn''t want her to skip dinner for sex, no matter how mindblowing it was. His Elise naturally had a weak body and he wanted to care for her and make sure that she wouldn''t fall ill. "Let''s eat something," he whispered to her ear and kissed her forehead. "Then, we can cuddle in bed and talk about the wedding or our ns for the future," Elise opened her eyes and smiled faintly. She like that. Loriel got down from the bed and put on his clothes back. He gave Elise a night robe so she could wear it. Ahh.. if only he also had his robe in her bedroom, it would be nice. He didn''t have to put his clothes on just to have dinner. Who knows, they would do it again after they eat? "Thank you," said Elise. She got down from the bed and put on the robe. Her hair was slightly damp because of the vigorous lovemaking earlier. Her face flushed red looking fresh and healthy. She looked so stunningly beautiful. "I wish I had my robe here too," said Loriel in regret. He cast his nce around the room and thought this room was quite spacious. Even if he moved in here, there was still so much space for them both. But, would Elise ept him to invade her space? His wife in the past would be so happy to have him in her chamber. In fact, she asked their butler to move some of Loriel''s stuff into her chamber so the man would have his clothes and other necessities when they spent time together. But the current Elise¡­ would she do the same? "Do you want to have some of your clothes here, Loriel?" Elise looked at the man with her big doe eyes and made his heart flutter. For a few seconds, Loriel couldn''t remember that he had to answer her question. "Huh?" "I said, do you want to move some of your clothes here?" Elise repeated her question. "That way¡­ when you need to get dressed after we¡­ uhm, you can." "Can I?" Loriel was beaming with happiness when he heard her suggestion. He thought this was a really good sign. Maybe he could ask her about moving in together. Well, they already lived in the same house, but until now they had their own bedrooms. They were sharing a bedroom in Japan but it was during the holiday and it would be weird to have their own rooms in the hotels they were staying at as guests and sleep separately. But now they were back at home and were already engaged to be married. Soon, they would be husband and wife anyway. Shouldn''t they start sleeping together from now on? He would want her to be the first thing he saw in the morning after he opened his eyes, and thest thing he saw at night before he closed them. "Yes, you can," Elise replied. "Uhm¡­ I''m actually thinking of moving in with you," Loriel continued his words. Elise furrowed her brows. "We already live together." "No, I mean.. uhm, we will soon get married and be husband and wife (again). And we will sleep together every night after we get married." Loriel looked at his wife deeply. "What do you think if we sleep in the same room from now on?" "Ohh¡­" Elise cast her nce around her room and tried to imagine if she would befortable sharing this ce with Loriel. Well, they just got engaged. She still had time to get used to him on her bed, in her room. But now, it seemed Loriel wanted them to start sleeping together in the same room? "I mean¡­ I understand if you don''t want to do it before we get married," Loriel quickly said, He didn''t want to make her ufortable. "I can wait. Or if you want us to move in together, we can also stay in my room. You can have the walk-in closet. I don''t use it much." Elise chuckled when she heard him. The woman pursed her lips. "Uhm¡­ can we think about it after we eat? I''m hungry." "Ah, of course," said Loriel. "I am just making a suggestion. You don''t have to say yes or no. But I will definitely bring some of my clothes here." "Okay." "Shall we eat?" "Yes, please." Loriel took Elise''s hand and took her to the dining room. He decided to not bring up the subject again. If Elise wanted to sleep with him in the same room, she would say so. Loriel would just wait to hear what she decided. Loriel quickly whipped up two steaks for them and the couple ate heartily. They talked about their holiday in Japan and the proposal today. Elise agreed to consult Alex on the wedding ns. After dinner, they came back to Elise''s room. Loriel wanted to take his clothes from his room to bring to Elise''s ce, but the woman suddenly stopped him. She said, "I''ve been thinking¡­" "Yes?" Loriel looked at Elise intently. "Is there anything you want?" "I think it''s better if I put some of my clothes in YOUR bedroom." She touched his hand and squeezed it. "The thing is, I work, and sometimes I have to get up earlier than you since I have to go to the office." She added, "So if I left, you can still sleep in your own bed. But if you came and sleep in my room and then I have to leave you, you might have to move to your own room to continue your rest." "Oh¡­" Loriel nodded in understanding. "I see." "Your room is also bigger and nicer," Elise chuckled. "So, I hope to move thereter when we are married. That''s why it''s good if we practice from now." Loriel grinned happily. He liked Elise''s logic. . ---------------- From the author: For The Cursed Prince, I write as I go, but for The Cursed King, I usually have a rough draft of what I want and every day I will revisit the draft and decide to change something or not (so, double work). Sometimes I will add more things to the draft and the story will change a little.. Just like today, I decided to add more banter between Loriel and Elise on whether they should move in together or not, instead of immediately move the scene to the next day. Chapter 160 - Should She Call Him Hubby? The very next day at around dawn, Marc Sanderman wasn''t actually surprised when he received a text from his uncle that Elise was going to take some time off from work after they got married, for an indefinite time. Loriel really wanted to make up for the lost time and have his wife to himself. He had been patient enough to share her with her work and her coworkers. Now, he wanted to spend so much time with her, traveling the world under the excuse of going on a honeymoon. Ha. If it was up to him, Loriel would take Elise on an indefinite honeymoon. They would live their lives every day being in love and enjoying being pampered. He had so many beautiful ces and amazing experiences that he would want to show his beloved. [So, does this mean she epted your proposal?] Marc asked excitedly. Loriel narrowed his eyes and grumbled, ''What kind of stupid question is that? Of course, she epted my proposal? Who would I marry and have a honeymoon with if Elise rejected me?'' He massaged his temple, holding back from rolling his eyes. No matter what, Marc was his family. He shouldn''t be too harsh. Mr. Sanderman Sr. was so loyal and good to him. And the man begged Loriel on his deathbed to take good care of his son, Marc. Very well. Loriel had to copy Elise''s way of doing things. She always saw the good in people and thought in a positive way. Maybe Marc was just excited and asked unnecessary questions. Loriel should forgive his stupidity this time. The former king turned to his side and saw his wife''s sleeping face. She looked so beautiful and at peace. Smiling, Loriel typed in his reply to Marc. [She did.] Marc heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed like Marc made a good call by hanging upst night and leaving the two to have their intimate moment. While Marc was interested in learning more about his grand-uncle, it didn''t mean that he was eager to know too much. For now, he sent a reply for the sess of the proposal. [Congrattions, Uncle!] [Have Alex prepare wedding ideas today, Elise will be consulting with her.] [Of course, Uncle.] Marc didn''t tell Loriel that he hung around for a bit when Loriel called himst night--he didn''t have a death wish. Instead, he said yes. Surely the two of them didn''t have sex until this time and they were just going to bed, were they? Marc coughed and shook the thoughts away from his head and instead sent another text to his assistant. [When you get to work, focus on making several wedding ns] [When is the wedding, by the way?] Marc sent his reply to Loriel. The man smiled happily when he read Loriel''s order. Ahh.. his uncle seemed very happy. Marc was happy for him too. So, after the sessful proposal, Marc assumed Loriel''s next n was to n a wedding. [As soon as possible.] Came a reply from Loriel Marc was sure that Alex was going to get some kind of heart attack once she heard the news and he was all for it. This was going to be fun for him and he thought it was about time that his grand-uncle was going to be happy in life. Loriel didn''t want to wake up since Elise was still fast asleep. He still wanted to hug her in his embrace. So, he snuggled closer and hugged her back, before closing his eyes. It felt so warm, in contrast to the snowing city outside of their windows. *** Last night was filled with mind-blowing sex that made Elise blush heavily when she woke up in Loriel''s arms. Even just the proposal was enough to get her excited to spend time with him. For now, though, Elise got up and prepared for the day. Or at least attempted to. Loriel''s arm hung protectively across her waist and the man was fast asleep. Somehow, Elise could already imagine what their future was like¡­ and it was very familiar? Maybe she was just being silly. The two of them have never stayed together like this and it was just her heart being silly. Last night they decided to spend it on Loriel''s bedroom. Since it was the master bedroom, it was bigger and nicer than hers, which was already amazing on its own. His bed wasfy and huge. They had sex on his bed after dinner and then decided to cuddle and watched some show. Then, before sleeping, they had sex again. It was tiring but so fulfilling. She felt her heart flutter and her cheeks flush when she saw the man sleeping peacefully beside her. She could see his chiseled physique from up close and she couldn''t help but licked her lips. Ahh.. this man was too good-looking, she thought. She felt lucky that this attractive and sensitive man was in love with her. After they got engaged, Loriel even called her ''Wifey'' when they were making love. This thought made Elise''s beat faster. Gosh¡­ why did feel so good when she heard him call her ''wife''? Was she that excited to be married to him soon? His voice when calling her ''wife'' had a certain charm to it, that made Elise love hearing it more than her own name. ''I must be obsessed with wedding and marriage because of the proposal,'' Elise thought to herself. It had only been one day, but his calling her ''Wifey'' was all she was thinking about. Should she call him ''hubby''? Uff¡­ that sounds cheesy, she thought. She tried to practice calling the man ''hubby'' by a whisper. It felt weird. Ahahaha¡­ It was so hard to get herself to call the man she used to call by name as ''hubby. She wondered how Loriel could so it so easily. After Loriel confessed his love to Elise and said he wanted to be in a rtionship with her, Loriel had started calling her ''honey''. He did it effortlessly, even though they had never dated before. They started as friends who became roommates. And then,st night, right after he proposed, Loriel had started calling Elise his wife. Also effortlessly. And that word came out of his lips so naturally as if they were already husband and wife. How could he do it so easily? Elise was wondering, And here she was, trying to whisper the word ''hubby'' to see how it would feel¡­ and she almost rolled on the floorughing. ''It''s so haaaard. So hard..'' Elise''s lips twitched, holding back herughter. Chapter 161 - Telling Alex The Good News ''Loriel was truly a special man'', Elise thought to herself. ''His adaptability is so great. He could immediately position himself as a boyfriend, and then husband. I am not that good.'' She looked at the handsome man who worked hardst night to pleasure her and now he was sleeping like a baby. He looked at peace. Ahh¡­ Elise realized she had to start taking a more active role in their lovemaking. She felt embarrassed by the fact that she had always been pampered and doted on and the man always made sure she was satisfied before he got his own pleasure. Loriel also seemed to know all her sensual spots. He was like a sex god who always knew the right thing to do when it came to her body. Elise decided, she must reciprocate and do the same to him. She wanted him to feel good and pleasantly surprised when they had sex someday and Elise took charge of their lovemaking. Ahh.. maybe she should start asking other women about intimacy and what men like in bed. She was too inexperienced. Loriel was the only man she had ever had sex with. But¡­ but¡­ it''s too embarrassing. Maybe she should just do her research online. Loriel had taught her that if she needed anything at all, she would definitely be able to find them on the inte. She should do it. She smiled and touched Loriel''s strand of hair, admiring his sleeping face. She tried not to see his chiseled chest and his bare stomach. The man was lying naked under the duvet. Elise didn''t want to dirty her mind so early in the morning. Besides, she had to get ready for work. She gently tried to pry Loriel''s arm off of her. "Good morning, Loriel. I hope you had a good rest. I still need to get to work, so I will have to get ready now." "Can''t you stay here for a little more?" Loriel affectionately nuzzled her neck. Elise smiled but kissed his forehead. "We''ll have the entirety of our lives to be together once we get married. I''m getting up so I can tell Alex the news and prepare for it." Loriel''s eyes opened at Elise''s words and he reached out to kiss her. "Then we should get to thepany right now." "You should just continue your sleep," said Elise dotingly. Loriel quickly got up. "No.. it''s fine I have slept a lot. Let''s get ready." "Ahahaha.. okay then." It didn''t take too long for the two of them to get up and prepare. Loriel normally would have woken up far earlier to help Elise start her day with work, but sleeping with Elise in his arms was just tooforting. He missed this so much. There was a certain bounce in his steps as Loriel took Elise to her work. While he may have wanted her to stop working then and there, he knew that Elise still wanted to work and have a separate and fulfilling career besides getting married to him. Now that Elise was off to work though, Loriel could concentrate on having Marc get in contact with those from Germany. He had no idea where their old wedding ring was, but now he was going to have his people trace it down and retrieve it at once. *** Alex was incredibly busy with Marc''s sudden requests that she didn''t notice when Elise first stepped inside of her office. The woman was looking at all the wedding gowns and wondering about what kind of woman would be wearing them. "The mermaid style is always a ssic, but what if she''s more suited for a column dress?" Alex had no frame of reference at all. Marc failed to mention the woman who was getting married so it was hard to pre-book with a fashion designer now to start making the gown or even what kind to make. Not to mention, Alex herself was very curious if Marc was really going to tie the knot and settle down for real. It seemed very early for him to do such a thing. "Ah, good morning, Alex. Are you busy?" Alex quickly whirled around after closing the tabs on her workputer. She did not want Elise to see what she was looking at and instead gave her a smile. "Good morning too, Elise. How are you doing?" "I''m doing good¡­ great actually," Elise admitted with a smile. Now that Alex was looking at Elise, there was a certain glow to her that seemed to be present on the woman''s face. "That''s great to hear. What can I do for you?" "I actually wanted to ask for some of your help in something not exactly work-rted?" Elise asked. "If that''s okay with you?" Alex couldn''t help but smile at Elise''s polite request. "My boss has asked me to do things that aren''t exactly rted to thepany at all and they''re more like personal errands. I am more than happy to do a favor for my friend." "Thank you so much, Alex! You''re the first person that came to my mind--I wanted to discuss some wedding ideas with you." Alex''s eyes widened. "You''re engaged?" "Yes!" The wheels in Alex''s mind started turning. It couldn''t be just a coincidence that the same time that Marc asked her to make wedding ns is the same moment that Elise approached her for the very same thing. Was this the reason or was it just coincidence? Either way, it was one of the first times that Marc''s crazy requests actually helped Alex to support a person she considered a friend, so this was great. "You don''t have to worry at all, Elise." Alex grabbed her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "With my help, you''ll have the best wedding you can ever imagine." "I really just want a simple one though," Elise said. "A small intimate wedding." "Of course, the best wedding that is as simple and elegant as it can be. You can count on me. I was actuallypiling a mood board for wedding dresses, do you want to take a look now?" "I''d love to!" . ----------------- From the author: I have finally been able to update the app and I can see all the new features including the Golden Ticket! Omg.. thank you so much for voting your golden tickets to this book. I am sorry I cannot see beyond the Top 3 supporters, so I cannot thank you one by one. Attached is the Golden Ticket votes that this book gets per today. Thank you Fairytale83, Mahmuda_Akhter, and Tania87. And to all of you who have voted to The Cursed King.. Thank you so much. I love you! Chapter 162 - He Was Alone And Lonely Thest couple of days almost seemed like a dream to Elise. There wasn''t much work that needed to be done at the office so Alex and she spent most of it chatting and talking about the wedding and the preparations needed to be done. Alex was unbelievably prepared and organized when it came to her suggestions. She showed off a small presentation with already possible locations listed off, depending on what Elise wanted. Alex was very thorough with her boss'' requests. "If you''ll be having your wedding at a beach, I don''t rmend that you get one that''s incredibly light-weight as the wind can blow it¡­ so the good fabric for it is a slinky kind of silk," Alex said. "I see¡­" Alex smiled and clicked the next presentation. "You don''t have to worry about it getting wet or have sand in it either, but maybe you don''t want one at the beach. Let''s move on to the garden wedding theme." Elise was so excited when she saw the mood boards prepared by Alex. She only epted Loriel''s proposal because she was in love with the man and she could visualize how happy their lives together would be. However, she didn''t expect herself to be so immersed in so many wedding frills after she saw the dresses, outdoor wedding setting, the decorations, and basically everything that a woman normally liked as a part of their dream wedding. She didn''t grow up watching romance movies or reading romance books. And she didn''t have any dream wedding in mind. Heck, she couldn''t even dream about her childhood and her life before she became Madeline York. So, seeing the beautiful and dreamy wedding mood boards presented by Alex made Elise''s heart flutter. Now, she was looking forward to the wedding itself. She still didn''t want the grand and over-the-top wedding scene, but she started thinking about the sweet decoration, the intimate guest lists, and how beautiful she would look in her wedding dress. "These are all so nice," Elise gushed. She turned to Alex and added, "You are so talented. Maybe you should open your own wedding nner business." Alex had sooo many collections of ideas that Elise found it hard to choose. The beautiful assistant to the Sanderman Group CEO chuckled at thepliment. "I know a lot of things, usually. Ites down to the line of work as Marc''s assistant," Alex exined. "That includes preparing for weddings?" Elise raised a brow. Alex nodded with a tired smile. "If ites down to it, I can prepare and pick up the necessary skillset when I can." "That''s amazing," Elise praised Alex. She kept switching her attention from boards to boards. Too many great choices for her dream simple wedding. Elise didn''t know that Alex had already prepared them beforehand in just a couple of hours because of Marc so she was already impressed. If she knew that though, she would have gotten a tad worried about Alex always getting so much work because of her. "Do any of these designs catch your attention?" Alex prompted her again as they went over the themes. "Hmmm¡­ I think I like that dress and think it would fit one at the cathedral venue you chose. It''s small and very intimate." Elise also thought that it reminded her a little bit of a castle with its old architectural designs. Somehow, that made it feel nostalgic for some reason. "Alright, we''re settled with that one then so I''llpile all of this forter. Now for our next concern." Alex then pulled up another slide and then showed off several cake designs. "As for the wedding cake though, what do you have in mind? How manyyers?" "Now this is the fun part," Elise smiled. "Actually, I took up a baking course recently." "Ah¡­" Alex said. "I think you mentioned that before. How was it?" "Yes, I have. It was great! You tasted the cupcakes I brought you before, right?" "Ah, I thought you bought them at some cafe." "Well, the batch of those cupcakes was prepared by my teacher." Elise smiled. "Don''t you think the cupcakes were cute? White frosting and maybe some sequin candy?" "So a design like that then? I think I have something like that." "I can maybe ask Chef Lucy to prepare the wedding cake," Elise was deep in thought. She was thinking about whether she should invite Lucius to her wedding. They were not that close, but she didn''t have many friends either. And it would be awkward to ask Lucius to make a cake for her wedding and he was not invited. Hmm¡­ she had to ask Loriel what he thought about this. This was not just Elise''s wedding. She wanted to know if Loriel was against anyone on her invitation list and if Loriel himself had anyone in particr that he wanted to invite. So far, Elise only knew Marc from Loriel''s side. Did Loriel have other friends or acquaintances? Or maybe distant rtives? Estranged family members? Since they would be married and be family soon, Elise wanted to know everything about Loriel, including his friends and family, if he had any. He seemed like a loner, though. So, Elise would understand if he was truly alone. But, there was no harm in asking. Right? *** "Family?" Loriel furrowed his brows when he heard Elise''s question. He looked at her deeply and tried to find the right words to answer her question without lying too much. He already felt guilty for hiding the truth from her and lied to her about so many things. Those were all white lies, but he still felt bad about it. Unlike the old Loriel who could lie so easily without batting an eye, the current Loriel actually started feeling guilty. Elise was too pure, sweet, and kind, that being around her made Loriel wanted to be a good person. A liar was not a good person, no matter what was the excuse to justify the lies. However, dejectedly, he thought it was not the time yet to let the cat out of the bag. What if Elise felt betrayed and left him? He needed more time to make up for everything and let her see how much he had changed. ''What can I say? You are my family, Wifey. I don''t have anyone else in this world, but you.'' Loriel bit his lip and held his breath. "Yes, your family," said Elise with a smile. She touched Loriel''s cheek lovingly. "I know you once said that you don''t have anyone in this world because your family is all gone. But I thought maybe you were talking about your immediate family and you actually still have distant rtives or¡­ maybe estranged family members that you just don''t want to talk about." ''Well¡­ Marc IS my distant rtive. We are 75-generations apart. It can''t be more distant than that.'' Loriel wanted tough at his own thought but he held back. The former king shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I don''t have estranged family members either. There is only me, alone." He smartly avoided lying about not having any distant family members. "Oh... so, there is really no one?" Elise asked softly. Loriel shook his head and looked down dejectedly. It made Elise''s heart ached. She finally confirmed that this man was really alone. And she could tell that he was lonely. "I am sorry to hear that," she whispered. "But know this, Loriel... You are no longer alone. Now, you have me." She wrapped her hands around his neck and nted a kiss on his lips. Loriel felt so touched by her initiative that his eyes became teary. He immediately batted his eyes to get rid of the tears. He shouldn''t be seen crying by his wife. She would think he was not manly or¡­ she might pity him. Yes, Loriel was alone throughout these fifteen centuries, and he was very lonely, However, he didn''t want her to know how miserable and sad he was. She might feel guilty for leaving him and¡­ Ah¡­ he really didn''t want to remember it. What''s in the past, let it stay in the past. He was given a second chance and he wanted to start afresh with his wife. Actually, secretly, Loriel was thinking about leaving everything behind and just start over his life with Elise. If Elise never regained her memory, why should he told her about what happened in the past and made her sad? Didn''t people say ''Ignorance is bliss''? Elise was living a happy life now, and she was also healthy. If Loriel could keep her in this bubble forever and made her happy, it should be okay. Right? If she someday remembered, then they could have a sit down together and talked about it. "I love you. I love you so much, Wifey," Loriel whispered dotingly and kissed Elise passionately. "I will do anything for you and make you happy." . . --------------- From the author: Thank you so, so much for your support to this book. I am sorry, I couldn''t publish chapters in September because I was focusing on Loriel''s story in "The Cursed Prince". I will resume new chapters on October 1. I will give mass release on October 1 topensate for theck of chapters in September.. I hope you are okay with that. xx Chapter 163 - Loriel Decides To Move Into Elises Chamber It was a beautiful evening and the couple enjoyed it by cooking together and ate dinner while chatting about the wedding. It was so heartwarming. Elise told Loriel about some of the wedding ideas presented by Alex and asked the man about his preference. Loriel shook his head and smiled dotingly. "I like everything you like. You can have the wedding of your dream and I want to be part of it." "Hmm.. don''t you have anything specific that you want regarding the wedding?" Elise asked again. "I am not the only one getting married here. Are you not interested in our wedding?" Loriel''s eyes went droopy at hearing this question. He remembered their first wedding. He was mentally not present because his mind was not with his body. He only wanted the wedding ceremony to be over with so they could get on with their lives. Now, looking at his innocent wife, he was feeling a pang of guilt for the past. He decided, this time he would do things right, including for their wedding. "Hmm... I am a man who is not talented at such things," finally, he admitted truthfully. "I don''t have any more family or friends to invite. I only have you, and Marc. I promise you, that I am invested in the wedding and will do my best to be a good husband to you in our marriage going forward." He added, "Maybe, there is only one thing that I want to have at the wedding. Once the wedding ceremony ends, I want to drink a cup of wine with you to formalize our marriage." "Wine?" Elise looked interested. "We drink wine all the time. What makes this wine special that we have to do it after the wedding?" Loriel smiled faintly. "Well, it''s not the wine, but the cup. It''s special." "Oh..." Elise''s eyes batted in excitement. She was happy to know that Loriel wanted something specific about their wedding. It showed that he was invested too. "Okay. That sounds good. I will make sure to include that." Loriel was d he still kept the wine cup he used to drink their wedding ceremony wine from 15 centuries ago. It symbolized many things to him now and he would love to restart his marriage with Elise in a good way. Ahh, he couldn''t help but think about the past whenever he saw the cup. He kept it in his small ''museum'' where he kept many antiques and old artifacts that made up probably the most valuable collection in the world now. *** "Your Majesty," Horatio knocked on the king''s study door frantically. His face looked worried and helpless. This made Loriel dropped the quill in his hand and immediately rose from his seat. "What happened?" he asked the man. Horatio bowed down his head several times. "Her Majesty is very sick. I have called the royal physician and we are waiting for his arrival. I want to let you know what happened." Loriel left his study before Horatio even finished speaking. The Summerian king was really worried when he heard Elise was sick. She looked finest night, he thought. After he apologized to her for teasing her and making her cry, she was willing to eat something and rest. However, she refused when Loriel offered to sleep with her for the night. She said she didn''t want to disturb the king''s sleep since he just returned from the frontline and needed quality sleep. Loriel knew it was her polite way to tell him to scram. It was his own fault that he made her cry earlier and even though he had apologized, he felt that Elise''s treatment of him was justified. Secretly, he actually felt impressed that Elise stood up for herself. He thought his wife was a pushover. Even though she didn''t say it openly, the way she phrased her words showed that she didn''t want Loriel to stay at her chamber. Well, Loriel was a man and he had his ego. So, he didn''t need to be told twice and decided to leave her alone. He slept in his own chamber for the night and in the morning he started his day like usual. When he didn''t see Elise in the dining room for breakfast he asked Horatio where she was. His loyal butler assured him that the queen already had her breakfast in her chamber and didn''t feel like going out. So, Loriel left her be. He thought probably Elise was still angry at him and didn''t want to see him for a while. Fine. He could ept that. When he went back to his chamber to get dressed before he attended a meeting with his ministers, he was surprised to see most of his clothes were already back in his closet. Weren''t they in his wife''s chamber already? Why did she have them returned here? Gosh.. now, how could he use those clothes as an excuse toe to Elise''s chamber? Loriel thought it was fine if Elise didn''t want him to spend the night with her and she didn''t want to see him during mealtime. But if his clothes were still in her chamber, at least the king would be able to go there and visit her to ''get his favorite clothes to wear''. Now, he realized his n failed miserably. Had Elise started to hate him? The man''s heart felt hurt at this thought. He was used to seeing the adoration look on Elise''s eyes whenever she saw him, but now she didn''t even want to see him? She had avoided him in breakfast... would she avoid him for lunch and dinner too? She was pregnant with their baby and he understood that her mood was probably not the best right now, so, Loriel tried to be understanding. He let her be and tried to focus on his work, even though his mind was all over the ce. And now, suddenly Horatio told him that Elise became sick? Gosh... foolish woman! Loriel no longer cared that Elise didn''t want to see him after he made her cry yesterday. He walked in long steps toward the east tower to get to his wife''s chamber. He must see her and tell her that from today onward, they would share a chamber. He must see her every day and make sure that she and their baby were fine. KNOCK KNOCK Loriel knocked twice and opened the door to his wife''s chamber. There were several maids inside who immediately bowed down deeply when they saw the king. Elise was curled up in a ball on her bed. Her face looked as white as cotton. Loriel immediately approached Elise''s bed with worry stered all over his face. "How long has she been like this?" he asked the maids. His expression looked so fierce that they stepped back out of fear. Even though they didn''t do anything wrong, they were worried the king would punish them for their failure to take care of his wife. One of them, who was the oldest one, exerted her courage and replied to Loriel''s question, albeit with a stammer. "H-her... M-majesty suddenly fell ill an hour ago." "That long?" Loriel was furious. "Why didn''t anyone tell me????" Elise tried to sit up with difficulty when she saw Loriel. She reached out her hand and gripped the man''s arm. Her voice was weak when she begged him to spare the maids. "Your.. Majesty... it''s not.. their fault. I suddenly felt unwell, and I thought it was just a regr morning sickness..." Loriel''s expression instantly turned gentle when he turned to Elise and sat by the bed, beside her. He touched her forehead and cheeks to see if she had a fever. "Do you have bad morning sickness?" Elise nodded weakly. "Sometimes." "Oh... then you have to get better care," said Loriel. "Why didn''t you tell me about this?" Elise didn''t reply. She looked away and slowly tears started dripping from the corners of her eyes. Loriel assumed this must be the raging pregnancy hormones that she cried so easily for nothing. He waved at the maids and sent them out. "All of you, wait outside. When Zaffes, bring him inside." "Will do, Your Majesty," the maid all responded in unison, while bowing down deeply. They walked out of the queen''s chamber and closed the door behind them. They stood outside the chamber while waiting for Zaff the royal physician. Loriel pulled Elise to his embrace and tugged her chin to look in his direction. His eyes looked very serious when he spoke. "This can''t do. From now on, I will move into this chamber and stay with you. This is for our child." Actually, this was for him too. He couldn''t bear to be apart from her while she was carrying their baby. But he could only say that he did it for the child. He had his pride. He also felt hurt if she no longer loved him. Not when he had already decided to consummate their marriage and tried to make things work. Loriel added, "I need to make sure that I can be with you when you are unwell. So, I don''t want to hear an excuse. After Zaff checks on your condition, I will ask Horatio to move my personal belongings to this chamber." Elise looked at the man with a disbelief expression. She couldn''t understand what Loriel actually wanted. Did he really want to move in to be with her, or only for the baby? However, Loriel misunderstood her gaze and added, "I will move out after the child is born." Elise lowered her head and bit her lip. Ahh... so, it wasn''t for her. She nodded weakly and replied, "Understood, Your Majesty." Chapter 164 - The Vulnerable Wife Zaff the royal physician finally arrived and he checked on Elise''s condition. The man confirmed Loriel''s biggest fear that his wife''s body was too weak to carry a baby, just like her mother. Elise never met her mother because thete queen of Myreen passed away during childbirth. Elise was raised by her grandmother from her father''s side. Loriel had met the old woman. Myrce Leoralei was still beautiful even though she was already in her seventies. She looked gentle in appearance, but Loriel could feel how fierce that woman was. Her gaze was so deep that it felt like it could prate his soul, and to be honest, he was scared of her. Loriel was happy Elise didn''t take after her grandmother. She was sweet and gentle on the outside as she was on the inside. He looked at his wife who was sleeping on her bed after Zaff gave her sleeping potion so she could rest and relieve her pain. Elise''s face was pale and she looked so fragile. Loriel was thinking about his own mother. She only passed awayst year after she was ill for a while. She had a good life as the second wife of the previous king of Summeria. She bore sons for her husband, even though the younger ones died of illness, and she was loved by the king. Maxim was raised by his mother personally and he enjoyed her motherly love until the day his mother took herst breath. He didn''tck affection from his parents. He was, by all means, happy. As for his wicked and jealous sisters, there was nothing he could do about them. He hated them just as much as they hated him. Now, seeing his wife who was sleeping peacefully beside him, Loriel thought about how lonely her life must have been. She couldn''t experience her mother''s love, she also didn''t have any siblings. She was all alone. ''My poor wife,'' he thought to himself. Loriel let out a long sigh and rose from the bed. He must meet Zaff and talk about Elise''s condition. When Loriel left Elise''s chamber, he saw Zaff was waiting for him outside. The royal physician was still quite young but he was a gifted man who had a lot of experience in the medical field and herbomancy. He was what many people called a genius. Loriel was very happy that Renwyck, one of his trusted aides, offered Zaff to work for the Ashborn family. The man had been helping him a lot when his mother was sick and he got injured in some battles too. "So, tell me how is she actually doing?" Loriel motioned Zaff to follow him and sit on the terrace outside of the east tower. "She is only two months pregnant, so it''s quitemon, right?" Loriel remembered some of his older sisters also fell ill a lot when they were pregnant for the first time. So, he wanted to think that it wasmon. Zaff shook his head. "Unfortunately, no, Your Majesty. The queen''s body is weaker than average women. So, she is more vulnerable to pain and fatigue during pregnancy." Loriel''s heart suddenly felt so heavy when he heard Zaff''s response. "Would it be dangerous for her to keep the baby to full term?" Zaff didn''t say anything and it was enough for Loriel to know that the answer was yes. Loriel felt his chest tightened so badly. Why did this have to happen to him? So, they couldn''t have children? "So, what should I do, Zaff?" the king asked his physician with a hoarse voice. "Your Majesty might have to choose which one do you want to keep, your wife or your baby." Finally, Zaff replied with a low voice. As a physician, this was the hardest part of his job, telling people the truth. The truth could set you free, they said, but it wasn''t always pleasant to hear. "How could you ask me to choose?" Loriel gave Zaff a murderous re. "Are you out of your mind?" "I am very sorry, Your Majesty," Zaff immediately bowed down apologetically. He was used to this type of reaction. Nobody liked to be told that they had to choose between two humans they loved. "I am only exining your options." Loriel knew Zaff was right. He should be grateful that he was notified of his options, so he could make a decision. "So... if we lost the baby, my wife would not be able to carry any pregnancy to full term anyway?" He asked Zaff to confirm. "Yes, unfortunately, that is correct, Your Majesty," Zaff replied. "Is there really no other way?" Loriel asked again. "Well..." At this question, Zaff became deep in thoughts. After thinking about it seriously, he finally raised his face and looked at Loriel deeply. "Actually, if Her Majesty keeps the baby, she might be able to carry the baby to full term, but she won''t survive childbirth." So, it''s just like her mother, Loriel thought sadly. Now, it seemed he had to decide if he wanted a child, or not. If he insisted to keep the baby in Elise''s womb, he would most likely lose her to childbirth. But, if he wanted her to live, that means there would never be a baby for them. The king bit his lip in desperation. Why did he feel like he was being cursed? Why couldn''t they just have this child and then they would stop trying for the next one? He could have just one child from Elise, as long as she could survive. However, as cruel fate would have it, he must choose. "Zaff, what should we do to terminate her pregnancy?" Loriel finally asked Zaff. His voice trembled when he uttered the question. This was the worst day of his life, to date. He had promised before his dying mother on her deathbed that he would always take care of Elise and protect her at all cost. If childbearing could endanger her life, that means, she shouldn''t get pregnant. Zaff''s heart was wrenched when he saw the king''s eyes became teary. He could see how much this decision broke his heart. *** "What are you thinking?" Elise cupped Loriel''s cheeks lovingly. The man suddenly zoned out when they were talking about something after dinner and he stopped responding to Elise''s question. So she touched his cheek and tilted her head closer to his. "Is something bothering you?" Loriel batted his eyes as he was moved from his reverie. He was suddenly reminded of his wife''s first pregnancy. They lost the baby and it made Elise heartbroken. No, not just Elise, he was too. Both of them knew she was too weak to carry a baby but she insisted and then they had to see that Zaff was right all along. "I just remember something from the past," Loriel replied with a smile. His eyes were gleaming with tears, but he hoped Elise didn''t notice it since the mood lighting in the dining room was not too bright. He rose from his seat and then pulled Elise to his embrace. "Wifey... would you go with me tomorrow to see a doctor and check your health?" he asked her gently. The man gave Elise a loving gaze and that made her blush. "Why all of a sudden?" Elise asked Loriel. "I mean, of course, I will go with you to see the doctor. I think it''s important for us to know our conditions so we can be prepared for anything. I am just wondering why you suddenly mentioned this." The man lied with a sweet smile on his face. "Oh, nothing really. I just remember to ask you today. You are right, we should know your health condition and ourpatibility, et cetera. I want to know if we can have a baby." Elise bit her lip when she heard his words. Ahh... she was like many other women out there who loved being a mother and she had thought about this too when Loriel proposed to her in Japan. The man said something about marrying her and raising a family together. She felt touched and swoon. This was something that she wanted too. "Okay, I understand," Elise lowered her face to hide her smile. "Let''s do a medical check-up tomorrow." "Thank you!" Loriel tugged her chin andnded a deep and passionate kiss on her lips. He was obsessed with having a child again with his wife that he had been releasing his seeds inside of her whenever they made love, he wanted her to get pregnant soon. However, today, suddenly he felt pped in the face when the memory from the past returned. He shouldn''t be selfish. He must know for sure that Elise was healthy and strong enough for pregnancy before they tried to conceive. And if there were any health issues, he must immediately address them. He believed with medical advancement in modern times and his bottomless wealth, he could get the best medical treatment for his wife.. So, it should be okay. Chapter 165 - Can You Call Me Husband? ** Note: Yes, that''s double asterisks sign. This chapter contains a sex scene. Reader''s discreation is advised. . . "What do you want to do now?" Loriel asked Elise after he let her go from his embrace. "Should we watch something?" "That sounds good," Elise replied. "Hmm... I actually wanted to try the outdoor pool but it was too cold outside." "Oh, we can swim now if you want it," Loriel was so happy to see Elise want to be more active. It was true that it was winter and the temperature could drop very low, but his pool was a heated pool. So, they could actually swim now if they wanted it. Ahh... this reminded him of their first sexual intercourse in Japan. They did it after they soaked in the onsen. Elise was so hot! She wanted to get the authentic experience, so she soaked naked, even though Loriel already said they could do it wearing their bathing suits. One thing led to another, and then... Ahem. Loriel smiled faintly when he remembered that moment. It was oh, so satisfying. He had not had sex with his wife for so long. Too long. And when he finally could hold her in his arms, venting his love and desire for her... it was amazing! "Really?" Elise looked excited. "I didn''t know the pool can be heated." Loriel didn''t use the pool much in winter, so Elise never saw him use the heating system for his pool. Now, she was excited to swim there. "Yes, I can show you." Loriel cleared his throat. "Horatio, we want to swim in half an hour. Could you get the pool ready?" "Yes, Sir." The ever-efficient digital butler immediately turned on the pool heating system and adjusted the lighting outside so the master of the house could enjoy a nice time with a night swim. "Do you want to skinny dip like when we were in the onsen, or..." Loriel looked at his wife with a grin. "...with a bathing suit. I am fine either way." That''s the beauty of staying in the penthouse. They didn''t have to worry about being seen by people from the higher floor. This building was the tallest building in this block, so they basically could walk around naked if they wanted. Elise shrugged and smiled sweetly. "Skinny dip sounds good." Loriel gulped and immediately said to Horatio, "Can you heat up the pool faster, Horatio? Make it ten minutes... or less." Elise''s face flushed red when she heard Loriel ordered Horatio to quicken the process so their pool could be warmed up and they could swim immediately. "Let''s undress in my room." Loriel reached out his hand and grabbed Elise''s hand to go to his bedroom. "I have matching robes for us in my closet." Elise chuckled and followed him. They went to Loriel''s bedroom and got changed into bathrobes. Holding hands, they then walked to the infinity pool outside and got ready to swim. Gosh.. this was so hot, Loriel thought. He licked his lips as he watched his wife took off her robe, folded it nicely, and put it on the sun chair. There was a full moon in the night sky and it made her look like a goddess under the moonlight. Elise''s body was so alluring, and Loriel was looking at her in awe, that he forgot to take off his own robe and join her. "What are you doing there?" Elise''s voice moved the man from the enchantment. "Join me in the pool." Loriel bobbed his head vigorously and took off his robe. He remembered to fold it neatly too and put it on the sun chair next to Elise''s robe. Then, he stepped down into the pool. The water was warm and felt soothing to their skin. Loriel thought about the onsen again and made a mental note to get it done. It may not be exactly the same, but at least they could get a simr experience. "Do you like it?" Loriel swam toward Elise and hugged her from behind. She had styled her long hair in a bun before she got into the pool so it wouldn''t get wet. From this position, Loriel could smell her hair and it was amazing. "I do like it," Elise admitted. "It''s rxing." "Hmm... I like it too," Loriel whispered. He kissed her head and his naughty hands slowly snaked around her stomach, moving up to her breasts, and kneaded them gently. He liked hugging her body and caressed every inch of her skin. Elise closed her eyes and smiled. She was enjoying the warm water on her skin and Loriel''s touches. She bit her lip when she felt something hard poked her butt from behind. Loriel swallowed when he felt two soft hands suddenly touched his shaft. Elise reached out her hands behind her back and found Loriel''s engorged manhood. She smiled naughtily when her actions stunned Loriel that his hand froze in ce. She could tell that the man loved it. His breath started panting and once he was moved from his shock, he kissed her nape and continued kneading her breasts. "Oh, wifey..." Loriel whispered to Elise''s ear with a husky voice. "You are amazing. Have I told you that?" Elise rubbed his manhood with her two hands, going up and down, arching her back while Loriel massaging her breasts. She shook her head and replied coyishly, "No, you haven''t." "Well, you are... you are amazing," Loriel said again. He kissed her earlobe and then moved down to her neck and left soft bites here and there. His fingers yed with both her nipples to make her feel good. Elise bit her lip. The pleasure that she was experiencing started to make it hard for her to concentrate on her handiwork. "Oh... Loriel..." "Can you call me husband?" Loriel whispered to Elise''s ear hoarsely. "You have never called me ''husband'' before." Elise moaned and arched her back when the pleasure became unbearable. Her hands fell to the sides. She got her first orgasm. Just like that. Why did it feel so sexy, when Loriel asked her to call him ''husband''? Elise didn''t know. . . ------------- From the author: Follow my Instagram, Facebook Page, or TikTok @missrealitybites for visuals, video teasers, and memes about my books. I made quite a fewtely.. You can see some on thement. ^^ Chapter 166 - Elises Decision Elise always wanted to call the king, Loriel, as ''husband'' or ''honey'', like the way most loving couples do. She had seen how one of herdies in waiting addressed her husband with ''honey'' when they were together. She could only call her husband ''Your Grace'' or ''Your Majesty''. Elise could only keep her desire to call Loriel ''husband'' without ever saying the word. The queen was so jealous and felt bad about herself. For the first six months after their marriage, Loriel never even touched her sexually and she was made known her position from very early on. Loriel didn''t love her and they were only married because he promised his mother to fulfill his betrothal to Elise, as promised by their mothers. Elise realized that she was unloved and she tried so hard to ept the situation. She thought, if Loriel gave her a chance to show her worth, he could love her. Well.. maybe Elise was too wishful thinking. At least, if she could be useful to him, Loriel would see that Elise was worth something. That was why Elise was over the moon when she found out that she was pregnant. She loved her unborn child so much, for several reasons. She really wanted a child from her husband, and at the same time, she also wished that Loriel would see her worth when she gave him an heir. Elise bear with all the pain and diforts. Nausea and body pain didn''t bother her whenever she thought about their future child. After she found out about her pregnancy, Elise made sure she ate nutritious food. She rested properly and took care of her body well. She talked to their child when she was alone and even sang for it. She loved their baby with all her heart. She wanted to make sure the baby know he was loved and wanted. That was why she was devastated when she heard the conversation between Maxim and Zaff on the terrace of her residence. Elise woke up from her sleep and didn''t see Loriel. She remembered the man was sitting beside her after she took the potion from the royal physician and was told to rest. Seeing Loriel look worried and sat by her bed watching her go to sleep, made Elise''s heart flutter. And for a moment, she felt like her husband loved her. Even though that was not true... she wanted to feel that way for once. She touched the side of the bed where Loriel was sitting just moments ago. She felt the chair was still warm. That means, Loriel just recently left. Elie held her breath. She wanted to see him and said thank you. He didn''t have to stay beside her when she was sick, but he did anyway. So, she wanted to show him that she was grateful. Elise put on her shoes and walked slowly to go out of her chamber. She wanted to look for Loriel. Horatio came to approach her when he saw the queene out. His face looked worried. The queen was sick and was not supposed to walk around like this. "Your Majesty, what do you need? I will get them for you," he said politely. Elise leaned onto the wall and regted her breath. She smiled at the loyal butler and replied. "I am looking for my husband. Did you see him?" "Oh.. he is outside, on the terrace. I saw His Majestye out to speak with the royal physician," Horatio replied. "I want to see him." Elise nodded at Horatio. "Thank you." She walked slowly toward the terrace. She thought her husband must be discussing her health with the physician. This made her curious to know what Zaff was telling Loriel. Was her health condition bad? She wanted to know if her illness would affect her pregnancy or not. So, she walked to the door to greet both men. However, before her steps halted by the doorway when she heard Zaff said she was not strong enough to carry the pregnancy to full term. Elise''s heart dropped to the floor and she couldn''t breathe for several seconds. She didn''t know her condition was that bad. So.. despite all her father and grandmother''s efforts to take good care of her and gave her all the vitamins and potions, she was just as weak as her mother? This piece of information broke her heart and suddenly tears started streaming down hard to her cheeks. She loved her baby and wanted to give birth to him. She would bear all the pain and ept all consequences... She would do anything... As long as her baby could live. "Is there really no other way?" Elise could hear Loriel''s question after he thought about Zaff''s words carefully. The man''s voice was hoarse. He sounded sad. It was heartwrenching. "Well..." Zaff became deep in thoughts. After thinking about it seriously, he finally raised his face and looked at Loriel deeply. "Actually, if Her Majesty keeps the baby, she might be able to carry the baby to full term, but she won''t survive childbirth." Elise pressed her lips. She knew Zaff was a gifted physician and he wouldn''t say something that was not true. Somehow, at that moment. Elise felt like she was given a death sentence. She was devastated. Elise couldn''t see Loriel''s expression because his back was facing her. She was wondering what was he thinking now? What did his expression look like? She could only guess. She also didn''t see tears were forming on the king''s eyes and slowly they fell to his cheeks. "Zaff, what should we do to terminate her pregnancy?" Loriel finally asked Zaff. His voice trembled when he uttered the question. Elise''s body was suddenly trembling and she fell to the floor when she heard this question. The sound made Loriel and Zaff surprised. They reflexively turned around to see the source of the noise. "Oh, my god... Elise! When did youe out?" Loriel immediately jumped toward Elise and picked her up from the floor. The woman looked so pitiful and her tears were streaming down hard. "Please... Your Majesty... don''t kill my baby..." she cried and begged him. "I want to keep the baby. Let me keep him." . . ---------------- I don''t know.. I love the story about their past, but every time I write that part, I just want to smack Loriel or cry for Elise. :((( Chapter 167 - [Bonus ] Elise Wants To Keep The Baby Elise was crying despondently when Loriel lifted her frail body and carried her back to her chamber. She refused to go to sleep and kept pleading with Loriel not to terminate her pregnancy. "Please.. Your Grace... let me keep my baby..." The heartwrenching cries pained Loriel''s heart. He didn''t know Elise was so stubborn this one time. She had always been the demure and sweet woman, but this time, she gripped her nails on Loriel''s arm, begging him desperately to let her keep her baby. "I also want to keep the child, to be honest," Loriel finally told her. "But Zaff already said that it will be dangerous for you to continue the pregnancy. Do you really want to die???" "I don''t mind. I don''t care..." Elise continued crying. Loriel really didn''t know what to say. He looked at Elise''s stomach that was still t. How big was their baby now? Must still be really small. Yet, Elise''s love for the child was already so strong and stubborn. This touched his heart too. He wanted an heir, but not at the expense of his wife. It''s true that they were betrothed by their mothers and, to him, this was a marriage of convenience. However, how could he let her die just to give him an heir? He was not that heartless. "I am such a useless woman," Elise cried despondently. "I can''t even carry a child properly..." She raised her face and Loriel could see her face was wet with tears. She stared at the man pleadingly and gripped his arms. "Please, Your Grace, allow me to give you a child. Please let me be useful to you..." Maybe... maybe, if she gave him a child, he could love her. And besides, Elise knew her husband needed a child to be his heir. If Elise had to lose her life to give him one, it''s okay. Loriel could always marry another woman to help him raise the child she left behind. At this moment, Elise understood what her mother was thinking when she was pregnant with Elise. Thete queen of Myreen must be devastated, but because she loved her husband so much she was willing to make the sacrifice. Now, Elise could live a good life even though her father never remarried. King Alexander and his mother raised Elise well and they showered her with love and attention. Elise believed, as long as she gave him a child, Loriel''s life would be better. Loriel was stunned by Elise''s persistence. He turned to Zaff and asked him with his eyes, what he should do. The physician scratched his hair and he looked confused. "If Her Majesty insists, there is nothing we can do but do grant her request," Finally, Zaff replied. He sighed and pressed his chest. The man solemnly vowed to do his best to help Elise during her pregnancy. "We will try to make things work." "Thank you, Zaff..." Loriel let out a long sigh. He looked at his stubborn wife and shook his head dejectedly. Elise really wanted this baby, he thought. He touched her hair and rubbed it gently. His voice was filled with concern when he spoke. "You''ve heard Zaff. We will try our best to make things work." Elise pursed her lips and they trembled as she was trying to utter her response. Her eyes were filled with tears and her face looked wet after crying so much. The sight wrenched the king''s heart and he pulled her to his embrace. "It''s okay, we will make things work," he repeated his words. "I will take care of both of you." He kissed both corners of her eyes and hugged her. Zaff knew his presence would only annoy the king, so he silently took his leave. He tiptoed to the door and walked out of the room. Elise''s slowly wrapped her arms around Loriel''s waist and hugged him back. She felt so touched. She could feel the man was serious with his words to take care of her and their baby. She bit her lip and looked down at her stomach. This was worth it, she thought. If she could make Loriel happy with a child, then her sacrifice would be worth it. "Okay, you have been crying long enough," Loriel said. He took a handkerchief and wiped her tears. "Do you want to drink something?" She was still sobbing faintly. Elise tried so hard to pull herself together. She had never cried this much before Loriel and she didn''t want him to think she was such an annoying crybaby. His handkerchief was already wet with her tears. "Y-yes, please..." Elise nodded weakly. "Okay. Wait here." Loriel patted her back and the rose from the bed. He went outside and asked a maid to bring a pot of tea and two cups. His expression looked so scary that the maid almost ran to the kitchen to get the tea he requested. The maid returned in fifteen minutes and brought the tray with teapot and two cups inside the chamber. Once she was done arranging the tray on the bedside table, Loriel kicked her out. He poured tea into one cup, blew the heat, and gave the cup to Elise. "Here, drink something so you will feel better." Elise''s sobs were no longer intense. She could finally manage her feelings and stopped crying. She steeled her heart and epted the cup from her husband. She drank the tea slowly and, after she had finished her drink, Elise''s clear mind returned. "Thank you, Your Grace." She lowered her face. Loriel tugged her chin and made her look at him. He was often wondering what was going on in that beautiful head. Now, more than ever, he really wished he could read her mind. "You are my wife and you are carrying my child. Of course, I have to protect you two." He was in awe when he saw her beautiful face, only inches apart from his. Elise was one of the few women who could still look beautiful when they were crying. She looked stunningly beautiful, but she was also fragile and gentle. Her big diamond-like eyes were filled with tears, looking so pitiful. Her lips.... gosh, those luscious lips again. Even though she was crying, they still looked very sexy. And the king couldn''t help himself not to kiss her. Loriel tilted his head to the side and his lips brushed her cheeks as they looked for her lips. When their lips touched, Loriel nted a deep kiss on Elise''s lips. . . --------------------- From the author: I have seen so many summoning pens for this book for days, so I decided to give you this bonus chapter. I hope you like it ^^. PS: Thank you so much for supporting this book, postingments, showering this book with gifts, and voting your power stone to "The Cursed King". Chapter 168 - The Hardest Day Of Their Life Loriel kissed Elise passionately. He just couldn''t resist her charm. Why was she so alluring and charming? Even when she was crying. When he tasted her tears on her lips, Loriel was reminded that she was crying because of what Zaff told them about their baby and he immediately pulled back. The man had to exert all his sanity not to kiss her again. It all started with a kiss, he remembered. After drinking wine and kissing, he and she finally consummated their marriage, and now she was pregnant as the result. Elise was not made to be pregnant. She was too weak and Zaff had confirmed it. Yet, she insisted that she wanted to keep the baby. So, Loriel was put in a dilemma. For outsiders, it might be easier because he didn''t actually love his wife. He could just ept having the baby, to be his heir andter found another woman to be his wife. However, it was not that easy for Loriel. He was not interested in any other women. He was only in love once, with a woman who only considered him as a friend. After Emmelyn rejected him, Loriel didn''t want to fall in love again. He didn''t even want to marry anyone. He only married Elise out of duty, so it was different. It was hard to get used to living with a woman he didn''t love and now that he hade to that point, he didn''t want to start over with a new woman. Sigh. In all honesty, he didn''t want to lose Elise to childbirth. She was sweet, kind, and exactly the woman he needed. Why couldn''t he keep her by his side? Loriel needed his heir, but he couldn''t love someone he had not met before. He actually didn''t understand how Elise could be so stubborn and fierce in loving their unborn baby? The child was not here yet. "You should rest," he whispered to Elise. Trying hard not to kiss her again. "Do you want me to stay by your side?" He didn''t want anything to happen to her outside of his watch. So, he offered to stay and keep herpany. Those maids obviously didn''t do a good enough job to care for her that Elise could be in this state, Elise nodded weakly. Her voice was barely audible when she replied, "Thank you, Your Grace." Loriel climbed up on the bed and sat beside her, leaning on the headboard. He pulled her to his embrace and patted her shoulder. "Now you should rest." Finally, Elise relented and closed her eyes. She felt warmth filling her chest as she felt protected and cared for. Slowly, Elise rested her head on Loriel''s chest and fell asleep. Loriel watched the beautiful woman sleeping. He was torn between respecting her wishes to keep their baby, or secretly asking Zaff to make a potion to terminate her pregnancy. He didn''t want Elise to die. In the end, Loriel decided to follow Elise''s wishes and, even though it was very hard for him, he asked Zaff to do his best to make sure the baby was healthy. Month after month, he lived in fear and worry. Every passing day felt like having an iing death sentence approaching closer and closer. Not his death sentence but Elise''s. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, Elise still lost the baby. It was the darkest day of their lives. *** Loriel suddenly stopped kissing Elise. His mind went back to the past and he couldn''t get rid of the sad memory when Elise got a miscarriage. He thought he had experienced the worst day in his life when he had to let go of Emmelyn, the woman he loved and continued living with a broken heart. Then, Elise miscarried and he finally realized that what he experienced was nothingpared to that day. It was the scariest and saddest day of his life. There was so much blood and he thought both Elise and the baby would die. He felt like he wanted to die too. Fortunately, Zaff came quickly and could help treat the queen and saved her life. Loriel felt lost and devastated when he finally saw the remains of what was supposed to be his son. Then, it hit him. And, finally, he understood how his wife could love their unborn son so much, even though the baby was not even here. Loriel cried for days and he became like a madman. "Loriel...?" Elise''s voice moved the former king from his reverie. "Are you okay?" Loriel was brought back to the present and he realized they were making out in the swimming pool and things became heated. He and Elise were both naked and they were getting busy underwater. She just got her first orgasm and he was ready to continue with pration when his mind went somewhere else. The man didn''t realize that his tears were dripping down to his cheeks until Elise turned around and cupped his face. She was shocked to see him in tears. "Oh, no... Loriel... what happened?" she caressed his cheeks lovingly. Her face looked so worried. "Tell me what bothers you." Loriel was in horror when he realized he had been crying. Gosh.. what would Elise think of him? She must be suspicious. He quickly shook his head and pulled her to his embrace. "Nothing... I''m sorry. I zoned out because..." He didn''t know what to say. "You seem to have a lot on your mind," Elise rested her head on his chest and hugged his waist. "We should just rx and rest." The night swim in their heated pool was supposed to be rxing, but she unintentionally flirted with him to have sex and now this happened. Elise felt bad about what happened. Loriel felt his penis had turned soft and also felt bad. Ahh.. why did the memory have to return in such an unfortunate time? He kissed her head and nodded. "Yeah, you are right. Let''s just wash up and rest." . . ------------------- From the author: Tbh, I cried when I was writing the miscarriage part. It was truly the hardest day of Elise''s and Loriel''s life in the past, and it would shape their rtionship, also how Loriel started to appreciate his wife better, and finally turned him into the man he is now. I will keep it short and simple or just only mention the miscarriage briefly going forward because it is very emotional.. I never have any miscarriages but my heart goes out to the people who do. Chapter 169 - Finding A Date For Alex That night, Loriel slept hugging Elise more tightly than usual. The memory from the past made him feel really sad and he tried so hard to forget about it by focusing his mind on their wedding ns. He loved all the ideas that Elise shared with him and was looking forward to the day he could make her his wife again. *** As requested by Loriel, the couple did a medical check-up the next day to make sure they were both healthy. Loriel was very relieved to know that the current Elise was much healthier and stronger than she was in the past. Loriel was so happy and he kept kissing her on the way from the hospital. He didn''t know what happened to Elise after she left him, but she was now no longer the weak and frail woman he married in their past lives. "Doctor said you are healthy, but it doesn''t mean we can take it for granted. You still need to eat well and rest aplenty. Please don''t work too hard," Loriel said to Elise. The woman only smiled and nodded at his worried expression. He was right to be worried, Elise seemed to love working too much. There were so many things to do to prepare for the wedding that Elise didn''t realize it would take so much time. *** It was another day in the office for Alex and Elise and the two of them were once again looking at the mood boards for the wedding. However, Elise couldn''t help but realize that something was very wrong. Alex was always polite and happy to assist Elise, but right now, she didn''t seem to have so much energy. "Are you okay, Alex? You seem a little bit down. If you''re feeling too tired to help me out right now, it''s fine." Elise smiled and touched her friend''s shoulder. Maybe Alex was getting impatient with Elise? There were a lot of things to handle from the venue, decoration, and such that maybe Alex didn''t want to help her anymore. After all, the two of them were only doing this during work and this was a huge favor to ask. Elise was afraid that would be the case, but Alex only shook her head and gave Elise a weak smile. "No, it''s not that. I''m just..." Alex rubbed her face. Elise''s brows furrowed in worry. "Just?" "Kind of jealous? That''s not the word either. I''m really d that you''re getting married, Elise. I''m genuinely happy, but I can''t help but feel like I''ve spent too much time working. I haven''t seen anyone for the past years." "Oh, so you want to date." Elise realized. Alex ducked her head. "Yes," Elise thought about her time with Alex and said. "Now that you mentioned it..st Christmas g, I didn''t see you with anyone¡­ not that it''s bad. I think you''re right though. Marc is making you work far too much." "Yeah, that''s the case. I never found the time or energy to go out and find someone. But now that I see you happy, I realize that I also want to experience something like this." Alex motioned to herputer with all the wedding ns and mood boards that she prepared. "So the first step is getting a date!" Elise smiled. "It would be lovely to see you attend the wedding with someone you''re happy with." "I''m not exactly sure if I''ll be able to find a date to attend your wedding." "Why not? You''re an amazing woman, Alex. I''m sure that there are so many men out there who''ll want to be your date." Alex rubbed the back of her neck. "You think so?" "Of course!" Alex still wasn''t confident enough. "I''m not sure if I have the time, we have to make sure that this wedding is a sess first." Elise thought about it some more and remembered when Loriel once told her that there were boyfriends to hire on apps. He exined about such services when Elise asked him to be his date to thepany year-end g. Well... that''s not what Alex wanted and needed, Elise thought to herself. Alex was supposed to find a man with whom she had a genuine and mutual attraction. Elise added. "Well, there''s bound to be tons of apps that can help you meet other people. There''s no excuse to be busy anymore when you can find one on your phone. You could go on blind dates. What do you think? Come on... when was thest time you went on a date?" Alex chuckled. "Well... too long." "See? You''ve been working too much. You have to go out there and meet people. No boyfriends will fall on yourp from the sky. You have to make an effort," Elise said. "Alright, you win, Elise. I''ll try it out." Alex was convinced by Elise to download a dating app and also start a new ount. It felt weird for her to be doing this, but Alex really wanted to also see someone. "Yay! I''m so excited for you to find someone. I think a lot of people will want to date you, so we need to make them see that." "We''ll see about it." Alex cleared her throat. She soon uploaded some of her photos, and with some pointers and help from Elise, she also made her bio. "For hobby, don''t write ''I love spending my weekend at the office," Eliseughed out loud at Alex''s horrible bio. "I don''t understand how you could be so amazing with nning other people''s wedding, but you couldn''t even sell yourself in your dating profile bio." Alex sighed and removed the text. She knew Elise was right. "You look really great in these photos," Elise gushed at her friend''s photo. "When did you take this vacation? I never thought that I''d see you in a swimsuit. This is amazing and eye-catching." "Two summers ago." Alex coughed. She was a little embarrassed but she was having fun too. It was both a little silly and yet exciting to be doing something like this after so long. "This is your most recent photo?" Elise asked again. "Yes, I haven''t been taking many vacations and I don''t like taking many photos anyway," Alex said. She sighed again when she thought about how pathetic her life had been, being drowned in work and almost never go out on dates. "Now that you''re trying to date though, I hope you take a lot of photos with them," Elise said. "That would be such a fun thing to do together. You could collect photos and make albums." "I''ll try, but first, let''s try getting us a date," Alex smiled and looked down on her phone.. The two of them started checking out profiles. Chapter 170 - Alex Gets A Date! Elise pointed to a photo. "Oh, this guy is cute." "Not really my type¡­ what about him?" Alex shook her head and pointed at another profile. "Hmmm, I don''t know. His bio doesn''t make him seem like someone you''d match with in the long run." Elise shook her head. "But he is cute!!" "Hahaha... you want a date, not an arm candy, right?" Elise raised an eyebrow. "If I wanted to just sleep with someone for a one-night stand, I''d pick him." Alexughed a little. "What? Are you serious?" Elise''s eyes bulged when she heard Alex''s blunt words. Her face heated up because she couldn''t imagine that Alex would say such a thing. "I thought you wanted to date someone and maybe potentially marry them in the future?" "I know, but sometimes, you feel a little lonely and just need someone to spend the cold night away. Not that I rmend that. I''m really d you found someone like Loriel. He''s really one of a kind. " Alex would sometimes swipe left, then right. There were so many handsome guys on the app but having too many choices didn''t make the search any easier. "There will be someone like Loriel, or someone who matches well with you." Elise said with a blush. Elise couldn''t help but agree with Alex''s assessment that her soon-to-be-husband was an amazing man. Elise hoped that Alex would find someone for her. She really like her boss and wanted to see her happy too. "The men here on the app do seem decent, but I need to go look for some more," Alex exined as she continued to go through the profiles. "It''s like finding a needle in the haystack." "I''m sure you''ll find someone that will catch your eye," Elise smiled. "Keep looking." "We will see, I need to find someone who doesn''t mind my work-life schedule. It''s a little doubtful, but as you said, I need to put myself out there." Alex took a deep breath and resolved herself to continue checking so many profiles on the app. Elise thought about making Loriel talk with Marc about this kind of situation. It wasn''t fair that Alex never got the chance to rx and enjoy herself because she was so focused on work. She thought it was Marc''s fault for working Alex to the bone that she didn''t have a life outside of work. Now that she thought of it, Elise''s work was very easypared to Alex''s. She suspected that this might have something to do with Loriel. "Oh, hey, I have a match." Alex gushed in surprise. Her eyes lit up when she looked at Elise. "And he already sent me a message. And he is cute!" "Really? That''s exciting! It''s your chance, Alex. You must chat with him now," Elise smiled. "I got you covered with the work in case Marces in. Go on!" "That''s very unlikely of him, but thank you!" Alex paid attention to her phone and started chatting with her potential date. Elise didn''t want to pry into it and instead allowed Alex to take care of it herself, instead she continued to look at the mood boards while also aplishing the work they had for today. There weren''t many tasks given to either her and Alex which was strange, but Elise was more than happy for the free time. She was unaware that it was Marc who was the one taking care of the work he usually assigned to Alex. But his grand-uncle requested that both Alex and Elise be free to have enough time to n the wedding. Loriel couldn''t help but be excited for when it would finally happen. "Elise¡­" Alex surprised her with a suddenly anxious voice. Elise''s eyes widened and she turned to Alex. "What is it? Is something wrong? What''s the matter, Alex? Was the guy a jerk?" "He asked me out on a date for tomorrow night." Alex was smiling ear to ear. "He seemed like a really nice guy. What do you think?" "What do I think about what?" "Should I go?" "Of course! You should go!" "But, isn''t it too fast? We just started talking today. He already asked to meet me tomorrow." "That means he is serious with you," Elise said. "You should go." Alex sighed. She bit her lip and was deep in thought for a moment. Then she nodded. "All right. I''ll say yes." "Good!!" Elise smiled broadly when she saw Alex went back to her phone and typed in her reply. "I said yes," Alex closed her phone and touched Elise''s arm. "We are going on a date!!" "Oh my gosh. I''m so happy for you," Elise gave Alex a huge hug. "What''s his name? What work does he do? What kind of man is he? He''s so forward if he asked you out for a date tonight. That''s amazing." "Haha, I know." Alex said, but then cleared her throat. "Elise, I''m really nervous to go out tomorrow. I can''t do this alone. What if I embarrass myself? I can''t imagine the shame and mortification I''ll experience. I need you to be with me." "Huh? Why?" Elise blinked in surprise. "It''s your date." "I need a way to get out in case I make a fool out of myself, or if I want to get out because this man is not someone I want to spend the rest of the night with," Alex exined. "Could you please do it for me?" "Well¡­" "I''ll only ask this for you, just once." "Fine," Elise hit Alex on the shoulder jokingly. "I am doing it only this once since you''re helping me with the wedding." "Oh, thank you so much! You''re the best, Elise!!" Alex hugged Elise excitedly. Elise knew that this was Alex''s chance to be happy and also go out and rx.. It would also be a chance for Elise to repay the favor that Alex was doing by having her help out with the wedding preparations. Chapter 171 - Someone Like You "Okay," Elise finally agreed. "But we better have something like a code to let me know when you need to bail your date or if it''s going so well that I can go home. I don''t want Loriel to get too worried about me." "Of course, let''s n it all out." Alex smiled and then hugged Elise back. "Thank you so much." "It''s the least I could do for my friend. I want to see you happy as well," Elise said with a smile. *** The next day, Elise told Loriel about her helping out Alex on her blind date. The man had heard a lot about how Alex had been working hard to do all the tasks he assigned to Marc, and in the end, helped him to be with Elise now. So, in a way, he owed Alex that much to let Elise help her get a boyfriend. To Loriel, whatever made Elise happy would make him happy too. So, he was understanding and supported Elise to apany Alex on her date. "You are a sweetheart. I will eat outside and you don''t have to cook for me tonight," Elise told Loriel. "Don''t wait for me." "Very well." The man nodded. He kissed her on the lips and walked her to the door. He could find something else to do tonight while waiting for his wife. He understood that he needed to let Elise enjoy life outside of their rtionship, so she wouldn''t feel suffocated. He believed it was healthier that way. *** The location of the blind date happened to be in one of the finer restaurants in NYC and it was where the two women, Alex and Elise headed there after their work together. The two took a cab to head there in advance. "I''m really excited," Elise said. "Me too," Alex admitted with a nervousugh as they stepped inside of the restaurant. "Gosh.. I hope he is at least look half as good as his pictures." "I''m sure he does," Elise tried to reassure her. "If not better." "Ahahaha.... you make me feel hopeful. What if he is ugly?" "Jeez, Alex... don''t be so superficial," Elise hit her shoulder jokingly. "Well.. easy for you to say that. Your boyfriend is gorgeous and hot. You''ve got everything covered. Good looks, wealth, and personality." Alex chuckled and continued. "Ahem... and he looks like he is great in bed too. What a steal!" Elise lowered her head and smiled sheepishly, "Well.. you are right in all of those but..." "But what? Wait, is he not good in bed?" Alex asked Elise curiously. "No-no... not that, jeez...." Elise hit Alex''s shoulder. "I mean, he is indeed handsome, wealthy, and has a good personality... but the reason why I decided to ept him and want to marry him is that he is really kind and attentive. I feel so lucky to have him in my life." Alex took a deep breath. "Stop throwing dog food at me. You make me feel so jealous... hahaha." Elise onlyughed at Alex''s words. She knew Alex wasn''t serious. *** Both Alex and Elise spent the better hours before the day ended inside of the bathroom as Alex tried to spruce up and look prepared for the date. They even redid her makeup to make her standout. Alex looked espcially beautiful today. Since she came ten minutes early, she sat at their reserved table and waited for her date to arrive. While waiting, she kept chatting Elise to ease her nervousness. Now, Elise was sitting at a table all by herself, except it happened to be at the spot where she could see Alex and Alex could see her. However, Alex''s date couldn''t spot her at all. Elise was actually excited for this event. It was strange for her to act as a matchmaker, but she was enjoying the role of supporting her friend. The man seemed nice and gentlemanly, as far as Elise was concerned. He came five minutes early, with flowers in his hand, and he also dressed impably. The man looked like he was a banker orw firm, seeing how serious his appearance was. However, once he sat down and they started to chat, he seemed friendly and amiable. One could even see Alexughing a bit, talking animatedly, and exining things. Elise could see and realize that everything was going smoothly and there was nothing to be afraid of. Alex was at ease with this guy she was talking with and it only took about half an hour before Alex sent Elise the signal that she was free to go. Maybe it would havee sooner if Alex wasn''t so busyughing, but Elise was more than happy to stick around a little longer just to make sure that everything was going to be great. Now that her work was over though, Elise took her leave. Now she was sure that Alex was enjoying her date and didn''t need her anymore. She thought Alex and her date looked good together. She hoped Alex could finally her own happiness too. Elise paid for her drinks, tipped the waiter, and then went out of the restaurant. NYC was once again booming with traffic and it was hard to call for a cab. The stations also seemed far away. "I could take a train but that would take me longer than going on foot," Elise whispered to herself. It didn''t take much consideration for her toe to a decision. Elise started walking through the city to head back to Loriel''s penthouse. There was nothing for her to worry about. Elise was actually excited to get home to tell Loriel about all of the things that happened today. There wasn''t much asion for Alex to lighten up, so Elise was proud. However, what Elise didn''t expect to stall her was the sound of retching. It was a horrific sound that rmed her ears. Elise nced to one of the alleyways and saw a man currently bent over and puking his guts in one of dark corners of the street. The man looked like he was in horrible shape, and yet he clung to a bottle of alcohol. Elise hesitated at the sight. Until the man noticed her presence and raised his head. Bloodshot eyes looked up at her and the man suddenly snarled. "What is it to you? Do you think you''re better than me?" "No, not at all¡­. Sir." Elise found herself frozen in her tracks when she should have been running. The way that the man threw the spittle out of his mouth was horrific, but she knew that it was all the influence of alcohol. Elise tried to move again, but it was at the same time that the drunk man made a move towards her. He raised the empty bottle of alcohol¡­ "You good for nothing, bitch!" Elise spun to her feet, bit back a scream, and instinctively threw a gust of wind at him. The man was thrown backward and then hit himself against a wall. The man was sttered like a bug. Elise froze and heard the way that his head cracked against the cement wall of one of the old buildings, she saw the way that blood gushed and poured against his head. It was such a horrific sight. "No no no." Elise fell down to her knees at the sight. It wasn''t supposed to be like this. She didn''t mean to hurt him. Elise only wanted to defend herself, she didn''t want to kill him. He was still alive, wasn''t he? The shard of broken ssy across the dark alleyway, but Elise didn''t care about it at all. Instead, she moved towards the man and looked anxiously everywhere across the city''s streets. All of the cars seemed to be moving and not one bothered to stop. Did anyone see this? How could she fix this? How could she heal this man? Tears pricked Elise''s eyes. "I didn''t mean this to happen¡­" "No, of course not, Miss. You didn''t mean to kill him." A voice suddenly spoke. Elise raised her head and found a young man staring down at her. "W-who are you?" "Well, you can say that I''m just someone like you." The man was tall and buffed with long ash hair. His blue eyes studied her expression but then moved on to the body that was now on the dirty alleyway. "Is this the first time that this happened?" Elise hesitated. "What do you mean - someone like me?" The man''s calmness was something that made her stop from immediately trying to run away and st him away, but surely the man didn''t mean¡ª Fire suddenly flew out from the man''s hands, even better than Elise could do herself, the swirling mes shot out andtched onto the man''s body. It consumed the person and turned them to ashes. The body was gone, charred, and burned to the ground. It was now as if there was no person at all. As if everything was merely a form of her imagination. Chapter 172 - Elises Confusion So it happened that on this fateful night, one of the gods found someone like them and beheld Elise. It wasn''t often that this person moved, but when it happened that something caught his eye, he moved. Elise''s eyes widened and she stared at him. "You¡­ you¡­" The man couldn''t help but smile slightly at her. There was something about this woman that was strangelyforting to him. "Yes, me?" "You burned everything," Elise spoke in a choked voice. She looked at the man in horror, trying to make sense of the situation. The handsome man nodded and replied casually, "That''s right. We can''t have any evidence left for this situation. It would be tricky if this would appear in the news, you see? Humans tend to panic easily at the death of one. Especially death that they couldn''t exin." Elise didn''t miss the way that he phrased his sentence, but instead of saying anything about that¡­ she stared at him and asked. "Who are you? Why did you help me¡­ what do you get out of this?" "Woah, easy on the questions." The manughed a bit. He scratched his head and asked himself the same question. Why did he help her? It felt wrong not to help when he saw the state of her. It wasn''t often that he cared, but now he did, and he didn''t question it. "I am Alexei." He raised a hand towards her and helped her up to her feet. Elise stared at him and found herself staring. There were still tears in her eyes and she rubbed them away. "I''m Elise. What about the other questions, though?" "As for the reasons why I helped you. I thought it was fair for me to help someone in need. You didn''t seem to know your strength." Alexei exined with a shrug. "Besides, as I told you, it''s troublesome if thises on the news." "I see¡­ so you''re just like me," Elise said, at first disbelieving, but now more epting of the thought. "Sp¡­ there are others like me. You have powers like me and all of you are also hiding?" "Well, I guess you can say that." Alexei nodded. "More or less, retired. Rxing? We don''t have many reasons to move anymore now that the people are more or less self-sufficient." "Self-sufficient?" "You saw what I can do. Great fires, inhuman strength, there''s not much use to it now. People have electricity, entertainment and other things to keep them preupied." "I see," Elise nodded. Although she wasn''t too sure. "I think I understand what you mean. Thank you for helping me, Alexei. I''m not so sure how I can repay you." "You don''t have to worry about it." Alexei replied nonchntly. Elise hesitated and looked at the man. "But you cleaned up¡­ my mess?" That was one way to refer to the incident. Elise felt her insides burning at the shame that ate her up. She was abnormal. How could she imagine marrying Loriel when she was like this? Alexei noticed her expression and spoke up to distract her. "Actually, why don''t I take you back to your home? I''m not sure if there are more people like those who you encountered. So, let me make sure that you''re safe. I''ll do the others a favor too." "Do the others a favor so I don''t hurt them?" Elise asked bitterly. "Let me stop them from bing idiots." Alexei rolled his eyes. "It''s not often that humans throw themselves at beings like us. They''re asking for a death wish by trying to interrupt us." Elise didn''t know if she should ept this man''s offer. He sounded like someone who didn''t care about other people. However, Alexei did help her erase all of the traces and make sure that she wouldn''t get in trouble¡­ Still, could she trust him? Taking her home meant leading him to where Loriel was. "Don''t worry too much, Elise. I don''t have any terrible intentions with you or whoever you care about." Alexei tried to make her feel more at ease with him. "I have much greater things preupying me." "...Okay, th-thank you." Elise decided atst to ept the man''s kindness. She was still trembling from what happened earlier. She just killed someone unintentionally¡­ and this man didn''t even bat an eye. Instead, he helped her clean up the mess. Alexei brought Elise to her home and was surprised to find that she lived in the richer parts of NYC and a very expensive penthouse of all ces. He gave the ce an appreciative whistle. "You sure have a nice ce, how much did you buy it for?" "I¡­ I wasn''t the one who bought it," Elise exined sheepishly. "I just live there." "Well, it''s a lovely ce to live in¡­" Alex tried to find more words, but realized he couldn''t say anything now. "I guess this is where we part though. Please be more careful, Miss." Elise nodded firmly. "I will." Alexei grinned. "Or if you can''t be careful, you could try burning the corpses up and leave no traces. Learn from me." Elise did not want to ask him how many times he had done something like this at all. Instead, she nodded and thanked him before the man took his leave. Afterward, Elise sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. She didn''t know how to exin this to herself, much less, Loriel. Even if the man once joked about burying bodies with her, Elise knew the man was not serious. Now Elise actually experienced cremating someone. This was something that Loriel didn''t need to know. Elise was afraid of what this would lead to. She was afraid that Loriel would leave her if the man knew what Elise was capable of and it would mean that she would be all alone again. It was a selfish thing. But Elise was afraid that Loriel would no longer be able to ept or love her, and somehow, that was the scariest thing she ever felt. Lies were terrible¡­ but she only wanted to make sure that he wouldn''t be frightened of her. When Elise reached the penthouse, she was weed by Loriel. "You''re home, wifey!" Loriel quickly sat up from the sofa and looked at her face. Elise seemed very tired and he was worried. Loriel made his way to her and hugged her. "Are you alright, Elise?" Elise kissed him on the lips. "Yes." Everything was going to be alright. She kept telling herself that. . . ********** PS: Thank you so, so much for your support to this book. I am sorry, I couldn''t publish chapters in September because I was focusing on Loriel''s story in "The Cursed Prince". I will resume new chapters on October 1. I will give mass release on October 1 topensate for theck of chapters in September.. I hope you are okay with that. xx Chapter 173 - [Bonus ] Vivid Dreams Note: This is the bonus chapter to fulfill your summoning pens. Enjoy! . . Once the kiss ended between Loriel and Elise, she gave her fiance a loving smile and rested her head against his chest. It felt so warm and secure to be in Loriel''s arms right now. The tears that pricked Elise''s eyes were held back and she didn''t make a sound. Elise did her best to hold back the shaking that was inside of her chest. Elise made the decision not to tell Loriel about what happened earlier that evening. How would the man react to hearing that not only did Elise have powers that weren''t ordinary for humans? Not only that, but Elise also identally killed someone with it? "Are you hungry, wifey?" Loriel asked her in a doting tone. "I know that you''re supposed to stay with Alex tonight and help with her mystery date, but you came earlier than I expected. Did you eat dinner while you were out?" "A-ah, it''s alright. I''m actually very exhausted to eat now." Elise told Loriel with a tired smile. "I think I would just like to rest and rx with you." Loriel looked at her scrutinizingly, but then decided to listen to his wife''s wishes. "Then we should do that. Would you like to stay in my bedroom and the two of us could watch a movie together and snuggle?" Elise smiled lightly and nodded. "Yes, I like the sound of that." "Okay, you can get changed and getfortable." Loriel kissed her forehead. Elise felt her face heat up and she nodded. "I will do that. Thank you, Loriel." "I''ll prepare some light snacks for us to eat while we watch. Hot chocte and maybe popcorn and chips while we rx tonight. You can also tell me about how your day went, okay?" "Okay." *** The room was dark except for the television screen that was still ying in the background. When Elise and Loriel went to bed to sleep together, it was a bit difficult for her to fall asleep at first. It wasn''t easy to erase the dark and negative thoughts away from her mind at all. Back in the days when her cousin Tessa and her family hid the location of her father''s hospital, Elise found and used her powers by ident that time. Elise burned down the gazebo out of anger several months ago. Today, Elise realized that she could also control the wind and not only fire. There were so many unknown things about her origins which she chose to push away, but then she also met Alexei who said that he was just like her. The man was able to burn the drunkard''s body to ashes without a moment of hesitation. Alexei was radiating with so much power and authority back then, yet the man treated her like she was an equal of him. It made Elise want to delve more into her past and remember everything about her. Was that a good thing? Elise knew that it was better to be careful of what you wished for. Theck of her memories could have been something like a blessing in disguise because she did not remember her real parents or origins at all. What had happened to them? Were they like her and Alexei too? Did Elise identally hurt them? Those were the things that were on Elise''s mind before she finally fell asleep and then started dreaming. Elise dreamed of very vivid scenarios in her head that were filled with things and events that she couldn''t quite ce at all.She found herself at a ce which was so ancientpared to the modern times that she was living in. It was a grand pce that stretched out as far as one''s eyes could see. This was the ce where she found herself living in, Elise found herself within this strange yet familiar environment. Around her were beautiful castle towers and a gorgeous view. When Elise looked at a mirror, she found herself wearing strange clothes. These clothes were long, silky robes that fit her so well. It made Elise think of royalty of long ages ago. There was a certain strength and power in her eyes that were very regal. But this wasn''t what made Elise realize it was some sort of dream. Each time before she could focus and scrutinize more of her surroundings, the scenario changed before she could figure anything out. Elise found herself in countless positions and various locations, each one of them significant of what they contained. In a simr fashion to what she did for Loriel, Elise was holding an antique teapot with her hands glowing with powers. Hot steamy smoke erupted from the pot''s mouth and Elise could almost smell the scent of tea in her nose. In another sequence of her dreams, Elise found herself in another castle in a garden with an old woman except she couldn''t see this older woman''s face at all. Elise was only following after them eagerly. Smoke and gorgeous water bubbles floated across the air, sunlight shining and scattering a rainbow of colors across the garden. The very next moment, Elise was on horseback. The ground beneath her was shaking and the foundations of the earth were beginning to tear itself apart. Sounds of curdling howls echoed loudly in her ears. Ahead of her was the sight of a gigantic and towering mountain, there was something shining and sparkling in the distance. It appeared a glorious ray of white light, a temple like no other. However, what stood in Elise''s way were several monsters that she couldn''t exin at all. There was a seven-headed dragon creature that breathed out numerous elements out of its breaths. Right before it could hit Elise, her surroundings suddenly shifted and turned gray. Slowing down to a crawl, only her horse and Elise kept moving forwards as a fire greater than anything she could see erupted from her hands. The air around her exploded in smoke and fire. Elise bolted up from her bed and stopped herself from breathing heavily. She rubbed her face and made sure that Loriel didn''t wake up. There was no need for him to get worried, those were just really vivid dreams. Maybe her imagination was bing too overactive? Elise wanted to me that guy Alexei for triggering such dreams from her subconscious. This was so unlike her¡­ Elise tried to return back to sleep. . . -------------- From the author: Thank you so much for the support you have been giving this book. I am in awe at the immense support in the form ofments, gifts.. power stones, and golden tickets. Elise and Loriel love you! xx Chapter 174 - The Wedding When Elise came to her work over the next couple of days, she realized that Loriel may have requested Marc to lessen their workload. Elise was grateful for it and she was able to work with Alex on the wedding preparations to the fullest. It also granted the two women a chance to talk with one another and even chat about Alex''s date. This conversation about handsome gentlemen and also the wedding allowed Elise to refocus her mind on these events instead of what happenedst time. She found herself wondering about Alexei but quickly pushed the thought aside. Elise was getting married to a loving man who loved her so much despite her ws andck of memory. Loriel didn''t care if she was Madeline York or wherever she came from. It only mattered that he loved her. It was this fact that gave Elise the strength to focus on wedding preparations with Alex. Loriel only cared about having wine together at the end of their wedding ceremony. This meant that for the rest of the wedding preparations, both Elise and Alex were the one who had full-reigns over it. With Alex concentrating on making things possible as soon as possible. "So did you guys go on a date again?" Elise asked as she started picking out from a different assortment of fabrics. Elise checked out the silk fabric and smiled lightly, but then went on to check the cashmere, wool and other ones avable. Alex blushed as she went over the invitation list once more and checked the contents of the letter. "Yes, but I''m still not sure if I could invite him to the wedding itself." "Why not?" Elise asked. "What if he thinks that I''m dropping too many hints? We''ve only been on three dates together and then the next thing he''ll know is that he''s in a suit and tie and being my date to your wedding? Wouldn''t that cause some rm?" "I see¡­ but if he''s interested in you, I don''t think he would mind it at all," Elise pointed out. "We''ll see. I just don''t want to scare him into thinking that I want to marry him right away," Alex said again. This time she was looking at all the wedding party favors that were meant to be given to each guest. Elise smiled at Alex''s words. Loriel was the one who asked her hand in marriage after only three months. It was a sudden decision to most people, but it felt right to her. However, Elise couldn''t say that was the same case for Alex. Elise reached out and squeezed Alex''s hand. "Do what you think is best for your rtionship, but don''t be afraid to step out of yourfort zone, Alex. Some people may surprise you." "I know," Alex managed a smile. "It''s time to finally distribute these invitations, let''s do this." *** The day finally came for Loriel and Elise''s wedding. It was a small and simple gathering that didn''t have many people. Loriel didn''t have many people in his life except for Marc Sanderman. Actually, for the most part, it was Elise''s friends and co-workers that were guests. The wedding cake was even baked by Chef Lucy himself. The wedding preparations done by Alex and Elise during their meeting was something that Loriel and Elise agreed on and actually finished in just a couple of days. It was one of the fastest weddings prepared. Almost like the ones you''d find in Las Vegas where one only needed to drive through to get married where it was done in minutes. Except this wasn''t just a wedding that happened suddenly between two lovers. This wedding was the culmination of everything that Loriel was waiting for thest fifteen centuries. The moment where he''d see Elise again and be reunited with her as husband and wife. Even though he wanted to spoil her with avish wedding and spend everything to make it like a fairytale wedding that was grand, or even grander than when they first got married¡­ he was just thrilled to marry her. As long as Elise liked the simple wedding ns, Loriel was already content. Only what she liked mattered to him. Their venue took ce in a small but lovely chapel just outside of New York, and it was at this moment that Loriel stood at the altar with the minister. Loriel''s heart rammed in his chest as he awaited for her to go down the aisle. Elise was beautiful already in whatever she wore, but during this time¡­ she never looked so wonderful in Loriel''s eyes as she went down to meet him in the altar. Tears pricked his eyes. Even though Daniel York was not around to see it, and neither did Elise''s own real parents, it was a joyous asion. A warm and basking glow was present in their faces, as Elise epted his hand and the two of them swore their wedding vows in front of everyone. Everyone around them burst into apuse as the two of them shared a kiss. *** The reception was filled with a lot of cheerful people that all gathered to celebrate Elise and Loriel''s wedding. Most importantly, they all had different questions in their heads as they went over the buffet table. "Would Elise return to work after this?" "Of course not, they''ll be having a honeymoon." "You have to remember that the man Elise married is friends with our boss, I''m sure they already have an arrangement!" "I wonder where they''ll go. Elise already went to Japan with him when they were still boyfriend and girlfriend. So, maybe somewhere else?" The fact that Marc Sanderman was with Alex throughout this little ordeal was actually silly. They could hear what these employees of theirs were talking about from a good distance, but more importantly, Marc and Alex knew where the honeymoon would actually take ce. "You''ve already made the arrangements for their flight, right?" Marc asked. "Yes, sir." "It''s a small wedding gift," He said. Albeit, technically all the money that he was spending was more of Loriel''s actual wealth. Nobody else needed to know that. The wedding for them was a blissful event that brought the newly-wedded couple so much joy. Elise was already d, but then she was even more surprised when she discovered what Loriel prepared for their honeymoon. Once again, they were traveling out of the country. Unlike thest time in Japan, Loriel did not hesitate to use his own private jet to travel with her. It allowed them to go wherever they liked without needing to wait too long. Ease of travel without any hups. That was how everything was supposed to be now that they were together. A part of Elise still couldn''t believe that this was happening¡­ back when she was still living her life as Madeline York, she would have been content to have left the house. Now she was going ces with someone she loved. "I can''t believe we''re travelling to Europe now," Elise said and whispered to Loriel. "I know that I turned it down before¡­ but it''s really romantic that we''re going there for Valentine''s day." Loriel chuckled and held her hand in his, before he raised it to give a kiss. "I''m happy to do it with you, Elise. It''s going to be our first Valentine''s together and our honeymoon so, of course, it has to be special." "I guess you''re right." Elise looked at Loriel and smiled happily, this was their first time travelling together as husband and wife now. It made her more willing to ept situations like this one. "Actually, where do you want to spend the exact day, Elise? Would you like to stay in Venice, London or Barcelona? Somewhere like Paris and have a space just for us two?" "I''d love to stay in Italy with you, Loriel." "Are you saying that because you know that I love Italian food?" "Maybe?" Elise tilted her head. Loriel chuckled and kissed her forehead. "You don''t have to worry about that. If I really wanted to eat there, we could fly there quickly. I want to know what you want, Elise." "I''m not so sure, Loriel. As long as I spend that day with you, that''s all that matters to me." It warmed Loriel''s heart. "I feel the same way as well. Maybe once we travel around from various cities, we can decide where to stay for that day. Europe is such a small continent that it''s easy enough to travel from one end to another," Loriel exined. "Not to mention this?" Elise said and motioned to the ne. "It''s one of the things that I purchased before." Lorielughed sheepishly. "I''ve always loved traveling so I thought of buying a jet. Even when I was in a financially tight position before¡­ it was hard to let it go." "You''re really lucky to have pulled through that time." Elise smiled. Loriel couldn''t help but think otherwise. Chapter 175 - Honeymoon: Paris The man looked at Elise deeply as he spoke sincerely, "I''m lucky because I have found you, Elise. I wouldn''t mind living dirt poor as long as I could always be with you¡­ but now that I think about it, I don''t want to be poor either, because I would want to provide the best life for you." "And you already do." Elise looked around the ne some more. "I don''t think most people can afford this¡­ even if I were to collect all my sry for ten years, I think I could only buy the wings." "Which you don''t have to do at all, because I''m with you." Loriel chuckled. "I will give you whatever things you want in this world. You just have to say the word." Elise looked at him with a determined look. "Next time, I''ll be the one taking us on a fancy trip like this one.". "I''ll be looking forward to that." *** Their first destination in Europe turned out to be Paris. Elise and Loriel walked hand in hand together to take in the beautiful ambiance of the city. They went over a still present brick bridge that showed off the diverse heritage that France managed to keep throughout the passage of time. "Wee to the City of Lights, Elise," Loriel told her with a small smile. He wanted to say something like the city didn''t light up as much as she did¡­ but he was slightly nervous if she''d thought that was too much and didn''te out as romantic. Instead, he chose to deliver some interesting facts about the city. "We''re currently at the most well-known boulevardndscaped by Andr¨¦ Le N?tre back in the 17th century. A centuryter, the Parisian city nner Baron Haussman was the one in charge of the buildings we still see today." "I can understand why this is the number one destination in Europe," Elise said with a smile. "There is a certain charm to it." It was like a dreame true. Elise''s gaze settled on the River Seine that passed through the city, it was a beautiful stream of water that made the citye to life. There was the Eiffel Tower that everyone looked forward to, but that wasn''t the only thing present. The streets of Paris were filled with world-renowned stately museums, centuries-old churches, and architectural structures that remained until today. "I''m pretty sure that Chef Lucy would find it funny that we''re here in his home city," Elise said and took out her phone. "Oh, really?" Loriel smiled a little. He really had to hold back not to roll his eyes at the mention of Lucius'' name. "We should take a picture! I''ll send it to him," Elise gushed. "Okay." Now that he was married to Elise, albeit he still didn''t enjoy that chef''s presence, Loriel could tolerate the guy slightly better. "After this, would you like to visit a cafe? I know that you''ve learned a lot during your time studying with him, but there are more authentic pastries here too." Loriel pointed to one of the open cafes. "Eating outside is amon thing, an alfresco breakfast." "I would love to do that with you." Both Elise and Loriel enjoyed breakfast in one of the Parisian cafes before they went their way to visit more tourist spots in the city. Simr to Japan, the two of them particrly enjoyed just traveling on foot. Exploring different ces from the Mus¨¦e du Louvre and taking note of the beautiful art collection. The two enjoyed the sight of the famous paintings in the Louvre and the also wonderful arts like the ancient Venus de Milo sculpture, the monumental Victory of Samothrace, and other notable works. Maybe Loriel would someday be able to show off his own art collection to Elise when the time came. While those avable in the museums were fantastic, he also had his own private museum from both artistic pieces to even antiques from the past. It was impossible to go to Paris and not climb up the Eiffel Tower themselves. This was once believed to be an ugly tower by the French, but now it was the most sought-afterndmark and made the city a beloved destination. Elise thought that was a silly thought when Loriel told her about that historical fact. How could they think that this tower was anything less than a grand and magnificent ce to be? Elise''s gaze wandered to many others like her and Loriel, couples that were walking hand-in-hand and enjoying the sights. A ce that was perfect for couples in love. Elise couldn''t believe that she actually got to be here and be with the love of her life. Loriel and Elise strolled together with their hands intertwined together, only to have Elise be surprised that a part of the area was closed out for the public. Loriel however insisted that they continued. "I think they closed off some of the area, Loriel," Elise whispered and watched other people walk past them to return to the base of the tower. "Do not worry about that, honey. Leave it to me." Loriel told her with a smile. "I can handle it." "If you say so," Elise said with a hint of suspicion in her tone. What did Loriel n this time? Elise told her husband that she wanted a simple wedding and he gave her just that, however, for the honeymoon¡­ Loriel was the one who took care of everything. This time, Loriel wanted to give her an unforgettable honeymoon because this was actually a new idea that was only formed recently in his eyes. Elise was right to believe that he did have something special. There was someone keeping every other visitor away from reaching the higher parts of the tower, but once the man saw Loriel, he allowed them to pass through without a hint of reservation. "What''s this?" One of the peopleined. "This is so unfair!" Loriel didn''t pay any heed to them at all. Yes, it was rare and almost unimaginable for some that the Eiffel Tower could be kept away from the others, however, Loriel could afford it and they could not. There was a lovely candle-lit dinner waiting for them at the top. The night sky''s stars paled inparison to the Eiffel Tower''s own sparkling lights that filled them with a sense of grandeur. It was a romantic and hopeful atmosphere that weed the newly wedded couple into the very top of the Eiffel Tower, now rearranged to fit Loriel''s ideal dinner date in one of the most romantic spots in the entire world. "You really did this, Loriel? How much did it cost to have an entire evening to ourselves?" Elise asked in surprise. Once again, soft music yed in the background, an apaniment of piano and violins. Loriel brought Elise to their seats and helped her take a seat. "I hope you didn''t think that I overdid it," Loriel admitted with a nervousugh as he sat down and they were served by some servers. "... well, you did this for me," Elise said with a blush. "I''m d that you did your best to make me happy because I already am. Thank you for your efforts, I really appreciate it." "Then it was worth it." Loriel grinned at her. Elise smiled at her silly husband. Loriel didn''t need to go this far to make her happy, but the fact that he still did it made Elise incredibly happy. Her gaze then looked down at their main dish. "What''s this?" Elise asked as she picked up her utensils. The waft of the meal was mouth-watering and she was excited to take a bite as their servers poured them some wine. "Filet Mignon with Bordise Sauce," one of the servers responded politely. Loriel took the chance to exin it to Elise better and whet her appetite. "It''s luscious, wine-enriched bordise sauce paired with hanger steak, shell steak, and tender filet mignon." The French servers were surprised that this wealthy person they assumed to be a tycoon was all aware of one of their cuisine. However, one of the servers took the chance to proudly present their desserts. "We would also like to present our special creme brulee, a recipe garnered to us by one of our world-renowned chefs, Chef Lucius. He would have prepared this dish, but he is currently preupied with¡ª" Elise blinked and looked at the creme brulee. She recalled the same exact recipe taught to her but still wanted to be sure. Elise took out her phone and took a picture. "This can''t be my teacher, can he? I need to ask Chef Lucy when I get back." Loriel noticed the gawking expression of the servers and he signaled them to take their leave. While he was less jealous now of Elise''s teacher, if Loriel was going to hear the guy''s name here in France, well, even he would get slightly annoyed. But before Elise could do that, she ced her phone away and smiled at her husband. Now wasn''t the time to be focused on her teacher when her husband did all of this for her. Instead, Elise was curious about getting to know Loriel some more. It felt like Loriel knew a lot about Elise but it didn''t apply the other way around. Loriel had seen Elise''s family, both the good and the bad, but she really didn''t have a clue as to his family or even friends. He didn''t have anyone else in his life, did he? She looked at her husband with an enquiring gaze. Maybe, it''s time to get to know his past better? Chapter 176 - Honeymoon: Mount Pico, Portugal The next destination for the newly wedded couple turned out to be Portugal. This country in the southern part of Europe was underrated. They had great food, wine, and of course, port, also better weather. Things there were also much cheaper than their counterparts in Western Europe. So, it was one of Loriel''s favorite ces to go to. Not because it''s cheap of course, because he could afford even the most expensive holiday, but because there were fewer tourists. After the wonderful and ever-rxing visit to Paris, France, that made them stroll through countless boulevards and enjoy cultural arts and fine designs, the visit to the warm and sunny weather of this country was also a wee change. Elise found herself basking in the warm rays of the sun. Everything around her was an orchard filled with sun-kissed and dewy grapes. Loriel took them to the base of Mount Pico in the Azores to enjoy both the view of the orchard filled with the grapes that grew in the rich fertile soil and the fresh countryside air. He liked Lisbon and Sintra, but he thought it was better to start their Portugal trip with the journey to the mountain.. "This is such a nice ce, Loriel. Let''s take a walk through this orchard together." Elise stretched out her hand. Loriel dly epted his wife''s hand,cing their fingers together. He smiled and nodded. "Of course, wifey." He tried to remember if he ever took Elise into one of these kinds of walks in the past. But then he shook his thoughts, even if he was nostalgic, he needed to be in the moment. Loriel was finally alone and together with his wife. Except for the orchard workers that were still taking care of the grapes all around, the two had the entire ce for themselves. He let this entire ce be exclusive for them during their stay here. It was also a chance for them to experience Verdelho Wine. "After this would you like to taste their wine?" Loriel asked. Back in the mid-19th century, the English royal family and Russian czars loved and adored Pico''s wine. The wine was a prizedmodity. While the wine became more avable to others as the years and innovation went by, Loriel still actually enjoyed the taste of such drinks even when the current monarchies'' tastes had turned elsewhere. "I think I''d love to have some wine. ording to a review I read online, Portugal is well-known for its seafood dishes. I think wine and seafood would pair well, don''t you think?" Elise said. Loriel nodded. "That''s actually a good idea, I think the Pico do Ref¨²gio will be more than willing to serve us their well-known dishes once we get back." "They''re a really lovely country home ce." Elise sighed rxedly. Loriel took it as a chance to tell her an interesting fact about the modern-day country house they were staying in. "Can you imagine that about four hundred years ago it was a mansion? There were a lot of renovations done." "Oh, yes! I heard that. ording to the waiter that served us breakfast earlier, it used to function as a fortress, an artist''s residence, a ntation, and a tea factory?" Elise said. "That''s right." Loriel couldn''t believe it when he first learned of the change, but eventually just epted that even the historical architectures also started adapting to preserve their heritage. "Did you know that there''s a pool here¡­ and even a nearby beach actually, would you like to take a swim?" Elise asked. The two of them immediately remembered what happened in Japan and it made Elise flush whereas Loriel couldn''t help but recall her sexy body at that time. He was surprised back then. "This time, I think there''s no dress code that says I have to stay naked or anything though." Elise was quick to add with a red face. She wasn''t exactly trying to entice him to sleep with her right now, she wanted to make that clear. Lorielughed and tugged her closer to him. The wind all around them started blowing strongly as it scattered some of the flower petals from the nearby orange tree ntations. He whispered quietly into her ear with a husky voice. "Whatever you wear, Elise ispletely fine with me." "...Is it because you''ve already seen everything underneath?" Elise didn''t know why she asked this. It was a silly question. Loriel kissed her forehead. "You''re already so beautiful that even if you have worn rags, I would think it''s alluring." Eliseughed a little at his joke and shoved the man away slightly. "You''re really silly, Loriel." "It''s true though." Loriel chuckled back. The two of them were so happy and content with each other that there was only a sense of bliss between two of them. After enjoying the entirete morning strolling together in the orchard at the base of Mount Pico, the two took their lunch back to the country house. As promised and requested, both Elise and Loriel were able to partake in the traditional and authentic dishes from the country. "Please try some of the Polvo ¨¤ Lagareiro, ma''am and sir." The servers smiled and ced one of the several seafood dishes that Loriel ordered from them. The people in Portugal were mostlyid-back and more than happy to proudly discuss their meals. Elise looked eagerly at what appeared to be a deceptively simple octopus dish. Loriel knew she enjoyed and savored the takoyaki back in Japan, but this was also really good. "The Portuguese olive oil gives a more vorful and distinct taste to the octopus after it''s baked and roasted," Loriel added helpfully. Once the server was gone, Elise tasted it and hummed happily. "It''s really good. There''s almost a fruitful vor thanks to the olive oil?" "Uh-huh, that''s how it works." Loriel himself wasn''t eating seafood but instead was eating Porco Preto, an expensive ham that came from the native Iberico pigs." "Mmm¡­ I can''t wait for desserts," Elise enjoyed sampling all the different seafood dishes that Portugal had to offer her. Right after that, the two of them would enjoy what Loriel exined as Pastel de nata once the server brought them fluffy-looking pastries with a creamy top and drizzled generously with powdered sugar. "These are what the Portuguese call conventual desserts," Loriel said as he sampled the sugary treat. "Ah, I think I remember them from Chef Lucy''s lessons," Elise said. "They''re pastries that were created in convents and monasteries typically made with lots of egg yolks andrge amounts of sugar." Over the course of their stay in Portugal, one of the visits that the couple made was to one of the oldest libraries in the entire world. Elise first met Loriel in a small cafe while he was reading a book, so this was something that made this destination special for the two of them. The two of them entered the library and found several golden-like ques that held information about the ce. Elise tried reading them silently to herself and found Loriel saying the same exact thing. He wasn''t even looking, because somehow it seemed like he knew this from memory. "This is Livraria Bertrand and it was founded way back in 1732, although once again this is now a redesigned one," Loriel said, ncing around and imagining the tinier wooden rooms in the past and the dustier bookshelves. One of the reasons why Loriel may have also started getting bored of traveling is recognizing all the changes that happened for what seemed like a brief century or so to him. Though, in his opinion, nothing could beat Archelius Library from back home, when his kingdom, Summeria still existed. It was thergest library in the world in its time, containing almost one million books in twopounds. Eachpound housed 600,000 and 400,000 books respectively. It was also one of his favorite ces in the world. Unfortunately, when Summeria was destroyed, Archelius Library was gone with it. Loriel only had a few books and artifacts from Archelius to remind him of that ce. "It''s the world''s oldest bookstore that is still in operation, ording to the Guinness World Records," Elise finished reading the golden que aloud and gave her husband a smile. "You know a lot, as usual, Loriel." "Well, I happened to read the book before and it stood out to me," Loriel admitted with augh. Elise squeezed his hand. "You really do love books so much, it''s great that we came here so you can have a good time too." Loriel smiled and found his gaze only on Elise and it made everything fine. He nced around the library and saw their next destination. "This library now has a bookstore, would you like to buy thetest copy?" Loriel asked. "It does? We should!" Elise said. "I''d love to be more well-read and be like you." Loriel only smiled when he heard that. No amount of effort could beat fifteen centuries of experience and book reading. There was just no way Elise could be like Loriel in this regard. . . ---------------- From the author: Please be patient with Loriel''s story. I realized when I started writing important scenes from the past between him and Emmelyn, the woman he loved before Elise, that I need to focus on his story there (in The Cursed Prince) and give them both proper closure before Elise could enter the picture in the way that she deserves. So, maybe in September, this book will be slower than before. I still hope I can publish every day for Win-win, but if that didn''t happen, please understand. I don''t want to ruin Loriel''s and Elise''s story with half-baked chapters just to meet the publishing deadline. If you haven''t read "The Cursed Prince", I still won''t push/force you to read it. "The Cursed King" is still standalone and you can read this story without ever having to read the other book. I only beg your understanding that in September my focus mostly will be on TCP so the book can end in October and then I can focus on TCK. BUT... if you like TCK and wish to read more stories from me while waiting, TCP is a perfect rmendation. PS: Follow my Facebook Page/ TikTok / Instagram to see videos, visuals, and memes about this book. My handle is @missrealitybites. Chapter 177 - Honeymoon: Lisbon + Venice "You don''t have to copy simply because it''s my hobby and I know you love cooking, but reading is infinitely interesting. There''s a plethora of information and knowledge avable within your fingertips." Loriel agreed with Elise in the end. "I do love baking and cooking, but sitting down with a good book is great too," Elise said. "I tend to read articles online when work isn''t too much at thepany during my breaks." "Well, if you want a book, one can actually even buy the digital copies here." "But a real book is still better than an online version," Elise told Loriel with a small smile. "I love holding a hard copy of a book in my hands... plus the book smell, too. That''s irreceable.." "Now that you mentioned that, do you prefer the smell of new books or old ones?" "Both, actually," Elise said. Her time as Madeline York mostly allowed her to enjoy the books she had in her old home. "Although, there''s something unique with old book smells." "That''s actually because of thepounds that are released once they break down," Loriel exined. "Lignin, which is present in all wood-based paper, is closely rted to vanillin. As it breaks down, the lignin grants old books a very faint vani scent." "Oh, so that was what it was?" "Yes." "That''s quite interesting." Elise smiled and looked around the library with a smile. "I wonder if it''d be weird to get caught sniffing books." "Knowing how bibliophiles and bookworms are... I don''t think it''s that strange." Loriel chuckled. "But if you do want to smell something aromatic then there''s also another ce here in the library besides the bookstore." "You mean the cafe?" "That''s right. We can borrow some books and find ourselves a nook to stay in if you''d like." Loriel told her. "We can have a slow day if you''d like Elise. We will visit Lisbon after this, so we can also go to Mosteiro dos Jer¨®nimos to see the architecture there or Ocean¨¢rio de Lisboa." Elise thought about it and then smiled. "Maybe we can stay here for a bit and then visit those ces? The monastery also seems peaceful while I heard that the aquarium here is one of thergest in Europe." "It''s indeed quiterge. When I checked out their website earlier, the ce features and recreates the ecosystems of the Antic, Pacific, Indian, and Antarctic oceans." "Yeah, I think I''d love to go there after this. But first the cafe?" "Let''s go then." The cafe was really cozy and Elise felt happy to be able to rx there once they finished exploring. Loriel went over to one of the huge bookshelves containing the books that the caf¨¦ owner had. He found some books that he thought that Elise might want to read and then came back to sit with her. Loriel offered her the book to which she dly epted. "Here you go. If there''s anything that caught your interest. I''ll buy them. Actually, I should just do that now." "Thank you, Loriel. I love this one." The newlyweds enjoyed a really slow day with books and each other. Elise leaned on Loriel''s broad shoulder and sat leisurely while reading her book. It felt like home. As promised, after they were satisfied with Mount Pico, Loriel took Elise to Lisbon. This capital city of Portugal was the home to many old historical properties. Magen, the first man to travel around the world to prove the im that the earth was round was from Portugal. Even though he died in the Philippines and his team was led to finish the journey by his second inmand, Sebastian Del Cano, Magen''s contribution was what eventually brought Portugal so much glory. After the expedition, Portugal sent more ships to Asia and Latin America and got themselves many new colonies that gave them so much gold, spices, and whatnot. For a period of time, the world was actually divided into two by the Pope. The first half belonged to Portugal and another half belonged to Spain. Loriel witnessed the course of history happened as he lived his life as an immortal. Seeing the remnants of the past in the historical parts of Lisbon, he felt like reliving those moments. "I did read a little bit about it," Elise nodded when she heard Loriel''s story on what happened in Portugal hundreds of years ago. "You know so much! Wow.... how many books have you read in your life, hubby?" When Loriel exined everything to Elise, the woman was very impressed. She thought he knew so much because he was an avid reader. Loriel only smiled when he heard her. He didn''t remember how many books. Must be... millions? However, everything that he shared with her didn''te from books. Loriel knew those facts personally or he heard it from a second or third-hand party. Books were not even urate because history was written by the winner. They could depict a situation differently for their own gain, or smear someone''s reputation from the past if the ruler didn''t like the person. Just see how the amazing Catherine the Great of Russia was always portrayed as a sex fiend who died while she was having sex with her gigolo because the next ruler hated her gut. Loriel only shrugged. "Too many books, I don''t remember anymore, but I always remember good stories." "Well... you do have good stories to tell." Elise agreed. "I love listening to them." Loriel''s eyes lit up. "You do? You don''t find me boring and showing off and talk too much?" He was a cool and aloof man, but when he was with Elise, he just wanted to talk and shared with her everything he knew about the world and the ces they were visiting. He was d Elise enjoyed it too. "No... I like it," Elise smiled sheepishly. "You are so smart." Loriel grinned and continued to recount the history of Lisbon as they walked hand in hand around the city center. They had a great time in Lisbon and made a day trip to Sintra. And finally, it was time to leave *** Their next honeymoon destination was Italy. Loriel and Elise went to Venice for their famous gond rides. Loriel actually disliked seeing those couple riding gonds whenever he was in this city. He alwaysined that the city was too touristy and the couples looking all lovey-dovey was an eyesore. BUT¡­ now that he had his wife with him, Loriel had turned into exactly the type of people he hated seeing. He had this silly grin on his face as he wrapped his arm around Elise''s waist and walked with her all around the city of water. Ahh... it felt good to have the woman you loved by your side to enjoy all these romantic scenes Venice had to offer. Loriel even halted his steps when they reached the canal and closed his eyes to inhale the air. The air quality in this modern times was so bad for his standard, especially in touristy ces, but today, it didn''t matter to him. The sky was blue, the city was beautiful, the air was tolerable. As long as he had Elise with him¡­ life was good. The two of them strolled through the city and finally reached the port. Not needing any tour guides at all, Loriel already proved to be apetent person, rich in knowledge about the sights and history of the country. Elise, on the other hand, was the one who helped them navigate using the map on her phone. It was a team effort in this trip. Even though Loriel knew the city like the back of his hand, he didn''t show off as much as he would have wanted it. He knew if he took over everything, Elise would feel like she was a passive participant in their adventure. So, he pretended to be bad at direction in Italy because he rarely came to this part of the world. Elise dly used her phone to guide them to find the must-see ces in Venice. "If I remember correctly, it was estimated that there were eight to ten thousand gonds during the 17th and 18th century," Loriel exined. "Now it''s much fewer than before." "The fact that some still survive today is amazing though," Elise said and squeezed his hand. "Thank you so much for taking me here and see Venice. I can''t help but imagine how hard it is to procure one nowadays." "I''ve managed to get in touch with an old friend that keeps a few private gonds to himself. He was more than happy to let us use it for our honeymoon." "What? How amazing!" Elise was very impressed. "Do you think we can meet him and thank him for this?" "Oh, he''s currently out of the country. Don''t worry about him." Loriel silently thanked himself for being the owner of those gonds since he bought a few back in the day. He smiled and continued, "We can ride a gond tomorrow if you want. Would you like that?" "Yes, yes... I would love that!" "Okay. Then, I will give you the best gond experience," said Loriel. "You can rely on me." Elise was so excited. She tip-toed and kissed Loriel on the lips. "I love you." "I love you more," said Loriel. He wrapped both arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. "If you want, I can buy the whole Venice for you." Eliseughed at that and asked him. "What are we going to do with a city?" Loriel shrugged. "I don''t know. You can rule it and be the queen." Elise thought he was joking andughed. Loriel was not joking, of course, but he didn''t continue the matter. . . ---------------- From the author: Thank you so much for supporting this book and purchasing the privilege. We have crossed 10k unlocks in August ''21 and you will get 12% rebate from your coins spent on this book. I hope you will keep supporting Loriel and Elise in September. Much love! - MRB Chapter 178 - Honeymoon: Venice Despite the avenue of faster motorboats and even miniature ships that could transport several goods in the canals, there were still at least a few hundred gonds in Italy that were still left in good condition. There were only a hundred licensed gonds today. Most of these sleek boats were now kept in museums as heritages of the past and only a few could imagine one being used now. This was now a luxury that only a few could affordpared to thousands of boat riders in the past. But when it came to his wife, Loriel wanted to give her the best. It also happened that he was one of those few who managed to get a collection of gonds. He kept some as a private collection while he let Marc handle some of it to be used as a tourist ride. He loved preserving things from the past. He thought, if he didn''t keep his hands into some of them, they would be gone forever and he would never see them again. Humans were so bad at preserving their cultures and tradition from the past.. So, Loriel took it upon himself to do a bit part of the job. Well¡­ not really him per se. But he thought about it and let Marc do it for him. Same same. Now that they were here in Venice, Loriel wanted Elise to enjoy a gond ride so she could send the pictures to her curious coworkers. They could see how much she was having fun during her honeymoon and that her husband spoiled her to bits. Marc and Alex had got everything taken care of. When Loriel and Elise left their fancy vi the next day, the gond was already waiting by the canal in front of the property. Since it was in February, the temperature was too cold for people to ride a gond, but for both Loriel and Elise this was not an issue. They could warm up their bodies easily with their powers, even though Elise didn''t know that Loriel knew about her power. So, today, the canals looked quite empty from tourists who wanted to ride gonds. If they rode now, it would feel like they got the ce for themselves. The gondolier weed them with a big smile and said how he was impressed to see a couple wanting to ride a gond at such temperature, and especially without a gondolier to take care of them. "Huh?" Elise turned to Loriel and asked in surprise. "We are not going to use his help?" Loriel shook his head and smiled smugly. "That is correct." "You know how to paddle a gond?" Elise asked again in disbelief. "It looks easy enough, besides I want to enjoy a boat ride with you that has no other people disturbing us," Loriel whispered into her ear with a smile. "Trust me, we''ll be fine." For Loriel, it would be easy to create wind to help push the gond so he wouldn''t need to actually paddle, but he would pretend anyway. He was selfish and didn''t want to share his wife in a romantic gond journey, even with the gondolier. "Okay," Elise didn''t seem veryfortable with the idea, but she also wanted to enjoy the experience. "Shall we?" Before they could ride on the sleek and narrowboat, the gondolier helped Elise aboard. "Here you go, Miss." "Ah, thank you." Elise sat down on the boat. The gondolier then started giving Loriel some tips and instructions on how to use the oars to help them get around. Loriel pretended to pay attention for a couple of minutes before he tipped the guy and then took his seat beside Elise. While he was going to use the oar and did know how to use one, Loriel also had other ns. When he steered the boat out of the port and into the city''s canals, it wasn''t only the oars movement that helped them navigate through the city. The waters also moved along with them. This was a little simr to what he did back in NYC Central Park, but instead of nts, the water was the one who moved ording to his will. Loriel could then instead spend his time talking with his beautiful wife. "I feel like I''m in a storybook," Elise spoke with a smile. Her gaze was on all of the beautiful architecture that they were traveling through and she even looked down at the clear and blue waters. Her reflection was pure in the waters and she couldn''t help but feel like the upstream was helping them move along the canals with ease. It was really lucky. "Well, this ce is truly beautiful." Loriel was happy to acknowledge that fact. It wasn''t often that a city or country managed to make him admire it despite the countless centuries that passed him by. Elise nodded and ran her fingers through the water. "I''m d that the past and present still manage to be connected like this gond, it almost feels like you''re living in a dream." Loriel took it as a good sign that his wife was enjoying herself, so by extension, it meant the same for him. He was happy to be just at her side and doing all of these activities with her. A part of him still wondered if he was also dreaming. If this was once again a conjured mirage or illusion that his mind made to keep himself sane. Loriel needed to shake those thoughts away. "Yes, I can''t help but wonder it myself." Elise took note of Loriel''s tone and rified herself with a smile. "It''s just so nice to see that they managed to keep some things from a hundred years ago intact." "I can''t help but agree with you," Loriel acknowledge. "Italy and other countries have truly made it a point to reim what they have in the past and protect it. It''s a cultural heritage." "One can''t help but also wonder about other kingdoms too," Elise said with a hint of mncholy. "Not everything can be protected and some are lost to time." Loriel did his best to make sure that she was okay and enjoyed the romantic ride with him. Chapter 179 - Loriel Bought The Theatre Loriel knew Elise had a soft heart when it came to several things, whether they were animals in need of tending or hearing about sad events and urrences. "I''m sure that the rulers have done their best to protect what matters. One can also remember that these kingdoms continue on in the lives of their people." Loriel recalled a fact. "There were kingdoms like Prussia between 1701 and 1918 that dissolved and are now part of Germany." "Yes, I guess that''s what happens," Elise said with a smile. She was truly impressed with all of Loriel''s knowledge. Loriel decided to add something else to make her smile. "Hmm... after this gond ride.. Would you like to have some gto? I''ve also booked us tickets to Theatre La Fenice to watch an opera." "Whaa.. opera? That sounds amazing. I''ve never been to one," Elise gushed. "I think you will like this," said Loriel with a smile. Despite his aloof appearance, Loriel enjoyed art so much. People wouldn''t expect he could stand watching opera for hours or spent all day seeing art exhibitions. Well, he had so much time to kill all these centuries and he had developed taste for such things and he enjoyed them so much. Now, he couldn''t wait to share them with his wife. "I can''t wait!" "It''s for tonight." "Oh.. wait... Shouldn''t we wear something fancy to go to the opera?" Elise suddenly remembered that she didn''t bring a special outfit to wear for the asion. "I don''t bring anything on the watching-opera-level fancy." Elise liked casual clothes and except for two cocktail dresses she brought for fancy dinners outside, she mostly only brought casual outfits for this honeymoon. Throughout their visits from Japan, Portugal to even Italy today, Elise has worn simple butfortable outfits that were perfect for traveling and strolling around the cities. There was a ck-tie dress code however for this special event. It was going to be a stunning evening filled with theatrical shows and an orchestra. "Ahaha.. don''t worry about it, wifey. I''ve got it covered," said Loriel. "Your dress is already sent to our vi by the designer." "Oh..." Elise was impressed to see how her husband was very nified and always got everything done before she even thought about it. She touched his hand and smiled gratefully. "Thank you!" *** "It''s actually a little dressy for what I''m used to wearing," Elise admitted as she slipped on somecy gloves and stared at the mirror. She wore a beautiful white dress with a long skirt that fit her body perfectly. Loriel was admiring her and it was obvious in the reflection. Elise was actually happy about that and it made her feel confident. She looked at him. "But it is a formal asion and I should look my best. I want to look beautiful." "You always do," Loriel said in a soothing tone. "Please don''t worry about it, honey. The reason I got us tickets is to enjoy a night to ourselves with something different." "You always look good," Elise said and looked at her husband from head to toe. She was a little shy aboutplimenting him, but she wanted to do her best. "Haha, I hope to look good enough for you." Elise batted her eyes. "What are you talking about? Whenever we walk together, I notice so many women looking your way and trying to find the courage to approach you." Loriel raised a brow. "Really? I was too busy trying to scare away those who were looking at you to notice." "We''re being too silly right now," Eliseughed. Loriel was happy that his wife became more at ease. "That''s why I love being with you. You make my world infinitely brighter, honey." Elise felt her face heat up. "You don''t have topliment me every time now, Loriel. We''re already married." "I think that''s more reason for me to keep telling you these things because I''m your devoted doting husband," Loriel said as he took Elise''s hand in his. "I can''t help it at all and can''t wait to know what other things we''ll be doing in the future." "But tonight, we''ll have theatre," Elise said. "Of course, theatre night." Loriel nodded. "We''ll be watching and also listening to the wonderful opera from the story of Engelberta to Mozart''s and Le Nozze di Figaro, Ouverture to Beethoven''s Piano Concerto No 1 in C Major, Op. 15." Elise couldn''t help but smile at these words of encouragement. She never doubted her husband''s capability to make anything work so she knew that she was going to love the theatre. "I''m d that we were able to buy some tickets. Bookings tend to be a little difficult from what I heard. You need to get them a couple of months in advance," Elise said. "Unless you have some connections or enough wealth," Loriel said with a chuckle. There was something about Loriel''s words that made Elise feel like he was being secretive, but Elise thought it was only because it was her own guilt eating her up and not the other way around. In this rtionship of theirs, Elise decided that she was the one who hid more things than Loriel. *** Theatre Fenice was a beautiful and open-house theatre that allowed them to enjoy a lovely night filled with glittering stars and the drapes of the dark sky. Watching an opera here was considered a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people. When they arrived in front of the theatre, Elise was wondering to see how empty and quiet it was. She thought there was no performance and they came on the wrong date, but the staff in a tuxedo hade to wee them with a big smile on his face. "Wee, Mr. And Mrs. Ashborn," he greeted them. Elise turned to see Loriel and found her husband grin. It made her feel suspicious. Did Loriel do something? "Let''s get in. The show won''t start without us," the husband whispered to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, and walked with her inside the theatre. Only after they arrived inside, Elise realized Loriel didn''t just buy two tickets for them to watch the opera. He bought the whole theatre. Now, there were only the two of them watching a private show. "This¡­." Elise was at a loss for words. She turned to her husband to ask for an exnation. The man just smiled sweetly and pulled her hand to sit on the best chair. "I don''t like sharing," he said casually. Elise didn''t know whether she shouldugh or look surprised. Loriel was really something, she thought. After she got over her initial shock, Elise finally sat beside Loriel and paid attention to the stage. The opera was about to start. Two staff came and brought champagne and snacks for them to enjoy while watching the show. It was truly a performance and rockstar treatment designed to please a king. "This is amazing..." Elise whispered several times to Loriel. She still couldn''t believe what happened. Loriel truly made their honeymoon special. "I am happy you like it, honey," Loriel said. He took his wife''s hand and kissed it. Then he put it on hisp and sped their hands together. Her hand felt soft and warm. He loved holding her hand whenever they were together. He would never let go of this. Chapter 180 - [Bonus ] What Is He Doing Here?? Loriel and Elise had a great time watching the performance. The fact that they were the only guests made the experience all the more special. "The theatre show was really amazing, thank you so much for taking me there, Loriel." Elise hugged her husband''s arm as they left Theatre Fenice together. "It was my pleasure, wifey." Loriel kissed her forehead and brightly smiled. "Now that the y is finished, what do you have in mind to do next? Are you in the mood to eat dinner? A little wine and dine¡­?" "No.. Not really," Elise said with a sheepish smile. "It''s actually a bitte and I don''t want to eat a heavy meal anymore¡­" "That''s fine¡­ how about something light like gto?" Loriel suggested. "We weren''t able to get some earlier before the start of the show." "Oh, now I actually like that." A blush appeared on Elise''s face that made Loriel chuckle. While it was true that their time at the theatre took a bit longer than he expected, it was also because Elise enjoyed sweets more than dinner. Loriel wanted to treat her if that was the case. "We should go find a dessert ce then." Loriel reached out for Elise''s hand and kissed the back of her hand. "There are numerous vors for us to try and if you''d like, we can also get them all." Elise grinned at Loriel''s words. "Didn''t I say that I didn''t want a heavy meal? We can''t have too much ice cream. Gto is just Italian for ice cream, right?" "Not quite, the Italian recipe for their dessert has less cream added into it than most ice creams, instead there is more milk added into it, which otherwise results in more vor and density of a scoop of gto than the average scoop of ice cream." Elise reached out and ced her hand on Loriel''s cheek. "You should have told me that you love gto and wanted an excuse to get every vor. You must really adore Italian food, including desserts." Loriel coughed and shook his head. "I simply wanted to enjoy the experience of eating it and enjoying it with you, that''s all. I''m not that too fond of sweetness." "If you say so." Elise smiled at her husband. Loriel was well put together and quite unfazed with a lot of things. Her husband was so dependable that it was rare for Elise to find anything that would make him shocked or surprised. It was a wee change to also see a cute side to Loriel''s character. "Shall we go now?" Loriel asked. "I think I recall having checked a great gto ce on GoogleMaps earlier." "Ah, should we take a taxi then?" Elise asked him. "If you don''t mind walking, the two of us can get there in just a few minutes." Loriel squeezed her hand. "You do remember that I always walk to Marc''spany, right? We''ve also been walking in most of our visits, so it''s absolutely fine with me. Let''s go." Elise tugged him to start moving and so Loriel did. While the two of them could easily get a cab or even have their own private chauffeur pick them up from there¡­ It was a great opportunity to take advantage of their honeymoon. Loriel wanted to enjoy every moment with Elise and not have any other individual interrupt their time together, be it a driver or even other spectators in the theatre from earlier. The two of them strolled the pavement streets of Venice, passing bridges, and taking in the sights of beautiful street lights that gave life into the breathtaking city. Loriel and Elise encountered several other pedestrians also strolling, but otherwise, the city was peaceful that night. Soft, almost magical, the nighttime at Venice was simply stunning. Everything felt beautiful and peaceful¡­. until Elise saw and recognized a face amongst the people in the streets. Her heart skipped a beat. It was impossible for this man to be here¡­ but Elise knew that it was the same person that she encountered back in New York. This man caught Elise identally killed a drunk man who tried to harass her and, instead of reporting her to the police, he helped her covered up her tracks. He easily and leisurely destroyed the evidence, just with a flick of his finger. This memory made Elise''s heart pound uneasily and she unconsciously held her breath. It was Alexei. What was he doing here??? Elise recognized his long ash hair and blue eyes. They were strikingly familiar. The young man was conversing and talking leisurely with apanion. It was another young man around his age with beautiful features. This other young man had cropped hair, making him look carefree and nonchnt. It was as white as snow and he shared the same blue eyes as Alexei. One could easily assume that they were brothers of some sort. Both of them were holding sundae cones and enjoying their own scoops of gto as well. "Elise, are you okay?" Loriel stopped in his tracks once he noticed that Elise stopped walking with him. There was something else that was bugging Loriel, a prickling in the back of his head which was something he didn''t think he''d ever encounter again. It was an annoying sensation. But Loriel prioritized Elise above all. So, he brushed off that feeling of annoyance. Elise quickly lowered herself to the ground and grabbed the back of her heel and winced. "I''m sorry, Loriel. I think I suddenly felt a cramp in my foot¡­ I''m not sure if it''s the shoe pinching me or something else." Loriel quickly knelt down to check on Elise. "Let me check. Do you need to sit down and take a seat? There''s a nearby park bench here somewhere." Loriel worriedly asked her. He wondered if he made her walk too much and this was his fault. Elise gave her husband a pained smile. It wasn''t because of the pain from her footwear¡­ but it was because she knew for a fact that Loriel cared too deeply to notice anything else when she was in pain. Not waiting for an answer from Elise, Loriel picked her up and carried her bridal style. There was no moment to lose and so Elise was brought to the nearest park bench, which was thankfully just a couple steps ahead of them. Loriel gently ced Elise down on the bench and assessed her condition. "Do you want me to stay here with you until you feel better? Maybe I can go around and find the nearest drugstore and find you some first aid treatment¡­ Actually, why don''t I just carry you until we reach the gto store? Or just get back to our hotel. I''ll get us a taxi?" A genuine look of panic and concern was etched on Loriel''s face. Elise felt instantly guilty, but she didn''t want Loriel to meet Alexei and vice versa. What if¡­ Loriel found out she was not normal when he met Alexei? What If Alexei told him about what happened after Alex''s blind date? What would Loriel think of Elise if he knew she had killed someone? Elise didn''t want her husband to think she was a monster¡­. . . *********** From Missrealitybites: Thank you so, so much for your support to this book. I am sorry, I couldn''t publish chapters in September because I was focusing on Loriel''s story in "The Cursed Prince". I will resume new chapters on October 1. However, I published this chapter today, to give you 10 vouchers that you can redeem for 100 coins each because you have purchased the highest tier privilege in September but you didn''t get chapters. Go to your Profile page and click the REDEEM tab (next to the STORE tab). Put the codes and redeem. With 10 vouchers, you can get 10 x 100 coins = 1000 coins which you can use to read books on AllNovelFull or purchase the privilege for TCK in October, if you wish you renew the privilege. Each code can only be used by 10 people. So, it''s a firste-first-serve basis. I am very sorry, if you camete and the codes no longer work. That means 10 people already imed the coins. I will give mass release on October 1 topensate for theck of chapters in September. I hope you are okay with that. xx AB9NYASWKFHNVC23B AB9PYKBK4HXWH9MUA AB9NYAT6KHZNCC39A AB9NYRJ9WZSE4P3JA AB9PYHM3AVV7MUT6A AB9PYRJMSHZNF4VTA AB9NYRLZWXA6MPSJA AB9MYJKG6TPAF2A6A AB9MY55K2UWSNK3ZA AB9MYPMRWV9L26JXB Chapter 181 - Alexei And Baron "Mmmm, pistachio tastes so good," Alexei remarked as he licked and enjoyed the frozen dessert. The young man was enjoying it so much as he paid half attention to his friend''s rant. "Are you even listening to what I''m saying right now, Alexei?" Baron snapped his fingers in front of the guy and then rolled his eyes. "The least that you could do for tagging along here just because you were bored is listening, you know?" "You said something about your scarf and shoes?" Alexei said with a shrug. It was mostly something about Baron''s clothes and modeling gig now that they were in Italy so he couldn''t be bothered to pay attention to any of it. Another thing that humans liked to pass their time with. "No." Baron gave him a t look. "Well, actually yes. The fashion designer wants me to wear this scarf from water hyacinth fibers? It''s really interesting how innovative these people can be, but a literal weed? They''re an invasive aquatic species.". Alexei wasn''t really giving his entire heart to listening and was just hoping they could get back to their hotel. He was already tired of Italy¡­ the world was so small sometimes. Why couldn''t there be anything new that would change things? "Are you really not going to say anything?" Baron sighed and then also started to eat his own gto. "Wait, hold up. Do you feel that?" Alexei stopped in his tracks and grabbed Baron''s shoulder. Baron''s gto dropped on the street, but Alexei no longer cared about anything else except for the sensation in the air. "Feel what? The air?" Baron frowned at his friend. "Are you messing with me again, Alexei? I already got dragged out here to have gto with you even though I shouldn''t be eating anything past six in the evening--" "Gto won''t make you fat." Alexei rolled his eyes and knew that Baron''s body wouldn''t change one bit even if he were to eat a thousand pounds of ice cream. "Could you shut up for a moment?!" Baron finally realized that Alexei picked up on something important enough to drop his easy going attitude. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to look around as well. Alexei closed his eyes and tried to trace where it came from. There was this sensation that made Alexei pause and feel something change in the air around them. Compared to Alexei, Baron was a little less aware of their environment as his speciality was elsewhere but Alexei recognized the energy. It was something that was born out of Cretea. Earth was a dry husk to Alexei. The days where it was vibrant and every ce was filled with power, magic and a sense of wonder was already long gone. So another person who was filled with magic, a being of magic or simply more than what seemed on the surface was easily noticeable. Simr to that one time in New York. It wasn''t everyday Alexei went out of his way to help another person. However, when the person was like him, he wouldn''t mind lending some helping hand. Alexei was willing to help them out especially when they needed it. Elise was interesting and Alexei wondered where she came from. The energy that Alexei could feel was the energy that was simr to Elise back then, magic and power¡­ and there was also something else too. But that was impossible.He crinkled his nose, as if sniffing the air could give him an answer. Alexei practically knew everyone who was worth noting in strength but this was unlike anything he experienced before. An unimaginable strength coursed in the air and Alexei opened his eyes to look around but didn''t find anyone who matched that profile. There were several other pedestrians like himself and Baron, but none with a power that rang with immortality. Alexei rubbed his face and sighed. "I lost it." "Lost what?" Baron raised a brow at him. Alexei rolled his eyes. "Is the only thing that you''re good for is your pretty face? Didn''t you detect the change in the atmosphere earlier? There was someone else besides us. Someone like us, if you catch my drift." "Well, now that you mentioned it¡­ I thought I did feel something." Baron replied with a frown, but then he shrugged. "But why should we care? Most of us prefer to keep to ourselves or hide amongst the people and blend in. If they prefer to be alone, why bother them?" "You don''t get it." Alexei mumbled underneath his breath. "Get what?" Baron narrowed his eyes at Alexei and then started walking forward. "Don''t try acting like a smartass when you''re more of a brat than me." Most of the individuals that Alexei and even Baron encountered were beings who were already at the pinnacle of their powers. Stronger than anyone in the world with power beyond normal and mortal humans'' dreams¡­ But it was so rare to find someone like Elise who was clueless. This made Alexei a little more troubled than he let on. But Baron was right, if someone like Elise decided to stay low and not bother anyone else then it was possible to live a peaceful life and pretend they were an ordinary person, right? The same could be applied to this immensely strong person that Alexei just noticed. "I didn''t only detect one person like us, there were two of them," Alexei exined. "One of them was almost hidden because the other one''s energy was stronger, but I thought I recognized one." "You mean you''ve met someone else like us and haven''t told me?" Baron raised a brow. He threw Alexei an using gaze. . . ************ Thank you so, so much to Fantasylove3471, Margaritas680, and Adriyanna for being the Top 3 Golden Tickets Contributors in September ''21 for . I am grateful for your support. Picture attached in thement. To everyone who has supported this book with your chapter unlocks,ments, reviews, and golden tickets... THANK YOU SO MUCH. xx - Vina (Missrealitybites) Chapter 182 - Dreams Alexei scratched his cheek. "Yeah. I met someone in New York but let them go. I mean, you''re kinda right that people like us prefer not to be disturbed. Plus she looked like she was already content with her life." "So it was a girl?" "Why did it matter if it was a girl?" Alexei frowned. "But yes, she was a girl who seemed to have lived her life under the radar without knowing the full extent of her powers. I don''t get how she''d be here if she was in New York¡­ but then again, she did live in a very nice penthouse." "It may be fate," Baron remarked. "What?" "The beauty of being reunited with someone you crossed paths with.." Baron looked at Alexei. "There must be a reason for it." *** It was around midnight that Loriel woke up in cold sweat and quickly sat up, making sure not to disturb his wife. Loriel looked at the slumbering face of Elise and knew that his life wasplete and now had a purpose. Everything that happened before in the centuries of the past was no longer relevant to him. And yet what Loriel encountered earlier during his stroll with Elise made him relive and recognize the immortal energy that charged the air. Loriel thought he''d never see any of their faces again, but he was wrong. Instead of bing holed up in their mountains, some of the gods started to blend in and dwell amongst the humans as well, just like him. He almost never met them. Thest time he encountered one from his kind was probably fifty years ago. So, it was quite surprising to see not only one but two today. Whether or not they recognized Loriel as well, and even Elise earlier, it didn''t matter to him. Loriel would not let anything ruin his life with his wife. After everything that he went through to be immortal and meet up with Elise again¡­ the gods, witches, or anyone else couldn''t stop him. Elise sleepily rubbed her eyes and opened them to see Loriel deep in contemtion. "Honey, are you alright? Can''t sleep?" "I''m alright, sweetheart. Just a little nightmare¡­" Loriel chuckled softly. As if the things he encountered back then were nothing more than little obstacles to get what he wanted. But what were monsters when he was to imagine a life without Elise? They were smallpared to Loriel''s fear of never getting the chance to mend his rtionship with Elise. That was what he was more afraid of than anything, and now, Loriel never wanted to lose Elise again. "You could tell me about it if you''d like?" Elise sat up and joined her husband in leaning against their bed. Elise gave Loriel a warm smile and touched his arm. "I know that I feel better when I tell someone what''s bothering me." Loriel nced at Elise and thought about how he decided not to tell her anything about their past life. It was for the best¡­ and yet he wanted Elise to know him again and ept him for everything. What a selfish desire of his¡­ Loriel should be living to make it up to Elise and not the other way around. "I think I just remembered an old movie or book I read about the Roman gods," Loriel admitted. "Something about a mountain, monsters and what awaited at the summit¡­ it''s actually quite a blur." "It''s really hard to remember dreams," Elise said. "I um, I actually dreamt something before too. Something about a princess I think and a wonderful castle¡­ but it''s not really a nightmare is it?" Loriel looked closer at Elise''s face. "Did I say something wrong?" Elise blushed and thought about it. "I guess my example isn''t that great. That was a little callous of me." "No, no." Loriel shook his head. "Maybe you just dreamed about being a princess? Perhaps in a past life, you were one? At least, that''s what some people believe about reincarnation." "Me. A princess?" "Yes." Loriel''s voice was a little hoarse. "That would be nice¡­" Elise said with a sweet smile. "But that might just be my mind making up nonsense. Just like that nightmare of yours. I do hope that you''ll be able to sleep better though." "I will," Loriel reassured her with a smile. "I know that you''re here and there''s nothing to be afraid of. I know for a fact that I''m the luckiest man alive so why would I be bothered by nightmares?" "Even now you don''t know when to stop flirting with me." Elise cupped Loriel''s cheek and then kissed his forehead. "Shall we go back to sleep? Didn''t you mention that we have nster this evening?" Loriel nodded. "A renowned designer is hosting a fashion show today and revealing their new line of clothes. Italy and France are both known for that, so I''d like for you to maybe pick something up that catches your eye. Or maybe the entire wardrobe is good too." "You really don''t have to spend that much for me," Elise pouted. "You''ve already booked the entire theatrest night, the two of us already enjoyed the gond¡­ actually you''ve already taken me to countless countries, Loriel. You spoil me too much." "It''s just showing you my love and it''s me being selfish." Loriel chuckled at his wife''s cuteness. "I don''t think I''d like the idea of you returning back to work when I know I''m capable of providing for you¡­" "And we''ve already discussed this," Elise told him. She really liked working and her office mates. For the first time, she could have many friends and she could learn and do many things to keep her busy. She already asked Loriel to understand that she liked to be independent in some sort. "Yes, I know that you also want to work." Loriel smiled. "So now that we''re at our honeymoon, I just want to maximize the time we have together and experience everything that we can before we return to New York." Elise rested her head against Loriel''s shoulder. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and bit back a yawn. "Mhmm, you told me that and I want that too, Loriel. So let''s get to sleep now, okay? We have a big dayter." . . ************ So, one by one, the gods and goddesses appear in the book. I can''t wait to introduce them all to you! ^^ Chapter 183 - The Fashion Show Loriel smiled sweetly and kissed Elise''s forehead dotingly. "Of course. Thank you for the talk, Elise." "I didn''t do much¡­" Elise batted her eyes at her husband. She looked so adorable. "You telling me about your own dream helped me," Loriel told her. "Now, you can go back to sleep." "Hmmm..." Elise yawned softly and then closed her eyes. She went back to sleep, while Loriel rubbed her back gently.. After some time, Elise''s breathing slowed down into a peaceful one as she fell back asleep. Loriel on the other hand couldn''t do that. Loriel''s chest beat so loudly. When he thought Elise was already back to sleep, the man woke up very softly and rested his head on his elbow, to watch the sleeping beauty beside him sleep. He was wondering what exactly Elise saw in her dream. Was it even a dream? What if it was her memory that started to creep its way back into Elise''s mind? Gosh¡­ Loriel really hoped it was nothing more than a dream, but something was telling him that this was Elise''s memory. A small fragment of what Elise''s old life was. Was Elise recovering her memory piece by piece? Based on Loriel''s assessment of her tone and expression, Elise didn''t give much more thought to it than anyone did to their dreams. A mixture of both relief and longing was in his chest. *** The big four fashion weeks were regarded with high esteem by people all over the world. From Mn, London, Paris to New York, they were all semi-annual events that showcased the wonderful andtest fashion collections to the buyers, press, and general public. Loriel acquired tickets easily through his connections, aka Marc Sanderman, getting them for him and for Elise. It was one of the rare opportunities to actually attend this event and be at the forefront of the newest designs and so Loriel wanted Elise to enjoy it. Although, sometimes Loriel wondered if Elise was simply going with whatever he wanted to make him happy. In the past, Elise would always smile and nod her head just to keep things pleasant at the pce¡­ but this time, Elise also learned how to speak up more for herself. Loriel knew this for a fact. "Are you enjoying yourself, honey?" Loriel asked. Elise''s gaze was at a brochure they''ve received from the attendants and she smiled brightly at Loriel. "Yes, I didn''t think that there are all sorts of fashion collections we''d get to see. There''s also both the women and men category. Maybe we''ll get some for you?" Loriel thought about it and then nodded. "I''ll wear anything that you''d like me to wear." "Are you sure?" Elise looked up at him in surprise. Loriel was always well-dressed in Elise''s eyes and she knew that the man seemed to have very specific tastes and clothes catered to him. It was exciting though for Elise to have the opportunity to pick something out for him. "Yes, I can also wear nothing if you''d like," Loriel whispered huskily into his wife''s ears. Elise''s face heated up at the thought of seeing her husband''s naked body. Elise already saw him naked and also in board shorts when they were at the penthouse¡­ but it always felt like she was seeing him for the first time. "Well, we can save that for another time." Elise coughed with the tips of her ears now bright pink. Gosh¡­ she hoped nobody at the venue could read minds and see how dirty hers was at the moment. Loriel smiled at that. He liked that his wife was being more forward about her desires now more than ever. "Of course." He winked. Despite everything that happened yesterday, from Elise experiencing weakness when Loriel and her were about to get some gto to Loriel remembering some events in the past because of the presence of other immortals in the same city¡­ nothing would stop him. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much foring here today!" The female voice of the emcee came from the curtains as the lights dimmed all around them. Loriel blinked at the sound of the woman''s voice. He couldn''t forget this voice even if he tried. "Oh, the show is starting!" Elise whispered to Loriel excitedly, not noticing her husband''s reaction as she looked at the pamphlet on herp. "ording to the schedule, we have a world-renowned celebrity as an emcee. Please wee¡­ HILDE!!!" The bright white lights all around them started changing and highlighting the catwalk instead. The tform was long and on both sides were the eager attendees and it was where both Elise and Loriel were seated to get the full view of the models. A beautiful woman with blonde hair and pink highlights walked up on stage and clicked on her earpiece. There was a twinkle in her eyes as she addressed the crowd and enjoyed the attention given to her. Her iris were so special. She had round and beautiful light amber eyes which looked almost like golden. They were breathtaking. Hilde waspletelyfortable on stage. She cast her nce around them and smiled sweetly, showing her row of pearly white teeth. Elise stared up at the woman with a sense of awe. Not only did Hilde strut down with confidence, everyone around her was also caught up in reverie. It wasn''t only her gorgeous appearance but the sheer amount of personality thatmanded people to pay attention to her. "I want to begin today''s event by weing everyone to the winter edition of Mn''s Fashion Week¡­ We have quite a crowd this time, so I''m happy to have all of you here." Hilde''s attention slightly drifted when she saw Loriel sitting at the forefront of the seats. Her lips curled up more into a smile as she engaged and gave a short speech to the crowd for a few more minutes until it reached the end. "And with these final words, I now dere Mn''s Fashion Week officially opened!" It was then met with a round of apuse. Chapter 184 - Alexei Again! The crowd went wild as cameras started capturing Hilde leaving the stage as the first batch of models strutted down the runaway in their outfits. People all around Elise stood up to give a standing ovation despite the fashion show just beginning. Elise was about to do the same and join with the others, smiling and pping her hands together until she saw a person right across the crowd whose gaze waspletely on her. Alexei was looking straight at her as he pped. His face was expressionless, but as soon as their eyes met, a faint smile curved up on his lips. Panic started within Elise''s chest and she hoped that Alexei didn''t pay much attention to Loriel beside her. If the man ever stepped towards them then Elise didn''t know what she''d do. Elise chewed on her lip. Oh my god¡­ what should she do? Maybe it was a good idea to confront the man? Elise wasn''t sure if Alexei would actually approach her and Loriel.. However, with the way that the man was staring at her and didn''t have eyes for anyone else¡­ even with the world-renowned celebrity being onstage, she thought it was obvious Alexei thought she was more interesting than the show and all the beautiful models on the runway. What if he came here???? It made Elise too anxious. What would Loriel think if he discovered Elise''s secrets through Alexei? Elise couldn''t just sit still here and wait for something to go wrong at all¡­ Elise needed to prevent them from even happening in the first ce. That was something Elise picked up from Alex as she worked as an assistant. It was better to be prepared and make contingency ns when things didn''t work out. "Loriel, I think I need to go to the bathroom," she said suddenly. "Huh?" Loriel turned his gaze away from the stage to look at Elise. "Would you like me to go with you?" "No. Of course, not. Men are not allowed in thedies'' room. Stay here, Loriel, and enjoy the show." Elise smiled. "I''ll be back as fast as I can." Elise didn''t know that Loriel actually didn''t enjoy being in the show and would prefer to leave, as much as she did, to avoid Alexei. If they had the chance to actually leave the fashion show right now, Loriel would actually like it and just didn''t want to say it aloud. When Loriel recognized the energy yesterday, he thought it was fine to ignore it as most of them preferred to keep to themselves. Most gods, even those in hiding didn''t bother to meet with other immortals. Hilde wasn''t going to be like that. *** When Alexei saw Elise leave her seat¡­ the young man already figured out what was going to happen. The woman was easy enough to read like that. He pulled himself up to his feet and made his way out of the fashion house. It took them a couple of minutes to see each other, the woman was smaller than him and difficult to find but Alexei looked amongst the crowd and saw her. Instead of calling out Elise''s name, Alexei found himself instinctively reaching out and grabbing her wrist. "I found you." Elise''s eyes widened and she spun around to meet Alexei. "Let go of me." "Oops, sorry about that." Alexei quickly released his grip and found himself smiling sheepishly. It wasn''t like Alexei was some child lost in the crowd who found his mother, he shouldn''t be doing things like this. "Apologies epted," Elise said and then looked around them. Many people were stilling in and out of the main room of the building. "Shall we go somewhere quieter?" Alexei was surprised at how straightforward Elise waspared to when they first met in the back alleys in New York. Compared to then, Elise was more confident and reassured. So, he nodded and soon led her out of the crowd. Baron finally became helpful by giving Alexei this tip earlier, and so, Alexei and Elise were now in one of the quieter and less crowded rooms. This wasn''t a private room for the models to change their clothes in, but it was a room where the models and assistants got to rx before the set started. Elise looked around in surprise, but then calmed herself down. There was no time for her to be startled and instead, she gave him a look. "You must be curious as to why I suddenly approached you, Alexei." "Hmmm¡­ I actually have some thoughts about it." Alexei said and nced at the woman. He noticed a ring on her finger and then smiled. "Ah, so you were here on a honeymoon? Wedding? Congrattions." Elise blinked at the man''s sharpness in noticing minute details but then nodded. "Yes, I''ve gotten married to a wonderful man." "Because he''s wealthy?" Alexei asked with an annoying smirk. "No." Elise frowned at him. "It''s because he loves me and epts me for who I am. That''s why I''m asking you to please refrain from saying anything and also to keep our distance from each other." "It''s kinda funny since you approached me first." Alexei coughed but then bit back from his remark. "I might have wanted to learn a little more about you, Elise. But that''s also fine. Is your husband ordinary?" "Yes." Elise nodded. "He doesn''t know anything about my powers. So, please, stay away." She especially stressed thest two words, almost clenching her jaws. Alexei frowned and thought that the energy from earlier came from the man close to Elise, but a woman would surely know more about her husband instead of him. "Okay. That''s kind of rude to say to someone who helped you before, but you have your reasons and I''ll respect that," Alexei said. "Thank you," Elise bowed her head lightly as a touch of vulnerability entered her tone. "I don''t know how he''d think of me¡­ if he knew what I was capable of. I don''t want my husband to be afraid of me because I''m different." Chapter 185 - Immortal?? Alexei looked at Elise''s expression and recognized the genuine fear on her face. It was the same look she had back when she identally hurt the drunkard in New York and it made Alexei feel weird. He normally didn''t care, Baron was right about most of them not usually caring¡­ but seeing Elise''s troubled face was different. There was something really sweet and gentle about her that even a selfish god like Alexei would feel touched. "You know¡­ mortals don''t live very long," Alexei said. He couldn''t stop himself from saying such a thing. "So I''m surprised you''re in a rtionship with one." Elise gasped and threw Alexei a shocked look. "What do you mean by a mortal?" Her heart skipped a beat. "Yes. Mortal as in ordinary people," Alexei exined. "No, I know what it means," Elise grumbled. "Are you implying¡­ that you''re NOT a mortal?" Alexei shrugged nonchntly. "Of course not." GASP "Then¡­ who are you???" Elise asked in a choked voice. "Do you mean that your powers make you live longer than normal? Or¡­ immortal? That''s not possible, right?" Alexei stared silently at Elise and somehow, it felt like silence was a yes this time. Wasn''t it the same for Elise? Alexei was wondering. Meanwhile, it was like a sudden burden that weighed on Elise''s shoulders. Powers were one thing, but being someone who lived a very long time was much worse than that. "You are too," said Alexei, this time his tone was sympathetic. Elise felt the world around her spun and she almost lost bnce. Fortunately, Alexei was quick to catch her and supported her shoulder. Elise''s mind was in a mess. Did Alexei just confirm to her that she was in fact¡­ an immortal too? This was scarier than she thought. She was very worried that she had a dark past, or her powers were part of some sort of crazy background attached to the life she wanted to forget. Never in a million years had she thought she was an immortal. Elise could hide her powers, but not her lifespan. Alexei scratched his head at the woman''s cluelessness. This was supposed to be information that Elise already knew, but somehow, not only did she not know anything about her powers¡­ she also wasn''t like him? At least based on how Elise called him different. Could Alexei be wrong about her? Huh. This was all very confusing. Oh no, was this one of those immortals who didn''t know they were one? This was not impossible. Alexei actually had heard a story about an immortal who didn''t know he was immortal. He lived a life for decades looking exactly like he was one hundred years ago, not knowing why. He thought he was a mutant or failed gic mutation or something. Crazy things like that happened. Hmm¡­ this got Alexei thinking. This beautiful woman didn''t seem to understand her powers and the possibility of her being an immortal. So, was it a good idea to let her know? "You know what, forget what I said." Alexei waved her off. "Maybe I mistook you as one of us, but you''re just a human with extra powers that awakened by ident. That''s what you are and anyone is wrong to assume otherwise." Elise clenched her fist and looked at the man''s face. "I''m just like anyone else, Alexei¡­ not like you. You''re¡­" What kind of being lived for such a long time? "Okay, calm down and take a deep breath." Alexei reached for the woman''s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He was stupid enough to just suddenly blurt it out, but what else was Elise supposed to be? Elise ced a hand on her chest and closed her eyes. There were some things that Elise didn''t know about her life and the origin of her powers. Elise didn''t know who her true parents were and where they came from¡­ She had so many questions in her mind. But Elise was happy right now. She had a good life. She was surrounded by friends. And she had a loving and devoted husband. She could just forget about everything she heard today from Alexei. Things didn''t have to change at all. Elise pulled away from Alexei''s grip and gave him a pained smile. "I''m alright, Alexei. I''ll forget what you said to me and let''s just pretend that we never met each other, alright?" When Elise rposed herself from panicking and Alexei made sure that she was better, the two of them parted ways. Even though there were a lot of troubling thoughts on Elise''s mind right now, she could worry about them in the future. "I need to be with Loriel now," Elise whispered to herself. Elise navigated back to the fashion house''s main room and did her best to squeeze and move through the people currently watching the fashion show. Out of all the models, Elise thought she even saw the same man that was with Alexei yesterday. The white-haired man seemed to be perfect and gorgeous on stage like Hilde earlier. "I need to stop thinking about them," Elise muttered underneath her breath and then returned back to her seat beside Loriel. At least, Elise was about to take a seat back. That was until the celebrity, Hilde, passed through the crowd of people sitting nearby at the front stage and then plopped down on Elise''s empty seat. She immediately touched Loriel''s arm and beamed at him. "It''s surprising to see you here, Loriel." Her attitude looked so rxed and casual around Loriel, which made people around them think the two must have a really good rtionship, or at least very friendly with each other. Even though most of the viewers were preupied with the models on stage showing off thetest creation of their fashion designers, some were quickly looking and taking note that Hilde was talking to what appeared to be some important man based on his appearance. Elise felt her heart stuck in her throat. Based on how this woman approached Loriel, the two knew each other for sure¡­ and they even looked good together. Chapter 186 - Loriel And Hilde Elise couldn''t believe her own eyes. Wasn''t her husband an antisocial man? He didn''t really have friends and didn''t like interacting with other people. However, the way that he and Hilde were sitting beside each other and talking with one another looked really natural. It was as if the two of them were on the same level. Elise blinked and shook her head. "I need to snap out of this." This kind of nervousness and thoughts were something that Elise didn''t want to deal with. She walked forward, approached the two who both seemed to be currently in a conversation, and then tapped her husband''s shoulder. She gave him a sweet smile. "Loriel, I''m back.." Her voice was calm and sweet, even though her heart was in a mess. Loriel quickly turned away from Hilde and looked up at Elise. There was a relieved look on his face as he held her hand. "It''s good to see you back, honey. You were gone for a little while. Did you have trouble finding the bathroom?" Hilde pursed her lips at the sudden change of Loriel''s attention and she cleared her throat. "Loriel?" "Miss Hilde, may I ask you to vacate my wife''s seat?" Loriel didn''t even bother to look at Hilde when he asked her to leave. The expression on Hilde''s face suddenly went ck and even gray, before she smiled again. "Married? That''s quite strange hearing that from you, Loriel. You never epted any woman''s advances before." Hilde leaned forward and stared at Loriel. Her cat eyes narrowed as she gave him a yful gaze. "It''s different." Loriel looked away from Hilde. "What changed? I''m hurt that you didn''t let me know." Hilde asked. She put a clearly fake expression of being hurt. "Elise is the love of my life," Loriel finally turned to look at Hilde and spoke coldly. Even though Loriel''s words were a reaffirmation of his love and devotion to Elise¡­ Elise was still a little ufortable by the sudden interaction between the two of them and how Elise seemed like an outsider. Hilde wasn''t even talking or paying attention to Elise. The woman acted like Elise wasn''t even around at all. A wave of uncertainty once again flooded Elise''s chest and she wondered if this celebrity didn''t think that Elise was worth talking to¡­ and Elise knew she needed to stand up for herself. However, before Elise returned from talking to Alexei¡­ Loriel didn''t exactly recoil from this woman or acted annoyed. Instead, Loriel was actually polite and respectful as he conversed with Hilde. He only treated Hilde coldly after Elise arrived. That meant that this woman¡­ Hilde wasn''t someone Loriel disliked. So even if Hilde ignored Elise and was being immensely rude, Elise didn''t want to make a scene at this ce. She didn''t want to be bothersome to anyone else who was close to them¡­ and instead, she awkwardly looked around. "Um, Loriel¡­ shall I leave the two of you to catch up with one another?" Elise found herself saying. It was the only words of Elise that garnered a lit-up expression from Hilde, although Hilde still kept her gaze on Loriel and pretended not to see her. That tant ignoring of Elise was going on for far too long. "That''s unnecessary, stay with me, Elise." Loriel squeezed Elise''s hand and pulled her to hisp. "Loriel!" Elise blushed and tried to get up. "I can find a chair of my own." "I don''t want you out of my sight." Loriel waspletely unfazed and brazen enough to do it in a public setting as other people''s opinions didn''t mean anything to him. Loriel knew he needed to do something like this to also get his message across to Hilde. A small huff finally left Hilde''s lips as she stood up and then walked over to the other side of Loriel. There was currently a man seated and watching the fashion show, but Hilde looked at the man and smiled. "Would you mind if I took your seat and you sat elsewhere?" Hilde asked. The man nodded without missing a beat and vacated his seat. Loriel on the other hand, finally let Elise sit back down on her chair and inwardly sighed. He was thinking of how he was going to get Hilde away from them without seeming too rude¡­ Hmm¡­ That wasn''t Loriel''s only problem though. He nced at Elise and searched for any uneasy expression on her face. He didn''t want to hurt Elise anymore as he once did before, so he really disliked being around any other woman. Except, Hilde was no ordinary woman. Finally, he cleared his throat and made a decision. "Elise, honey, I may have forgotten to introduce you to an old friend of mine. Hilde, this is Elise," Loriel said and introduced them. This time, there was a look on his face and tone that made even Hilde frown. "Oh my, how rude of me." Hilde sped a hand on her chest but then turned to Loriel with a fake smile. "Or was it rude of you to not introduce me immediately? I couldn''t just talk to your wife without you doing that first, right?" Even though this beautiful woman was proving herself to be a little less favorable with the way that she was acting, Elise wanted to keep the peace and try not to have any arguments break out or have anything be ufortable. "I''m Elise. I didn''t know my husband would have a renowned celebrity as a friend." Elise said and tried topliment Hilde. Maybe the two of them started off on the wrong foot? Hilde did say that Loriel didn''t immediately introduce Elise and asked Hilde to leave her seat. "Oh yes, Loriel and I go way back¡­" Hilde answered in such a tone that was rather sultry as she gave Loriel a small smirk. "I taught him everything he knows." The smile on Elise''s face twitched slightly. "Taught him everything? So you must be his mentor?" "Mentor¡­" Hilde pursed her lips and then brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "It''s a little more intimate than that." Chapter 187 - Whats The Relationship Between Loriel And Hilde? It was so very difficult for Elise to keep restraining herself from trying to p Hilde. Wasn''t it obvious that Loriel was married? The undertones in Hilde''s flirtatious words were still very evident and were enough to make Elise feel as if she was the one who was supposed to be backing down. "Hilde is the one who taught me how to cook Italian dishes." Loriel intervened and gave an exnation with a sigh. "Oh, so that''s what you taught him," Elise said with a small frown. That was far from intimate as far as Elise was concerned¡­ Chef Lucy taught her how to bake but the man was nothing more than polite. "Yes, I''vee so many times over to his ce to teach Loriel how to cook." Hilde smiled and then batted her eyes at Loriel. "And sometimes, hees over to my ce to learn more properly.. He''s a stubborn one, that man." Elise''s frown deepened more and yet there was a certain seed of insecurity in her chest. Loriel never mentioned Hilde before despite him probably knowing that she was a celebrity here. She asked her husband, "Is that so, Loriel?" "I think Hilde and I remember things quite differently." Loriel promptly answered his wife. "Must have been a very long time since the two of youst met then," Elise forced a smile.. Even though Loriel didn''t say it aloud, it was obvious that it meant that Hilde was not saying the truth. Elise was aware that this woman was trying to get Elise upset or rile her up to make a scene¡­ but Elise also calmed herself. There was no need to stoop down to Hilde''s level. All of the admiration that Elise felt earlier when she watched Hilde conduct herself as the emcee of the fashion show program and to how she acted right now showed the stark difference in her true personality. Hilde huffed a bit at Elise''s words. It was as if Elise was implying that Hilde did not have a good memory or was an old woman¡­ but it didn''t matter. "It has indeed been a long time, Elise. That means that Loriel and I need to catch up more properly." Hilde answered with a smile and turned to Loriel. "Isn''t that how you treat your good and old friend who came from way back, right?" "Actually, this is Elise and mine''sst night in Italy," Loriel answered. "We have a flight right after this fashion show and we can''t dy any longer." Hilde ced a hand on her mouth. "Do you mean to say that you''re flying in amercial ne? Loriel, I think you have a private one, right? Or have you fallen so hard since west met?" Elise didn''t even know about Loriel''s private ne until he took her with it¡­ but Hilde knew about it?? Just how close were they actually? She was wondering. There were so many questions that churned in Elise''s stomach that she wanted to ask Loriel when they were alone. "That''s none of your business," Loriel answered. "We want to go home as soon as possible because my wife has important engagements." Hilde raised a brow and then looked in Elise''s way. "You have engagements?" Elise thought about it for a second and quickly nodded. "Yes, I am returning to work after our honeymoon. We can''t stay here for too long." "Oh, really?" Hilde asked and then looked more closely at Elise. "You choose to work despite being married to him? He can provide everything that you can ever dream of and so much more." "I do not want to simply sit idle and expect everything to be taken care of for me," Elise replied. "My, my¡­ what a rather independent personality." Hilde tilted her head. "I don''t think that''s how I remember the woman that Loriel loves." Elise batted her eyes in surprise. "Huh? What do you mean?" Loriel gritted his teeth and threw a re at Hilde, but quickly intervened. "What Hilde means to say, is that my ideal woman in the past¡­ was not someone who likes to go out that much. You know how I prefer staying at my penthouse, right?" Elise nodded. "I see. So that''s what she meant. Your ideal woman is introverted like you?" At first, Elise assumed that there was someone else that Loriel first loved before her¡­ but Loriel never mentioned anyone at all. He didn''t even have any family or friends, except Marc Sanderman. But¡­ wait. That''s what he said, right? What if Loriel didn''t tell her the truth? The proof was, he was apparently friends with Hilde. What if Loriel actually had other family and friends which he just didn''t want Elise to know? While Elise''s mind was filled with questions, Hilde smiled yfully at Loriel. She realized that she got the upper hand since Loriel seemed to hide something from his wife. Hilde could guess that the man was worried Hilde would say something that could hurt Elise''s perspective of Loriel. Well, Hilde could have added more to make things harder for Loriel and saw the man try to talk his way out of this. However, once she noticed that there was something wrong, Hilde allowed the man to continue to vouch for himself. "Well.. Loriel is right. We are talking about the type of woman that Loriel was into in the past," Hilde smirked. Loriel cleared his throat and nodded. "The woman that I love is somewhat shy and meek, a bit withdrawn from everyone else and yet devoted to the man that she loves and does everything for him." Loriel looked at Elise dotingly. "But that was in the past." "Tastes change over time, huh?" Hildeughed a little. "He once told me that I was too strong and difficult to deal with." Elise raised a brow. "Really? Howe?" This time, a more bittersweet smile crossed on Hilde''s face as she looked at Elise. While she could tell the truth and be a little more honest¡­ Hilde shrugged. "He was ratherpetitive and didn''t like losing to me." Chapter 188 - So Many Questions About The Past "You know, that''s not exactly the truth." Loriel corrected Hilde this time. "Hah!" Hilde smirked lightly at him and rolled her eyes. Loriel disliked Hilde''s personality so much as it reminded him of his older sisters. The ones who pretended to like Loriel because of his position as king after he took over power but still secretly plotted against his back. Hilde knew how to tiptoe in between being rude and yet still on the side of polite conversation. ¡­ and yet Loriel couldn''t afford to be rude to her and shooing her away. This woman knew Loriel''s secret. Loriel needed to make sure that Hilde didn''t say anything else that would let Elise know about the past, but that meant tolerating Hilde''s presence and her touchy-feely treatment towards him.. "Um, what are the two of you talking about?" Elise asked atst. At first, it was only Hilde who was making her feel left out bypletely ignoring her¡­ but this time, even Loriel was reminiscing about something that Elise did not have any context with. Loriel and Hilde were in apetition? What did they do together? When was this? Loriel didn''t know how to exin it without saying too much, but Hilde spoke over him and gave Elise a smile. "Loriel and I go way back, like I told you. We joined a smallpetition in the past for a nice reward. It was really fun. To be honest, it was my fondest memory, ever." This time, it seemed like Hilde was actually happily reminiscing over a memory instead of being rude and mean to Elise. "I see¡­ that sounds really interesting. What kind ofpetition was it?" Elise asked. She couldn''t imagine Lorielpeting with Hilde in the first ce and it seemed like a very weird scenario in the back of her head. "You can consider it as some sort of race or survival game," Loriel said atst. "A unique kind of. Someday I will tell you all about it. It''s been a really long time. I barely remember what happened." Gosh. Loriel was such a good liar. Even though he had promised himself to lie a little less to Elise, this time, he couldn''t help it. How could he forget the race, where he met Hilde for the first time. It was the once-in-a-lifetime event, where the gods held their race and all creatures who wished to be immortals could join andpete in a life-and-death game. The reward for a few that survived was the immortality potion and a seat among the gods. Hilde was the most ambitious woman Loriel had ever met and their desire and determination to be immortals wereparable. If Loriel wanted to be immortal so he could meet Elise again, Hilde just wanted youthful beauty and power. And she got everything she ever wanted. Well, everything but Loriel, who immediately fled and avoided her like the gue after Hilde confessed her love for him. Anyway¡­ "I can''t believe you forget about those games. It was the turning point of my life," Hilde chided Loriel.. The man only rolled his eyes and scoffed. "So, what? I only like to remember good things. Those are not one of them." Elise looked at Loriel and then Hilde and inwardly admitted that the both of them looked good and in shape. It seemed like the two of them were people who used to work out in the past. Survival games? Were they some kind of triathlon challenge of some sort? Elise wanted to ask about it some more and yet there was something about their words that werepletely vague. Why did it feel like there was something not being mentioned to her and was left out of the picture? Maybe Elise just didn''t have the same amount of information as them so it seemed strange to hear them talk about it without having any single clue. Not only did Hilde teach Loriel how to cook but they also participated in a game. If Hilde really taught Loriel how to cook Italian food, when did it happen? Did the cooking lessons orpetition happen first? Probably thepetition, first, right? "Hearing that the two of you participated in thispetition¡­ it must have been exhrating to do. Was that how the two of you met each other?" Elise asked. "Yes. Thepetition was where I met Hilde for the first time." Loriel nodded. "After that time, we parted ways. There wasn''t anything that connected us beyond that event." Hilde turned to Loriel and pouted. "You simply cut me off, but the two of us are good "friends" as you said. I think you owe me an apology." "I do not particrly owe you anything," Loriel replied curtly. Elise frowned at the two''s current exchange because the time when Hilde taught Loriel how to cook wasn''t mentioned. "But the two of you still met up to teach Loriel how to cook, right?" "Oh, right that." Hilde looked at Loriel with a more flirtatious smile. She grabbed the man''s sleeve without any hesitation and practically leaned towards him. "You were such a good student, weren''t you? Paying attention to every single word I said." Even though the trouble started dying down in Elise''s perception except for the questions in the back of her mind¡­ this was thest straw for Elise. She frowned hard at Hilde and gave her a look. "I am not sure if you''re intentionally doing this, but don''t you think that it''s inappropriate to keep touching my husband?" Elise asked. "I can see that Loriel is happy with it and you''re just taking advantage of his kindness." "Elise." Hilde smiled. "You''re not hearing anyints from Loriel, right? This is just how we treat each other as friends so you don''t need to be so insecure. Unless you don''t trust your husband at all." Elise stared at Hilde and somehow those words were the most offensive thing she had ever heard. "You take that back, Hilde." Hilde blinked and then snorted. "Why are you so offended? Do you not have any friends of the opposite sex? Are you not used to the banter between them?" "Hilde that is enough," Loriel said atst. "Apologize! You''ve said too much." Chapter 189 - Secrets Hilde huffed and then stared down at Elise. "I did nothing wrong to apologize for." "If you refuse to apologize then I suppose there''s no more reason to stay here any longer," Loriel said as he stood up. "I should have left with Elise the moment when I first saw you." "Wait, are you for real?" Hilde stared up at Loriel. "You can''t just leave me like this." "Elise, I''m sorry." Loriel apologized to Elise and hoped that this wasn''t something that would make a rift in between their rtionship. "It''s alright, Loriel. Let''s just leave first." Elise grabbed Loriel''s hand and left Hilde alone.. After everything tonight, this was the final blow that was uneptable. Hilde mentioned something that really did ruin Elise and Loriel''s life in the past. Trust was a precious thing between a husband and his wife. When Elise figured out that Loriel married Elise because of Emmelyn, she was devastated back then. Somehow, the way that Elise reacted made Loriel think as if there was still a lingering amount of hurt in her chest. Even though Elise''s mind did not remember, did her heart still remember it? Loriel hoped that it was just his imagination. "Are you okay, honey?" Loriel asked. The two of them returned to their hotel room and sat down on the couches to rx. "I''m fine, Loriel," Elise reassured him with a smile. "Let''s just have a moment to breathe, okay?" "I''ll get you something to drink. Maybe something hot?" Loriel offered. He couldn''t sit still after everything that transpired back then. A part of him knew that he needed to make it up to his wife and that a long conversation was overdue. "...I guess that''s fine too." Elise nodded. The entire fashion show was a long night and both of them were deep in their thoughts. Both Loriel and Elise did not want to think that the end of their honeymoon would turn out into something terrible like this. While Loriel prepared their drinks, choosing to make hot chocte which now seemed like afort drink for the both of them. He returned to Elise''s side with the determination to make things better. In Loriel''s perspective, it was all because of Hilde arriving, while in Elise''s eyes, it was both Alexei''s and Hilde''s arrival that made Elise on edge about everything. "Honey, I don''t want you to look back on this trip and not have fond memories because of what happened back there," Loriel told his wife as he handed her the mug of hot chocte. Loriel wanted to be honest and transparent about his feelings now. Elise tentatively smiled at Loriel and wished she could tell him that she was alright. That she wasn''t bothered in the slightest by how Hilde reacted and treated her back then. When they were with Hilde and out in the public, Elise did her best to bottle in her emotions¡­ now she could finally speak up. "Loriel, there are actually a lot of things on my mind right now and I don''t know what to say to you," Elise said. She had a lot of questions about Hilde and Loriel''s rtionship, but she didn''t know how to say it properly without sounding using. "Please listen to what I have to say though, if possible? You don''t have to say anything at all if I could just have your attention." Loriel asked. "Or would you like to be left alone first to gather your thoughts?" "...I''ll listen to what you have to say, Loriel." "Thank you, honey." This wasn''t Loriel walking on eggshells, but he was immensely worried about how Elise would now take things. "So let''s hear it." Elise lifted the cup of hot chocte up to her lips and took a long sip. "What do you have to say, Loriel?" There was a touch of hurt in Elise''s voice. It was something that made Loriel''s heart ache. Elise no longer remembered the time when she spent the entirety of her younger years to be a devoted wife when Loriel was king, but Elise still loved him so Hilde''s appearance was shocking at least. Devastating at most. Or maybe Elise was angry? Loriel had never seen Elise mad before, so it was difficult to gauge the expression on her face as he collected his thoughts and prepared himself to tell the truth. "What Hilde said about thepetition before was the truth. We did participate in it together, but we weren''t as friendly as she tried to make it out to be," Loriel said. "She was trying to get under your skin because she used to like me." "Used to like you?" Elise raised a brow at Loriel''s word and tried not to scoff. Based on how Hilde acted, the woman was still infatuated with Loriel and the man simply acted as if nothing was happening. "And you still epted her offer to teach you Italian food despite that?" Loriel winced. Elise ced her cup on the table as she nced away from Loriel. "I''m sorry, I know I shouldn''t be poking into the rtionship as it was all in the past. All of this happened before you met me¡­ so I shouldn''t be questioning it, right?" Loriel knew that was not the truth. The reason why Hilde even knew about Elise in the first ce was when he tried to turn the woman down before¡­ but Loriel couldn''t say that. "Elise, you have the right to learn about me. You''re my wife, and I want to bepletely transparent with you. I want our rtionship to be built on trust and love, where the two of us have nothing to hide from each other." It was now Elise who paused and froze slightly at Loriel''s words. A rtionship where the two of them didn''t have to hide anything from each other? Elise wished that was possible and she knew that Loriel was trying his best to be truthful. Loriel had been nothing but good to her and was even initiating this conversation when all Elise wanted to do was go back to their bedroom and sleep it over. Her husband shouldn''t be with someone who kept secrets. Chapter 190 - Back In New York Elise realized she kept far much more secrets about herself than him, and somehow, she couldn''t be as truthful as him. Elise suddenly felt bad. "Loriel?" "Yes, honey?" "You love me, right?" Elise asked haltingly. "Elise, you are the love of my life," Loriel replied and cupped her face. "Of course, I love you. I love you so much.." Heat crawled up on Elise''s cheeks. The way Loriel said it without flinching as he looked deeply into her eyes was something that made her stomach spin. "You are the one who I chose to be with for the rest of our lives. If there is any circumstance that made you think otherwise, if Hilde''s appearance made you doubt it, please let me rectify and prove otherwise. I love you and only you." Elise stared up at Loriel''s face and knew for a fact that it was true. Everything that happened between them for the past months was a great proof and testimony of how much Loriel loved her. Elise was the one who Loriel married and not Hilde. But more than that, everything he did and said was a sign of his love. *** HOME SWEET HOME Loriel and Elise finally arrived back in New York. It felt good to be home again. "Pott and Pebble, I missed the two of you!" Elise stepped in happily into the penthouse and greeted the two cats who were in the apartment. As usual, Horatio also greeted them and it was as if nothing changed since Elise and Loriel left for their honeymoon. "It''s good to be back," Loriel said and kissed Elise''s cheek as he brought in all of their belongings and even the gifts and souvenirs that were prepared upon their return for Elise''s coworkers and friends. "You really do love staying at home." Elise smiled as she picked up and cradled the two cats in her arms. "My, it feels like the two of them gained weight while we were gone." Loriel returned his wife''s smile and then chuckled at the rather portly cats. "I think they also enjoyed the vacation of not having to do anything at all. The two normally don''t move around when necessary, except when greeting you after work, actually." "Ah, then it''s time to get settled back into the routine again." Elise ced the two cats back on the floor and stretched. "Work ising up, so I''ll gift wrap the presents." "We still have a couple of days until then, you know? You can take several days extra before you go back to work. They will understand that you must be tired after the honeymoon," Loriel said. "They treat their employees well." "That''s true, but that''s an excuse because you want to stay home with me as well, don''t you?" Elise teased. She touched Loriel''s cheek gently. "Yes." Loriel nodded and chuckled. "That''s pretty much it as well." "You have to get used to the idea of me bing a career woman, Loriel." "What about the bakery?" Loriel raised a brow. "Have you changed your ns? Isn''t that what you applied for the baking course with Chef Lucy?" Elise realized that she enjoyed working so much with Alex and her coworkers despite the workload. But yes, the idea of having her own bakery was also a pleasant goal in Elise''s mind. "I have to think about it, first. There are a lot of things that I need to purchase or rent to have my own bakery so it means a lot of expenses and a lot of nning," Elise told Loriel. "That''s why I''m going to work hard first." "Alright, alright." Loriel nodded. "But does that mean that you''re done with Chef Lucy''s courses? I think you''ve learned everything so far, and I know that because I''ve tasted what you baked." "I think you would just like the idea of me dropping out of the course, wouldn''t you?" Loriel coughed. "Well, I won''t deny that." Elise smiled a little at the honesty of her husband about his desires. The man was a little childish when it came to this, but Elise knew it was because Loriel truly loved her and wanted Elise to be by his side. If Elise were to know that Hilde was going to be with Loriel in some kind of hypothetical meeting that needed to happen, Elise would probably also want Loriel to turn down and avoid the woman. And this was alright. *** Upon Loriel and Elise''s return back to New York, their rtionship was stronger than ever and the two of them enjoyed their quiet days of rxing at the penthouse right before Elise returned back to her work. Somehow, Hilde''s appearance and interference with them were helpful in forging a stronger bond between the newly wedded couple. This reminded Elise of something while she and Loriel started to prepare their dinner together one evening. The two of them enjoyed eating out and that was the majority of their honeymoon, but being able to work on making a meal with each other was a lovely activity. "Ah, tomorrow is when I start working again." Elise sighed a little. She had to admit that it was a little easy getting used to a rather easy life and just staying at home. Pott and Pebble slinked around Elise and Loriel''s legs, rubbing their heads and asking for attention as they purred and mewled affectionately. Even though they both had their own food, both liked getting scraps. "Are you starting to second-guess your decision to work again?" Loriel asked casually. He couldn''t hide his wishful thinking that Elise might want to quit working. It was evident in his joyful smirk. "It''s not toote to resign and I''ll let Marc know about it." Elise elbowed her husband''s side. "Of course not. What am I going to do with the gifts that I gift wrapped if I''m leaving my job?" Loriel chuckled. "Well, we can just have it as some farewell gift." Elise stared at Loriel with a pout. Chapter 191 - It... Hurts! Seeing his wife pout, Loriel couldn''t help but smile. Gosh... she was so adorable. "You know I''m kidding," Loriel replied and kissed his wife''s forehead. "I respect your decision and I''ll even be the one taking and picking you up from work. That''s something I''m looking forward to doing. It''ll be a good routine." Elise smiled at that and then looked at their current dinner preparations. "Not to mention that I''m excited to have our leftover dinner be my lunch tomorrow so we can save time from cooking another meal. It''s quite efficient," Elise said.. "Oh yes, but only if we have leftovers," Loriel said. "I think I have quite an appetite tonight, so I''ll just cook you something else in case I eat everything." Loriel only did that before to not make Elise feel guilty about epting food from him before, but now it was different. And yet, whatever made Loriel''s wife happy, he was more than ready to make it happen. "Thank you," Elise smiled. She felt relief because Loriel was truly very supportive of whatever she wanted and would always be there for her. The two of them were starting to ease down into their rtionship as husband and wife. It made Elise d. ording to Elise''s coworkers, it was easy for couples to be together when everything was all well and things were great, but it was during times of trouble and crises that showed themitment of a couple. Love was not enough, it was also important for both Elise and Loriel to make conscious choices that helped sustain their rtionship instead of having it be torn down by distrust and other circumstances that walked in their life. This was the happiest that Elise has ever been¡­ until the smile on her face faded away. "Ughh¡­." She suddenly ced a hand on her stomach and winced as a pain settled within her stomach. She cried, "It hurts¡­" Was Elise having her premenstrual cramps now? It was a littleter than she expected, but it was better now than ever. Elise tried to ignore it and continued helping out with the dinner preparations until her vision became blurry and she stepped back dizzily. Everything around her was beginning to spin and she could see little dots and circles of light strain her sight. When Loriel nced at his wife, the man caught Elise before she fainted. "Elise!!! What happened to you?!!" Loriel was very worried. He quickly carried her body and ced her in bed. When Elise woke up in bed, Loriel was right at her side and looked immediately relieved at seeing her finally wake up. "Are you feeling better, honey? You should have told me that you were not feeling well. I would have been able to take care of you," Loriel said. Elise was always sickly and weak in the past. Loriel shouldn''t have asked too much help from her and simply allowed his wife to rest while he prepared dinner. The man could only me himself for not being that watchful and perceptive of Elise''s condition. "Please don''t be too harsh on yourself," Elise smiled weakly and held her head a little. She was feeling much better than before, no longer feeling faint at all." "Water?" Loriel offered his wife a ss of water first to sip and drink. He wasn''t sure what made her pass out specifically, but he was sure to tell Marc that Elise was not feeling well enough to work and that he''d take her to a doctor. "Thank you, I am a bit parched." Elise drank the entire ss down and felt a little better. She looked at her husband''s face and asked. "Did you stay here until I woke up?" "Yes." "What about dinner?" Elise asked. "How could I eat when my wife fainted?" Loriel responded and held her hand. "Do you have any idea as to why you suddenly cked out earlier? I haven''t been able to ask you this before, but I wonder if you have any conditions that I need to be aware of?" Elise shook her head. "No, I''m usually healthy¡­ I just felt a cramp in my stomach earlier and then a migraine, before I finally realized that I''m here with you. Thank you for taking care of me." "I would do anything for you, honey," Loriel told her. "Tomorrow, let''s go visit a doctor, alright?" "But I''m fine, it was just me fainting a little." "I can''t help but worry. Please do it for me, alright? I wouldn''t be able to be at ease until we clear out any reasons for your fainting. If it''s anemia or some other condition, we need to figure it out." "Alright you win, let''s do it in the morning so I can still go to work, okay?" "Fine." Elise smiled at Loriel''s words until a realization came to her mind. All throughout their entire trip for their honeymoon, Elise''s scheduled period didn''t arrive at all. Based on her search before, it was not strange for one''s period to change when one changed time zones. The two of them constantly flew around and it was a physically strenuous time. ...So Elise never questioned it and was just waiting. But what if¡­? "Is something the matter, Elise?" Loriel gently asked his wife once he noticed the change in her expression. "I¡­ I don''t want to jump to conclusions." Elise told Loriel seriously as she started twiddling with her thumbs. Was it too soon to think and consider? A quick look at the symptoms was sure to make her think otherwise. "Elise, it''s alright. You don''t have to be afraid to tell me anything," Loriel said. "I''m your husband and you can be confident that I won''t take it the wrong way. What am I supposed to do if I can''t even be someone you can confide in?" Elise looked at her husband''s face and then decided Loriel was right. If anything, Loriel had the right to know if there was any chance or possibility that Elise was¡­ pregnant? Chapter 192 - [Bonus ] Twice? Pregnant? The thought made Elise feel all warm and fuzzy. She looked at Loriel with a nervous expression. She hoped she was right. Elise was the happiest she had ever been. And there was only one thing that would make her happinessplete. A baby. But... what if she was wrong? "Uhm.... okay, I''ll tell you what I think it is. But I might be wrong, alright?" Elise said. "Please don''t think about it too much." "Don''t worry, I''ll just be here listening to you." Loriel already knew that the expression on his wife''s face meant something more than just an illness. He perfectly remembered her symptoms in the past, and now it was also a replica of that time back then. "...I think I might be pregnant." Elise looked at Loriel''s face. "I''m¡­ just basing on the symptoms, because I missed my period and didn''t think too much about it, but now I also passed out..." "And we also have sex regrly," Loriel replied. "That''s not a strange conclusion to have." Elise nodded and felt her face heating up. "Yes." "We can have it checked tomorrow," Loriel squeezed his wife''s hand. "For now, you should rest up." "Okay¡­ I''ll try to." Loriel wanted to have a child with Elise again. The thought of having a child together and where Loriel didn''t have to be afraid of losing either his wife or child unlike before was now ying in the back of his mind. That was all Loriel ever wanted and asked for. Loriel''s chest started lightening up, but that was until he nced at Elise''s face and cleared his throat. "Elise?" Loriel himself also needed to stop himself from jumping to conclusions and consider what his wife wanted. "Yes, Loriel?" Elise lifted her head and met Loriel''s gaze. "Would you like to have a baby with me?" Elise''s face heated up at the question. Haven''t they already discussed this before? She nodded her head shyly. "Yes, I want that. You know it. But, I don''t want to keep your hopes up right now in case I might be wrong." "We can still conceive again if you''re not pregnant right now." Loriel brushed back a strand of Elise''s hair behind her ear. "You mean, right now?" Elise asked. Loriel was now the one who felt the heat ovee his body, but he rified his thoughts. "I''m actually concerned if you don''t want to have a child with me. We''ve already talked about how you wanted to focus on your career, right?" The idea of both working and trying to take care of a child at the same time seemed like a lot of burden on Elise''s shoulders. Loriel didn''t want to stress her and neither did he want Elise to miss the moments of their child growing up if they had one in the near future. Elise smiled brightly. "Loriel, if we were to have a child, I''d be overjoyed and look forward to raising a family with you." Loriel felt over the moon. Hended a deep kiss on her lips and pulled her into his warm embrace. *** When morning finally came and two of them went to the doctor for a health checkup, the couple was ready for the news. Both Loriel and Elise waited with anxiousness to learn of her condition as to whether she was actually pregnant. Loriel experienced quite a scare when Elise fainted and he was only relieved that he caught her, but the reasons for it¡­ both of them wanted to know. Especially when Loriel realized that Elise was more than happy to conceive a child and raise a family with him. Even if it meant that Loriel would take on more of the responsibility as a parent and father while Elise pursued her work, he was content at the thought. Not only would it make Loriel even happier than he was right now to be married to the love of his life. It was Loriel''splete idea of redemption from everything he had ever done wrong to Elise. A brand new start for the two of them. "You are not currently pregnant, Mrs. Ashborn." The doctor informed the couple politely. "Instead, you are simply currently fatigued. ording to the form you''ve filled up, the two of you went traveling overseas?" "For our honeymoon, yes," Elise said. "Ah." The doctor finally understood why the couple was asking about pregnancy. "Then that must be the reason for it. Any strenuous activity when you''re not used to it can lead to fatigue, stress, and fainting. It seems like you were extremely exhausted." "I see¡­ thank you." Elise nodded. "Then it seems like my wife truly needs to take a lot of rest to recover." Loriel nced at Elise and smiled. "Would you mind taking the day off from work? We''ll be more at ease if you do that." "I guess, I can do it for just one day." Elise rubbed the back of her neck. "Thank you, honey." There was a certain flush in Elise''s face at the embarrassment of knowing she wasn''t pregnant. She probably shouldn''t have said anythingst night, but Loriel was taking it well and so should Elise. Neither Loriel nor Elise showed any kind of visible disappointment in their face, but from the perspective of the doctor, it did look that they were both actually looking forward to it. "Is there anything for my wife to take to help address the current issue of her fatigue?" Loriel asked. "And oh um¡­ I don''t have any problems with conceiving, do I?" Elise asked. "You also run the tests for those, right doctor?" "We don''t have to have one right away, Elise." Loriel touched his wife''s hand and gave her a kind smile. "What''s important is for you to recover first and we''ll deal with it when the timees." "I know, I''m just curious about my condition," Elise said. "And since we''re here¡­ now is the best time to ask as any." This was why the doctor was actually hesitant from saying anything just yet as she pulled out a doctor''s prescription pad and her pen. The doctor quickly jotted something down and then presented the paper to Loriel. "For today, I will currently prescribe some vitamins and supplements for your wife, Mr. Ashborn. These are things that can help alleviate and prevent too much fatigue and I rmend you to get them right away." Loriel nodded his head seriously. Even though Loriel actually had his hopes up that Elise was pregnant and that they''d be able to have a family together, his number one priority was always his wife. "I''ll get them immediately, doctor." Loriel pulled up to his feet and epted the paper from the doctor. He kissed Elise''s cheek, promised to be back as soon as he could, and left the office to get what Elise needed. Once the man was gone, the doctor sighed in relief and then looked at Elise seriously. "Is something the matter, doctor?" Elise asked. She immediately noticed that the doctor''s expression changed into something more intense and it made Elise''s stomach churn slightly. "While I must congratte you on your marriage to your husband recently, Mrs. Ashborn¡­ I feel that this conversation should be confidential between a doctor and her client." The doctor sped her hands together. "Something that Loriel didn''t need to be around with?" Elise frowned slightly. "Yes. I am not sure if he is aware of it and it is a very delicate topic." "Delicate?" "It can help provide answers for your question earlier about your current condition for conception, Mrs. Ashborn." When the doctor looked at Elise and checked her initial medical records which included that of when she was Madeline York, it was hard to believe at first. But the doctor made Elise undergo some of the tests and procedures to check on the chances of pregnancy and her current condition. "What is it then?" Elise asked as she felt her thump loudly in her chest. "Please tell me if there''s anything wrong." The doctor cleared her throat for a moment. "Based on the results of the test, we have noticed that you''ve already been pregnant twice, Mrs. Ashborn? I believe that your current husband is not aware of it. That is why I chose to speak when your husband is not here with us. Have there been any previousplications with them?" "Huh?" Elise blinked at the doctor''s words and wondered if she misheard them. Pregnant? Twice? . . ************ Oh no! Elise will know about her past pregnancies from a third party and not Loriel... Chapter 193 - Loriel Is Worried The doctor continued to speak as she consulted with her notes. "It seems like not all of the records were transferred properly, or you may have had the pregnancy in secret, but rest assured, you can confide the details with me without any leaks of information. This will help provide a better picture about your current health, Mrs. Ashborn." "...." "Mrs. Ashborn?" Elise looked down at her hands as her entire body trembled. . "I was pregnant before¡­" Not only once, but twice too? "Mrs. Ashborn?" The doctor tried to call out to Elise again. This time with a hesitation on the doctor''s face as it was obvious that there was something very wrong happening right now. Elise buried her face in her hands and cried silently. Why couldn''t she remember anything about her past? Who was she really? How did she have her powers? Was she married before? And what happened to her babies? So many questions raging in her mind and hurt her head. *** When Loriel returned to the doctor''s office, he stumbled back to where Elise was waiting patiently for him alongside the doctor. And yet he noticed that there was something amiss. "Loriel, you''re back." Elise smiled brightly at him and quickly turned away from the doctor. Despite the smile on his wife''s face, Loriel could see that her nose was currently red and stuffy along with slightly puffy eyes. He ced the medicine he bought aside and immediately knelt in front of her. "Are you okay, honey? What happened?" Loriel asked thest question to the doctor with a touch of venom in his tone. He was only gone for a couple of minutes but his wife was in tears? The doctor cleared her throat uneasily. "Your wife¡­ Mrs. Ashborn is just currently overwhelmed with emotions right now. It sometimes happens when one is feeling extremely stressed or fatigued, my apologies." Loriel turned to his wife and held her hand. "It''s alright now, honey. I''m here with you. What happened? Would you like to get back home now?" Elise looked at him and slowly nodded. Her voice was a bit scratchy as if she screamed earlier. "Yes, please." "Then we''ll consider this current checkup finished." Loriel nodded to the doctor and then reached out to his wife. In one sudden movement, Loriel carried Elise in his arms and gently kissed her head. "It''s time for us to go home." "Loriel put me down, this is unnecessary!" Elise''s face suddenly med at her husband''s grand actions. She grabbed ahold of the cor of his shirt and tried not to give in to the tears that were once again pricking the back of her eyes. "I''d like to do something to make you smile, honey. This is the least I can do." Loriel whispered soothingly to her ear and made sure that Elise knew that he was here for her. It only made the tears sting harder. There was so much that Elise didn''t know about herself and yet Loriel epted her all without any questions. How could someone like Loriel love her this much? Elise didn''t think it was fair for her to be like this right now and she tried so hard to control her tears but they trickled down her cheeks. The pain that ebbed within Elise''s chest at the revtion of her two previous pregnancies that she absolutely had no idea of? It really wasn''t something that Elise could tell Loriel. What was Loriel going to think of her if he found out? *** When Loriel and Elise arrived back in the penthouse, Loriel was quick toy Elise down in their bedroom and this time, there was not much resistance on Elise''s part unlike when they were in the hospital. Instead, Elise seemed quite reserved and as if she was lost in her thoughts about a matter that Loriel did not know about at all. This worried her husband even more. What did the doctor say while he was gone that would bring Elise to tears? Did the doctor say anything about her ability to conceive? Did the doctor say it would be difficult for someone like Elise? Those were the possibilities that ran through his head. Loriel would never let it go when he figured out what was wrong, but first, he needed to make sure that Elise stayed put and recovered from her current distraught self. "Are you feeling lethargic or unenergetic, honey?" Loriel asked her. Elise smiled a little at her husband''s unceasing concern. "Is it because I''m no longer protesting that you''re taking care of me like this? The doctor didn''t say anything about me needing bed rest..." "You know how much I want to dote on you and yet you refuse me from doing it too much," Loriel admitted with a small sigh as he tried to read the expression on his wife''s face. "Would you like me to get you something to eat?" Elise shook her head and held on to the edge of his shirt. "No, please just stay with me, Loriel. I don''t think I can handle being alone right now." At the words of his wife, Loriel quickly nodded and joined her in bed. If his presence was able to provide relief andfort to his wife, he wouldn''t ever leave her side. "I''ll be right here with you, wifey." "Thank you." The two of them stayed in bed together like this for a couple of hours with Loriel making sure every now and then that Elise wasfortable. Loriel wrapped an arm around Elise''s waist as his breath tickled her ear. "Tell me if you need anything, okay? Something to snack on, water or anything else?" Elise nodded without saying anything else. But it was enough of a response that Loriel needed to hear from his wife. The two of them, with Loriel spooning his wife and helping her feel better and safe from her troubles¡­ He wanted to be here for her. Right before Loriel knew it, despite his conscious efforts to stay awake, he soon drifted off to sleep as the quietness of the room and Elise''s presence gave himfort as well. That was the moment that Elise began to move. . . ************* Poor Elise. She thought Loriel will stop loving her if he found out that her past was bad. She didn''t know that he KNOWS her past and he was the bad one. Chapter 194 - Asking Alexei For Help When Elise noticed Loriel''s peaceful breathing and the sound of soft snores that came from the man''s own exhaustion from taking care of her¡­ Elise found her way out of his arms. It took a little bit of struggling since Loriel held on to Elise tightly, but atst, she was out of his grasp and free to do what she had nned in mind from the very beginning. Elise was going to discover the secrets to her past. A part of Elise suddenly hesitated as she looked at Loriel''s sleeping face and she knew that when he awoke¡­ the man would worry and fret about her. But she had no choice at all. What was she going to say? "I need to leave you to uncover the truth about my past, Loriel. I know that we''re happy now... but I don''t think that I''d be able to rest until I know everything," she muttered softly.. Elise closed her eyes and remember herst meeting with Alexei. The man seemed to know more about her than she did herself. She asked him to leave her alone and never to confront her and Loriel. Back when Loriel and Elise were still in Italy, things were not as they seemed. Especially to how Elise''s confrontation with Alexei ended. A pained smile was on Elise''s face as she tugged away from him. "I''m alright, Alexei. I''ll forget what you''re trying to say to me and let''s just pretend that we never met each other, alright?" "No," Alexei said. His own voice saying those words surprised Alexei because he knew it was best to listen to this woman and not mess with her life. And yet he couldn''t think of doing that. "What do you mean, no?" Elise''s smile faded away. "Do you not know what you''ve said to me?" "These words have changed your perspective and view," Alexei said and didn''t pretend to not like it. "You''re now starting to think that there are far more things to discover about yourself because of what I said, haven''t I?" Elise stared at him nkly. "So what?" "... So what? Is that all you really have to say?" Alexei rubbed his face. "I know that I told you to forget about it, but that''s not going to work. I can''t wipe away your memory or anything even if you asked me to. I know someone, but you won''t be around for that, right?" "Even though it seems better to forget about everything Alexei, I can''t do that at all even if I wanted to," Elise said. "Why not?" "If I forget about my powers and this conversation of ours¡­ What if I identally use them again and hurt my husband or friends? I can''t bear the thought of doing that to any of them just because I wanted to ease the pain." Alexei blinked and stared at Elise, stunned for a moment. "So you want to do this for them?" "And for myself. I don''t want to be a coward." Elise ced a hand on her chest. "Do you think forgetting about something terrible is cowardice?" "Yes." Elise nodded. "It''s not only about my loved ones, I also need to live with the guilt. Whether it was intentional or not, I have hurt another person and they''re gone because of me." "You mean that guy in the back alley in New York?" Alexei asked and tried not tough. "You did that no-good lout a favor by sending him to his death. That''s a reliefpared to living a terrible life out on the streets." "His life is still important and I took his chance to live by killing him," Elise said. "Is it really fair for me to just forget about that? How can I learn from my mistakes if I choose to erase that?" Alexei understood that the two of them were looking at it from two different perspectives. That of an immortal and someone raised to be a mortal person. "You know, if it weren''t you¡­ Elise. Someone else might have been the victim, you know? What if you actually saved lives because of what you did? Have you thought about that?" "It doesn''t work that way, Alexei." Elise frowned at him. "Are you so detached from the world that the only one you think about is yourself? That''s disappointing to know." Alexei stared at the woman in front of him and was now at a loss for words. He didn''t think that he''d be debating with someone he barely knew about the morality of killing people when he himself already had blood on his hands. Actually, it didn''t even sound like a debate at all. Alexei rubbed his face and then looked at Elise. "Geez. You know from the way that you''re trying to lecture me about what''s right and wrong? It''s like you''re acting like some parent trying to nag me into epting what I don''t really believe in. That''s not cool." "I''m just saying what I believe in¡­ am I not allowed to say any of that?" Elise frowned at him. "Well, you can''t convince me so it''s best not to say anything." "This is ridiculous! You were the one who suddenly started giving me ideas of what there is more to life of those with powers and now you''re trying to shush me down." Elise averted her gaze and sighed. Why was Elise getting so riled up and affected by talking to this guy? It was great proof that Elise shouldn''t be spending so much time with this guy, wasn''t it? Elise needed to go back to Loriel instead of wasting her time and breath with someone who''d never understand. "You know what, I''m leaving for real this time," Elise clicked her tongue in annoyance. She pushed back the younger man and threw him a look. "Please make sure that you keep your word and stay away from me and my husband." "Unbelievable." "What? You said you''d respect my choices, right?" Elise narrowed her eyes at him. "I know I said that." Alexei crossed his arms. "But that was right before you started getting all mad and upset about everything when I''ve been nothing but a helpful person to you." "That''s¡­" Elise stared at his face. "What do you want in exchange then?" "I don''t actually need anything that you might have." Alexei ced his hands into his pocket. "What I do know that I want to have is¡­ well, it''s probably being right about what I said?" "Right about your opinions? That''s extremely childish." Alexei didn''t even know what he meant right now. He rubbed his face and then pulled out his phone. "Okay, fine. Let''s just say I messed up and said something irrevocable. You''re now worried but you don''t want to forget either." "Yes, I don''t want to forget so don''t try anything weird." Elise stepped away from him cautiously. "As I said, it isn''t me but someone I know who can help erase memories." Alexei chuckled as he showed his phone screen to Elise. "So the thing that I want from you before I stay away and do as you asked is your number." "What?" "Let''s exchange numbers. I''ll get yours and you take mine," Alexei said. "You can delete my number afterward if you want to. But who knows? I might be able to help you again." "Why?" "To prove a point." Back then, Elise thought she wouldn''t want to see Alexei again and almost didn''t want to get his phone number. Now, she was d she did. With a trembling hand, she took out her phone and started searching for Alexei''s contact. She must see him and find out the truth about who she was. Chapter 195 - Alexei And Hilde It wasn''t every day that Alexei saw a pissed-off goddess who tried to strangle him or Baron because of some other guy that she met back in Italy during the fashion show. After his conversation with Elise, the man decided to not watch the show anymore. Even though Baron got upset, Alexei was a man of his words. So, when Hilde asked him for a favor¡­ Alexei said yes and didn''t realize that this was what it meant by a favor. A ce for Hilde to stay in and angrily vent out her frustrations. It wasn''t a surprise that Baron was not here and only left Alexei to deal with this mess. Normally, Hilde was rxed and just enjoyed the life and fame she made for herself...but now the girl canceled a lot of her appointments to be right here and chase after this mysterious man that she was searching forever since they parted ways.. Alexei didn''t even know who this person was, but why was it so important that Hilde even followed Alexei back to New York to find this person? Did she not know when to give up? It was difficult dealing with people like her.A person needed to learn how to ept that a no meant no. Alexei was not a man that was good with his words though, so when he said something¡­ it came out like this. He gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed his face. "Let me get this straight, the guy doesn''t want to do anything with you but you''re chasing after him?" "Do you have a problem with that?" Hilde narrowed her eyes at him. "Well¡­ you could probably have other men if you wanted to?" Alexei shrugged. "Not me specifically, but somebody else. You have millions of adoring fans." "They''re different whenpared to him." Hilde sighed. "Do you want to hear the story about how the two of us met that made me love him? I think it happened when you were barely just a newborn baby and I stepped into the pantheon." "I''m not interested." Alexei raised his hands up and quickly declined the offer. He didn''t want to recall anything about how he grew up in Cretea while doted on by several gods and goddesses. Alexei had enough. Hilde scoffed at theck of interest. "A brat like you will never understand how difficult an unrequited love is." "Geez, I''m just wondering when you''d get out of my penthouse, Hilde. You''re rich enough to purchase your own amodations and I''d hate for people to get the wrong idea between us." "Why? Are you busy?" Hilde asked and then raised a brow. "Sleeping around with some mortal?" "Yuck. No." Alexei wrinkled his nose. "I don''t want to do that. That''s dealing with someone so much younger than me by thousands of years. They tend to get attached too much too. It''s bothersome." "Hmph." Hilde rolled her eyes. "If that is the case then I do not see why I can''t stay here while I search for Loriel..." Alexei''s phone beeped and he rapidly took out his phone to check. "Uh, excuse me. This is important." There was a specified ringtone for whenever Baron called or messaged him. And this was Elise. She was the only one to who he gave his number to and so it meant that there was a problem? Alexei was sure that she''d delete his number but that wasn''t the case. "Alexei?" Hilde frowned at the much younger god to no avail. He wasn''t paying attention to anything but his phone. How important was it that Alexei would not pay attention to Hilde? Alexei read the contents of the text message with a serious look on his face. [Hi. It''s Elise and I need your help. Are you in New York again? Is there any possible way for me to not lose memories but to recover them instead? I need to know who I am and you''re the only one I can turn to.] Alexei didn''t feel overjoyed at the fact that Elise called him, but instead, his brows creased a bit in concern. Based on theirst conversation, Alexei was sure that Elise was going to be happy with her husband. So what changed? Was the husband actually some kind of no-good bastard? Perhaps Elise would have shown much more emotions in the text if that were the case, but either way, Alexei quickly responded. [Well, it''s a good thing I''m actually back so you''re in luck. I''m actually supposed to be resting right now, but I can''t help being so valiant and kindhearted. I can''t let a damsel in distress without stepping up to help. So, should we meet up somewhere then?] Elise rolled her eyes when she read Alexei''s reply. [Does that mean you''ll help me?] She quickly typed in her next message. [Yeah. I''m not good with recovering memories, but I''m sure that the one I know will be able to help you. They''re much more experienced than me.] Alexei nced up at Hilde who was still frowning and decided that it was best for Elise and him to meet somewhere else. The chances of Hilde giving him hell for meeting up with Elise were going to be a pain in the neck. She''d misunderstand the situation. More than that, Alexei knew that if anyone else were to discover about Elise''s powers and her unknown origins¡­ several other people would start interfering with them and make decisions based on what they think was the right thing to do. That was the least of what Elise probably ever wanted. The same applied to Alexei as well. Out of everyone that Alexei knew from his youth, it wasn''t Hilde who was more concerned with the pursuit of her own happiness or his friend Baron who also enjoyed the mortal world that was going to be able to help him and Elise. Someone trustworthy and more experienced than Alexei himself in the ways of magic and the old world? Only the man who raised Alexei could be the sole person who''d help Elise out, although this was a huge favor now that Alexei thought about it. Why was he doing this again? . . ************* I am so excited about what''sing next! Chapter 196 - Alexei And Elise Back in Italy, when Elise called Alexei detached and callous from the world for saying that he didn''t care about another person''s life, she was right about that. In a way, Alexei wasn''t all that different from someone like Hilde and Baron who were concerned about themselves. So he really didn''t know why he was putting in so much effort helping out someone who told him to forget that they even met each other. "What''s wrong with me?" Alexei asked as he left the penthouse to meet up with Elise. When Hilde joked about sleeping with mortals, Alexei wondered if he was attracted in any way to Elise and that was the reason why he was interested? He felt himself making a face at the ridiculous notion of it because it wasn''t physical attraction at all. It was just that when he saw Elise in danger¡­ Alexei moved on his own almost instinctively. He even already sent a message to his guardian about the privy condition of Elise as far as Alexei knew about the woman based on their interactions. [I met someone in New York that needs your help. She''s someone with powers but doesn''t seem to have any recollection as to how she gained them at all¡­ and I don''t think she''s just an ordinary human either.. It''s a huge favor to ask, but can you help me out?] No responses yet, but even if the man didn''t respond¡­ Alexei could just bring Elise to him. She wouldn''t mind that, right? That seemed like an easy solution in the back of Alexei''s head. [What is her name?] Alexei nced at the rather sudden message of his guardian and he wondered what names had got to do with anything? And yet, maybe giving a name to a person would help them sympathize more with their plight? Nobody else could do this except him. Alexei gave the reply without any hesitation at all. [Her name is Elise.] *** Elise wasn''t sure how long it would take to recover her memory and what she needed to undertake in order to obtain them. Was it going to be something that would take more than a day? The answer to that seemed like yes. Even if there was magic¡­ Elise didn''t think that recovering memories were easy or else Alexei would have done it himself and didn''t need to ask help from someone who was more skilled than him. So it was with a heavy heart that Elise packed some of her things, the ones she originally used when she escaped the York Mansion, and then hastily wrote down a note for Loriel to exin things in order to not have him worry. Elise wanted to say it when Loriel was awake, but she doubted that he''d let her leave if he knew. It was so difficult saying temporary goodbyes but Else knew that she needed to be gone before Loriel realized that she left the penthouse. Quietly, she made her way out of the house but found herself stopped by the appearance of Pott and Pebble. The two cats were currently mewling and purring at Elise''s feet, lurking around her leg as if begging her not to leave and simply stay with them. Elise couldn''t hesitate though. So, after patting the two''s heads¡­. she left the penthouse. Elise nced at the text message that Alexei sent her. It contained the address of the ce where they were going to meet and it was in the downtown area of the city. [I''m on my way] There was no need for Elise to get cold feet and back down at all. What kind of person would Elise be if she were to never try to find out what happened to her? Two pregnancies. Gosh¡­ If a part of Elise couldn''t even remember something important like that¡­ then how much more memories were she missing? Elise had powers she couldn''t exin and a past that she couldn''t remember at all. Was it actually right for her to not remember them at all? Even if Elise was currently happy with Loriel that didn''t mean that she could simply forget the past. Those two pregnancies were important to her. What if Elise was actually a mother and she abandoned them and came here? That was an unforgivable thing to imagine. Elise couldn''t stomach the thought of things being that way, but even if they were ufortable emotions to process¡­ it simply meant that it couldn''t be ignored. The more she tried to repress them, the harder it would be to live. Atst, Elise finally arrived at her meeting ce with Alexei. It was a public ce and with arge crowd moving behind and in front of Elise as always. There were so many people here that it was hard to distinguish someone out from the group. "Why did he decide to meet me here?" Elise asked herself. Someone grabbed Elise''s shoulder and she quickly spun around to meet Alexei''s face. A relief went through her body as she went ck for a moment. "Oops, sorry. You looked lost so I tried to help you out," Alexei said and eyed her backpack. "You look like you''re ready to take another vacation elsewhere." "I have no idea how long it''s going to take to recover my memories, so it''s better to be prepared for it," Elise exined as her grip tightened around the straps of her backpack. Alexei didn''t know what to say to that. He didn''t want to say anything and pry into Elise''s situation, but if he was already trying to help her¡­ The least he could get was to know more about them. "So about your husband?" Alexei coughed lightly. "Is he okay about this?" Elise smiled sadly at Alexei. "I''m sure that he will be okay¡­ I just can''t live my life with him knowing that there is something important in my past that I could probably figure out and yet I refuse to learn about it." . . ********** It''s unfortunate that Elise thought she is protecting Loriel from herself and her past, while Loriel is thinking exactly the same about his position. Chapter 197 - No Wonder We Are Still Friends After 12 Centuries "What do you mean?" Alexei asked. Elise''s words just made him more curious about what made her change her mind and approach him in the first ce. Elise nced over their shoulders and then gave him a look. "Do you think this is the proper ce to have a conversation, Alexei?" The way that Elise treated Alexei like this reminded him of someone who was strangelyfortable with him despite the fact that they didn''t know each other that well. He sighed in amusement but then nodded. "Alright, let''s go somewhere else." Alexei nodded and then led the way. Truth be told, Alexei didn''t know when his guardian could visit him so Elise''s decision to bring her things was the right decision. The young man nced over his shoulders and then at their current surroundings. The reason why Alexei asked Elise toe here first was to avoid leaving too many tracks.. It was difficult hiding one''s true nature and so the crowd of masses around them was a good way to hide. Not that Alexei was worried about anyone trying to track them down beside Elise''s husband, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Since Hilde was currently staying at Alexei''s penthouse, Alexei and Elise ended up visiting Baron''s own ce which wasn''t that much different from Alexei''s own amodations. The man was a rich, powerful, and sessful model. Elise looked slightly surprised when she entered the penthouse. While Elise recognized that people like Alexei were different from ordinary people, she didn''t think it also meant that someone like him had ess to a great amount of wealth. How were they able to gather up so much in the first ce? Was it because of their long life spans? Elise was really shocked about this but not as surprised as Baron himself who was lounging at his sofa and was sipping a soda. When the door swung open at Alexei and Elise''s arrival, Baron quickly looked up in annoyance. "Alexei, what do you think you''re doing with bringing someone here?" "I''m bringing a friend of mine?" "I mean, why my ce?" Baron let out a frustrated sound. "You know that my apartment''s currently preupied with Unrequited Love moping around there and stalking her target, so where else was I supposed to head to?" Alexei rolled his eyes. "Your own ce." "That was a rhetorical question, the answer is my best friend''s ce," Alexei answered with his sweetest smile. Seeing this man smile like an angel, it was hard to believe that in the past, some humans worshipped him as their god of wars, Baron thought to himself. Elise watched the two bicker around for a bit like a couple of teenagers but realized that she didn''t want to overstay her wee if this man didn''t want Elise to be here in the first ce. "Um, please excuse us for being a bother. I didn''t realize that Alexei was going to bring us here," Elise said. She finally recognized the white-haired young man as the model back in Italy and it was surprising to know that Alexei was really close and frank with him. Did it mean that even this Baron was just like Alexei? Was he¡­. an immortal too? Baron''s expression shifted slightly at Elise''s words, because while Alexei suddenly dropping by was a nuisance to him¡­ the woman didn''t do anything wrong by being brought here. There was something Baron realized though. Baron rubbed his face and then pulled up to his feet. "If I knew that I was going to have a guest, I would have been able to prepare more properly." Baron inclined his head and gave a small bow. He adopted a more polite tone. "Please make yourselffortable in my household, Miss¡­?" "Elise." "Baron. A pleasure to be your acquaintance." Baron introduced himself properly and then threw a look at Alexei. He wondered if Alexei knew what he was doing or if the man didn''t know anything? "Great! Now that the two of you are friends, Elise and I will be borrowing one of your private rooms to talk without any interruptions, okay?" Alexei looked around Baron''s house and chose the furthest room from the living room. Baron scrunched up his face. "I don''t think you''d stop even if I were to say otherwise." "You know me so well, Baron. No wonder we are still friends after 12 centuries." Alexei grinned. "Well, this way, Elise. You don''t have to worry about where you''ll be staying as long as we stick around in this ce." "Do you really think this is alright?" Elise asked. "Of course. This isn''t too far away from your ce since we''re still in New York, but thest ce where your husband will be looking for is a young model''s penthouse, right?" The door shut behind them after that. "What kind of trouble are you bringing yourself?" Baron muttered. Baron would be thest one to interfere in matters as stressful as this one. What was Alexei doing with someone like this Elise? The younger guy didn''t tell him anything at all about Elise before and now he was bringing her here? Baron remembered what he''d seen back in Italy. When Alexei no longer returned to the fashion show to watch and support him, Baron was present and witnessed the scene of Hilde harassing Elise and even flirting with her husband. The person that Alexei sensed who was exuding the energy of the immortals before was Elise''s husband, no doubt. That was easy enough to piece to gather like a puzzle. What remained was understanding what Baron''s ce and role were in this mess that was just about to untangle. And there was going to be a huge mess. Baron could sense drama. "Should I tell him?" Baron asked himself and idly watched the door where the two entered to talk in. He thought about letting Hilde know that Elise was here and imagined what kind of trouble would happen if she went here? Hilde''s unrequited affection was for Elise''s husband. Elise was currently here with Alexei for reasons unknown to Baron. How much trouble would start if he were to start it? Baron didn''t want any sort of drama though and even just revealing what he knew was going to make him involved in the matter he did not want to be part of. It was better to be an observer in this scenario. Chapter 198 - The Immortals "What are we, Alexei?" Elise asked atst. When the two of them entered the room to talk in private, Elise decided to simply ask and get it over with. There was no need for any more dys. "We?" Alexei raised a brow as he pulled out a chair for her. "Uh, how about you take a seat first, Elise?" "Are we really going to need to sit down?" Elise asked. "It''s just a simple question with one answer." "I know that, but I assure you that you might want to take a seat first." Alexei insisted. Once Elise sat down, Alexei went over to the other side of the table and then sat down. "So you want to know what we are?" "Yes. I know you tried to tell me I''m someone ordinary that just awakened her powers, but I''m done trying to deny and convince myself that I''m just like everybody else," Elise said.. "So what did you really mean by saying I''m someone like you?" "...Well, that''s," Alexei rubbed the back of his neck. He wanted to say yes right away. "I mean you''re not wrong, but I can''t confirm it either. It''s a gut feeling and until I know for sure, you must not take my suspicion as the truth." Some of them were born immortals, and some were gifted the immortality potion which made them part of the same kind, immortal beings which many humans called gods. Now, which one was she? Alexei was wondering. "What do you mean?" Elise frowned. "You said that I''m just like you. Isn''t that what you helped me for in the past? Because I''m like you and your friend?" It seemed like Alexei couldn''t wait for somebody else to tell Elise the news, he needed to do it himself. He hoped that he''d take the news well as he broke it down gently. "I can''t exactly ask if you participated in the trial of Cretea since you lost your memory and all, but the thing is, I believe you''re immortal like me," Alexei said. "Cretea?" Elise raised a brow. Alexei averted his gaze. If he was wrong about Elise''s immortality then it was best to keep that one a secret. "Humans in the past have called us gods due to our innate ability to connect to the world''s magic and you''ve witnessed that already." "...gods?" "Yes?" Elise stayed silent after that. "Er, I probably shouldn''t have said thatst part right away." Alexei quickly stood up from his chair and stared at the silent woman. Even though he knew Elise was shocked, he still worried about her. "Do you need water or a minute to calm down?" After a couple of seconds, Elise shook her head. "No¡­ no, I''m fine. I can take this information." She massaged her head for a moment and breathed in deeply. "Are you sure?" Alexei asked. "I''m not the best with words and you''re looking pale." "This is just one of the many things I''ve yet to know." Elise already discovered that she was pregnant twice before, so what was so shocking about immortality and godhood? These were just other matters that Elise herself didn''t know about. "Okay, if you say so." Alexei looked at Elise doubtfully before he sat back down and leaned back on his chair. "I think that''s everything that I have to say about our origins, Elise. Even if you cannot remember, your entire being exudes certain energy that all immortals contain." Elise took all of that information without much doubt and instead, decided to ask a question that was burning at the back of her head. "If you''re a god¡­ or immortal. Why are you staying around humans?" "I''d ask the same question to you as well." Alexei chuckled. "You seem to enjoy life as a regr human. You even fall in love and got married. That very rarely happens, you know." Elise frowned at him. "You already know I can''t answer that. I spent the majority of my life thinking I''m like everybody else. My answers would not be sufficient." Elise still needed to digest the information she received from Alexei. It was so hard to believe, sounding so crazy and impossible, yet¡­ she didn''t even have the slightest suspicion that Alexei was lying. "Very well¡­ you have a point there," Alexei chirped. He rubbed his chin and finally answered Elise''s question. "I guess we are just bored, I am speaking for Baron and myself. For us, it''s fun to live among humans and lead different lives each time. It''s like entering a movie and yed a part that we can choose and leave when we have enough." "So, are there many immortals like you in the world?" Elise asked again. Alexei shrugged. "Yes. But not too many. Mostly they keep to themselves. I don''t always recognize them if we meet." "Do all of them have powers like us?" "Ah, you mean¡­ like this?" Alexei twirled his index finger and created a small fire at his fingertip. Elise nodded. The man smiled. "Not all. Only special people have powers." "Oh¡­" Elise became more intrigued. So, she was part of the special people who had these magical powers. How did she have her powers? Did she learn them? Was she gifted naturally? Ahh.. so many questions!! She thought she would feel relieved when she found out who she was, but why did everything seem moreplicated than she ever expected? "I know, this is a lot to take in," Alexei said sympathetically. "You should sit down and think about it. Once you are ready, we can talk more and I will answer your other questions." Elise bit her lip. She realized Alexei was right. She heaved a long sigh and closed her eyes. Then, she cupped her face with her hands and tried to force her mind to remember. It was in vain. Nothing came to her, not even glimpses of memory. Now that she heard from Alexei that she MIGHT be an immortal, Elise was suddenly reminded of her dreams in the past. She sometimes would see herself in a beautiful pce. Was it¡­ part of her memory fragment? Chapter 199 - Elises Letter If she was really an immortal like what Alexei said, how long had she lived? Elise was reminded of her dreams. Was there any truth to those dreams? Was the girl in the castle that she saw... really herself? No, no, that was too¡­ bizzare, Elise thought. Alexei looked at Elise intently and realized there might be some truth to his assumption. Elise might actually be an immortal, but she didn''t know it. What happened to her that she didn''t remember? The man cleared his throat. "You know, I don''t want to pry into your life, but what suddenly made you change your mind?" Elise looked up to him absent-mindedly.. "¡­?" Seeing that she might not hear him the first time, Alexei carefully repeated his question. "I remember you being so adamant about me staying away from you and your husband that I thought you hated me." "Hated you?" Elise shook her head. "I don''t hate you at all, even though we have our differences in how we see the world. I was just scared of Loriel discovering a part of me that I didn''t even recognize. You''re a part of that." Alexei tilted his head. "I see¡­ but that still doesn''t answer the question." Elise frowned at the young man, but knew that she couldn''t just get away without saying anything. If Alexei was willing to divulge information about who he was and even helped her¡­ what was wrong to tell him the truth? She lowered her head dejectedly and finally muttered, "I discovered that I was pregnant twice before, but I can''t remember it at all." "Oh¡­" Alexei''s gaze turned sympathetic when he heard her reply. "I am sorry to hear that." "It''s okay," Elise lowered her head and bit her lip. She could ept the fact that she couldn''t remember anything about her past, which might be dark and scary, and started over a new life with Loriel. However, now that she knew she might have children out there¡­ she was determined to know. Her heart bled when she thought about them. What happened to her children? Were they still alive? Who was their father? *** Meanwhile, in a penthouse in Midtown, Loriel was distraught when he woke up to find Elise was gone and there was only a letter on the living room table. His heart was filled with worry when he picked up the letter and started reading what''s written on it. ================ Loriel, I apologize for leaving without saying a single word. You must be panicking, hurt and maybe even upset. I''m not even sure if you''ll have it in your heart to forgive me, but I need to do this. There are so many things I''ve yet to learn about myself before I can consider the chance of truly bing your wife and living the entirety of our lives together. I''m a terrible woman, I know. After the conversation with the doctor, I discovered something about me that I can''t remember at all. I was actually pregnant twice and I didn''t even know that? What kind of mother was I? What happened in my past that led me to forget? Was I married before?? I need to find out. I cannot live my life pretending that everything is fine. When my father, Daniel York, took me in as part of his family, I became happy to stay at his side and live the life of his daughter. Deep in his heart, he probably knew the truth that I wasn''t his, but he still decided to take me in and live together as a family. I do not think I can continue living a life with nothing but blissful ignorance. Things are different now that I''m married to you, Loriel. I can''t live a life with you without making sure that there isn''t anything else important that I''ve forgotten and abandoned just to move on. I am not sure how long it will take to find the truth about everything, so please don''t look for me. Once I know who I am, I will need time to think about what I should do with that information. My past might be too dark and scary, or I might have another family that I have abandoned unintentionally¡­ thus we cannot be together. Please.. please.. understand that I don''t want to hurt you. However, I have a responsibility to my children to find them¡­ or at least find out what happened to them. Thinking about this has made me feel distraught and sad. It broke my heart, not knowing what happened in the past. Please let me go and find myself. I need to do this. - Love, Elise ================== The words were blurry at the end of the letter and Loriel realized Elise must be crying when she was writing this letter for him. Gosh¡­ why was he so dumb and careless? He knew they were visiting an obgyn. From the examination she conducted, she must be able to tell about Elise''s previous pregnancies. When did she tell Elise about it? Was it when Loriel went to get the medicines? Dammit! Loriel clutched the letter tightly in his hand and tried his best not to wrinkle it despite his unyielding grip. The man closed his eyes and tried not to clench his teeth. Everything was going wonderfully so why did things have to turn out this way? He should have been the one to tell Elise everything¡­ She shouldn''t have found out from other people. Loriel could imagine how distraught she must be feeling when she found out that she was pregnant before. She must have a million questions about everything. But why left? How would she find answers? "Elise¡­" Loriel should have told the truth about their rtionship when he had a chance. It was funny to think that Loriel believed he could hide the truth about their past and live the rest of his days in peace with Elise. "I''m so stupid," he muttered. . . ************ Sorry for the dy in publishing this chapter. I got two back-to-back interpreting sessions with my client, and after the work was done, I died a little... Just kidding (but almost felt like it tho). Not a single cell in my brain wanted to do any more work, and writing is a lot of brainwork. Anyway... I hope you like this chapter ^^. Chapter 200 - Loriel Is A Petty Man Loriel should have known that the truth always came out. Didn''t these past 15 centuries teach him anything? Elise''s letter contained her apologies and reasoning as to why she needed to go and discover her past, but even Loriel himself had words of apologies to say. Far much more than Elise ever knew. "I''m sorry as well, I can''t just take your word for it and wait for you to return, Elise," Loriel said atst. It was something against Elise''s wishes, but he couldn''t just sit here and wait for her to return at all. By the time that ever happened, Loriel was sure that Elise wouldn''t have it in her heart to forgive him instead. Everything that he ever did woulde to the light and even his own acts of marrying Elise now would seem nothing like but a despicable thing to do. But he wasn''t afraid of that anymore. Loriel was not afraid of Elise hating him as much as his fears that Elise would end up in danger because of her wish to find the truth. The only ones who could actually help Elise recover her memories were gods.. While Loriel never saw anyone else besides Hilde, he was sure that just like before, Elise would find a way to get what she wanted. But if the gods were to find out who Elise was, Loriel wasn''t sure what they''d do to her. He needed to protect her. Loriel took out his phone and called his nephew. This was an urgent affair. *** Marc Sanderman was content with his life and position, and he wasn''t even surprised when Loriel called him now to say that Elise was going to hand in her resignation. Down the line, Marc believed that Elise would leave thepany and stay happy with his great-great-great-great grand uncle. It was something that Marc was supportive of. So Marc Sanderman was shocked to hear Loriel''s voice at the other end of the line. There was a panic in his voice that Marc never heard of before. [Find me, Elise. Spare no resources and expense in locating her and ess the CCTV footage of the entire city if you must. She''s gone and you need to find her immediately.] "Y-yes, uncle! I''ll find her at once and report to you," Marc immediately said yes to Loriel''s request. He massaged his temple when he hung up the phone. His uncle often asked him to do things urgently, but he had never heard Loriel''s voice in a panic like this. He knew something bad must have happened and his order this time should be done immediately. *** Once the call with his nephew was over, Loriel wasn''t satisfied at all and couldn''t imagine just sitting around and waiting for Marc to call him again to give him the whereabouts of his wife. This wasn''t enough. While Elise might really have gone off to find the truth about herself, Loriel wouldn''t be surprised if there were other forces at work that shaped and changed the course of things. Even though Loriel hated dealing with her after the incident back in Italy, Hilde probably knew a lot more about other gods and forces in New York than him. He knew she was very social and liked to hang out with those higher beings as she always looked down on regr humans and didn''t think they were worthy of her attention. If there was even a singr clue that might help Loriel find his wife, he''d do anything for it. Even contacting those who Loriel no longer wanted to contact ever again. So Loriel called Hilde as well. Surprisingly, Hilde answered the call without any hesitation and was quick to ask. [Who is this and how did you find out about my number?] Hildepletely forgot about the fact that she gave her contact information to Loriel back in Italy. But Loriel couldn''t be bothered about that. "Did you tell anyone about Elise or me?" Loriel asked. "Loriel? Is that really you?" Hilde was beaming with happiness when she realized who was on the other end of the line. Her eyes glint with pleasure. "Well, well, well¡­" Loriel could hear the surprise in Hilde''s tone once she realized it was him. "Please just answer my question, Hilde." "What do you mean?" "I doubt that youpletely cut ties with those in Cretea so tell me if you''ve revealed my presence to anyone else," Loriel snapped. "Is there anyone here in New York that might have the ability to detect our presence?" "Slow down, one question at a time, sweetheart!" "I''m hanging up." "Wait! I didn''t tell anyone at all. Why would I do that to you, Loriel?" "Please just tell me something useful." **** In Alexei''s penthouse, across town. Hilde was sitting leisurely on the living room sofa with her phone glued to her ear. She was ecstatic when she realized Loriel Ashborn was calling her! She enjoyed every second and even inhaled the air more slowly as if wanting to preserve this moment in time and listen to every word Loriel uttered. Tell something useful to help Loriel? Hilde furrowed her beautiful brows. She yed with her long polished nails and then tapped them on the table beside her. Was this about Elise again? She asked herself. She didn''t know anything about that woman. And even if she did¡­ why would she say anything to help Loriel? "I wouldn''t have approached you if there were other options, Hilde." "So you onlye to me when you need me? This is ridiculous." Hilde pouted her lips in annoyance. "I saved your life once. I think it''s only fair if you help me this one time. You owe me." Loriel was petty enough to use this card on Hilde. He did save her life once and he told her someday he would collect her debt. Fifteen centuries ago, Hilde happily told him she would pay with her body and be his wife. However, Loriel only rolled his eyes and left her. Ugh... Hilde really wanted to punch the man right now. She thought he already forgot about it. Any other men would dly help a damsel in distress without expecting anything in return, but Loriel was not any other men. He couldn''t care less about anyone nor any damsel for that matter. . . *********** Ahahaha... I actually like the fact that Loriel is selfish and petty. He only changed and is not selfish and petty toward Elise. That shows how special she is to him. Chapter 201 - Finding Elises Tracks Hilde did not want to earn Loriel''s ire or hate¡­ but simply giving away the address to other gods in New York? Knowing Loriel''s personality and the edge in his voice right now, Hilde wouldn''t be surprised if some kind of disaster would strike the city. Loriel always knew how to be destructive when he wanted to. This was ridiculous¡­ Oh, wait, Hilde was at Alexei''s penthouse right now! "Hilde? Do you actually have any ns in paying back what you owe me or what?" There was an impatience in Loriel''s voice that made Hilde freeze up. "Uff¡­ you are so petty. Any other men I know will dly help a damsel in distress without expecting anything.." "If you have something useful then spit it out. I don''t have all day." "Okay¡­ let me try to remember." Finally, Hilde relented. She didn''t have much choice but gave Loriel what he wanted. He asked for other gods'' detail? Fine. This was a good chance for Hilde to meet him too. She had been wanting to see him again after she found his track in Mn. If Hilde gave this address to Loriel then the two of them would be able to meet. Hilde sincerely doubted that either Alexei or Baron would get caught up in Loriel''s troubles. So this was going to be a fruitless visit except for the fact that Loriel was going to meet Hilde. "Oh wait a second, Loriel. I have some good news, I''m currently in contact with a young god in New York¡­ Uhm, actually there are two. They might be able to help you," Hilde said, despite knowing that Alexei was gone to who knows where. "They''re close enough to each other." "Tell me where the address is." "Of course, here it is." Hilde easily gave the address to Alexei''s house and before she could even say anything else, Loriel hung up on her. "Loriel? You hung up? Really?" Hilde tossed her phone to the wall in frustration. She wanted to get annoyed at the attitude and treatment of Loriel towards her, but the man was always like this. Uncaring and only concerned about whatever was important to him¡­ Now, Hilde realized that Lorieling here to Alexei''s penthouse without the man would only infuriate him further. Loriel would realize that Hilde tricked Loriel intoing here to see her. "Hah¡­ but isn''t it funny?" Hilde whispered to herself. "The woman that you''ve tried so hard to find is once again missing? Shouldn''t that be enough of a sign that the two of you are always destined to be apart?" Compared to this Elise, Hilde was nothing but a supportive person to Loriel who challenged him in ways that was unlike anyone else before. Why couldn''t Loriel see that? *** After Loriel ended the call with Hilde, the former king quickly received a call from his nephew. When Marc Sanderman realized that Elise was missing, he immediately got Alex and him to work on the matter immediately. It wasn''t just the fact that his great-uncle demanded Marc to find Elise, it was also because Marc and Alex genuinely cared about Elise as well. When Marc asked Alex to start finding footage of Elise, Alex who was always dependable panicked for a good minute. "Did you find anything?" Loriel demanded. "Yes, uncle. I''ve sent the details to you." "Will you just tell me where she is right now? I don''t have time to read anything." Loriel was already on his feet and prepared to go out. "O-of course, uncle. Let me just gather it up." Loriel''s movements across his penthouse were rushed and yet in the stride of a man that was ready to go to war. Pott and Pebble were currently hiding underneath the sofa, watching Loriel run out of the penthouse to find his wife. "Well, Marc?" Loriel clicked his tongue. Marc honestly didn''t know what to say at first. It was thanks to thetest technology that took one photo of a person and matched it with the countless footage taken by the CCTV surveince across New York that Marc Sanderman and Alex came across footage that made them stop in their tracks. Just today, Elise was seen in downtown New York. Elise met up with a handsome young man and then left with him after talking with the guy. Marc didn''t want to assume the worst-case scenario that Elise was cheating on Loriel or anything, so instead, he sent the information to his grand uncle to avoid mentioning it. But now Marc Sanderman was forced to report it. "Based on where the footage ended, it seemed like the tracks ended in the more private district of NYC. They didn''t want to freely give any surveince there, and when we did get them, apparently, none of the cameras there were working. However, it helps narrow down the location where we can pinpoint Elise is." Loriel crossed-checked the information with the address that Hilde gave him and found that they were in the very same location. Or at least the very same district. If Loriel couldn''t trust Hilde''s words at first and thought it was just her trying to throw him off track, now he knew that there was some truth to it. But more than that, as he checked the footage that Marc sent him¡­ Loriel made a conclusion. The person that Elise met up with was the young god that Hilde was speaking of. How did the two of them meet each other? Loriel didn''t have any clue but watching the video made his blood boil. Was this all an attempt to lure Loriel out of hiding? No. Loriel doubted the man knew about Loriel so what did they want with Elise? "Did they just think that they could kidnap my wife?" he muttered with clenched jaws. Loriel was all-too-aware that some gods liked to have ''messengers'' or ''men'' to do their bidding and if Elise was in a state of not knowing who she was¡­ it was far too easy to try and manipte her. Chapter 202 - Loriels Arrival When Alexei heard Elise admit the reasons why she wanted to know about her past, he felt a wave of sadness ovee him. Even though Alexei was not a parent, he knew what it was like to grow up without any parents at all. "So you''ve forgotten about your children?" he asked with a sympathetic voice. Elise smiled pitifully. "I don''t know if they''re even alive at all. I just want to know what happened¡­ and if they''re okay. Even if they hate me for forgetting about them, then it''s okay. I deserve the hatred. What kind of mother am I?" Alexei shook his head. "I don''t think they''d hate you if they knew what happened. I think the most important question besides figuring out your memories is knowing who did this to you.". "Did this to me?" Elise looked up at Alexei''s face. Alexei nodded. "Yes, I doubt the reason why you forgot about your previous pregnancies is a simple matter. You forgot about your powers and even memories of the past, someone else must be at work for this." Elise didn''t think too much about it before, but Alexei was right. If someone did this to Elise¡­ it was an unforgivable thing for them to do. Elise suffered so much not knowing who she was, living under a new name and learning about what it was to be Madeline York when Elise was her own person. Elise even forgot about her pregnancies, her name¡­ it was impossible for Elise to even feel like herself anymore, knowing that there were too many things that were hidden from her. "Are you okay, Elise?" Alexei asked but then winced. "Forget about it, it''s a stupid question of mine. Of course, you''re not okay." Elise smiled a little and sighed deeply. "I''m far from okay, but this is like pulling out a bandaid from an already healed wound. It''s a necessary process." "About that, I''m actually curious¡­ Now that you know about this, what about your husband?" Alexei asked. "I don''t want to pry, but all of this changes and information is bound to make you second-guess yourself, right?" "That''s¡­" "I know it''s quite mean to say this when you''ve already married the guy, but if you were pregnant twice before¡­ then doesn''t that also mean that you have had a husband or lover in the past?" Alexei asked. "I just want to say that it soundsplicated." Elise raised a hand to her forehead and threw a look at Alexei. "You know, I wasn''t even trying to think about that. But I like to think that even if the old me wouldn''t have been with Loriel today, the fact that I love him right now is all that matters." Alexei raised a brow and then whistled a little. "That''s some kind of love." Elise blushed a little before looking down hard at the table. "I know I said that, but I''m afraid of going back to Loriel and him finding out about all of this. I don''t want him to think of me as some kind of freak." "You''re not a freak, Elise," Alexei said. "If you were one, then it meant that I''m one as well, and as far as I know, I''m actually a pretty cool god." "God?" Elise furrowed her brows. Alexei cleared his throat and then smiled smugly. "I told you, people in the past called us gods and goddesses. Many people actually worship me as the god of war for a long time¡­ heheh.." Realizing that his exnation only made Elise be more confused, Alexei waved his hand and pretended he didn''t mention anything about him being worshipped in the past. "You are not a freak," he said curtly. "I won''t allow you to think about yourself that way." Elise looked at Alexei deeply. She realized even though his words sounded like a scolding, he uttered them endearingly. Elise couldn''t argue with him. "You''re really silly," Elise chuckled a little before shaking her head. "I guess all that''s left is waiting for your friend, right? They must be really powerful to have the ability to restore memory." Alexei nodded. "Actually I don''t know if he could restore your memory, but even if he couldn''t, I am sure he would know someone who could, or he would be able to tell us how." "What is he to you?" Elise asked Alexei curiously. "Does he have powers like us?" "Yes. He''s one of the bests," Alexei replied. "He is like a father to me. He practically raised me." "Raised you?" Alexei gave Elise a side-eye and chided, "What? Did you think I am made of a rock?" "Ohh¡­" Elise suddenly facepalmed herself. She just realized she must have thought all these immortals didn''t have parents. Gosh.. of course, they did. They were just like humans, but immortals. They must have parents and family too. "I am sorry for being insensitive," Elise cleared her throat. "Where were your parents? Why didn''t they raise you?" "It''s a long story and I don''t want to bore you," Alexei chuckled. His carefree and nonchnt attitude was in contrast to Elise who was despondent. "I understand," Elise took a deep breath. She didn''t want to probe further because Alexei didn''t seem to want to share with her about his family life. Besides, she had her own problem to worry about. Elise was wondering what Loriel was doing now. He must have read her letter. Would he understand that Elise needed to do this? Or would he immediately try to look for her? Somehow, Elise had a feeling that her husband would exert all his power and connection to locate her. She was not sure of what Loriel was capable of, but he was close to Marc and Marc had the resources to do whatever. She nced at her phone in her bag and let out a sigh of relief. Elise intentionally turned it off because she didn''t want Loriel to call her and locate her. She needed this time to be alone, and think, before she could see him and tell him everything. "I need some air," she said weakly. Alexei pointed at the sliding door behind him. "That''s the balcony if you want to get air." "Thank you," Elise muttered. She slid the door to the right and then walked out to the balcony. Actually, there was nothing fresh about the air in New York. It was just an excuse to get out and be alone with her thoughts. The air quality outside was just bad. At least, inside the penthouse, they had an air purifier running. When Elise turned to look at Alexei again, she saw Loriel in the air. Chapter 203 - You Kidnap My Wife!! Baron was looking out of the window when he noticed how the skies suddenly turned pitch ck and were covered with huge dark nimbus clouds despite the weather report earlier iming it would be a good day. The young god frowned a little. "Someone must be really upset, right now." As far as Baron knew, it was difficult to hold back one''s powers when a god was currently in the throes of deep emotional turmoil. He hoped that it wasn''t connected to Alex bringing in the woman to his penthouse, but he was probably wrong. "I made a good decision not to interfere," Baron muttered underneath his breath. Baron already had a very good idea as to what was happening and he did not want to be in any part of it. *** In the heart of New York, Loriel rushed to the address that Hilde gave him and found himself at the part of the city where he once ''visited'' Tessa and Julian''s hotel to give them a piece of his mind.. The wind blew really strongly all across New York that it was as if there was a sudden hurricane that came out of nowhere. Loriel could already see that the majority of the pedestrians were already leaving and hurrying to get to somece safe for shelter. Others currently in the flow of traffic suddenly started to speed up, afraid that the winds would scatter the vehicles without even batting an eye. It was a freak storm and cmity. Across the entire city, even though it was sudden, the newscasters and anchors were quick to pick up on the change and urged the inhabitants of New York to remain indoors and if they were currently outside, to find a ce for them to stay in. "This sudden freak storm is unexpected and the experts are still trying to analyze what is going on," The news reporter said to describe the sudden change in the atmospheric conditions. Such things were uncontroble natural forces. A forced evacuation was made. *** If Loriel held back before using the full extent of his powers in order to remain in hiding from the gods, now wasn''t the time at all. Loriel couldn''t risk slowing down or holding back when Elise was in danger. Now Loriel allowed the full extent of his entire immortal energy to spread out and find out where Elise and the so-called gods were residing in New York. As he moved closer to the destination, Loriel felt the presence of not only one god, but three of them. One was Hilde, he recognized the woman''s presence in the very address that she gave him and it infuriated Loriel that she would take advantage of his crisis as a chance to meet up with him again. Butpared to that, perhaps there was still some good in her giving the address. Only a couple blocks away, it was so close, another penthouse held the presence of two gods and Loriel enhanced his vision to scour up the great magnitude of distance¡­ he saw Elise. His dear wife was currently at the highest part of the penthouse, speaking with a man, which he assumed was another god. No, Loriel didn''t believe it was as simple as she was just talking with him. In a blink of an eye, the entire wind around Loriel propelled him forward, several hundred meters into the air and right into the face of this young god. "I need some air¡­" Elise muttered when she stepped out into the balcony, right at the same time, Loriel arrived. Loriel grabbed Alexei''s cor without any hesitation and threw the god down across the now-empty streets of New York. Loriel quickly threw a look at Elise and saw the shocked look on her face. "Elise, I¡­" A sudden lightning bolt took Loriel down into the ground as well. A portion of the street was blown to bits and also now held arge crater from where Loriel and Alexei both fell in. Except that Alexei was the first one to stand up and as he looked at Loriel, suddenly felt the urge tough. The young god couldn''t believe it. One moment, Alexei was just talking to Elise and having a heartfelt conversation with her when suddenly this guy just threw him into the street. Alexei returned the favor by summoning lightning. However, Loriel proved to be much sturdier than others. Alexei thought it was strange at first but then it was starting to make all sense. When Alexei looked at the strong winds blowing wildly around them and the appearance of this man, Alexei realized who this guy was. "I was just minding my own business but then you suddenly came in?" Alexeiughed and then red at Loriel. "What perfect timing. You''re going down, bastard." Despite the lightning stunning him, Loriel was back on his feet and blocked the punch from the young god as his arm went numb. This person who stole Elise was actually pretty strong and yet Loriel was not a weakling. "Minding your own business?" Loriel didn''t even know who this guy was except for the fact that he interfered with his peaceful life. "You kidnapped my wife, Bastard!!" Loriel threw back another punch in response. Alexei''s face felt the strength in the blow, that he even flew back across the streets for a moment. Alexei didn''t realize that there was someone who could match a god of war in terms of physical strength. Even if Alexei was retired, it didn''t mean that he was weak. Right before Loriel could throw another punch at Alexei, another flurry of lightning came down at him. All across New York, the start of the storm heavily poured down as chains of lightning fell down from the heavens. Two men struggled and fought against one another, trading blows that shook the entire street around them. Elise looked down at the madness happening below her as the two people she knew were now fighting. Elise struggled toe to terms with it at first. But after a moment''s hesitation, she rushed all the way down. Baron, who was about to actually check on Elise, was stunned as the woman rushed past him without another word. When Elise reached the streets of New York, it was already paved in destruction. Chapter 204 - Alexei Did Know Loriel Alexei''s entire body was feeling the effects of the fight and even for a war of god who enjoyed the sensations of battles and turmoil, the blood that was trickling down his nose and his swollen eye was injuries sustained from someone who could fight gods. But it was iparable to the rage burning within Alexei and he wasn''t going to be stopped at all. Alexei dodged Loriel''s attacks, the sharp and cruel windsshing out at him that put Alexei on the defensive. The young god was gathering his powers for one single attack to end it all. That was until Elise suddenly appeared in the middle of the street. Even though Loriel and Alexei were already a great distance from the penthouse, Elise made her way to them without a moment''s hesitation at all. "Stop!" Elise put her hands up and Loriel stopped in his tracks, his attacks put to aplete stop at the sight of his wife. Loriel couldn''t dare hurt his wife at all and would never let Alexeiy a single finger on her at all. "Elise," Loriel paused at the sight of his wife.. "Haven''t you guys done enough?" Elise asked sharply and threw a look at the both of them. "Look all around your surroundings and tell me if this is what you guys really wanted." "He attacked me first, I was only defending myself." Alexei spat. "It''s only right that I make sure that he can never attack me again. Consider everything else as unintended coteral damage." Elise tightened her fist at the remark and resisted the urge to throw fire in the man''s face. "You could have made sure to avoid that, but you didn''t. You really don''t care about anything else, do you?" Alexei didn''t have any answers for that. Elise shook her head. It was hard trying to put some sense into something that already happened. Elise didn''t have the right to lecture someone who was already grown up and even much older than her. Instead, there was only one person that Elise wanted to confront. "Loriel¡­ what did you think you were doing?" Elise turned her attention away from Alexei and focused solely on Loriel at this moment. Her heart was trembling, but Elise wanted answers first. "I wanted to protect you from him," Loriel quietly said. There was no more running or hiding after this, no more keeping secrets and the look on Elise''s face made it more grave. "You could have said something at first. There was no reason to attack him at all," Elise chided at him. "Well, that''s¡­" There were so many things that Elise wanted to ask, but she was only slightly relieved to see that she came before the two of them could hurt each other even further. Alexei had been helping her, even if he was under no obligation to do so. Heck, they were practically strangers when he helped her get rid of the man she identally killed, but here he was¡­ taking Elise in and even promised to help her find ways to get her memory back. She didn''t want her husband to attack the man who had helped her. It would make her an ungrateful woman. Loriel''s entire clothes were singed and burned up, the entirety of his shirt and disyed the sight of scorch marks across his skin. Alexei himself was covered in cuts and punches that also put him in a terrible shape as well. Elise''s heart was pounding in her chest as there was static in hears, but she forced herself to pay attention and listen to what Loriel had to say for himself as she asked again. "Why did you suddenly attack Alexei? You could have talked like I said." Elise turned to Alexei and said apologetically. "I am sorry this happened to you. This is my husband Loriel. He didn''t mean to attack you. He must be¡­. thinking that you kidnapped me when that''s not the case." "Loriel?" Alexei furrowed his brows. He had never asked Elise''s husband''s name and just found out it was Loriel. He looked at Elise in disbelief. "Loriel Ashborn?" This time, it was Elise who was surprised. "Yes. That''s my husband." Alexei''s expression gave Elise a bad premonition. Did Alexei actually know her husband? Was there any beef in the past between them? "Hyaa¡­!!!" Suddenly, Alexei jumped high into the air and with a wave of his hand, he sent two more lightning bolts toward Loriel. Yes. He did know Loriel Ashborn. This was the man who killed his parents and turned him into an orphan. Alexei had been looking for him for a long time. He finally gave up after several centuries because Loriel was very elusive. However¡­suddenly, when he least expected it, this man just stepped in out of nowhere? Alexei called this good timing. Loriel was surprised by the sudden attack after he saw Elise and Alexei talk. Judging from their attitude, he could tell that Elise was not in danger. She didn''t show any fear and Alexei also looked gentle toward her. So, he didn''t expect the other man to suddenly attack him again. Loriel stomped his feet to the ground and jumped as high as Alexei and weed his lightning bolts with one st of howling wind. Both powers met in the air. However, before they could hurt each other like before, Elise had sent a fireball above and destroyed both charges. "STOP IT!!" She was dumbfounded when she saw what she could do. And so did Loriel and Alexei who froze in their ce with bulged eyes. "Elise, honey..." Loriel quickly went down andnded before Elise as soon as he was moved from his shock. He reached out his hand and looked at her dotingly. "I will stop. I will ignore him like a fly¡­ I just want you toe home with me." Alexeinded too, not far from them, his eyes were filled with anger but at the same time, confusion. He hated Loriel and wanted to kill him if possible, but he just realized Elise was much stronger than he thought she was. If he was to attack Loriel again, it would be two against one, and he might actually lose his own life. Was it worth it? Chapter 205 - The Moment Of Truth Finally, Alexei decided it was not worth it. Besides, he really liked Elise and didn''t wish to be her enemy. From what he gathered, she had her own problem with Loriel. So, he would stand by the sideline and let her deal with her husband first before he could decide to continue attacking Loriel or not. The rage of lightning disappeared atst. Alexei had waited for centuries to find Loriel and get his revenge. He surely could wait for a few minutes while he let Elise and Loriel talk, couldn''t he? Loriel stepped forward slowly and now his body almost touched Elise''s. He was trembling anxiously. This was the moment of truth. Finally, he had toy all his cards in the open and tell Elise that she was his dearly beloved wife, he had wronged her in their past and had regretted it every day for the past fifteen centuries.. He also wanted to tell her that he was crazy, madly, deeply in love with her that he did anything and everything to be with her again. But then.. he also would have to tell her about the reason why she left him and what happened to their unborn children. "Elise, honey¡­ you ran away because you figured out that you were pregnant twice in the past and you wanted to know who you are. The truth is, I am your husband, Elise," Loriel said with a hoarse voice. His body trembled. Elise could see deep sadness engulf her husband and her heart ached for him. "I know you are my husband now, but¡­" her voice halted. "Not only in this time, but ever since fifteen centuries ago¡­ you and I were married," Loriel added. "It has always been me. I have always been your husband. There has never been anyone else. And the children you carried were mine¡­" "What?" Elise stared at Loriel. Her heart dropped to the floor. This was¡­ impossible, she thought. Everything felt so confusing. "Elise, I love you¡­ and when you were gone, I did everything I could to find you again." Loriel smiled sadly. "Even when it meant bing immortal like the gods and earning their ire, I did everything just to see you again." "What happened to my children?" Elise asked with a croaked voice. Tears started streaming down hard to her cheeks. Suddenly she had a bad feeling about this because, instead of answering her question, Loriel cried silently. His tears already gave Elise the answer she was looking for. There were never any children. She lost them. "Oh my god¡­" Elise burst into tears and she wailed despondently. Loriel quickly took her to his embrace and hugged her so tightly. Her cries broke his heart. The memory of her first miscarriage came back and gave him literal pain in his heart. It was the saddest day of his life. Loriel wanted to be strong for her, but he couldn''t help but cry too. What''s worse was the fact that he didn''t really know what happened to their second child. He assumed the child died too and losing her second pregnancy, in addition to feeling hurt by her husband''s treatment, finally took its toll on Elise and her brain decided to forget everything because it was so hurtful. Elise cried despondently as she thought her world came crashing down. This was truly the saddest day of her life. She always suspected that she had a dark past, but apparently, this was worse than that. She finally pulled herself together and slowly stepped back, getting away from Loriel''s embrace. "Are you really my husband?" she asked him hoarsely. Loriel nodded. "I am." "You said you were looking for me¡­" Elise bit her lip and tried so hard to hold back from crying again. "When we finally met, when did you know it was me?" "I knew almost immediately," Loriel admitted. "From the moment Iid my eyes on you, when I heard your voice, and smelled your scent. I never forgot anything about you. I always keep you close to my heart for fifteen centuries¡­ so I can recognize you as soon as I saw you." Elise looked at Loriel''s eyes and knew he was not lying. "So¡­ all of these coincidences weren''t coincidences at all, were they?" Elise asked. "When you saved me from being homeless after the hostel kicked me out, and you also got me a job¡­" "Yes." Elise remembered how the hostel she was staying in suddenly closed down and Loriel happened to be there. Whenever Elise needed him, Loriel happened to be there and yet Elise was far from happy. Elise didn''t know what to feel anymore. "Honey," Loriel reached out to his beloved wife, but Elise pped his hand away. There was a look of both pain and confusion in her eyes that made Loriel''s heart twinge in pain. Loriel didn''t mean for things to be this way. "I''m sorry." "Please don''t touch me," Elise said and took a step away from her husband. She gave Loriel a pained smile and shook her head. "Please don''t talk to me." "Elise, please let me exin." "You''ve made a fool of me for the past months," Elise''s voice cracked and backed away from Loriel. "No, Elise I didn''t mean for it to look that way." Loriel took another step forward and smiled painfully. "I would never do that to you." "I thought you were someone who was genuinely there for me and that this was a new chance for me to live a happy life¡­ but this was all contrived, wasn''t it?" Elise looked at him. "You nned everything from the start. Why?" "I looked for you, Elise but you didn''t remember me and I didn''t want to scare you away." "Were you really afraid of scaring me away or for me to reject you?" Elise asked. "You must have done something really awful to me in the past that I decided to leave¡­" Loriel stared at her and blinked. "That''s¡­" He swallowed hard. Loriel had prepared the words to say to his wife when he found her again. He had rehearsed this so many times in the past, but today he couldn''t even remember a word. Chapter 206 - It Is The Time Master Loriel looked at Elise in awe. He thought his wife was truly smart. This woman was different from Elise Leoralei he married fifteen centuries ago. She was meek, soft, and loved him too much to the point that she let herself be hurt. This Elise was outspoken, and she stood up for herself. She also didn''t take too kindly at being deceived by Loriel these past few months when he wanted to woo her so he could marry her again. "You don''t have anything to say, do you? Please leave me alone and let me gather my thoughts, Loriel." Elise tried to calm herself down but her shoulders were shaking. "It''s already hard trying to talk to you. I don''t know what to believe in anymore." There was a certain bitterness in Elise that sprung up when she realized that Loriel knew about her previous pregnancies and didn''t say a word at all.. Without waiting for another moment, Elise quickly spun and moved around. Elise also felt Alexei''s heavy gaze on her but she couldn''t even look him in the eye. Elise managed to drag him into this mess because of her, didn''t she? Elise had no right to even be here. "Elise? What about your memories?" Alexei asked. He was positive that his uncle woulde out soon enough. He was an ancient god who had lived for much longer than almost anyone he knew, and Alexei was sure that if anyone would know how to help Elise regain her memory, it was him. Even though Alexei was boiling with rage, the young god didn''t forget his promise. He still wanted to help Elise. No matter how convoluted the situation now seemed to be. In Alexei''s eyes, it just cemented the idea that Loriel, the man who killed his parents, was more of a bastard than anything else. What kind of person hid one''s truth to his wife and kept her in the dark for who knows how long? Elise looked at Alexei and hesitated. She dide with Alexei to meet with someone who could help recover her memories, but for now, Elise wanted to be alone. "I''m sorry¡­I-I¡­ think I need a moment to myself, alright?" Elise said. "I''ll be back." "Understood. I''ll keep this guy out of your hair too." Alexei turned to Loriel and once again summoned a lightning bolt. The powerful lightning cracked and sizzled against the pavement street and created another crater. Remnants of the pavement were thrown at Loriel who only red at the other god. "I have no intention of fighting you and I don''t even know who you are," Loriel spat at Alexei. As much as Loriel wanted to chase after his wife now andfort her¡­ Loriel understood that he was not what Elise needed right now. Elise continued to walk away from them, her thoughts solely focused on everything revealed. Tears continued to drip down harder and harder. Neither Loriel nor Alexei decided to approach the woman and thought that it was only fair enough for them to give Elise some space. She needed a lot of it if she were to actually process everything that happened. Elise was only moments away from falling on the street and crashing out of shock. It was difficult, but she took one step forward and then another. Before Elise even knew it, both Loriel and Alexei were in the street behind her and she could no longer see them or hear what they were doing. She held back herself and kept herself strong, but Loriel''s revtions were like a heavy burden ced on her shoulders. The information that Alexei gave her was world-shattering, but it was Loriel''s words that broke everything into tiny pieces. A part of Elise knew that Loriel loved her. Elise really did know and could see how much Loriel loved her and Elise loved him back¡­ but Elise still felt betrayed, confused and hurt that Loriel kept everything away from her. And what''s more painful was the fact that she had lost two pregnancies. She needed time to grieve. Loriel said he had lived for fifteen centuries as he waited and looked for her. He already had all the time in the world to process his grief, not Elise. She just found out today. And it was more hurtful because Loriel kept all of those a secret, making her think she was the one with a dark past and had to tip toe about not offending or scaring her husband away. Did Loriel n to keep everything to himself and pretend that they were a new family? Was that his n? If Loriel said he was looking for Elise then it also meant that Ellise left Loriel or was taken away by someone else. Were things that troublesome between Elise and Loriel that she still disappeared from his side? There were so many questions in Elise''s mind and none of them truly had the answers that Elise wanted. Loriel probably wanted to tell her the truth and the story of how it all happened¡­ but Elise wanted her own memories back. Elise wanted her own perspective to this matter and not Loriel''s. Knowing how her husband kept things a secret for so long, he might not tell the her the whole truth anyway. Elise didn''t think that Loriel would lie to her now that she knew the truth, but in his perspective, Loriel would defend himself and while it was Loriel''s right to do that¡­ it would still be biased to him. "Hah¡­" Elise looked across the street and took the moment to sit down. A part of her considered going back to Baron''s penthouse and staying there because she couldn''t trust herself to make the right decision once Loriel met up with her. Elise wanted to forgive Loriel because she loved him. But was it really fair for things to be that easy for Loriel? Even if Loriel had good intentions by trying to keep the secret of Elise''s past with him¡­ didn''t Elise have a right to know? It was her memory that they were talking about! "Elise, is that really you?" a gentle voice suddenly asked. When Elise looked up, it was a face that she could hardly recognize¡­ but somehow, a part of her instantly knew who he was. It was the Time Master. He was the only person that she could never forget. She promised him that much. . . ************* From Missrealitybites: I''m excited! We will enter the next volume in the next chapter and the story will reset to the moment Elise first met Loriel. Chapter 207 - When Elise Meets Loriel FIFTEEN CENTURIES AGO: . Elise traveled to the capital of Summeria, Castilse, to meet her fiance for the very first time. Now that her father approved her visiting and actually going here, Elise felt a sense of excitemente over her chest. Summeria was a lovely and beautiful kingdom, and although Elise couldn''tpare it to her home back in Myreen that was beautiful and well-kept due to the magic that her father cast over the kingdom¡­ this would be her new home. Elise''s heart pounded loudly in her chest. Everybody weed her into the royal pce politely and respectfully, Elise did notck for anything now that she was here. It was now time for her to approach the king and give her greetings to him, but at the same time, she couldn''t help but feel nervous about how it would all go down. Elise traveled and walked through the king''s private residence, taking note of her surroundings and memorizing the ouy of the castle in the back of her mind.. Familiarizing herself with the castle was one of the many things that Elise needed to do now that she was here. This was where Elise would marry the man she loved and the two of them would start their new life together. After all those years of only watching him from afar, and even when Elise had seen Loriel with another woman in the past¡­ It didn''t change that Loriel asked for her hand in marriage. In the end, he would be her husband, as promised by their mothers. That was what Elise''s father told her and that was why she was finally allowed toe here. King Alexander told her that Loriel hade to Myreen while Elise was away and asked his blessings to marry her, and King Alexander had said yes. Had Loriel seen her painting in Myreen? Did he like what he saw? Did he feel something for her? Ahh... Elise felt sad that the man came while she was away. Her father got really sick and she secretly left home to find a magical artifact that could heal her father. She was told to meet a healer named Raphael and after begging before him for days, finally, Elise was granted healing for her dear father. Unfortunately, when she came back, Loriel already left Myreen. She didn''t get the chance to see her fiance. However, her father gave her good news that Loriel came to propose. Since his mother was ailing, Loriel wanted to marry Elise as soon as possible, before Queen Maude passed away. This was her dying wish. Several monthster, Loriel sent a group of knights and his trusted right hand, a wizard called Renwyck, toe to Myreen and get Elise toe to see him in Summeria. He said they must do the wedding at his home because his mother was too frail to travel to Myreen. That''s why now Elise was here, in Castilse, the beautiful capital city of Summeria. She went with her loyal maid, Alina, and two knights from Myreen to go to Summeria. The twenty knights and Renwyck sent by her husband were meant to protect her on the way. Ahh.. they didn''t know that Elise could protect herself well. They might think she was a weak damsel. She never bothered to correct their perspective. She wanted to show her future husband that she appreciated his thoughtful gesture by sending so many people to protect her. Ahh.. she was anxious. What did he think when he came to Myreen? Was he interested in knowing her more? Did hement on her painting when he saw it? Was he eager to see her in person? So many questions filled her mind. Elise couldn''t wait to see Loriel. Even if he might not love her from the beginning, Elise was determined to be a good wife to Loriel. She would love him with all her heart. Someday, he would love her. The two of them would have the entirety of their lives together for that. Elise saw the king of Summeria currently all by himself and she stood in awe. The man was more handsome in real life than what her grandmother''s crystal ball showed. Loriel''s appearance was really astonishing and Elise wanted topare him to the gods of Cretea with how handsome the man was. Elise approached him respectfully to pay her respects. It was Loriel''s first time meeting her and knowing who she was, so Elise wanted to make a good impression. That was the first step. If Elise couldn''t have his love, then Elise would make Loriel like and respect her. Wasn''t Elise trained as a proper princess? All those years that her father and grandmother taught and trained her made Elise someone who was capable of acting as Loriel''s future wife and queen of the kingdom. Loriel needed to see Elise as someone who was fit to be by his side. Elise curtseyed and greeted him. "Your Majesty." The handsome man turned to see her and for a few moments, he froze in ce. This was¡­ the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her painting couldn''t do her justice, he thought. When Maxim saw Elise''s painting back in Myreen, he didn''t really care. He thought paintings were usually made to deceive anyway. He didn''t think his fiancee would look even half as beautiful as the painting. He was dead wrong. Elise became confused. Loriel didn''t reply to her greetings. Instead, he looked dumbfounded. What was going on? He didn''t look happy to see Elise. Her heart suddenly felt distraught. Was Loriel¡­ still in love with that woman whom Elise saw through her crystal ball? Did he feel upset that he was betrothed to Elise when he was in love with another woman? "You are?" Loriel was moved from his reverie and he asked Elise for her name, even though he could already guess who she was. . . ************* From Missrealitybites: Finally, we are back at zero where everything started and we will read in more detail what actually happened between Loriel and Elise, and how Loriel groveled and took his punishment for fifteen centuries for hurting his wife. Are you excited? Chapter 208 - Call Me Loriel Elise bit her lip. "My name is Elise Leoralei, Your Majesty¡­" Loriel''s expression darkened at her reply and he said, "Call me by my name." He growled slightly at her greeting and Elise could sense the hostility in his tone. Elise fought back against the surprise that tried toe across her features. Were they that close already that Loriel wanted her to call him by name alone? Not really. Instead, Elise understood that the two of them were starting at a difficult level. Loriel was someone who left his kingdom and wandered the world, going through countless adventures by himself¡­ the man probably thought it was a burdensome thing to take on the throne. Even if Elise didn''t want to think too much about it, it wasn''t also strange that Loriel also probably harbored resentment for being betrothed. Except for this time, Elise didn''t understand why Loriel still pushed for their uing marriage.. Maybe Loriel was just upset and having a bad day? Elise gave the response he wanted. "Loriel," Elise said. Secretly, she was happy because she got to call him by his first name. The name rolled so sweetly in her tongue. She loved his name ever since she had heard of it from the beginning. "That is NOT my name," Loriel snapped at her in frustration. His reaction made Elise wince in surprise. Was it not his name? How was that possible? Did Grandma Myrce and her father lie to Elise about her fiance''s name? "I-I''m sorry, Your Majesty..." Elise bit down on her lip and tried not to make her voice shake. How could Elise not know his name when they were supposed to get married all these years? Elise should have known better, didn''t she? No. She couldn''t stay weak like this and cower at her future husband''s voice. Elise kept her gaze up at him and apologized. "I didn''t know your other name." "Forget it. You can just call me whatever," Loriel growled in displeasure ."Not that it matters." Suddenly he was reminded how Emmelyn always called him Maxim. That was the name his mother liked to call him and that''s the name he introduced himself to Emmelyn. Now, he suddenly didn''t want that name to be used by any other woman. It was a name used only by people he held dear in his heart. Elise was not one of them. Meanwhile, Elise lowered her head lightly and bit her lip. Did Loriel really mean those words? Elise didn''t think that Loriel meant it in a literal sense¡­ but what if she was wrong? Whatever. It really wasn''t a nice thing to call someone. "What were you thinking?" Loriel snapped impatiently. Elise looked up at him startled. "Wh-what was I thinking?" "Don''t you have ears?" "I do have ears, Your Majesty¡ªLo...Loriel." Elise bit down on her lip and then swept her tongue across her lip nervously. She didn''t know what to call him since she didn''t know his other name. The only thing that perhaps Elise''s father and grandmother failed to teach her was how to interact with other people that much. Even though Elise got along with her people, it didn''t mean the same thing here. "So?" Loriel asked again, getting more impatient than ever. "You told me to call you ''Whatever''..." Elise looked up at him sheepishly. "I don''t think that''s a good name." Loriel was rendered speechless for a moment. He stared down at Elise as if trying to make sense of her words. Did she just say what she said? He was wondering. If he was not in such a bad mood like today, he would haveughed out loud because it was funny as hell. But no, Loriel shook his head in frustration, thinking this young woman was so naive. THIS was what he had to put up with for the rest of his life? Loriel sighed loudly and rubbed his face. "Just call me Loriel. It''s a lot better than ''Whatever''," he said finally. Elise''s expression perked up at his words and she bowed her head lightly. "Thank you, Your¡ªahem... Loriel." "Hmm¡­" Loriel muttered. Elise thought this was a good step in the right direction, wasn''t it? Even though Loriel sounded upset at everything at first, at the end of their conversation, he still allowed Elise to call him by the name ''Loriel''. So, this made Elise happy. Elise knew that this was such a small thing to feel happy about, but even the little things were enough to bring her joy. "Have you already paid respect to my mother?" Loriel asked her. Elise was so excited about meeting Loriel that she thought about Queen Maude only now. That wasn''t right at all, wasn''t it? Elise shook her head lightly. "N-no, Your Majesty¡­ Loriel. But I will see her now and pay her my respects." Loriel looked down at her and his expression was difficult to read, but then he nodded briskly. "I was about to visit her myself, let us go." "Thank you¡­" Elise inclined her head. When Elise looked up, Loriel was already moving across the castle. It seemed like Loriel left her behind and was at a great distance despite the brief moments. "Hurry up, will you?" Loriel grunted at her from afar. The man looked annoyed at how slow Elise seemed to be after going through the effort of actually bringing Elise to meet his mother. "A-ah, I''m sorry. I''ll be right there." Elise didn''t think it was right for a princess to run, but she chased after Loriel to catch up with him. The two of them traveled across the castle''s numerous halls and were greeted by the people of the castle. Finally, the two of them reached a grand room with arge double door. There were numerous peopleing in and out. Elise was aware that Queen Maude was currently ailing. She actually brought some herbs, tea, and other healing items from Myreen to help in her recovery. It was something that her grandmother actually prepared for her as well. If it weren''t for the sudden rush ofing here, Elise wouldn''t havee empty-handed¡­ but Elise could also bring it backter. One of the men standing outside bowed their head when Loriel approached them. "I will be seeing my mother. Is she awake?" "Yes, Your Majesty. The royal physician is seeing her right now." Loriel nodded and then opened the door, allowing him and Elise to step inside. Elise quickly followed after him. . . **************** Please bear with it, Loriel is still very annoying and makes you want to smack him because this is the beginning of the story where he was still feeling heartbroken from losing Emmelyn. Chapter 209 - Meeting MotherInLaw When Elise stepped inside, she saw a middle-aged woman resting in her bed and coughing slightly as a man attended to her. She didn''t look like Loriel which made Elise feel surprised. All this time, she imagined Loriel got his good looks from his mother. However, seeing Queen Maude in person for the first time, Elise thought the mother and son couldn''t be any different. The queen dowager had darker skin, red hair, and brown eyes, while Loriel had ash-colored hair and blue eyes. Elise only realizedter that her future husband''s eyes were quite unique because they tend to change colors into silver when he was in a good mood, which didn''t happen often. "Your Majesty," the royal physician rose from his chair and bowed down to the young king. The queen however stopped coughing when she saw Elise and Loriel together. The expression on the queen''s face brightened up. "Ah, it''s almost like I saw Catalina again when we were younger.. You share a lot of features with your mother, but I see that you have King Alexander''s eyes. You must be Elise?" "A-ah, yes I am, Your Grace, Queen Dowager." Elise curtseyed properly again. "Now that I''m seeing you and Loriel standing together, I can''t help but think that the two of you look really good together," Queen Maude said with a hoarse voice. Almost deliberately as she looked at her son. It was a look that Elise didn''t quite understand, but Loriel approached his mother and crouched down in front of her. He looked at the royal physician. "You are dismissed for the moment, Zaff. Return when the princess of Myreen has paid her respects to my mother." Elise''s expression faltered lightly when she heard how Loriel referred to her. The princess of Myreen. It was so distantpared to how easily Loriel agreed to have him be called by his first name. Did he only agree to it because Loriel knew how much Elise wanted to be close to him? Elise felt confused by all the mixed signals sent by her future husband. Why was he polite and treated her well, but his attitude toward hercked warmth? Was he not excited about their wedding? Did he¡­ not love her? Elise didn''t know if she was to be happy or sad about that. But Elise reminded herself that it might take some time before Loriel opened his heart up to her. She realized the man had only met her today and didn''t really know her personality and character. To him, their meeting now must feel like a blind date forced onto him by their mothers, while to Elise, this was her dreame true. For now, Elise stepped a bit closer and then knelt in front of the queen dowager too. "I would like to give my greetings to the queen dowager of Summeria," Elise said respectfully and ced a hand across her chest. Elise quickly greeted the queen in the customs of her people and when she looked up, there was a gentle smile on Queen Maude''s face. "Ah, even before youe here¡­ you''ve already been studying how our people do things, haven''t you?" Queen Maude asked. Elise nodded her head. "All my life, Your Grace. This has been what I have been studying for among other things as well to lead a kingdom with your son." Elise didn''t mention how she also spent a great majority of her time learning under her grandmother about magic, she knew it was a rare thing outside of Myreen that she didn''t want to appear boasting. Queen Maudeughed a little before she coughed again and then shook her head. "I appreciate everything that you''ve done, Elise. But there is no need to be too formal with me. We will be a family now, so please be morefortable with me." "A-ah, of course, Your Grace." Elise blushed and ducked her head lightly. "You can call me mother-inw. I think I''d like to hear that." "We''re still not yet married, mother," Loriel said in a matter-of-fact tone. His brows furrowed and suddenly Elise realized Loriel was really not excited about their uing wedding. She bit her lip and pretended she didn''t notice it. "Well, it won''t be too long until you and Elise finally get married." Queen Maude responded back. "Isn''t that what you have in mind, Loriel?" "Yes, mother," Loriel said, without expression. Elise nced up at her soon-to-be-husband''s face. Even though Loriel didn''t seem to immediately like her, the man was willing to marry her and she found it a little odd. If he didn''t want her¡­ why did he say yes to their betrothal? Why did he send those letters to King Alexander to ask permission to have Elise sent to Castilse for the wedding and to Elise to propose her hand in marriage? Was it solely because Loriel was respecting his mother''s wishes? Elise observed the man and his mother. She could see how much he loved the queen and was acting as a filial son. Did he only decide to marry Elise to make his mother happy before she took herst breath? The Queen seemed to remember a lot more happier times now that she could see Elise. Ahh... she missed her best friend so dearly. She could see how Elise inherited Catalina''s beauty. She looked like the perfect queen for her son. Loriel frowned slightly when his mother coughed again. "Now that the greetings have been finished, I will now summon Zaff again, mother. You are far from well right now and need immediate rest." "Let me talk to my daughter-inw some more, Loriel," Queen Maude said. Loriel reached for his mother''s hand and squeezed it gently. "She wille here some other time, mother. For now, get some rest." Elise smiled sweetly and nodded. "Loriel is right, Mother-inw. You should rest. I wille back again soon to meet you." Even though she actually wanted to stay longer and talked to her mother-inw, Elise didn''t want to refute Loriel in front of other people. So, she followed his wishes without any word of objection. Chapter 210 - Loriels Another Name "It would be a great service if you coulde to visit my mother often..." Loriel said to Elise after their meeting. He intentionally told her to visit Queen Maude often because it was something that would make Loriel''s mother happy and would get Elise out of Loriel''s private times. He thought it would be good to keep her busy on her own, so Loriel didn''t have to babysit her. Elise looked up at her fiance''s face and wondered what he was thinking. She didn''t understand why Loriel had to ask her in the first ce to visit his mother. It was obvious to her that she would do it as part of her responsibility as the daughter-inw. "Yes, Loriel. I will do that, of course." Elise replied politely and smiled. "Good." Loriel nodded briskly. "You have my thanks¡­" The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Loriel couldn''t help but really think about how beautiful this woman was, that despite not doing anything, just being around him was enough to make Loriel''s thoughts linger into dangerous territory. He had been practicing abstinence for a long time and seeing this beauty before him, Loriel''s heart was tempted. When Elise spoke with her melodious voice, he wondered about how soft her lips were¡­ and how they would feel. Uff... this was wrong. Elise must have been some kind of enchantress that was seducing him and trying to entice him through his needs and desires as a man. Loriel immediately got rid of his dirty thoughts and focused on other things. He already made up his mind that he would not consummate the marriage. Loriel couldn''t stand being around her. The only thing interesting about her was her physical beauty but Loriel was not a superficial man who would just sleep with her without feeling. Those days were far over for him a long time ago¡­ when he met Emmelyn and understood what it was like to fall in love. He didn''t love Elise and he couldn''t sleep with her as husband and wife because¡­ every time he saw her, he would be reminded of what he had to sacrifice. Loriel finally said found an excuse to get away from her. "I have other matters to attend to, so I will be leaving you now. The royal physician, Zaff, will be taking care of my mother. You can talk to Horatio and ask for his help if you need anything. Goodbye." Without another word, Loriel left before Elise could even say anything else. It was as if Loriel couldn''t even be in her presence and it left Elise¡­ a little heartbroken. Was she that terrible of apanion that the man did not want to be with her? No. What if Loriel was actually busy? He already made time to go visit his mother with Elise so that proved her troubled thoughts wrong. The thing that troubled her the most was hisck of warmth and enthusiasm. Slowly, Elise was made to understand that even though Loriel wanted to marry her, he was obviously not in love with love. This was now clear as day. Elise bit her lip and batted her eyes, trying to hold herself not to shed tears. This must be hard for Loriel because he didn''t know Elise yet. He proposed to the woman he had never met before because he wanted to make his dying mother happy. This made Elise feel sympathy for the man. She promised to be patient and showed Loriel how much she would be a good wife to him. So, he would see her worth and love her back. Elise wiped her eyes and smiled. I am fine, she told herself. *** Over the course of the next few days and then weeks, Elise would make it a point to visit Queen Maude frequently and bring her gifts and other things that she brought from Myreen. This was something that made Queen Maude really happy. "I would have loved to visit Myreen again¡­ but circumstances have made me stay here in Summeria," Queen Maude smiled sadly. "I do not think that I will be ever able to visit that ce again, so I am happy that you are here, darling." "Your Grace, please don''t say that," Elise responded. "Once you get better, we''ll be able to go there with Loriel, and¡­ it would be a wonderful trip." The expression on Elise''s face changed slightly at the mention of her future husband. Elise bit down on her lip and tried not to look upset in front of the Queen. It was not right for Elise to worry about this at a time where Queen Maude was supposed to be recovering from her health. "Has my son not seen you today?" Queen Maude frowned slightly and asked. "No, not yet, Your Grace," Elise replied sweetly and tried to smile, brush over the things that worried her. "But His Majesty is a busy person and has many affairs that he is taking care of while I am staying as a guest of Summeria." "Do you meet him during meal times?" Queen Maude asked. "As the guest and future queen of Summeria, he is required to meet with you and have your meals together." "Yes¡­ but he tends to leave early. I think that he does not have an appetite to eat anything and I worry about his health, actually," Elise said. "The pressure and weight of being a king must be something that puts him in a bad mood frequently." Queen Maude looked at her daughter-inw with some sympathy. The queen waspletely aware that her son was still in a state of grieving over a lost love, but it did not mean that it was right for him to ignore Elise. "What do you mean that he''s in a bad mood frequently?" Elise blushed and realized that she wasining about Loriel to his mother. "It''s nothing, Your Majesty." She smiled sweetly. "His Majesty is kind to me. He is just busy." "Tell me, Elise." Queen Maude insisted. She could tell that Elise was not happy but she pretended everything was fine. Elise folded her hands together as she sat beside the queen dowager. Now that she visited frequently, there was even now a chair meant for her so she could stay longer in the chamber. "When Loriel and I first met¡­ he asked me to call him by his name. He seemed upset at that time and I do not know his other name, Your Majesty. It is a small thing to get upset over, but it mattered to him." Queen Maude sighed loudly that it worried Elise, but then she began to speak. "That boy, when he was out adventuring and trying to rebel against me and his father¡­ I think he took on his second name as Maxim to hide his identity rted to the Summeria kingdom. It was the name I used to call him when he was a child. The majority of his old friends andpanions called him that." "A-ah, I see¡­" Elise said. "So if he''s still making a fuss and is actually upset over it, call him Maxim." "I don''t think I will, Your Grace," Elise replied and bowed her head lightly. "I do not think that he will be happy to know that I have learned it from you.. He told me it is fine to call him Loriel." Chapter 211 - Elise And Queen Maude "Is that so? Then, it is better for you to call him by that name since the two of you agreed on that." Queen Maude smiled. "I think it is a good thing, isn''t it?" Elise struggled to return the smile. "Yes, Your Grace." "Ahem¡­ you are still not used to calling me ''mother'',"mented Queen Maude. "Please just call me ''mother-inw'' or ''queen mother''. I would really appreciate it." "Ah¡­ sorry," Elise lowered her head sheepishly. "Queen mother." Queen Maude smiled sweetly. "Thank you. Please stop being so formal with me. I am your mother-inw because soon you will marry my son. Just keep calling me ''mother''." "Understood, Your- ahem¡­ queen mother." Queen Maude touched Elise''s arm softly and gave her advice on how to deal with her son. "Elise, my son is stubborn, but he is actually a good man. I ask that you forgive him, but I know that is not enough." Queen Maude smiled sadly. "Even the kindness of a Leoraleis can only go so far. You must get fed up with him sooner orter." "That is not true, Mother. I will be patient with your son and understand him," Elise quickly replied. "You do not have to worry about anything like that. I love your son." "My son is extremely fortunate to have your love, Elise. Only someone like you could manage that." Elise blushed. "One can hope that he thinks the same as you, queen mother." "I am sure that he will." Queen Maude nodded seriously. "It would be impossible to not fall in love with such a beautiful and kindhearted woman that you are. I believe that he will open up to you once he sees that." "Thank you so much for your trust, mother." "Nonsense. I can see how wonderful you are, not only in how you look, but how pure and forgiving your heart is. That is what makes me long for Myreen, it is a wonderful kingdom that''s perfect in my eyes." Elise didn''t think that Queen Maude knew about how Elise also had her own selfish nature she tried so hard to repress. Queen Maude thought of Myreen and her people as some kind of wonderful ce and the people by seeing through rose-colored sses. When Queen Maude told him that it was what his friends called him¡­ Elise knew the woman also called Loriel by that name. It was jealousy that settled on Elise''s stomach that made her feel sick. And this made her unable to call Loriel by the name Maxim. She just couldn''t. She had vivid memory of the day when she saw Loriel with that woman. Elise couldn''t hear her voice, but now she remembered the woman called Loriel by the name Maxim. Maxim''s face beamed with happiness and his eyes sparkle, looking like bright silver because seeing the woman put him in a good mood. After spending more than two weeks together, not once Elise saw his blue eyes turn silver when he was with her. His eyes lit up when that woman called his name. Yet, he looked cold and uninterested when Elise spoke to him. This hurt. Queen Maude sensed Elise''s sadness and let out a sigh. The queen really liked this girl and wished her son could see Elise the way she saw her, and appreiate her for who she was. Queen Maude had met Emmelynst year and understood that Loriel was in love with her. She thought Emmelyn was such a nice girl too. If Catalina didn''t have a daughter and Emmelyn was still single Queen Maude would support Loriel to pursue her. She just wanted her son to be happy. Seeing the beautiful girl, sitting by her bedside, Queen Maude thought that Loriel would definitely fall in love with Elise, if he could spend more time with her, because then he would get to know her deeply. It wasn''t enough for the two of them to only meet each other and have no conversations beside the ones that were necessary. How would love develop between Loriel and Elise through that alone? "Elise, honey.. can you cook?" Queen Maude asked Elise gently. "They said, the way to a man''s heart is through his stomach. Maybe you can try cook something for him?" Elise''s eyes lit up. She nodded with a smile. "I can cook, mother. Is there a dish that Loriel loves? I can try make something for him." Queen Maude thought about it for a moment. "When Loriel was younger and I was healthier before, I would not ask the royal chefs to prepare him a meal and I would do it by myself. His favorite dish is a special stew." "A special stew?" The queen dowager nodded. "Loriel is different from when he was so young before. As a child, Loriel was weak and sickly. He would get bullied by his older half-sisters before and he couldn''t do much." Elise frowned sadly at the story. "That is terrible, mother. So you mean to tell me that you cook a special stew for Loriel to make him feel better?" "That''s right." Queen Maude nodded. "I told him to eat it well and he''ll be stronger and healthier. Compared to Myreen, there are less crops and vegetables here with magical properties, but I prepared that stew for him so he could be stronger." A meal from one''s childhood prepared by their parent was something of a heartwarming memory. Elise realized it was something that she wanted to prepare for Loriel. "Would it be alright for me to ask for the recipe, mother?" Elise respectfully asked. Queen Maude smiled and nodded. "Of course, there is no one else I would love more to have this recipe known than for you. Let me list them down for you." Elisemitted each ingredient to memory and heart. Once the queen dowager was done, Elise thanked the queen and excused herself to prepare the meal for Loriel by visiting the royal kitchen. When Elise stopped by the royal kitchen, the people working there were surprised to see the princess of Myreene inside of this ce. They exchanged nces with baffled or worried expressions. Was she going toin about the food? They wondered. Chapter 212 - Elise Cooks Loriels Favorite Dish Elise surprised the people in the kitchen by asking about the ingredients and if she could borrow from the kitchen. The cooks and servants stared at her unsure, before agreeing to help the future queen cook a dish for a meal. Until the people checked the list and realized something. "Um, Your Highness¡­ some of the ingredients listed down are not avable right now," the cook said apologetically. Elise batted her eyes. "Howe? Do your garden and farms not grow these particr herbs and spices?" "We do, Your Highness," the cook assured her. "But it is currently not in season. It would take a couple of months before they are to bloom. I think we can still prepare this dish with some ingredients missing, Your Highness." "Oh¡­ but you have them in the royal garden right?" Elise was used to having every species of fruits, vegetables, and spices avable in Myreen all year round. "Yes, we do, Your Highness," a servant replied politely. "Then please take care of the avable ingredients for now, cook." Elise smiled gently at them. "I will return shortly." Confused, the kitchen people watched the princess of Myreen leave the royal kitchen and head to the royal orchard of the castle. There were several gardeners and tenders currently taking care of various fruit trees, vegetables, and other nts avable to eat. It was where Elise met and conversed with them before she was finally led to a particr patch in the castle''snd. Once the gardener took her there and she asked to be alone for a little while, Elise knelt in front of the ground. With one wave of Elise''s hand, the seeds that were still hidden underneath the earth began to blossom and then finally take fruit. *** When dinnertime finally came around, Loriel tiredly went to the royal dining hall to have his meal. Even though he did his best to avoid Elise and not see her, he couldn''t be tantly rude. "Where is the princess?" Loriel craned his neck and looked for the princess'' presence. Most of the time, no, it was always Elise who was first to the royal dining hall to see him and then try to talk with him. It was rare that Loriel was the first one to be here that Elise''s absence was immediately felt. "Ah, Her Highness seems to be currently doing something, Your Majesty," one of his servants replied. "I think she will be here soon." "I see¡­" Loriel wondered if his coldness finally made Elise cry. The thought of making the woman cry made Loriel feel a little bit guilty. He could already imagine that the lovesick woman was sobbing her heart out inside her chambers or maybe crying to his mother. If that was actually happening right now, Loriel needed to rectify the situation. The king of Summeria stood up and contemted visiting the princess right now, but then wavered slightly back into his seat. Loriel did not want to visit Elise and then give her false hope at all. "Will she actually be going here?" Loriel impatiently asked. "I am already hungry and I do not want to wait for her any second longer. Why is the food not served yet?" "The royal cook is currently preparing something special tonight, Your Majesty," the servant exined. "Ugh. Fine, then let us wait for the princess and the food a little longer." Loriel was aware that the kingdom of Myreen would not take it lightly if news about the princess'' mistreatment were to be heard. Instead, Loriel did the bare minimum of what was expected from him. Loriel gave excuses, sometimes legitimate ones and others simply a way to avoid seeing Elise. When Elise and Loriel were together, he made it a point to remind himself of all the trouble that he went through to obtain what he wanted for his true love. Loriel knew that he was being cold, but it was far better than actually raising Elise''s hopes up. Many women misunderstood easily. If a man treated them well, they would assume the man was in love with them. Expectation was the roots of disappointment. It would be better if he didn''t let Elise get false hope about him loving her. She would be deeply disappointed. The doors to the dining hall finally opened while the fragrant aroma of something familiar wafted to Loriel''s nose. The man blinked and thought that his mother shouldn''t have gotten up to prepare the dish¡­ but then it was not her. Elise came in with the servants of the castle, they were all carrying the meals for dinner. Even though Elise was a princess and the servants insisted that she should not carry anything, she still did. She took it as a chance to walk closer and approach Loriel as she carefully ced the hot and steaming dish on the table. Elise bowed her head a little. "Pardon myteness, Loriel. I took some time cooking." There was no immediate answer from Loriel. When Elise lifted her head a little to meet Loriel''s gaze, instead of there being a look of appreciation or content at seeing such a familiar dish being recreated again, the man only sighed. "What did my mother tell you?" Loriel asked tiredly. A part of him actually wanted to eat right now, but he did not want to show that side to Elise. "Did she put you up to this?" "No, Loriel¡­ I wanted to do this for you." Elise started to exin. "I was the one who reached out to your mother and asked about your favorite food. I wanted to do something that you would like." Loriel pinched the bridge of his nose. Elise went through all the efforts of doing this and Loriel wasn''t even sure how she managed to make it. There were some ingredients that were not currently in season right now, so maybe Elise actually changed the recipe. He didn''t like the thought of that. It was childish, but Loriel still clung to that mistake in order to have something to say. How difficult it was to find faults about this woman that Loriel needed to take even the slightest offense into something more bigger. That was how Loriel wanted to push Elise away. "I do not like this at all. My mother was wrong," Loriel said and eyed the appetizing stew with a hint of disgust. "I used to like this when I was a boy, but my tastes have changed. I now like to eat grilled rabbits that are caught in the wilderness." "O-oh¡­" Elise blinked and felt her heart waver slightly. Even though her first cooking was wrong, Elise could easily amend this at another time. "Then perhaps I can go out¡ª" "Will you skin the rabbit with your own hands?" Loriel raised a brow. "Can you kill it with your own two hands?" An uneasy look settled on Elise''s face. "I can." Loriel sincerely doubted that someone raised and sheltered like a princess would actually like the process of harming a rabbit in order to have something to eat. The thought of Elise doing that just to gain his favor was a lot more irritating. Nothing Elise could do could change Loriel''s heart. "You do not have to go through the effort of doing this." Loriel stared at her and said it bluntly. "The two of us will be married regardless of what you can or cannot do for me. Please do not go through the effort. It is a waste of time." Elise lowered her head. "I¡­ do not think it is a waste of time. I only wanted to make something that would make you happy, and if that is a waste for you¡­ I would like to think about it differently." Loriel blinked at Elise''s words. It stunned him a little about the entire lengths and resolve that Elise wanted to go through for his sake. Loriel gritted his teeth at how foolish this girl was and yet at the same time, it reminded Loriel of himself. Doing everything for someone you love. Loriel sighed and looked at the despondent girl. "Take your seat now, so we can finally dine." "But you don''t like the food." "I did not say that I would throw away the food that you went through the trouble of preparing.. I will still eat it," Loriel grunted. Chapter 213 - The Official Introduction A couple more days passed when Loriel came to terms that because Elise was soon going to be the queen of Summeria, it was time for him to gather his officials and introduce them to her. Loriel summoned Elise into the throne room so she could meet them. It was rare for Loriel to personally call out Elise herself, so after quickly preparing and dressing up with the help of her maidservant Alina. Elise quickly went out of her chambers and traveled as fast as she could to the king''s pce. "I can''t keep him waiting," Elise muttered to herself. Elise was staying in Queen Maude''s personal pce and it was a bit farther away from the main pce where the king weed all of his guests and visitors. One normally traveled via carriage because it was so far away, but even before Alina could ask their two escort knights to summon a carriage, Elise already left in a rush. A brisk walk was what Elise wanted to do. It meant that Elise could enjoy the sight of both the garden and theke. The residence of the queen was closest to the garden that was an exact replica of the one in Myreen decorated with beautiful jacaranda trees, and there was a grand blueke that shimmered under the sun''s glow. It was for that reason that most people and even Loriel would have preferred taking a horse or riding a carriage when visiting the queen. The distance was great because the entire pce in Castile wasrge and vast. There weren''t a lot of servants or guards stationed around this ce as most of them were kept close to Queen Maude''s side, but even if there was anyone close, it was difficult to see what Elise was doing. Elise''s steps were light and she was swift-footed. Anyone else would have assumed that Elise was a beautiful nymph that floated or danced in the air. Each step took her forward at a distance greater than what one might deem possible. When theke started to appear in front of Elise, she did not turn aside or head in a different direction. Without anyone around, Elise''s lips curled into a smile and she hopped into theke. The spot beneath Elise''s feet crystallized into an ice lilypad for a moment, until she leaped to the next one and did the same. She quickly maneuvered through theke at a speed anyone hadn''t traveled through before. It wasn''t often, but Elise knew that ice dragons back in Myreen often turned an entireke into solid ice when there was no ce tond. Inspired by their actions, Elise did a simr thing that was less obvious. Underneath the heat of the sun, the water she transformed would melt back into water. Atst, Elise finally arrived at the king''s pce and headed for the throne room. When the guards finally opened up the doors, she was greeted by the sight of numerous people. There were a great number of officials summoned from all around Summeria and most of them came from even the most distant domains of the kingdom. A lot of them were excited to meet the future queen. Excited was the wrong word. It was actually relieved. "Is that her?" One of them whispered and elbowed theirpanion. "That''s the future wife of His Majesty." "It''s from the betrothed agreement, the Princess of Myreen." It was no joke that His Majesty''s Loriel Maxim Ashborn''s love for Emmelyn was widely known among his people. The affair was worrying and almost an affront to the people in Summeria as the women were also very beautiful. Why did the King fall in love with someone who was already married to another man? That posed a great political problem if the King ever did pursue his affections. Many of the officials sought to rein those desires if it were to ever happen and none were more opposedpared to the Prime Minister Grand Duke Lance Goodwin himself. A certaindy was amongst the crowd of officials, staring up at Loriel''s face. Loriel sighed inwardly. He was not deaf to the whims and whispers of his people, but he paid no attention to them and instead stood up, walked down the throne, and offered his hand to Elise. "May I have your hand?" Loriel asked. Elise stared up at Loriel in awe and surprise. His outstretched hand to her was worth more than anything to her at this moment and she epted his hand. The king of Summeria led Elise near the throne as the two of them stood side by side. It was only right to show some face to the princess of Myreen at this moment at least. "We will now officially begin with the introductions," Loriel spoke. "Order." The murmuring crowd suddenly turned quiet at the king''s one word and turned to pay attention to him. The various men and women were already taking note of how Loriel took Elise''s hand in his. Most of them agreed that Elise was stunningly beautiful. "I am sure that the entire kingdom is aware that I have taken the throne after my father has died two years ago," Loriel bowed his head slightly. "And within that time period, already, a lot of you wondered about an heir." Nobody could disagree with that verdict. "Before I was born, my mother, the queen dowager, Queen Maude Ashborn, and thete queen of Myreen, Queen Catalina Leoralei were the best of friends that the two wished that they were born as true sisters." Elise''s heart pounded in her chest. This was a story that Elise made her grandmother tell her almost every night when she was younger. It was a story that she knew by heart and memory. Her mother''s friendship with Aunt Maude was something she admire ever since she was young. Secretly, Elise often wished she could have a friend so dear to her, like what Maude Ashborn was to Catalina Leoralei. "Thus a solemn pact was made that if they were to bear a son and a daughter, the two would wed to form a union between them and actually make Maude and Catalina a true family atst." Chapter 214 - [Bonus ] Elise Hates Maxim Loriel''s gaze swept through the crowd, checking the visible reactions of the crowd. Everyone seemed excited by the news and supportive of his uing nuptials. It was expected. The king cleared his throat and continued his exnation. "Six years after I was born, a princess was born in Myreen and thus started the betrothal between the two of us. Today, I present to you, my trusted officials, Princess Elise Leoralei, my bride-to-be, the future queen of Summeria." The entire throne room was filled with the sound of cheers and apuse and a celebration immediately formed around them. This was it. A confirmation that the king of Summeria was not going to be a childless king and end the kingdom''s reign! This was the heart of concern for many of the officials and their worries were assuaged atst at the presence of the beautiful soon-to-be queen of Summeria. Many of them were immediately taken by the beauty of Elise and rxed atst. King Loriel and Queen Elise would have several babies, that much they were assured of. The Ashborns would have its heir and spares. It was impossible for the king to not be physically attracted to someone as stunning as the princess of Myreen. They were both beautiful people. The audience couldn''t wait to see their offsprings in the future. Even those who might have wanted to put forward questions about having concubines were now a little bit hesitant when they saw how much like a beautiful faerie the queen of Summeria would be. Not everyone waspletely pleased, though. Ady was soon joined by her father amongst the crowd as everyone broke off to intermingle with one another. It was a joyous day and the king even made the royal dining hall be open for a banquet unlike any other. This was just the beginning. Loriel let go of Elise''s hand and spoke to her politely. "I will now be introducing you personally one by one to each of the officials of the kingdom of Summeria. Do not tire or faint while you are with me." "Of course not, Loriel!" Elise shook her head and reassured him with a smile. "Alright," Loriel grunted. The king shoved his hand into his pockets and tried not to think about how her skin felt incredibly silky and smooth like fine satin. This was just another indication to Loriel that Elise was spoiled and never had to lift a hand¡­ even though Elise actually prepared him a meal that was actually delicious. The two conflicting ideas annoyed the king. Loriel still thought of the princess of Myreen as a weak woman. Almost everything of Elise''s gentle and meek appearance seemed to indicate that way and so Loriel assumed it to be like that. "Let us go," he said. The two of them descended from the throne''s tform and soon met and thanked those who joined them for this hour. It was an important asion that everyone who held a position in the kingdom was actually required to attend because Loriel did not want to do this twice. "Your Majesty!" Out from the crowd, a certain man distinguished and dressed more differently than others around the crowd quickly bowed closer and approached Loriel. Right behind him was a younger and beautifuldy in tow. It did not escape Elise''s attention at all. Loriel was the same for a different reason entirely as he recognized the older man and his daughter. This was a good opportunity to introduce Elise. "Ah, Duke Lance Goodwin. It is good to see you," Loriel nodded in acknowledgement and shook hands with the man. Elise wasn''t paying much attention as opposed to thedy behind the duke. This was the person she saw that was staring at Loriel amidst the deration. Loriel nced in Elise''s direction. "Elise, this is my prime minister, and he is the head among those who manage the affairs of the kingdom for me." "A-ah, it is a pleasure meeting you, Duke Goodwin." Elise smiled and curtseyed respectfully. It was really important for her to make a good impression and get along well with Loriel''s people. "It is an honour to meet the future queen of Summeria, may the sun always be glorified," the older man politely nodded and then gestured behind him. "I would also like to introduce my daughter, Lady Rose Goodwin. I hope that she will be a valuablepanion to the future queen." "My name is Lady Rose Goodwin, it will be an honour to serve as a valuable aide to the princess of Myreen." Thedy curtseyed back respectfully and gracefully. Elise didn''t know what to say for a moment. The beautifuldy was the daughter of the prime minister? Why did she look displeased when Loriel announced Eliseas his bride-to-be? Even Loriel was surprised. "Duke Lance? What is the meaning of this?" Loriel nced in the direction of the older man. Although he wasn''t surprised that the man would immediately try to make a move that concerned the kingdom affairs. He had not talked to the prime minister about making his daughter as one of Elise''sdies in waiting. Duke Lance Goodwin cleared his throat. "It may be a bit too forward of me, Your Grace. But is it not customary that any distinguished nobledy, especially the future queen will have severaldies-in-waiting that attend to them?" "That is true, but¡­" Loriel frowned slightly. Elise tried to keep herself calm and hoped that Loriel would take it as something that was really improper. Barely meeting each other but already thrusting someone to wait on Elise? This was suspicious. "I was not aware that Lady Rose would be willing to take on such a position. Besides the queen dowager, the future queen of the kingdom, and¡­ even my sisters, the princesses, Lady Rose is the next-highest rankeddy in the kingdom," Loriel said. "It makes me the most suitable one, doesn''t it?" Lady Rose raised a brow and then smiled. "Who else could take on the opportunity of serving the queen other than the daughter of the duke?" Loriel sighed inwardly. "I assumed that you would have the aspirations to take after the head of the house, Lady Rose." "Of course, I am still vying for that position, this will be a good step in that direction." Lady Rose nodded and smiled politely. "My goals have not changed at all since we''ve met each other as kids, Max...er, Your Grace." Elise blinked at the indication of a close kinship between Loriel and this Lady Rose. The way that they talked and even addressed each other really showed that they were close and were probably childhood friends. Didn''t she almost call Loriel by ''Maxim''? Queen Maude said that it was Loriel''s childhood name and only people closest to him since he was young who still addressed him with that name. So, was Loriel still close to Lady Rose that she felt sofortable using his other name, the name that Loriel told Elise not to use? Elise bit her lip and tried to get rid of the feeling of jealousy that started brooding in her heart. She hated that name because of what it was associated with, and the fact that Loriel didn''t want her to use it around him. . . *********** From Missrealitybites: This is actually the reason by Elise prefered to call Loriel by honorifics. She wanted to call him by his childhood name, but he didn''t seem to like it. Also, you know what you sign up for when you continue reading this story despite knowing from the beginning that Loriel in the past was a selfish jerk. So, the more we go deeper into the past, the more you probably hate him and want to smack him senseless... Please, just remember that he was a changed man and he was punished so hard for so long... PS: I will publish another chapter today (so you''ll get three, yeay!) after I publish the chapters for TCP. xx Chapter 215 - Elises New Lady-In-Waiting "Um, I am not sure if the Duke is aware but I already have my servant from Myreen who could take care of all my needs," Elise smiled politely. "I was not aware that I would have ady-in-waiting already?" "Oh, is that so?" Duke Goodwin raised a brow. Loriel was surprised at Elise actually speaking up for herself, but decided to take her side in this matter. "Yes. Isn''t it a little bit early for this kind of arrangement, Prime Minister? I have a feeling that Lady Rose might change her mind too." He was aware of how Lady Rose prided herself in being apetentdy who could manage the affairs of the kingdom almost as well as her father. The idea that Lady Rose would follow along Elise was something that Loriel did not fail to find too suspicious. Even if it wasmon for noble and royaldies to have attendants. Lady Rose shook her head and only grinned. "I do not change my mind easily. I am sure that you know that, Your Grace." Loriel sighed inwardly. What was it withdies with strong personalities? He was aware that Lady Rose would not back down, and naturally, Duke Lance Goodwin backed up his daughter. "Rest assured, Your Grace, that having Lady Rose in Princess Elise''spany will make managing the kingdom of Summeria in the future more secure. My daughter will be of good help to the Princess that no maid servant can help aplish." Duke Goodwin''s smile was only a tad bit sharp. It was already considered slightly offensive that Elisepared a noblewoman with a maid servant, but the Prime Minister and his daughter did not act offended and instead were genial and only pushing for Lady Rose to be at Elise''s side. What was so wrong with it? Loriel wondered if Elise would create some sort of fuss if he were to agree to it or would she simply ept it because he wanted it to be this way? Thetter seemed like what the woman would do. After a moment of deep consideration, Loriel nodded. "Alright, Duke Goodwin. I think I will ept your offer of Lady Rose waiting on my wife," Loriel said atst. He turned to Elise and smiled lightly. "Elise, here is Lady Rose. Yourdy-in-waiting, I hope that the two of you will get along." Elise was unhappy. It felt like Elise''s desires were simply trampled upon and ignored¡­ but she was not blind to the political weight that this arrangement meant to both Loriel and Summeria as a whole. Only because of that would Elise tolerate this sudden affair. "Do not worry about us, Your Grace," Lady Rose replied with a bright smile as she met Elise''s gaze. Thedy swept into a courteous low curtsey. "I think that Her Highness and I will get along quite well." Elise decided to fake a smile and nodded at Rose. "Thank you, I am looking forward to an amicable rtionship, Lady Rose." "I as well, Your Highness." It was so difficult to be happy right now, but Elise wanted to try. This was going to be the life that Elise now led so it was important for her to get used to the minute changes that happened instantly about the people in her life and who surrounded her. "Now that we have finalized this arrangement, shall we celebrate your engagement in the royal dining hall, Your Grace?" Duke Lance Goodwin seemed merry in spirits. "I propose a toast to the future queen''s official introduction to Summeria." Loriel nodded. "We will." All four of them departed to the banquet and were followed along by the rest of thepany of visitors and distinguished guests from all over the kingdom. Even though Loriel was not someone who enjoyed mingling with people, it was important for him to still do it. "Thank you so much for inviting us, Your Majesty." Another nobleman bowed and approached once Loriel''s conversation with the prime minister finished. "It is an honor to witness the announcement of your fiance." "I am d to have each and everyone of you here," Loriel replied back with a proper nod. "Have there already been any ns or due time as to when the wedding ceremony will ur, Your Majesty?" Another person inquired. "We would like to offer our hands and service for it, if it pleases you." Loriel raised a brow nonchntly. "What do you have in mind?" "For the outfits to be worn during the ceremony, I know both a renowned tailor and dressmaker who will be able to make suits and gowns iid with the finest silks and threads, Your Grace," Someone else interrupted with a bow. Even though Loriel was uninterested in everything they were speaking about, he listened with half an ear. The contributions given were important and most wanted to outdo one another even though Loriel didn''t even dere a day or time yet. "And for the flowers, bouquet and gands that will adorn the pce during that day, mynd and gardens are well known for providing the most beautiful blossoms, Your Majesty." This kind of back and forth between others from Summeria that had a vested interest was something that Loriel unfortunately knew. It was something that Elise might as well learn, the responsibilities and duties of the crown. Not everything was as easy as it seemed. Compared to Myreen, where the king and queen dowager''s reign of the kingdom was secure due their magical abilities that prevented any kind of power struggle, the same could not be said for Summeria. Lady Rose Goodwin was just one of the many encounters that Loriel thought was something that could show Elise what it meant to be the queen of his kingdom. He hoped Elise was up for the challenge. "I hope that Summeria has been a weing ce for you, Your Grace," Lady Rose said. "If there is anything else that is not up to your tastes, then I hope you can confide in me and I will deal with it properly." "My fiance has been more than amodating to my needs," Elise replied and made sure to address Loriel as her fiance without batting an eye. Lady Rose didn''t blink and only smiled. "Ah, while that is true, I am sure that His Majesty has not dealt with every matter efficiently as he also has other affairs in the kingdom." Elise could not believe that Lady Rose would actually speak that way about their king. Chapter 216 - Elise And Rose "Not efficient?" Elise looked at Rose, startled. Lady Rose Goodwin nodded. "His Grace, Loriel Maxim Ashborn is known for his straightforward methods, but at times, he tends to forget some minor details in lieu of the big picture." There was still a frown on Elise''s face despite thedy''s words. Lady Rose amended her statement with a smile. "Naturally, we are only people and not gods so minor mistakes are possible. That is what the officials and advisers are here for and that is what I''m here for as well." She added, "I hope Your Grace will be happy with my presence. I understand it must be hard for you to get used to a new ce and the custom. I am here to help you with everything you need to know about Summeria." Elise looked at Rose carefully. She was raised as a princess and knew how to act as royalty. However, she was in a foreignnd. There were many things she was not familiar with. Their custom was different from Myreen''s and she didn''t want to make mistakes that would embarrass her husband. After she married Loriel, Summeria would be her home. She must get herself used to it. So, after she thought about it, Elise decided she could ept Rose''s presence as herdy-in-waiting. She realized it was good to have someone from Summeria by her side whom she could ask about stuff rted to their country. "Hmm¡­ I guess you are right," Elise said atst. "I am new in this kingdom. I want to learn more about your custom, culture, and do''s and don''t''s. I hope you will help me." "Ah, of course. That is what I''m here for." "Thank you." Elise smiled sweetly. Both Elise and Lady Rose knew that the tone was not actually filled with that much trust or gratitude. Neither of them actually liked each other that much and were only tolerating each other''s presence. The truth was, Elise still felt her suspicions rising because of how Lady Rose acted without any sort of indication as to how she was benefiting from bing ady-in-waiting. What benefits did it offer a daughter of a grand duke? Elise realized what it might possibly be as they interacted with other people in the royal dining hall. People approached them left and right, greeting them respectfully and politely. Although, some of them were less than kind. "I am charmed to be in the presence of the two most beautifuldies in Summeria." An old lordughed and bowed. "It is not only his Majesty who is fortunate, but even us who are able to see such beauties standing together." "You certainly know how topliment, Lord Holbrook." Lady Rose smiled back. "Although I think you must not shy away and admit that it is Her Royal Highness Princess Elise Leoralei who is much more of a beauty than me." Elise didn''t exactly like how they were only discussing appearances as if that was the only thing that a woman could contribute to the table. "Now, don''t put yourself down, Lady Rose," the old lord chuckled. "I think everyone else has also heard that you are intelligent and well-versed in all manners of administration and state affairs as well as your older brother." "Well, I do not think it matters that much unless I am my father''s heir," Lady Rose said. "For now, I will be a humbledy-in-waiting to Her Highness." "Your Highness, let me wee you once again to Summeria and we are d that you will be marrying His Majesty." Lord Holbrook bowed to Elise. "It is not right for a man to be alone, so your arrival has been most fitting." "Now, now, I think Her Royal Highness has much to contribute to the kingdom besides being His Majesty''s wife. You should amend that statement." "Oh, is it because you will be teaching her, Lady Rose?" "Not only that, but I assume that there is more that Her Royal Highness can offer than simplying here as our king''s betrothed." Lady Rose smiled at Elise. "Is it not right, Your Grace?" "Of course," Elise nodded firmly. "Can you expound on these?" Lady Rose raised a brow. "There are certain ideas and practices from Myreen that I actually wish to implement here in the kingdom that will benefit it as a whole. I am not sure how well known Myreen is because our kingdom has kept silent for some time, but it is something that I have kept in mind." "From Myreen?" the lord asked doubtfully. "Fret not, my lord. I am sure that Her Grace will have a discussion with our king before any of it were to actually happen." Lady Rose quickly said. Elise couldn''t help but think that this conversation was all done in order to make Elise feel inferior to the woman beside her. Or rather, it made Lady Rose look much better and well-equipped for the throne than Elise. Elise didn''t like how Rose presented herself, but she chose not to say anything. She realized this was Rose''s turf. Even though everyone was polite to her, Elise could sense there was some distance between her and them. To them, she was their future queen, but she was also a foreigner. Elise was determined to familiarize herself with Summeria and someday got herself epted by these people. *** "Are you alright, Princess?" Alina asked Elise once she returned from the throne room and banquet hall. Elise retired early from the festivities because the introduction was already finished and she was not in the mood of Lady Rose always following after her and taking the reign of the conversation. A good majority of the lords, nobles, and officials were pleased to talk with both Princess Elise and Lady Rose, but somehow, it was obvious that Lady Rosemanded the discussion more easily. Elise''s stomach twisted painfully as if there was a dull ache in her gut that she couldn''t remove. While there was no active indication that Lady Rose Goodwin actually had any attraction to Loriel, it was obvious from their interactions that Loriel and Rose knew each other well enough. Probably even more than Loriel knew Emmelyn. More importantly, Elise just felt¡­ a bit brushed off. As if nobody actually saw her beyond being Loriel''s future wife and did not see her actually ruling the kingdom by his side. . . ************** NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Hello, I just published a new book from the werewolves genre, to join AllNovelFull''s writingpetition. The title is "The King''s Wife Is The Alpha''s Mate". Please add it to your library and support me to win thepetition. xx The book is reverse-harem, nobody died, and it will be my first take on a mainstream genre. You can say I finally try to write something that (hopefully) many people like to read. This is the synopsis: THE KING''S WIFE IS THE ALPHA''S MATE Choosing him, or him? When she jumps over the academy walls to escape from her bullies, Sophie falls straight into the arms of Nichs, the kingdom''s crown prince with a sweet and sunny disposition. Sparks fly and love blossoms between the poor orphan and the prince. But... suddenly, Lnd, the dangerous new alpha of the most powerful werewolf pack in the kingdom imed her to be his mate?! Sophie is torn between two men. One calls her his wife, the other ims her his mate. The prince is warm and sweet, his love is burning like the sun. The alpha is cold and overbearing, his love is as heavy as the mountain and as cold as the winter. Which one will Sophie end up with when both sides wage war over blood, hatred, and revenge? Lnd will burn the entire kingdom just to get Sophie and avenge his race. On the other hand, the newly crowned king, Nichs, strives to drive out the werewolves that the kingdom deemed as monsters while keeping a dark secret within himself¨C He is also a werewolf. ------- You can search the book by the title and add it to your library, or you can click my username and go to my reading lists called "Missrealitybites Books" and find it there. Chapter 217 - Rose Shows Elise Around The Capital The first thing that Elise saw in the morning beyond her maidservant Alina was the presence of a certaindy at her door. It was a jumpstart to her day like any other. "Good morning, Your Grace," Lady Rose greeted Elise with a smile. "Today I have some activities nned in order to help you familiarize yourself with the kingdom. Since His Majesty is busy, I am unsure if you have seen other areas of Castilse." "Huh?" Elise was somewhat bothered that the start of her day immediately included Rose. She normally visited her mother-inw and maybe tried to see if Loriel was actually around for breakfast¡­ "Yesterday, when His Majesty agreed to have me as yourdy-in-waiting, I can recall that Your Grace asked me to assist you in understanding the customs, cultures, dos and don''ts, right?" Lady Rose said. "That is what we''ll be doing today and for the next several days." Elise remained calm and managed a smile. "Yes, I''ve said that, haven''t I? But I thought that you would ask for my permission first before you nned activities for me. This is really surprising." It was also an offense to Elise''s higher status and standing. Normally, ady-in-waiting would seek permission, wouldn''t she? "Ah, apologies," Lady Rose ducked her head and curtseyed. "I was used to having people always agreeing with me, that it did not ur to me that you may not be interested in going out today at all, Your Grace. Shall I rescind all our ns today and settle on a better date?" There was a look on Rose''s face that said, ''I thought Your Grace was eager to learn as fast as possible?'' It was almost like a non-verbal challenge. "I didn''t say that." Elise sighed inwardly. What would people gossip about if everyone learned that Elise refused Rose''s offer to go out? She wondered if Rose was actually hoping for that to make her lose more favor. "Then what is it that you desire, Your Highness?" Lady Rose asked carefully. "Let us go with what you have in mind for today." "Thank you, Your Grace." Lady Rose smiled brightly and started to walk ahead. Almost like Loriel when he left her without a word. Were all people in Summeria really like this? Elise frowned at how different the customs and cultures really were. Most people waited behind the princess and trailed after them, but those in Summeria walked ahead without waiting for a higher rank? Lady Rose paused in her tracks when she realized that Elise wasn''t immediately walking after her. "Your Grace, today we will start with nearby avenues that may spark interest in your possible hobbies and also showcase the wonders of Castile. The carriage has already been prepared so we shall set off." "Immediately?" Elise frowned. "What about breakfast? Normally¡ª" "His Majesty is currently out doing some military tours with his soldiers. There''s an uing festival that is open for all neighboring nations, so security perimeters are being checked and secured, Your Grace." Elise decided to ask what was bugging her atst. "Is it normallymon for people to walk ahead of their lords anddies or to make ns for them ahead of their consent? We do it differently in Myreen. So, I am trying hard not to find what you''re doing offensive to me." Lady Rose looked back and then retraced her steps. "Would Your Grace think it is weird that a servant walks ahead to protect their master? I believe that the kingdom of Myreen is safe, but there are instances where assassins prowl and attack nobles in broad daylight." "Huh?" Elise tried to check if Lady Rose''s words were genuine. "If a servant walks ahead of their lord ordy, when the noble is attacked¡­ the servant can take the dagger often attacked straight to the heart or face." Lady Rose smiled. "So if you''re asking if it''smon, why¡­ actually, yes?" Elise still thought it was a different situation entirely, but she was now aware that Rose would put up whatever words of story to make it seem like she was still in the right. Perhaps that was to be expected from a Prime Minister''s daughter. It was now obvious that Elise constantly needed to have her guard up. *** During the carriage ride, Elise was able to receive something to eat and drink. It was strange that she had to do all of this while traveling to their destination, butining would only make her look even more annoying. This was what Loriel was probably doing as well, traveling on horseback and eating as he went about his duties. Elise needed to be tougher and she tried not to spill the tea in her cup as the carriage travelled across the capital. "Education is something highly prized by those in Summeria," Lady Rose said as she looked out the window. "Castilse as you may have encountered beforeing here is surrounded by several mountains from all sides except for one area that counts as the only entrance and exit." "It almost looks like a hill with a huge cut made to function as a doorway to allow you to step inside of it." Elise smiled at the memory of arriving in Summeria for the first time. "Yes¡­ you couldpare it to that." "And education is highly prized here in Castilse because of how it is cut off and separated from the rest of the towns, cities and otherndmarks in Summeria?" Elise guessed. "You could say that," Lady Rose momentarily paused. "The topography of Castile means that powerful storms are incapable of prating our area due to the tall mountains surrounding us. It''s a fortress-like ce, but it also ounts for a rain shadow." "Rain shadow?" "Castile is dryer than other areas of Summeria as rain clouds rarely manage to get past the mountains surrounding us." Lady Rose sighed. "So naturally, most of our food supplyes from outside of the city and is simply imported." "Ah, and that is why education is more sought out here," Elise said. "It''s more feasible to be a schr here than a farmer." Lady Rose pursed her lips, but then nodded.. "You are correct." Chapter 218 - Visiting The Archelaus Library Before the two of them knew it, they arrived at the proud University of Summeria and the twodies stepped out of the carriage. It was beautiful and consisted of several tall andrge buildings that looked like they reached the tip of the skies. "Castile is densely popted and several people, even outside of Summeria visit here to acquire the services that we proudly offer to those who seek to learn and study, among others." Lady Rose Goodwin recited all of the information as if she knew all of them by heart, and it was something that Elise couldn''t help but admire. The people that Loriel knew were truly talented. "Of course, the university is not only what I''m referring to, Your Grace." Lady Rose smiled and walked forward. "We are also the proud holders of a body of knowledge that most kingdoms can only dream of." Elise raised a brow, but immediately got what she was implying. "A library?" "It is not just any kind of library, Your Grace." Lady Rose looked offended for a moment. "I am referring to the one and only Archus Library that many schrs, wizards, students, and others seeking knowledgee a thousand miles away for." Elise frowned and remembered something. "Wait. I thought that the Archus Library was close to the royal pce?" The two of them traveled for nearly an hour to get here so it was strange to say that it was close to the royal pce. Lady Rose smiled and finally arrived outside with extremelyrge double doors. There was a huge line of individuals all waiting and going through some guards before being allowed to enter the premises. Both Elise and Lady Rose were allowed to skip the long line and entered the room. Room wasn''t even a proper word. Elise looked up in awe at how high the walls and how far the ceiling was and amongst them all were the numerous rows of bookshelves that looked like they could crush an army beneath them. "This is¡­?" "The Archus Library is quite huge and is divided into two sections. One near the university as we are now and the other in the royal pce as you said," Lady Rose exined. "How many books do we have?" It was dizzying trying to even count the ones Elise could see in a singr shelf. "This library boasts a total of a million and two hundred thousand books, Your Grace." "A million and¡­ that''s about six hundred thousand books per section?" Elise paused and was in awe at the sheer number. "I can''t imagine how many librarians are asked to take care of the books so they remain in pristine condition." Even now, Elise could see numerous people wearing long robes and also scurrying about the rows between the bookshelves. All of the people in uniforms seemed like they were busy with an abacus and checking records. "It''s a prestigious job, Your Grace." Lady Rose nodded. "Especially as some have tried to steal books in the past, such thefts are really troublesome sorge people are employed." "That is amazing," Elise couldn''t help but say. "Indeed it is, Your Grace." "Of course, one can take a rest among the tables and chairs provided here and wherein," Lady Rose motioned to what seemed to be thousands of avable ces for readers to sit in. "...and if they wish to borrow or have a ce to study in privacy?" Elise asked. "There are countless avable rooms where the teachers conduct their sses here and are also viable options for meetings and other conferences and assembly purposes." "Um, does Loriele here?" Elise couldn''t help but ask. "Ah, His Majesty?" Lady Rose paused and looked at Elise. "Hmmm¡­" "Does he note to a ce as wonderful as here?" "He did, Your Grace. When the king of Summeria was younger, he would frequent this ce and even get lost as a child." Lady Rose smiled a bit. "It wouldn''t be a surprise to hear him cry about it either. He was a crybaby." There was a certain look of fondness on Rose''s face that Elise couldn''t help but notice. The two of them really had been childhood friends and it gave Elise mixed feelings now. Even though Elise had seen a good portion of Loriel''s life on the crystal ball, she was younger than him by several years and missed a good chunk of his childhood. Elise wanted to know more of what he was like even if it meant asking Lady Rose Goodwin. "Yes, I think I recall my mother-inw telling me that," Elise said atst. "Loriel is so different now than when he was younger. I can''t help but wonder what changed all of that¡­" The expression of Lady Rose''s face changed at Elise''s words and she stiffened a bit. "I think that it is up to His Majesty to tell you personally, Your Highness. It is not my story to tell at all and I''m only here to help you understand Summeria as a kingdom." "What?" Elise blinked and didn''t get what Rose tried to say. Did something that changed Loriel''s personality from meek to how he was today? But Lady Rose Goodwin was already moving on and discussing other details and aspects of the library from the different kinds of books avable and other things of importance. The topic of Loriel''s childhood was not brought up again. Even though the rest of the hours spent together were mostly informative and even somewhat boring aspared to what Lady Rose implied earlier, Elise was grateful for thedy''s assistance. "Thank you so much for apanying me today, Lady Rose," Elise said. "It is my duty as yourdy-in-waiting to apany you, Your Grace." "I know that, but even though you could actually just make me do other activities that aren''t actually as helpful in learning about Summeria¡­ you brought me here to Archus Library. I learned a lot today." . . ************* From Missrealitybites: I am a huge fan of Alexander the Great. And one thing I remember about him is that the biggest library in the world was located in Alexandria, a city named after him. It is the inspiration for Archus Library. The Alexandria library had two sections and boasted over a million books in its collection. Unfortunately, it was burned down during the war between Julius Caesar and his enemy, Pompey in 47 BC. Now, we could only imagine the wealth of information that was destroyed together with it. Chapter 219 - Dropping The Pretense Lady Rose Goodwin stared at Elise and sighed inwardly. "As I said, it is my duty¡­" "Please, I am aware that if it weren''t for me, perhaps Loriel would have been betrothed to you," Elise said. "I am a foreigner here in Summeria and if it weren''t for the oath between my mother and the queen dowager, I would not be here." Rose did not say anything at once. "...Perhaps that would have been the case, but as far as I am aware, you are here, Your Highness, and it is up to me to make sure that you are fit to rule the kingdom." "And if I am not capable of ruling this kingdom? Or I fail to please the measurement that you or your father haveid out?" Elise raised a brow. "What would you do?" "Then I would¡­" Rose bit down on her lip and stared at the princess. "If Loriel did not care about his mother, or if you were able to persuade him, then I am sure that you cane up with a reason to revoke the betrothal between Loriel and I," Elise pushed a hair behind her ear. "I wonder if that''s why you''re here." Why else would a daughter of the Prime Minister stay at Elise''s side? "Do not use me without evidence, Your Highness." Lady Rose red at her. "Even I would lose my patience if you insist that I have terrible intentions. What matters to my father and I is that Summeria continually prospers under the crown of the Ashborn family." "In the eyes of you or your father, it wouldn''t be terrible at all to get rid of me," Elise murmured. "As you said, it would be protecting the kingdom or maybe keeping the power that you have acquired as a dukedom in Summeria?" Lady Rose frowned but then crossed her arms. "Say I admit that I am doing this thing that you speak of¡­ what would you even do, Your Royal Highness? Will you approach His Majesty when you have no evidence that proves this?" Elise stared at Lady Rose and wondered if she could do that. It would only probably irritate Loriel if Elise were to ask him to remove Lady Rose as herdy-in-waiting. Simple words were not enough to sway the man and Lady Rose was right. There was no material evidence. Would Loriel just believe her since she was his future wife? Would that be enough? "I think it will be easy enough for him to be a judge of character, Loriel knows the Goodwin family more than me," Elise answered. Even Loriel would have understood the implications of what the Goodwins were doing, right? It wasn''t simply ''helping'' the future queen, but also keeping a check on Elise and seeing if there were possible weaknesses to exploit. Surely that was a problem Loriel would seek to resolve... Lady Rose shook her head. "Your Royal Highness, I think that if youck the ability to properly confront me on this matter¡­ then perhaps maintaining an air of naivete and innocence will serve you better than this." "What?" Elise frowned at her. "Exactly like that," Lady Rose smiled. "Keep your head low during matters of the kingdom and simply let the Prime Minister be the one to advise His Majesty. Then the two of us will get along fine. I may even leave as yourdy-in-waiting once things have settled." "So you really didn''t want to be here with me," Elise only smiled at the revtions. It was barely even a day of being together but Rose already showed her true intentions. "I suppose I do look like a wearisome person to deal with in your eyes." "You are probably beloved in your kingdom, Princess," Lady Rose said, still maintaining a dignified tone. "I simply cannot say that the same will be here for Summeria." "I am aware of that." Elise answered. "I ampletely aware that I have many things that I still need to understand in order to appear suitable as the queen of Summeria. I do not have the people''s trust like you, but it does not mean that I will give up easily." "H-huh?" Lady Rose blinked. "You''re not¡­ giving up?" Elise shook her head. "I am grateful that you''ve dropped the pretenses, Lady Rose. At least it means that the two of us will no longer need to try to pretend that we like each other during private times like this one." "How do you expect to fulfill the role of a queen, Your Highness?" "With you, of course." Elise smiled. "Or are you no longer mydy-in-waiting, Lady Rose? Surely you would not approach Loriel and say that you give up, right? That still has terrible implications for you." "Terrible implications for me?" Lady Rose raised a brow. "How sure are you that it will not make you look terrible and ipetent in the eyes of many?" "Because I already appear as the young and pitiful princess who does not know how Summeria operates," Elise said with a painful smile. "But what happens if news of Lady Rose losing her patience bes well-known? Thepetent daughter of the Prime Minister gave up despite promising to help the future queen?" "Do you really think that would work, Your Highness?" Lady Rose frowned. "I think I''m more than willing to risk it," Elise said. "I have nothing to lose since people already see me as incapable and someone who has to prove herself, but you, you have more to lose than me." Lady Rose clenched her fist for a moment but then rxed. "I see¡­ so that is how you n to have me by your side and make me useful? I did not think that you would resort to something like this at all." "I do not wish to do something like this either," Elise looked at Rose deeply. "It makes me feel terrible, but if this is what it takes to be able to stay by Loriel''s side and be his queen? Then I will do whatever is necessary. I leave the choice to you." Her voice was gentle, but somehow, Rose felt it served as a warning. She scoffed behind Elise when the future queen turned around and left her. ''This woman is a foreigner and doesn''t have anyone in Summeria. Even the king doesn''t seem to favor her. What could she possibly do?'' Rose balled her fists.. ''Scoff.'' Chapter 220 - Loriel And Queen Maude After spending thest days scouting around not only Castilse but Summeria''snds for the uing festival, Loriel reached the pce with his soldiers. The king wearily made his way across his residence. The moon''s light filtered through the windows as he traveled across the hallways with a rather tired expression. Even though Loriel was normally on high alert and always prepared when it came to matters about his kingdom, there were times that even he got exhausted. This was the result of the strict security perimeters Loriel established while he was gone out of the capital. It wasn''t fair to say that this was only because he wanted to avoid seeing Elise, but this was also for the sake of running the kingdom properly. One of the several pce servants approached him. "Your Majesty, would you like us to prepare you ate-night meal? You seem famished and worn out, Your Majesty." Loriel eyed the servant and simply rolled back his shoulders. "How is my mother doing?" There was no surprise on the servant''s face at Loriel''s question. This was the first question that the king always asked whenever he went on expeditions or departed for any important or official events that required his presence. "The queen dowager is currently in good health, Your Majesty. She is slumbering peacefully." the servant answered. Loriel nodded as his body''s ache lessened slightly. Even just hearing that his mother was alright was enough to make Loriel feel as if the tiredness was lifting out from his body, but then he asked another question. "What about the princess of Myreen?" Loriel asked, before correcting himself. "My fiancee, how has she been doing these past few days since my absence? Has she been in Lady Rose''s care?" Even if Loriel was around his servants, it wasn''t fair for him to call Elise distantly like this. Rumors and gossip spread far more quickly than fire on a dry branch, which irritated Loriel. There was a need for tact. If the king of Myreen were to catch wind of this, or even if other people from Summeria were to hear how coldly he called his future queen¡­ many would take advantage of it. "Her Highness is currently in good hands, Your Majesty." the servant replied. "When the princess is not visiting the queen dowager, Her Highness embarks on several activities with Lady Rose, Your Majesty." "Is that so?" Loriel raised a brow. "Yes, many of the servants have seen them together frequently, Your Majesty." Loriel doubted the two got along, but perhaps Elise did it for his sake. His fiancee never aired aint for the entire time she has been here, not even once so Loriel didn''t give much thought to it. "Alright, thank you." "Shall I prepare ate-night meal, Your Majesty?" the servant prompted Loriel again. The king shook his head. "There is no need for it. I think I will be taking a quick midnight stroll instead. You are dismissed." "A-ah, of course, Your Majesty." Even though Loriel''s trip was something that left many of the soldiers who apanied him drained and seeking rest, he was different. If there had been any incident that required him to be on the move, Loriel was willing to move now. Before Loriel knew it, his footsteps were already taking him to the queen''s residence. This was not an odd or strange thing at all. Loriel visited his mother even when he knew that she was resting and alright¡­ but he always took a carriage or went there by horse to save time. When Loriel reached the queen''s pce, the king made his way to his mother''s room. The assigned guards let him in and he was able to check on his mother, Queen Maude was actually awake when he arrived. "Maxim, it has been a couple of days since yourst visit," his mother said. "If it weren''t for Elise keeping mepany for the past few days, I would have been incredibly lonely." "Then it is good that she is here, mother," Loriel said. "You know how hectic the uing festival is. It requires ensuring the garrisons and other settlements in the borders of Summeria to stay on high alert during the influx of several visitors." Queen Maude coughed lightly. "I know that, and that is why I am relieved that you are home now. I worry about you." "Worry about me?" Loriel raised a brow. "Yes. A mother cannot help but worry for her child." "I ampletely fine, mother. There is nothing that you should be worrying about except for your recovery. The wedding will happen after the festival, so please gather your strength and look forward to then," Loriel managed a smile. "I worry about the fact that you have closed off your heart, Maxim," the queen dowager said. Loriel''s smile fell off his face. "Is Eliseining about me, mother? Has she approached you instead of me to deal with the issues she sees on hand? She should not be troubling you about this." "The girl has said no such thing," his mother replied. "Instead, my daughter-inw actually has nothing but good things to say about you." Loriel stayed silent. He still couldn''t get over how hopelessly romantic and naive the princess of Myreen was. What did Loriel even do to warrant such a lovesick girl? "I am afraid that someday, even her kindness would wane with how you are treating her right now." "Mother, I am doing the best I can to make her feel wee in Summeria," Loriel said. "Have I not been considerate and respectful? Is that not enough?" "I am aware that you are still in pain after your lost first love and yet the responsibilities of the king burden you so instead of grieving¡­ you have hardened your heart," the queen sighed and folded her hands. "I wish to also see you happy, Max." "That is a hard thing to ask for, mother." "I believe that someday, you will be happy.. I only wish to see that day again, my son." Chapter 221 - Loriel Makes A Promise To His Mother Contrary to the words of the servant, Queen Maude''s health only deteriorated and worsened over time even as the wedding soon approached them. Elise''s visits to the queen dowager were now a painful time because her mother-inw was suffering and even with all the powers Elise had, it was a struggle against death and life itself. "I am so sorry that I cannot do anything for you, mother-inw," Elise clutched the queen dowager''s hand and tried to give her a reason to fight. "If I was stronger then perhaps I would¡­" "Elise, you must understand that it is impossible to fight against the inevitable," Queen Maude smiled despite her condition. "I know that this day wille, and I will be reunited with my husband and sons. There is nothing to mourn at all." "Oh, mother," Elise didn''t know what to say as tears pricked her eyes. She had never met her biological mother and knew that death was truly inevitable. Even her father and grandmother who were a powerful wizard and witch couldn''t do anything to help her mother, Queen Catalina, on her death bed. Elise could already tell that the queen''s life force was fading away and even if she tried to help, use her magic to strengthen the woman¡­ there was nothing that she could do. It was truly a helpless situation. She also noticed how much Loriel looked sad whenever he came to see his mother and spent time with her. "I am grateful that I could experience what it was like to have a wonderful daughter-inw like you," Queen Maude smiled weakly. "Loriel is in good hands now that you are with him." "Please do not worry about us, mother-inw," Elise''s tears spilled down her cheeks. "You are right. I will take care of Loriel." It was difficult to fight against what afflicted the queen andpared to Elise''s father whose body was stronger through magic keeping himself alive even when he was gravely ill, there was no miracle such as that for the queen dowager of Summeria. The queen started to cough up blood, her skin turned deathly pale and ghastly as she lost her appetite and even refused to eat. Queen Maude only vomited whatever she ate. Zaff, the royal physician did not know what to do at all, and Loriel''s attention shifted entirely to his mother. It was impossible to focus his mind on his kingdom when his mother was on her deathbed. Loriel didn''t want to think that this was the end, but the physician only confirmed it when he was summoned in private at the king''s residence. There was no need to lie or even try to assuage the king. The time would soone for him to say goodbye to his dearly beloved mother. It was terrible to give false hopes. "Your Majesty please forgive me¡­ but the queen dowager does not have much time," The royal physician approached Lorielte in the evening to address the king. The man looked so upset at himself that it was even impossible to get mad at Zaff. The royal physician had already done the best that he could do and it was only a matter of time until the end. Loriel looked gravely at Zaff and nodded. "I will speak to my mother." It was already past the hours where Elise normally visited her mother-inw, and so Loriel entered the chamber of Queen Maude alone. His mother was in a coughing fit that no amount of medicine and treatment could stall or recover from. "Maxim, you''vee." A painful smile crossed Queen Maude''s face at the sight of Loriel''s despondent face. Already losing his brothers, now it was also time for her to join them and leave her son alone. Loriel approached his mother and knelt down. He held her hand tightly in his and smiled sadly as he said, "Mother. Did you not say that you are looking forward to the wedding between me and Elise?" "I am, but it is not only for my sake, Loriel." Queen Maude tended to switch now between ''Maxim'' and ''Loriel'' but Loriel did not mind it at all. "I would like to see you wedded happily." Loriel sighed inwardly, "Mother, you know that it is not possible for me to love that woman. How can I find joy in the act of pledging my life to a woman that I do not even cherish?" "As I said in the past, I understand that your heart is grieving and you''ve shut yourself from the possibility of loving anyone else¡­ but you cannot wallow in misery, my son." Queen Maude touched her son''s face. "Even when I am gone, please try to be happy, Loriel." "I will try to do that, mother." "And please do not forget about Elise." Queen Maude soon clutched her hand''s son tightly with a strength that she should have saved. "The girl hase here to wed you and yet the future that awaits her seems grim because of everything that happened." Loriel didn''t even need to ask, because the queen was referring to the incident not only with Emmelyn but everything indeed. Thete queen Catalina''s misdirected actions ced a wedge of sorrow in the lives of not only Loriel, but also Elise who was going to marry him. "Mother, I will treat her well." Finally, Loriel reaffirmed his promise to his mother. He was being honest with his mother about his feelings. He didn''t love his future wife, but he would treat her well. He had also promised to King Alexander, Elise''s father, that he would never take another mistress or wife after he married Elise. "Swear to me, Maxim Loriel Ashborn. Swear to me that you will protect Elise and treat her well. She has not done anything wrong and does not deserve to be treated as she is now," Queen Maude said. Even though Loriel knew that, intellectually, a part of him still wished that Elise never was born or was a male instead. If that had happened, a lot of pain could have been avoided. But right now, Loriel only wished to see his mother at peace. This mattered to Loriel more than anything right now and so he would do it. Anything to make sure that his mother''s worries were alleviated. "I swear it to you, mother," Loriel said. "As long as I live, I will make sure that I will protect Elise and treat her well." The queen dowager looked into Loriel''s eyes and then sighed deeply. "Also¡­ I know it''s customary for kings in the lesser kingdoms to have concubines or even more than one consort." Queen Maude halted her words. Loriel waited for his mother to continue, so he didn''t interrupt her. He could guess that just like King Alexander, his mother would also ask him to promise that he would never take another wife. "Yes, mother." Finally, Loriel replied. "I am aware of such practices." "I know it''s hard for you to love Elise right now because you are still recovering from your love for Emmelyn," Queen Maude looked at Loriel deeply. "But please, give Elise a chance to be your wife and don''t take any concubines or other wives." Loriel took a deep breath. So, he was right. His mother was also asking the same thing. This request actually made him feel slightly annoyed. What kind of man did they think he was? He couldn''t marry any woman without love on his part. Elise was an exception because they were betrothed since birth. He loved Emmelyn so much that Loriel would never even feel attracted to other women. "Mother, you need not worry about it. I promise... Elise will be the only wife I have," Loriel replied. "I am not interested in love or marriage. Since you have chosen her to be my wife, I will ept her and live with her until the day I die." His reply was uttered in a t tone, that made Queen Maude feel guilty. Loriel was still so young but already felt so skeptical about love and marriage. "Max¡­" Queen Maude touched Loriel''s hand gently. "You have to let her go. She is already married and happy with her family. Now, it''s time for you to find your own happiness and build your family too." Loriel knew his mother was talking about Emmelyn. "You know I have let her go," Loriel replied curtly. "Only on the surface," Queen Maude sighed. "You still keep her and her memory tightly in your heart. You have to stop doing that. You have a wonderful wife who is waiting for you and loving you with all her might. Please.. give her a chance." Loriel only smiled and didn''t say anything. His mother finally realized that it was futile to force her son to do it. Elise who came to bring some potion from Zaff halted her steps outside of the queen''s chamber and she stood behind the door. She didn''t mean to listen to their conversation, but she identally did. Now, it felt awkward to suddenly enter the chamber and showed her presence. Finally, Elise decided to step back and left the queen''s chamber, and gave the bowl of potion to a servant. "Please bring this to the queen''s chamber," she said softly. "It''s the potion from Zaff." "Ah, okay, Your Grace." After the servant received the bowl, Elise went back to her chamber and cried there. So, she was right... Loriel was still in love with that woman. *** After Loriel''s conversation with the queen dowager, the festival preparations werepletely halted and instead redirected to the wedding. A wedding unlike any other. Loriel would make sure that his mother would see the wedding with her very own eyes. Chapter 222 - The Wedding "Princess, the day that you have been waiting for has finally arrived," Alina remarked. "Yes," Elise smiled at her maid and stood up to look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a beautiful flowy dress that reached the ground and despite everything that happened, her heart was filled with joy. A gentle wind blew and took in autumn''s leaves through her open window. Alina was quick to pick up the leaves and shake her head. "There must be no falling leaves at all, but since this is Summeria, the weather cannot be changed like Myreen. I wish that the wedding took ce in spring, Your Highness. You would be adorned with flowers like a goddess." "Summeria is still very beautiful, and this will be our home, Alina." Elise smiled. "As long as the wedding takes ce, I am satisfied." "Yes, Your Highness." the servant bowed. "Shall we leave for the temple now for the ceremony? The carriage and horses are now prepared and everyone is waiting for us. I''ve heard from the butler and Queen Myrce and King Alexander just arrived in Castilse and immediately went to the temple." "Of course, let us go." Elise''s eyes lit up. Their wedding was held in a rush because Loriel wanted his mother to witness their wedding before she died. They Immediately sent Renwyck toe to Myreen with his dragons to get Elise''s family. As predicted, they could reach Castilse on the day of the wedding. Ahh.. this made Elise feel so happy. She couldn''t imagine getting married without her father by her side. The weather of Castilse during the day of the wedding was colder, windy and there was even a slight touch of a drizzle that cooled the air. Loriel himself stood with his mother to check on her condition. Queen Maude was clothed in a heavy shawl, with Zaff close to the queen dowager to make sure that she was in good health. The entire time that Loriel was congratted by the guests, the man was respectful and thanked them. Many could see how much preparations were done for this event and yet the man did not look as happy as most expected a man on his own wedding to be. "Mother, I will be going to the altar now," Loriel said to his mother. Queen Maude smiled and motioned for him to go. "Yes, you should hurry. Don''t worry about me, my son. I will be here to congratte the two of you at the end." Loriel nodded and smiled. He exchanged a few words with Zaff and then approached the temple''s priest as he went through the hall. All around him were beautiful and rich decorations that adorned the temple''s architecture. Loriel hoped that it was something that made his mother happy and also was suitable for the eyes of his bride. The promise that Loriel made to his mother and even King Alexander, he nned to keep it. Even though he got annoyed with how everyone expected him to do it withoutints, Loriel was a filial son. The king of Summeria eyed the seven statues that stood at the pirs of the temple, each one symbolizing the powers and influence of the world upon them. "Congrattions, Your Majesty." the temple''s main priest bowed to him. "On this fortuitous day, I have received a revtion that the goddess of the earth smiles upon you and your bride''s wedding." "Is that so?" Loriel couldn''t help but ask. "Yes, Your Majesty." the priest nodded. "Although the wedding takes ce during autumn where the world is asleep and preserving itself for the iing harshness of winter, like spring, it will blossom once again." "...Thank you," Loriel nodded and looked out the doors of the temple. The priest was right that the world right now was asleep. Everything felt sort of numb to Loriel, but it couldn''t be helped. Despite the cold autumn breeze and a great number of trees devoid of leaves, everyone gathered together for this momentous hour and awaited the arrival of the bride. Atst, in the distance, the horse-drawn carriage came to a stop as the two knights from Myreen and the ones from Summeria heralded the arrival of the bride. A footman opened the door as the bride came out. A genuine smile of joy was on Elise''s face as her gazended amongst the crowd, among them were her beloved family - her father and grandmother who just arrived in Summeria this morning and immediately went to the temple for the wedding, the queen and of course, Loriel The two of them met each other''s gaze. Loriel blinked and found his heart fluttering for a moment of confusion. A small smile formed on his lips as he acknowledged the fact that his bride was the most beautiful woman he truly ever had seen. Elise smiled even brighter at seeing Loriel''s expression. She could see his adoration gaze. Upon her arrival, the trees across the temple''s grounds suddenly changed and became vibrant in color. Dark green leaves sprouted and grew as it was joined by the fragrance of flowers in fresh bloom. It matched the sheer joy that blossomed in Elise''s own heart as she stepped inside of the temple. Everyone''s eyes were on the bride, but Elise''s gaze was on Loriel alone as she walked slowly to enter the temple. She halted her steps when her father came and joined her. King Alexander reached out his hand to her and when Elise held his arm, the proud father walked her down the aisle. They walked in light and graceful steps toward Loriel who was waiting for them with the priest at the altar. Loriel offered his hand out to her and respectfully bowed his head when Elise and King Alexander arrived. He mouthed his thank you to his father-inw. King Alexander nodded and stepped back, to return to her seat, next to Queen Maude. "You look beautiful today," Loriel murmured. Elise reached out and held his hand. The two of them inteced their fingers together as her heart pounded at hispliment. "Thank you¡­ you look handsome as well." Loriel didn''t say anything at that but only nodded. This was enough for the two of them and as long as Elise was in a good mood then it meant that the chances of her agreeing to his request would work out fine. "The seven gods and all in Cretea bless us," the temple priest raised a beautiful ornate goblet into the air. "Let''s praise the goddess of earth for this marriage that she has bestowed upon us this very day. We shall bear witness to the union between His Majesty, King of Summeria, King Loriel Ashborn, and Her Royal Highness, Princess of Myreen, Princess Elise Leoralei." Elise bit down on her lip and awaited fervently once the priest handed the goblet to Loriel. The king took a sip of the wine and then Loriel looked deeply into her eyes, a shared look that made her heart pound as he ced the goblet in her hands. "May the two of us share this one cup as a start for the future where the two of us will also share our joys and sorrows with one another. Through days of Winter and Summer, Spring and Autumn, let us remain with one another." . . ************** NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Hello, I just published a new book from the werewolves genre, to join AllNovelFull''s writingpetition. The title is "The King''s Wife Is The Alpha''s Mate". Please add it to your library and support me to win thepetition. xx The book is reverse-harem, nobody died, and it will be my first take on a mainstream genre. You can say I finally try to write something that (hopefully) many people like to read. This is the synopsis: THE KING''S WIFE IS THE ALPHA''S MATE Choosing him, or him? When she jumps over the academy walls to escape from her bullies, Sophie falls straight into the arms of Nichs, the kingdom''s crown prince with a sweet and sunny disposition. Sparks fly and love blossoms between the poor orphan and the prince. But... suddenly, Lnd, the dangerous new alpha of the most powerful werewolf pack in the kingdom imed her to be his mate?! Sophie is torn between two men. One calls her his wife, the other ims her his mate. The prince is warm and sweet, his love is burning like the sun. The alpha is cold and overbearing, his love is as heavy as the mountain and as cold as the winter. Which one will Sophie end up with when both sides wage war over blood, hatred, and revenge? Lnd will burn the entire kingdom just to get Sophie and avenge his race. On the other hand, the newly crowned king, Nichs, strives to drive out the werewolves that the kingdom deemed as monsters while keeping a dark secret within himself¨C He is also a werewolf. ------- You can search the book by the title and add it to your library, or you can click my username and go to my reading lists called "Missrealitybites Books" and find it there. Chapter 223 - You Are Only My Wife In Name However, even though Loriel said those sweet vows aloud for everyone to hear, he found the need to rify it to Elise. The temple priest approached them and gave Loriel the second goblet for him to use and the jug of wine. "Elise, today, I married you to fulfill the agreement between our two mothers," he said underneath his breath so nobody else would hear it except for her. "I promise to always care for you and to protect you for as long as we live. And I will keep my promise because I am a man of my word." Loriel said those words as he poured the wine into their cups and asked Elise to drink to finalize the wedding rituals. Elise forced a smile as she tried hard to hold back her tears from falling down to her cheeks. She was well aware that Loriel didn''t mention anything about love. He didn''t love her now, and he didn''t say that he would. Elise whispered, "I understand. I take you as my husband to fulfill the agreement between our mothers. And I promise to always care for you and love your for as long as we live." Those were the bride and groom''s personal oaths that they uttered to each other to solidify their bond. "Good..." said Loriel as he handed one cup to Elise and took the other. "Let''s drink and finish the wedding." *** Everyone else was unaware of what was happening in the altar. The groom didn''t smile even once, and the bride was in the brink of tears. However, people thought it was because the couple was nervous. Many brides and grooms got cold feet or even emotional on their wedding day. It was not unusual. "It''s beautiful, I wish Catalina was here to see this." Queen Maude murmured with tears in her eyes. "She would have been so thrilled to know that we are true sisters atst." King Alexander was not the happiest about this marriage, but seeing his one and only daughter smile joyfully as she sipped the goblet of wine from Loriel''s hands made him ept that this was it. "Yes, our families havee together atst," he said. "She already sees Summeria as her home," Myrce Leoralei added. "You must ept it, my son." The weather changing, the trees and flowers blossoming were a sign that made it obvious to both of them. "Really?" Queen Maude looked up to the much older queen dowager and smiled. "I''m relieved to hear that Elise sees this as her home." And yet those words would be one of herst statements. The day was supposed to be glorious and wonderful, but it quickly turned dark as Queen Maude sumbed to herst moments during the hours of celebration after the wedding. The bright and cheerful atmosphere of the banquet halls of the king''s residence turnedpletely dark and cold when the queen dowager of Summeria suddenly crashed on the floor while she tried to stand up. "Mother!" Loriel quickly nced at his mother far away. His heart pounded in worry as the royal physician rushed to her side alongside the king and queen dowager of Myreen. While people were still holding on to their own goblets of wine, feasting and engaging in merry conversation¡­ Queen Maude was gone in a sh. Elise who was being congratted by many diplomats, officials and other people from Summeria also stopped cold at the sudden wind that blew through the banquet halls. Loriel was kneeling at his mother''s side as Elise quickly joined his side. There was a terrible feeling in her stomach as she awaited the physician''s words. "I''m sorry, Your Majesty," Zaff, the royal physician, said with tears in his eyes as he took the pulse of thete queen. "Your mother is gone." Loriel gritted his teeth and looked all around him. The faces of the people were now bleak at the sudden promation and he wished that King Alexander and the Queen Dowager could say anything or something. The same miracle that healed King Alexander, Loriel wished it was possible to have it with them now or through the use of magic and restoration. But even with the presence of the most powerful witch and wizard of the entire continent, the queen dowager of Summeria''s death was not stopped at all. It was an oue that couldn''t be changed. *** After the entire hall was thrown into a state of chaos and madness at the queen dowager dying during the day of the wedding, Loriel and his men did their best to handle the visitors and guests. There were rumors that there was poisoned food that attempted to kill the king and queen. It was hard to cate such concerns and also not make them worry if this was another sign of rebellion by Loriel''s older sisters and brothers-inw. Right now, Loriel was in the queen''s residence¡­ he needed to take care of the belongings of his mother. Not only that, but because this ce now belonged to Elise. Behind him, Elise wished to help him despite everything that happened during the wedding, but Loriel was only brushing her off. Loriel didn''t think it would happen so soon after the wedding, but he should have known that his mother was only holding out until the wedding itself. The man refused to mourn until the preparations for the funeral were finished. And yet Loriel saw Elise watching him from afar. There was a look of worry and concern on his wife''s face that Loriel refused to ept right now. But there was an expectation that they would spend the night together despite everything. That wasn''t important to Elise though. She wanted him to be okay, so gathering her courage, Elise walked up to Loriel. The king was seated in the chair that Elise always sat on whenever she visited Queen Maude. She could see the weariness in his face. "Loriel?" Loriel sighed inwardly and looked up to her, "I would appreciate it if the two of us slept in different chambers." Elise understood that it would go against normal practices, but with the sudden death of Queen Maude¡­ she knew that Loriel wanted to grieve alone. Elise wanted to be there for him, but the man seemed to be holding it in. Loriel was someone who refused to show weakness, but Elise knew that his heart must have been in the depths of grieving. She reached out to him and held his arm. "Please take as long as you need, Loriel." The man already nned to request this from the start. Even if Loriel''s mother hadn''t died now, he would have asked the same¡­ so he wanted to make things clear to her. "Elise, I will not sleep with you." "I know that," Elise said. Loriel looked at her seriously and said. "I cannot and will not consummate our marriage. This is a terrible time to say this, but I do not wish to give you false hopes that after all of this is over¡­ the two of us will do it." Elise already knew that and she nodded numbly. "Of course, I ept that." Loriel bit his lip. "You are only my wife in name." Elise lowered her head and tried to hide her tears. She nodded weakly. "I am sorry if you expected differently from this union. You know how bad was my mother''s condition. Seeing us married is her dying wish. I have to do it for her sake. I hope you understand." "I understand," Elise nodded again. Loriel could see she looked disappointed and shocked, but he didn''t want to give her false hopes. He got up and went to the table and poured wine into their wedding goblet. He drank half and then gave the rest to Elise. "Drink this. It will make you feel better," he said gently. Hesitatingly, Elise took the goblet and sipped it. This was supposed to be their first night together. Husband and wife usually would drink the wine from one goblet to celebrate their legal union before their consummate their marriage in physical union. However, this time, Loriel only gave her wine to calm her down her nerves from the disappointment he caused her. "You can sleep here," Loriel said as he rose from his seat. "I will sleep in the other tower in my residence." The king left her. Chapter 224 - Elise Is Promised A Pet Elise and Loriel did not see each other for the next months after the wedding. Even though the man kept it to himself, it was known that Loriel was in a terrible state and was aplete wreck after his mother''s death. The man only pulled himself together when some truth came to light about the wedding. Loriel didn''t think it would be true that his sisters and brothers-inw would actually do something during the day of the wedding, but they actually did. It wasn''t the reason for his mother''s death, but there was still evidence that led to them actually using poison for not only the king and queen but important guests. Another act of rebellion. Especially now that Loriel kept to himself for some time to grieve, the people who were eyeing the throne started to make some moves to vie for it. In one of the borders of Summeria, enemy soldiers were encroaching. Loriel didn''t even have time to grieve his mother''s death properly because of how much trouble his own half-siblings were giving him. It was during this time that he summoned Renywyck and his dragons to make haste. The king was dropping by in the territories and giving his ''dear'' family a visit. Elise hadn''t seen Loriel since the day of the wedding when he left her, so when she learned that the man was leaving Castilse and Summeria, even though she would probably be a nuisance, she rushed to the courtyard of the king''s private residence. Without Queen Maude and even her father and grandmother back in Myreen, Loriel was all that Elise had now. She wanted to see him off and maybe cast some protection charms before he departed. It was to Elise''s surprise that she saw three majestic dragons in the personal courtyard of the king and a man currently petting them as soldiers attached harnesses on the creatures. Renwyck recognized the queen and bowed politely, "Your Majesty." "A-ah¡­ are they yours?" Elise found herself concentrating on the creatures. If these dragons were still here then it meant that Loriel still hadn''t left yet. She made it in time. Renwyck nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. Would you like to pet them? They are friendly and seem to like you." It wasn''t always true as sometimes the dragons had a strong sense of hatred for certain individuals that made them feel unsafe, but Renwyck noticed how much the dragons were looking curiously at Elise. "May I?" Elise perked up lightly and approached the creatures. It had been so long since she had seen the dragons in Myreen so this was something that made her incredibly happy as it was familiar. "They really do like you, you have a natural apt for them, Your Majesty," Renwyckmented in surprise to see how affectionate the creatures were toward the new queen. "I used to ride dragons in the past in Myreen, they were included in the studies that I underwent, although my father was hesitant at first," Elise told the wizard as she petted the snout of the dragon. "What kind of spells do you use on them?" "Spells?" Renwyck blinked for a moment. Elise nodded. "Well, themon ones used in Myreen is a haste spell so the dragons can move even faster than their already top speeds. It may be a little difficult to get used to the speed at first, but the distance you can reach is remarkable." Renwyck looked at her in amazement. How could he have forgotten that Loriel married a Leoralei? "Wizard Renwyck?" "Ah, yes, Your Majesty?" Renwyck asked. "I hope you wouldn''t mind if I put some protection charms on your dragons? I know that you and Loriel are excellent dragon riders, but it would make me feel more reassured." Elise smiled. "Of course, Your Majesty." "... and if you could keep this a secret from Loriel?" Elise added nervously. She didn''t want him to find it offensive that she was intruding on his activities. Renwyck smiled and nodded at Elise''s request. "Definitely, Your Majesty. My lips are sealed." When Loriel arrived in the courtyard to meet with Renwyck, the king was surprised to see his wife conversing with the man and also paying attention to the dragon. He couldn''t help but frown at the sight even as he drew closer. But there was no reason for Loriel to even be upset at all. He was just surprised to see that Elise hade here to meet with him. The king remembered his promise to his mother and greeted her respectfully. "Elise, I did not expect that you woulde here by yourself." Loriel didn''t think Elise ever initiated anything and only stayed at the queen''s residence. The truth was Elise wasn''t sure when to see Loriel because she did not want to disturb him. The man was grieving for his mother, but now Loriel was leaving to deal with the issues of the kingdom. "I wanted to see you off, Your Majesty," Elise said and curtsied. "It is the duty of a queen and wife to see her husband off before the man departs." Loriel couldn''t help but grunt. So, the reason why Elise came here was only because of responsibility? It seemed like she was adjusting to her roles well enough. He nced at Renwyck. "Then it seems that you have already met Renwyck. He is my wizard and also the one who takes care of these three dragons of Summeria." "Yes, it is an honor to meet him and the dragons," Elise smiled fondly for a moment. "I¡­ I would like to have a pet here in the castle, like Renwyck is with his dragons. They seem like greatpanions to have and can help when one feels lonely." Loriel was already focused on riding one of the dragons when he heard Elise''s request. This was the first time that she ever asked Loriel anything so the king immediately nodded. Although Loriel didn''t actually hear everything that she said. He was just absentmindedly agreeing to it. "Yeah.. sure." Elise''s eyes lit up in excitement. "Really? You will get me a pet? My birthday ising soon. I would love to get a pet as a present from you." "Okay, if that is what you want. I will get it for your uing birthday," Loriel replied impatiently. His focus was on Renwyck as he tilted his head to motion the older man to get on the second dragon. Then, he turned to Elise. "We will be leaving now, so I leave the castle in your care, Elise." "I will take care of it while you are gone, Loriel." Elise nodded. "Have safe travels." Loriel nodded awkwardly and then patted Ain''s back to motion the dragon to start moving. He needed to get used to having a woman seeing him off like this whenever he departed for a mission or visit. Was this how it felt to have a wife? This didn''t feel so bad, he thought. After Ain, the ck dragon, set off, Renwyck and Sand, followed by Eris, the other two dragons also dashed upward and pped their wings to fly.. Elise waved gracefully until they all disappeared from view. Chapter 225 - Its Brick A few weeks passed by until it finally Elise''s birthday came. In the past, Elise would be greeted by her father and grandmother when she woke up. The whole kingdom of Myreen would celebrate this wonderful day by spending it in festivities. Of course, it was not fun for everyone. There were others who gossiped on that day and didn''t think it was a proper day to celebrate. It was also the same day where Elise overheard that her mother died on the same exact day. King Alexander tried to not let Elise know about it until she was of proper age and could understand what death truly meant. After Elise realized that her birthday was the same day as her mother died, she realized how much love her father and grandmother had for her. King Alexander could have spent the entire day grieving histe wife, but the man instead threw a celebration for Elise. This was something that made Elise be grateful for her birthdays and she treated it more respectfully. Even though King Alexander wanted to throw the same banquets and feasts, Elise usually would opt to visit her mother''s grave with him. For someone who gave up her life to give Elise a chance to live, she wanted to be grateful for Catalina Leoralei and pay her proper respects. Now it would be Elise''s birthday far from Myreen and she was to spend it here in her new home. Elise thought of Queen Maude often, she missed her mother-inw who made her feel what it was like to have a mother. Now that a lot of time had passed, Elise''s heart still ached and yearned for the earlier days where she could be with Queen Maude¡­ but there were other things that she was also looking forward to. Elise wanted to keep her promise to take care of Loriel. Those things were on Elise''s mind when she finally got up from her bed and prepared for the day. Once she was prepared to go out, that was when Elise found her people waiting for her. "Happy Birthday, Your Majesty." Alina greeted Elise alongside the two Myreen knights. Elise smiled brightly at them and was grateful that she was apanied by people who remembered it. Well, these people weren''t the only ones who remembered it. "He promised to give me a gift¡­" Elise said to herself and felt her heart flutter. Even though the two of them didn''t meet regrly except for the official ones that Elise could attend to perform her duty as the queen, Elise realized she could head out to the king''s residence and maybe ask about it? "Ah, His Majesty promised to give you a gift, Your Majesty?" Alina asked. "Will you be leaving for the king''s residence? Shall I apany you?" "Please have a good day, Alina. I think I can go there by myself." Elise happily shook her head. She was a lot faster than Alina asking for the carriage, but she didn''t want to say it aloud. "Of course, Your Majesty," Alina curtsied. Naturally, the queen would like to have alone time with the king on her special day. She understood that much. Elise was already fixed on the idea of meeting with Loriel as she prepared to go out. "I''m not sure what he''ll give me? I don''t think it would be a dragon like Renwyck''s but I''ll be very happy if it''s something that can keep mepany," she murmured to herself. Any kind of pet, as long as it was from her husband, she would feel grateful and happy to receive it. "Does it mean that Your Majesty does not find me suitablepany?" Alina asked. Elise blushed much to the amusement of her maid. "You''re wonderfulpany, Alina. I¡­ I just wished that Loriel would spend more time with me. But that hasn''t been much of an option." "Yes, His Majesty has been very upied with a lot of things," Alina said. Useless things if someone were to ask the maid, but she kept her opinions to herself. "But because he promised to give me a gift, then it means that he at least thought about me, right?" "Yes, Your Majesty," Alina nodded. Even though the maid was afraid that the king forgot about the queen''s request, she didn''t say a word. This was Elise''s special day. She didn''t want to jinx it. "Well then, I''ll be off, Alina. I''ll see youter once I have my pet!" Elise smiled cheerfully and left the queen''s residence. This was one of the few times that Alina saw the young queen actually look excited to go out. It was no joke to say that Elise had been incredibly lonely and no maidservant or knights from Myreen could fill the void. Elise soon arrived in the king''s garden and saw Loriel carrying a kitten in his arms. Her heart leaped with joy. "Ahh... you remember..." Elise gushed. Her hands pressed her lips in awe and excitement. "Huh?" Loriel furrowed his brows. "My birthday present¡­" Elise smiled sheepishly. She was so touched because her husband really remembered to give her a pet for her birthday. The kitten was all ck and so lovely. She pointed at the kitten in Loriel''s hand. "She is so beautiful." Loriel pointed at the kitten in his arms and tilted his chin at her. "This?" He didn''t understand what''s beautiful about this stray kitten. It was ck, thin, and ugly. When he woke up this morning, he heard this kitten meowing incessantly, probably looking for her mother. He was so annoyed and found the kitten, ready to throw her out if he couldn''t find its mother. "Yes... I told you I would like to have a pet for my birthday..." Elise smiled brightly and nodded. "I love the kitten. Thank you so much!" Pet for her birthday? Loriel held his breath unknowingly. Was that today? He didn''t remember promising anything for her birthday. Heck, he didn''t even know when she was born. So.. it''s today? The king felt guilty for this mishap. He vaguely remembered said to Elise that he would get her a pet for her birthday before he went with Renwyck and the dragons to punish his traitorous brother-inw. Seeshh¡­. Elise walked closer to Loriel and petted the kitten''s head lovingly. Loriel watched her and the kitten with conflicting emotions. This foolish girl thought this stray kitten is her birthday present? She must have such a low standard for thinking this kitten beautiful. Wait¡­ that means she also thought Loriel''s standard was low. How could he gift an ugly cat to his wife? Loriel had great taste. If he really wanted to give Elise something, he would definitely choose the best of the bests. Not this¡­ ugly thing. However, the king had no choice. If he said this kitten was not her birthday present, his wife would feel offended because he forgot her birthday. What to do? If he confirmed that this ugly creature was indeed her birthday present¡­ Elise might think he did have such a low standard, a king with bad taste. Sigh. Loriel cleared his throat. "What will you name him?" He looked at Elise curiously and handed over the kitten to Elise. Fine.. if she wanted this kitten for her birthday present, she could have it. Elise took the kitten with glee and kissed its head lovingly. She thought the kitten was a really lovely kitten even though it was thin and her fur was a bit dirty and the color was dull. She loved it because it was a gift from her beloved husband. He remembered her birthday! And he made time to get her a present, even though he was uber busy. "Uhmm... I don''t know yet," Elise looked embarrassed that she had not prepared any names for the kitten. The truth was, she really didn''t expect her husband would remember her wish and give her a pet. "Hmm.." Loriel crossed his arms on his chest and narrowed his eyes to observe the kitten more closely. He didn''t want her to have the pet¡­ maybe he could find an excuse to get her another one. It would be embarrassing if other people saw the queen of this powerful empire had such an ugly kitten for a pet. They would know it''s a present from the king. And eventually, Loriel''s reputation would be ruined. He didn''t want people tough at his family for having an ugly pet. Hmm.. maybe he could get her a peacock, or even a mythical creature like a phoenix. They are more suitable for the queen of Summeria. "I''m disappointed that you asked me for a pet, yet you didn''t prepare the name for it," he looked at her, pretending to be disappointed. "I think I cannot let you keep it." "Please, don''t..." Elise couldn''t imagine abandoning the kitten. "I have a name for it..." "You do?" Loriel raised an eyebrow. "Yes, yes..." Elise looked around her frantically, trying to find inspiration quickly as she noticed the brick wall behind her husband. She felt relief flood her chest and she smiled, "Her name is Brick." "Didn''t you say you didn''t know her name yet?" Loriel raised another eyebrow. He wanted to know how she could get away with this. Elise shook her head shyly, but her eyes looked determined. She was a bad liar, but she tried nheless. "I have some names for it already, I just couldn''t decide which one I like better, between Brick... Pot... or..." She licked her lips again and looked behind Loriel. Finally, her eyes glinted with excitement. "Or Pebble." Loriel chuckled and nodded. "Okay. So, out of those three candidates, you finally decided on... Brick?" Elise nodded vigorously. "Yes." "Okay, you can have it." Loriel cleared his throat. "So, the name is... Brick?" Elise nodded. "Yes." "Are you sure?" Loriel looked at her deeply. "We can still find another, better name for it before this one gets stuck." Elise shook her head.. "It''s Brick." Chapter 226 - Elise Takes Care Of The Garden Note: This chapter is dedicated to Jen Taylor. Thank you so, so much for gifting a castle to Loriel and Elise today. xx . . Over the next couple of days, Loriel managed to have spare time away from the responsibilities of running Summeria. He recently finished dealing with one of his brothers-inw wanting to rule, but another one tended to appear right after that. All of his sisters did not work together. Each one of them wanted the crown of Summeria for themselves. Now that Loriel was actually free, he decided to visit the queen''s residence. He thought about what happened now after he gave Elise that ugly kitten. His mind still lingered on getting Elise an appropriate gift. Even though Elise was already happy and that gorgeous smile of hers tempted Loriel, he told himself that he was doing it for the sake of the kingdom. The court people would think it ridiculous to have a skinny cat as the queen''s pet. The Ashborn family should maintain their faces in front of its people. Perhaps, Loriel should ask Renwyck to apany him up the mountains in search of a Phoenix? At least that matched the elegance and magical nature of those in Myreen . When Loriel arrived in the queen''s personal residence though, his thoughts were halted by the sight and sound of something beautiful. Thete queen''s garden was in full splendor and beauty in one''s eyes. Each tree was a beautiful and healthy color, the flowers were all blossoming, and at the center of them all was Elise. His wife was currently watering a flower bed as a small ck cat prowled and nuzzled her leg. Right now, Loriel could even hear Elise softly singing and humming along as she tended to her nts. It was unbelievable because Loriel never saw Elise act this way before at all. "You''re taking care of the garden?" Loriel muttered in surprise once he drew closer. Elise looked up and quickly rose to her feet to curtsey. "Your Majesty, I did not think that you would visit at this time. Pardon me for my disheveled appearance. I take care of the garden during my free time." Brick hissed slightly at Loriel and hid behind Elise''s feet. "It''s alright¡­ I did not announce my arrival," Loriel said. Loriel didn''t want to say that seeing Elise have beads of sweat on her face was a feast for his eyes. Even during things like gardening, how could she make it look good? There wasn''t even a single track of mud on her face so Loriel couldn''t see why she was apologizing. "May I ask for the reason that brought you here, Your Majesty?" Elise asked as she wiped her brow. "Do you need something from me? Is there an official gathering where the two of us must go together?" Loriel didn''t think that Elise would immediately think of that. He was still distracted by the fact that it was Elise who was taking care of this ce. "Do my royal gardeners note here?" Loriel grunted. "They do, Your Majesty." Elise smiled. "Although, I noticed some of them didn''t know how to take care of a particr species of flowers so I did it myself. These flowers are only avable in Myreen and are not native in Summeria." Loriel wanted to keep the gardens in good condition since this was a ce that his mother loved and adored. A replica of the gardens in Myreen, his mother loved the Jacaranda trees and every species held within the confines of this ce. There were royal gardeners who were supposed to tend to this job. Loriel didn''t want Elise''s hands to get calluses or for her to overwork herself. "Hah, I didn''t know that we had ipetent gardeners." "Your Majesty, they are not ipetent," Elise frowned at him. "I hope that Your Majesty don''t think of doing something like removing them from the castle. All people must learn over time, and it is not their fault that these nts are not native here." Loriel stared at Elise and wondered if he was talking to someone else. A fiery answer to protect those who she thought did not do anything wrong¡­ Apparently, when it came to others, Elise was capable of defending them. "Your Majesty?" Elise prompted again. Loriel wondered if he was bewitched as he rubbed his face. "I won''t punish the royal gardeners or take away their jobs. You have my word, so please do not worry. The reason I visited was simple, I came here to see you." The expression on Elise''s face shifted at his words. "You did?" "It was only to see how you were taking care of the cat," Loriel found himself saying. "It''s not normally what one would get for his wife. Due to time constraints, I wasn''t able to get you anything better." "Your Majesty, I love Brick," Elise said. She picked up the kitten into her arms and petted its head. "She''s perfect and wonderful, I do not wish for anything more." The look of genuine joy on Elise''s face... Loriel didn''t think he''d see it after he made her cry. It was true that Loriel said a lot of things about him not loving her and she was so close to tears back then. Loriel nodded stiffly. "You forgot to call me by name." "A-ah, sorry¡­ I wanted to give my respects now that we''re king and queen, Your Majesty," Elise said. "When we''re in private, it is fine to call me as you used to." Loriel shrugged even though he didn''t know why he was being this way. Maybe it was because Loriel himself didn''t have anyone else except for Elise? "Okay, Loriel." Elise smiled brightly at him. "Good." "Huh?" Loriel averted his gaze. "It''s nothing, Elise." "This is one of the few times you''ve called me by name," Elise''s eyes lit up. "What?" Elise chuckled. "You always refer to me as princess, or princess from Myreen¡­ and somewhat recently, queen? Her Majesty or Queen Elise Leoralei, but never just Elise." "It''s a small thing." "Well, it''s different for me," Elise grinned at him. Loriel didn''t realize how sunny she could be and how refreshing it was.. Perhaps it was not wrong for them to actually have an amicable rtionship? It was good when a king and queen were friends. Chapter 227 - Getting Flowers For Elise *** It was rare for Loriel to sumb to illness or disease. Even though he was thin and sickly as a child, he grew up to be incredibly strong and almost unaffected by anything physical that touched him. Loriel was thrown off into a wall by Queen Myrce''s magic before and even though his head started bleeding, he didn''t feel the excruciating pain that much. Anybody else would have died at that brunt attack. So when Loriel finally found himself in bed, feverish and with the worst headache imaginable¡­ he knew that this was going to be a long week of pain. The Prime Minister would take care of the affairs of the kingdom during this time and there was no urgent state of turmoil that required him actually intervening and taking a more active role in the affairs of war and battle. Loriel stayed in his bed and sighed. "How much longer, Zaff? I just got here, but I''m already restless." "Your Majesty, this is something that can be resolved by taking enough rest and actually rxing for once." The royal physician looked at him impatiently and handed him a cup. "Suddenly visiting the mountains and dropping from a high altitude is dangerous." "I''m alive, aren''t I?" Loriel grunted as he drank the medicine. "Please stay in bed, Your Majesty. It is always a dangerous affair to head up in the mountains surrounding Castilse, whether or not you had dragons, it did not matter." "Mhmm, I get it. You can leave now so I can actually get some rest," Loriel waved the man to leave him alone. "I wille here every now and then to inspect your condition, Your Majesty," Zaff informed him. "Even though younded among rocks and did not seem to have any immediate pain, there might be internal injuries." "Yes, I feel fine though. Except for this headache and fever." "Stay in bed, Your Majesty." Loriel only sighed as the man left his room and he closed his eyes. Once Loriel figured out that Elise actually liked tending to the gardens, he decided to actually bring in some rare flowers that only grew at the peak of the mountains in Castilse. If Elise wouldn''t let go of Brick, then beautiful flowers were something nice to have to make up for the lousy birthday present. So Loriel set off on an expedition with Renwyck¡­ and he just didn''t expect that while trying to get some flowers, the earth beneath him became loose and he dropped from one peak of the mountain into the next one. Loriel''s entire body ached, but Renwyck managed to collect several varieties of the flowers for him and then have one of the dragons fetch him. They actually rushed back to his castle, but Loriel asked Renwyck to deliver the flowers by himself so Elise could see and tend to them already. *** The old wizard came across Elise in the garden with her cat once again. The news of Loriel actually getting into an ident wasn''t widely spread to not cause panicking so even Elise didn''t hear it yet. Renywck thought Elise ought to know. "Your Majesty, pardon me for visiting here by myself," Renwyck said. Elise looked up and saw the flowers in the basket and only smiled. "There is no need to apologize, it is great to have visitors. Isn''t that right, Brick?" Brick red at Renwyck and only hid behind Elise. Even now the kitten didn''t seem to like anyone else except for Elise. "The king has sent me to bring you these flowers. I believe that the king thinks that they''ll be a fine addition to your gardens, Your Majesty." "Oh, I see." Elise smiled and epted the basket. "I did not expect that he would think of me¡­ but um, may I ask why His Majesty didn''t bring it himself? Is the king currently busy?" Renwyck shook his head. "On the contrary, Your Majesty. He asked me to rush these flowers because he couldn''t get here by himself due to a minor ident." "Minor ident?" Elise looked up in rm. "These flowers tended to have long roots, so the earth crumbled beneath him when he obtained them for you." "I should visit the king," Elise''s heart pounded in worry. She returned the basket into Renwyck''s hands and said, "Please excuse me for a moment. I will go check on him now." Elise rushed towards the king''s residence and left the old wizard by himself. "Should I nt them now?" Renwyck asked himself aloud and eyed the flower bed. Loriel was going to be grateful to know that Renwyck helped them get together. *** Even though Loriel was the restless type who didn''t like staying in bed, the man actually fell asleep thanks to Zaff''s medicine. It put his body into a state of rxation and he was napping. But then Loriel felt a warm presence close to him. Even though Loriel was resting, he felt himself gravitate towards the warmth by his side and, when he felt a hand reach for his head and actually massage it, Loriel sighed in bliss. Until the king realized that Zaff was supposed to check on him. Ugh¡­ was it Zaff who was massaging his head? Ew¡­! The king of Summeria quickly opened his eyes, and was shocked but also relieved to see the face of Elise looking down at him. "Hey¡­ It''s you." Elise looked down at Loriel and waved a hand apologetically. "I''m sorry for disturbing your sleep and touching you without permission. I heard from Renwyck about the trouble that you went through in order to get me flowers¡­" Loriel winced and reached for his head. "Continue with what you were doing." "Okay, Your Majesty." Even though Elise only nned to use some of the spells that she knew in order to rejuvenate the man''s condition, she started to massage his head to soothe his pains. Now that Loriel gave a full confirmation, she quickly went back to work. "That feels nice," Loriel sighed in both relief and a mixture of guilt. Despite everything that happened, Elise still rushed to his side when she heard that he got hurt? This woman was amazing... . . ************** From Missrealitybites: So, this was how Loriel slowly fell in love with his wife. She was just so lovely, kind, and loving. Only a really dumb man couldn''t see her worth. ^^ PS: I would like to thank Kelly Goodwin for gifting a dragon to "The Cursed King" several days ago.. I am grateful for your generosity and support. xx Chapter 228 - Loriel And His Migraines Elise kept massaging Loriel''s head gently while the man closed his eyes and enjoyed the treatment from the beautiful woman. He never really touched her, so he was pleasantly surprised when he felt how soft her skin was. Elise was truly a pampered and sheltered princess, he thought. Her skin was smooth, her touch was gentle, her voice was soft, almost sounded like a gentle breeze. Only now was he aware that she had such a beautiful soothing voice. Whatever words came out of her lips, they sound lovely to the ears. Wait¡­ she was not really pampered and sheltered, Loriel thought again. He remembered how hard she worked in the garden the other day. She didn''t hesitate to roll up her sleeves and do physical work with the nts. Now that he thought about it, the garden had turned so much more beautiful than usual. It must be because it was treated lovingly by very skilled and devoted hands. Hmm¡­ this woman was quite interesting, Loriel thought again. He opened his eyes and found Elise was watching him with her emerald eyes. Those eyes were so beautiful. Loriel didn''t realize his heart fluttered when his eyes and hers locked. "Uhm¡­" Elise batted her eyes, looking so shy because Loriel caught her staring. She looked away and let go of her hand from the man''s temple. She asked with a hoarse voice, "Are you feeling better?" Loriel shook his head. He did feel better. Much better, in fact. But her hand on his temple felt so nice andforting. He didn''t want her to let go so soon. "Oh¡­" Elise was a bit confused. She knew Zaff had given a potion to help relieve Loriel''s pain, and she also exerted some of her magic to soothe his nerves. Why was he still feeling unwell? "D-do you¡­ want me to continue?" she asked him softly. The man raised his brows and nodded. He closed his eyes again. So, Elise went back to work and gave him another massage on his temple and his scalp. Ohhh¡­ it was heavenly. "By the way¡­ thank you for the nts, Renwyck told me you went to the mountain with him to find those rare nts," Elise said. "Hmm¡­" Loriel nodded slightly. "Were you hurt because you were looking for them?" Elise asked. "Me? No way¡­." Loriel grunted. "I got into an ident, that''s about it." "Oh¡­" Elise nodded in understanding. "Please, be careful next time." "Hmm¡­" *** Maybe it all started when Loriel gave Brick as a present to Elise, but after Loriel experienced how amazing it was to be cared for by his wife, he slowly got addicted to it. Not only was Loriel around the castle more often¡­ he started to call for Elise whenever he was sick or headed to the queen''s residence himself and sought after her. He didn''t realize that sometimes his body tricked him into thinking he was getting another migraine, becauseter even though he was not really sick, he still looked for her. Of course, Loriel still didn''t love her. There were no indications of him starting to open up his heart to her at all but the two of them grew to have a healthier rtionship. Loriel did not touch her or do anything that showed a hint of him being attracted to Elise at all, but Elise''s presence made it possible for him to rx. Like today, Elise was soothing Loriel who got another bout of migraine. The king was resting his head on herp and wasfortably sleeping. ''Don''t let yourself be taken for granted¡­'' Elise said to herself as she looked at Loriel''s sleeping face. She remembered her grandmother''s words and knew that she probably needed to think about herself some more. But when moments like this came, where Elise was needed by Loriel to stay at his side¡­ how could she not feel ted? Being able to be this close to her husband and spend private time together made Elise feel incredibly happy. All her life, she was raised as a princess betrothed to him and this was what she knew to do. She knew from the start that she was going to marry this man and fulfill the wishes of their mothers. A part of Elise even held on to the hope that doing things like this would bring them closer together and finally the two of them would fall in love. Or at least Loriel would look at her way and feel the same way as her. It was a n, so this wasn''t Elise taking herself for granted. Elise knew what she was doing and she was only taking care of Loriel because the man needed her. Not to mention that it was the responsibility of a wife to take care of her husband. Right? Elise didn''t want to see Loriel in pain or hurt so all of this made sense to her. "Meow," Brick tried to climb up from the foot of the bed and mewled for her attention. The sight of it made Elise smile at how cute it was. "I can''t bring you up to the bed while Loriel is resting, Brick." Elise reached down with her free hand and rubbed Brick''s head. "Thank you for apanying me, though. I''ll make sure to pamper you tooter." Loriel pursed his lips when he heard how doting his wife acted to that stupid ugly ck cat. He didn''t like to see Brick monopolize Elise all this time. The cat followed her around almost 24/7. And what''s worse, he just found out today that, apparently, Elise took Brick to sleep with her on her bed. The audacity! Loriel groaned and he winced, feigning another bout of migraine. He grabbed his temples with both hands and opened his eyes, looking pitiful. Instantly, Elise''s attention was diverted from Brick to the suffering man. "Oh no¡­" She adjusted her sitting and embraced Loriel''s head as if doing so would protect him from the pain. She asked worriedly, "Are you in pain?" Loriel nodded weakly and turned to his side andy down morefortably on herp. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Brick staring at him with hatred. The man narrowed his eyes at the cat and stared back with equal hatred. ''This is MY WIFE,'' his eyes warned the cat, ''not your ve. How dare you keep her all to yourself. Ungrateful cat! I took you from the street. You were just a stray kitten. You OWE ME for the good life you are having right now.'' Elise didn''t realize Loriel and Brick were having a staring contest. She closed her eyes and focused her attention on healing power. She learned a little bit from Raphael, whom she metst year when she was looking for ways to heal her injured father. He was known as the god of healing and he imparted a little bit of his power to Elise because he liked her a lot. So, now, Elise was trying to use the magic to heal her husband, because her heart ached to see him suffer.. However, after numerous tries and Loriel kept getting the same headache, Elise realized she might not be talented enough to use magic from the god of healing. Chapter 229 - Elises Charms *** After being taken care of Elise while he was sick, Loriel realized how nice it was to actually have someone take care of him. This was something foreign and he couldn''t say he didn''t like it. All his life, Loriel was taking care of himself and he thought he wouldn''t need a woman''s care like this. However, now that he had tasted the forbidden fruit... he couldn''t stop. Elise''s sweetness and charms were like a drug that killed all headaches, worries, and difort. He loved loved loved lying down next to her, or on herp and felt her soft touches on his skin, her feminine scent on his nose, and her sweet melodious voice in his ears. Loriel was in a state of bliss to have Elise let him rest on herp. The man was currently in the chambers of the queen and she was taking care of his migraine by massaging his head with her fingers. It was kind of addictive. Even just staying at Elise''s side was enough to make him feel a lot better as if her presence was soothing away the pain. Loriel was able to finally look past what he saw as a demure attitude that Elise had and perceive it in a different light. Instead of seeing Elise being a weak woman, he slowly noticed the fact that she was considerate and gentle. Loriel may have preferred stronger women that matched him, but Elise''s gentle nature was also something that was great. Maybe it was because Loriel finally gave up his days of adventuring across different continents? Now the idea of being stuck with a beautiful, sweet, and kind wife was something so appealing to the young king. However, it did make him feel guilty since it felt like he was taking advantage of her kindness, but Elise was difficult to resist. Everything about Elise, even the things that Loriel found annoying, only made thoughts about this beautiful woman unable to leave his head. A man like Loriel didn''t sumb to illness or disease, but he was still weak to his primal needs. He was only holding himself back from doing something stupid like kissing her and trying to sleep with Elise. Loriel refused to do it anymore with a woman he didn''t love. So, the best that he could do right now was ept all the care and love that Elise was freely giving him. Surely, it was his right as her husband? Elise didn''t seem opposed to it either. So, what exactly was wrong with being in the queen''s chambers even though he didn''t love her? Loriel immediately sat up and rubbed his forehead. What was he thinking? Being around this woman was making him too tempted. "You shouldn''t stand up so quickly," Elise said with a look of concern. Her brows furrowed together as she looked at the man. "Are you feeling better already, Your Majesty?" "I need to leave," Loriel muttered to himself and got out of the bed. "Your Majesty?" Loriel shook his head and started to head out of the room. He stopped by at the door and refused to look her in the face. "Thank you for taking care of me Elise, but I''m fine now. You don''t have to worry about me any longer." "What?" Elise couldn''t believe what he was saying right now. "I think I should stoping to you whenever I''m sick. I have a royal physician who can take care of me¡­ this is not your responsibility," Loriel said. "I¡­ I won''t ask for anything from you," Elise said suddenly. "What?" Loriel asked. "You must want to run away from here because you think that I''ll have hope that you''ll love me, right?" Elise ced a hand on her chest and looked at the king standing in front of the door. "I do not want to give you any delusions indeed," Loriel said. "It is not right for me to be here." "I-I¡­ I really don''t mind taking care of you, Loriel." Elise looked up to him seriously. "Even though I am only a wife by name, what will the other people think if they do not see the two of us together? What would they think of me if they knew you were sick and I didn''t stand by your side and take care of you?" Loriel halted his steps and frowned slightly. "I don''t care about what other people will think¡­" "But even if you don''t care, it is important for you, as the king to be epted by the people," Elise pointed out. "There are consequences to all of our actions since we are the monarchs of Summeria." "What are you trying to say, Elise?" Loriel asked. The young king didn''t expect that Elise would start bringing up affairs of the kingdom. All he expected from her from the past few months was for her to live her entire life in Summeria as peacefully as she could. He wanted to give her enough respect and politeness that she wouldn''t want a thing. It was not Elise''s fault that she was born as a woman or that her mother, Catalina Leoralei made a protection spell that cursed Emmelyn. "Even though people may have overlooked the fact that we didn''t spend the same night together because Queen Maude passed away that night, wouldn''t they think it''s suspicious if we do not spend time together at all?" Elise asked. "So you''re telling me to spend time with you in your chambers and to not feel guilty about it?" Loriel asked. Elise quietly nodded. "Yes, it is for the sake of the kingdom. Right now, we are still young and the people do not worry¡­ but they will start looking for heirs in the future. Would they not makeints if they realized that we are distant from each other?" Loriel was amazed that Elise thought about this. She was a lot smarter than she looked, it was so easy to be deceived by her beauty. However, Loriel was also well-versed in dealing with others. He was more experienced as a ruler than Elise. "You do know that other people will simply try to offer me concubines if they realize that I''m not sleeping with you, right?" Loriel said. "It is a way for them to gather power. So they will not see this as a loss but an opportunity." Elise flinched at his words. She must have not thought about this at all. "You already know that I am a powerful man who can deal with the rebellion of my brothers-inw easily," Loriel said to her. "So those who want to take the throne must use underhanded methods such as giving their daughters to be mine." Elise''s gaze lowered to the floor and it made Loriel feel guilty. He didn''t have to rub it in her face that her reasoning wasn''t enough for him to stay here in the chambers with her. Other than that, Loriel was just saying things even though he was fully aware that he could not actually take another woman. "You do not have to worry about me epting any concubines," Loriel said. "For as long as I live, it will only be you as my queen. I have no interest in taking any other women to whom I am not interested." "Truly?" Elise looked up at him. "Yes." Loriel nodded. "Whether you believe me or not, is up to you, though." Even if Elise doubted his words, this was the truth. There was a look on Elise''s face as she bit down on her lip, and instead of taking it as a chance to leave, it actually made Loriel think of how sexy she was at that moment. Elise wore simple but elegant clothes that showed off her feminine figure and Loriel couldn''t take his eyes off of her. He was extremely conflicted with his actions that even if Elise insisted that taking care of him was fine, he knew he had to stop. Loriel was worried that he would be tempted to sleep with her if he saw her too often. This woman had a ridiculous womanly charm that was enough to make him aroused just by talking even now. "I hope that you still consider my words then, Loriel." Elise insisted as she stared at him. "If you''re not going to take other women, then it simply means that we have to look like a real couple." Fuck. He didn''t want to have sex with her because she would think she would get his heart. No, it was not right. He didn''t love her, but he didn''t want to hurt her feelings by giving her false hope. Even if Elise tried to say that it was his duty to stay with her in the chambers to keep his position as king of Summeria secured, it was too risky for him nheless. "I am thinking about it," Loriel sighed as he rubbed his face. It was too easy to say yes and then get back with Elise in her bed and resume the rxation of being in the same bed with her. A part of him even wanted to take her by the hand and then seduce her to sleep with him. Loriel could sleep with her without love, but Elise would no doubt think he fell for her if they had sex. It was not fair for Elise if he did it. She was not afort woman who was only there to satisfy his sexual needs. If Loriel wanted to sleep with a woman, he would do it out of love. He was not in love with Elise, that''s why he had to hold back and avoid her and her ridiculous charm. However, Loriel eventually said yes. Chapter 230 - Loriel Is Slowly Falling There was no denying that Loriel gave in to Elise''s requests of having him spend a lot of time around her chambers. Of course, the king always made the excuse that he was sick and was in need of his wife''s care. Even if it wasn''t actually the truth. Maybe Elise knew that Loriel was lying, or she could not tell at all, but the two of them continued on with this charade that six monthster Loriel almost felt like the queen''s chamber was his own second residence. Loriel did not want to leave his clothes here in Elise''s room though. The act of leaving articles of his clothing around might send the wrong message¡­ However, now he was also making the effort to travel back and forth from the king''s residence into the queen''s. Well¡­ it was actually a lot of effort to do so. After Loriel was done with the tasks of ruling over the kingdom, meeting with state officials and delegates in his throne room, and other things, he traveled to the queen''s residence. When the day ended and Loriel was tired, he would also find the daily affairs of the kingdom as an excuse to head to Elise''s ce to actuallyin while getting massaged by his lovely wife. The distance was usually enough to make him take a carriage or a horse. So, what he would usually do was, he traveled to Elise''s residence to have dinner with her, and then he would rest a little bit in her chamber. If Elise was not giving him a head massage, she would be reading something, or ying with Brick and Loriel just enjoyed her presence. Then, when the night was gettingte, the king would take his horse and went back to his residence. He would leave from there in the morning to start his work as the king in the royal court. So it was actually counterproductive to actually head back into his own chamber afterward to get his good night''s sleep after he got his fix at Elise''s ce. The two of them have grown a lot closer, not only by Loriel being physical around Elise, but because Loriel was also listening to what she had to say. "There is this kingdom that seeks to trade with us, but he offered a terrible deal because he says the distance is too much for his merchants. Who does he think he is?" Loriel growled one moment. He told her about some trade proposal he received that day. Elise''s fingers did their magic on his scalp and forehead. She listened to him attentively and at their current rtionship standing, was not actually shy to offer some of her thoughts on the matter. "Your Majesty, what if you imposed some kind of¡­ tax relief? If the resources the kingdom is offering are important to Summeria and there are no other options, some kind of special trade tax as long as they lower their costs might help? At least Summeria would be able to break-even with the expenditures?" She gave her opinion after she thought about it for a while. "Hmm¡­" Loriel closed his eyes and thought about Elise''s proposal. "I will have some of my people look into making something as you suggested. Thank you." "You''re wee." Elise smiled at him. Loriel averted his gaze from her delicious lips and tried to close his eyes instead. But the sound of Brick crying again so pitiful tore Elise''s attention away from him. Loriel scowled for a moment and then ''winced'' in pain. Ha. It worked, Elise asked her maid to take Brick and bring her to y outside of her chamber. Loriel enjoyed his victory with a small smile as his wife''s slender fingers went back to rubbing his head lovingly. It was good to know that even though Elise seemed to love and spoil Brick, she still chose Loriel over and over again. The man felt happy. He knew he was always number one in Elise''s heart. Brick could keep dreaming! Now, the man wondered if they had a child. Would Elise also love and spoil the kid? Would she love and care for the child more than Loriel? Well.... if there was anyone Loriel was willing to share Elise with, it would be their child. Oh... she was so loving and sweet. He believed she would make a wonderful mother. Loriel suddenly winced at this thought. What was I thinking? He asked himself. Their child? No, no... there wouldn''t be any child because¡­ Well, because they had never slept together. Loriel had never even spent the night here with Elise until morning. Those servants outside might think the couple had done the deed and Loriel always went back to his chamber afterward. They didn''t know that the king had never touched the queen sexually. He had never even kissed her. Loriel''s mind slowly wandered. What would their child look like when they had one? Would s/he take after Loriel¡­ or Elise? The king secretly hoped if they had a son, he would look like Loriel. Elise was too beautiful, he thought. If their son took after her, he would look beautiful too. It was better if he looked like his father. Loriel was very handsome, but his appearance didn''t have any hints of femininity, unlike that guy from Draec who had a beautiful face like a woman''s and his skin soft and glowing. Eww¡­ In Loriel''s opinion, a real man should be handsome, not beautiful, he thought. He must have thick skin and be strong like a bull. He wanted his son to be just like him. What would they name their son if they had one? Loriel didn''t have any good rtionship with his father, so definitely he wouldn''t name his son after thete king of Summeria. Hmm... maybe they could name their son after Elise''s father? King Alexander was an impressive man and Loriel liked him a lot. Wait¡­ why was his mind going that far???? Loriel was thinking of their future son''s appearance and name? He and Elise had not even had sex. The man growled in frustration. He already told her that he would not sleep with her. Was it toote to take back his words now? Wouldn''t Elise look down on him if he suddenly changed his mind? Chapter 231 - Loriel Finally Gives In To Temptation Loriel did need an heir. And he already had a wife. If he got her pregnant, he would have his heir and everyone in Summeria would rejoice. Elise seemed to love him very much and Loriel could tell she was willing to sleep with him. But¡­ but¡­ should he do it? If he did¡­ he would cross the line that he drew himself. There would be no turning back. "Are you in pain?" Elise asked worriedly. She already saw Loriel winced twice. Oh no¡­ what should she do? Why was her husband so prone to migraines? Loriel opened his eyes and caught sight of her beautiful face right above his. Her peach emerald eyes looked at him with worry. Their eyes locked. Why were her eyes so beautiful? Loriel could see his reflection on them. And¡­ those luscious lips¡­ they were red and full and wet. Elise had a habit to lick her lips when she was nervous. Loriel had noticed this. And every time she did that, it sent blood from his brain right to his penis. The man swallowed. He grunted and muttered something incoherently. Then he got up from herp. The man waved at Elise and bid her goodbye in a hurry. "I need to go now. Good night." Elise didn''t know what just happened. She was sitting on her bed, looking confused, staring at Loriel''s back view until he disappeared. Loriel rushed to his residence and locked himself in his chamber. Dammit..!! He knew she was so alluring and every time they spent time so closely like that, he would get turned on. She was just so hot, and she didn''t even realize the effect she had on him. When she spoke, when she touched his head and gave it a loving massage, when he smelled her scent, when her breath brushed his face, when her eyes looked at him with a gaze filled with love, when she licked her lips¡­. Gosh!!! He could go crazy! Suddenly Loriel felt like he was the dumbest man in the universe. He knew the effect she had on him, yet he kepting back. He kept asking for more. It was like a moth drawn to a me. And today, it had be unbearable. Loriel pulled down his pants and started stroking himself. He got a massive hard-on and needed to get his release. *** Loriel didn''t visit Elise for three days after that night. He sent Horatio to tell Elise that he was very busy, but he promised to visit her again after he was done with work. That put Elise to ease and she kept herself busy by tending the garden and taking care of her beloved pet that was gifted to her for her birthday by her dear husband. Meanwhile, the new arrangements with the merchants of the trading kingdom turned out to be a sess. Loriel''s officials said that the merchants wished to result in having less tax, so they sold their items at a more affordable price. It was something that Loriel decided to celebrate with his wife. He brought some wine over to Elise''s chamber three dayster and two cups for them to share with to enjoy their evening. "Your idea has helped smoothen trade rtions, thank you." Loriel poured his wife some wine. "Ah, it was only a suggestion, Your Majesty," Elise blushed as she drank some of the wine. She didn''t want to make herself too drunk, so she only sipped a couple of times to not offend her husband. Loriel himself didn''t want to get drunk either, but he was in a pleased mood and wanted to lighten up. The man decided to drink only half a cup though, in order to keep his wits around his wife. But whether it was the wine or just him lowering his own inhibitions, when Loriel crawled into Elise''s bed for some tender loving care from her, he looked at his wife and felt his heart flutter. "You''re so wonderful," Loriel murmured as he ced a hand on her cheek. Elise blushed at his words and tried to shake her head. "I was only doing my best as the queen of Summeria, Your Majesty." "And you''re doing exceedingly well," Loriel stared at the face he wanted to hate so much, but he could never do. "It was wrong of me to think of you as anything less than wonderful." Elise''s breath hitched slightly. She was not used to hispliments and being gazed upon by Loriel so tenderly. "Are you drunk, Your Majesty?" Loriel shook his head and reassured her. "No. But I cannot seem to hold my tongue around your presence any longer." "I see¡­ then shouldn''t we rest now, Your Majesty?" Elise suggested and patted the pillow. "You might say things that you''ll regret in the morning." "No." Loriel shook his head. Regret? How could Loriel regret saying the truth? If there was anyone who should be regretting it, it was probably Elise who should regret marrying him. Why was this wonderful woman stuck by the side of a man who did not love her? Why was this beautiful person staying with the king who was so weak to temptation around her that he lied about his illnesses? Why was Elise staying here when the two of them already fulfilled their mothers'' vows to marry? Shouldn''t Elise be more concerned and worried about her happiness than those of people who were no longer around? "No?" Elise looked at Loriel in surprise. Her heart skipped a beat. "I do not wish to sleep this early, Elise," Loriel murmured. Loriel loved Queen Maude and could respect Queen Catalina''s devotion to her daughter''s heart¡­ but even they also had their own ws and errors in thinking. The idea of marrying two people who did not know each other, who might not love each other? They did not think of that at all. But those thoughts drifted away from Loriel''s head as he stared at Elise and found himself drawing instinctively closer to her. It only felt natural now to be so attracted to this wonderful woman who stayed despite everything. Loriel tugged Elise''s chin and looked at her deeply.. When his lips touched Elise''s, Loriel kissed her. Chapter 232 - Loriel Decides To Consummate Their Marriage Note: This chapter is dedicated to Mischareads. Thank you so much for gifting a castle to Loriel and Elise today. You are so kind! xx . . The kiss led to a heavy makeout session and, eventually, they slept together. For several days while he was avoiding Elise, Loriel thought about their situation thoroughly. Initially, he wanted to keep his ideal. He wouldn''t sleep with a woman whom he didn''t love. However, now that his traitorous body kept showing how much he was turned on when he was with her, Loriel realized he was not as strong as he thought he was. He was just a weak man when it came to his libido. He had not had sex for a really long time and the past six months were the hardest. When he was alone, it was easier to control his urge. He could just satisfy himself, but now that there was this extremely beautiful woman close by whom his whole mental and physical being was drawn into, self-pleasure was no longer enough. He realized this when he tried to jerk off after he was aroused at her chamber thest time. After hours and hours of hard work, he still couldn''t get his release. His pent-up sexual frustration made him feel so antsy and he keptshing out his anger on innocent people. Poor Horatio just asked the king if he needed more wine, and Loriel scolded him for interrupting his thought. Well.. he wasn''t really thinking of anything serious or rted to the state, but just about his options¡­ whether he should just relent to his desire and sleep with his wife, or stay suffering. This would solidify their rtionship and Elise would be his wife truly, no longer just in name. Was he really ready to bear the consequences? Finally, after three days, Loriel made a decision. Fuck it! He couldn''t continue living like this. He better got it over with. That''s why tonight he came to Elise''s chamber again. He had made up his mind. Elise''s eyes bulged in surprise when Loriel''s lipsnded a kiss on hers. Finally¡­ after so long, she could taste her husband''s lips. They were finally kissing! She instinctively closed her eyes and took in the whole experience, feeling overjoyed and drunk in euphoria. All her life, Elise lived for one thing¡­ to be this man''s bride. Six months ago when they got married, she had be his bride, but he had not really touched her as his wife. But tonight.. he suddenly kissed her. What next? Would they¡­ Would they do the deed? Elise could feel the man''s temperature rise significantly and his heart pounded. His breath slowly panted as he slid his tounge through the small opening on her lips. The next thing she knew, he was ravaging her mouth and twisted her tounge expertly. It felt so, so good! Elise almost forgot to breathe. Her mind was in a mess. He was kissing her! He was kissing her! And this was not a polite kiss between strangers, but the kiss wasced with lust and desire. Did Loriel desire her? Did she turn him on? Was he attracted to her sexually? Did he want to consummate their marriage? Elise felt so shy because she was inexperienced. She had never kissed anyone. When she was younger she tried to practice with her arm, but it felt weird, She didn''t know the right technique. But now, her husband kissed her sweetly, passionately, and he guided her inexperienced lips and tounge to kiss him back. He licked her lips and teased her over and over again. Finally, Elise tried to return his kiss. She thrust her tongue inside his mouth and licked his inner lips before she found his tongue and suck it. Loriel moaned. Ahh¡­ he sounded so pleased with her effort. Elise was over the moon. Her husband grabbed her hair and lowered his hand to her back. His touch was fire. Elise unconsciously squirmed and let out a sexy moan. Her little voice immediately sent all the blood on Loriel ''s body to his manhood. His pants became so tight and he felt so ufortable. "Ahh¡­" Loriel growled. He loosened his pants with one hand while his other hand rubbed her hair lovingly¡­ He couldn''t take it anymore. "Elise¡­" Elise''s eyes widened when she heard Loriel call her name. His voice was husky and sounded heavy. The man had let go of her lips. He opened his eyes and looked at her straight in the eye. Elise could see her husband''s eyes were filled with lust. Was he engulfed by desire? Was this desire to have her? "Loriel..." Elise whispered his name back. "Are we husband and wife?" Loriel asked Elise with a husky voice. It was so sexy to her ears. Elise was dumbfounded for a moment before she nodded shyly. Her husband tugged her chin gently and she looked up to see him. Her cheeks flushed red and felt hot. Of course, they were husband and wife. They were betrothed since before they were born and they got married six months ago. Why was he asking this question? It was a rhetorical question, right? One that didn''t need an answer... "So?" Loriel asked again. Oh, apparently, he wanted an answer, Elise thought. She nodded softly and replied with her small voice. "Yes, we are, Loriel." "So, will you stay with me until we are both old and grey?" Loriel asked again. Elise didn''t understand why Loriel asked such a question. Of course, she would. In her life, there was never another man. It had always been Loriel. She grew up dreaming of bing his bride. Now that they were married, she wanted to stay by his side for as long as they lived. It was Elise who should be asking that question to Loriel. Did he consider them husband and wife? Would he want to stay with Elise until they were both old and grey? The fact was, Loriel didn''t want this marriage. He was betrothed to Elise without his knowledge before he was even born. He only married Elise to keep his promise to his mother. The queen dowager made him promise to take care of Elise as her husband and protect the girl until hisst breath. Actually, Elise was torn by the situation. On the one hand, she was happy that Loriel made such a promise and he was keeping his word. However, on the other hand, she was sad that the man didn''t love her. He married her out of obligation, not out of love. "Yes, Loriel," Elise replied again. She was wondering where was this conversation heading. "So, you will not ask for a divorce to marry another man?" Loriel asked her again. Elise actually wanted to ask the same question. ''So, you will not ask for a divorce to marry another woman?'' However, she knew it was not the right question to ask. The woman that Loriel loved was already married and she loved her husband. Loriel was too honorable to steal someone else''s wife, much less force the woman to marry him when she loved another man. Eliseughed bitterly in her heart. She loved this man so much, but she couldn''t get his heart. Meanwhile, Loriel loved that woman so deeply, but he also couldn''t get her heart. She only thought of him as a good friend. Nothing more. Knowing how sad it was to feel unrequited love, Elise felt great empathy toward her husband. She knew, loving someone so deeply, one-sidedly, was heartbreaking. So, her heart ached for him. He loved that other woman, but here he was, stuck with Elise for... probably the rest of his life. Elise''s question to Loriel should have been, ''So, you will stay with me until the day we die... even though you don''t love me?'' Or, ''Will you... be able to love me back one day?'' But she didn''t utter those questions. She only kept them to herself, like always. Elise shook her head and replied, "I will not ask for a divorce to marry another man." Loriel smiled. He touched her cheek and tilted his head to kiss her again. He was satisfied with Elise''s responses. He wanted to know if Elise really thought of him as her husband and that they would stay together as husband and wife until the day they died. Since her responses were affirmative, Loriel decided to cross the point of no return. He was stuck with her in this marriage anyway. So, why not make it official and im his right as her husband? His hand free hand sneaked under her dress and caressed her inner thighs, so gently. Elise was already intoxicated by his kiss and unknowingly let out a soft moan when his hand touched her skin under her dress. . . ************ From Missrealitybites: From this moment, we know that Loriel and Elise finally consummated their marriage. We already have their snusnu in chapters 25-32 (8 chapters from forey to afterglow... lol). On the one hand, I was thinking of skipping this part and asking you to go back to those chapters if you want to read the whole thing, but on the other hand, I think you might want to see the snusnu rewritten from a maybe slightly different perspective. What do you want? For this chapter, I copied a part of the scene from chapter 25, because I think you don''t want to tire yourself to go back to that chapter just to read how their kiss led to lovemaking... RIGHT? I intentionally add that part AFTER I publish this chapter, so you don''t pay extra coins for them, don''t worry. You can see that this chapter only cost 6 coins, even though it has 1800 words. Anyway.. let me know what you want: OPTION 1. Just skip their first consummation, I can read it myself in chapters 25-32. Please write the next scenes. "When Loriel woke up the next day in Elise''s bed, he remembered the mindblowing sex that the two of them had. After six long months of him stopping himself and trying to act as if he was not attracted to her, the two of them consummated their marriage." OPTION 2. Hell yeah! I live for their snusnu. I don''t mind rereading their first consummation here. Vote and write down your thoughts in thement.. I will go with the majority vote. Chapter 233 - Loriel Is Drunk Note: The majority vote wants me to skip Loriel''s and Elise''s first consummation and continue with the story. So, I can only oblige. Worry not, I will find ways to get them to have more intimate moments together in the future ^^. . . When Loriel woke up the next day in Elise''s bed, he remembered the mindblowing sex that the two of them had. After six long months of him stopping himself and trying to act as if he was not attracted to her, the two of them finally consummated their marriage. He also learned that Elise had powers like her grandmother and father. However, it was all nothingpared to the realization that Loriel finally epted Elise as his wife. Thest six months was him denying and thinking that the two of them would stay separated was now over. The king of Summeria finally epted the princess of Myreen as his true wife. Loriel couldn''t believe it, but he wasn''t upset. On the contrary, he was now looking forward to it. Loriel decided to count it as a blessing in disguise. Even though both Queen Catalina and Loriel''s mother did not think about their children during the arrangement, it was a solid wedding. Sure, Myreen was a pacifist kingdom that refused to participate in wars so Summeria cannot rely on them for that¡­ but magic was avable and could even be provided. The kingdom of Myreen was actually willing to have some of its people that knew magice over to Archus Library, the center of education in Summeria, and expand the knowledge currently held within it. Loriel knew that it was Elise whom he once again had to thank. The man didn''t even mention or say anything about needing more knowledge, but Elise probably decided that it was right for people to learn how to protect themselves. It was a good endeavour, but it wasn''t only the benefits of wedding a princess of Myreen that made Loriel ept the marriage. It was because he got married to someone as amazing as Elise. Loriel was more negative about it in the past, but now he was grateful that Elise was a wonderful person and not someone who was horrible to deal with. If that had been the case, vows between mother or not, Loriel would have divorced the princess without hesitation. There was no room in Summeria for a lousy queen. And yet Loriel found himself leaving the queen''s chamber and heading into the banquet hall. The king sat down for breakfast and started drinking a lot of wine as he ate his food and sighed aloud. "We are now together, not only in name," Loriel murmured. He was happy, but Loriel still felt as if he now lost something permanently within him. Maybe it was because he thought of himself as a bachelor? Even when he was married to Elise, Loriel did not see himself as attached to her so he thought of himself as a free person that was unrestricted despite his duties as a king. But now things have changed and it was time for Loriel to be a lot more serious. "Those days of adventuring outside of Summeria, and visiting numerous strangends," Loriel sighed and drank another cup. "It cannot be reced by travelling out for war or military purposes." Yes, Loriel felt as if he lost a certain spark within him. Of course, his heart and mind was now revitalized by the idea of starting a new life and family with Elise¡­ but there were always things that he wished he could do. A person that he wanted to meet again. *** Everything was going wonderfully to Elise. Loriel made love with her and finally consummated their marriage after six months and he also did not seem to mind that Elise had magic. Sure, Elise didn''t show him the entire powers that she had, but that was because it was not needed yet. So it was really surprising when Alina came into her room and informed her about the king''s condition. "The king is drinking his heart out in the banquet hall?" Elise blinked."Isn''t this too early for that??" "He''s extremely drunk for some reason, Your Majesty," Alina said. "We do not know the cause. But the knights and servants cannot interfere. He made them leave even when they tried to take him to his room." "Oh¡­" Alina tried to give the couple a lot of time to be alone together, but when the maid heard some news in the king''s residence, she quickly came to inform Her Majesty. If gossip and rumors were to be heard of the king of Summeria getting drunk, it would be terrible. A sudden wave of panic found itself in Elise''s heart as she thought about everything that happenedst night. Did Loriel regret what they did and started drinking to erase thoughts about their consummation? Six months wasn''t enough to make Loriel forget about her, didn''t it? "Your Majesty?" Alina worriedly asked. Elise shook her head and got out of the bed. She started racing out of her room and looked back only once to tell her maid about her whereabouts. "I will be visiting my husband, I will go check on him myself." Then she was gone. *** When Elise arrived at the king''s banquet hall, the man was only seated alone. But Elise could see that he was really drunk. Now, for the first time, she saw her husband losing control of himself because of too much alcohol. That could only mean one thing. Last night when the two of them had sex together, Loriel was sober. This realization did notfort her at all as Elise drew closer and said, "Your Majesty?" Loriel grunted but his head was still on the table, an empty goblet rolled across the dining table to which Elise fixed as she stepped near to him. Elise wasn''t worried about herself, but only Loriel''s condition. "Loriel?" Elise called him by his name this time. He finally raised his head and looked up at his wife. "Oh, it''s you¡­" he said with a drunk smile. "Elise, you''re really beautiful...hic. You''re like a fairy." Elise didn''t know if she should be relieved that the man didn''t seem upset at her, or find it funny that he was not acting like himself. "Why are you drinking so early, Your Majesty?" "You remind me of her," Loriel said. Elise''s heart stopped cold at his words. Did this man reallypare Elise¡­ to her? "Her?" she muttered her question. Her face turned pale. . . ************** NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Hello, I just published a new book from the werewolves genre, to join AllNovelFull''s writingpetition. The title is "The King''s Wife Is The Alpha''s Mate". Please add it to your library and support me to win thepetition. xx The book is reverse-harem, nobody died, and it will be my first take on a mainstream genre. You can say I finally try to write something that (hopefully) many people like to read. This is the synopsis: THE KING''S WIFE IS THE ALPHA''S MATE Choosing him, or him? When she jumps over the academy walls to escape from her bullies, Sophie falls straight into the arms of Nichs, the kingdom''s crown prince with a sweet and sunny disposition. Sparks fly and love blossoms between the poor orphan and the prince. But... suddenly, Lnd, the dangerous new alpha of the most powerful werewolf pack in the kingdom imed her to be his mate?! Sophie is torn between two men. One calls her his wife, the other ims her his mate. The prince is warm and sweet, his love is burning like the sun. The alpha is cold and overbearing, his love is as heavy as the mountain and as cold as the winter. Which one will Sophie end up with when both sides wage war over blood, hatred, and revenge? Lnd will burn the entire kingdom just to get Sophie and avenge his race. On the other hand, the newly crowned king, Nichs, strives to drive out the werewolves that the kingdom deemed as monsters while keeping a dark secret within himself¨C He is also a werewolf. ------- You can search the book by the title and add it to your library, or you can click my username and go to my reading list called "Missrealitybites Books" and find it there. Chapter 234 - Loriels Mysterious Savior Loriel did not realize how his words were enough to change the temperature of the room. It became extremely cold, like a winter chill entering the room, but he was still drunk and consumed by his thoughts of the past. "Yes, her." Loriel nodded and swayed a little as he stood up to his feet. The man nearly copsed, but then held on to Elise as his face drew closer to her. "You''re like that fairy." "Fairy?" Elise frowned. Loriel hummed and nodded. "Yes, the fairy who saved me when I was a child." "Huh?" Elise blinked as she realized that it wasn''t Emmelyn the king was talking about. Loriel only met that woman when he was already an adult and went on adventures, so it was impossible for them to be the same person. "When I was a kid, I got kidnapped," Loriel bobbing his head up and down. "It was my evil sisters for sure, but it didn''t matter¡­ because she came." Elise didn''t remember this happening at all from when she watched him through the crystal globe in the past. But again, she only started looking at him through the crystal ball when she was old enough to understand how to use it. Since she was six years younger than Loriel, when the man was kidnapped as a child, Elise was too young to see the crystal ball. Maybe that''s why she didn''t know this fact. "The fairy?" She asked him with a hoarse voice. "Yes, she was the most beautiful person I''ve ever met," Loriel smiled drunkenly but then looked at Elise. "But somehow, you remind me a lot of her. Are you rted to fairies?" "No¡­" Elise frowned. Loriel didn''t seem to notice as he swayed again and picked up the empty goblet. "I wanted to see her again. I grew stronger because she gave me powers. A shard of magic crystal that made the weak me be who I am today." "Oh¡­" Elise wondered if this was only Loriel''s imagination? Surely when one encountered too many terrible experiences during their childhood, they could make stories to fill in the nks. But Elise wanted to trust Loriel''s words. "What happened next?" she asked him softly. "I''ve traveled across the continents, but couldn''t find her," Loriel said as he tried to drink from an empty cup. "Then I married you, so now I can''t find her anymore. I''ll probably never see her again. I think she is my first true love." Oh, so Loriel''s first true love wasn''t Emmelyn? Elise didn''t know this. So, young Loriel liked a beautiful fairy who saved him. Was it even actuallyparable? Regardless, this was what bothered Loriel now. It was not Emmelyn. This fairy person must have been really important. This fairy was more important than Emmelyn that Elise found herself a little relieved and yet guilty at the same time. She was supposed to feel sad that she once again took back an opportunity for Loriel to find his love. "Do you detest me for it?" Elise asked. "Now you can''t find her because you married me?" "No, not at all," Loriel shook his head and then finally sank back into his chair. The man rested his head against the table again. "A promise is a promise¡­ but I would love to see her again." Elise didn''t realize that there was another woman who held Loriel''s heart. An actual fairy. Well, Elise doubted that Loriel would simply throw her away if he did find the fairy now that they were married¡­ but should she really probe into it more? Elise didn''t know. The first thing that she needed to focus on though was getting Loriel to his chamber. While she could bring him back to her own chambers and residence, it was too far away. Elise never actually visited Loriel''s personal chamber too, so it also made her extremely curious. She summoned some of the servants to assist her in bringing the king to his bed and then asked for them to be left alone. Loriel was carefully tucked into bed and now looked extremely rxed. Elise did not know how much alcohol this man drank to actually achieve a state like this. She had seen him drink with fellow rulers before, but this was his first time acting childish. She brushed her fingers across his hair and tangled some of his beautiful ashen locks in her fingertips. His peaceful expression was so attractive that despite the fuss he made, she found it difficult to get mad. "Hahh¡­ what am I going to do with you, Loriel?" Elise muttered to herself. Of course, Loriel could no longer answer as the man was drifting off into sleep. It was easy enough to leave Loriel like this and perhaps forget this ever happened so he could maintain face, but Elise was really curious. All of this drinking for someone who Loriel met in the past? Even if Elise was jealous, this was a fairy who saved Loriel''s life and that was the most important thing that she could ever know. If there was a chance to thank the fairy in person or reward them for saving Elise''s husband, she would do it and also make her husband happy by figuring out the identity of this fairy. "Loriel, what are the distinguishing features this fairy had?" she asked. "She looks a lot like you," Loriel mumbled his reply. Did he really mean that? Elise pursed her lips and asked again. "Okay¡­ um, any specific object? Item? Does she use a wand? A book to cast spells? Any specific type of wings? What were her powers?" Elise knew it was strange to ask so many questions to a drunk man, but she also wanted to know. Loriel batted his eyes and stared up at Elise, until he finally lumbered out of his bed and went for his bedroom''s drawers. Even though Elise tried to stop him, somehow the man knew the location by heart. "You don''t have to get up, Your Majesty!" Elise wanted him to return to his bed to rest. "She wore this on her pinky finger when she saved me, but when she turned to leave, I think it slipped out of her finger because I tugged on her hand too hard." He took out a beautiful silver ring and held it up for the two of them to see. Elise''s heart jumped at the sight of the object. She knew who actually owned that ring! Chapter 235 - [Bonus ] Elise And The Mysterious Bird The ring was a perfect match for King Alexander''s and Queen Catalina''s wedding bands. It was an object that her mother, Catalina Leoralei always wore after she married her husband. King Alexander loved his wife so much, that despite its simple design and it was not made from the most precious jewels and stones, he fashioned their wedding rings to be how Catalina wanted them to be. So was the fairy that Loriel was speaking about Elise''s mother? Elise batted her eyes and stared down at Loriel who had returned back to bed and ced the ring on the bedside shelf. He settled back down into his bed and patted the side. "Stay with me, Elise." Elise arrived at Loriel''s bed almost by instinct and settled down beside him. She really was confused at first because it didn''t make any sense at all. Her mother, Catalina, died before Loriel was kidnapped. He mentioned that the incident happened when he was fourteen. Catalina had been long dead by then. Still, if by any crazy coincidence, her mother went out of her way to save Loriel when he was young, how did Catalina''s ring end up with Loriel? It''s impossible because Elise actually kept her mother''s ring. In fact, she had it now with her. Elise put it in her little wooden jewelry box and took it out every once in a while to remember her mother. She massaged her temple and tried to understand what happened. She had checked the ring that Loriel showed her just now. It was not just a look-alike, it was exactly the same ring, the one her father gave to her on her eighteenth birthday as a memento from her mother. "Ugh..." Elise rested her head against one of the extra pillows in Loriel''s bed and tried to think about it. She stared at the ceiling and tried to think hard. However, when Loriel''s arms snaked against her waist and pulled her closer to him, Elise got distracted. She could hear Loriel''s steady heartbeat and his warm breath tickling her ear. Despite getting drunk, the man still craved Elise''s presence and brought her back to him. She also enjoyed being so close to her husband. The sensation of her back pressed against his solid and broad chest wasforting, and slowly Elise tried to close her eyes¡­ Eventually, she fell asleep while being nestled in between his arms. *** The next morning, Loriel didn''t remember their conversation when he woke up. Instead, he woke up to a heavy hangover but quickly realized that his wife was sleeping with him in his own chambers. Did she bring him here and then sleep beside him? Loriel brushed back some of her hair aside to look at Elise''s beautiful sleeping face. How tantalizing and tempting it was to have this woman around him all the time! It was going to be a blissful and wonderful marriage if the two of them could stay like this always, he thought to himself. Unfortunately, for the king of Summeria, his days were not always peaceful and he could not stay at Elise''s side for a long time. Another one of Loriel''s brother-inws started another rebellion and he needed to deal with it. Elise made sure to grant several protection spells on Loriel in secret before the man left for another war. "Pleasee back safe," she said. Loriel chuckled and, despite the fact that there were already several soldiers and knights around them, he kissed her on the forehead. "You do not have to worry about your husband at all." Elise smiled brightly at him and nodded. "I will be waiting for you." Once Loriel and his army left Castilse and headed for battle, Elise would go back to her own chamber and start to prepare her own things. She was also leaving now that she discovered what actually happened in the past. "Your Majesty, are you leaving?" Alina asked in surprise. The queen never left her private residence at all except for important events and the maid doubted that there would be any gatherings now that there was a war for Summeria. Elise nodded and ced a finger between her lips. "Yes, I''m off to visit a friend of mine to redeem a wish. Please do not worry about me at all, Alina. I wille back soon. I will be back before my husband returns from the frontline." "We will keep your absence here undetected, Your Majesty." Alina curtsied. The maid and knights from Myreen always prioritized their princess first despite them moving permanently to Summeria. With a bright smile, Elise thanked her maid and then set off to work. She had a general gist of where this friend of hers would be and he would be the answer to solving all of the mystery involving the ring. *** Elise''s friend, the one she wanted to visit, was a bird. Well, at least he used to be a bird. That''s how she met him for the first time. It was actually quite a funny story. The memories were fresh in Elise''s memory as she borrowed one of her knight''s horses and left the royal pce to find the man. It was something that happened around nearly a year before she married Loriel. When Elise left Myreen to look for a cure to heal her father, she ended up traveling so far away near the border of Jaffa. She took one of her family''s ice dragons for easier travel. She flew with her dragon and would hunt for her food, or she would stop by in viges or towns and purchase bread. One day, she stopped by a market by one of the viges on the border to buy supply. That''s when she saw a bird that looked pitiful in its cage. There was something about the bird''s nature too that made Elise draw closer to it. His eyes looked sad and kept staring at her with a pitiful gaze. Since she had a kind heart, Elise finally decided to buy the bird. It was no ordinary bird and looked very beautiful with dark feathers and brilliant blue eyes, and there was something else hidden in the depths of its very nature. Elise paid for the bird and took it with her to the ck forest where she kept her ice dragon and nned to set it free. However, the bird suddenly transformed into a man when she tried to release him into the air. He suddenly burst into a flock of feathers and then appeared before her, naked. Elise coughed and immediately threw the cloak she was wearing at the guy. "Oh, my gods¡­!" "Haha, thank you for saving me," the man said in relief as he wore the robe and then bowed. He looked up at Elise with sparkling eyes, "I thought I would be stuck there in the market for a couple of years." "Um, what happened to you?" Elise asked. "I noticed that there was a strange and powerful magical resonance in you. Were you cursed into a bird?" "It was very subtle but you managed to see it, you must be a powerful individual." the man remarked in awe. "It''s actually a very long story, Miss¡­?" "I''m Elise," she smiled and introduced herself. "And you are?" Chapter 236 - Elise And The Time Master Elise''s mind wandered to the past as she was riding the horse toward the mountain. Because she was wearing a cape that covered her head, nobody paid much attention to her. Elise could leave Castilse easily. She made Alina keep her absence a secret by telling their butler that the queen was feeling homesick and decided to stay in her chamber for days to relieve her longing for Myreen. Elise traveled north for several days and followed the stars to show her the way. With haste spells, she managed to reach her destination in only four days, where normal people usually would need two weeks. She finally arrived at her friend''s home. "Dante!" Elise called out happily to the man situated in the cave. The man was very unconventional in his choice of living quarters, almost like a hermit, but he also happened to be a very intelligent person who preferred to stay by himself to study. Not only that though, but there was also more to his nature than what one normally could guess. He smiled brightly as he weed her into his home. "Elise, since you''ve dropped by and visited¡­ does it mean that I take it that you will be using up your wish?" Elise nodded. "Yes, I will be." Dante smiled back. The brooding man was handsome with a personality as cold as ice who only warmed up to her after she saved his life from that stupid and filthy market. Today, he was bored to death and wanted to go out when suddenly Elise came knocking on his door. Dante''s mood was instantly elevated when he saw her beautiful face. So, she finally came to redeem her wish. He was so curious to know what she would use it for. Dante exined it to her over a year ago. He was cursed to be a bird as a punishment when he lost a bet with his fellow gods. Heter introduced himself to Elise as the Time Master and granted her the wish to go back in time once as his token of appreciation. The only condition was she was not allowed to change history. Contrary to his expectation, the young woman said she would keep the wish and thought properly about what she wanted before she redeemed it. Dante asked her once what made her so undecided. Many people would want to go to the future and see what their life would be like, or go to the past and see their dead loved ones. He found out Elise''s mother passed away after giving birth to her. So, why not go back in time and see her? Elise had never seen her mother alive. Only her paintings did not suffice. So, why didn''t she redeem her wish and go to the past to see her mother? Dante thought this girl was so unpredictable. Elise only said that for a wish so important, she must not make mistakes and really thought about her options well. Fine. Dante didn''t press on the matter. He only gave her that one wish to show his gratitude and he was patiently waiting for the day she came to him and collect his debt. The day finally came muchter than he expected. It showed that Elise really took the time to think about it. "So you''ve finally decided." Dante nodded. He brushed his long ck hair with one hand, looking satisfied because he wouldn''t be burdened by debt for much longer. He continued his words, "This will only be done once, but I did not expect that you would take such a long time to assess your choices. Would you like to stay over for some tea? How is your father doing? Raphael helped you well, didn''t he?" "Yes, my father is in good health. I do not think I can stay for tea though, because I need to return to my kingdom fast." Elise smiled. "Oh," Dante looked a bit disappointed. "Um, maybe for an hour?" Elise said hurriedly when she saw his obvious disappointment. "As for Raphael, I couldn''t really imagine that Raphael himself would help me. Plus he also helped me learn more by tapping into my own magic to heal others. Although I''m not as talented as him." Loriel''s migraine never fully disappeared so Elise assumed she never managed to remove the root of the disease. "That''s wonderful to hear," Dante said. "I think it''s not so easy to actually match Raphael, Elise. He is the god of healing after all." "Yes, I was a little presumptuous to think that I''d operate on the same level," Elise blushed. "But I was trying to treat my husband''s migraine and it didn''t work at all." "Husband?" Dante''s expression shifted. His golden eyes narrowed. He didn''t like this new fact. She had a husband now??? Last year, she was not yet married when they met. Did everything change within just one year? Elise nodded. "Yeah, my husband." "You''re married now¡­ Elise?" Dante asked the obvious, just to make sure he didn''t mishear. Elise blushed and realized she didn''t tell him. "I wasn''t able to invite you, but I do not think that you''d be interested in attending an event filled with a lot of individuals. You said that your brother is the more social one, right?" "Elise, that was an important event for you," Dante feigned a smile. "I would have attended¡­ I would have arrived even before the wedding if you told me." Elise didn''t think that gods would take interest in attending to human affairs. While it was true that Loriel was a powerful king and she was a witch, the gods usually left them alone to their own time. "I appreciate the thought, Dante." Elise smiled. "But if you don''t mind, I''d like to redeem my wish now and have tea with you when Ie back." "Okay¡­ how far back into the past are we going?" Elise checked her supplies and took out a ring. A ring that her father gifted to her when she reached eighteen helped her feel connected to the mother she never met. It united her with Loriel. "Twelve years ago," she replied with determination in her voice. When Loriel was fourteen, he was kidnapped and almost died under his sister''s scheme. That was twelve years ago. Elise finally realized that the so-called fairy that her husband kept talking about when he was drunk was¡­ herself. He had never met a woman as beautiful as her at that age and since they were in the forest, he must have assumed she was a fairy or something of that sort. The ring and the fact that she had a wish to redeem from the Time Master all connected the dots for Elise. Now, she was happy she didn''t immediately redeem it when Dante offered the gift to her. It was meant for this moment. Dante looked at Elise intently and tried to read her emotions. Twelve years ago, she was still a small child. So, she was not going to the past to see herself. Her mother also was already dead. So¡­ what was so important that happened twelve years ago? He was wondering. "Okay," Dante finally replied. "But we are not allowed to change the past." Elise bobbed her head. "I promise we will not change the past." "Are you sure?" "I am very sure." Elise looked at Dante pleadingly. "Please trust me. I will share it with you so you will understand. But please¡­ bring me back to twelve years ago." . . ************ From Missrealitybites: I love "The Cursed King" because this book is the culmination of my previous books and you have read all of them, you will notice many familiar elements. It has immortals from "The Alchemists", gods and time travel from "Finding Stardust" and of course some familiar faces from "The Cursed Prince". PS: If you are reading both TCK and TCP, I am publishing TCK first today because the chapter was ready and I just needed to edit. As for TCP, I am going back to it now and will publish the new chapters soon. Now that the story ising to an end, it''s actually harder to write... ahaha. I have no idea why. I guess the feeling that I will have to say goodbye soon to the original characters is dreadful. Yes, we''ll have new characters soon with the sequel, but I can''t brush off these feelings that I will miss them (the originals) very much. PS: Thank you DespinaNY for gifting TWO DRAGONS to Elise and Loriel yesterday.. I am so grateful for your support. xx Chapter 237 - Loriels And Elises First Encounter *** Two individuals traveled through a dark forest and emerged at a vantage point that showed a small hut deep within the woods. It was so hidden and old that old vines tangled around the roof and the wooden walls were already rotting. "This is dangerous, Elise," Dante whispered to her, trailing behind the woman. "Must you really do this?" Elisen nodded and raised a finger to her lips. She silently told the man to keep quiet as she gazed at her opponents. The ''abandoned'' hut was currently surrounded by a great number of men with varying weapons. All of them looked like thugs, mercenaries, and other hired men meant to keep people out. This was where they kept young Loriel after they kidnapped him. Elise had investigated the incident by asking Horatio the details in passing. She knew where to look. Elise''s blood burned at the sight of them. She was going to fix this rather quickly by herself and, as she looked at Dante, she said. "You don''t have to do anything, I can deal with it." Dante frowned. "I can definitely help you, Elise. But..." Lightning sparked from Elise''s fingertips and she sent a st down towards the group of men. Several of the men who were holding metal weapons shrieked in pain, but others were quickly stunned and paralyzed in ce. The Time Master stared at the beautiful woman who didn''t bat an eye. People who assumed her to be a gentle beauty were bound to find themselves surprised once she showed this rather meticulous side of her. Elise sighed and rubbed her face. "I don''t think they''re hurt that much. I held back from doing actual damage. You can stay here while I retrieve Loriel." "Okay¡­" After he learned that Elise actually redeemed her precious wish to save her husband, Dante wasn''t so interested in helping and making sure that the boy was safe. He was only here to watch and make sure Elise was not hurt. However, he hade to realize that this amazing woman was perfectly capable to protect herself. She was far from a damsel in distress. Elise leaped up from the cliff andnded on the ground. The entire hut was surrounded by numerous men lying t on the ground and she passed them by and opened the door to find Loriel currently tied in a chair. Compared to him at twenty-six years old and at the prime of his life, this young boy was extremely thin and weak looking. Elise was worried if they starved the boy. She came to him and spoke gently, "I''m here now¡­" Initially, Elise''s previous wish was the chance to see her mother when Loriel and her were happily married and with children. She wanted to thank the woman who gave birth to her and reassure her mother that she was living happily thanks to her sacrifice. So, it was not that Elise couldn''t decide what she wanted, but she wanted to wait until she was happily married to Loriel before she went to the past and told her mother that she was living a good life, and Catalina shouldn''t feel worried about leaving her baby behind. For someone who never knew their mother, it was something that Elise thought so hard about when Dante told her that she could redeem a wish from him. A part of her even wished to reunite her father with her mother in the past. Elise knew that King Alexander missed his wife dearly, but that would not be fair for her father at all to suddenly see his wife and then be separated again. However, as Elise knelt down in front of the young Loriel and removed the ropes by burning them with a small me on her fingertip and tearing the bindings away, she did not regret her decision toe here. "Who¡­ who are you?" "I''m a fairy who hase here to save you," Elise replied with her sweet voice. She finally looked up at Loriel''s face and smiled brightly. The young boy''s face immediately heated up at the close contact between the two of them. It was so cute seeing Loriel like this. Almost hard to imagine that the strong Loriel in the future used to be this adorable and soft. "T-thank you," young Loriel stammered. "I wish I was strong enough so I could protect myself¡­" Ah. Was this young boy making a wish already? Elise chuckled as she stood up and checked her pouch. "If that''s the case, then I have something for you. Let''s keep it a secret, okay?" There was something that Elise''s grandmother, Myrce Leoralei, didn''t exin when Elise returned from finding the cure to her father''s ailment. The beloved crystal ball that was highly prized and was passed down from generation to generation in their family was shattered when Elise returned. Her grandmother did not exin how it happened, but Elise decided to keep a small shard as a remembrance. "You have something for me?" Loriel blushed, but then nodded eagerly. "I swear in my heart that I''ll keep it a secret." Elise realized that this was why Loriel only revealed it in the future when he was drunk. He promised to not tell a soul about his encounter with ''the fairy''. He kept quiet and even Renwyck couldn''t know what happened during the time that he was missing. Carefully, Elise ced the crystal on Loriel''s palm and said, "This will make you stronger." "Is it a magic crystal?" "Mhmm. It will help reveal your inner strength." Elise nodded and smiled. "For now though, we should go out and head back to Castilse, okay? Your parents must be incredibly worried about you." Loriel reached for her hand. "Can''t I stay with you?" Elise''s heart skipped a beat and she resisted the urge to pinch the boy''s cheek. Loriel was so cute as a kid. Even though he was already fourteen here, but his small stature and sickly appearance made him look younger. However, Elise had to shake her head. "Not right now, but in the future¡­ the two of us will meet again." "We will?" Loriel looked up to her, feeling hopeful."You promise?" "Yes. So, let''s go out now." Elise walked out of the hut with the young Loriel and suddenly found Dante waiting outside. She raised a brow at him because she left him in the forest but now he went down to meet with her. "We should get going," Dante informed her. "His family will send help soon." "Huh?" Elise blinked. "The original sequence," the Time Master exined briefly. But now was not the time for them to be sticking around too much. If Dante actually knew that Elise was going to do something like this, he might have stopped her. But it slipped Dante''s mind because he wanted to earn Elise''s gratitude and favor as well. Loriel''s eyes widened. "Please don''t leave me!" "Can''t we stay until we see that Loriel is taken care of by his people?" Elise bit down on her lip and pleaded with the Time Master. Dante shook his head. Maybe it would have been fine, but the man was kind of jealous of a mere kid. Him? A literal god jealous of such a weak human. It was a little frustrating for Dante so he turned around and opened the time portal. "He will be fine, so let us go," Dante walked towards Elise and reached for her left hand. "Please don''t make it hard for us." "Um, I have to leave now," Elise looked back at the younger boy and smiled kindly at him. This was a memory that she''d treasure. . . *********** From Missrealitybites: So, that''s why Elise didn''t remember meeting Loriel when he was younger, and Loriel in present didn''t realize the woman who saved him was his future wife, because of the age difference. Only after he found out about Elise''s friendship with the Time Master, he put two and two together. Chapter 238 - Dont You Want To Become An Immortal? Loriel immediately tugged hard on Elise''s right hand and refused to let go of the beautiful woman. It was a small tug of war, but Loriel was still really weak. Dante easily overpowered the boy and took her to the portal, and it was at that time that Elise''s ring slipped out from her finger. It was the only thing that Loriel managed to hold onto. Loriel stared into the thin air where the two of them disappeared. He didn''t know who the guy was, but Loriel immediately disliked the man for taking the fairy away. But he focused on the ring in the palm of his hand. "I¡­ I''ll return this to you, I swear!" Loriel shouted to no one in particr. The young Loriel held on to both the ring and the crystal that the fairy gave him, but before he knew it, the crystal was suddenly absorbed into his body. A bright light shed over Loriel. He felt a great warmth seeping into his body and the young boy felt his limbs strengthen, energy course into his veins and somehow he felt like had the power to stand up to his mean sisters. It really was a magical crystal! Loriel made a promise to himself to not only return the ring to its rightful owner, but he would someday be strong enough to actually repay the beautiful fairy for everything that she did to help him. The boy was left alone and stranded in the hut. When he looked around him, however, he didn''t see all of the people who kidnapped him. There was a wooden hut in the middle of the forest and an old lumberjack came out of the hut with his equipment, ready to work. "Hey¡­ what are you doing here?" the man came rushing to Loriel''s side when he saw his bruised and bloody face. "Are you all right? Who did this to you? Where is your family?" When Renwyck and the king''s guards came to the forest to get him, Loriel heard that he had been missing for a year. The crown prince didn''t understand what was going on. They also couldn''t find his kidnappers. He didn''t know that when he struggled with the Time Master, Dante identally sent him a year into the future. *** "Uff¡­ I hope Loriel is alright," Elise murmured once she and the Time Master arrived back in his home. She looked behind her back in interest as the time portal that they took finally closed. It was a type of power that Elise could notprehend right now, she wondered if it was something that one was capable of learning or if it was exclusive to the god of time alone. Dante only feigned a smile at Elise''s worry about her husband and said, "I think the two of us know that he is alright because he is now married to you. You don''t have to worry about it because everything was in the past." "Oh, right," Elise nodded sheepishly. "I just couldn''t stop myself from worrying about him. Especially when I realized that Loriel back then was so meek and shy. I''ll always remember this time fondly. Thank you so much for letting me go back in time, Dante." "It is the end of a debt," Dante nodded but then managed a real smile. "But shall we not forget about the tea that you promised to have with me?" "Of course," Elise smiled. "I can help you heat water or make certain types of flowers here in your mountains bloom so we can have rare tea as well." "You''re quite incredible," Dante couldn''t help but say. "I can''t help but wonder if your ancestors are in any way connected to one of the main gods in Cretea or the Earth Goddess looks at you so favorably." "Oh, my family has always been a powerful bloodline of witches and wizards," Elise exined. "There were rumors that our ancestor is the descendant of one of the old Earth Goddesses." "Ahh¡­ that seems more like it." Dante nodded. "I am not interested in other immortals'' private lives, but if you want, I can ask around." "What for?" Elise chuckled. "It''s been many generations. It''s not like we have anything to do with her now." "You never know," Dante shrugged. "Being descendant of a demigod has its perks. For example¡­ you might be allowed to apply for ess to Cretea." "Huh?" Elise furrowed her brows. "Cretea? I have heard about it a lot, but I am not sure I am following you here. What does Cretea have to do with me." Dante smiled mysteriously. "Cretea is OUR world. That''s where the magic in your world originated." Elise nodded. "I know that much. They said the seventh prince brought magic to humans'' world because he was sorry when he saw how difficult our life was without the ability to use magic." "Yes. So, you know that story." Dante nodded happily. "Some people are so talented and they had innate magic within themselves that was awakened after the seventh prince sprinkled the magic dust in this world. Those people became so powerful, that they could even kill gods." "I thought gods are immortals. How could they be killed?" Elise asked Dante. "Well, your definition of immortal needs some fixing. By immortal, it means that we can live forever in our current youthful bodies. We couldn''t die of natural causes. But, of course, we can die if someone more powerful than us attacks and kills us." "Oh¡­" Elise gasped. She realized Dante was right. "So¡­that means, other gods can kill each other?" "Uhm, duh?" Dante chuckled. "The seventh prince was punished by our king because the king was more powerful than him. We have other immortals who died in battles among themselves. You see, we are not all peaceful creatures. Some of us like confrontation and wars too and every year immortals die one by one for whatever reasons." "I see." "Yes.. so, those mortals who grow up to be really powerful, they could even kill gods. And what should we do if they became more powerful than regr gods? We take them in and make them one of us," Dante exined. "They could be gods too." "That sounds amazing!" Elise was surprised by this fact. So¡­ humans could actually be gods? This was news to her. Her father was very powerful. She imagined if he trained more and became even stronger, he might even reach godhood someday, and¡­ be immortal? But maybe King Alexander wouldn''t be interested in immortality since his wife, Catalina, already passed away. What was so good about living forever without the person you loved? "You have the potential," Dante finally uttered his point. "Don''t you want to be a goddess? You are quite powerful and you are only what..? Twenty? You could be beautiful and young forever." Elise was dumbfounded by the offer. A real god just offered her the opportunity to be an immortal? This felt surreal. "I-I don''t know about that¡­" Elise said in a stammer. Why would she live young forever if her husband stayed as a regr human and died in old age? She only wanted to be with Loriel. She didn''t want to live forever if she had to witness her husband''s death and then she would spend eternity in loneliness. Elise was really not interested in this offer, but she wanted to be polite. "That''s such a wonderful offer. I feel honored that you think that way about me," Elise said with a smile. "I will have to think about it." "Yes, you should think about it and let me know if it''s something you would want," Dante replied. Chapter 239 - Dante And Dimitri The Time God was surprised that this beautiful woman even needed to think about this. Normally, other people would jump in joy when they heard of such an offer. Who didn''t want to be beautiful and young forever? He liked Elise so much.. perhaps he even harbored romantic feelings for her. Wouldn''t it be nice if she was also an immortal like him? Courting her would be much easier and they would be in the same level. He had seen love stories between gods and humans that didn''t end well because the humans died early, leaving behind an empty void that ate up the partner for centuries. Or, the gods were acting like jerks because they were higher beings who could do pretty much whatever they wanted. Being equals was good for a rtionship. As for Elise''s husband, Dante couldn''t care less about him. Loriel would only live for a few more decades. Dante could wait. "Uhm¡­ I need to go back soon. When do you want to have tea?" Elise moved Dante from his reverie. Now that her mission was aplished, she wanted to go home. Her husband might return from the frontline soon. She wanted to be there to wee him. He must be tired by everything that was going on during the war. "Well, I understand that you need to get going to reunite quickly with your husband," Dante said and fought back a grimace. "I think that coincides with the direction of my brother''s home. We can have tea at his ce instead of mine." He suggested his brother''s ce because it gave him a chance to spend more time with Elise too. "Oh.. you did tell me about your brother, but I didn''t know where he lives. Where are we going?" Elise asked. "Funny thing is, he lives in Castilse," Dante replied. "Castilse?" Elise raised a brow. "Yes, your husband is the current king of Summeria based on what I gathered from the past," Dante shrugged. "Luckily, my brother is quite a huge fan of the Archus Library there and enjoys masquerading as a human to visit." "That''s amazing," Elise smiled brightly. "He seems like quite a knowledgeable person like you are." Dante blushed and coughed. "Well, he knows interesting information but sometimes, more often, is not all that useful. A god of books and trivial information is what might one call him." "Would he actually mind if we drop by there to have tea?" Elise asked. "Not at all, I think he''s actually eager to meet you," Dante chuckled. "Myreen after all is quite a hidden nation that not many, even the gods, can find unless they''re extremely powerful." Elise blinked at his words. "Huh. Does that mean that you have mentioned me to your brother?" Dante coughed. "Well, I have to exin to them how I managed to break free from my curse, haven''t I? But ah, I think we should start traveling now, Elise. We can''t waste any time." *** Elise batted her eyes in surprise when she saw there were two Dantes now. "Ah, you must be Elise Leoralei." Dante''s brother eagerly reached out and grabbed ahold of Elise''s hand. The handsome man also had long ck hair like Dante and a pair of golden irises, but his smile was warm and people could see he had a sunny personality, unlike his twin, the Time Master. "You are¡­." Elise turned to look at Dante and his brother alternately. "twins?" "Ahh¡­ can you tell??" The man asked jokingly. He winked at Elise and introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to finally be acquainted with you, I am Dimitri and my brother has spoken so much about¡ª" "Dimitri, our guest can''t stay for too long so how about you let her have a seat?" Dante cut off his brother''s incessant chattering. "My bad," Dimitriughed and then looked at Elise''s hand. "Oh, a wedding ring on the left hand and fourth finger? A well-chosen spot, it protects the Vena amoris, a vein that leads directly to your heart." Elise couldn''t help but smile. She realized what Dante meant earlier about his brother knew so many useless information. She didn''t find it all that terrible and they were actually interesting as she settled down in one of the plush sofas in Dimitri''s home. The immortal lived at a ce that was more weing and open to visitors. He wasn''t a recluse like his brother. The man talked constantly and engaged with both Elise and Dante as if they were the best of friends. "Oh, Elise, I can''t help but notice that you''re pouring a lot of milk into your tea," Dimitri pointed out. "Do you normally like milk or are you trying to ingest enough nutrients to make milk for a baby?" Elise''s eyes immediately widened as she ced down her teacup. "Huh?" Dante also red at his brother. "Could you stop with that?" "It''s one of the symptoms for pregnancy, well, a possible symptom. Have you been feeling a bit peckish for dirt or paper? I hope not because it indicates an underlying problem with your body." "Um¡­ no," Elise nervously said as she ced a hand unsurely on her belly. "But about that symptom of pregnancy?" "Oh, it seems that you''re being active in performing the duties of a wife," Dimitri chuckled and rubbed his chin. "Let''s see, a prosperous empire has proposed its first known pregnancy test, their women urinated on barley or wheat seeds. Those quickly sprouting seeds indicated pregnancy." "Uhm¡­. do I have to do that?" Elise suddenly asked. Her face instantly flushed red. "Well, for gods and powerful beings with powers, it''s easy enough to know," Dimitri smiled. "It''s not in my expertise and neither do I think that you have dabbled into magic about fertility, so the best option is asking my dear brother over here." "But he''s all about time," Elise said. "So how can he tell?" "My brother is much more powerful than me, I think he has more than enough magic to sense if there is another life currently within your womb," Dimitri exined. He turned to Dante and raised a brow. "You can tell if you try, can''t you?" Dante looked away. He could check if there was any life starting to grow in Elise''s womb, even though it was very very very early, but he refused to do it. Even if Dimitri shouted it from the rooftop, he would just cover his ears. He really didn''t want to know. "I see¡­" Elise didn''t dare to ask Dante to check her pregnancy. She didn''t think they were THAT close. It was actually a bit embarrassing. "All of us have an innate ability to distinguish between mortals and immortals, and that even applies to those who have yet to be born," Dimitri finished and then looked over towards Dante. "So what do you think, brother? Is Elise over here pregnant?" Dante tried his best not to re at his brother. Uff¡­ he didn''t want to check. Dammit! But now that Dimitri casually asked him in front of Elise, Dante felt it was rude to just say no. Finally, he slowly looked in Elise''s direction. His lips pursed. The Time Master nced at her belly for one moment and then said the words with as little pain as possible. "Yes." . . **************** From Missrealitybites: I am having fun creating video reels and pictures for the visuals. If you want to see what Alexei, Dante and Dimitri look like, you can visit my Instagram ount: @missrealitybites. I can only share the very low resolution here. Chapter 240 - [Bonus ] Surprise For Loriel Elise''s expression lit up in joy as she held on her stomach. "Really?" "My brother wouldn''t lie," Dimitri chuckled. "Congrattions, Elise! I bet that your child will be a handsome boy or a beautiful daughter." "I can''t wait to figure out whether the baby will take after me or him. My husband will be incredibly happy," Elise''s eyes pricked with tears. With a child, Loriel will finally be able to ept her as his true wife, won''t he? "Oh my, being emotional and quite moved at once is another symptom," Dimitri chuckled and then offered her a handkerchief. "Dry your tears, Elise." "Thank you, it''s just¡­" Elise wiped her tears and couldn''t help butugh a little. "This is everything I could ever wish for. To have a happy andplete family, something that would make the sacrifices of my parents worth it." Even though Catalina Leoralei would never actually see them, Elise knew that her mother would be proud. Only Elise and Dimitri were able to find this moment as happy. Dante tried to keep his cool and convince himself that it wasn''t that terrible for the woman he adored to be pregnant. He wasn''t selfish enough to want everything at once. The man could wait, but what Dante didn''t really like was the fact that Dimitri knew he liked Elise. Dimitri was even the one who said that his usually recluse brother fell in love for the first time¡­ so why was Dimitri acting like it was a joyous asion? "I need to leave at once," Elise pulled up to her feet and then smiled at the two men. "I have to apologize for excusing myself right now, but thank you so much for letting me know about my pregnancy. I can''t wait to tell the good news to my husband!" "Take it a bit easy, Elise," Dimitri chuckled but nodded genially. "You have to be careful and take care of yourself better now. One''s pregnancy is quite a fragile state for most humans." Elise slowed down a little, but nodded brightly. "I will do my best, thank you so much to the two of you again!" Then she was gone. *** When Elise returned to Castilse and the pce, she didn''t tell everyone about the news because she wanted to surprise Loriel. The man was not yet finished with dealing with the rebellion of his brother-inw, so she had time. "I wonder what''s the best way to break the news to him?" Elise asked herself. There was a great mixture in Elise''s chest. She wanted her husband to know about the term of her pregnancy while also doing something in celebration for the gift of such life. When Elise finally made a decision, she asked for Alina. "Please bring me the best and softest silks, cottons, and other fabrics. I want to start sewing a couple of items." Alina did what she was asked and yet did not have a single clue as to what the queen wanted until the sewings were done. The maid servant''s eyes sparkled with delight, but Elise told her to keep it a secret. "There''s also onest thing that I want you to do for me," Elise smiled at her servant. "I need to go to His Majesty''s chambers to get a couple of things. I will entrust you with the task of helping me out." "Yes, Your Majesty!" *** It was about a couple more days after Elise''s preparations, but Loriel soon returned tired and longing for his wife when he came back to Castilse. "Hah¡­ I should clean myself up first before I visit her," Loriel mumbled to himself and entered his own chambers. After taking a bath, Loriel tried to find his favorite shirt in his drawers but could not find it. There were several other articles of clothing that were missing as well. "I doubt that this is the work of a thief or else he would have stolen the entire wardrobe," Loriel muttered to himself. "Of course, my royal soldiers and servants are not ipetent either." Loriel could ask a servant, but he had a feeling that he already knew who was the culprit for this kind of thievery. Only one person was allowed in his wardrobes without any problems with authority. Only the queen herself could do it. Ha. "Is it because I always stay there at her chambers?" Loriel asked himself. He didn''t want his clothes there in the first ce because he did not want to give the woman any kind of false hope or whatsoever. However, right now, Loriel was actually just amused. He rubbed his forehead and shook his head. "Well, if she did it herself then there''s no stopping it. But I would have liked it if she at least said something before taking action¡­ I guess I can have a short word with her." Loriel chuckled and already imagined the cute excuses that his wife would say. Simr to how Elise managed to navigate through making up pet names for Brick, Loriel was curious on what she would say to him if she noticed that he was ''upset'' about what she''d done. He had never tried pulling up any jokes with Elise before because he kept his distance and remained respectful but detached. Now things were a little different between them. Even though Loriel was far from ever thinking of loving Elise just yet, it was also great to have a good rtionship with one''s spouse, right? Once Loriel arrived at the queen''s residence, the man quickly opened the door and stepped inside. He scanned the entire room and there was not even one piece of clothing lying around. "Where are my clothes?" he deepened his voice. Elise sat up from her chair and looked up to him. "Your Majesty, I think that if you check¡­" "I went into my room to look for my favorite shirt but it was nowhere to be found," Loriel said bluntly. . . ************ From Missrealitybites: I''m enjoying this story so much, I can write more for this. I hope you like this bonus chapter. ^^ Also... get ready to bite your nail and curse Loriel again because after this he will make Elise cry.... if you still remember the early chapters . XD Chapter 241 - Loriel Is Just Joking "Thest time you were here, you said you wanted to have some of your clothes here. So, I make it happen," Elise exined. Hershes fluttered adorably when she spoke. In modern times, Loriel would say that Elise was giving him her best puppy eyes. The king was astonished to see how cute his wife was when she behaved this way. He thought Elise was always meek and quiet, but apparently, she had this other side of her. Loriel crossed his arms on his chest and pretended to listen to Elise''s exnation with a serious face. "Hmm.. so you entered my chamber without permission to get my clothes and brought them here?" Loriel asked her after Elise finished her exnation. His words made the girl step back and press her lips with both hands, like a thief being caught stealing. Her face looked guilty. "I-I... I am sorry I didn''t ask your permission," said Elise with a low voice. "I thought that''s what you want. I am sorry for being presumptuous." Loriel was just teasing her. Of course, he wouldn''t demand Elise send pigeons to the frontline just to ask him if he would allow her to enter his chamber and get his clothes to bring to her chamber. That would be ridiculous. Besides, Elise was right. That was what Loriel wanted thest time he spent the night with Elise in her chamber. So, seeing she paid attention to what he said in passing made him feel ted. Elise was a good listener and she was observant. Loriel was happy to see Elise take initiative and did this for him. He liked a confident woman who took what she wanted and did things unapologetically. He thought It was sexy. However, seeing how cute she was when she looked guilty like this, Loriel became tempted to tease her further. "Do you understand what is the meaning of ''privacy''?" The man looked at Elise intently. "Entering another person''s private chamber without permission and rummaging their stuff is a vition of their privacy." Elise lowered her face and looked at the floor. She suddenly regretted her actions. Apparently, as she feared, Loriel thought she was presumptuous for viting his privacy by entering his chamber without permission. Actually, Elise was contemting it for days before, finally, she made a bold decision to just do it. It was not an easy decision to make and took a lot of courage since she needed to prepare for the consequences if Loriel didn''t like what she did. "I am sorry," was all she could say. Loriel cast his nce around him and noticed how his wife''s beautiful and feminine chamber was now barely recognizable. The colors in this chamber were now mostly darker and the decoration was simpler. The furniture and colors looked like something that he would choose for himself. Did Elise intentionally redecorate her chamber for him? Did she so desperately want him to move in here with her? At that moment, Loriel felt such tenderness for her. This woman obviously loved him so deeply and did everything she could to please him. "Wifey, I was joking," Loriel finally decided to stop his tease. He saw how guilty Elise looked because he ''used'' her of viting his privacy. Suddenly, he didn''t have the heart to keep ying her. She looked like she was about to cry. Elise looked up and stared at Loriel with a confused expression. "Wh-what did you say?" The man grinned and stepped forward until his front body almost touched hers. Then he tugged her chin and said, "I was joking when I said you vited my privacy by entering my chamber to get my clothes. I did say I want my clothes here. So, you did the right thing." For a moment, there was no reaction. Elise was stunned by his statement. And then, she pursed her lips. They started to tremble as tears slowly streamed down her face. Apparently, she was so distraught earlier because Loriel said she vited his privacy. As the unloved wife, Elise knew her ce. She felt like she always had to tiptoe when doing things, so her husband wouldn''t dislike her even more. She wanted to do things that make him happy and feel that her presence brought more benefit than nuisance. So, she was very conscious of his reaction. Any signs of negative response would make Elise know that Loriel disliked certain things and she would never do it again. She honestly thought he was serious when he said he didn''t like her entering his chamber and rummaging his stuff. But it turned out, he was just joking? How could he do this to her? Loriel was in a good mood and decided to joke with his queen, but then Elise looked up to him with an expression that was close to tears. Unknown to him, she was so eagerly waiting to see him and then surprise him with the fact that baby clothes were mixed in with his clothes and Elise''s. Tears started dripping on Elise''s face even before she realized it and she tried to wipe them away. But it was no use because the tears already started pouring even before she could handle them. "Why are you crying?" Loriel was confused when he saw tears streaming down hard from her eyes. He thought Elise would be happy and relieved to know that he wasn''t serious with his words. But she was actually crying? What a crybaby! Now, Loriel started to feel annoyed. Elise was too uptight and didn''t seem to have a sense of humor. Elise shook her head and wiped her tears with difficulty. Gosh... she was obviously crying but she dared lie and said she was not crying? Did she think Loriel was blind? "What? Are you offended by my joke?" Loriel asked curtly. "I was just teasing you. I thought you would get the joke." Emmelyn would get his joke and y him back. However, Elise was too uptight. His mood was now ruined by her tears. When Loriel saw her today, looking so beautiful and alluring, he was immediately turned on and wanted to spend some time with her, perhaps making out and then making sweet love together. He had been missing her body for more than two months while he was away. It was so hard to stay in the frontline, especially after he just consummated his marriage with a really sexy wife. Her beautiful face, her naked body, and her sexy moans were all he could think about as hey down to sleep in the tent alone at night. Now that she was here with him, Loriel wanted to vent his longing for her body. That''s why he kissed her and took her to her chamber. But now the mood was gone. He just wanted to go to his chamber and sleep. "I-I''m not crying¡­" Elise was such a bad liar. The sight of tears on Elise''s face suddenly made Loriel feel upset as well. He wasn''t even trying to pin the me with her. "Why are you so sensitive? It''s no good being around you like this," he said in annoyance. Elise tried to wipe her tears, and tell him that she was pregnant but no words came out of her mouth. She was genuinely hurt, that instead of Loriel trying tofort her, all the man did was speak harshly. Loriel shook his head and turned around to leave the chamber. Elise could only cry as his back disappeared from view. *** After he left her chamber, guilt suddenly wormed its way to Loriel''s stomach, but he was already far away and didn''t have the pride to return to Elise''s chambers. Instead, the man called for the royal physician toe and visit Elise. "Make sure that the queen is alright, Zaff," Loriel told the man. "I just came to see her but then she suddenly started crying even though I didn''t say anything wrong." "I will do so, Your Majesty." Zaff nodded without a word. There was a lingering suspicion in the royal physician''s mind, but he needed to confirm things first before he told the king. *** Once Loriel left the room, Elise sank back down to her chair and covered her face for a moment. She was relieved that Alina was not around this time or it would have been painful to watch. Elise was extremely disappointed in how things ended with her conversation with Loriel. She was so excited about telling him the news of her pregnancy that she did not think about how he would react. Loriel was always organized and careful with his belongings, touching them without permission¡­ She should have expected this kind of result. However, Elise had hoped that Loriel stayed long enough to listen. She did not know how she would approach him this time to tell the news¡­ A knock interrupted Elise''s thoughts. She wiped her tears and tried to look fine before she opened the door. She saw Zaff standing in front of her chamber. "Your Majesty, it is the royal physician. His Majesty has told me toe and visit you, Your Majesty." Zaff said. "Oh, pleasee in¡­" Elise wondered if it was because Loriel thought she was problematic so he sent Zaff? A bitter and sad smile appeared on her face as the royal physician stepped inside of her chambers. "Your Majesty, my apologies foring here without your prior approval, but His Majesty was worried about you and did not know what to do except to summon me when he saw you in tears," Zaff said. He noticed the redness in the queen''s eyes. "Oh¡­ did he?" Elise blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Yes, Your Majesty," Zaff nodded. "So if I can conduct a couple of tests, Your Majesty? I will be reporting your current health and condition with His Majesty after this." "I see," Elise smiled a little bit. It was not hard for Elise to remember that when Loriel braved the mountains to get her rare herbs, it was Renwyck who approached Elise to present them to her. Now that Elise cried, it was also another person who came that was sent by Loriel. Elise realized that her husband was not great at expressing his emotions and intent to her in person, but it did not mean that Loriel was a terrible person. On the contrary, Elise was extremely touched. She hoped that someday, Loriel himself would be the one to approach her and not other people. . . **************** From Missrealitybites: I know you already read some part of this scene in the early chapters, but I believe it''s important to show it again, this time in full context. Btw, I cut the words before publishing this chapter so it will only cost 7 coins, even though it has 1800 words (9 coins). Chapter 242 - Your Wife Is Pregnant "Your Majesty, your wife is pregnant." Zaff barged into Loriel''s room and announced the good news. "What did you say?" Loriel asked the physician to repeat the information he conveyed in passing just now. "She is pregnant?" They just did the deed once, right? Well, several times, but in the span of one day. And she was pregnant already? "Are you sure?" Loriel asked again. "Your Majesty, it is easy for a woman to get pregnant when you engage in¡ª" "I know that. I''m not stupid." Loriel held a hand up and rubbed his forehead. So was Elise''s crying a symptom of her pregnancy? Despite him not knowing, his actions were terrible enough to elicit tears. "Argh, how could I be so stupid?" The royal physician did not know what to say to the man who called himself stupid and not stupid at the same time. It was easy enough to guess that His Majesty did something that made the queen feel upset because Zaff noticed the tears on the queen''s face before the test. Although he tried to help a little in soothing the queen, it was not enough for the royal physician to do the job. So, maybe the king and queen had an argument and now the queen was upset. Uff... it''s not good for their baby. Zaff the physician nodded. "Your Majesty. Ah... I am sorry, I shouldn''t have said anything. I thought Her Majesty has told you about it. She must want you to hear it from herself." Zaff was quite close to the king, so he didn''t feel the need to pretend not to see Loriel kiss Elise earlier today. Loriel furrowed his brows. "No, she didn''t say anything. She just¡ª" His mind went back to the event several hours ago. Elise was crying before she could tell him that she was pregnant. Because he made her cry with his stupid joke. Now, Loriel realized how inappropriate it was to tease his wife with something that she was obviously tip-toeing about and at the time when her pregnancy hormones made her mood messed up so terribly. "So... how many months in?" Loriel suddenly realized his question was stupid but he couldn''t help it. The question was already out of his mouth. "Don''t answer that," The king hurriedly said. "So.. during her pregnancy, she will be easily upset and I have to expect a lot of tears?" "Yes, Your Majesty, The queen will also need a lot of care and support from the king around this time," Zaff informed him. Loriel looked at the royal physician and nodded. "Yes, I have already considered that. There''s no denying that it is what I need to do to make it up to her¡­ er, to take care of the child in the womb. They will be my heir." "Yes, Your Majesty." He let out a long sigh. The man turned around and looked outside the window at the emerald tower where her wife''s chamber was located. What was she doing now? Was she still crying? She didn''te to the dining room to eat dinner together with him. Did she even remember to eat something? Gosh.. that woman. Shouldn''t she pay attention to the baby in her womb? *** Loriel decided to visit Elise in her chamber. He asked the butler, Horatio, to bring a tray filled with food for his wife. He would make it his excuse toe to her. "Elise." Loriel knocked on Elise''s door. "Please open the door." He waited for five minutes before the door was opened from the inside. There, he saw his wife stand by the doorway. "Your Majesty." Elise curtseyed. She was no longer crying. Loriel suspected that it took her a while to open the door because she was pulling herself together and removing the traces of tears from her face. He decided not to discuss it, pretending that he didn''t know. Didn''t Zaff tell him not to make his wife stressed? "Have you eaten?" Loriel asked her. His right hand signed Horatio to bring food inside. Elise looked up and pursed her lips when she saw the butler enter her chamber with the tray. "Your Majesty..." she said with a halting voice. Loriel furrowed his brows when he heard her tone. "Yes?" Elise turned to Horatio and pointed at the man. "Can''t I have my privacy here that a butler can just enter my chamber without asking my permission?" Loriel raised his hand and motioned Horatio to stop. The butler was frozen in ce and looked at the king and queen alternately. He halted his movement so suddenly that it looked funny. He was half walking when he stopped and one of his legs was only inches away from the floor. After Loriel motioned him to stop, he was standing in that funny position, not daring to move an inch. "I was worried about you, so I asked Horatio to bring you food," Loriel exined. He was annoyed by the fact that Elise seemed to intentionally pick a fight with him by throwing back his words at him. He was the one who ''used'' Elise of viting his privacy by entering his chamber without permission. And just now, Loriel did exactly the same thing. He only knocked and, before Elise allowed him toe in, he told Horatio to enter with food. Now that he was faced with the same situation, Loriel no longer felt his teasing her earlier was funny. Deep inside, he felt frustrated because he couldn''t joke around with her. She was too uptight. Was it her.. or was it her pregnancy hormones? Loriel didn''t know. He had never had a pregnant wife before. "I am sorry for being presumptuous." Finally, Loriel took the high way and apologized. If it was other people, he would angrily tell them that as the sovereign of this empire, he had the right to enter anywhere he pleased, no need to ask for anyone''s permission. However, since this woman was his wife and she was currently pregnant with his child, Loriel decided to lower his pride and please her. His change of attitude surely surprised Elise. It also made her confused. Why did a king apologize to her? Did this mean, Elise was right? "Thank you for the food," Elise said. "I am not hungry." "But you have to eat," Loriel insisted. "Even if you are not hungry, you have to eat for the baby in your womb." Elise pressed her lips when she heard Loriel''s words. She had not told him about her pregnancy because... Well... because he made her cry earlier. But now he already knew? Who told him? "Zaff told me," said Loriel, as if reading her mind. "Now, will you let me in to bring you food, or...?" Elise was still dazed when she stepped back, giving a sign to Loriel to enter her chamber. Loriel gave Horatio a side-eye and the butler immediately stepped in with the tray of food. He put the tray on the table in the middle of the chamber and stood by to wait for Loriel''s next order. "You can go," said Loriel. Horatio bowed down and took his leave, leaving the monarchs to enjoy their privacy. After the door was closed, Loriel turned to Elise and asked her, "Don''t you have anything to say to me?" Elise shook her head. "There is nothing I have to say that you don''t already know, Your Majesty." Her calling him using honorific when they were in private like this, somehow, annoyed Loriel. He didn''t know why. Apparently, he was already used to hearing her sweet voice calling him by his name when there were just the two of them. His brows twitched. "Don''t you think I deserve to hear it from you personally?" Elise bit her lip and she looked down. She did want to tell him personally, but what happened earlier today ruined everything. Secretly she med herself for being so uptight that she didn''t get his joke. Instead, she became a crybaby about it. She could see he was disappointed in her when he left her chamber and went to his ce. Elise felt so bad that she no longer had the desire to do anything. She lost her appetite and didn''t want to go down to eat. She was sure Emmelyn must have got his joke and be cool about it. And this thought was killing her from the inside. She thought Loriel and her already got something when he decided to consummate their marriage, and she felt so blessed when she became pregnant immediately. But now, they were back to square one. "Wifey, look... I am sorry for teasing you earlier today. I was not supposed to do it." Loriel spoke gently. He was older than her and must know better. "I don''t mind you entering my chamber and going through my things. I did say I want my clothes here. So, you did the right thing." He continued his words when he saw Elise''s tears were slowly dripping down her cheeks. "Thank you for taking the initiative and for paying attention to what I was saying, no matter how small." Elise''s body started to tremble. Loriel stepped forward and touched the corner of her left eye to wipe the tear that was forming there. Then, he wiped the tear on her right eye. This gesture only made Elise cry even harder. . . ************** OMG... I actually feel sorry for Loriel here. He didn''t mean bad. It''s just endless unfortunate events and bad timings on his side. PS: For chapters with repeated scenes, I am reducing the coin price so you don''t have to pay extra coins for them, because I want you to have an uninterrupted reading experience. It will be such a hassle for you to go back to chapters 49-51 just to re-read this scene. Chapter 243 - Loriel Moves In "What happens now?" Loriel asked in confusion. Elise didn''t say anything. She just buried her head in his chest and cried silently. Loriel was astonished and for a moment didn''t know what to do. How to coax a crying woman? He was not good at this type of thing. The woman he loved almost never cried. Emmelyn only cried twice before him and it was then Loriel realized things had be too hard for her¡­ so he offered to step in and help her. But Emmelyn''s situation back then was really, really dire, so Loriel understood why she broke down and cried. However, this woman he married cried so many times for trivial reasons. So, Loriel didn''t know when her tears were shed because things had be so hard for her, or if it was just her pregnancy hormones. After his shirt was damp with her tears, he slowly wrapped his arms around her back and hugged her. He didn''t know what to do with a crying wife, but he thought she would like him to hold her. After several minutes, finally, Elise''s tears subsided, and her faint sobs were no longer heard. Loriel stepped back to look at her face. "Are you done crying?" Elise nodded faintly. "You should eat something," said Loriel. He took her hand and led her toward the small table where Horatio put the tray of food. Elise sat on the sofa and obediently took the te of food and ate slowly. She realized Loriel was right. No matter how awful the food tasted, she had to eat something. Now she realized how hard it must have been for her mother when the queen of Myreen was pregnant with her. Elise took after her mother who had a frail body. During her pregnancy, she had a really bad mood swing, her whole body felt sore, the food tasted horrible, and she couldn''t sleep well. It was torture. But.. she loved her baby and didn''t mind going through hell and back for him. Loriel watched Elise eat her food. As he looked at her side profile, he realized Elise had gotten thinner than thest time he saw her before he went to the battlefield. Was she suffering because of her pregnancy? He was wondering. His gaze went down to her abdomen. She had not shown a protruding tummy. It was still t. How big was their baby inside her now? Would it be a boy¡­ or a girl? What would he want? He was asking himself. Ah, it would be better to have a son, Loriel thought. A son could take over power from him. Loriel could retire when his son was of age to be the next king. There would be no power struggle if he had an heir. But a daughter would be nice too. He remembered Emmelyn had a daughter and she was the most beautiful and cute little girl he had ever seen. That little girl could easily make even the most ferocious beast be weak and gentle toward her. Loriel looked at his wife and thought Elise was much more beautiful than Emmelyn. If they had a daughter together, she would definitely look even cuter than Emmelyn''s daughter. Loriel had to pinch himself for thinking that. This was not apetition, wasn''t it? It''s not apetition, but he was certain that he would have a more beautiful and cute daughter. A faint smile unknowingly curved up on his face. A daughter sounded good too. Anything would do, as long as their baby was born healthy, he finally decided. *** After Loriel made sure that Elise ate her food. The man took his leave. When he met Horatio outside her chamber, he waved at the butler and called him toe closer. "Call my servants toe here and deliver my things to the queen''s residence. I will be moving there to stay with her throughout this period." Horatio was pleasantly surprised by this request. Ahh¡­ it seemed, the king and his wife had warmed up to each other. He had heard from Zaff that the royal family was expecting a baby. The butler thought this was such a joyous asion for the Ashborns. He could tell that King Loriel wanted to care for his wife by moving into her chamber. The butler nodded respectfully and he spoke with a wide smile "Yes, Your Majesty. I wille to your chamber with several servants and do it right away." "Hmmm.." *** "Your Majesty," Elise looked up to Loriel''s sudden visit in surprise. The man was apanied by several servants and all of them were carrying a number of things. "Elise," Loriel nodded. "Pardon my intrusion, but I will be moving here now and my servants have brought my clothes." Although she did expect that Loriel woulde and check on her condition since she was pregnant with his child, Elise did not expect it to happen so soon. "Oh¡­??" Elise could only mutter in surprise. Loriel looked at Elise ufortably at first, but then cleared his throat. "I will be staying here to take care of you. You are the mother of my child so I will do my best to take care of the both of you." "O-oh¡­ alright, Your Majesty," Elise nodded. "Understood." There was no stopping it, either way, the servants already brought the entirety of Loriel''s belongings and not just a few articles from his room. The servants brought them to the drawers and organized them carefully. Loriel saw the small clothes that were mixed in with his wardrobe. The man picked up a small pair of mittens and then looked questioningly at Elise. "Did you make this?" Elise froze for a moment but then nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. I made them when I learned I was pregnant..." "They are beautiful," Loriel said as he looked at the soft baby blue color. So this was for a baby boy? He turned to Elise andmented, "I did not know that you can knit. I would have not expected that you knew how to work with your hands." Elise stared at her husband with a mixture of confusion. The man saw her gardening right? "I was wrong and have misjudged you as usual," Loriel clenched the mitten carefully and then approached his wife. "This time, you are free to tell me the things that I should change now that you are pregnant." Elise looked up at him. "Huh?" "For example, I was trying to joke earlier, but instead you cried¡­" Loriel averted his gaze. "I am not good at dealing with someone as delicate as you. So if you can teach me¡­ tell me what you want, I will do better." "You will do all of this because I am now pregnant with your heir?" Elise asked and was surprised at his consideration. "Yes, that is the reason for all of this." Loriel nodded. Elise stared at her husband and then shook her head. "Then Your Majesty do not need to do them. I assure you that I will be alright and I will give birth to a healthy child, Your Majesty. There is no need to put in too much effort." "Then I should do as I want?" Loriel asked. "Yes." "I will proceed to what I have nned then," Loriel decided atst. "Even if you do not say anything, I will just do my best to be more receptive to what you need, Elise. I hope that you can befortable throughout this period." Elise didn''t really understand why he would go this far, because all Loriel needed to do was make sure that Elise was in good health. He didn''t have to move here or actually participate in taking care of the ''child'' now because it was not yet born. But Loriel wanted to take care of her. Chapter 244 - Pregnant Womans Libido "Are youfortable?" Elise batted her eyes at this question. She was still dazed at the fact that her husband was now staying in her chamber and was ready to sleep on her bed, next to her. It felt surreal. Usually, he was only here toin about his headache and then left to sleep in his own chamber. Now he really would sleep here until morning? She held her breath and couldn''t immediately reply, which made Loriel feel worried. "Is something wrong?" the man asked. Elise finally found her voice and shook her head. "N-no¡­ I''m fine." "Are youfortable?" Loriel repeated his question. "Zaff told me pregnant women will experience a lot of diforts. You must let me know if there is anything you need, to make your pregnancy morefortable." Elise bit her lip and tried hard to hold back her forming tears. Her husband seemed to care so much about her baby. This was such a wonderful thing. She was d she got pregnant immediately. Loriel really showed that he would be a good husband to her. It''s okay if he had not loved her at this moment, Elise believed his love would grow. Deep inside, she was grateful. Her husband didn''t love her but he treated her well, paid attention to her need, and on the rare asion that he messed up by saying things that hurt her feeling.. they were not done out of bad intention. He just didn''t know that those words hurt her. Also¡­ Elise''s pregnancy hormones were crazy and her mood swing was the worst. Some of his words were actually not hurtful in a normal situation. She was just being extremely sensitive. Like yesterday, he was only joking about not wanting Elise to go through his stuff. The proof was today he brought all his stuff to her chamber. So, she really didn''t mind. It was just a joke uttered in bad timing. If Loriel could treat her well even though he was not in love with her, Elise imagined her husband would treat her even better than this when his love for her finally grew. She couldn''t wait for that day toe. Elise shook her head. "No¡­ I''m fine. Thank you." "Okay." Loriel looked relieved. "Then, we better sleep now." He took off his shirt and folded it nicely. He put it on the table next to the bed and then he got ready to take off his pants. He only slept with his underpants because it was morefortable that way. Elise''s eyes bulged when she realized Loriel would sleep with her, half-naked. She swallowed and looked the other way. Ahh¡­ the memory from their consummation immediately filled her mind. Her cheeks flushed red. She was already in her nightgown without wearing anything underneath, ready for bed. Yet, suddenly she felt like she was naked. She couldn''t stop her brain from thinking about the time when Loriel kissed her, fondled her breasts, and prated her from several different positions. They all felt so good. Uff¡­ Elise cupped her face with both hands to hide her embarrassment. She hoped Loriel didn''t see it. "Come on, get on the bed," Loriel ordered. He already climbed the bed and made a big room for Elise beside him. "You should rest aplenty." Elise nodded weakly and went to bed. She waved her hand and all the candles but one were turned off. The chamber was dimly lit, perfect for sleeping. Loriel noticed her awkward attitude and furrowed his brows. "We have slept together before. I have seen you naked, and you have seen me naked too. You shouldn''t feel embarrassed at seeing your own husband''s body," he said as a matter of factly. Elise didn''t reply. She was shy. It was true that they had had sex, but it was only a few times, in a span of one day¡­ They had not done it again for months because Loriel was away. And now Elise was pregnant. Even if she wished he would have sex with her again, he might not want to do it because the objective had been achieved. He slept with her to get an heir. And it was Elise''s duty as a wife, also as the queen of this country, to produce a son for her husband. Now, there was no more duty to do. She shouldn''t even think about being intimate with him again. Shey down beside Loriel and closed her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt his hands wrapped around her waist and hugged her. Was this real? She thought she was dreaming. If this was a dream, she didn''t want to wake up. "Good night," Loriel moved closer and tightened his hug. Now, their bodies were touching. Elise had to manually control her lungs to breathe again. Her mind was still so shocked. She loved sleeping in his embrace. She always dreamed of this after they got married. However, Loriel never slept with her until morning. This was the first. The only time they were together until the morning after the consummation was when he was drunk. He probably didn''t remember it. "You should sleep¡­" Elise heard Loriel speak to her softly. It made her heart flutter and she couldn''t help but curve up a faint smile on her lips. "Okay," she replied with a barely audible voice. Elise closed her eyes and tried to sleep. It was so hard to do with her husband''s half-naked body pressing on hers from behind. It was so warm and cuddly. She almost felt loved. Meanwhile, Loriel also couldn''t sleep. He actually really liked their sleeping situation now. He didn''t know that sleeping while hugging her soft body would feel so¡­fortable. He could also smell her scent. It was intoxicating. Elise smelled like blooming roses or even¡­ jacaranda. So sweet and calming. The man got carried away and started kissing her nape. Elise''s heart slowly raced. She liked being kissed on that part. It sent shivers down her spine, a good kind of shiver. "You always smell so good," Loriel muttered. "I really like it." Elise bit her lip and smiled. She loved hearing his voice,plimenting her. His words warmed her heart and somehow grew her courage. Elise slowly turned around, facing Loriel. Now their faces were only inches apart from each other. The chamber was dim because there was only one candle lighted, but since both were already used to the darkness, they could see each other well. Loriel''s eyes glint in amusement when he saw his wife take initiative and face him. He looked at her deeply, admiring her beautiful features. Gosh¡­ she was truly the most beautiful woman in the world. At least that''s what he thought. Loriel had traveled far and wide and met so many people throughout the years. He had never met anyone as beautiful as Elise. Seeing her husband''s expression didn''t show any signs of feeling bothered, Elise mustered up the courage. She tilted her head and nted a kiss on his lips. Loriel''s eyes bulged in surprise. He didn''t expect his wife to take a step this bold. She kissed him first!! After the initial shock, Loriel immediately returned her kiss with more passion. He was very happy. Elise didn''t have much experience in kissing and her movement was slightly awkward, but Loriel thought her kiss was so great, just because she took the initiative. He started to see his wife differently. Elise couldn''t hold back any longer. When she looked at her husband''s handsome face, his sweet smile, and the fact that he was hugging her¡­ she was aroused. She wanted him. So badly. She didn''t really know why.. maybe she was addicted to their lovemaking because it was so great? Or¡­ was this caused by pregnancy hormones? She heard that some women had higher libido when they became pregnant. Elise stopped thinking. Her mind was in a mess. Loriel''s kiss had quickly ignited the desire in her heart. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to feel his muscles, hear his panting breath, she wanted him to enter her and fuck her all night long. "Ohh¡­. Loriel¡­" Elise whispered between her breath¡­ She wanted to ask him to have sex with her, but she was too embarrassed. So, she halted her words. Loriel was in a daze. When she called his name, the words sounded so sweet in his ears. What was it that she wanted? Why did she stop? "Yes..?" The man let go of his kiss and looked at her deeply. He touched her cheek and waited for Elise to continue her words. She bit her lip in frustration. She still couldn''t say it. Her hand touched his bare chest and traced it, down to his stomach¡­ and lower¡­ until she reached his bulge. Loriel got the second shock of his life after Elise initiated the kiss earlier. What¡­? She wanted sex too? He didn''t know whether he should feel worried or proud. Worried that Elise was pregnant but she wanted him to prate her. Proud that his shy little kitten had metamorphosed into a really sexy cat. He immediately remembered some facts he read in a book from the library. Pregnant women might have an increase in libido. So, he assumed that was what happened with his wife. Well, he had no problem if she wanted him to fuck her. In fact, he would feel delighted. His wife was really hot and he still remembered the night when they consummated their marriage. She was oh so delicious. He couldn''t forget what it felt like when his manhood tasted the inside walls of her pussy. It was one of the bests, if not the best, pussy he had ever put his penis in. Loriel loved the feeling of being mped tightly by her throbbing walls and heard her moan sexily, calling his name. However, would it be safe for her pregnancy if he fucked her now? . . ************** From Missrealitybites: I decided to write snusnu for them in the next chapter. What do you think? It wille in the chapter for tomorrow though because I want to write it properly. So, I can''t rush it for today. Btw, I know you are hating Loriel now, but I think if you see how good he is to Elise during her pregnancy, you will slowly like him again. ************** NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Hello, I just published a new book from the werewolves genre, to join AllNovelFull''s writingpetition. The title is "The King''s Wife Is The Alpha''s Mate". Please add it to your library and support me to win thepetition. xx The book is reverse-harem, nobody died, and it will be my first take on a mainstream genre. You can say I finally try to write something that (hopefully) many people like to read. This is the synopsis: THE KING''S WIFE IS THE ALPHA''S MATE Choosing him, or him? When she jumps over the academy walls to escape from her bullies, Sophie falls straight into the arms of Nichs, the kingdom''s crown prince with a sweet and sunny disposition. Sparks fly and love blossoms between the poor orphan and the prince. But... suddenly, Lnd, the dangerous new alpha of the most powerful werewolf pack in the kingdom imed her to be his mate?! Sophie is torn between two men. One calls her his wife, the other ims her his mate. The prince is warm and sweet, his love is burning like the sun. The alpha is cold and overbearing, his love is as heavy as the mountain and as cold as the winter. Which one will Sophie end up with when both sides wage war over blood, hatred, and revenge? Lnd will burn the entire kingdom just to get Sophie and avenge his race. On the other hand, the newly crowned king, Nichs, strives to drive out the werewolves that the kingdom deemed as monsters while keeping a dark secret within himself¨C He is also a werewolf. ------- You can search the book by the title and add it to your library, or you can click my username and go to my reading lists called "Missrealitybites Books" and find it there. Chapter 245 - Making Love ** "Hmm¡­" The man grinned and looked at his wife with glee. "Aren''t you tired?" Elise bit her lip and shook her head very slightly. Her cheeks flushed red. Her whole body was heated. It was a cold night in spring but she didn''t feel the low temperature. Loriel felt her body warm-up in his arms. Now that they were in this state, he realized he should do something. Elise would feel rejected if her first time initiating sex was turned down by him. It would ruin her self-confidence, and worse yet, she would stop trying in the future. Loriel couldn''t let it happen. So he decided to give what she wanted, and do it carefully and gently, to avoid anything bad from happening. He tilted his head to im her lips. He devoured those cute full red lips and slid his tongue to give her a passionate and hot kiss. Elise was enthralled and immediately close her eyes to enjoy his outpouring of passion. This felt so sweet, her body melted in his embrace. Loriel slid his hand from under her nightgown and traced her inner thighs gently. He smiled when he felt she was writhing like crazy because of his action. He rubbed her thighs alternately with barely-there touches and then he went to that special ce between her thighs. Elise let out a low moan when Loriel''s fingers opened her fold and started rubbing her clit. It was soon overflowed with love juice. She grabbed his shoulders and gripped them tightly as his fingers danced on her flower, and slowly he put one finger in. "Ahhh¡­" Elise''s sweet moan was the easiest thing to make Loriel turned on. He felt his manhood throbbing, asking for release. He inserted his second finger and closed his eyes, imagining his penis was inside his wife. He used his index finger and middle finger to prate Elise''s pussy while his thumb yed with her clit in a circr motion. He did it so expertly, that Elise felt so much pleasure coursing through her body. The pleasure intensified so quickly, that in no time Elise let out a long moan and arched her body. Her breath panting and her body shaking, as she clenched her fingers on his shoulders. Loriel felt the rapid beating of his wife''s heart. His own heart was swelling with joy. Why was it so easy to please this woman? He didn''t even need to work hard. He looked at her face which was covered in sweat, looking so sexy and alluring. She closed her eyes and smiled faintly. Elise looked like a goddess. She was so beautiful and had that child-like innocence about her. Loriel was dazed and couldn''t take his eyes off of her. Secretly, Loriel thought he might be able to love this woman sooner orter. She was beautiful, sweet, had a good personality, caring, and low maintenance. He would be dumb not to see all those qualities. If he had never fallen in love with another woman before, he could see himself falling so easily for Elise. The problem was, he already did the love was unrequited. It was painful and his heart was no longer full. After it was broken, some parts of his heart still needed fixing. He couldn''t force himself to love Elise, even though he knew she was a good woman and it would be so much easier for everybody involved if he could love his wife. But as they said, the heart wants what it wants. And right now, it didn''t want Elise. His brain saw all her good qualities and his body desired her. He also thought their sexual rtionship was good. However, love and lust were two different things. He lusted over her. He needed her. But he didn''t love her. Loriel sighed. He really wish he could love her, now that they hade to this point. They had consummated their marriage and also had a baby on the way. He must learn to love her. Loriel kissed Elise on the forehead and hugged her tightly in his embrace. Elise felt her heart so warm and fuzzy and she rested her head on his chest, together with her hands. After her palpitating breath calmed down, Elise looked up to see Loriel''s face. Her voice was so small when she asked him, "What about you? You haven''t got your release¡­" Loriel shook his head and smiled. "I''m okay. You should sleep now." Elise pouted and before Loriel could stop her, she had slid her small hand inside Loriel''s pants. ".¡­" Loriel''s eyes bulged when Elise started stroking his manhood with her right hand. His penis was still hard but he didn''t want to do full-blown intercourse, worried that it would affect Elise''s pregnancy. So, he already nned to self-pleasure himself after his wife was asleep. But Elise ruined his n. She massaged his shaft gently and this made the king feel shivers all over his body. She was not doing a good job because she was inexperienced. So, it made him feel more sexually frustrated. "Uff¡­ don''t do it, wifey¡­" He whispered. "You will tire your hand." Elise''s movement halted. She could tell that she was not doing it well and tears were slowly forming in the corners of her eyes. "But.. I want you to feel happy too¡­" she whispered amidst her tears. "I am happy¡­" Loriel quickly replied. "But¡­. you haven''t cum," Elise said again. "It must feel awful to be teased but unable to finish¡­" "..." Loriel was now really at a loss for words. How could she be so understanding? His penis throbbed uncontrobly. Her words now sounded so sexy in his ears and they turned him on so much. Having a sex partner who showed how much she cared about his pleasure really made him feel touched. It''s true Elise was not great at handjob, but it is the thought that counts. Besides, she was new on this sex thing. She had a long way ahead of her to learn and Loriel would be happy to teach her. But maybe not tonight. He really didn''t want her to tire her hand. So, Loriel finally decided to just prate her and be done with it. He would get his release, and his wife would be happy, she could finally rest. "Very well¡­." the man chuckled. He took off his underpants and tossed them on the floor. "Let''s have sex." He peeled her nightgown off her body and started kissing and groping her all over. "I will do it gently and slowly¡­" Loriel said to Elise before he kissed her lips and pressed on her body. He noticed his wife''s eyes glint with excitement. Ahh.. so, this was what she wanted but to shy to say it openly. She wanted him to make love to her fully and unite their bodies as one. Loriel lowered his kisses to her corbone, her chest her breasts. He kneaded her left breast with one hand and yed with her clit with his other hand, while his mouth feast on her right nipple and then alternated with the left. Elise bit her lip to hold back her moans. Her body writhed and she squirmed under him as Lorie continued pleasuring her. When he finally entered her, Elise felt like she was finally free and let out a long moan. Loriel continued thrusting and along with his movement, Elise''s body, too, was dancing erotically along with his tempo, as he groaned softly. Elise''s sweet moans turned him on, even more, Loriel went harder and faster. Dammit. His resolve to be gentle flew out the window. He kept pumping faster and faster and finally¡­ right after Elise got her next orgasm, Loriel got his release. His body trembled for a few minutes as he squirted his seeds deep inside her. Elise felt a load of a warm and thick liquid fill her womb and seeped slowly out of her pussy. She didn''t know why, it made her feel so happy. Loriel rolled to the side and pulled her to his embrace. Dammit. He just fucked his wife. He realized now how weak was his self-control around this woman. *** When Elise woke up the next day, she woke up to the scent of fragrant tea and saw that Loriel was already awake. The man was carrying a small tray that held a bowl, teapot, and a cup. "Oh, you are already awake," Loriel nodded at her with a small smile. "I have made you some herbal tea that Zaff has suggested me to make during your condition. There is also something that the royal chefs have prepared for your breakfast." "... " Elise was dumbfounded by her husband''s sudden change in attitude. She could only mutter, "Thank you very much." Elise looked up at him with both surprise and a bit of suspicion. He was so sweet right now that Elise needed to be careful to not mistake it for any affection directed to her specifically. Loriel was doing this all because she was pregnant.. It did not mean that Elise was unhappy, but she wished that he did all of this even before she was pregnant. Chapter 246 - The Doting Husband Loriel ced the tray carefully on the bedside table, close to Elise before he suddenly moved to the foot of the bed. Then, what he did next was totally unexpected. The man lifted the nkets and then situated himself close enough to touch her feet. Elise quickly looked up to him startled when he touched her feet. "W-what¡­ what are you doing, Loriel?" Elise asked atst. "I am trying to give you a foot massage," Loriel exined. "Zaff has told me that pregnant women''s feet can get a bit swollen and sore so I will prevent it from happening. You should not suffer if I can help it." "..." The truth was that Loriel went to the library and picked up some books about taking care of pregnant women. He did his best to absorb all the necessary information and then implement them today to the best of his ability. As a first-time father, he wanted to make sure that his wife had the mostfortable pregnancy. "Oh¡­ it seems a bit too much," Elise couldn''t help but say. Would he say that a foot massage was good for the baby too? Wasn''t this only thinking about the woman itself? "Do you not want me to touch you?" Loriel asked bluntly. "If you refused to have me touch you, then I have to think of another way to take care of your health." Elise pursed her lips and then looked away. "Why not have some tea with me first? Did you have breakfast already, Loriel?" Loriel actually had not eaten yet. It was as if he found a new source of energy by putting all of his efforts into taking care of his pregnant wife. "You must be tired afterst night." His words immediately made Elise''s cheeks flush red. Ahh¡­ she remembered they did the deedst night. Loriel cleared his throat and continued his words. "I already asked Zaff about it and he said husband and wife can have sex during pregnancy. Just don''t overdo it." Elise coughed when she heard his words regarding their intimacyst night. Her cheeks heated and she couldn''t hide her blushing face. So, Loriel woke up early this morning so he could immediately ask their physician about doing sex that is safe during pregnancy? This was hard to believe. So... did this mean they would do it often? These thoughts made Elise''s heart flutter. She watched her husband massage her legs and serve her tea, making her feel like a queen. Well, she was, in fact, a queen, but she didn''t feel that way before. Why he could be this doting and sweet? Elise was wondering. If she remembered his treatment of her before he knew about her pregnancy... it was nothing like this. He was nice and polite, but cold. Today, Elise felt his warmth. "I''m fine¡­" she said shyly, "You can stop now." "Are you sure? I can keep doing this..." "Yes, I''m sure..." "What about your morning sickness?" Loriel looked up at her and finally stopped his massage. "It''sing and going," Elise said. "Well, you should try to drink this potion from Zaff." Loriel took out a small bottle from his pocket. "This will help you not feel so dizzy when you get up." "Oh, thank you, Loriel." Elise smiled a bit at her husband. Even though her morning sickness only began, her husband already prepared such a thing for her. Loriel couldn''t help but return his wife''s smile. For some reason, now that Elise was pregnant¡­ Loriel thought she suddenly grew even more beautiful. Was this a side effect of pregnancy? "Loriel, now that I''m feeling a bit better, I think I will be going to the garden," Elise said after she took a sip of her medicine. "I would like to take care of the nts." "How about you stay inside and simply rest?" Loriel suggested. "The royal gardeners can take care of it while you try not to overexert yourself." Elise shook her head. "I think it is good for me to stand up and walk a little. The air is fresh in the garden and I can also get some more sunlight, I do not think it is good that I stay in one ce." Loriel considered her words and then approached her. He offered her his arm and said, "Then I will apany you today to the garden and make sure that you do not tire yourself." "What about the affairs of the kingdom, Loriel?" Elise scrunched up her nose at him. Loriel chuckled. "I am not the only one who runs the kingdom, Elise. I have many delegates who can help run it with me. So you can rest easy that I am not neglecting the kingdom." "Then that is good," Elise smiled as she epted her husband''s help. The two of them went to the garden together. Every now and then, Elise looked up at her husband and wondered if she was actually talking to Loriel or if the man had a twin just like Dante. Elise did not realize that Loriel could be like this around her. She did not know how to exin it. Before all of this happened, Elise was sure that the two of them would remain distant emotionally and only fulfill the marital duties as husband and wife. Even when she became pregnant, Elise only expected the bare minimum with Loriel. She did not think that it would now include romantic walks to the garden, gentle foot massages, and doting actions that were done with such sweet sincerity. Elise considered them as surprise bonuses. However, this was what Loriel wanted to do. Loriel was not the type to suddenly quit halfway through anything that he did. The man did things with a certain passion and he did not change his mind easily. It was why it took Loriel six months before he finally let his guard down around Elise. When the king decided to do one thing like not touch Elise and stay celibate because he could not obtain his first love¡­ Loriel put his entire effort into doing just that and even filled his head with everything that he disliked about Elise to stay strong. Now that Loriel made the decision to be husband and wife for real with Elise, the strong willpower and determination that Loriel had were now redirected into fully taking care of her and their baby. Loriel nced at his wife and mindlessly kissed the top of her head. "Is it not too hot right now for you?" "Huh?" Elise looked up at him with blushing cheeks. Loriel cupped her face and looked her in the eye. "Your face is a bit red so I am worried if it is hay fever or the heat. But it is a good thing that I have already had this in consideration before the two of us came here." "What do you mean, Loriel?" Elise asked but then she noticed something new in the garden. There was a beautiful addition to the garden in the queen''s residence. A newly built gazebo stood in the center of the garden and contained elegant chairs and an ornate table that seemed perfect for afternoon tea. "You can stay there and sit down if you''d like to enjoy the crisp morning air," Loriel said. "The two of us can also have breakfast there if you grow tired of eating it in bed. You are quite right that some walking is good for your condition so let us take them during sunset or sunrise?" Elise looked at Loriel''s face and couldn''t help but ask. "Am I daydreaming? I can''t help but wonder if I am seeing and hearing things." "What do you mean?" Loriel''s brows furrowed. "Is this another symptom of pregnancy that I have to check? Do I need to summon Zaff immediately, Elise?" Elise bit back augh and shook her head. "No. I just want to thank you for all the effort that you are showing, Loriel. I¡­ am incredibly happy that I can''t believe it is real." Loriel could have gotten happy about her looking so pleased right now, but instead, he couldn''t believe that Elise would assume that she was only daydreaming and it was not real. Was he that terrible to her before she thought this way? Ahh¡­ Loriel was really the worst. "Thank you, Elise." Loriel looked at his wife and took her hand as he led her to the gazebo. Elise raised a brow. "Thank you? I did not do anything except be pregnant, Loriel. I feel like I am not doing anything, actually." "No. You are doing a lot of things," Loriel shook his head. "You''ve been at my side all throughout thest months¡­ I am surprised that you did not leave at all. You could have done that." Elise looked at her husband''s face and decided to be honest. "It''s because I love you, even if you don''t feel the same," she said truthfully. Chapter 247 - Loriel Really Wants To Love Elise Damn it. Loriel stared at Elise and at her confession of love to him. When he first saw her and realized that she loved him a lot¡­ he remembered thinking that it was so ridiculous. How could Elise love a man that she was betrothed with? Just because her parents said so? He and Elise had never met before she came to Castilse to see him for their wedding preparation. However, when he saw her for the first time, Loriel could already tell that she was in love with him. It was something that would always baffle him. How could someone do that? Loriel needed months to realize his love for Emmelyn, and that was after they spent so much time together. While Elise... she didn''t even know if Loriel was good or bad. So, the only exnation was.. Elise grew up with the knowledge that she was betrothed to Loriel and she built her own fantasy about him that made her think she loved the man when she didn''t even know him. This was something that Loriel couldn''t ept. He thought Elise was beautiful and kind, but her baseless love for him actually bothered him. He thought she was a mindless young woman who let others dictate her how to live. He thought after they got married and she could see him for who he was, her eyes would slowly open to reality. However, here she was, confessing that she loved him despite everything that happened between them and even if he did not have the same feelings towards her. ''What should I do with you, Elise?'' Loriel asked himself as he stared at those beautiful emerald eyes. Elise shyly ducked her head and started to head to the gazebo. Her heart fluttered at her confession, but she knew that the man probably thought of it as a nuisance. "Please excuse my words, I think I am simply ovee with emotions as usual," she said. While she tried to shy away, Loriel reached out and grabbed ahold of her hand. He stared into her eyes and sighed deeply. "I do not understand you at all, Elise." "Huh?" Elise blinked at him. "Because of my love for you?" Loriel chuckled. "Yes, that and how enigmatic you are. There are so many things about you that I cannot understand and your love for me is the most confusing thing of all. I can''t help but wonder why that''s the case." Elise bit down on her lip. She wondered if she should bring up the crystal ball right now and exin that she was watching him from day to day as she grew up. It was because of those experiences that she saw how he grew up and acted that made her fall in love with him. But now it was broken so she couldn''t even prove it. What would Loriel even think when he realized that she was always watching him? Would he feel disturbed at the thought? She did not always watch him because she also attended to her own life and duties, but she was able to see the world because of Loriel''s travels. Loriel didn''t know what Elise was thinking and did not even understand why she loved him¡­ but there was one thing that he knew. The two of them were now husband and wife. "Elise, I find it hard to believe that you love me," Loriel said. "Maybe it was because you were raised that way by your father and grandmother. You grew up knowing that the two of us are supposed to get married and have children and you took it in positively." Elise bit down on her lip. "And you resented it?" "I love my mother," Loriel said. "Queen Maude was a great and loving mother that raised me, but she is far from perfect and so was your mother. I know that they had the best intentions, but the results¡­ are not always perfect." Loriel made sure not to identally reveal that Emmelyn got cursed because of Elise''s mother. He did not want the girl to feel burdened about it. He already promised his father-inw, King Alexander, not to let Elise know that before she died, Queen Catalina put a protection spell on Loriel''s heart. The spell was intended to protect her daughter from feeling heartbroken if her future husband would fall in love with another woman. Because of the spell, when Loriel found himself falling in love with Emmelyn, he had to witness the woman he loved suffer bad luck that made her lose her family, her kingdom, and even almost lose her life. Loriel didn''t know this until he and Emmelyn came to Myreen to find the source of her cmity. When he knew about the protection spell¡­ he finally realized that his love was futile and it would only cause Emmelyn to suffer more. So, finally, he gave up. He decided to let go of his feelings for Emmelyn and fulfill his duty as a filial son to his mother and keep the promise for marriage. He asked King Alexander for his blessings to marry Elise. That was all done to free Emmelyn from the curse of bad luck that befell her. King Alexander epted his proposal under one condition, that Loriel would never let Elise know about the protection spell. The rest is history. And now¡­ here they were. Loriel and Elise were now real husband and wife, with a baby on the way. And Elise just confessed openly to Loriel that she loved him, even if he didn''t love her back. He felt sorry to see Elise embarrass herself with that confession. For someone so shy, to admit such a thing, it must have taken a lot for her. So, right at that moment, Loriel told himself that he would learn to love this wonderful woman, who would soon be the mother of his child. Elise''s head lowered at Loriel''s words. It was almost a familiar line now, that he would tell her that he did not love her but he was only doing it because of their mothers''s promise to each other. Loriel could see that Elise was getting upset about him mentioning this again, so he squeezed her hand and gently raised her chin. "I know that the circumstances around our marriage are not ideal. However, I''vee to realize that just because I don''t understand your love for me and why our mothers made this decision¡­ it does not mean that I cannot learn how to ept and live with it." Elise nodded her head slowly. "Yes¡­ you''re already doing it now, Loriel. We''ve already been married for more than eight months as husband and wife." "I don''t mean that I will do what I always did in thest eight months," Loriel said. "You can''t say that I''ve epted my marriage during those times because I always kept myself busy intentionally, to have less time with you. That was not the proper way of handling our marriage." "I see¡­" Elise bit down on her lip. "But I do understand why you couldn''t be with me at the beginning of our marriage. That was because you were grieving your mother''s death, Loriel, and there was the rebellion with your brother inw too. I can understand why you were busy at that time." "I could have done more," Loriel said. "I will be doing more now as your husband, Elise." Elise did not understand why Loriel was confessing these things when she already knew inside that Loriel was always making excuses to not be with her. It was only making her a bit sad now that Loriel confirmed that he was avoiding her. "... Thank you, Loriel," Elise said. "I am appreciating all of the things that you''re doing now." Loriel realized that he was terrible with words again and did notmunicate properly with her. "Elise, I want to be in a real rtionship with you as husband and wife," Loriel said. "Some people get to know their spouse before marriage. Some do it after marriage. I guess we are part of thetter." Those words made Elise look at him in confusion because that was a different thing. She couldn''t help but ask him. "Why are you saying all these now, Loriel? Is this because we have a child now?" "Well, yes," Loriel admitted. "But not just because of that, Elise." "Really?" she asked doubtfully. She knew that she wanted Loriel to fall in love with her and that having a baby that was the first step, but she always had hoped that Loriel would love her even before she became pregnant. It was just impossible though. Loriel took her and led her to the chair in the gazebo. He made her sit down and even prepared a breakfast meal for her as he knelt beside her. It was fair for Elise to assume that he was only pursuing her now because they were going to have a child. "I want to love you, Elise. I will learn how to love you," Loriel said atst. "I may not be able to love you as you have loved me immediately with such pure intentions, but I want to open my heart to you Elise, and slowly foster a loving and healthy rtionship with you." He looked at Elise sincerely and his gaze made Elise''s heart flutter. Her brain needed some time to process what she had just heard. Did Loriel really mean to say that he would learn to love her? Would he really do that? Elise''s lips twitch as tears were slowly forming in her eyes again. This felt surreal. . . *************** From Missrealitybites: Thank you so, so much to our top 3 contributors of Golden Tickets in October. Thank you, Ms Jen Taylor, Mischareads, and DespinanY. And for the others, I am grateful for your support.. I am sorry I cannot mention you one by one. xx Chapter 248 - Elise And Loriel Elise looked at Loriel in surprise and felt tears prick her eyes. Her heart pounded loudly that she thought she heard her blood pumping in her ears. Did she hear him correctly? Was Elise dreaming or did Loriel actually say that he wanted to learn how to love her? Surely she wasn''t imagining this, right? Elise didn''t think that this day would actuallye for the two of them but now she was so happy to hear ite from his lips. She began to wipe the tears that streamed down on her face. Loriel looked nervously at his wife when he saw her in tears. He quickly held her hand and stared at her worriedly. "Elise, are you okay? Did I say something wrong? I''m incredibly sorry if I said something wrong again." The man said something wrong when he said he wanted to learn how to love, didn''t he? Would it have been better to say that he now loved her? Loriel just wanted to be truthful with Elise and let her know of his heart''s circumstances. "No, you did not do anything wrong." Elise gently wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at her husband. "I¡­ I''m just incredibly happy. You''ve made me the happiest woman alive right now." Loriel realized how Elise''s heart was touched by him admitting that he wanted to love her. He didn''t even love her yet but there was a look of fulfillment and satisfaction on her face that was incredibly glowing and mesmerizing. "Ahh, you shouldn''t be so happy about this," Loriel said softly. This made him feel a bit guilty. He gently cupped her cheeks and wiped away her tears with his thumb. "You should be thrilled when I really love you for real, Elise." "Anticipating it is already something that fills me with joy," Elise smiled brightly at him. "Even though you do not love me yet, you''ve already been an incredible person, Loriel. What more when you finally love me?" "I''ve already been incredible?" Loriel looked at her suspiciously. "Are you once again blinded by your love for me?" Elise stared at Loriel and shook her head. "No. I don''t think it''s that, but all of your actions are great indications of how respectful and wonderful you are." "Elise, I just admitted to intentionally avoiding you for the first six months before we¡­" Loriel said. "I doubt that''s a good indication of me as a good person, much less wonderful." "No," Elise pouted. "There''s something else though. A lot of wonderful things that you did, Loriel." Loriel raised a brow skeptically. "Which is?" "You''ve treated me well as your wife. You did not shame me or find another woman as a concubine when you could have done that because you find me revolting. You also went to the mountains to obtain me flowers even when you endangered yourself, and you also had Zaff check on me when I cried because you were worried about me." Loriel did not realize that all those things that he did were something that Elise looked upon as wonderful things. They were simple things and actually something that she deserved as the queen of Summeria. "Not to mention that you also remembered my birthday and brought Brick to me," Elise beamed. Loriel batted his eyes and coughed when he heard herst words. Well.. about that. He actually forgot Elise''s birthday and just picked up a stray cat, which she mistakenly thought was a birthday present for her. That was because¡­ Elise was too sweet and always thought the best of her husband. It didn''t even ur to her that Loriel didn''t get Brick for her birthday, or if he did, it was actually a lousy gift since the kitten was thin and ugly. But¡­ how could Loriel have the heart to tell her the truth. Elise''s eyes were gleaming in happiness and her smile was so beautiful. She was happy with her perception of her husband being a wonderful man¡­ Loriel didn''t want to burst her bubble. "You''ve done a lot of good things to me even if they weren''t so necessary. You could have easily abandoned me and pretended I did not exist, but instead, you were not opposed to me being near you," Elise said. "For that, you are a wonderful person." "Elise¡­ do you not think that it should be the bare minimum of what I should do for you?" Loriel couldn''t help but ask. "Those things, if I did not do them, simply means that I am trash. They''re NOT wonderful traits. I am not wonderful as you imed me to be." "You could have been terrible and more grudgeful because you were made to marry me, but you didn''t," Elise said. "That must have been incredibly hard for you to do, Loriel. However, instead ofshing out, you did your best. Isn''t that wonderful already?" "Is it really that wonderful?" Loriel stared at his wife in disbelief. "You are wonderful to me," Elise said. "What other people think doesn''t matter." Elise knew how hard it was to have unrequited love, but throughout all of that, Loriel was strong and managed all of the pain in his heart. She knew he must be heartbroken when he let go of the woman he loved and had to enter a loveless marriage with her. Even if he sometimes became cold to her, Elise knew that it was because Loriel was hurting and didn''t know what to do. While it didn''t excuse his actions, Elise was just too forgiving and kind-hearted to bear a grudge. She loved Loriel too much. Now that they had a baby on the way¡­ and Loriel already expressed his willingness to learn how to love her, Elise didn''t want to dwell in the past. She wanted to build their life together.. So, she would forgive him and understand him and support him to be a good husband to her and a good father to their child. Chapter 249 - Baby Names Loriel looked at this woman who still managed to find the good in him despite everything that happened between them. Instead of getting upset that he did not love her, Elise was over the moon because he wanted to learn how to love her. She looked at the things he did with joy and in a light that was too pure. "Oh, Elise¡­ I''m such a fool for not already loving you," Loriel muttered to himself. "Another person would already be grateful for being beside such a beautiful and loving woman and yet here I am, being that belligerent fool." "Loriel, I do not think that you can easily change your heart''s desire," Elise took her hand in his and gave him a kind smile. "The heart wants what it wants. When you love someone, even if your head tries to argue with it, it cannot be stopped." Loriel looked at Elise in surprise. That was almost just like his own thoughts. "I¡­ that''s true," he said. Elise bit on her lip and tried not to think of Emmelyn, the woman that her husband loved. She did not want to have terrible thoughts right now as she concentrated on her husband''s face. She took a deep breath and smiled at him. "But¡­ because you admitted that you want to learn how to love me, it is already something that makes me happy. I know that it will not be easy, but someday, I am looking forward to the day when you love me atst." Loriel was so touched by his wife''s sincerity and her sweetness. He pulled her to his embrace and hugged her tightly. *** Days would fly by for the Ashborn couple and, over each day, Loriel and Elise grew closer to one another. As promised when Loriel expressed his desire to get to know his wife and fall in love with her, Loriel did just that. Loriel did his best to be there for Elise and, little by little, he opened up his heart to this incredible woman. It wasn''t strange for him to fully ept her wholeheartedly and love her dearly. Elise was an amazing person that was worthy of so much love and it was up to him to take up the task of providing it to her. During one evening, the two of them were resting down in their bed as usual. After Loriel''s hard work in running the kingdom when necessary and most of his time preupied with taking care of his wife, he yearned and looked forward to their conversations in bed the most. These times were rxing and soothing to his soul. While Loriel also enjoyed having sex with Elise countless times and being able to connect with her physically and intimately, conversations were also the same. This time, it was their hearts thatmunicated with each other. "Loriel¡­ what if it''s a boy?" Elise suddenly asked him. "Hmm?" Loriel looked at her from his wine. "Are we thinking of names now? If it''s a boy, is there any name in particr that you like?" "Can we name him after my father?" Elise batted her eyes at her husband. "I am alright with other names, but I want one to have a name like Alexander after my father." "Well, I don''t mind it either," Loriel chuckled. "I''d prefer not to have him named after my own father. But what if our child is a girl then what would we name her?" "Ummm¡­ what do you think about Alexandra?" Elise smiled sheepishly. "I really love my father and wants to honor him for raising me on his own, being a single parent after my mother passed away." Loriel chuckled at his wife''s naming sense. It seemed like her ability to focus on names of things she saw or was incredibly familiar with her extended even up to children. He was just d that Elise didn''t see a vase and suggested the boy''s name to be Vasil or something close. Loriel leaned closer to his wife and whispered in her ear. "You know, if you want a boy named after your father, we can always make another one if our first child is born and the baby happens to be a girl." Elise''s face became hot at her husband''s words. Loriel wanted¡­ to make another baby with her? Ah, she wasn''t prepared for him to say words like those and she felt her loins actually heat up. "You know, Alexandra is actually a very good name," Elise insisted. "I think it means something along the lines of a defender of man?" "Of course, I didn''t say it was bad," Loriel chuckled. "But what do you think if we named her close to your name? ine? Eleonora? Erin? Hmm¡­ it''s hard to think, but we''lle up with a wonderful name." "It would be nice to name her like a flower," Elise smiled. "I hope she grows up loving gardens like me and my grandmother. I think my mother loved them too, especially because Queen Maude also liked them. We could grow flowers together." Loriel raised a brow for a moment and then casually asked. "What do you think of Rose as a name?" Elise quickly red at Loriel and it was a testament to how close the two of them have been. Loriel liked teasing his wife every now and then, but instead of crying, Elise actually pushed back at her husband. "You''re going to name my child after your childhood female friend?" Elise asked with a frown. "Are you trying to mess with me, Loriel?" "I wasn''t serious," Loriel chuckled. "Please don''t be upset with me, Elise." Elise rolled her eyes and tried to move away from him in her bed. "Of course you weren''t. I wouldn''t be surprised if you had a crush on Rose when you were younger. I didn''t forget that you made her mydy-in-waiting." Loriel looked at this beautiful woman and wondered if she was a lot more honest now that she was pregnant. That seemed to be the case because he inched closer to her and asked. "What did you even do with Rose? She was suddenly preupied and even left the position," Lorielmented. Elise pursed her lips and shrugged. "Maybe she realized that it''s more important to focus on running the dukedom over getting upset with me?" "Wait. Was she upset with you?" Loriel''s brows furrowed. "Please don''t tell me that you didn''t notice how she liked you too," Elise pursed her lips. "Maybe if I wasn''t betrothed to you first, the duke would have wanted you to marry Rose and not me." Loriel shrugged. "Well, I didn''t notice at all. I thought she hated me and I kind of had another person I liked when I was a child. So she really wasn''t in my thoughts at all." "You did?" Elise raised a brow and asked him curiously. "Mhmm, it''s a secret though," Loriel smiled. He expected Elise to bug him about this crush he had when he was a child, but instead of bing intrigued, Elise only smiled brightly at him. "Yes, how could I forget that?" Elise cupped her husband''s cheeks and felt warm.. She realized that it wasn''t Emmelyn but herself who was the person that Loriel actually liked and loved first. Chapter 250 - Hunting Trip (1) "How could you forget what?" Loriel asked. "That you will love me now and that''s all that matters," Elise kissed her husband gently on the lips. Loriel chuckled and wrapped an arm around his wife, he happily kissed her back. Thinking about Loriel''s first love made Elise actually happy and pleased with herself, even though Loriel still didn''t seem to have figured it out. Maybe her husband''s memories of her face faded over the years, but the memory still rested in his heart. Besides, she couldn''t really me Loriel for not figuring out that the ''fairy'' that saved his life was actually Elise. Loriel didn''t know that humans could travel through time with the help of the Time Master. This was something that Elise would never tell anyone because she had already given her word to Dante to keep his existence a secret. *** There were days that Loriel would get invited into events outside of the kingdom and pce of Summeria and Castile. It was not umon for royalty to be invited to a lot of gatherings. Loriel always refused them and turned them down because he preferred to stay at home with his wife. He did not want to put a strain on Elise''s body by also making her go to different ces when she should be resting. Besides, Loriel was not big on celebrations or festivities. He rarely went to parties and festivals held in the kingdom before he ascended the throne, but before he was married and his wife got pregnant, he became more disinterested in attending those events. "I don''t think it''s a good time to go out. It is a delicate time for Her Majesty and I wish to stay with her at all times," Loriel exined to some of the dukes who tried to invite him to the hunting festival. "Your Majesty, when you be a father, you will also refuse us because you will tell us that you are busy taking care of your child," one of his ministers said. "Join us now while you are still not busy." "Even we make time to spend time and go out," another lord said. "It is strange that the wild prince of Summeria who left his country to travel different nations is now always just staying inside of the pce. Our king has turned into a househusband?" Loriel gritted his teeth and stared down at the lord. "My priorities may have shifted, but it does not mean that I have changed as a person. I still enjoy going out and I know that if I leave with you, I will be the one winning thispetition." "Then join us, Your Majesty!" His men entreated. "We wish to see your prowess during the hunt¡­ or is the king afraid that you have lost your touch? Hehehehe¡­" "Perhaps, His Majesty has grown soft after being pampered by his wife," one of the braver ones spoke, but then quickly gulped when they saw the king''s not so pleased expressions. Loriel hated the idea that he was seen as ''soft'' because he was spending his days with his wife. He was much more of a man than any of them and he knew that if he joined on this hunting trip, they would be finished. "Haha, well, if my wife was as beautiful as Her Majesty Queen Elise, then I would also not leave the house,"ughed one of the dukes as they tried to ease the tension. All of them were trying to entice the king to leave the castle and go on a hunting trip with them. It was not an easy task when Loriel was adamant about staying with his wife. The man now could see and even feel the bulge on Elise''s stomach and it was something that made him incredibly happy. He did not wish for it to be taken away from him by these people. However, when Elise realized that Loriel was not taking care of his rtionship with other people, she quickly urged him to do the opposite. She happened to be visiting the king when she realized he was in his own residence and she heard the king''s men all persuading him to go. "Her Majesty, Queen Elise Leoralei Ashborn has arrived in the Summerian throne chamber." One of the servants stationed at the door announced her arrival as the lords, dukes and other nobles quickly went to their knees to bow down to the queen. Loriel who left the queen''s residence to finish his conversation with his men suddenly leaped to his feet and approached Elise. He held her hand and said. "Elise, you shouldn''t be straining yourself to go here. I would havee back soon. My conversation with my men is about to end. Isn''t that right? We have already reached a conclusion to this meeting." "Yes!" the lords, dukes, and nobles all chorused as one. Elise ced a hand on her hip and looked at him seriously, "You should join them, Your Grace." The process of falling in love with Elise was actually something that took some time for Loriel. There were moments that Loriel questioned and doubted himself. Was it really possible for him to suddenly fall in love with her or was he fooling himself? There were times that Loriel found himself incredibly taken by her beauty, but there were times where he wondered if he loved her because of all those traits, or would she still love Elise once those were taken away? They were useless thoughts since Elise already thought that Loriel loved her, but sometimes he failed to fully show it. This time, Loriel listened to Elise''s request and nodded his head. "I will be going on a three-day hunting trip, then. I hope that it will be alright." "It is alright, Your Grace," Elise said and reached out for her husband. She quickly ced a protection seal on him to make sure that the man was safe during his journey. For someone like Loriel, he could not tell what his wife actually did and assumed that it was Elise urging him to leave Castilse quickly and go on a trip. "Okay. Since you asked me, then I will go with these people." Loriel''s brows furrowed as he thought that Elise would be less willing for him to leave. Didn''t she like that he was always around her or did she find it annoying now and wanted time for herself? So, why was she encouraging him to go hunting and leave her? Loriel did not know and was still very clueless about how his wife''s mind worked. It was difficult for him to understand a woman or another person unless they became very straightforward with him. Loriel wanted people to say what they wanted. Now that Elise urged him to go, the king finally left for the hunting trip even though it was not something that he really wanted to do in the first ce. The king was unaware of Elise''s own thoughts about the trip and the truth was that she would miss Loriel so much. However, she understood that it was necessary for a king to maintain rtionships with his people. "It''s only going to be three days," Elise whispered to herself as she slept alone in her bed that night. Chapter 251 - Hunting Trip (2) Elise realized how much she looked forward to waking up with Loriel beside her. A part of her knew that it was still taking some time for Loriel to fully love her, but she was already so happy when the man did not contradict her words. When Elise woke up, she was surprised by the sudden increase of maids around her chambers. There were so many of them prepared to serve her that she sent them outside. Elise told Loriel that she was already happy and satisfied with Alina because Elise did not need a lot of help. However, because Loriel was going out for a trip, the man was hesitant with only leaving her with one main maid and brought a great number of maids to take care of Elise. "He really shouldn''t have done this," Elise pursed her lips. There were now a lot of women doing their best to serve Elise, but somehow even though Elise knew she should appreciate Loriel for doing this¡­ a small feeling of annoyance settled within her. "Loriel doesn''t really listen that much when I say one thing." Elise massaged her forehead. After the conversation they had about Loriel only doing the bare minimum, Elise''s eyes were opened lightly and she realized that he was right. There were things that Loriel did need to work on. The man always thought he was right for most of the time and sometimes Loriel did too much for her and thought she always needed help and assistance from him. Loriel already knew that Elise had powers, but the man barely batted an eye at it too! A pout formed on Elise''s lips as she strolled out of her chambers and was quickly greeted by several maids. "Your Majesty, would you like to stay inside of the chambers?" One of the maids asked. Elise raised a brow at the question before Alina quickly answered in her stead. "Her Majesty just stepped outside of her room and you''re asking her if she wants to go back inside?" Alina thought that she was the mostpetent maid and that was somewhat true. "It is extremely hot right now, Your Majesty," another one of them said and took a new approach. "May I suggest for Her Majesty to remain within her chambers and instead enjoy a cool nice drink inside?" Elise shook her head. "No. I do not wish to stay in my room, I need to go out and take care of the garden." "Your Majesty, please, let me or the gardeners take care of them!" one of the maids said. "Please do not raise your voice," Alina frowned. "You are talking to the queen of Summeria." Elise looked at them and decided to be gracious. She said, "If the weather is extremely hot, it makes sense for me not to go out." The climate in Myreen was always spring, but the summers here in Summeria were a bit intense. When Elise realized that, she wanted to conjure rain or cool winds for the nts so they wouldn''t dry. If she simply allowed the gardeners to do their jobs, some of the flowers were bound to still end up dead. "Do not worry about Her Majesty," Alina said in her defense and smiled. "I will be the one apanying her in the garden." The maid was proud at how capable the former princess of Myreen was and knew a lot of how powerful Elise was as she travelled outside of Myreen to find healing for her father. It was an honor for Alina to serve the queen. Elise nced at Alina and smiled. "Alina, you can stay here and take care of Brick for me. She can be lonely without me, so I entrust her with you." Elise didn''t know if the hot weather in Summeria was also making her own body feel hot and a little annoyed, but she actually wanted to be alone for a while. The hormones during her pregnancy were really intense and she needed some time to be alone. Maybe it was also good that Loriel went away for a couple of days? There were times when it was too much for a couple to be together as well. Before any of her maids protested, Elise quickly made her way out of the queen''s residence and reached the gardens. The sun burned brightly and the heat was so intense that Elise started to perspire quickly. "Uff, I need to cool this ce," Elise sped her hands together and closed her eyes. When she whistled a tune, the hot air around her was suddenly blown away as a cool and refreshing breeze entered the garden. Elise smiled in satisfaction and entered her gardens. She eyed the Jacaranda trees and noticed that they were losing a bit of petals, and some of the leaves were actually bing dry. It wasn''t the royal gardeners fault, because she knew that they were meticulous. However there were some things that were still out of their reach. Compared to them, whenever Elise set out and stepped a foot in the garden, she quickly noticed how the nts were and whether or not they needed help. Herst conversation with Dante discussed how she was rted to the earth goddess and probably was blessed by her. Elise deflected thepliment from the Time Master and did her best to be humble, but now that Elise was just with herself and no one else was looking¡­ She was unafraid to admit that she found joy in magic. It was one of the things that weren''t actually necessary to be a good wife, but it was something that was part of Elise''s nature and she relished it very much. Without her husband and without her maids, it meant that Elise could actually not hold back from using her powers. Elise touched her stomach and smiled happily. "My child, look at how the trees and the flowers bloom and the winds sing because they''re so happy that you are here," she whispered as she waved her hands slightly and smiled to herself. Sprouts popped up on the ground and more flowers started to bloom around the queen.. She was now surrounded by colorful floras. The garden around her was so beautiful and colorful! Chapter 252 - Elises Uncomfortable Pregnancy Elise resumed tending to the gardens more slowly after that. Even though she could keep using her powers, it was also wonderful to actually kneel on the ground and touch the soil with her fingers as she checked the nts'' conditions. Whenever she did that, she always noticed how it soothed her self to do. "Does the earth have healing properties within itself?" Elise asked herself aloud. There were so many things that she learned during her visit to Raphael but she always ended up having more questions when it came down to it. Now that Elise was by herself and could have thoughts that weren''t always with Loriel, she thought about magic and the world in general. It wasn''t strange and, while she missed Loriel, there were other things that upied her. Once Elise considered her work to be done, the woman pulled herself up to her feet and then felt a certain pain across her abdomen. Was it the strain of standing up? "Uff¡­ maybe I really should stop getting down on my knees to work in the garden." Elise touched her stomach tentatively and did her best to return back to her residence. Once she returned, all of the maids began to circle around her and she felt a headacheing on. Even though Elise wasn''t usually annoyed by many peopleing in and out, this time she was feeling a bit overwhelmed by their numbers. It was thanks to Alina that she got back inside of her chamber all by herself without any hindrance. "Your Majesty, we have your lunch prepared here, His Majesty has instructed us to have you eat during proper times," Alina said and greeted her with a tray filled with Elise''s meal. It was a healthy lunch as usual, if not a little nd because of Elise morning sickness when it came down to it. If Elise ate a lot of food, there was a tendency for her to vomit and that was especially when the food was rich in vors. "Thank you, Alina." Elise smiled and looked down at the tray with her chicken congee, lentil soup, a side serving green leafy vegetables and then a ss of fruit juice. All of them were made in a way that the royal physician Zaff approved. Nothing too sweet or too salty, somewhat a bit tasteless if Elise was asked, but she ate it without any problems because it would keep her child healthy. So, it was with a sudden jolt of nausea that when Elise ced a spoonful of the chicken congee in her mouth, she quickly called for Alina and the girl brought her a bucket. Elise coughed up some of the food that she ate and then wiped her mouth with a clean napkin. "Is there something wrong with the food, Your Majesty?" Alina asked worriedly. "Was it prepared wrong by the chefs?" If the maidservant was in Elise''s shoes, she would have a hard time only eating what Elise ate. There were no sugary meals or even the luscious and vorful taste of rich food like raw milk and cheese, cold cuts of ham and even specific types of seafood were disallowed. Elise shook her head and smiled wearily at her maid. "No¡­ it''s not just sitting well with my stomach." "Your Majesty, it is rmended for you to eat, even if a little bit," Alina urged her. "If not the rice porridge then the grilled chicken or the sd, Your Majesty. You cannot let your stomach be empty." "I know and understand," Elise nodded her head. She took a deep breath and resumed eating her meal and tried to imagine how beautiful and strong her child would be as long as she ate well and healthily. There were times in the past that Elise refused to eat when she threw a tantrum or got upset with her father before as a young child and teen, but now that she was going to be a mother, there were sacrifices that she now understood. Once Elise was done eating and drinking, Alina had one of the other maids bring the empty dishes back to the kitchen so she could remain by her side. "I will tend to Brick, Your Majesty." "Thank you," Elise smiled and nced down at the cat on the ground. Usually, after her meal and when Elise was feeling a bit tired at staying in her chamber all day, Loriel and her would take on walks with even Brick around. Brick looked a bit restless today and it was just the first day of Loriel leaving. "Are you missing the king already, Brick?" Elise teased. Brick''s head perked up at Elise''s voice and her tail swayed and bounced happily, but it wasn''t necessarily a yes to missing Loriel. Brick and Loriel kind of hated each other. She mewled and tried to get on Elise''s bed as Alina picked up the cat. "You can''t stay in bed with Her Majesty, silly kitty." "I don''t actually mind," Elise smiled and patted her bed. "You can bring Brick here, Alina." "I will, Your Majesty." There were times that Lorielined that the sheets smelled like a cat, so Elise got them changed regrly, but she enjoyed her cat''s presence. Elise''s day seemed actually peaceful and without any trouble¡­ until she got up to head over to the bathroom. There was actually a chamber pot for her to use so she didn''t move around that much, but it was really embarrassing to use it. Not to mention it involved squatting down again. When Elise went to the bathroom and pulled down her undergarments, she immediately became pale-faced at the sight of blood on them. It wasn''t heavily soaked with blood but the sight made her dizzy and lightheaded. "No. No." Was this the light spotting that Zaff said was normal for the first months of pregnancy? Or was this entirely something else? Elise felt like it was something different, but she convinced herself that it was the first. "I''m okay, this is fine.." She closed her eyes and took a deep, trying to convince herself that it was nothing. Chapter 253 - Mood Swing Loriel soon returned after the hunting trip and, even though he won the majority of thepetition that the dukes and lords challenged him, he was not happy and was only looking forward to seeing his wife. There was an assasination attempt during his first night of the hunting trip and during the second and third day, he ended up heading into the front lines of the nearest city to take care of a sudden attack. Thankfully he was able to quell the attack and return home to the royal pce. However, Loriel was surprised that Elise was not enthusiastic about his arrival. Was it another one of those bouts of pregnancy hormones that shifted her mood? For this time, the two of them had their lunch in Loriel''s castle because he needed tomunicate back and forth with his men, but now Loriel looked at his wife during dinner and asked. "Is the food better to look at than me?" Loriel joked once he noticed her toying around with her food. She wasn''t eating yet and she wasn''t in the mood to talk either so Loriel started the conversation himself. Elise raised her head and shook her head. "No, not at all, Your Majesty. I just don''t have the appetite. But I will eat." Loriel sighed inwardly, but decided to remind her to eat in a lighthearted manner. "Just because I was gone for a few days doesn''t mean that you should lose your appetite. You should be eating more now that I am back." "I will," Elise said and still didn''t eat just yet. Loriel sighed a bit and took a sip of his drink. It was easy to get impatient when Elise was like this, but he hoped it was just hormones. Still, he wanted to look on the more humorous side and so he rested a palm underneath his cheek and said. "You know, I wish you could have said something before the trip, Elise. If I knew that you were going to miss me this much that you could barely eat, I wouldn''t have gone at all." Elise raised her head and her eyes were moist. "I told you to go because you were being cajoled by your ministers to leave. Isn''t that the proper thing to do? Were you neglecting your responsibilities and used my pregnancy as an excuse to not attend to kingdom affairs?" Loriel''s eyes widened, and he felt anger well inside of him. After everything that he did, did Elise still doubt his intentions towards her? Sure, Loriel questioned his own emotions every now and then, but he hoped that she put her faith in him. Before he could say those words, he quickly shook his head and raised a hand catingly. "I appreciate what you did, Elise. I''m sorry if it seemed like I was offending you, I just wanted you to eat." If there was any other time for an argument, it wasn''t now. Elise nodded stiffly and then started to eat. "I ept your apology." The two of them ate in silence and once they were finished, Loriel started to approach his wife to head back to the queen''s residence in order to stay with her. However, he was quickly stopped when Elise nced at him. "Your Grace, I think it is best that you sleep in your chamber tonight and do not sleep with me," Elise said. "I heard that you were also forced into the frontlines when you were only supposed to go hunting. So, you must be tired." "Oh...okay." Loriel couldn''t say anything to her as Elise left his residence to return to her own. He was a man of pride and if Elise said to sleep in his own chamber room, he wouldn''t insist on staying with her tonight. A man also had his pride. He would ask Zaff if Elise''s reaction was caused by her pregnancy hormones or not. He hope it was. He couldn''t think of any reason why his wife would suddenly be angry at him. *** "Where is Her Majesty? Is she noting here to eat, Horatio?" The next morning, during breakfast, Loriel waited for Elise to join him for breakfast in his residence since the man slept in his own area¡­ but Elise failed to show up. "ording to her maid servants, Her Majesty has already eaten in her chamber and does not feel like going out." "I see¡­" Loriel frowned and nodded. His loyal butler assured him that the queen already had her breakfast in her chamber and didn''t want to go out. So, Loriel left her be. Zaff already confirmed his suspicion that his pregnant wife had that really bad mood swing during her pregnancy and it was best if he let her be. Since Elise didn''te for breakfast with him, Loriel thought Elise was probably still angry at him and didn''t want to see him for a while. Fine. He could ept that. "Hah, it''s a good thing that I didn''t empty my entire chambers'' clothes to have them with her." Loriel returned to his chamber to get dressed before he attended a meeting with his ministers. Except he was surprised to see most of his clothes were already back in his closet. Weren''t they in his wife''s chamber already? Why did she have them returned here? "Oh, Elise¡­" Loriel rubbed his forehead in frustration. How could he use those clothes as an excuse toe to Elise''s chamber? The king thought it was fine if Elise didn''t want him to spend the night with her and she didn''t want to see him during mealtime. However, if his clothes were still in her chamber, at least the king would be able to go there and visit her to ''get his favorite clothes to wear''. Now, he realized his n failed miserably. Had Elise started to hate him to toss all his clothes baack to him? The man''s heart felt hurt at this thought. He was used to seeing the adoration look on Elise''s eyes whenever she saw him, but now she didn''t even want to see him? She had avoided him for breakfast... would she avoid him for lunch and dinner too? She was pregnant with their baby and he understood that her mood was probably not the best right now, so, Loriel tried to be understanding. "Elise wille to look for me." He told himself after he thought deeply about it. "She is just having a bad mood swing." Loriel let Elise be and focused on work, even though his mind was all over the ce. Chapter 254 - Elises Really Bad Morning Sickness "Your Majesty," Horatio knocked on the king''s study door frantically and Loriel made hime inside at once. The old man''s face looked worried and helpless. Loriel was checking on the current maps and formation that his general sent and was preparing a letter. However, Loriel dropped the quill in his hand and immediately rose from his seat in alertness once Horatio came. "What happened?" he asked the royal butler. Horatio bowed down his head several times. "Her Majesty is very sick. I have called the royal physician and we are waiting for his arrival. I want to let you know what happened." Loriel left his study before Horatio even finished speaking. The Summerian king was really worried when he heard Elise was sick. She looked finest night and even though there were some events that urred today that made him frantic about her love towards him, she should have said something. Loriel wondered if Elise no longer loved him and instead realized how much of a trash he was to her before, but now, suddenly Horatio told him that Elise became sick? He should have known that something was wrong with herst night while they were having dinner. "Gosh, what a foolish woman!" Seriously, why didn''t Elise say a thing to him? Or was it Loriel''s fault that he could not read his wife''s mood and the atmosphere fromst night? Sometimes he wished that he could read minds, but Loriel couldn''t do that and he was only doing what he could. "I need to stay with her always from now on," Loriel told himself. Loriel no longer cared if Elise didn''t want to see him after he made her cry yesterday. He needed to see her every day and make sure that she and their baby were fine and even if Elise sent back all his clothes to his chambers¡­he was still going to stay with her and have the servants return them. Loriel knocked twice and opened the door to his wife''s chamber. There were several maids inside who immediately bowed down deeply when they saw the king. Elise was curled up in a ball on her bed. Her face looked as white as cotton. Loriel immediately approached Elise''s bed with worry stered all over his face. "How long has she been like this?" he asked the maids. One of them, who was the oldest one, exerted her courage and replied to Loriel''s question, albeit with a stammer. "H-her... M-majesty suddenly fell ill an hour ago." "That long?" Loriel was furious. "Why didn''t anyone tell me?" Elise tried to sit up with difficulty when she sensed Loriel''s presence. She reached out her hand and gripped the man''s arm. Elise''s voice was weak when she begged him to spare the maids. "Your.. Majesty... it''s not.. their fault. I suddenly felt unwell, and I thought it was just a regr morning sickness..." Loriel''s expression instantly turned gentle when he turned to Elise and sat by the bed, beside her. He touched her forehead and cheeks to see if she had a fever. "Do you have bad morning sickness?" He didn''t know about them when he was staying with her in her room. How long was she able to hide this from him? Loriel remembered some times when sheined, but it was never that severe. Elise nodded weakly. "Sometimes." "Oh... then you have to get better care," Loriel said as he scrunched up his brows. "Why didn''t you tell me about this? You have to let me know." Elise didn''t reply. She looked away and slowly tears started dripping from the corners of her eyes. She didn''t want to be a nuisance to him so Elise did her best to heal herself and soothe the symptoms with some magic that she knew. However, Elise didn''t realize that the bacsh woulde now tenfold. It turned out to only dy the symptoms but not actually remove them. Loriel assumed this must be the raging pregnancy hormones that she cried so easily for nothing. He waved at the maids and sent them out. "All of you, wait outside. When Zaffes, bring him inside." "Will do, Your Majesty," the maid all responded in unison, while bowing down deeply. They walked out of the queen''s chamber and closed the door behind them. They stood outside the chamber while waiting for Zaff, the royal physician. Loriel pulled Elise to his embrace and tugged her chin to look in his direction. His eyes looked very serious when he spoke. "This can''t do. From now on, I will move into this chamber and stay with you. This is for our child." Actually, this was for him too. He couldn''t bear to be apart from her while she was carrying their baby. But he could only say that he did it for the child. He had his pride. Loriel also felt hurt if she no longer loved him. Not when he had already decided to consummate their marriage and tried to make things work. Loriel added, "I need to make sure that I can be with you when you are unwell. So, I don''t want to hear an excuse. After Zaff checks on your condition, I will ask Horatio to move my personal belongings to this chamber and don''t have them sent back this time." Elise looked at the man with a disbelief expression. After she had done such a thing, Loriel would stille back? Hadn''t Loriel grown tired of her? Didn''t he think of her as a burdensome woman? She couldn''t understand what Loriel actually wanted. Did he really want to move in to be with her or only for the baby? Loriel misunderstood her questioning gaze and added, "Do not worry, I will move out after the child is born." Elise lowered her head and bit her lip. Ahh... so, it wasn''t for her. She nodded weakly and replied, "Understood, Your Majesty." *** When Zaff arrived and Loriel gave her the sleeping potion, Elise calmed down and drifted off to sleep. However, there was a feeling in her gut that woke her up and she went to look for her husband after Horatio told her where the king was. It was where Elise heard the news that broke her heart. Zaff told Loriel the condition that she was undergoing and that she was too weak to actually give birth to a child without dying. Loriel was being made to choose between Elise and the unborn baby. "No," Elise whispered and clutched her chest in pain. She didn''t want to lose her baby and the fact, that if she wanted to live she needed to abandon the child, devastated her. A life without her child was not worth it and even the future where she lived to see another day with Loriel looked bleak. Elise could already imagine the life that would happen if she survived and became barren. Loriel would find another woman to take as his wife and to bear his child. When that happened, Elise would be forgotten and Loriel would surely fall in love with the woman who gave him an heir. The thought of that and the fact that Elise would never see her child if she chose to live broke her heart. Elise lost the strength in her knees and fell on the ground and this caught the attention of the two men who rushed out to see her. There was no good oue to her being alive. "Oh, my god... Elise! When did youe out?" Loriel immediately jumped toward her and picked her up from the floor. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks as she looked at Loriel and clutched his shirt. A decision was in her heart as she said, "Please... Your Majesty... don''t kill my baby..." she cried and begged him. "I want to keep the baby. Let me keep him." Elise didn''t want to live her life knowing that she let her child die. Before, she never understood why her mother gave up her life so Elise could live but now she understood. The only difference was that a loveless marriage awaited Elise if could not give him a child. She''d lose both her child and Loriel if she survived this ordeal. Elise also didn''t want to experience the idea of seeing Loriel marry another woman and have a child with her so they can continue the bloodline. It meant that Elise would be the forsaken queen and she could not me Loriel if he chose to take in a concubine so the Ashborn family continued. . . ****************** NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Hello, I just published a new book from the werewolves genre, to join AllNovelFull''s writingpetition. This is the synopsis: THE KING''S WIFE IS THE ALPHA''S MATE The king, or the alpha? When she jumps over the academy walls to escape from her bullies, Sophie falls straight into the arms of Nichs, the kingdom''s crown prince with a sweet and sunny disposition. Sparks fly and love blossoms between the poor orphan and the prince. But... suddenly, Lnd, the dangerous new alpha of the most powerful werewolf pack in the kingdom imed her to be his mate?! Sophie is torn between two men. One calls her his wife, the other ims her his mate. The prince is warm and sweet, his love is burning like the sun. The alpha is cold and overbearing, his love is as heavy as the mountain and as cold as the winter. Which one will Sophie end up with when both sides wage war over blood, hatred, and revenge? Lnd will burn the entire kingdom just to get Sophie and avenge his race. On the other hand, the newly crowned king, Nichs, strives to drive out the werewolves that the kingdom deemed as monsters while keeping a dark secret within himself ¨C He is also a werewolf. ------- You can search the book by the title and add it to your library, or you can click my username and go to my reading lists called "Missrealitybites Books" and find it there. Chapter 255 - Elises Plea "Please.. Your Grace... let me keep my baby..." Elise gripped her nails on Loriel''s arm. Her tears were falling down harder. Loriel was actually feeling surprised when he realized his weak and ailing wife could grip his arm this hard. She was like an animal fighting for her life. No¡­ she was like an animal fighting for her cub''s life. Was this a mother''s instinct? He was wondering. Seeing his wife looking so pitiful made Loriel''s heart break. He also really wanted to have this child¡­ but not at the expense of his wife. The man was fighting back tears. He shouldn''t cry before Elise because it would make her feel sadder. He should be the strong one between them. "Elise, I also want to keep the child, to be honest," Loriel finally told her. His expression was grim. "But Zaff already said that it will be dangerous for you to continue the pregnancy. Do you really want to die???" He didn''t want her to die. She was such a sweet and gentle woman. She didn''t deserve to die so young if Loriel could prevent it. He remembered Catalina Leoralei died after giving birth to Elise. Now Loriel realized Catalina must have died because she was stubborn and insisted to keep the baby in her womb¡­ and died because of it. If Loriel could help it, he wouldn''t let Elise die, just like her mother. "I am such a useless woman," Elise cried despondently. "I can''t even carry a child properly..." She stared at the man pleadingly and clutched his arms. "Please, Your Grace, allow me to give you a child. Please let me be useful to you..." Before she became pregnant, Elise thought maybe... maybe, if she gave Loriel a child, he could love her. And she already saw how much he had changed after he found out about her pregnancy. He was sweet and caring and now they even had sex regrly. She already felt like a real wife to him. Loriel moved in with her and stayed in her chamber full time. That was all great progress. He was more considerate and Elise knew he was a good man and he had been trying to do what''s right. He even admitted that he tried to love her. But trying to love and sincerely falling in love were two different things. Elise hated herself for the fact that her husband had to work to force himself to love her just because they were married and he wanted to do the right thing. Since he was already putting in the effort, Elise thought she should at least give her husband something back so he could justify his effort. Well¡­ Loriel was a king and the king needed an heir. So, Elise would make sure he would get one. At least, a child would make Loriel remember her After she was gone. Even though Elise might die to give her husband a child, at least she would live on in their son or daughter. If Elise had to lose her life to give him one, it''s okay. Loriel could always marry another woman to help him raise the child she left behind. At this moment, Elise understood what her mother was thinking when she was pregnant with Elise. Thete queen of Myreen must be devastated, but because she loved her husband so much she was willing to make the sacrifice. Elise believed, as long as she gave him a child, Loriel''s life would be better. And perhaps he would think of her from time to time. Elise was usually meek and gentle, but this time she was so stubborn and she wouldn''t let Loriel go until the man promised he wouldn''t try to make Elise abort her fetus. Loriel was truly in a dilemma. He finally turned to Zaff and asked for his opinion. Or perhaps, Zaff could convince his wife to ept the reality that she really had a small chance of giving birth to a baby. If Zaff could talk Elise into aborting her baby, Loriel would feel more relieved. He would be devastated by losing the baby... but he was more ready for it than losing his wife. "What do you think, Zaff?" Loriel asked the royal physician. "If Her Majesty insists, there is nothing we can do but to grant her request," Zaff replied. He sighed and pressed his chest. The man solemnly vowed to do his best to help Elise during her pregnancy. "We will try to make things work." "Uhh... do you think that can work?" Loriel looked at the physician with furrowed brows. "I don''t think we have a choice, Your Majesty," Zaff finally told Loriel. "It''s Her Majesty''s body. So, it''s her choice and she chose to keep the baby. All we could do is to support her the best we could and hope for the best. For now, Her Majesty should get bed rest and don''t do anything tiring." Loriel let out a long sigh and then shook his head. He touched her hair and rubbed it gently. His voice was filled with concern when he spoke. "You''ve heard what Zaff said. We will try our best to make things work." Elise found relief in her heart that she couldn''t say anything and just trembled. Her face was wet with tears but now she looked happy. "It''s okay, we will make things work," Loriel repeated his words. "I will take care of both of you." He kissed both corners of her eyes and hugged her as Zaff made his way out of the room. Elise slowly wrapped her arms around Loriel''s waist and hugged him back. She felt touched. Elise could feel the man was serious with his words to take care of her and their baby. She bit her lip and looked down at her stomach. The chances of her surviving were slim but she would do it. This was worth it, she thought. If she could make Loriel happy with a child, then her sacrifice would be worth it. "Okay, you have been crying long enough," Loriel said. He took a handkerchief and wiped her tears. "Do you want to drink something?" "Y-yes, please..." Elise nodded weakly. She needed to stay strong and not appear annoying. "Okay. Wait here." Loriel patted her back gently and the rose from the bed. He went outside and asked a maid to bring a pot of tea and two cups. The maid returned in fifteen minutes and brought the tray with teapot and two cups inside the chamber. Once she was done arranging the tray on the bedside table, Loriel kicked her out. He poured tea into one cup, blew the heat, and gave the cup to Elise. "Here, drink something so you will feel better." Elise''s sobs were no longer intense. She could finally manage her feelings and stopped crying. She steeled her heart and epted the cup from her husband. She drank the tea slowly and after she had finished her drink, her mind cleared up. "Thank you, Your Grace." She lowered her face. "Thank you for what?" Loriel asked her. "I didn''t do anything." "Thank you for respecting my decision and supporting it..." Elise finally found her the words to say. She spoke in a barely audible voice. "I won''t let you down." "Don''t say that, Elise, please..." Loriel said. He tugged her chin and made her look at him. "You are my wife and you are carrying my child. Of course, I have to protect you two." Elise smiled despite the tear-streaked marks on her face and the two of them shared a kiss. Loriel hugged her and kissed her forehead. He knew she was an emotional wreck and there was no use to try and talk some sense into her about aborting her child. So, he just yed along with her request and epted that Zaff also seemed to agree with Elise''s request. As long as she stop crying and she could rest, Loriel would make her feel calm and happy. He would think about what to do once he was alone and could gather his thoughts. "You should rest," Loriel said. "Zaff said you should get bed rest and not do anything tiring. Can you do that? Can you do that for our baby?" Elise nodded weakly. "Yeah.. I can do that." "Good." Loriel helped Elise to lie down and then he covered her body with a nket. He sat there by the bed and watched his wife until she closed her eyes and slept. ''Oh, Elise.. what should I do with you?'' Loriel asked himself. He wiped tears from his eyes and then left the chamber. . . *************** From Missrealitybites: Thank you so much for all your support for TCK. I hope you will support my new book, "The King''s Wife Is The Alpha''s Wife". It already has 11 chapters on AllNovelFull. Please read it and let me know your thoughts ^^. PS: Thank you, DespinaNY, for gifting a dragon to TCK and TCP yesterday xx Chapter 256 - Loriel Makes A Heartbreaking Decision TRIGGER WARNING: The character is considering abortion. . . The clouds were hiding the moon when Loriel finally got up and summoned the royal physician to consult him in private at the king''s residence and in his study. This time, Elise was truly asleep and could not hinder the meeting with her endless tears and begging. It was a meeting that made Zaff the royal physician wary. However, it was something that perhaps only a king who ruled and made decisions for the better of his people could actually consider. Making decisions that were for the good of his wife, even if she detested it and hated him for it. That was how a king often ruled, thinking of his people and their best interests in heart despite it not always appearing that way. Those were the things that Loriel had in mind when he convinced himself that this was the only way. Even if Elise were to grow to hate him for what he was going to do, at least it meant her survival. "Your Majesty, if you were to ask me, there are several avable nts across the region of Summeria and even outside of here that grow nts that can safely abort the baby," Zaff said with a heavy heart. Loriel tried to imagine Elise''s anger and then hesitated. Right now, the sight of her tears made Loriel weak and made him agree with everything that she pleaded with him earlier. Could he really bear the idea and life of the woman hating him? Elise was the woman whom Loriel was supposed to spend the rest of his days with. If he were to end her pregnancy to save her life despite her plea not to, then he could imagine Elise would always be harboring resentment for what he had done to her. It was going to be a difficult life for him if he made Elise take the abortion medicine with herpletely aware of it. There was also the fact that Elise might seek for justice and revenge from Summeria by asking her father, King Alexander of Myreen, the powerful wizard to uphold her honor. That was how vicious a mother''s love was. If Catalina Leoralei could ce a protection spell that made the woman Loriel loved suffer and bring a kingdom to ashes¡­ what could her husband and mother-inw do if they knew that Loriel also put Elise through suffering by forcing an abortion? Loriel was afraid of the consequences but he also wanted the results that would save Elise''s life. "Can it be done in secret?" Loriel asked Zaff haltingly. He was a coward and he knew it. The king was afraid of losing the things that he appreciated right now. Even though Loriel had yet to still actually love Elise, it was apparent that their rtionship was now exceedingly good. This abortion would change things if she knew about it. No¡­ Loriel couldn''t imagine Elise hated him. Loriel still wanted the love and devotion that Elise offered to him without any stop because he was an immensely greedy and selfish man. If he could hide the fact that he gave her something to abort the baby¡­ then it made Loriel more willing. Zaff sped his hands together and sighed aloud. The fact that the royal physician had to give a suggestion to keep it a secret and unknown to the queen was a horrible position to be in and yet he was a physician required to give answers. He must not say no to the king. Finally, after he was deep in thoughts, Zaff spoke up. "Your Majesty, as these are herbal¡­ you can mix it in with Her Majesty''s tea that you often have with her. There are no dangerous side effects when you drink it and naturally, it is not lethal to Her Majesty. Only to a child in the womb. She wouldn''t know about it." "Then we will obtain these herbs and prepare them," Loriel said atst as he stood up to his feet. The man was restless and could not sit still. "How much dosage do we need? Is it possible to be only done at once?" "Your Majesty, if you wish for arge dosage then it can be done," Zaff said. "I can make a powerful concoction that will swiftly end the life of the child in Her Majesty''s womb." "I see. Let''s do it that way, Zaff." Loriel''s face was grim and dark. "I will send my men, no, I will personally collect everything tonight so we can have it done this morning. The sooner the better." "I will follow Your Majesty''s orders and swear my secrecy to your wishes." Zaff swore to the king. "I will list them down now for you to gather, Your Majesty." "Thank you." Loriel didn''t like the idea of him serving Elise tea everyday and knowing that she was unwittingly killing her child little by little. If Loriel was going to do this, then he wanted it to be done quickly. It was reminiscent of pulling a bandage from a wound, you needed to do it once and suddenly. For the rest of the night and for the hours before dawn, Loriel quickly gathered the nts named by the royal physician and returned to the pce to have it concocted by the physician. Abortion was not ouwed in Summeria. If a husband and wife were toe to a decision to abort during the early terms of pregnancy, then it was not begrudged to those who wished for it. Especially when a woman made the decision because it was her body that carried the child. Loriel normally didn''t care for suchws or bothered himself to be familiar with them. As the king of Summeria, he was above everything and could do as he pleased and thus it was around dawn when the potion for abortion was finished. It was Loriel himself who prepared the tea that Elise loved dearly. *** When morning came, all the ingredients that Zaff wanted had been prepared and the physician immediately started working to make the concoction. Once he was done, he notified Loriel that the medicine to abort his child was ready. The king picked up the clear bottle that contained the liquid meant to abort the child within Elise''s womb. Loriel tried to convince himself that it was probably not even a baby yet because Elise''s stomach hadn''t exactly grown that much beyond a bump. "It''s been¡­ how long? Two months? Three at most?" Loriel said to himself and gritted his teeth and uncorked the potion bottle. "It''s not even a baby yet at this point." He said those words to convince himself that what he would be doing was not murder. He had to choose between his wife, a living human, and an unborn fetus that did not even have its form yet. Without another moment''s hesitation, Loriel poured the potion into the teapot and mixed it. It surprisingly didn''t look or smell different from the usual tea that Loriel prepared and he could even pretend that he never poured it. Loriel picked up the tray and headed for the queen''s chambers. . . ************** From Missrealitybites: Topics about miscarriage and abortion are very delicate and can be triggering to some. So, I added a trigger warning. Tbh, this part is extremely difficult to write.. So, please bear with me. Chapter 257 - [Bonus ] Loriel Is Feeling Moved When Elise woke up from her sleep, she was feeling a lot better than the night before. Of course, the fact that her life was on the line - now that she chose to bear the child into full term was something that weighed heavily on her mind. It meant that her life would end here and she''d never get the chance to experience what it was like to raise her baby and watch them grow into a beautiful person. However, she had alreadye to a decision. Somehow, it ended up being the same as her mother''s decision when she was pregnant with Elise. Did Queen Catalina Leoralei wish that her daughter would grow into a wonderful person? What were her hopes and prayers when Elise was born and she was on her deathbed? What did Catalina''s face look like during that time? Did she regret everything or did she consider everything worth it as she saw the life that was brought into the world? Those things came to Elise''s mind and she might even think the same way when it came to that day. However, there was still some small hope in her chest. Perhaps if she truly rested in her chambers and did everything as the royal physician rmended, then Elise would truly be able to carry her child and deliver it to Loriel proudly. "Where is my husband anyway?" Elise fluttered hershes and remembered that the man was by her sidest night, but then recalled that when the man got up. Perhaps, he was out to get her something to drink? Loriel did oftene to serve her tea and breakfast after he decided to share her chambers. The man was so loving and doting when he wanted to be. And thesest few weeks showed Elise what he was capable of, as a doting husband. Elise held her stomach and rubbed it gently. "You see, darling, even if your father doesn''t love me and is trying his best, he already has done a lot of wonderful things like taking care of me. When you are born, my child, he''ll love you dearly, because you are his flesh and blood. And you will be his heir." That was what made Elise feel more encouraged and reassured that no matter what happened to her during her pregnancy and if she were to die¡­ Loriel was going to be there for their child. Even if Loriel remarried another woman, it was okay for Elise. Elise trusted that Loriel would love their child so much that even if he were to have another child or two from his next wife, his love would be enough for this child he would get from Elise. Even better if the woman who he married was going to be a wonderful person who would raise Elise''s baby like her own. For a moment, Elise licked her lips in nervousness and sped her hands together. "Should I¡­ talk to Rose? Alina may be sent back to Myreen if I were to die and I can''t ask her to stay in Summeria all her life to look after my child." Those thoughts and conversations with herself stopped when Loriel returned to her chambers. As expected, the king was carrying a tray with a pot of tea as usual and cups for them to share with. It looked like it was only tea this time. There was no breakfast yet? "Good morning, Elise," Loriel greeted her with a smile that didn''t look real. It was a forced smile and Elise could even see the bags that were underneath his eyes as if Loriel could not fall asleep. Compared to Elise who was able to sleep thanks to a sleeping potion, Loriel was probably restless all evening. This realization made Elise''s heart feel sad to see him this way. Loriel was truly a great person that respected her decisions despite being troubled with it. And he still went out of his way to prepare tea for his wife. Elise felt so moved. Tears immediately started forming in her eyes. She loved this man so much. "Your Majesty, please,e here," Elise said gently. "ce that tea aside for a moment, please." "Huh?" Loriel''s grip tightened around the tray that his knuckles were white. His heart pounded. Was there any chance that Elise figured it out? Did Zaff betray him and tell the news to the queen? "Come here and join me in bed," Elise told him. "Please¡­" Loriel bit down his lip and ced the tea aside for now and approached Elise in bed. He didn''t want to approach her or even sit so close to her when his heart was beating so loudly that he was afraid it would leap out. When Loriel finally sat down in bed, Elise reached for him and ced his head on herp. "Wait, Elise¡ª" Loriel tried to struggle and get out of herp, but the woman stubbornly held him down. "I am sorry that you have to go through this," Elise murmured softly andbed her fingers through his hair. It was reminiscent of the first time that Loriel received a massage from her that helped soothe his headache. "Elise, I should be the one that''s sorry," Loriel croaked. The tea was on a table and so close that all he needed to do was pour his wife a cup and she''d drink it without even batting an eye. "No, please don''t apologize to me," Elise smiled warmly at him and gently touched his face. Her thumb pressed against the dark circles underneath his eyes soothingly. "Instead, why don''t you lie down and sleep for a moment? You need to take care of yourself, Loriel." Loriel bit down on his lip. Even after the eventsst night that made Elise cry and weep so deeply, the woman was still looking out for Loriel and cared for him. She didn''t know anything about his thoughts and ns, but the woman loved him sincerely. Elise would even sacrifice her life so Loriel could have a child. "Hah, you''re so unbelievable," Loriel squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and tried not to cry. Goddamnit, what was he trying to do right now?! Loriel sat right up and shook his head. Elise looked at Loriel in surprise. "What''s wrong? Were you ufortable in myp?" "No, that''s not it. The tea," Loriel choked out. "Oh, right. We should drink it while it''s still hot." Elise turned to the table and quickly pointed her finger towards the tray. It quickly rose up in the air and gently floated towards them. Loriel stood up and quickly grabbed the tray before it reached Elise. There was a look of surprise on Elise''s face and he tried to exin himself. "Not this one, it''s¡­ it''s already cold." "I could heat it up?" Elise showed a small me in her fingertips. Loriel shook his head. "I''ll bring you a new one." Before Elise could ask any more questions, Loriel bolted out of the room with the tray of tea. He threw it out of the window and watched everything shatter down into pieces.. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Chapter 258 - The Worst Day Of His Life TRIGGER WARNING: The characters experience losing their baby. . . Loriel realized his grave foolishness after that day and swore to never consider aborting the baby again. He would take care of Elise and make sure that she was healthy, he wanted both the baby and Elise to survive. He was afraid of losing them both. The man did his best to pour love, affection, and joy into her life, and Loriel became the best husband that he could be. What else could he do to ever deserve such a wonderful woman like Elise? He needed to repay everything that he received from her. Elise had given him all the love and unconditional understanding. So, Loriel thought he needed to give her everything that she deserved. However, Loriel was not powerful or almighty, he could not change things and so he was forced to watch as Elise''s condition worsened over time. He did not know what caused it, or if it was because Elise was really weak, Months went by and as her pregnancy grew, Elise bled a lot and became sick by every little thing. He morning sickness was the worst and didn''t go away even after months. Loriel could do nothing but watch her suffer. Nothing he did, to try to alleviate the woman''s pains, worked. Every time he saw her wince in pain or threw up, Loriel felt his heart drop to the floor and he wanted to cry. He could see how much Elise was going through so much in order to deliver their baby and survive the aftermath. Slowly, his heart was filled with so much affection and care for the beautiful woman who became his wife through the arranged marriaged set up by their mothers. Secretly, Loriel prayed to whatever higher beings there were to bless his wife with health, so she could carry their child to full term and survive childbirth. He promised to care for Elise and their child, and protect them with his life. However, Elise''s condition didn''t get better. It was not strange for Elise to be bedridden and stay in her chamber with Brick snuggled around her feet constantly. Zaff, the royal physician, was always constantly summoned to check and monitor the queen''s condition. One time, Loriel woke up to the stench of blood and quickly woke up to find Elise still asleep but bleeding profusely despite her not moving at all. Loriel found his heart not taking the sight of Elise suffering so much. The couple went through so many scary things throughout the months of Elise pregnancy until it finally culminated into the end. It was time for Elise to give birth and the event surprised everyone because it was premature. Elise''s shriek of pain and agony ofbor echoed across the entire chamber. Loriel felt his hand hurt as Elise squeezed it hard as tears sprang up from the corner of her eyes. The midwife was delivering the child with the help and attendance of Zaff constantly watching the process with careful eyes. Elise was given herbs and medicine to reduce thebor pain, but it was taking some time before it actually gave effect¡­ and yet it was alreadyte. The midwife said an oath and prayer as she carefully delivered the child. Once she pulled the baby out, she gave a sad look to Zaff and was unable to say a word. "My baby, where is my baby?" Elise whispered. Her pale was face while still in a state of deliriousness. Cold sweat was evident across her entire face and the process of childbirth only weakened her further that it was a surprise to see her still awake. She continued pleading with a hoarse voice. "P-please¡­ where is my baby?" Loriel tried to soothe his wife despite the terrible knots in his stomach. "Elise, please, calm down for a moment. You need to rest instead of exerting yourself like this." "Your Majesty, where is our child?!" Elise huped and looked him in the eye with grief. There was no cry of a baby that night at all and yet when Loriel looked at Zaff, the royal physician''s head was down and he couldn''t even say a word. There was nothing that the man could do in this hour. It was the midwife who carried the baby somberly, already wrapped, that revealed to Loriel the truth. "I''m incredibly sorry, Your Majesty," the midwife hoarsely said and yet with the words of someone who has encountered rying the news to countless pitiful couples. "Your child is stillborn. She did not survive." So, it was a girl. His mind went to Harlow, Emmelyn''s really cute daughter that he met two years ago. He was jealous that Emmelyn, the woman he loved, had such a cute daughter with her husband. Whenever he thought about it, Loriel secretly desired to have a daughter too. His daughter would be more beautiful than Emmelyn''s daughter. However¡­ his daughter was born stillborn. She was dead before she could even see this world. No one could see how beautiful she would be. Apparently, Loriel didn''t deserve her. She was taken away before Loriel could hold her in his strong arms. Loriel felt his heart rip apart mercilessly by invisible hands. He had never felt so hurt and sad at the same time like he did that day. He finally experienced what he thought to be the worst day of his life. . . ***************** From Missrealitybites: Writing this chapter is really difficult because it''s heartbreaking. I wanted to go deeper, but then realized it might be too much to handle. I hope you could also see that Loriel has been working hard to be a good husband after Elise became pregnant, and slowly, his love for Elise grew. Unfortunately, before their love gained a strong foundation, they have to deal with such terrible loss. And so... they were back to zero. This is not umon to happen between couples who are faced with tragedy. PS: Thank you, DespinaNY, for gifting a dragon to The Cursed King yesterday. xx Chapter 259 - Grief Loriel lost the strength in his knees and fell on the floor in devastation when he saw the baby. He didn''t dare to take her from the midwife, worried that he would drop her, due to his terrible mental state. The king of Summeria who had defeated so many enemies in battle and also conquered them without mercy found himself weak at the sight of his child now lost and gone forever. It etched a deep wound on his heart. It was as if he lost a piece of him, a light that dimmed at the loss. Now, he understood why Elise was so fierce in protecting their unborn child. Elise already loved that child before she could even see her. A mother''s love was so pure and unconditional. Elise who was also still awake let out a soul-wrecking sob that tore through the soul of anyone who heard it at night. It was a cry of pain and misery that wrenched the hearts of those who would discover it. Both Elise and Loriel couldn''t even muster the strength to find each other and alleviate the pain of one another. The grief engulfed the two of them in ways that only closed them off from the world and to each other. Sobbing manifested that night, and even when Loriel tried to approach his wife, Elise screamed at him and then fainted. "Elise survived¡­" Loriel spoke to himself in a mutter. He was supposed to be happy and relieved that his wife was alive despite delivering a child and yet all he could find in his chest was a huge void that couldn''t be filled. "Your Majesty, please get some rest." Horatio, who was also wiping his own tears with a handkerchief, approached the king who he once served even when he was a little boy. It was the first time that Horatio saw a grown-up Loriel look so numb. Even the devastation and mourning that Loriel did when he lost the first woman he loved and the depths of grief when he mourned for his mother was something that was different from Loriel losing his child. Without another moment passing by, Horatio helped the king back to his own chamber and tried tofort the king to make him sleep. "Your Majesty¡­ shall I ask for a sleeping potion from Zaff?" "No." Loriel sat down on his bed and buried his head in his hands. He shook his head. "No. I will stay awake." Horatio watched the king silently for a couple of minutes but eventually left him to grieve alone in silence. For a proud man like Loriel, it was impossible for him to weep or show his despair when there were other people around him. Once the royal butler was gone, Loriel wept despondently. *** The baby was buried under the jacaranda tree which was nted on the day Loriel was born. This was the most special ce in the royal pce and Loriel wanted his daughter''s final resting ce to be in a ce he cherished the most. Elise was still too weak to witness the funeral. So, only Loriel came andid down the baby in the grave before they covered it with soil and nted several flowers on top. The king sat for hours by the grave and cried silently. No one was allowed toe to the royal garden while he was there to give him privacy. He and Elise had not even agreed on her name. Both avoided talking about names after Elise almost miscarried thest time, where Loriel was advised by Zaff to choose between his child''s or his wife''s life. They were afraid to jinx it. Choosing a baby''s name before the baby was born was seen as bad luck when the mother was having a difficult pregnancy. However, now that the baby was born lifeless... they were not prepared to call her with a proper name. Loriel was certain that Elise must have a name prepared secretly, but he didn''t have the heart toe to his depressed wife to ask her about the name. He decided to wait until Elise felt better. So, the baby was finally buried in a nameless grave. *** Elise refused to see Loriel after that event. In her heart and soul, she could not bear to look at Loriel because the sight of her husband made her remember their child. It crushed her so much to even think of them. ...and Loriel could understand it. He was feeling heartbroken too. So, seeing how much Elise wallowed in sadness, he knew there was nothing he could do. Even Loriel did not want to face his wife after everything she''d been through. He did not know what to say to her when a pit of emptiness was also wallowing inside of him. He was mourning too. He didn''t have the mental capacity to console Elise when he could not even process his own grief. As promised, Loriel moved out of Elise''s chamber to give her space and time to grieve. He did tell her when he moved in that he only stayed in her chamber during her pregnancy to make sure she and their baby were well. Now that there was no more baby, he had no excuse to keep staying there. When he came with Horatio to bring his clothes out of her chamber, Elise didn''t show that she cared, not even one bit. She didn''t say a word and refused to look at him. After Loriel moved out and returned to his own chamber, he and Elise grew distant day by day. Little by little, all the amount of affection and wonderful activities that they used to do was pulled under by the weight of their sorrow. At first, the two of them met for breakfast and other meals, but Elise did not have an appetite and neither did Loriel.. It hurt both of them to see each other because it reminded them of what they had lost. Chapter 260 - There Is No Spring In Summeria It was the heartbreaking loss that destroyed whatever connection Loriel had built with his wife. Before, every time he saw her, he would think about how this beautiful woman was the mother of his child and they would have a family of their own. Elise was an only child and Loriel was not close to any of his siblings. Both were lonely and longed for family, and it seemed the baby they could have had would be the bridge that connected their hearts and made them real husband and wife. However, now the baby was gone. They had not even had a name for her. She was gone before she existed. Soon, Loriel buried himself in work and kept himself busy. He found many things to do that would require him to leave the pce and not return for days. He couldn''t really see Elise''s face without remembering what they had lost. It allowed Loriel to not think about his pain and instead focus on important tasks in order to keep his mind away from the things that hurt him. Elise herself cried despondently in her room and refused to see anyone. Even Brick was incapable of making Elise smile because of how depressed that she was. She did not want to eat, drink or even sleep and instead spent her days weeping until she finally fell asleep in exhaustion. Loriel would make Horatio or Zaff check on Elise every day, have the maids cajole her into eating and telling her she needed to stay alive, but he stayed away from her so he wouldn''t trigger her or make her cry even further. When there arrived an opportunity to leave? Loriel took it. Duke Lance Goodwin advised him to visit their colonies to strengthen their grip on those lesser kingdoms. This journey expedition would require Loriel to go on a five-month journey around Summeria and along to other colonies that they have conquered and so he would embark on this trip. Perhaps it would help him forget the pain. Distantnds far away from his home, it would take Loriel''s mind off of things that pained him, and perhaps when he came back, everything would be okay again and he could pretend that it was all a terrible nightmare. For now, Loriel did his best to muster up the strength to even talk and care about other people. "Horatio, please look after the queen and the royal pce while I am gone for this expedition," Loriel instructed the old man with a tired voice. Horatio bowed his head. "I will, Your Majesty. Please take care of yourself during this trip." "I will," Loriel said. When the king looked around the pce as he rode on his horse and joined the cavalry for their expedition, there was no sign of any blossoming flowers and neither were the trees green at all. Loriel sighed inwardly and pushed his horse onwards and out of Castilse. The state of his pce reminded him of the time when he first visited Myreen and winter took hold around the edge of its kingdom while king Alexander was ill. An entireke was frozen over because of how sick the king became. It was a great testimony to how a Leoralei affected their environment. Maybe¡­ Castilse was experiencing drought and gloominess because the queen was sick? Loriel didn''t even want to go to Elise''s pce to check on the royal garden. He already heard the news of every nt dying there and he couldn''t even muster the courage to step there. Not only did he hurt at the thought of seeing Elise, if he were to see the sight of his mother''s, thete Queen Maude''s beloved garden dead and unalive, but it would also break him further. And so that was how Loriel left. He left to mend his broken heart. However, everywhere he would go, he was reminded of Elise and what they failed to have. Whether it was a simple and innocent child''sugh in a vige they passed through, or the old couple he would encounter on the road and even his own soldiers who sometimes spoke of wanting to reunite with their wife and children after grueling travels¡ªLoriel found himself thinking of Elise in those times. He woulde to realize that it wasn''t only his pce, or Castilse that was devoid of flowers blooming. The entirend of Summeria and its colonies were thrown into a disarray at theck of growth. It was as if spring refused toe in Summeria. There came people, mages, and wizards that attempted to fix the situation, they would pray to the goddess of the earth, cast spells to make flowers blossom because it was essential to how a kingdom survived. Loriel left them to do as they wished, but there were only small sesses and most often, the flowers would quickly close their petals and refuse to open again. It was a disaster that Loriel knew he was incapable of mending. How could he heal Elise''s heart when even he was not able to heal his own broken heart? Only temporary solutions were made. *** Before Loriel knew it, the five months already passed by him so fast. Loriel was still reluctant to go home and return to a pce devoid of joy and happiness. However, suddenly, there was something he noticed during the end of his expedition. Loriel would see a couple together and the man already had a bouquet of flowers in his hand and offered it to the woman. He couldn''t believe his eyes. "Is it¡­ spring again?" Loriel asked himself and he was baffled. Before Loriel knew it, the king of Summeria reached Catilse atst and quickly headed for the queen''s residence. He passed by his royal servants, butler, and other people without a care and rushed ahead of them into the garden. And it was there that Loriel saw his wife after months of not seeing each other. Everywhere around her was a vibrant and rich color, the trees were a strong green and the flowers aplenty were blossoming as a fragrant odor filled the air with the sweetest of scents like perfume. However, all of them paled inparison to the sight of Elise in the garden. There was a butterfly perched on her fingertip and a beautiful smile on her face. "Elise." Chapter 261 - Healing In thest six months after Elise''s miscarriage, she spent a great majority of it stuck inside of her room and continued to live each day with a sense of agony and longing for a future that she would never get to experience. Her daughter was never going to see what it was like to live, y and make friends. It was a frustrating thing for Elise as the survivor, she wished that she was the one who had died instead of her child. If there was any way for her to turn back time again, Elise would do everything within her power to change the oue of her daughter''s life. However, there was nothing that she could do. Even the great magic of healing that Elise learned from Raphael could not change her anatomy into that which was suited for childbearing. Her own attempts at alleviating the symptoms were not actually curing the root of the problem. Elise was the problem in her mind and she med herself for it. It made looking at Loriel an impossible task because whenever she looked at her husband, her mind was filled with a lot of questions. Did their daughter have her father''s eyes? In what ways was she like Elise and in what way was she like Loriel? Countless questions spurned in Elise''s mind and mocked her for answers that she''ll never discover and it made her heart heavy. She couldn''t see Loriel at all, every inch of his face and body reminded her of the things that they could not have. Of the things that Elise failed to give to Loriel she considered them as her failure as a woman. A part of Elise already epted that fate and she could imagine that Loriel would disown her, divorce, or cast her aside as a worthless woman who couldn''t even save her daughter''s life. It ced her in a state where it was impossible for her to move or even have the energy to stand at all. Elise knew that the royal garden beloved by Queen Maude needed to be tended by her, but she couldn''t even muster the strength to do anything at all. Life seemed to have no meaning or purpose any longer. Brick tried to console her. The cat was always seen purring at her feet and rubbing Elise with its head¡­ but it could not heal the things that broke the young queen. Alina, her head maidservant, and the other maids that Loriel gave to Elise found themselves in trouble because she refused to eat. She didn''t have any appetite and when she did force herself to eat, it would only take a couple of minutes or seconds before she vomited them all again. Her own body refused to listen. But as the time passed and each day continued, with the sun rising and setting and the moon a constantpanion during the nights¡­ Elise slowly tried to put herself back together again. It would crush her father and grandmother to know that Elise was reduced to a state like this. She wasn''t the only one who experienced such pains as this one, but more importantly, Elise needed to be strong for the people who were still alive. Her mother, Catalina died so Elise could live, and yet what would her mother think if she saw Elise act in this manner? A young woman who lost all hope and refused to live. Even if Elise was wallowing in pain, she wasn''t the only one. If there was any time for her to recover, stand a little stronger and be there for the people who needed her¡­ then it would have been six months before this. Elise allowed Loriel and her to grow distant because it seemed inevitable. The only oue Elise saw for them as husband and wife. But the best next time to recover? It was always now. Elise wiped her tears slowly and sat up from her bed and did her best to eat. Little by little, her condition improved, and along with it was her environment. Horatio, Alina, and the rest of the people in the pce were relieved to see her spirit rejuvenated once again. At that time, Loriel was already gone on his five-month expedition, but Elise waited fervently for the man to return so she could apologize and have a proper conversation with her husband. On that day that Elise left for the garden to take care of it and saw the familiar wings of the same type of butterfly that she once hurt identally. Instead of the sight bringing her to tears, Elise smiled and allowed the butterfly to perch on her finger. She was already healing in her own way and was ready to look at life more positively. "Elise," a familiar voice called out to her. Elise turned around and saw Loriel standing a couple of feet away from her in the garden. The king was still dressed in his armor and outfit from the expedition trip, but there was a glimmer of tears in his eyes and a smile on his lips. "Loriel," Elise managed a smile and ran towards her husband. She threw her arms around him and gave him a warm embrace. Her heart beat loudly in her chest as she rested her head on him. The king of Summeria was surprised at Elise''s greeting, but he quickly returned the hug and pulled her close to him. Loriel could smell the fragrance of her hair and the soothing warmth of Elise. "I missed you so much," Loriel whispered. He was not lying or saying those words just out of politeness. He did miss her so badly. "I missed you too," Elise whispered back. It was a wee that Loriel didn''t know that he needed. He tightened his hug on his wife, but immediately he loosened it, worried that her frail body would crush under his strong arms. When he hugged her, Loriel realized Elise had grown so thin. He was scared to break her already-frail body. "How are you?" He looked at her beautiful face dotingly. "Have you eaten anything?" Elise forced a smile and finally shook her head. "No¡­ not yet." "Do you want to eat dinner with me?" Loriel asked her again. "I am starving," Elise bobbed her head and she wiped the tears that started streaming down her face again. "Yes¡­. yes." "Let me carry you. You look unwell," Loriel said and before Elise gave her approval, he lifted her from the ground and carried her horizontally in his strong arms. He would not let this frail woman walk through such a vast garden if he could carry her to safety. Elise was startled but she automatically wrapped her hands around Loriel''s neck. This felt so familiar. She missed his warmth and his care. Elise rested her head on her husband''s shoulder and let him carry her inside. After that sweet moment, the couple took their time to head into the dining room and reunited once again. The maids brought them tea and the two of them started a heartfelt conversation with one another. Elise asked Loriel about his time during the expedition and bugged him about the things and ces that he''d seen, the people he met, and other things. Loriel asked about how Elise was doing... if there was anything that happened in the pce while he was gone and how she fared during those times. Before they knew it, it was alreadyte. Chapter 262 - We Can Save Water "It''s alreadyte," Elise murmured when she cast her nce around her. The night sky still had a tinge of orange and pink from the sunset. Since it was summer, the sun went down reallyte. Elise thought that must be the reason why they didn''t remember the time when they chatted after not seeing each other for months. Thest time they were together was in winter where the day was short and night came early. Loriel thought the same thing. It waste. Ahh... where did the time go? The king rose from his seat and wiped his forehead. The king only realized that he was dirty after the long trip. He needed to take a bath and change his clothes. However, there was unwillingness in his heart to part with Elise. They had just seen each other after a long time being separated. The separation was not a bad thing for this part. In a way, it was something that they decided individually but with the tacit understanding that they needed the space and time to be alone. Loriel was grieving, and so was she. Seeing him... pained her. So, Elise was relieved when Loriel left for the long expedition. That means she didn''t have to force herself to see him and acted like everything was okay because... she was not okay. At the same time, she also didn''t want to show her vulnerable side to him. He already worked hard to love her when she was beautiful, in good health, and looking amazing... how much harder it would be for him to take her if he witnessed her looking depressed, lifeless, and didn''t take care of her appearance? No... Elise would rather die than let her husband see her in that state. In fact... if she could die with her baby, she would, rather than living in pain and sorrow, while being the worst version of herself. But if she died too... Loriel would be left with no one. Her husband was an orphan who didn''t even have friends, and his older sisters all hated him. Elise knew Loriel was actually a good man and she loved him to bits. So, she couldn''t bear to leave him alone. Elise realized after a while that she just needed time to be herself again, so she could heal, and then maybe rebuild their life together. Fortunately, Loriel was thinking the same thing and he went away temporarily, finding something to do to distract his mind from the debilitating sadness. He needed time to be alone and gather his thoughts. After five months, Loriel was finally ready to go home. He was prepared to meet a sad wife and, perhaps, his mental capacity was now enough to console her. He didn''t expect to see Elise looking much better than before. Instead of consoling his wife, secretly, Loriel felt that he was the one who felt consoled just by seeing her smile and listening to her melodious voice. He felt all warm and fuzzy inside when he was sitting beside her and talking to her about his five-month expedition. He didn''t remember the time passed by so quickly and now it''s suddenly already 10 pm. "Yeah... it''ste," Loriel affirmed her words. Elise looked at him with her beautiful emerald eyes, curious to know why he looked so reluctant to leave the dining room. "You must be tired," Elise said with her soft voice. "Do you want me to ask the servants to prepare your bathwater?" Loriel nodded weakly. "Yeah. That will be great. Thank you." Elise smiled. "I will talk to them." She rose from her seat and walked out of the dining room. When she reached the door, she turned around to see him. "Good night, Loriel." Loriel was suddenly moved from his reverie and he sauntered toward her. "What are you going to do? Are you tired too?" Elise didn''t understand why he asked her that question. It waste. So, of course, she would go to her chamber and get ready to rest. She had trouble sleeping since the tragedy, but she could take a sleeping potion from Zaff and use her time to meditate while waiting for the drug to take effect and she fell asleep. "I..." She looked doubtful with her answer. "I''m not tired, but..." Why did her husband ask if she was tired? She wasn''t tired because she didn''t do any hard work. Everyone in the pce was quick to beg her to rest and not do any physical work whenever they saw her trying to do something. They said the king would punish them if they let her do any work. So... Elise wasn''t tired. She wasn''t sleepy either. But it''ste and she didn''t know what to do after the night set in and everyone around her went to sleep. "But...?" Loriel walked closer and now their bodies almost touched. Elise batted her eyes in surprise. From this angle, her husband''s face looked extremely handsome with the final rays of sunset illuminating from behind him. He looked so dreamy. Elise felt her heart flutter. She bit her lip and looked at him with confusion. "But it''ste... so, I... I have to go to my chamber, and..." "And?" Loriel still chased her for an answer. "And... I will take my sleeping potion, it helps me to fall asleep, and then I will sleep," Elise finally exined. " "Oh... you have insomnia?" Loriel furrowed his brows. "Since when?" He immediately regretted his question after he uttered it. He should have guessed that his wife must have had sleeping problems after the miscarriage. No... it was not really a miscarriage, because she gave birth to their daughter. It''s just that the baby came out stillborn. "I just can''t sleeptely," Elise looked away. "It''s fine. Zaff''s potion helps a lot." "You shouldn''t take the same potion too many times because it will lose its potency," Loriel said. His heart ached when he heard Elise now had to rely on medicine just to sleep. It was already five months and she still suffered so much. "I... don''t really have a choice," Elise admitted, still not looking in his direction. She didn''t want to cry before him just because she was suffering and couldn''t sleep. Wasn''t she already looking better today? They could talk and share their news without shedding any tears. She didn''t want to crumble and be engulfed in sadness again. She added, "I need the sleep." Loriel touched her chin gently and tugged it to face him. His words were sincere when he spoke, "I am sorry to hear that. It must be so hard on you." Elise batted her eyes so her tears wouldn''t stream down her face. "Thank you." Their eyes locked and even though Elise wanted to look away to hide her tears, Loriel''s fingers still tugged her chin. So, she could only look at him. Loriel wanted to say something but there were no words came out of his lips. Elise thought he must have something important to say, so she waited and looked at him deeply. What was it that he found so hard to utter? There was only silence for a few moments. "Taking a hot bath helps with sleeping problems," Loriel suddenly said after he struggled to find the right words. "If you have insomnia, taking a hot bath to rx your body and mind will work wonders. Have you tried it?" He added, "Use some special salt in the bathwater and aromatherapy scented candles to calm your mind and, perhaps... a cup of red wine." Elise closed her eyes and imagined taking a bath with hot water, rxing salt, and aromatherapy candles. It did feel calming when she thought about it. "I tried the hot water and special salt, but never with the aromatherapy candles," she opened her eyes and said to Loriel. "That does sound wonderful." "It will be better to add many flower petals. I think we can add some jacaranda flowers, roses, and many other flowers from the garden," Loriel suggested. "Flower bath. That''s what they call it in Belem, this is the country where I tried it for the first time. It''s very rxing and beat any sleeping potion every time." "Very well..." Elise smiled sweetly. "Thank you for the advice, Your Majesty. I will try it and let you know if that works." "It will work, trust me," Loriel removed his fingers from her chin. This time he was the one who looked away. "It will work." His mind suddenly imagined his wife taking a flower bath, her beautiful body naked under the hot water, with the only lighting provided by several aromatherapy scented candles. Gosh.. he still remembered how sexy she looked, naked under him, panting for breath after making love for several rounds. After every exhausting intercourse, usually, Elise would be tired and curled up in his embrace, and she would sleep like a baby until morning. "Well... then, let me ask Alina to prepare bathwater for me," Elise bowed down her head a little and smiled. "And... Horatio will prepare for you too." Loriel swallowed hard and turned to look at Elise again. He finally found the right words to say. "Don''t you think it''s a lot of hassle for our servants to prepare two bathwaters?" Elise looked at Loriel with bulged eyes. She was not dumb and could understand what her husband was hinting at. Her heart pounded immediately. She nodded softly and replied, "Yeah... it''s a hassle." "Let''s just ask them to prepare one bath. We can take a bath together," Loriel said firmly. "That way we can save water." . . ____________________ IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I am publishing the final chapters for "The Cursed King" for the next few days. The book will conclude by the end of this week or early next week. Therefore, I have changed the Privilege Tier for December to only: Tier 1 with 1 coin for 2 advanced chapters and Tier 2 with 100 coins for 38 advanced chapters I will not set the book toplete immediately because I want to publish some bonus chapters in the future (their life together, possible kids, etc). If I set it toplete after the story ends by end of this week, I cannot publish the side stories the way I want it. So, please understand that in order for me to do it, I will have to leave the book open until I can write the bonus chapters (possibly on January ''22). That means, if you only read this book using fast passes, you will be able to get all the chapters in January because the privilege will be dispensed out. In December, if you want to read immediately, you can just purchase the privilege on W e b n o v e l app.. I have lowered the price to be only 100 coins for 38 advanced chapters. Chapter 263 - Taking A Bath Elise''s face flushed red when she heard Loriel''s words. Was he serious with what he said? She looked up at him and assessed his expression. Ah¡­ he was not joking. Her heart pounded uncontrobly at the thought of this. Did he... really express his desire for them to take bath together? They had never done anything like this before. Just thinking about it made Elise''s face heated, as if she suddenly contracted fever. "What do you think?" Loriel asked Elise teasingly. From her expression, he could see that she was shy but also secretly excited about his offer. He knew she was still in love with him. Elise was so easy to read. Her love was so obvious and Loriel could tell she wanted to take a bath together with him. He wanted her too. His nights were lonely and cold for the past five months when he was away. He missed her warm and soft body in his arms as he went to sleep alone. Now that they had met again, and they were no longer drowned in sadness, all he could think about when he saw his wife was how she was naked under him, panting for breath as he made love to her passionately. Elise lowered her head shyly and finally, she nodded, very very slightly. Loriel smiled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Then, it''s decided. I will talk to Horatio to prepare our bathwater." "Okay," Elise replied in a barely audible voice. She felt her body tremble slightly. Her mind went to the past when she and Loriel were being intimate. She remembered his muscr body on top of her as he made love to her. She had not seen him naked for a really long time, and now she realized how much she missed it. Loriel waved at Horatio and gave him the order with a t face, while Elise hid her face on Loriel''s chest. She couldn''t look at Horatio when Loriel spoke about the bath for two. "How long can you get it ready?" Loriel asked Horatio. The butler thought about the flower petals, the candles, and whatnot, and finally gave his estimate. "Around one hour, Your Majesty," he said politely. Deep inside, the royal butler was so happy to receive this request. He empathized with the king''s and queen''s sufferings and wished they could be happy again. He knew the king went away to grieve, and the same went for the queen. She was also drowned in sadness for so many months. Now that Loriel had returned, he and Elise had started spending time together and their rtionship seemed to improve. And now, the king suddenly asked Horatio to prepare his bathwater so he could bathe together with the queen? Ahh... this was truly the best order a royal butler could ever receive. "Okay, then. We will wait," Loriel said. He motioned Horatio to leave and then turned to Elise. "Do you want to continue drinking wine with me while we wait for the bath to be prepared?" Elise smiled and nodded sheepishly. So, they went back to the dining room. After Elise sat on her chair, Loriel poured wine into two goblets and gave one to Elise. She took it with a happy heart. "Wine can also help with insomnia," Loriel said. "That''s true... but I have drunk enough," Elise said softly. "I should drink more slowly. If I took too much, I might be drunk." Loriel sipped his wine while watching Elise''s beautiful face before him. Her words made him realize he had never seen his wife drunk before. She was always so graceful. "I never see you drunk," hemented. "I wonder what type of drunk you are." "Huh?" Elise looked at the man in confusion. "What do you mean?" "Well..." Loriel cleared his throat. "Some people sleep when they are drunk, some people talk too much, and some others wreak havoc. So, I am wondering which one are you." "Oh...." Elise pressed her lips. "I don''t know. I am never drunk." "Yeah, I notice," Loriel nodded. "Does that mean, you can hold your liquor or do you just never take too much to get drunk?" Elise thought about it for a while, then she shook her head. "I think I just never drank enough to get drunk." Loriel chuckled. Just as he expected. His wife was such a good woman. She was always so graceful and sweet. Even if someday she got drunk, Loriel imagine she would probably just sleep like an adorable baby, not talk too much or wreak havoc. As for Loriel himself... "Well, when I am drunk, which rarely happen, I usually would¡ª" "You would talk too much, Your Majesty," Elise said, unintentionally interrupting Loriel. She remembered when he was drunk that one time. He kept talking about the fairy who saved his life. Ah... the memory put a smile on Elise''s face. Loriel looked at her in confusion. "How did you know?" He didn''t remember ever getting drunk around his wife. Elise immediately realized her mistake when she saw his curious expression. She never talked about the incident where Loriel was so drunk that he slipped and talked to her about the ''fairy'' who helped save his life when he was younger. Eliseter found out that the ''fairy'' was herself and this memory always made her feel happy inside. "I..." she smiled. "I saw you drunk one time. You don''t remember." "Oh..." Loriel was so surprised by this revtion. Suddenly, he felt worried that in his drunken state he said things that he shouldn''t say. He looked at Elise''s beautiful face intently, trying to assess her expression. Seeing her big eyes looking at him still with that affectionate gaze, Loriel breathed a sigh of relief. It''s good. That means he didn''t say anything stupid or hurtful to his wife when he was drunk. He cleared his throat. "I hope I didn''t say anything stupid." Elise shook her head. Her expression was still as sweet as ever. She said, "No. You were actually really sweet." "I was?" Loriel couldn''t believe Elise''s judgment that he was being sweet to her when he was drunk. He knew himself well enough. He was not sweet. And Elise loved him too much, so she must be biased. "Yes, Your Majesty, you were," Elise smiled to confirm her words. She found him endearing when he was drunk and kept talking about the beautiful fairy and how much he wanted to see her again. "What did I say back then?" Loriel asked again. He became very curious. Elise bit her lip and avoided Loriel''s gaze. She didn''t want to lie to him, but at this point, she couldn''t tell him the truth. She spoke in a low voice. "I am sorry... I don''t remember exactly, but I only know that you said sweet things to me. Please forgive my poor memory..." "Ahh.. okay," Loriel smiled too. Well, he was just relieved that he didn''t act like a jerk and say hurtful things to his wife when he was drunk. He knew he was not exactly husband of the year with how he had been treating Elise after they got married. He avoided her, acted cold and distant, and made her ce known from early on... that she was not loved and he didn''t intend to consummate their marriage. Even though he changed his mind and his attitude,ter on, it didn''t remove the fact that he was not a good man during their early days as husband and wife. "Your Majesty, the bathwater is ready." Suddenly Horatio appeared by the doorway and gave his report that the king and queen could now take a bath together. "Where did you prepare it?" Loriel forgot to ask the butler to prepare the bath in his chamber because all his clothes were there. Horatio replied, "We prepared it in the queen''s chamber." "Ah, okay," Loriel nodded. Elise''s chamber was okay too. He could ask Horatio to get his clothes from his personal chamber. However, before he could say anything, the butler said, "I have prepared Your Majesty''s clothes beside the bath." "Ahh... good." Loriel was really pleased by his butler''s initiative. Horatio really knew him so well. The king turned to Elise and reached out his hand. "Wanna take a bath now?" Elise nodded sheepishly. She could no longer hide her happy expression. "Yes, Your Majesty." "Yeah... we should go now before the water gets cold." Walking hand in hand, they went to the queen''s residence. When they entered Elise''s chamber, they could immediately smell the aromatic scent from the candles, mixed with some vani, musk, and flowers from the bath. Loriel was impressed by his own idea. This was truly rxing, he thought as he cast his nce around the chamber and saw the flickering lights on the candles and the flower petals inside the bath. He closed the door behind them and pulled Elise''s hand toward the bath. It looked so inviting. "We should get dressed," he murmured with a hoarse voice. When Loriel turned around, he saw his wife was taking her clothes one by one. The man gasped and swallowed hard. Elise batted her eyes in confusion when she saw his reaction. "D-did I do something wrong?" she asked him shyly. Apparently, Elise was already thinking of undressing before Loriel even suggested it. So, she was surprised to see Loriel look at her with a weird gaze. "No..." Loriel shook his head. "You did nothing wrong." He couldn''t take it anymore.. The king pulled his wife closer and started kissing her passionately. Chapter 264 - I Want To Have A Baby ** Elise was surprised by her husband''s straightforwardness, but she didn''t dislike it, because she missed him badly too. So, when he kissed her, she was secretly feeling overjoyed. She weed his kiss, not only she because loved him so much, but seeing how he still desired her after the tragedy, it also made Elise feel loved. Maybe Loriel didn''t necessarily love her yet, but what mattered was how Elise felt. With him taking the initiative to ask her to take a bath together, and now he started kissing her passionately, Elise felt wanted and desired. This helped her pained heart to heal more. It had been months since theyst met and became intimate. She missed him, and it made her feel touched to see that he missed her too. Did he miss being intimate with her? Sometimes, her nights were so cold and unbearable, she would think about him and wonder what he was doing. Did he find another woman to sleep with while he was away? Her heart told her not to think about her husband that way, but she couldn''t help but have that thought in her mind from time to time. Loriel was a normal man with healthy sexual needs. Thinking about her husband venting his grief by sleeping with many women was a scary thought but if that truly happened, Elise knew she wouldn''t me her husband. It would be justified because Loriel was grieving and might do things to alleviate his pain. Elise loved him too much to think otherwise. However, now Loriel started to pounce on her. His hands snaked under her dress and groped her soft thighs, moving higher and higher, toward the special ce between her thighs. His kisses were intense and he was like a hungry man who had been denied food for a long time and was finally able to eat. Elise started to moan and gripped her nails on her husband''s back. Gosh... she felt like a desert being showered by rain after a long drought. "Loriel..." she whispered. "I miss you so much." It took her a lot to utter those words. She was too shy and was worried Loriel wouldn''t respond well to such a mushy statement, but she needed to get it out of her chest. She wanted to say how much she loved him and missed him terribly. "I miss you too," Loriel said with a hoarse voice. His breath started panting. He loved her scent. It was intoxicating. He didn''t know he missed her scent, her touch, and her voice this much. The four words were like a magic spell that could make Elise sad and cold heart filled with flowers and spring. He missed her too! Loriel''s nimble hands had opened the straps on her dress and peeled the dress from her body, followed by Elise''s incessant moans. The next thing she knew, Loriel had pressed on her body on herfortable bed. Didn''t he suggest they take a bath before the water got cold? "Elise..." he kissed her corbone, and then went down to her breasts. Her two beautiful mounds were so soft and bouncy, even better than what he remembered. He kneaded them eagerly and sucked on her nipples alternately. Gosh..! He missed this so much! "Ahh..." Elise bit her lip to stop herself from screaming when she got her first orgasm. She was embarrassed by the thought that people outside this chamber would know they were having sex because she was so loud. Loriel was aroused like crazy when he heard her sexy moans. His desire went through the roof, and he couldn''t wait any longer. The man took off all his clothes and positioned his rock-hard manhood in front of his wife''s fold.. He closed his eyes and let out a satisfied sigh when his shaft entered her. His hands still worked on her mounds as he pushed all the way in, and then started pumping. He missed this so much. Not just the pleasure, but the moment when he felt how much this woman under him made his lifeplete. Those days when they were expecting their child were the happiest he had ever had. Everything was gone when the tragedy struck. But it was behind them now. Both Loriel and Elise had mourned for their loss separately and now they were healing together. Loriel thought about the nameless grave under the jacaranda tree and tears were slowly forming in his eyes. He had thought about this for months during his alone time. He knew what his daughter''s name was. At least that was the name that came to him and he had engraved in his heart. It was Catherine. He didn''t know if Elise would agree to this name. But after they woke up tomorrow, Loriel would talk to Elise about the name and suggest they should visit their daughter''s grave. They should officiate her name. So, the grave would no longer be nameless. Thinking how those days, when Elise was pregnant with their child were the happiest he had ever been, Loriel was determined, he and Elise should try for another baby. They would be more careful this time. Elise would get on bed rest, he would spoil her to bits, he would take care of her and their baby and this time he wouldn''t fail. "Elise...." with that thought in mind, Loriel pumped in and out of Elise''s fold, focusing on getting her pregnant. It''s been five months since she miscarried. Healthwise, she could already try again. Loriel wanted those happy days with her again. Elise moaned incessantly and nted her nails in his arms as Loriel''s movement became faster and faster. Her mind was all over the ce. As she was engulfed in desire and pleasure, Elise actually was thinking exactly the same thing as Loriel. She hoped she would get pregnant again soon. She wanted to be a mother so badly. She wanted to give her husband a child. She wanted to raise the child with him. Please... I want to have a baby.... Chapter 265 - Heartbroken *** The rtionship between Loriel and Elise was rejuvenated and revived by that night when they spent it with each other again. The period of them individually grieving reached its end and so Loriel and Elise decided to give themselves another chance for happiness. "Elise¡­ I would like to return to your chambers again, are you fine with that?" Loriel asked and held his wife''s hand gently. "I want to try my best to be a better husband to you and spend my days with you." "Yes, it''s good with me." Elise nodded and blushed shyly. "I would like it as well, Loriel." She was thrilled and overjoyed on the inside that the two of them were no longer at the period where they couldn''t bear to be within each other''s sight. After their time together, it seemed like it was possible for both of them to findfort in each other''s arms. Loriel smiled in relief and nodded. "Okay, thank you." Simr to before, Loriel moved into the queen''s residence and into her chamber. He did his best to make Elise happy. He became the sweetest husband. Many women were jealous of how much the queen was pampered by her husband. It was not umon for the servants to see the king prepare breakfast for his wife or give her massages. He made sure Elise ate properly and was able to sleep well. During their evening together after their reunion, the two of them had another conversation while in bed. Loriel was currently wearing only his undergarments and didn''t want to make Elise shy if he decided to sleep naked with her. While he did that in the past, it almost felt like Loriel was starting a rtionship with his wife all over again from scratch. He didn''t mind it at all and was just happy to be with her again after so long. Elise on the other hand wore a beautiful andfortable nightgown that ended above her thighs. She was doing her best to take care of herself more and look pleasant in Loriel''s eyes. "The potency of Zaff''s sleeping potion decreases if you take it often, so we need to find an alternative to it," Loriel told his wife as he propped up his head with his arm "Do you have any ideas, Elise?". "Um¡­ I''m not sure what else to take," Elise sped her hands together and tried not to stare at her husband''s bare chest. Even him just lying down close to Elise was enough to make her feel a bit hot. "Zaff would have already rmended something else if there was another option." Loriel smiled and shook his head. "You don''t have to take anything, wifey. We just need to make sure that you are eating during proper times, have a good schedule and routine for you to do, and also get exercise and sunlight. I''d like for us to take morning walks, that is... if you wish?" Elise bit down on her lips and gazed at Loriel. "What matters is that I get enough exercise so I can fall asleep, right?" Uff... Loriel saw the way his wife was chewing down sexily on her lips and it turned him on. He nodded slowly. "Yes¡­ that is the idea. Make your body feel tired so that you can fall asleep faster at night." "Then¡­" Elise averted her gaze. "What about we start tonight?" She was not dumb and understood what he was hinting at. After that night when he suggested they take a bath together that ended up with wild sex almost all night long, tonight he said Elise should do some exercise at nighttime to make her body feel tired. That way, she would fall asleep easily without medicine. What else would that be if not sex? Elise liked that very much. She loved being intimate with him, and she really, really wanted to be pregnant again. So, she weed his suggestion with an open heart. That was the start of the king and queen of Summeria doing it every night. At first, it almost seemed like an excuse to help Elise''s insomnia to feel a lot better, but then before the two of them knew it¡­ Elise and Loriel were often doing it until the morning. It was a good way to rekindle their rtionship again. Secretly, Elise and Loriel both hoped that she would get pregnant. A fervent hope manifested in them that after a month of continuous lovemaking, they consulted with Zaff to discuss their chances for another child. "Unfortunately, Your Majesty¡­ the queen is infertile," Zaff bowed his head low to the king and queen when he was summoned to the throne hall. "I sincerely apologize but all the tests dictate that she cannot bear a child any longer." The me that lit up in their chests died down all of a sudden. It was the bad news that broke their hearts for the second time. However, this time, unlike before, both Loriel and Elise were able to ept it as it is. "I am sorry, Your Majesty¡­" Elise said."It seems like I cannot give you an heir." Her voice wasced with bitterness, but she forced a smile. Then, she lowered her head, so her tears wouldn''t be too visible when they dripped down from her eyes. Loriel clicked his tongue but shook his head. "It''s not your fault. That''s just how things are and we can''t do anything about it." Elise chewed down on her lip. She wanted to ask if Loriel would start looking for a concubine or some other woman to produce him an heir, but the man made no mention of it. She was so scared actually. However, Elise gathered up the courage and asked Loriel. "Your Majesty, if you say that we cannot do anything about it¡­ what about Summeria? Who will be the next king?" Loriel realized that it was Elise''s way to secretly try to figure out her ce in the pce. So, he gently took her hand in his. Neither of them was fully able to express their thoughts and intentions aloud. "I think I''ll probably try to find a responsible heir among my nephews. I actually have a sister that I don''t hate, maybe one of her sons can be the next king." "Oh¡­" Elise nodded slowly. Loriel raised her chin up and looked into his wife''s beautiful eyes. "I won''t be moving away or leaving though. I will stay and live with you in your chamber so do not try to make me leave, okay?" Elise smiled a little. "I won''t ask the servants to carry your clothes back to your chambers, Your Majesty." "Good." Was this how Loriel told Elise that he would never leave her for another woman and he would not divorce her? It was an indirect answer like Elise''s own question, but it was something that made her feel happy and more reassured. Loriel was going to keep his word and stay with Elise through thick and thin. Despite their own disappointments, the two of them did their best to move on from this incident and look forward to what the future held for them. Chapter 266 - What Is Wrong With Elise? A year suddenly passed by like the wind for Loriel and Elise, the two of them lived together as husband and wife in Summeria. Loriel was not a man who remembered dates and had forgotten Elise''s birthday in the past, but this time was different. Their rtionship despite Elise''s inability to bear a child was a lot better than before. Loriel wanted to take Elise out for a special trip because it would soon be their three-year anniversary as a married couple. However, he would encounter a change in his wife''s personality. It was almost as if something flicked a switch. "Elise, the two of us shall be going on a trip early," Loriel informed her as he got undressed in their chambers after a long day of work. It was not exactly their anniversary, but he wanted to do it just in case his schedule did not match. "Where?" "It will be a surprise." "Just tell me," Elise frowned at him. Loriel sighed and nced at her. "I hope that you will sleep well tonight so the two of us can go outside before the sun rises. We will be going somewhere for an important trip." "Why?" Elise asked and crossed her arms. "Do you think that I have beenzy staying in the pce all the time? I try to help you with work but you tell me to simply rx and stay here." "Elise, I don''t mean anything like that," Loriel frowned at her. He promised his mother and her father that Elise would live the life of a true princess who didn''t have to worry about anything. "Simr to your helpfulment that I''ve been eating too much earlier?" Elise raised a brow. "Huh? I was pointing out that your appetite has be a bit stronger," Loriel repeated his words before. "You always used to eat quite a small amount so I was surprised to see you eating well." "You''re just trying to tell me that I''m fat, you''re an awful liar." Elise turned her back towards Loriel and then fell t on their bed. She would refuse to look at him and instead only sighed aloud. Elise was irritable around him for some reason that Loriel couldn''t pinpoint why. A part of him wondered if this was a change in personality that all women underwent through. On his hunting trip with his important officials, dukes and other nobles¡­ most of themined about how their wives became noisy and unruly, or worse¡­ they let themselves go and didn''t bother to look pretty for their husbands. "My has be bossy and not meek like she used to be," One of the dukesined. "Just because we are married and she has given birth to three sons, she no longer cares about her appearance." another lord said with a sigh. "The king is incredibly lucky to have married a beautiful belle!" If Loriel wanted to be honest, Elise did look a bit messytely and there was something about her that made her look¡­ disheveled. Now, he wondered if she had changed into like one of their housewives. Loriel came to join Elise in bed. He tried to wrap an arm around her waist but the woman moved away from him and suddenly asked. "During your little adventures, how many women have you actually slept with Loriel?" Elise asked. "What?" Loriel blinked. That didn''t matter at all, didn''t it? "I presume too many to count," Elise sighed and pulled the nkets over herself. "Good night, Loriel." Loriel looked at his wife in bed and shook his head. It was just another one of those nights where Elise was suddenly cold with him and for the love of all things, he did not have a clue. The only time Elise was actually like this was when she used to be pregnant, but that was so long ago. *** Another incident soon came up and it turned out to be Lady Rose Goodwin''s wedding. Loriel was actually surprised that the woman managed to get married since she was so overbearing and many men seem to fear her¡­ or her father. However, the king kept suchments to himself. Instead, Loriel asked Elise to join him as a guest at the wedding. A powerful duke needed the king and queen to participate in such ceremonies to instill a sense of pride. On their way to the wedding ce, Elise was silent in the royal carriage and looking out the window. Loriel was d that she didn''t seem upset, but it suddenly changed when Elise said something as if she was trying to intentionally provoke him. Or maybe she was really just upset and wanted to stay home. "You will meet many beautiful women during this wedding," Elise looked down at herp. Loriel sighed. "Elise you are the most beautiful woman I''ve everid eyes on, the rest of them look like brooms whenpared to you." He was being honest. Even if Elise had lost that glow that always made Loriel feel in awe of her beauty, she was still the most beautiful woman in Summeria. However, it was futile for Loriel to talk to Elise and convinced her how he felt about her appearance. Elise pouted. "At least they aren''t barren," Elise bit down on her lip as tears pricked her eyes. "I can''t give you a child but someone else will. What if you actually have a child from your previous ''adventures'' Loriel?" "Elise, I was very safe before because I didn''t actually want that to happen before I was king," Loriel grumbled and rubbed his face. "I don''t have children outside of our marriage." "How sure are you?" Elise started rubbing her eyes to prevent the tears froming. "Maybe someone will arrive in the pce one day and say you are the father. The dukes and the lords are not suspicious now because we are still young, but they will demand an heir from you." "That''s not going to happen," Loriel reassured her. "I''m quite sure that you regret marrying me," Elise cried. "If it weren''t for me, you could have pursued that princess who was your best friend or even Lady Rose Goodwin. She''s also very beautiful." And she is not barren. "Elise, please stop crying," Loriel sighed and disliked the fact that she mentioned Emmelyn. Shouldn''t Elise be happy that he married her? Why was she still being so ungrateful? "You just can''t ask someone to stop crying!" Elise said with a disappointed look on her face. "We''re going to attend a wedding but you look like you''re ready for a funeral," Loriel clicked his tongue. "So? Am I embarrassing you? I can stay in the carriage and wait outside while you are attending the wedding and meet many people¡­ all those beautiful women." Loriel was dumbfounded by Elise''s unreasonable behavior. He really didn''t know what to do. This woman was so beautiful but she was very insecure about herself and that insecurity was like poison that was eating up both of them. Even though he didn''t love her initially, Loriel had learned to live as her husband. Slowly, their connection developed and he could imagine spending the rest of his life with Elise. He was kind, sweet, and loving. However, he didn''t know if he could do it with a wife like this.. She had changed so much. Chapter 267 - Will You Abandon Me? It was a miracle for Loriel that he and Elise were still able to attend the wedding of Rose Goodwin without any trouble. Perhaps, Elise managed to restrain herself from being too emotional and perform the duties as a queen. However, this was just the start of the several more episodes that she''d be having in their recent times as husband and wife. Before Loriel knew it, those days of peaceful living with Elise that were filled with a lot of romantic walks, lovemaking, and mindblowing sex would change and he would begin to miss it. Their rtionship entered into a new phase that was enough to make him unhappy. It would soon turn into a more stressful and tiring rtionship and Loriel now felt like he was the one putting more work into the rtionship unlike before. At first, it was Elise who was always gentle, kind, and understanding towards Loriel but now it changed in thest month. Elise experienced countless meltdowns and outbursts that somehow annoyed Loriel to see. He tried his best to be understanding, but for someone like him who didn''t get along with women besides his mother¡­ It was difficult. Loriel''s patience was running thin and when another war brewed up with two brothers-inw rebelling together, he found himself with a massive headache. Elise''s mood swings were not helpful at all. "Could you stop berating me for a moment?" Loriel snapped at Elise as he was in his study trying to do his work and managing the state affairs. It was about time for him to leave again, but if he could help it, he''d prefer to oversee the war from afar. "I''m not!" Elise huffed at him. "I''m just asking you questions about the iing battles and you''re not actually interested in listening to what I have to say. You used to listen to my suggestions but now¡­ I''m not actually pleasant to be around with you now, huh?" "You don''t know war like I do," Loriel red at her and massaged his forehead. "At best, you only know how to pick fights with me." "You''re the one who''s getting annoyed," Elise glowered back at him. "But wait, I thought you liked women who were able to speak their mind like¡­ Emmelyn?" "Don''t bring her up." Loriel frowned. "I''m right, aren''t I?" Elise crossed her arms and looked away. "When she''s being outspoken and confident about her decisions, you fall for her¡­ but now that I''m not being silent, you think I''m horrible. I am just never good enough for you." "Elise¡­" Loriel sighed and dropped his quill for a moment. "It''s not about her at all. You''re being awfully upset and it''s not like you at all. I''m trying to be patient and understanding but I''m not a saint who''ll always be patient." "Well, what if I was always like this?" Elise asked. "Would you leave me? Will you abandon me for another woman?" Loriel narrowed his gaze at Elise and he wanted to say that he would. What would she do if he did that? He''d love to snap back at Elise, but he held back his tongue. Even he knew that such words would hurt Elise¡­ and he was worried. Even if Loriel and Elise were married now¡­ what if the protection spell that Catalina Leoralei cast before took effect if Loriel broke Elise''s heart during their marriage? Wouldn''t that spell horrible things for Emmelyn? Loriel groaned and mmed his head on the table. Not only was he worrying about Summeria, war with other kingdoms, he needed to think about his first love and good friend while also keeping his wife happy. It was a hard task for him and the burden was now stressing him out that he wanted to flip the table. Elise watched her husband m his head on the table¡­ and the anger around her dispelled a little. She was annoyed that he was hurting himself like this, but he wasn''t answering her questions at all. She was afraid that she was right. So.. would he really abandon her? "Loriel¡­" she bit down on her lip. The man refused to lift his head at all or even make a response. Elise was afraid that everything she was doing would create a self-fulfilling prophecy about Loriel leaving her and yet she found herself unable to restrain her emotions. She looked at him still resting his head on the table and she was afraid to approach him. Loriel might p her hand away and refuse her attempts to show him that she cared again. Elise took a deep breath and then nced at the door. "I''ll¡­ I''ll ask Horatio to get you some tea right now so you can rx for a little bit. I''m going back to my chambers." Before Loriel knew it, Elise was gone and the two of them were now back in this silent treatment kind of situation. He hated that things had gone this way for them after three years of marriage¡­ but he promised himself that he''d do better. Loriel could do a lot better than this. "After the war is over again, I''ll just have to try and do better as a husband again," Loriel mumbled to himself as he picked up his quill to back over to the mission reports from the war. Loriel sighed aloud and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn''t believe that he was actually putting in the work to make sure that his wife was happy. It didn''t use to be this way at all and before, because it was Loriel who had the upper hand in their rtionship because of Elise''s affections for him. "Why am I the one who''s always trying to reach out to her this time?" Loriel grumbled to himself. "Did she finally get tired of being with me and start to regret our marriage? Why is she always bringing up other women now?" Loriel pondered about the situation and realized that even though Elise kept asking and pushing his buttons about looking for another woman¡­ Loriel didn''t want to imagine her doing it. A divorce between him and Elise was thest thing that Loriel ever wanted. Chapter 268: The Ugly Claws Of Depression (1) Some people were able to move and have happy lives. Even though Lady Rose Goodwin initially seemed opposed to the marriage between Elise and Loriel, now that she found a good husband and was married, the woman seemed a lot happier. Elise didn''t know if the woman''s personality changed, but even during the time of war and rebellion between Summeria''s colonies, thedy sent good news to the pce. A part of Elise wondered if the invitation was an intentional insult to her face. "Your Majesty, shall we send a refusal to the invitation?" Alina asked the queen slowly. Even though Alina was the head maid, she had noticed how their once patient princess from Myreen became more angry and bitter now that she was the king of Summeria''s wife. A painful smile crossed Elise''s lips as she tossed aside the letter. "Burn it. Burn it." Alina slowly reached out for the letter, but then Elise quickly took it again and burned the invitation and envelope by herself. The ashes crumbled in her bed but doing it made Elise feel better. However, it was all temporary relief. A sickening feeling wormed its way to Elise''s stomach as tears pricked and stung her eyes. She wiped and rubbed at her eyes furiously and tried not to quickly fall into despair. "She knows and she''s trying to rub it in my face that I can''t have a child." Did Rose know that Elise was barren? Probably a yes. Duke Goodwin knew a lot of information about the pce so maybe this invitation to Rose''s sister-inw''s baby shower was to show Elise what she couldn''t do. An awful reminder of everything that pained Elise. Before Elise and her maidservants knew it, Elise was already curling over in pain and hiding herself in her bedsheets. Without anything else for her to do, most of the waking hours of Elise were spent in agony or staring nkly in the room. Sometimes, Elise wouldn''t do anything at all, staring helplessly and filled with dark and negative thoughts that scorned her. At other times she bawled and sob in her bed for hours until her throat became dry and she could not shed another tear any longer. The depression and pain she encountered during her miscarriage somehow now paled inparison to the ache of knowing that she was barren for good. *** Loriel stared at the report from his military head and found his heart sinking for a moment. All of his men that were heading to control the rebellion in the Areaon colony found themselves dying in a trap set out by his brother-inws. Somehow, there were several magical type explosions nted in a city that exploded once all of his men entered the destednds. Most of the buildings crushed individuals and sted sharp rocks and shrapnels for these unassuming soldiers. No one expected for these rebels to get ahold of great weapons for warfare. Nobody expected them to be sold such weapons and that was Loriel''s fault to expect that other kingdoms were on Summeria''s side. There must have been kingdoms that wanted Summeria to fall if the rebels found such support from outsiders and this was the only beginning. Only a few remaining people survived to even make the report to him. The king of Summeria clenched his fist and closed his eyes in pain. It was hard for people to figure out that he cared about them because he never showed it to them and most people assumed he took on the role because there was no other option. However, it didn''t mean that he did not care about the deaths at all. Thousands of good men were gone in an instant that Loriel med himself. It was his fault. "Perhaps if I had been there¡­" Loriel gritted his teeth. There was no use mourning over what has already been lost. His officials were already asking for a new strategy and there were other state affairs that needed to be taken care of because of the implications of war threatening merchants that came from beyond Summeria. All of this was a mess. Everything in Loriel''s life was a mess and he wondered if he could actually do anything at all. Loriel hesitated and stood up from his table to get himself a drink from his deceased father''s personal stash of wine and alcohol. Thete king of Summeria loved drinking and enjoyed alcohol after a long and hard day of work. It was the reason why even Loriel''s office had a good stash of them even though he didn''t actually like drinking that much. For now though, Loriel couldn''t help but think it was appropriate. Anything to get his mind off of his overwhelming problems. Loriel opened the safe and got a hold of a beautiful wine bottle and quickly opened it to pour himself a goblet. He took one swig down and felt his body heat up. The slightly bitter yet tangy vor washed down some of the worry and pain away as his head lightened up. "I''ll think better after this," Loriel whispered to himself as he drank another mouthful of wine. Loriel would begin to feel a bit better, if not slightly drunk as he finished an entire bottle all by himself. But then the doors to his study would suddenly m open as a frantic butler came to him. Horatio looked panicked. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, pleasee see the queen!" "What is it?" Loriel''s gaze narrowed slightly at the man and he found himself agonizing over the idea ofing to see his wife and have her fight against him again. He was not in the mood or capacity for patience. Horatio gulped and looked worriedly at him. "Her Majesty is attempting to jump down from the queen''s tower, Your Majesty!" Loriel''s eyes bulged for a moment. The wine goblet in his hand ttered down the floor and before he knew it, Loriel was already desperately running and heading for the queen''s pce. The king fervently hoped and prayed that Elise''s servants were dying and already preventing the queen from jumping, but he still needed to be there. Chapter 269: The Ugly Claws Of Depression (2) "Your Majesty, please!" Alina cried out. "Please don''t jump or do anything rash, Your Majesty. Wait for His Majesty toe and get you down, or please let me help you!" "Don''t take another step further, Alina." "Your Majesty!" Elise shook her head at her maid and ignored her for a moment. Her bare feet touched the cold brick stones beneath her as she stared down the garden right below her. All of the flowers and nts looked so tiny from up here that she was amazed. When Elise asked Alina earlier to go up the queen''s tower for a fresh breath of air after all the sobbing that she did because of Lady Rose Goodwin''s invitation, she found herself going up to the balcony and standing atop of it. A part of her suddenly thought about how it would feel like to jump? Wouldn''t it solve her problems and fears? If Loriel didn''t want to divorce her because of their wedding vows¡­ if Elise jumped and was gone from his life then the man would be free. Loriel would get another wife and have his heir by then. A nagging feeling about her father and grandmother came to Elise''s mind, but she found herself ignoring it in lieu of the thought of a future for Loriel. She was no longer just a child of Myreen, but the wife of the king of Summeria. Tears pricked her eyes for a moment. "This could solve everything," Elise whispered. Before anything was to happen before Elise''s toes could even touch the open air, the sound of someone forcing themselves up the tower and reaching the balcony echoed into the chill night air. "Elise!" Loriel shouted at her. Elise blinked and looked at Loriel in surprise. How fast did it take him to get from his pce to up this tower? Even a normal person would have gotten exhausted without any magic to help themselves at all. At least she could see him before she went. "Loriel." The back of Elise''s heels slipped from the balcony for a moment, and she felt a sudden whoosh of the air take her down¡ªexcept for the fact that Loriel moved fast enough to grab and hold onto her wrist. Loriel seized his wife and pulled her back into the queen''s tower as his heart felt like it was exploding in his chest. A roar like thunder tore through his eardrums as he grabbed the woman by the shoulder and looked at her face. Elise was safe and unharmed and she was alive. The adrenaline washed away from Loriel''s body but he still found it rming as if bells were ringing in his ears. "How could you even think about doing this, Elise?!" Loriel asked her and shook her for a moment. His eyes stung with tears. "What went through your head to even think about this as a good idea?" "I''m better off dead!" Elise cried and shouted at him. Her body shook and trembled as she clenched her fist and pushed her husband away. "You should have let me do it! What else am I good for here? I''m doing nothing at all!" Loriel stared at Elise and ground his teeth. "For thest two months, I have been nothing but good to you. I''ve tried to understand your pain as someone who''s frustrated and depressed because you cannot have a child." Elise''s eyes glittered with tears. "That''s right, I''m never going to be a good wife to you. I''ll never bear your children and give you a happy family. Why are you still here?" Loriel didn''t know either. Why was he even still here? "I just wanted you to be happy even though we couldn''t have children, but I can see that nothing I''m doing can make you happy either." Loriel shook his head and nced at Alina and the other servants around. Without another word, Loriel walked out of the tower and left her alone. The servants immediately rushed to her side and gently grabbed Elise. "Your Majesty, let us return to your room," Alina whispered soothingly. Elise watched her husband leave her and suddenly felt the color drain away from her face. She didn''t know why she said that. She didn''t know why she was doing all of this at all. "What have I done?" Elise whispered in pain and clutched her arms. "Your Majesty¡­" "I don''t recognize myself anymore!" Elise burst into tears and rubbed her eyes furiously. She knew all the pain that she was going through, but why did it have to be this way at all? Why was sheshing out at Loriel?! Alina and the rest of the servants brought Elise back to her room and made sure that the queen was alright. All of them made sure that Elise could no longer return to the top of the tower or even escape in case the queen was to attempt to hurt herself again. However, Elise was already finished with that point and was instead stuck in a state of self-reflection. While it was all true that Elise''s insecurities and jealousy were eating all of her up, she should have still not reached the point where she wouldsh out at the people that she loved and cared about. "I¡­ I need to get some help," Elise whispered to herself. Who was she going to turn to ask for help about this? Elise couldn''t ask for Loriel''s help about this when she had just hurt him. She needed to ask him for forgiveness but she was so scared. . . ************* From Missrealitybites: I think this book is the one with the most mature content I have ever written. I mean, not in terms of snusnu, but it covers many adults issues like pregnancy, miscarriage, married people''s problems, even depression. My deepest sympathy for Elise and Loriel who, in my opinion, are good people (even Loriel - sometimes he was hopeless and didn''t know what to do, but deep inside he always try to do his best, even though sometimes his best is not enough). From what I see here, Elise is having depression (thinking she is barren) coupled with crazy pregnancy hormones (because she was pregnant and didn''t even know it), added to the fact that her life was currently not ideal (both she and Loriel didn''t understand what is going on). Loriel is trying his best to deal with her meltdowns, but he was helpless on what to do. I am sure IF ONLY he knew what happened, he would be more attentive and can have much much higher tolerance for her meltdowns. But, that''s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Chapter 270: Your Majesty, You Are Pregnant Note: This chapter is dedicated to DespinaNY. Thank you so much for gifting a castle to "The Cursed King" yesterday. Sending a big hug to your little lycan! xx . . The next day, Elise went out of her chambers and visited the royal doctor, Zaff, to ask him for help. A part of her hoped that simr to a sleeping potion that he once gave her, there was something she could drink to help her emotions. Elise did not wish to hurt the people she loved in anger. She realized yesterday she was out of line and she must have given Loriel a scare for trying to kill herself. She did not wish to let her insecurities and problems get the better of her at all. No¡­ she must take care of her meltdowns. So it was with a fervent hope in her heart that Elise met with the royal physician. She met him and sat down to exin her situation to the man and ask for his advice and possible treatment. "Zaff, I''ve be so emotional for thest two months," Elise said. "When Loriel pointed out that I was eating more than usual, I got mad at him and I began to nitpick all of his actions. I have said the most horrible things to him¡­ I can''t even recognize myself anymore." "Yes, Your Majesty. Is there anything else that I need to know so I can understand your condition?" Elise looked down at the table. "Well, yesterday was the day where I finally realized that I needed help. I went to the tower and nearly threw myself off¡­ but Loriel saved me and I still got mad at him. Deep down, I know it''s not his fault, but I just said the most horrible things to him." "I see. Thank you very much, Your Majesty. I will conduct a few tests with you, okay?" "Yes." Elise nodded fervently. The doctor was listing down all of the symptoms and worries of the queen. Even though Elise didn''t realize it at first, even some of the things that she didn''t think were a big deal were something that shocked the royal physician. When Zaff finally realized what it was, even he was shocked but hid it as he told the queen of the results. "Your Majesty, do you remember my diagnosis over a year ago?" He looked at Elise deeply. There was an urgency in his voice. This made Elise feel strange. What was happening to her? Elise nodded weakly. "How could I forget that you said that my miscarriage caused manyplications? You mentioned that I''ll never be able to conceive after thest one." It was the downward spiral from that point. Even though Elise and Loriel did their best to be happy together and maintain a good rtionship, Elise''s insecurities always ate her up from that point. Zaff took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, my earlier diagnosis was apparently wrong because you are pregnant again. All of the symptoms dictate your pregnancy and the tests show the same results." "What?" Elise asked in shock. Her body trembled and she gripped her chair. "What did you say?" "You are carrying a child again, Your Majesty," Zaff said. "Congrattions." Tears streamed down Elise''s cheek. She needed some time to take in the information she just received. The queen looked at Zaff carefully, trying to see any signs that he was joking¡­ or he said something entirely different, and Elise was actually hallucinating. However, the physician repeated his words and smiled, making Elise realize that she was not dreaming. Zaff did say that she was pregnant. Gosh¡­ A faint smile slowly curved up on Elise''s face.. She ced a hand reverently on her stomach and didn''t know what to feel except for the boundless joy in her heart. "Oh, I see. Thank you, thank you, Zaff." "Shall I inform His Majesty of the good news, Your Majesty?" Elise shook her head. "Please keep it a secret, Zaff. I''ll tell Loriel myself so I can reconcile with him. I''m sure that he''ll be thrilled to know." "Then I will not let him know right away, Your Majesty." Zaff smiled and nodded. "Instead, I will do my best and go to the Archus library and research better potions and vitamins, Your Majesty. It will be necessary for you to be stronger." "Oh," Elise blinked and nced down at her stomach. "Like before¡­ will it be difficult to carry the child, Zaff?" "Yes, unfortunately so, Your Majesty," Zaff told her. "But I believe that it will be easier this time because Your Majesty will now be more careful and as the royal physician, I will make sure and attend to it and ensure its survival." Unlike before, Zaff was promising to help Elise by doing more research in hopes for Elise and Loriel to have a child together. The idea of them suffering through another miscarriage was too heartbreaking to consider. Elise smiled at the royal doctor and nodded. "Thank you. I will also do my best." Once their conversation was finished, Elise worked up the courage to head immediately to Loriel''s residence and went straight to his chamber. However, Loriel was nowhere to be found and instead, Elise saw Horatio. The royal butler was managing the pce while Loriel was gone yet again. "Um, where is His Majesty?" Elise asked. "I was hoping to speak with my husband." Horatio looked at the queen and bowed respectfully. He was relieved to see that Elise was feeling better enough to approach her husband, but this time, it was Loriel who ran away from the pce to avoid seeing her. "His Majesty has gone out for a trip," Horatio said. "Oh, I see..." Elise remembered that once she pushed Loriel away, the man decided to walk out from the tower and leave her be. While she was grieving for months, Loriel also went on a five-month expedition. Maybe he was avoiding her like thest time, thinking he was giving Elise a space to be alone? But, this time Elise didn''t want to be alone. Loriel misunderstood her. She wanted to be with him. She was dying to share the good news! "I am sure that His Majesty will return after a couple of days," Horatio told her kindly. "Thank you." Loriel still ordered the people to take care of his wife before he left, but the man must have been so disappointed after seeing what she had done. How could Elise make the selfish decision of wanting to die? Even if she thought she was helping Loriel by making it easier for him to find a new wife, she would have ced an unbearable amount of guilt if he went through with it. This time, it was Elise who was in the wrong so she couldn''t me her husband''s action. It made sense for Loriel to leave and get away after going through such an ordeal of being understanding of Elise. If she was being honest, Elise was actually surprised that Loriel had been nothing but patient around her these past two months. Looking back, now everything made sense.. Her meltdowns, and emotional outbursts, it was caused both by her depression and her stupid pregnancy hormones. Chapter 271 The Straw That Broke The Camels Back Chapter 271 The Straw That Broke The Camel''s Back For the past two months, Loriel was truly doing his best to be a good husband around her and Elise failed to see it because she was ovee with her own emotions and struggles. Marriage between the two of them wasn''t easy at all. Elise now understood that it took a lot of work for both parties. It wasn''t enough for only one side to be doing all the work. When she married Loriel and he was distant from her, she thought that it was through her efforts alone that could create their rtionship and make the man fall in love with her so the two of them could be happy. However, it was only through both of them making a choice to be a couple that made it all possible. The queen let out a sad sigh. She decided to wait for Loriel to return. She was sad because her husband was not around when she wanted to share the good news with him, but Elise convinced herself that Loriel just needed time. She should give him space. *** Meanwhile, in one of the taverns in Castilse, a man was seen getting wasted and throwing away so much money that the entire tavern could have been bought several times over. It was no other than the king of Summeria himself. Loriel found it shocking that he would go through great lengths for the past months in order to keep Elise happy. When things were easy and great, Loriel understood it really well that it was easy and even fun to make Elise happy. Being in a rtionship with such a beautiful and sexy woman like Elise was incredibly rewarding. Even a simple stray like Brick made her so incredibly happy that as a man, Loriel felt a mix of both guilt and pride because Elise loved him so much. It only took a little effort for him to make her overjoyed. The two of them had such great chemistry in bed too that even if the two of them couldn''t have a child, Loriel could imagine spending his life with such a wonderful woman and he wouldn''t have minded it at all. In fact, he started to think that he might be slowly falling for her. He could be content with what they had. The heartbreak he once went through after being rejected by Emmelyn now no longer hurt that much either. While it chained him before into this marriage with Elise, Loriel was prepared to have a good life with his wife and slowly learn to love her. feel depressed. Loriel could only take so much before he became broken too. 10:40 "Maybe I am only fooling myself," Loriel huped as he took out another bottle. "Because I had no "And yet what good does it bring me?" Loriel grumbled and threw the wine bottle into the floor and watched it shatter. "She hates me now. She has changed. Nothing I do is ever good enough for her." Now things were hard for him and Elise was no longer that sweet and kind woman he married. It now felt terrible and he was deeply hurt when Elise pushed him away. Loriel was a man with pride and now that he was at the other end of the stick, he was struggling to cope with this. It was easy to learn to love a sweet woman, but now that the sweetness and kindness were gone, reced by insecurities and bitterness, things became so hard. It''s not like he didn''t try. He did. For the past two months, he had tolerated her and soothe her feelings during her meltdowns. However, the thought that this would set the dynamic of their life together, going forward, made him feel depressed. Loriel could only take so much before he became broken too. "Maybe I am only fooling myself," Loriel huped as he took out another bottle. "Because I had no other choice, I was forced to learn how to get along with Elise. But if I had a say in this matter..." The bottle rolled across the table and shattered on the floor again. "Your Majesty!" A couple of the royal guards finally discovered where Loriel was. They brought him back into the pce after seeing him and yet the man refused to be stilled and once he actually came back to the pce and woke up again, he continued drinking. It was at that moment that the door to his office opened again and a very familiar woman came by. Loriel who had a mouthful of wine in his mouth gulped it down when he saw Elise. The woman looked appalled and stopped in her tracks when she saw him. "Loriel?" What was she doing here? A bitter smile crossed Loriel''s lips. Now that Elise was seeing him as a terrible husband, she''d yell at him again wouldn''t she? Not only did Loriel appear as a no-good womanizer to her, but he was also a drunkard and a terrible king who couldn''t even run a kingdom properly. That was why Elise was always trying to give him ''advice'' on how to run the kingdom, didn''t she? Well, Loriel couldn''t take it any longer now. He now had enough of their charades and was ready to give it up. He mmed his hand on the table. "I want a divorce, Elise." "What?" Elise was stunned and couldn''t find any other words to say at that moment. She knew that Loriel was incredibly drunk right now, but was that how he truly felt about their rtionship? Loriel stood up and swayed over to his father''s old safe and took out another bottle of alcohol and swallowed it all down and then narrowed his gaze on her. "I''m done being chained in this marriage to you. I didn''t even want this in the first ce." Elise stared at him and felt her blood get cold. She knew that... She knew how much Loriel hated being in this marriage because he loved someone else. Tears stung her eyes and she cried at him. "If you hated it so much, then why didn''t you fight back and refuse it?!" Perhaps if Loriel refused and the marriage didn''t happen, Elise would have found it in her heart to ept that it was impossible and move on. In another life, Elise would have also been free and could open her heart to someone else. Their marriage filled Elise''s heart with hope that someday Loriel would love her even if she didn''t say it aloud. Loriel looked at her face and barked out a painedugh. "Do you think I did not fight? I left Summeria so I could rebel against my parents and cancel the betrothal. But where did that take me? Emmelyn suffered as a result of my refusal. I''m only supposed to love you and you alone." Elise didn''t understand what he was saying and she clenched her hands. "Even after the two of us got married¡­ you still don''t love me, Loriel. I understand that much." It pained her so much to say it aloud, but Elise would have never judged him for his love. It was difficult to hold one''s feelings for someone else. Elise knew that from experience after all. Unrequited love was a painful thing. "I have sacrificed too much by being here with you, Elise." Loriel spat. "You can''t point your fingers at me and say I''m to me when I''ve suffered so much because of you and your family. I can''t do this anymore." "Don''t drag my family into this," Elise red at him despite her heart aching. "It wasn''t their fault that you and I are together like this." Loriel shook his head and finished another bottle. He threw it across the room and looked at her. "Your mother is a wicked witch. She took my heart and chained me with a protection spell. That''s why I have to marry you." Elise thought she was dreaming¡­ This was the worst nightmare she had ever been in. Loriel said he was chained by a spell? "I know you don''t love me and you feel forced to be in this marriage because you want to please your mother¡­." Elise said with a hoarse voice. "But please don''t lie and me my mother. I have epted the fact that you love Emmelyn, not me." She wiped tears that started streaming down hard on her face. "Do you know how hard that is??? I hate her! I hate her with all my life because she has your heart. I can only have your body, but even after we get married for three years, she is all your ever wanted." She cried despondently between her tears. "I hate her so much!! Do you know how painful it is to hate someone so badly and never show it?" "So, all this time, you were only pretending to be kind and understanding. I see¡­" Loriel scoffed. "You have no right to hate Emmelyn. She is innocent. In fact, you should be thankful to Emmelyn, not hate her. She was the reason I married you in the first ce." "..." Elise pressed her lips in shock. Loriel poured more wine into his cup and downed it one go. "I was telling the truth. Your wicked mother took my heart and put a protection spell on it so I can only love you. If I loved another woman, the woman would be cursed with bad luck¡­ And that''s what happened to Emmelyn. Her life was destroyed because of your mother''s spell. She lost her entire family, her home, and everyone dear to her¡­ all because I was in love with her." Loriel continued bitterly. "We came to Myreen to ask your family to free her from your mother''s curse¡­ but not even your father or your grandmother can do anything. Do you remember your grandmother''s crystal ball was broken? It was because Emmelyn was devastated and she wanted to die. She had suffered greatly because of your mother." "I can''t stand seeing Emmelyn suffer so much. Finally, I decided to marry you¡­ so she could be free." Loriel looked at Elise deeply. "And that''s the truth." Chapter 272 Elise Leaves Her Husband Chapter 272 Elise Leaves Her Husband Elise ran out of Loriel''s study after that, she ran as fast as she could and left the man alone so she could process everything that happened. Her heart beat loudly that she thought she would fall over and hurt herself. Once Elise returned to her chambers, she fell on her bed and began to sob quietly and only muffled the sounds by burying her face into her pillows. Tears streamed out of her eyes and yet she couldn''t stop them from overflowing. "Please, please don''t let it be true," Elise whispered as she closed her eyes and fervently whispered underneath her breath. Loriel''s words came to her mind and his face filled her thoughts with grief. "Please make it all a dream and erase everything in the morning." The good news that she wanted to tell Loriel was now overshadowed by all-epassing grief that overtook her. Was it true? Was it all true that her mother cast a protection spell? Why did her father and grandmother never tell her about this? Did they not know about the protection spell too? Or.. did Loriel lie?? No, Elise knew her husband well enough. He was a proud man, and selfish at times, but he was not a liar. And the fact that he said all those things when he was drunk, means he might not mean to spill the fact to her. Elise clutched her chest and wept despondently until her sobs finally quieted down for real. If only she had known that there was something like this¡­ perhaps she would refuse to marry Loriel and would try to find ways to break the spell. Elise hated Emmelyn so much, not because the woman was a bad person. Not at all. It was because Loriel loved her. Like Elise said to her husband earlier, she hated it because Emmelyn had Loriel''s heart while Elise only got his body. She felt awful for the hate she had for Emmelyn, and she had to pretend that she was fine. But it was so hard to force her heart to ept it with humility. The heart wants what it wants. However, even though Elise hated Emmelyn, she would have never wanted Emmelyn to lose everything in her life just because Loriel was in love with her. It was so unfair for Emmelyn to experience so much suffering. Even if Elise was heartbroken beyond belief, it did not mean that she wished ill toe upon the woman. She did not want innocent people to die because of her and yet all of it already happened. A kingdom was burned into the ground because of the spell that was cast over Loriel due to their betrothal. So many people suffered and it resulted in so many deaths that it almost felt like their blood was on Elise''s hands. It wasn''t exactly like that, but it felt that way to her. More importantly, Elise could now understand why Loriel hated her so much. Elise thought she could me him and express her anger, but even his own anger had its own warrants. Weakly, Elise pulled up to her feet and shakily held on to her stomach. The idea of having a happy family together with Loriel now seemed impossible with so much bad blood between them. Elise squeezed her eyes closed and let out a heavy but determined breath. "I need to fix this," she muttered. The queen of Summeria wiped her tears and looked around her surroundings. Elise reached for her bag and took away the most essential of things and packed them all away. If her father and grandmother couldn''t fix it, then Elise knew who probably could. "I''ve already redeemed Dante''s gift to me, but maybe¡­ just maybe he or Dimitri knows how to break the protection spell and also make sure I can deliver my baby safely," Elise whispered to herself as she stepped out of her chambers. Before Alina or any of her other maids could see her, Elise escaped into the night and once again took a horse to head off to her destination. *** Loriel watched Elise take her leave while she was in tears and he didn''t chase or run after her. The man knew he couldn''t do anything now that he told her the truth. It was up to Elise to take everything in. There was nothing else he could do. While it wasn''t entirely Elise''s fault and King Alexander asked Loriel to keep it a secret, Loriel finally revealed it and he sat back down in his chair and poured himself another drink. He took it all down in one go and felt his head throb. Loriel finally told Elise everything he had been carrying within him for thest three years of their life together and he thought he would find relief in saying it. There was only a sense of bitterness in himself when Loriel spoke and theughter he found in him earlier was reced by a sense of dread and yet utter refusal to admit that he did anything wrong. Perhaps Loriel would regret it in the morning if even right now while he was drunk, the man couldn''t find the utter relief and satisfaction that he was looking for. Instead, Loriel''s head throbbed wildly. All of his aches and pains only disappeared when Loriel thought he felt a cool breeze enter his study. Loriel thought he could smell or see flower petals in the air or maybe he was hallucinating now from all the alcohol. Regardless, all of this brought an immediate sense of relief to Loriel as his eyelids grew heavy and the wine goblet fell off his hand. His head slumped against the wooden table and the man fell into a deep sleep. Loriel felt the sweet embrace of someone in his dreams and he slept soundly that night until the morning arrived and he opened his eyes to find himself with no hangover or whatsoever. Instead, he found his surroundings littered with shards of alcohol bottles and other evidence of him getting rowdyst night. Loriel massaged his forehead and asked himself. "When did I get here?" All Loriel could remember was him leaving the pce so he could drink and avoid Elise after everything that happened in the tower. After Loriel had servants clean up his mess, he called for Horatio. It was all good timing because Horatio came to him with an urgent look on his face. "Her Majesty is gone!" the royal butler informed him with a panicked look on his face. "She took a horse and left the pcest night, Your Majesty. Shall I send soldiers to search for her?" Loriel frowned but eventually shook his head. "I think the queen probably wants to be left alone, the two of us did have an argument so she might have wanted to get away from here in Castilse." He remembered when they were grieving thest time, both couldn''t bear to see each other. Loriel needed space to be alone, and so did she. Things were better after they grieved in private for months. When they saw each other again, they were already in the process of healing and could then heal together. So, maybe this time, Elise needed time to be alone. She probably left to visit her family in Myreen. With that in mind, Loriel finally went to his study and buried himself with work. Chapter 273 Dantes Offer Chapter 273 Dante''s Offer It waste in the night when Elise first arrived at Dimitri''s home. He was the god of knowledge and Dante''s twin brother and he was incredibly surprised to see her at his ce and also with teary eyes. Dimitri was sure that his brother would be furious to know that it was he who saw her in this state. He knew how much Dante liked Elise. Unfortunately, it was Dimitri who lived close to the humans in order to study them unlike his reclusive brother. "Please get inside, Elise. It''s incredibly cold outside and you might catch something nasty if you stay out," Dimitri immediately weed her in and let her take a seat. "Thank you so much." Elise said. Dimitri immediately prepared tea and set it down to join the queen of Summeria. "I wish you sent a message that you''ll be visiting, but I think that you are here for a reason. I don''t have to be a god to know that." Elise managed a weak smile. "Yes, I came here for a reason." Dimitri looked at her up and down and asked. "Is it by any chance rted to the baby?" Elise nodded. "Yes¡­ but also something else. I n to head to Dante and ask him about breaking a protection spell that myte mother cast on my husband. Nobody else has been able to break it, including my father and grandmother." "I see¡­" Dimitri frowned and rubbed his chin. "While your family is Leoralei, your mother married into your family. However, she seems to have casted a spell of great magnitude. Usually only the spellcaster can remove it, but you thought correctly that a god can do it." A hope surged in Elise''s chest. "So it can be done?" "Naturally," Dimitri chuckled. "But ah, not me¡­ I''m more book knowledge and not so much on the application so you have to look for Dante. Unfortunately, he isn''t in his mountain but in Cretea. He''ll be hosting the tournament for those who wish to be gods. We do it every one thousand years, by the way." "I see¡­ then I''ll just have to get there," Elise said. "Well, my brother said you were always a good candidate so I think you can get there. As for the other problem that you''re facing, I am sure that all of your answers lie in the mountain of Cretea. Ascend it and find your solutions there." "Okay, I''ll go find Dante there and hopefully I can ask for his help or for someone else," Elise took a deep breath. She bowed her head and sipped her tea. "I will take my leave now, thank you for the answers." "Wait, you''re leaving already?" Dimitri''s eyes widened. "You need to prepare yourself for the journey. Most of the humans, elves, or faes, or mermaids, trying to go up usually have a lot of supplies with them in order to prepare for the perilous path to Cretea." "Elves and faes and mermaids?" Elise furrowed her brows. "What? You think humans are the only creatures allowed to be gods?" Dimitri asked her. Elise waved her hand awkwardly. "No¡­ I just¡­ never met any of them before." "Well¡­ they have their own worlds. There are some portals in your world where you can enter their realms, or they can enter yours, but we prefer it if you all don''t mix." Elise didn''t know what to do with that information. So, she only nodded weakly. "Thank you for your advice," Elise told him. "Please let me know how I can find Dante and Cretea¡­" *** Elise''s journey up Cretea took her about ten days and on her way there, she would encounter the very same monsters and creatures that Dimitri warned her about. She was a very powerful witch and could handle their attacks easily. As for food, while climbing up, she would use her magic to make trees and bushes grow and forage them for fruits and berries. After some time, Elise finally reached the peak and found herself surrounded by a paradise that was unlike anything on earth. She had truly reached the mountain where the gods lived and all of them looked at her when they realized a human reached the top. Before anyone could approach her, Dante recognized Elise at once and came to her. He grabbed her shoulders and smiled brightly."Elise! Did you change your mind?" Elise shook her head. "Not really¡­ but I came here after Dimitri told me that you could help me?" Dante cast some looks over his shoulder at the other gods and then quickly led her to one of his private temples. It was a tall white building with beautiful column pirs and he let her take a seat as the two of them talked. While Dante was thrilled to see her and even thought that maybe her husband had died so she came here¡­ he soon figured out the reason why she came here. "You want me to remove the protection spell that caused your husband''s grief and to also save the baby?" Dante kept his expression calm for a moment and looked at the woman in front of him. Elise nodded and clenched her fists. "I know that you have already repaid your debt, but this time, I will be the one indebted to you and will do everything within my power to repay you." "I do not think that you have anything to offer to me that will repay your debt if I do this," Dante said. He wanted to ask for her heart¡­ but he doubted that she''d give it to him when everything that she was doing right now was for her husband and child. "Then you won''t help me?" Elise asked disappointedly and started to look around. "Do you happen to know where Raphael is then? Maybe he will be more amodating and heed my plea." Dante really wished that Elise didn''t know that many gods. He was sure that there was someone who might help her. However, suddenly he had a brilliant idea. "Why don''t you help yourself?" "Huh?" Elise batted her eyes at him in confusion. Dante thought that she was being incredibly cute and he really wanted to have her for himself. But that was an impossible thing right now. He cleared his throat and presented the answer that would solve the two problems. "Take a sip of the immortality potion," Dante said. "You won''t have to worry about having a debt to another god if you be a god yourself. You''ll be able to give birth to your child safely and your husband will be free from the protection spell. "But that''s¡­" Elise hesitated. Even after everything that she and Loriel went through, she couldn''t imagine being a god. But what if that was what it took to save her baby and free the man that she loved? After everything that happened between her and Loriel¡­ she doubted that the two of them could reunite again. There were just too many wounds between them that were hard to heal. Could Elise raise her child by herself so she could no longer bother Loriel? It was Dante''s words that finally made Elisee to a decision. "I know your human body is weak and you lost your first child. If you took this potion and be an immortal like us, you won''t have to worry about human weaknesses. You can give birth to a healthy child, and he will be an immortal too." Suddenly, a cup appeared in Dante''s hand. Chapter 274 Elise Wants To Forget Chapter 274 Elise Wants To Forget Elise suddenly found her heart beating faster at the sight of the goblet. While Elise would have never wanted immortality for herself because she never really wanted to experience the grief of losing loved ones and never reuniting with them¡­ This time it would be different. Elise''s child would be immortal and the baby would grow up surrounded by the most powerful beings with opportunities unlike any other. Wasn''t that amazing? Any parent would have sacrificed themselves for even a chance like this. "Um¡­ Dimitri said that you need to earn this through thepetition though?" Elise pointed out. "I haven''t participated so wouldn''t it be unfair for me to just drink this?" Dante silently cursed his brother for going through all the details. He couldn''t wait for the chance for Elise to drink this so she could be immortal and through the passage of time, she would forget Loriel. Why would someone keep loving a bastard like that man? Elise recounted to him most of the things that happened and Dante was furious that this insignificant king would fail to see how remarkable Elise was. The Time Master thought It was better for Elise to have a new life. "You don''t have to worry about it," Dante told her with a bright smile. "I am one of the people overseeing thepetition and I have personally judged you as worthy of it. I am also sure that the goddess of earth would be delighted to hear that her descendant would also be immortal." "Oh¡­ that also makes sense." Elise nodded slowly. She was feeling too sad and couldn''t think properly to argue with Dante. If the god himself had deemed her worthy, why should she negate him? Elise had made herself small for so long just to make Loriel look better. This time, she had no reason to keep thinking she was not worthy of something. Especially if this gift of immortality would help her baby to grow healthy andter she could give birth to him safely. "One could even say that it is yours by birthright," Dante added. He would have said whatever to make her lips touch the goblet right now. And he might as well have been the goblet if anything. Elise took a deep breath and then reached out to the hovering goblet, her fingers gently touching the object as she drew it closer to her. There was power flowing through her, magic, even as she touched it. Anything for her child. Just when the goblet was touching her lips, there was something in her stomach that made her hesitate, it was a painful ebb of pain at the memory of Loriel. She quickly looked at Dante once again before she actually drank from the immortality potion. "I have another request to make if you will hear of it?" Elise asked weakly. She wiped her lips with her sleeves and gave the goblet back to Dante. "What is it, Elise?" Dante raised a brow. Curious and also hoped that it was not rted to Loriel any longer. If Elise asked him to ry the news or to send a message to Loriel then it would sour his day. "Because you are the Time God¡­ please tell me if this is true," Elise smiled sadly at him. "Does time truly heal all wounds? I know that I want a better life for my child and I have chosen to be immortal, but I do not think I can bear the pain I''m feeling." "Pain?" "I am probably weak." Elise''s eyes welled up with tears. "I found myself hating another woman because of Loriel and desperately yearning for his love. Now I have chosen to leave that path behind me, but it still hurts until now. Tell me¡­ will it get better?" Dante cursed Elise''s husband a thousand times over in the back of his mind and gently looked at her. He gently reached out for her hand and gave it a squeeze, deciding that this much was appropriate. "The memory of the things that have hurt you will be less significant over time," Dante exined. "That is what time can do for you and bing immortal will give you as much time as you need to heal. However, you can never truly forget about it. It will always remain." Elise took a shaky breath. "Then is it possible to forget?" Dante''s heart stopped at Elise''s words. Forget. Did she actually just say forget? If Dante was talking to another person, he would have reminded them of how important memory was. Memory prevented an individual from making the same mistake twice. Experience was, after all, a good teacher. However, because it was Elise and this wouldpletely make things different¡­ Dante was quick to answer it. He gave her the best-rxed expression as if this choice was irrelevant to him and spoke. "There is a river that flows and has the ability to wipe away memories. In the past, men have once decided that they wished to take Cretea by force and topple down gods and it was this very river that removed the memory of Cretea from their minds." "But several humans and others are ascending here to be gods?" Elise asked. Her heart was pounding at the mention of the river, but she couldn''t help but ask. "Well, they discover it again, one way or another," Dante smiled. "But if it is erasing the memory that you want, then I can obtain the waters for you and it will clear your mind of the painful things that affected you." "Will I forget everything?" Elise asked with a bitter smile. "I want to remember my father, grandmother but I do not wish to remember Loriel anymore. I know that is weak of me, but I do not wish to remember him anymore." She tried to look strong, but the tears that welled up in her eyes were now slowly dripping to her cheeks. It was at this moment that Dante should have said the full truth. It erased literally every memory. That was how powerful the drink was and it was often used by those who really wanted to start anew. The god of death was coincidentally the one who used the river more out of everyone, but right now, Dante found himself in a more difficult position. Should he tell the entire truth? Dante was But what a life they could have together, if she decided to move on and forget about her past with afraid that Elise would change her mind. Loriel. Dante could already imagine it. Elise would forget her life as a human and the two of them could be a couple. Dante could have a life together with her and he didn''t even mind the child because a part of it was Elise''s. He could imagine raising Elise''s child as his own. "I can easily ensure that you''ll remember them," Dante lied. "You can keep the memories of your father, mother, grandmother, and everyone you hold dear." Elise bit her lip. This was exactly what she wanted. Elise only wished to keep the memory of her She wanted to forget about Loriel. She wanted to unlove him. parents, grandmother, and her first child forever. "Then I''d like to drink it after this immortality potion, please," Elise said. Chapter 275 Loriels Regrets Chapter 275 Loriel''s Regrets Loriel was blissfully unaware of everything that was happening and it was only three dayster that he found himself interrupted by Zaff the royal physician out of all people. He was working in his study when the man came in. "Your Majesty, if I may intrude right now¡­ where is Her Majesty?" Zaff spent days in the library and had just returned with the potions and vitamins he promised to give Elise to keep her pregnancy healthier. "She probably went to Myreen to visit her father and grandmother, what of it?" Loriel read a paper idly and didn''t even look up. "But her medicine, Your Majesty!" Zaff eximed. "The queen should not be traveling right now either because it will strain her body while she is carrying her child." "Huh?" Loriel thought he misheard the royal physician and looked at the man. "What did you say, Zaff? Can you repeat what you have just said to me?" The royal physician''s eyes widened in rm and he asked. "Your Majesty, has the queen not delivered the good news to you? She is pregnant once again and she needs to take her vitamins. I knowst year I said she was infertile and couldn''t bear children after thest pregnancy. But nature has ways to prove humans wrong. And I am very happy that for this once, I was wrong." Loriel''s heart stopped cold. He was overjoyed all of a sudden, but then his feeling quickly changed to panic and unrest. "She didn''t tell me!" he dropped the quill he was holding and quickly rose to his feet. "Why didn''t she tell me?" Loriel asked Zaff urgently with a hoarse voice after the court physician told him that Elise was actually three months pregnant when he checked her health two weeks ago. The king''s voice roared in the pce hall. "WHYYY??!!" The old doctor shrank in his spot. He didn''t dare to offend their young king. He was worried if he told him the truth, King Loriel wouldsh out at him. But the king just asked him a question... that means he should answer. If he didn''t tell the king what he wanted to know, the king would be angry. So, finally, the old man cleared his throat and spoke, "I believe Her Majesty just wanted to make sure that her pregnancy is healthy and cross the first trimester before she told you, Your Majesty." "She should have told me so I can care for her better," said Loriel impatiently. "Instead of telling me about it... she ran away from the pce." The court physician lowered his head and didn''t dare say anything else. Who could know what was in the queen''s mind? He was not a wizard who could read minds. So, he didn''t have an answer for the king. It was something that King Loriel had to find out for himself. "Lysander! Get my horse now!" Apparently, Loriel thought the same thing. He could only find out the answers to his questions if he went to find Elise and asked her in person. The king walked briskly outside the royal hall and went to the courtyard. He waited for his right hand to bring his horse. Ten minutester, Lysander came with the impressive stallion that had be the king''s mount for the past year. Loriel immediately jumped on his horse and dashed to chase after Elise. No, he couldn''t let her go anywhere. He must get her back to his side. Initially, Loriel wanted to give her some space before he went to find her. Maybe they needed to have their own moment to be alone and reflect on their marriage after the incident. He thought Elise must have gone back home to Myreen. It was a safe ce and she would be surrounded by her family. So, it should be okay. However, when he found out Elise was actually pregnant without letting him know, Loriel couldn''t let her go. Not with his child. Loriel was already three dayste, but beingte was better than never. Right? The soldiers who were guarding the pce gate were shocked to see the king dash his horse and quickly disappear after he passed through them, leaving only dust behind. They were all wondering where he was going. Some of the guards who were well connected to the servants in the inner court started gossiping about the queen''s disappearance. Maybe the king was going to search for her? But, why now? Didn''t she leave three days ago? Yeah, exactly! Why now? Loriel asked the same question to himself. Why was he so dumb and insensitive that he let three precious days pass before he did something? He wanted to cry as he whipped his horse to run faster. The memory of Elise''s first pregnancy came to his mind and it haunted him with the nightmare of the miscarriage. Loriel''s clear mind returned after he almost reached the city gate. He realized horses was not the proper mode of transport if he wanted to look for his wife. Myreen was so far away from here. With tears staining his face, the king brought his horse back to the royal pce. As soon as he got off the horse, the king roared at Horatio. "Summon Renwyck and tell him to bring the dragons, I am heading to Myreen for my wife." Amidst it all, Loriel was both hurt and feeling guilty. Everything started to make sense to him now.All of the nonsensical things that Elise started doing for thest two months, her fluctuating emotions and even eating far more than usual? All of it was very obvious. Loriel knew that it was simr to Elise''s pregnancy symptoms during her first one but he never thought of her being pregnant again. He had trusted Zaff''s words and mistakenly assumed that Elise grew tired of him. Or she had be like those annoying wives of the dukes and lords. That Elise''s kindness and affection for him finally ended and she saw him for the horrible man who he truly was. Loriel thought Elise was unhappy with him and that had pained him so much. Loriel had pride, but he was also afraid that one day, Elise would truly hate him. However, maybe that wasn''t the case and she still loved him? He hoped that it really was all pregnancy hormones and that perhaps the two of them could rekindle their rtionship again. Loriel knew that he probably didn''t deserve it at all. He absolutely didn''t deserve it. Maybe Elise hated him now. Loriel realized her hatred for him was justified. It was hard for him to imagine that the most gentle woman he had ever met would grow weary of him. However, right now, Loriel wanted to make amends. Loriel knew that once he arrived in Myreen, King Alexander and the queen dowager would probably refuse to let him see Elise but he was prepared for that. Once all of the preparations were finished, he set off to Myreen. He was granted permission to enter the courts of the Myreen once again. Pirs of lightning surrounded Loriel all around him and trapped him like an animal. It was lightning. The air in the throne room suddenly charged with what felt like electricity. leave now and go search for her." lowered his head. "Forgive me for the disturbance but if she is not here then I will quickly take my "Elise has left Castilse and I assumed that she would havee here," Loriel quickly answered and "Where is my daughter, Loriel?" King Alexander asked again. gaze at Loriel. This was the look of the man who was searching for something, or rather, someone. King Alexander quickly picked up on the hesitation on the younger man''s face and he narrowed his "I¡­" Loriel swallowed hard for a moment and nced around the throne room. King Alexander was as straightforward as Elise. He didn''t lie or y around with jokes at all. Loriel''s eyes bulged and he thought that his father-inw was simply lying, however he knew that because a special guest will be visiting me, however I must ask. What is the reason for this visit and why is my daughter not with you?" "King Loriel Ashborn, we are gratified by your visit and it seems that you havee just in time this question. The king seemed to be busy with a lot of preparations, however, the man seemed a lot However, Loriel found himself getting the shock of his life when King Alexander greeted him with healthier unlike before. Chapter 276 King Alexanders Wrath Chapter 276 King Alexander''s Wrath "Do not take a single step away from me, Loriel," King Alexander said. "I have not granted you permission to leave just yet. You will not leave until I am finished with my query, and thankfully, I only have one. What did you do?" Loriel flinched for a moment but quickly raised his gaze despite himself. Even if King Alexander was a powerful man, surely it was better for him to not know, right? Loriel was sure that he''d be in more trouble if his father-inw realized what happened. Loriel stood up and tried to speak with him on the level of them both being rulers. "Your Majesty¡­ it is only a quarrel between husband and wife. I am sure that you understand¡ª" "Silence," King Alexander said. Loriel found his lips sealing as if they were sewn together. He watched King Alexander rub his forehead and sigh aloud. "It seems that Elise has decided to leave you, but why has she note here?" Loriel tried to speak but couldn''t. King Alexander nced at him and only frowned. "You tell me that my daughter has left and you are searching for her because you are worried, but there is no need for any of that. She is more than capable." Loriel wanted to shake his head and exin himself. He wanted to tell King Alexander that Elise needed to take the vitamins and she shouldn''t be running around at all. "However, as a father¡­ Even though I know my daughter can handle herself, I want to hold you ountable. Elise would have never left if there was any chance for reconciliation between the two of you. So speak and tell me the entire truth, Loriel Ashborn." Loriel didn''t know what to say at first, but then he suddenly started exining himself. The entire truth came out of him as if a truth spell was cast on him and everything came out. Even the things that Loriel forgot came out of his lips. "...finally, I told Elise about her mother''s protection spell when I was drunk and couldn''t remember it. But I told her back then that her mother was a wicked witch who ruined my life and that I have an excuse for my behavior. Divorce was what I wanted." His eyes widened when he said it. King Alexander Leoralei rose furiously from his throne and started making his way to Loriel as the lightning pirs dispelled around him. Loriel would wish that the pirs stayed because after a single step forward towards him, fire spun in King Alexander''s fist and he punched Loriel in the face. A searing pain overcame Loriel''s body and he didn''t even dodge because of how shell-shocked he was of everything that happened. It felt like he was deserving of this treatment and King Alexander agreed for once. "This is for my beloved wife," King Alexander said after another punch in the face. This time, it was an ice shard that shed against Loriel''s face, and before it caused more damage to him. Loriel''s body ducked on its own. Loriel''s survival instincts were working and he was terribly afraid that he might have died if King Alexander actuallyid a hand on him. The fire left his cheek burning with first-degree burns and the ice would have frozen him. Instead, his face started to bleed and King Alexander didn''t even bat an eye. A strong gust of wind threw Loriel towards the throne room''s pirs and his entire body ached as he dropped to the ground. "And for the pain you caused my most cherished daughter?" King Alexander said. "This is hardly enough, Loriel Ashborn." Even though Loriel''s body was incredibly strong due to the magic crystal the fairy once gave him, he would start to feel battered and bruised because of King Alexander''s might. The pacifist king was now thrashing him around like it was nothing. This was the height of power that Loriel was always amazed of. Until finally, King Alexander grasped at his chest and started to wheeze. Loriel wasn''t sure if the strain of magic finally appeared again because he remembered that the king was sick on hisst visit before. However, before anything else could happen, the throne room doors suddenly opened. A man that Loriel had met once, years ago, when he was trying to help Emmelyn break the curse, suddenly entered the throne room. This man was much younger than King Alexander but with a powerful aura even stronger than the older king. Raphael looked around the throne room and cleared his throat when he saw the mess. Then, his eyes widened as he saw King Alexander. "Your Majesty, I told you not to strain yourself any further by using magic," Raphael clicked his tongue, quickly healed the king with his power, and tossed a look at Loriel suspiciously. Loriel''s face was bloodied and he was also bruised to the bone. He was surprised that King Alexander''s face returned back to a healthy color and the older man was now breathing normally. He was not given the same treatment. Instead, the God of Healing narrowed his eyes at Loriel and frowned heavily. "We meet again, Loriel." Raphael smiled faintly. He raised his hand and spoke calmly. "You should retain yourself if you wish to live. You are in the kingdom of Myreen and will be punished ordingly." King Alexander inclined his head. "Thank you, Raphael, for joining me in this hour. I was able to punish my son-inw ordingly because I knew you wereing." Raphael winced slightly and looked at King Alexander. "For an old man, you truly are strong. Wait¡­ son-inw? This is Elise''s husband?" Loriel''s eyes widened and he approached the man. "Do you know where my wife is? How do you know Elise?" "My daughter met with the God of Healing so I could recover, she brought him back to heal me," King Alexander exined with a weak cough. He was still upset, but he now knew that his daughter was pregnant. King Alexander couldn''t actually let the man die and for his grandchild to be fatherless. Raphael looked at Loriel curiously but then nodded. "I have taught Elise how to use healing magic before. I believe I may call her a friend of mine¡­ but what do you mean that she has left?" Loriel gave a quick ount of what happened that Raphael found himself aghast at what happened. It made the King of Summeria wince. He looked at Loriel and said one word. "Scumbag." have Elise judge me herself instead of running away from me. I wish to make it up to her but if I "I know, what I did was unforgivable¡­" Loriel''s head hung low. "And I want to pay for my sins and don''t even know where she is." Raphael looked inly at Loriel and sighed. He actually had an inkling of where Elise was and it was because he was in the Mountain of Cretea and conversing with some gods before during his way back to Myreen. The other gods told him that Dante was back in Cretea and the curse inflicted to him was lifted. Raphael''s fellow gods even whispered that Dante was visited by the very person who saved him. Chapter 277 Dante And Loriel Chapter 277 Dante And Loriel Raphael could easily guess where Elise was now. Based on the description of the woman called beautiful enough to be a goddess, the direction that Elise once headed to find Raphael in the past¡­ the God of Healing didn''t need to be Dimitri to form a conclusion. "I believe Elise may have gone to Cretea if my sources are urate," The handsome man said casually. Loriel''s eyes filled with hope and he quickly asked. "Where is this Cretea ce? Please tell me how to get there and I''ll find my wife. I will kneel and prostrate in front of her, amends for my sins, and then bring her back." Raphael frowned. "Cretea is the mountain of the gods, a mortal like you is not worthy of knowing where it is." "Please, I need to see Elise." *** There were actually a couple of things that Elise requested from Dante once she finished drinking the immortality potion. The first was to send a message to her father and grandmother in Myreen about the situation. "Are you leaving Cretea?" Elise asked Dante in surprise. Dante nodded briefly. "I still need to collect the water from the river of forgetfulness and it isn''t actually too far away from Cretea. However, is there anything that you desire, Elise? I can travel back to the human world to obtain it." "Well¡­" Elise hesitated and held her stomach. "Anything that you love? Specific tea? Your favorite food from the human world? Well-loved books?" If Elise wanted anything, Dante would bring it to her so she could be happy. He wasn''t able to fully get to know Elise because of how briefly the two of them spent time together, even after he was saved by her. So, Dante actually wanted to know what she liked. He wanted her to be happy. He knew it was wrong that she would forget everything, but at least Elise would be able to have the things that she wanted. If Dante was going to pretend that they were married, he actually had to know things about her. "Could you please visit Myreen and exin the situation to my family?" Elise asked him. "They did not know that I ran away from my husband so I don''t want them to worry about me." "Of course, I can definitely do that." Dante smiled gently at her. He knew that the Leoraleis were a powerful family, so he needed to ensure that none of them considered climbing up Cretea to see Elise. That would unravel everything to Elise and to them because she wouldn''t remember them at all while they would know who she was. Well, Dante could always say that Elise epted to drink the water from the river of forgetfulness and they would probably ept it too. Elise''s family probably knew how her husband was so terrible, so that was actually believable. After their conversation, Dante departed for the river and Myreen. It was there that he would encounter Loriel along the way to the kingdom. *** When Loriel heard the story about the Time Master and Elise, everything started to fall into ce in his mind. The memory where he once was kidnapped as a child returned to him and the face of the ''fairy'' appeared in his mind. So did the man that was ''apanying'' the ''fairy'' back then. Loriel cursed himself and could easily tell that the Time God back then already had his eyes on Elise and it infuriated him. More than that, Loriel wanted to see Elise and ensure that she was not deceived by the god. So it was while he was atop his dragon when he saw a figure in the sky. The Time God looked like he was teleporting in the air or he was shing forward, with flickers of his image behind him. However, Dante suddenly came to a halt when he saw Loriel on the dragon. Even though it was so long and Loriel was so thin and weak as a child, while now he was a big and strong man, Dante instantly recognized him. "You are the king of Summeria, Loriel Ashborn." "Bring back my wife if you do not wish to regret this." Loriel instantly shouted at him and he would have taken out his sword except for the fact that they were in the air. Instantly, Loriel tried thinking of ways to take the god down. Dante couldn''t help but suddenlyugh. Hisughter echoed in the air and he wiped his tears. "Are you serious? It''s incredibly hrious that you are saying that when Elise herself does not wish to see you." Loriel''s expression flickered before his gaze hardened into a steady resolution. "Even if that were to be true¡­ I still need to see my wife. She is pregnant with my child and I havee to ask for her forgiveness." Dante narrowed his eyes. "It''s toote and, in Elise''s honor, I believe I have the right to punish you." Without another word, Dante flicked a hand at Loriel''s dragon and suddenly the creature''s wings became frail and even brittle. Before Loriel even knew what happened next, the man was back on the ground and his entire body was screaming in pain as Dantended and looked at him nkly. The Time Master looked at the dragon and flicked another hand. This time, the dragon''s strength was restored and it immediately hissed at Dante and was wary. Dante paid no heed to it and stared at the man that actually received Elise''s love but now lost it. This Loriel, king of Summeria, really didn''t deserve any of Elise''s love. Instead, an idea appeared in the Time God''s mind and Dante''s lips curled into a smile. "Do you want to see your wife again?" Dante asked. Loriel red at him. "Yes, screw you! I''ll do anything to see her again. If you break my back, I''ll get up again. If you break my legs, I will crawl all the way just to Cretea and do everything¡­ just to see Elise again. I''d do anything." "Well, you''ll never see her again," Dante crisply said. "And do you know why?" Loriel inwardly knew that Dante had a point, that maybe Elise really did hate his guts that she refused to see him and instead sent the Time God to punish him. However, Loriel couldn''t help himself. He wanted to see Elise again. The pain that Loriel inflicted was immeasurable and Elise had every right to despise him and perhaps choose to stay away from him. However, Loriel was also selfish and wanted to ask for He wanted to be epted by Elise again and to see her smile at him one more time. forgiveness. Even until now, Loriel was still a selfish man. "Elise hated you so much that she begged me to take her so far away from you that it''d be impossible for you to meet her again." Dante smiled wickedly. "Where she went, you can never go." "No way! I will find her, even if I have to go to the end of the world," Loriel said. "Tell me where she is now." Dante''s smile was increasing wicked and wide. "Do you know what I am capable of? I am the Time Master. The farthest distance in the world is not separated by miles¡­ but by time." Loriel suddenly felt his heart sink. Did¡­ did the Time Master do something¡­ to Elise? "Where. Is. My. Wife. Now?" Loriel gritted his teeth and repeated his question. "TELL ME!!!!" Dante looked at Loriel straight in the eye and replied coldly, "Elise went to the future." Chapter 278 Loriel Wants To Pay For His Sins Chapter 278 Loriel Wants To Pay For His Sins "Future?" Loriel asked with a broken expression. "She wanted to go to the future so she could escape from me?" The expression of hopelessness on Loriel''s face was satisfying. Dante knew that it was better if it was the king of Summeria that told Elise''s father and grandmother about what Elise ''chose'' because it would save him the time from going to Myreen. Loriel would receive more hate after that when King Alexander learned his daughter ran away to the future because of him being a terrible husband. It was not enough to pay for his sins, but as long as Loriel suffered, that was enough. Of course, Dante was lying to Loriel though. Elise was still waiting for him in Cretea and did not have a clue about what was happening right now and Dante had no interest in mentioning this at all. Elise was too kind and might still change her mind if she realized that Loriel was sorry. Dante was doing everyone a favor by keeping the two separated. "Elise cares about her family but after all the pain that she went through? She couldn''t stand being here any longer and chose to stay away from you," Dante smiled harshly. "She told me that she wanted to forget about you. She wanted to unlove you." Loriel''s heart shattered into pieces. "W-What? You must be lying! Elise loves me¡­ she wouldn''t have said that at all." Dante''s eyes twitched in annoyance. "Your arrogance is too much for a mortal. Do you think that Elise would love you forever despite your ws and reprehensible actions? You''re even more terrible than I thought and my standards for you were already so low." Loriel forced himself to stand up despite everything. The king of Summeria pointed his sword at the Time Master. "That may be true¡­ but Elise, her love is so pure. I know that I don''t deserve it, and I have hurt her terribly. However, there''s one thing I know about her, she has an incredible capacity to love someone so much. Even if she is hurt by someone, she has the strength in her to forgive and open up her heart again." "Well, you''re wrong." Dante said. "Everyone has their breaking point. She hates you." "No. I refuse to believe that." "Then stay delusional." Loriel lunged at the Time Master with his sword as the Time Master only stepped back to avoid his blow. For a man and king, Loriel was extremely well-versed in swordsmanship, but a mortal had his limits. "Do you really think that you can defeat me?" Dante asked. "Yes!" Loriel red at him and shed with his sword and only found it shing thin air. "What do you even hope to aplish by fighting me?" Dante raised a brow as he evaded another cut from Loriel''s de. "I''ll force you to send me to the future!" Loriel growled. "I''ll find my wife again!" "Even if I did that, she wouldn''t go with you." Dante chuckled. "You really are stubborn in the most despicable ways. She doesn''t want to love you anymore." "Then doesn''t that mean that she still loves me?! Elise still loves me¡­ if she is trying so hard to unlove me." Loriel fought against Dante and moved faster. He red at the Time Master who kept avoiding his blows. "As long as a small part of her still loves me, then it means that I have a chance. More than that, I want to earn her forgiveness!" "Ah, so you''re only feeling guilty?" Dante rolled his eyes. "You don''t even love her, right? You just want her love but refuse to give her what she longed so much in the past. There''s no second chances for scum like you. You don''t deserve love." The Time Master''s words struck a chord in Loriel and he bitterly smiled. "You have spoken the truth, but that doesn''t mean you''re allowed to make decisions for me. I don''t deserve love, yes. I am a fool but I want to make things right again. So even if she doesn''t want to love me back, that''s okay too." Dante realized that this fool was actually in love with Elise but didn''t realize it. And this was something that threatened the Time Master immensely. Dante was actually prepared to let Loriel live because it was more painful to live knowing his sins and regrets¡­ but this time, there was no room for that. It was much better for Loriel to die. "It seems that I''ve toyed with you too long now and you''re saying useless things. What a terrible use of my time." Dante smiled and caught Loriel''s de in his hands and tugged it away from him. "I''ve dawdled too long, so prepare to die." Before Loriel could move away or dodge, the Time Master shed forward and stabbed Loriel directly in the chest. The king of Summeria wordlessly fell to the ground as his clothes immediately soaked with his blood as Loriel even coughed up a mouthful of it. Dante looked at him coldly. This was the end. No mortal would survive dying from a direct attack in the chest and Loriel was going to die from a hole in his heart. It was fitting in a way because Elise suffered so much in a simr way. Satisfied with his actions, Dante turned away without another word and then left for the river of forgetfulness. The Time Master never looked back, confident that this was the end of Loriel''s story. As a god, Dante failed to realize that a man''s will to live was an incredible thing. Once the god was gone, Loriel forced himself to stand again even with the sword still sticking out of his chest. His entire body was in another world of pain, but the man refused to die. The dragon he borrowed from Renwyck was still there and looking at him. Maybe Ain thought Loriel was dying and suddenly didn''t know what to do. However, Loriel wasn''t quite done. No, as long as he was alive, he would do everything to make things right. "Argh, I can do this." Loriel slowly took one step forward, wincing as he stared at the dragon. "I cannot die before I make amends to my wife and pay for my sins." In his heart, Loriel kept calling Elise''s name over and over. ''Elise¡­ my dear¡­ I am so, sorry¡­'' ''No words could express how much I regret what happened¡­'' ''I know, I am not worthy of your forgiveness or your love, but I want to make things right to you¡­ and our child.'' Chapter 279 Loriel Asks Raphael For Help Chapter 279 Loriel Asks Raphael For Help Raphael, who still happened to be in Myreen, looked at Loriel who was still clinging on to life and the dragon when the man returned. There was a literal sword still stuck in his chest and yet the king of Summeria still managed toe back to meet with the god of healing. It was incredible that the mansted this long, but if Loriel wasn''t healed in this moment, he would surely die. "Argh!" Loriel''s bloodied hand held Raphael in the shoulder. Blood was trickling down the corner of his mouth, and he was deathly pale as a ghost, but there was a determined look in his eyes. "Raphael, please¡­ heal me, if I were to die right now, it would be too easy for me." "Unbelievable." Raphael looked at the mortal and shook his head for a moment. It was a strange thing to say. Most humans would have begged to live because they wanted to stay alive and were afraid to die. Loriel wanted to live because he thought death was too easy a punishment for all the pain he had inflicted on his wife. Finally, the handsome man, who always looked so uncaring and cold, relented. He remembered the beautiful and sweet Elise. She didn''t deserve to receive all the horrible treatment her husband gave her. So, after he thought for a while, Raphael finally decided to agree with Loriel that the king of Summeria must be given harsher punishment and he had to work hard to gain forgiveness from his wife. Even though, deep down, Raphael hoped Elise would not forgive Loriel. Not all stories should have a happy ending, shouldn''t they? "Please¡­" Loriel kept begging Raphael. He shamelessly tugged on Raphael''s sleeves. Finally, the man, who was also known as the ice prince, nodded slightly. "Fine. This is going to hurt," he said to Loriel. "I don''t care. Do it." Raphael smiled faintly and waved his hand. "You will have to pay the price for this." Before Loriel said anything, Raphael held onto the hilt of the sword and pulled it out from Loriel''s chest. The young king copsed to his knees as blood poured faster out now. Even his body couldn''t heal naturally because of the severe injury that he had taken from just one attack from Dante, and yet he was still looking at Raphael. Raphaelid down his hand on Loriel''s chest as healing energy swept around the king''s body and repaired his wounds. The fatal hole in Loriel''s heart started to close and within seconds, the gaping hole waspletely healed. There was no scar left in his chest either. It was as if he didn''t receive the wound at all. Loriel gasped out as he felt his strength return to him and he slowly sat up. He ced a hand on his chest and looked at Raphael. He croaked out a word. "Thank you." "I will collect your debt in the future.," Raphael said firmly. "I hope that you''ve learned your lesson." Loriel couldn''t help but shake his head because he only learned once things were incrediblyte. "No. I actually need to ask for your help again. I was too arrogant before but now I understand the difference between gods and mortals. Please tell me how to defeat a god. I need to force the Time Master to send me into the future so I can see Elise." Raphael looked at Loriel and saw how determined he was. "What would you do if I didn''t tell you? It''s almost ridiculous to ask me how to kill a god because no god in their right state of mind would want to answer this question." "Then I will have to find a way to defeat the Time Master through some other way," Loriel said. "While some mortals are capable of defeating gods through their own power and brilliance, but for someone like you¡­ I rmend that you join the tournament to godhood in Cretea." "Tournament to godhood?" Loriel asked. Raphael nodded in confirmation. "The easiest way to defeat a god is to be an immortal yourself, so that''s what I suggest, especially to beat someone like Dante." "Of course." Raphael clicked his tongue. "I have to warn you that the path to godhood is difficult. This is apetition not only for humans but various people from different realms." Loriel shook his head. "I do not care, I will do it." "Then I will give you a map to Cretea and you can join the tournament," Raphael nodded. "Remember that you may die in this tournament and the gods are not allowed to interfere during this time. I cannot heal you if you are injured there." "I won''t die as easily now," Loriel said. "Perhaps your stubbornness will do you some good," Raphael shook his head and finally pulled a scroll out of thin air. "Find your way to Cretea and you can participate in thepetition." Before Loriel took the scroll, he paused for a moment. "The Time Master will be there, won''t he?" "He''s one of the gods asked to be in charge of the challenges," Raphael said. "But simr to how I am not allowed to heal you or anyone else participating in the tournament, he will not be able to do as he pleases there." "Unless he does it secretly to sabotage me," Loriel muttered. "You cannot rule that out at all." Raphael was impressed that Loriel immediately considered that. The God of Healing didn''t even say it aloud but the king of Summeria was able to read in between the lines of the additional dangers he would be facing. "That''s right. I am sure that he will find a way to bend the rules and give you a hard time¡­ but will that stop you?" "No. Not at all." Loriel fiercely stated. "I will work harder to be an immortal. He will have the chance to dread and count the moments until I be a god like him." "I sincerely hope that your actions will match up with the strength of your words." Raphael offered him the scroll. "I know humans like to boast and say a lot of things but fail to do them." Loriel took the scroll from the god''s hands and smiled grimly. "Please do not worry, I have every intention to stay alive until I win all the challenges and be immortal. I will find Elise and bring her back here." Raphael slowly nodded. "Thispetition will take at least several years to aplish, so manage your affairs. I wish you good luck." "Thank you." Loriel parted ways with the god of healing after that and though he wanted to meet with the King of Myreen before leaving, King Alexander refused to see him. Only Raphael gave him a chance. Before Loriel went to Cretea, he would return to Summeria to talk with his people and also prepare for the journey. Loriel appointed the next king of Summeria from one of his sister''s sons and looked back onest time at his kingdom. Loriel never actually cared about wealth and power that much, even in the past, but this time, he determinedly gave it all up for the chance to be with his wife again. . . Chapter 280 Dante And Elise Chapter 280 Dante And Elise When Dante returned to Cretea and reunited with Elise, he felt all of his worries fall away as he saw the beautiful woman waiting patiently in one of the temples there. Compared to any other woman, he found Elise enchanting and her kindness was truly all-epassing. Nobody in their right mind would have freed a caged ugly bird back in the past, but Elise did. In return for everything that Elise ever did to him, Dante swore to make her life better. The Time Master had already rid of the man who caused Elise so much intense pain, Loriel was gone for good. Dante was determined to treat her better than that awful man. Elise smiled lightly and saw her friend. She stood up from one of the couches and looked anxiously at him. "Dante, wee back to Cretea. How did it go? I know I''m asking so much from you, but how did my father and grandmother take the news?" The smile on Dante''s face fell away slightly and he smoothly lied. "They are saddened by your departure, but once I exined that it was necessary and that there was no other way to save their grandchild? They relented." "Oh thank goodness," Elise sighed in relief. "I was worried about the two of them. Perhaps next time I can invite them toe here with me in Cretea if that is okay?" Dante didn''t want to oppose such thoughts, although it was already next to impossible. The Time Master made an exception for Elise and he was the one in charge of the goblet that contained the potion of immortality. However, he wasn''t sure if inviting two more people to Cretea and these ones who would remember Loriel would be a good idea. Dante cleared his throat. "Elise, I know that you would love them to be here. However, I am afraid that after you bring your father and grandmother here¡­ what will happen to Myreen next? Would you also want the people of Myreen to also be immortal?" Elise bit down on her lip as she thought of the future of their beloved kingdom. Who else would run the kingdom if the royal family was gone? "I don''t want to be separated from my loved ones. I know that I left Myreen when I married Loriel, but I also want to treasure my family." That look on her face was really alluring and Dante was afraid that if Elise ever nced lovingly in his direction, he might have actually chosen to do whatever she wanted. However, Dante was aware of those thoughts and feelings. "Familial love is a beautiful thing," Dante smiled. "That I can acknowledge. However, love is always a dangerous thing. It can make you do things that you didn''t know were possible so guard your heart." Elise stared at him and wondered if he was referring to Loriel. Tears glimmered in her eyes as she wondered how her husband was doing. "I¡­ I always thought that as long as my love was sincere and my intentions were good, what I do for love is a wonderful thing and not dangerous. It can make you sacrifice so much for the other person, Dante." Dante sighed and knew who Elise was referring to, so he quickly stepped forward and wiped away her tears. "Dimitri is a cherished brother of mine, but I do not force him to always be with me, and instead, I let him do what he wants. Therees a time where you learn how to be more self-sufficient. Two people may part ways, not because they dislike one another, but it is a part of their growth." "Do you think that this can happen to me¡­?" Elise bit down on her lip and stepped away from Dante. "What if I''m actually wrong about not wanting to remember and I could make a good thing out of my terrible memories with my husband so I can grow as a person?" Dante bit his tongue and chided himself. He was all for Elise learning how to love herself and appreciate herself more. But the Time Master wanted to be the man who could help her find value and worth in her own self. Unfortunately, Elise was not only beautiful but she was also smart and intelligent beyondparison. Without Loriel around her, Elise was actually recovering far much faster than he expected that maybe she wouldn''t even need Dante at all. Dante shook his head and waved his hand in thin air as a goblet appeared in thin air along with a waterskin. The sound of bubbling water poured down into the goblet and he offered it up to her. "Elise, I think it will still be a good idea to drink the water from the river of forgetfulness." "Why?" Elise raised a brow. "Well¡­ what changed your mind?" Dante asked. "I have calmed down after weeping so much. After further thoughts and contemtion, I think it is good for me to still remember the pain." Elise ced a hand on her stomach. "I think I would be a little surprised if I woke up pregnant but didn''t know who the father was." "Do not worry about that, I can handle that." Dante lied. "How?" Elise batted her eyes at him. "Will you take care of my child and tell them about Loriel? I want to exin to my child how my decision toe here to Cretea came to be¡­ and that''s a little difficult if I don''t remember my husband." Dante wanted to say that he would be the father and that it was unnecessary to speak of Loriel. The man was dead. Besides, Loriel didn''t deserve to be a father and all other sorts of reasons. However, Dante''s lies began to umte little by little and he now knew what to say. "I am thrilled to see that you are feeling better, Elise," Dante said. "But I am afraid that perhaps you are trying so hard to stay strong. I am worried that during nights when you are by yourself, you will lie awake crying and in misery because of your no-good husband." Elise lowered her head dejectedly. "I can''t deny that it won''t happen¡­" I started hating Dante. Why do you keep lying? This makes you no better than Loriel :( Elise lowered her head dejectedly. "I can''t deny that it won''t happen¡­" Chapter 281 Loriel Travels To Cretea Chapter 281 Loriel Travels To Cretea After some more conversation with Dante, Elise finally relented and decided to drink the water from the river of forgetfulness. However, she still wanted to ask onest thing. Something important so in the chance that she wanted to change her mind, it would be okay. "Dante¡­ even if I drink this water, is there any chance that I can remember Loriel again?" Dante sighed inwardly. He already got sick of hearing that name. Loriel was dead and yet refused to be buried in Elise''s memories. Dante couldn''t say that aloud, thought. Instead, he faked a smile. "When you are prepared and stronger than ever, I believe memories of him will return to you at the proper time," Dante lied through his teeth. "Then I''m prepared to drink the water now." Elise nodded firmly and took the goblet from his hands. She looked down and saw her reflection in the crystal clear water and there was still a redness in her eyes after sobbing so much. Her own eyes still haven''t recovered from the sting of pain. It was true that Loriel''s words had broken and torn away at Elise''s heart and she was extremely vulnerable right now. One wrong memory and she might have wept even further. Dante was right that Elise was trying hard to be strong. However, she had her reasons for wanting to be brave. Elise wanted to think about the future of her child because she didn''t want to imagine how much longing their child would have for a father that they didn''t know. When she was young, Elise really wanted to meet her mother but was unable to because Queen Catalina had passed away. So, her father, King Alexander only told stories of his wife when Elise grew up and she could understand what happened. Elise didn''t want to take the opportunity away from her child. "Elise?" Dante prompted her to drink again. Every moment felt like a long eternity to him and he was afraid that she would change her mind. "I-I''m¡­ I''m just trying to work up the courage since this will be a life-altering decision to forget about my husband. Even temporary seems wrong," Elise said to him. "But I will¡­ do it." Even after everything that Elise underwent with Loriel, she wanted her child to grow up knowing that there was a man who loved him with all of his heart like their first child. Perhaps next time, once Elise was better, she could introduce her child to the father. Just like Dante said.. if she became more powerful, her memory might return. As for now¡­ it was better if she forgot about Loriel and focused on her life, together with this baby in her womb. She slowly raised the goblet to her lips. "Even if the two of us have our great differences, I know from the bottom of my heart that he would love to see you." Elise whispered to her baby. Right now, Elise was going to do a selfish thing of forgetting about Loriel¡­ but she hoped that someday, as Dante said, she would find the strength to face her problems head on. Once Elise sipped from the goblet, it slipped from her fingers and dropped to the floor. Dante quickly caught the woman in his arms and let out a loud sigh. It wasn''t purely relief because he knew that he lied so many times to Elise, but there was a hope in his heart that Elise would understand why he did this. It was the best way that Dante could look after Elise so she could find happiness. *** Elsewhere, Loriel was already on his way to Cretea and would encounter several other people along the way. He thought he saw a group of satyrsughing and traveling with each other, eager to reach the pinnacle of Cretea. There were others like him who were more recluse, an elf traveling alone with an enormous bow in his hand and a quiver filled with arrows. The elf looked a bit arrogant and would avoid the other groups and stayed with himself. Ahead of them was what appeared to be two creatures in the air, both of them had wings but were different from one another. One of them had wings like a butterfly, a fairy, while the other one was covered in feathers and was a harpy. The two of them seemed to be arguing with one another. There were many more people amongst those climbing up Cretea and Loriel knew that all of them were hispetition. He needed to defeat creatures that came from legends and stories he once assumed were myths. Loriel''s expression was grim, but he was resolute. Until finally, a woman started to stroll beside him. She nced in his direction and waved. There was a beautiful smile on her face as she warmly greeted him. "Hi!" Loriel ignored her and kept walking ahead. "Rude." Hilde muttered underneath her breath but then catched up to him. "Hey, I think the both of us are humans. Do you want to work in a team with me? You look really strong." Loriel shook his head. "No." us are humans. Do you want to work in a team with me? You look really strong." Loriel shook his head. "No." "Wait, did I get it wrong?" Hilde''s eyes widened and she inspected him closer. "Are you not a human? Are you a lycan? Do you transform into a strong sexy wolf whenever you feel like it? Nah¡­ I think you''re human like me, but I can be mistaken." Loriel finally looked the woman in the face and narrowed his eyes. He spoke curtly and his exprssion was as cold as ice. "I do not wish to talk with you. Stay away from me before I make you wish that you have left me undisturbed." Hilde took a step back in fear, but then raised her hands. "Okay, I get it. I won''t disturb you¡­ I''ll go find someone else." She nced around and then noticed the elf. "Hey there, pointy ears!" The elf started walking faster to avoid the woman. "Hey! That was apliment!" Hilde called out before she threw onest grin at Loriel and then walked away.She winked at him and made her voice sound coyish. "I''ll see you at the top, handsome." Without another word, she chased after the elf. Loriel pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. Here he was concentrating on bing an immortal to see his beloved wife and child again but there were others who still found the time to y around. Chapter 282 Dante Realizes He Has Messed Up Chapter 282 Dante Realizes He Has Messed Up A couple of problems ensued right after Elise drank from the goblet that wiped away her memories. It was something that Dante failed to take into ount when he gave it to her because he trusted that Elise would be alright. Elise was already an immortal when she drank from the goblet so Dante was confident that the effects of the water was not enough to render her immobile or in a state of weakness. However, Dante was wrong. Elise didn''t wake up after an hour, hours, and not even after a day or two. Dante, who had been excited about living and spending his entire lifetime with Elise didn''t consider how valuable memories were. Even one drop of the water of forgetfulness waspletely potent. Elise who became an immortal had her memoriespletely wiped out and it threw her into aa. Dante immediately panicked after three days with no signs of recovery from Elise. She was immortal and he did not worry about the state of her physical body, but there was nothing that Dante could do that would make her wake up. "What did I do wrong?" He asked himself worriedly. He panicked. The Time Master knew that it was either a miscalction in his judgement or perhaps there was something else that could wake up Elise. He knew that he needed to do something to help her and, after a split decision, Dante took Elise away from the mount of Cretea. He took her back into one of his secluded mountains, the real ce where the Time Master kept watch of everything from a distance at a ce where no humans could ever walk. Gently, Dante ced Elise in a soft andfortable bed. Elisey on the bed looking as if she was only in a beautiful sleep and that there was nothing wrong with her. Dante''s heart pounded and he couldn''t help but feel an intense amount of guilt after everything. He was going to fix this. However, Dante still needed to attend and host the tournament for godhood. The Time Master visited Summeria and quickly came in contact with his brother, Dimitri. He wanted to aske him for a favor. "You need to stay in Cretea and masquerade as me during the entire tournament." "Huh? Are you sure? Won''t people know the difference when I don''t have your powers?" Dimitri rubbed his chin and looked at him doubtfully. "I know that the two of us look exactly the same, but our powers are too different." "You''ll only need to watch thepetition and don''t necessarily have to do anything," Dante urged him on. "There is something that I need to take care of so I can''t attend the tournament." "What happened, brother?" Dimitri''s brows furrowed and he looked knowingly at Dante. "You wouldn''t miss the tournament for nothing important. It is a renowned thing to be the judge on this asion that only takes ce every thousand years." Dante looked at his brother and knew that he couldn''t lie. At least, not to his brother. "I¡­ something happened to Elise and I need to fix things," the Time Master said. "Over a week ago, Elise came to me sobbing and asking for help. I think she came to you earlier, didn''t she?" "Yes." Dimitri nodded. "She wanted her child to survive and she really did look so close to tears. Did something awful happen in Summeria? I don''t keep up with politics and only books." "You know how awful her husband is," Dante gritted his teeth. "She came crying to me because of him. He''s a bastard." Dimitri sighed deeply. "Brother, I understand that the man probably did something wrong because Elise wouldn''t have cried for nothing¡­ but I sense extreme hostility in your tone. Did you do anything?" "Nothing that is wrong to me," the Time Master replied coldly. "But my actions towards her husband are not what I''m here for. Elise asked me if there was some way that I could help her forget about her husband." "That''s not an easy thing to ask for," Dimitri frowned. "Isting a single individual from memory is too difficult because humans are not solitary creatures. There would be too many holes and gaps if you try to only remove one person so¡­ wait." Dimitri was not known as the god of knowledge for nothing. He was able to quickly piece in the facts with only little details and quickly made an urate conclusion. His eyes widened greatly and he looked at his brother. "You erased her entire memory," he said. The Time Master guilty nodded his head. "I¡­ I did just that. I thought it would be fine if Elise lived a new life. It wouldn''t be too long before her father and grandmother also die and she would be in grief once that happens." "Brother you have no right to make decisions for someone else," Dimitri grabbed his brother''s cor and gritted his teeth. "You''ve done a lot of damage and now you are trying to fix it." "That''s right," Dante smiled sadly. "Please go to Cretea and masquerade as me. I am not sure how long it would take for Elise to wake up and recover, so I need a lot of time for this." The God of Knowledge looked at his brother and then nodded slowly. "Fine. I will do this, but only because you have chosen to repair the damage that you''ve made. Make sure that you fix things." "I will." Dante pulled his brother into a hug and smiled in relief. "Thank you, Dimitri." "This task that you will be undertaking is not easy," Dimtri shook his head and looked his brother in the eye. "This is also the same water that people drink before they are reincarnated to their next life. The process to help her recover important memories will be slow." "I am prepared to do just that," Dante smiled. "Even if it''d take an eternity, I will make sure that she recovers." Chapter 283 The Tournament To Godhood Chapter 283 The Tournament To Godhood The tournament to godhood was filled with a great number of individuals from countless realms and Loriel stood among them. His heart was aching and still heartbroken, but he stood tall among the participants and waited for the gods to step forward. Out of them all, the most despised god came and greeted the crowd. "All of you are here for a reason and so I, Dante the Time God, and mypanions wee you to the tournament that may change your life forever," Dimitri spoke and greeted the crowd. Loriel''s gaze immediately hardened against the sight. If he didn''t know that he wouldn''t win against Dante right now, Loriel would have already demanded to see his wife again. He restrained his anger for now and waited for thepetition to start. "This tournament will see your capacity to be a god in your own right and there are naturally many ways for you to win the tournament," Dimitri continued. A murmur sounded amongst the crowd and a lot of people exchanged looks with one another warily. Loriel didn''t bother looking at anyone else and instead, Dimitri only felt like someone was trying to kill him with looks alone. Dimitri raised one finger. "You can win it through your own strength alone, your natural brilliance and intellect that will help you navigate through obstacles unlike any other and face challenges that no ordinary individual will be able to pass through alone." A number of those who were amongst the crowd all looked like skilled warriors, archers, and other powerful individuals to Loriel. Most of them might have decided that this was the path that they were going to undertake. Included among those was the elven archer that Loriel encountered earlier but they were not the only ones who seemed determined to take the path of individual strength. There were also those who looked extremely weak. People in white robes and other simple outfits and yet Loriel could see that they were holding magical staffs, orbs, or magical grimoires. They were also assessing one another. Loriel couldn''t help but wonder if his wife was just like them. The thought of Elise made his heart ache and he hoped that she was alright. He always dreamed of the time that Elise and his child were fine and that all three of them would be reunited once again. "And of course there are those who have a deep connection with their environment. Will your attunement to your surroundings help you ovee challenges with grace and the least amount of trouble?" Dimitri asked. Amongst the crowd, the very same group of satyrs were now all looking very serious as they held onto their musical instruments. If Loriel looked a bit closer, he would have seen how the ground beneath their hooves was now flourishing with flowers. The harpy and fairy from earlier seemed to be gently sitting atop a breeze without any problem and listening in peace. "Or perhaps do you have ns to use your charm and form powerful friendships that will help you survive and be among thest ones standing until the very end?" Dimitri smiled and inclined his head. The crowd of participants all started pping their hands and among them was also Hilde who seemed to have actually formed a small group of people that decided to work with her. All of them seemed keen to impress her. When Hilde looked up and saw Loriel, she quickly grinned and winked at him. She motioned him over to join her. Loriel couldn''t help but scrunch up his nose in disgust. The woman didn''t seem to have any personal strength and yet managed to manipte people into helping her. He had no interest in people like her who would use other people to reach the top. Dimitri hadn''t finished talking. He smiled greatly at all of them. "It is not only through the aspect of strength alone that people be gods, or else¡­ Where would individuals like the ever so brilliant God of Knowledgee from? The God of Music was said to have yed a song so beautiful that monsters let him pass without question. Now¡­ let us begin." It was on that day that Loriel''s will to reunite with Elise was finally put under the test. *** The Time Master poured the entire amount of his days into research and ensuring that Elise was safe throughout the process of him returning the memories that would make it possible for Elise to wake up again. Over the course of weeks, Dante would find recovery and improvement. But there were otherplications too that would spring up and it actually involved Elise''s pregnancy. Even though Elise was in a state ofa, somehow, the act of giving birth to a young god was enough to cause enough unbearable pain that life shed before her eyes and she woke up screaming. It woke up Dante and he immediately came to her side. "Oh no," Dante thought it was good that she had woken up, but now he started assisting her and doing his best to help her undergo this process. "Giving birth, you can do this, Elise. You''re stronger now than you were before." However, Elise was extremely pale and she was actually losing strength. There were tears in her eyes and she didn''t look like she was actually understanding what she was going through. There was even no recognition in Elise''s eyes when she frantically looked at Dante nor did sheprehend the reason for the pain. The Time Master was by far the most underprepared individual that woulde across this kind of situation and before he knew it, the Time Master would once again ask for help in Cretea. "The God of Life?" Dante asked himself and knew that exining this situation would bring him an incredible amount of trouble. He already knew that even when he offered it to Elise. Most of the gods decided to have children only when they were given express permission. It was often discussed in a council of gods and goddesses if a new god born naturally was allowed because conflicts and quarrels did stille among them. And yet suddenly out of nowhere, flowers suddenly blossomed within the cave and a woman appeared by the cave hidden in the mountain. She wore a beautiful white robe and walked gently through the entrance. of coldness. Eretrea, the Goddess of Earth, Marriage, and Fertility stood outside and gazed at Dante with a look "My descendant is here and you still have brought her to the edge of death. Step aside, Time Master." Without another word, the goddess came in and quickly approached Elise with a tender and gentle look on her face. "Edge of death?" Dante asked worriedly. "What do you mean, Eretrea?" "Giving birth to a god is dangerous and even more so that my descendant is not yet immortal," The immortality, it was her baby that absorbed all of it. I havee far toote." goddess scowled and ced a hand on Elise''s stomach. "When she drank from the goblet of Dante was stunned when he heard the goddess''s words. He turned to look at Elise and he instantly felt his heart sink. Chapter 284 Alexei Chapter 284 Alexei The Time God thought that he had helped Elise be immortal, but since there were exactly two people, Elise and the unborn child, only one of them truly became immortal when Elise drank the potion of immortality. This was Dante''s grave mistake. Elise was dying because of him. She was stillpletely human and she wouldn''t be able to give birth to her child who was a god or even live to see them. This was all of his fault and it gave Dante the biggest scare of his life. The Time Master immediately approached the goddess and reached for her robes pleadingly. "Please help me save Elise and the child. She has done nothing wrong at all and it is my fault that she''s like this. Please do something, Eretrea! I beg of you!" Dante was sincerely hurt and miserable. The goddess looked at Dante and averted her gaze away from him. Instead, Eretrea looked at her helpless descendant who was inplete pain. She felt mercy ovee her in that moment. "Fine, I will do this only because this descendant of mine has notmitted any mistakes," Eretrea spoke curtly. "I believe it is time for me to take my leave and retire from this world anyway." Dante''s eyes widened and he knew what the Earth goddess was speaking about. Among the immortals, there would be gods and others who had lived for so long that they do not wish to spend another day here alive. Most of them would go to an eternal slumber and never wake up because they have grown weary of living for others and only wished to have peace. There were others who would leave this world and go to other realms, shedding away their immortality in the process. "Elise?" Dante asked uncertainly and with a relief that still was dictated by nervousness. "Your baby is 13:29 born¡­" "Goddess Eretrea¡­" Dante spoke slowly. The goddess smiled and shook her head. "Do not make me change my mind because I''ve alreadye to a decision. I was going across the world to look for my inheritor, the one who''ll take up my mantle and I have chosen Elise." Elise who had been screaming earlier was now only silent with tears in her eyes. Every part and fiber of her being was being split and torn open to give birth to her child, but now she was looking at the goddess. "Elise, you have suffered so much even for a mortal," Eretrea carefully ced a lock of Elise''s hair behind her ear. "But now I will ask you to take even a heavier burden and take my ce. You will live but now you will stay alive until the end of times." Elise wept silently, uprehending what was taking ce but suddenly a bright light filled the entire cave of the Time Master and blinded both Dante and her into seeing nothing but white light. Once the light disappeared, Dante could see Elise finally change into that of a goddess. The already beautiful appearance of hers started to be more evident. Her hair started growing longer as a multitude of flowers and nts growing all around the cave. More importantly, a baby was now lying among the flowers. It was a boy. He was crying as loudly as he could and his voice pierced the heavens. The Time Master immediately moved forward to pick the baby up and cradled it into his arms. Dante looked at Elise in relief and approached her. Eretrea was already long gone and had disappeared. Now, in her ce, the new goddess was still confused. "Elise?" Dante asked uncertainly and with a relief that still was dictated by nervousness. "Your baby is born¡­" Elise still looked confused more than ever, the effects of the water of forgetfulness still in ce but once she saw the baby in Dante''s arms, the most beautiful smile crossed her features and she held out her arms to him. "Ah, here you go." Dante found himself lovestruck once again as he carefully ced the baby in her arms. Even though Elise didn''t recognize him, she seemed to know that the baby was hers. "Elise?" A loving look was on Elise''s face as she held the tiny hand of the baby, and it was the healthiest one that anybody could ever see. Somehow, gods gave birth to a baby that looked so cute and adorable and more mature than what mortals did. The baby looked like it was at least seven months old in human years. Dante realized how special the moment was between that of the mother and the child, and he felt a bit guilty but incredibly lucky to be able to witness this scene happen in front of him. He knew he didn''t deserve this at all. However, he was happy. "Alexandra¡­" Elise found herself saying words without even her knowing them consciously. She looked like in a state of awareness that knew so much and yet still knew so little at the same time. "Um, it''s a boy," Dante couldn''t help but point out. Elise''s eyes lit up as she looked at the baby. It was as if, deep inside of her, there was something that reached out and put names and she lovingly whispered, "Alexei." It was an incredibly happy moment and yet suddenly the expression on Elise''s face changed and she winced in pain. Suddenly, Alexei was crying and as Dante moved fast to catch the baby from falling, Elise passed out. Even as a goddess, the weariness of giving birth had overtaken the young woman. Or it was because of herck of awareness. Dante was incredibly worried and knew that even as an immortal, the effects of wiping out herplete memories were still tantamount to removing an important aspect of Elise''s character. Elise was still the same person, deep inside of her, but with no memories surfacing on her mind, she was only the shell of the person that Dante loved and cared for. It was only a miracle that she still managed to name her child, but after that moment, Elise would Slowly bidding strength until she could piece herself together once again. once again go into a slumber of recovery. . . ________________ If you guessed that Alexei is Elise''s son... you are RIGHT! Chapter 285 Spectre Chapter 285 Spectre *** Back in Cretea, Loriel was exerting himself to his limits to pass the tournament. Unlike others who had a natural affinity for magic, Loriel was just himself. Among fellow humans and mortals, Loriel was amazing, but in the world of gods and magic users, he was weak. Loriel was a pale imitation of what other creatures were capable of. Even if Loriel considered himself strong and powerful, a minotaur would beat him and show him strength beyond that he was capable of. The elves were more agile and adept with the bow than Loriel and those of schrs who wielded magical staves, grimoires and others were able to perform great feats of magic unlike any other. If Loriel thought he was fast on his feet then fairies would overtake him through the air, centaurs would rush past him with their bodies more suitable for running and Loriel would find himself barely holding on to thest cut-off for participants. Time and time again, Loriel found himself humbled and put to the limits of his humanity. Loriel fell to his knees and was covered in several cuts across his body, wounds that were filled with poison as he passed through thest bend of the ckwood Haunted Forest. He had encountered ghosts and tried to cut them down to no avail. Screams and howls echoed within the forest that chilled one''s spine and spread goosebumps across one''s skin as monsters beyond one''s imagination harassed and attacked all those who passed them. Everyone was tormented with nightmares, visions of pasts and futures that would haunt them and scar the mind. A god was supposed to have a mind that could not be tainted by sorrow and doom. Within the forest haunted and gued by ghosts, ghouls, and spectres, Loriel found himself witnessing a vision that made the man cry. While others saw monsters, what Loriel saw was¡­ a simple vision. However, this was the vision that had an effect as powerful as monsters for the other participants. The spectre in front of him had transformed into the silhouette of Elise and that of another unknown person. The two were walking hand in hand and even when Loriel tried to call out to his wife, she never once looked back at him. "No, this is just showing me a vision of what I fear the most," Loriel whispered to himself. "It''s not true. This is all fake." If that wasn''t enough, a spectral hand suddenly touched his shoulder and when Loriel nced behind him, he found himself staring at the ghost of a young Emmelyn. She was the woman whom he encountered on his travels when he was younger. She was beautiful, feisty, and he was madly in love with her. She was the reason why he had hurt his wife''s feelings so badly. Seeing Emmelyn before him reminded Loriel of his sins to Elise. Why¡­? Why must he see Emmelyn again here in Cretea? He didn''t want to have anything to do with her. Emmelyn was in the past. He wanted to move forward and look for his wife. "Maxim," the ghost smiled brightly at him. "Argh! Go away!!" Loriel shed with his sword to no avail. He didn''t want to see Emmelyn, at all. He would rather see Elise even though it was only her ghost. Loriel''s sword could not find itself cutting creatures that held no physical forms and yet Loriel still managed to reach the end of the forest along with several other participants. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him, following after the visions of his wife and that of the other ghost. Even though his body passed through numerous thorns, vines, and other things in the forest blocking his way, Loriel didn''t give up. Blood seeped through his clothes from the numerous wounds and cuts, big and small, that he experienced. He didn''t feel the pain because all his focus was exerted on his wife and his wife alone. "Elise!" Loriel cried out and shouted hoarsely. He did not know the real purpose of this test and yet his heart was filled with a sensation that cut at him far more than anything. "I know that you deserve happiness more than anything in the world¡­ I am sorry for everything that I''ve done." Loriel''s eyes glittered with tears. "I am sorry for being such a terrible husband. I am sorry for being so selfish and dumb¡­" Finally, the ghost image of Elise looked behind her and gave Loriel augh. It was a ghostlyugh and nothingpared to that of his real wife, but then the ghost finally vanished and what reced the ghost vision was a small ray of sunlight outside of the ominous woods. He was shown the way out. Loriel quickly ran off to the edge of the forest and arrived atst at the end of one of the first of the many trials in Cretea. He arrived and saw that only half of the original number of participants were present. While there were those who found themselves giving up halfway and not finding the strength to continue on the tumultuous tasks andpetition, Loriel''s will and decision to continue on even when he was at his weakest made himst longer than others. Even when he was on the edge of his life, beaten and bruised beyondpare, Loriel somehow found the strength to pull himself up on his feet and throw himself back into the game. It surprised countless participants and even gods who spectated. "Many sumbed to their fears or were pulled back by their desires," one of the gods murmured to theirpanions. "I''ve seen some of them lose their minds and try to battle what cannot be defeated." "They only reflect whatever it is that they truly fear or want after all, whether it is a past that has haunted them or a future that they do not wish to imagine," another godmented. "Even brute force isn''t enough here, isn''t it?" the other one spoke up with a frown. "Ghosts that were vanquished only returned in vengeance and trapped the participant that attempted to y them." "It is a battle of the mind naturally," Dimitri exined as he looked at the remaining participants, seeing among them those who were worthy of the potion of immortality in the testimony of heart and mind. Among them stood Loriel who looked extremely injured who ran, chasing after a vision that Dimitri realized as Elise. The God of Knowledge''s heart thundered when he realized who this person was. It must be Elise''s husband who arrived in Cretea to look for her. He understood that Dante must have taken Elise away. Now, Loriel was here and he looked like the most determined soul Dimitri had ever seen in his long life. Somehow, Dimitri had a feeling that Loriel would seed in this tournament because of his sheer determination. "Oh, Dante¡­" Dimitri found himself saddened at the realization of what was probably about toe. As long as Loriel continued andsted until the very end, the man would obtain the powers to be a god. What came next was a confrontation. Chapter 286 - Unlikely Companion Among those who survived the tournament in the ghost woods, Lorielter woke up and would find his wounds getting treated by a certain woman who looked at him in surprise. "Ah, you are awake," Hilde said with a smile and reached out to treat him again. "You are tougher than you look." "Unhand me," Loriel pped her hand away and red at her. He knew that he was being rude. He was pushing this woman away but he truly didn''t understand her motivations. "What do you want from me? Don''t you have other men to seduce and ask for their help?" Hilde frowned at him and sighed. "You are a terrible man who''s quick to judge people. I know that I am beautiful but it does not mean that I''vee to seduce people into helping me, I am also trying my best." "Whatever," Loriel growled and stood up. He checked his body and found numerous salves ced on his body that attempted to heal him. "Don''t stand up just yet!" Hilde''s eyes widened. "You might reopen your wounds." "I am alright," Loriel grunted and picked at one of them. He looked around and found that they were given some time to rest before the next tournament. "Please do not interfere with my life again." "But you seem so determined to make it out here alive," Hilde pointed out. "What kind of person would I be if I chose to ignore your injuries when your willpower is so intense. Tell me, why do you wish to be a god?" "It is none of your business," Loriel curtly said. "Even if I had saved your life?" Hilde raised a brow. Loriel pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the insufferable woman. Perhaps in some other time, he would have found her interesting, but now, all Loriel wanted to do was reunite with Elise. "I wish to be a god so I can reunite with my wife," Loriel said. "Can you now leave me alone?" "Huh, wow." Hilde''s eyes widened. "Wait, is your wife a goddess and left you to return to Cretea? Or does your wife want you to be a god so you can live your lives as wealthy and powerful people?" "The details aren''t necessary." Loriel frowned. "I have already answered your question so please go back to your group and quit bothering me." Hilde pulled up to her feet and shook her head. "Well, whatever. I hope that in the chance that Ie into trouble or one of my friends does, you could help repay your debt fully by doing us a favor." "So you really are trying to gather help," Loriel frowned. "So what if I am?" Hilde smiled and waved at him. "Take care of yourself, lone wolf. I''ll see you at Cretea again and maybe the two of us could toast together when we be gods, see you!" Loriel found himself left alone after that. Even though he didn''t like the woman and he suspected her intentions as being less than good, he and Hilde would eventually turn out to be one of the few people that actually managed to reach the very end. He would end up repaying his debt by saving Hilde when she was about to be betrayed by the very people she once thought and considered to be her friends andpanions throughout this period. While they were all climbing up the mountains, they pushed Hilde off a cliff. Loriel ended up seeing her actually struggling and holding herself up, but she couldn''t climb out from the ravine. Even though the tournament was ongoing and there were only a limited number of slots for those who could arrive at thest point, he ended up helping her. Hilde was in tears at that point and threw herself into his arms. "Thank you, thank you. I thought I was going to die before I aplished my goals." Loriel sighed and gently pushed her away. "I hate women who cry and are weak." Hilde sniffed and wiped away her snot. "You really are a terrible guy. Who says that to a woman? Your actions are good but your words are really harsh. Your wife better be a goddess of patience or else she would..." Loriel''s sharp gaze on her made the woman stop speaking and she caught herself. The two of them would go together and finish the next part of the tournament and by ill-luck of fate, Hilde insisted that she stick with him. "I will stay with you because it is hard to find a good man now," Hilde said. "Everybody will start betraying each other at this point so they can win the tournament but I think I can trust you." "Your trust in me is terrible," Loriel frowned. "Go away before I toss you into another cliff by myself." Hildeughed and followed after him. "You really are bad with words. I''ll pretend that I didn''t hear that. What is your name by the way? You didn''t tell me and you already know that I''m Hilde." "I regret saving you." "Don''t say that," Hilde told him as they headed to the next part of the tournament. "I can also be a usefulpanion to you and not only the other way around. I am not only beautiful but I am also pretty smart." "If you had a good head on your shoulders then you would know when to shut up." Loriel muttered. "I am helping lighten up the mood," Hilde rolled her eyes. "But I guess you are also trying to go for an intimidation technique by looking scary, huh? Is that what you''re doing because it is not very effective?" Loriel found himself an unlikelypanion throughout the tournament in Cretea, and even though he didn''t want to admit it to himself aloud, Hilde was actually a goodpanion to have and the two of them helped each other until the very end. "We''ve made it!" Loriel sighed in relief once he finally saw the top of Cretea. Hilde''s eyes lit up as she threw a look at him. Their time together had made the woman fall in love with him and she gave Loriel a kiss on the cheek.. "We really did." Chapter 287 - Loriel Finishes The Tournament "What do you think you''re doing?" Loriel quickly stepped away from the woman and threw her a re. He furiously rubbed his cheek and gave her a deep frown. "I took you along with me because you needed my help." Hilde''s face heated up and she looked away from him. "I don''t understand you. After what we''ve been through together for thest months in this tournament. Don''t you feel a connection with me?" "We may have gotten along but it doesn''t mean anything to me. I only see you as an acquaintance and yet you''ve done this." Loriel shook his head disappointedly. "I told you that I have a wife." "But why do you have to suffer through so much to be reunited with her?" Hilde asked. "Why did you need to go here in Cretea to be a god, Loriel? If she truly loved you then she wouldn''t make you suffer just to be with her." "Don''t talk as if you know anything about what Elise has been through," Loriel coldly said. "She has gone through so much by being my wife that she finally decided that she''s tired of me and has gone to the future. I need to go after her." "If she''s run away from you, then why are you still chasing after her?" Hilde asked. "You don''t seem to have understood the message from her that she doesn''t want to do anything with you from now on. You''re free, Loriel." In another time, when Loriel was weaker and would have given up if he experienced something that made it difficult to be with his wife, then Loriel would have agreed with Hilde''s assessment. It''s true that Loriel had experienced so much suffering on his mission to get Elise back, but he didn''t care about it at all. Loriel could not deny that he had changed and no longer thought about such things as before. Instead, there was one thing bursting out of his chest. "I''m not going to stop or go with anyone else because I love her! Only her!" Loriel shouted at Hilde and then suddenly stopped once he realized what he just said. "I''ve loved her for so long and I''ve only realized it now. How could I have been so stupid before?" Loriel thought it was guilt and shame that moved him forward. It was because he felt responsible for Elise''s suffering and the fact that she was carrying their child. They made him act against her wishes to be left alone. He thought that there were a lot of reasons why he wanted to be a god and see her again. However, it all condensed to one reason alone. He loved her. Loriel had loved Elise all this time and it was what made him work so hard to be with her again. A part of it was because he felt responsible for paying for his sins and asking for forgiveness, but it was also because of love. Especially after he realized that his wife was actually the ''fairy'' who saved his life many years ago. A tear trickled down Loriel''s cheek and he smiled sadly. "I love her and I would stop at nothing to be with her again. I really love my wife, Hilde, and there''s nothing that I can do about this at all. I love her so much that I can''t imagine spending my life with another person except for Elise." Hilde stared at the man and shook her head. "Unbelievable. You act so cold and callous but you''re actually even more stupid in love than I am. It''s clear that you''ve lost your chance with this woman and yet you still want to be with her?" "I do." Loriel nodded firmly. "Even if it is impossible, I want to beg for forgiveness and then be with her again. That is the only thing that will make me happy, Hilde. So I cannot ept whatever kind of feeling that you have for me. Goodbye." Before Hilde could say anything else, the king of Summeria moved forward and finally reached the peak of Cretea. Countless gods and goddesses stood together and awaited both him and others to join them for the godhood ceremony. The entire mountain of Cretea was decorated in all of its glory, basked in warm golden sunlight that never seemed to end. If Loriel thought that the kingdom of Myreen shielded from the rest of the world was amazing, Cretea was far more spectacr. Whaty before Loriel was a kind of utopia that most humans could only dare to dream of. There was no sickness in Cretea, there was no individual that would die from age and rot and all of them were blessed with unimaginable powers. Among them stood Loriel''s greatest enemy. The Time Master stood at the center and even held the goblet containing the potion of immortality. There was a calm look on his face as the god addressed the crowd. "All of you have gone so far into reaching this ce," Dimitri said. "There were at least tens and thousands of participants that sought to ascend the mountains of Cretea and be worthy of this cup and all of you have done so. We give ourmendations." Hilde climbed up and joined the ceremony with a frown on her face, even as she epted a simr goblet from one of the fairies and nymphs distributing the goblets. Dimitri himself walked up to Loriel, slowly and confidently with a smile on his face as he offered the goblet to the mortal. "Drink and be filled with the power of eternal youth and a power that resides deep within you." Loriel snatched the goblet from the man and red at him. "This isn''t poisoned isn''t it?" Dimitri chuckled. "Of course not. Congrattions to everyone who has made it this far. Brothers and sisters, we wee you as our fellow gods in Cretea. Let us drink and be merry!" All of the individuals gathered together drank the potion which transformed Loriel and all who made it this far into immortals. Energy unlike any other coursed through as his eyes lit up with power. "Dante." Loriel looked at Dimitri and quickly lunged for the man''s throat. "Now bring me to Elise." Gasps of horror emerged from within themunity of gods and goddesses. "I''m afraid that I can''t do that," Dimitriughed weakly. Chapter 288 - Loriel And Dimitri Most of the gods and goddesses looked on with horror but didn''t step in to save the ''Time Master'' because he was a powerful god. They knew Dante who couldn''t be defeated easily even if Loriel had just be a god. This was really unfortunate for Dimitri''s part because Loriel was not dealing with Dante but the god''s twin masquerading as him instead. Nobody could tell the difference at all and Loriel thought he finally was going to see his wife again. He couldn''t wait anymore or even try to confront the Time Master at ater time. Loriel wanted to do it now and he was going to exert himself to the limits of his new immortal body to do just that. He held the god by the throat and squeezed it painfully as he said. "Now bring me to Elise." "I''m afraid that I can''t do that," Dimitriughed weakly. "Do it or else I''ll strangle you until you die. I am no longer a weak human!" Loriel narrowed his eyes and frowned. "You said earlier that what you''ve given is a potion of youth so I assume that you can still die as long as I hit you badly enough. Or do you want me to stab you through the chest like you did with mine?" "Hah?" Dimitri blinked in surprise but then faked a smirk on his face. He was putting in the effort to not back down in front of this man and keep to his role as perfectly as possible. "That would have hurt a lot, didn''t it? I''m surprised that you are alive until now." "Quit ying games with me, Dante." Loriel spat. "I''m not," Dimitri said and couldn''t help but smile at the ridiculousness of this situation. How terrible it was for him to be put in a life and death situation because of what his brother had done to both Elise and her husband. This was Dimitri''s chance to reveal to the crowd that he wasn''t his brother and ask for help. He could let Loriel know the truth that he was dealing with a fake all this time. However, Dimitri, the god of knowledge didn''t want his brother to get hurt. He didn''t want this to break out into a fight like no other. Some of the gods would undoubtedly get upset and try to fight Loriel but that was not good. This was trouble between Loriel and his brother, but Dimitri chose to take his brother''s ce at this hour. He wasn''t all just about books, wisdom and knowledge. The familial love and loyalty he felt to Dante overtook any sense of urging that told Dimitri to tell Loriel the truth because he wanted Dante to have a chance to correct the error in his ways. Dimitri wanted to give his brother the opportunity to amend his ways and for Elise to truly recover from the effects of the water of forgetfulness. It would be too difficult for Dante to save Elise if Loriel came up and started attacking him. And so it happened, Loriel threw Dimitri across thends of Cretea in anger. He was going to beat up this Time Master so badly that he would force the god to reveal Elise''s location or have him bring her back. However,pared to Dante who was strong, Dimitri was truly weak. He forced himself to his feet and onlyughed despite his entire body aching with an immeasurable amount of pain. Loriel rushed towards the god and threw another attack at him, this time, a flurry of wind concentrated in that attack and attacked him point-ck in the chest. Cretea shook for a moment as Dimitri crashed against one of the temples, the pirs breaking away and falling on top of each other. Dimitri soon fell on the marble floor motionless. He was in another world of pain. Loriel found himself getting annoyed that this Time Master was trying to make the fight look bad. It was as if Loriel was the perpetrator when the Time Master really was the one who attacked him first and nearly killed him before. "Stand up and fight me, you coward!" Loriel shouted at him. There was no answer. Dimitri couldn''t keep doing this any longer and he almost felt like his time was up. If it weren''t for Loriel being unaware that Dante had a twin, perhaps the former king of Summeria would have noticed that something was wrong. However, Loriel didn''t know and so he stayed unaware and thought he was facing Dante. Loriel grabbed him by his robes'' cor and red at him. "Where did you send Elise? What time did you send her?" "Hah, can you truly wait for your wife¡­?" Dimitri choked on his blood and stared at Loriel. "I''ve sent her to 2100 but can you really wait for that long?" "You bastard!" Loriel shouted at him but it fell to deaf ears. It was such a long time even for a god and Dimitri couldn''t help but wonder if it would change the man. If Loriel held on to that long, then it would be a miracle¡­ if not, then Elise would have his brother as apanion. This made Dimitri feel curious. He was wondering if Loriel''s love would stand the test of time, now that he had all the time in the world? Dimitri smiled and then barked augh. He couldn''t believe that he was also trying his hand with such things as experiments even until now. Dimitri wasn''t going to live long enough to see if love would stand the test of time. Perhaps Dante would find it funny because the Time Master always said that time would make everything fade. Whether it was hurt, love, anger and a lot of other things, all would fade away in the face of it. Would it apply to Loriel as well? Would the man lose sight of what he wanted after fifteen centuries? It wasn''t even going to be fifteen centuries because by that time, Elise had probably already recovered and might not want anything to do with him. Dimitri remembered the pain that was reflected in her eyes and he hoped she would be alright. Could Elise also find it in her heart to forgive Loriel after everything? By that time, the love in Elise''s own heart for Loriel would have no doubt faded enough that she could look at the situation with rity and see whether her husband was deserving of redemption¡­ or not. Chapter 289 - How Elise Went To The Future Since Elise was incapable of taking care of little Alexei, Dante would be the one who took over the role of a parent while he was handling her recovery and that of the baby. It was a task that the bachelor god was very ill-equipped for. What were the powers of time when a baby could cry so hard, enough that thunderstorms starteding around Dante''s secluded mountain? You couldn''t actually even try to speed up the baby''s growth either. It was difficult, but secretly, Dante actually liked taking care of the baby. At first, the Time Master thought Alexei was taking too much time, but he didn''t despise the baby at all as much as he thought he would. Instead, the Time Master actually relished and loved the baby as much as if it was his own child. There was something good to be found in the child and it wasn''t just because he was the son of Elise. Dante really found fulfillment in taking care of Alexei and seeing the baby respond back in its own way. He would spend a good amount of time doing his best in creating the baby formtion. This formtion for Alexei involved scouring the entire realm for numerous magical nts and even milk from a celestial beast. The gods normally didn''t require food as it did nothing to offer them sustenance, but for a young god, it was vital for him to eat and grow stronger while his powers also grew. So it was at this point where Dante and little Alexei were gone that Elise finally woke up. When Elise''s eyes finally fluttered open, the woman''s mind had healed enough that she could now think for herself and understand concepts. She had pieced herself back together from the state ofa. Unfortunately, her mind was still devoid of memories so she was confused as she looked at her surroundings. "Where am I?" she asked herself aloud. Her voice was wobbly and parched after not drinking for so long. Carefully, Elise lifted herself up from the bed and stepped on the stone floor, and looked all around her. She did not recognize her surroundings at all. Elise soon came across a mirror and found her reflection staring back at her, but at first, she didn''t even assume it was herself. She pressed a finger on the ss and watched the other ''Elise'' do the same thing. "Ah!" she stepped back uncertainly and then touched her face. Elise finally ascertained that it was herself but she still wasn''t even sure about the concept of self at this point. Was the person in front of her, really her? Then who was she? Confused but also not wanting to tackle the situation, Elise stepped away from the assigned room that Dante especially prepared for her and soon started to travel around the isted research area of the Time Master. There were countless bookshelves in the god''s study area and Elise''s gaze trailed after them idly. She touched the books'' titles but rarely did she take one out to actually study it, instead there was a part within her that felt like something was missing. Little by little, Elise drew closer to a part where she had once stepped in before when she asked Dante to go back in time. The woman took out a specific book and watched one area of the cave reveal a hidden doorway. The sound of silent whirring and ripples yed in Elise''s ears as she entered the domain of time. Room of Time? Elise could barely remember how Dante once called this ce and the man''s face and name didn''t appear either. Instead, Elise would find herself surrounded by a lot of portals that were reflecting various points in time. Each one of them was immeasurable and uncountable, but a few periods would catch her eye. There was a portal that showed a beast greater than anything that Elise had ever seen even before she lost her memory. Dragons and otherrge predatory beasts skulked the earth and dominated it. A prehistoric age unlike any othery before her and though Elise was initially drawn to it, the fearsome appearances of the creatures made her step away from it and she shook her head. The next one that came up was something beyond the stars and world she was familiar with. Elise''s gaze widened at the sight of the expansion of the gxy right before her and little traveling ''dots'' hurtle through the dark inky space. A time in the future where humans had advanced so much that they traveled in the stars and created their colonies there. It was a future and time period that waspletely foreign to Elise but she did not reach out for it. Instead, Elise''s gaze finallynded at what seemed to be strange to her and something she could not recognize. However, there was a feeling in Elise''s stomach that drew her to this ce despite being so sure that she had never seen it before. A beautiful snowy mountain alps and Elise found herself attracted to its beauty. Elise reached out to it and felt the force of time pull her in. "Aaaahhhh¡­!!!!" Elise was sucked in before she realized what happened and before she could look back and see a man storm in with a baby. Dante burst into the portal room of time and shouted at Elise, but it was already far toote. The Time Master helplessly watched the woman get pulled into the portal and the portal shutting right after she disappeared. Elise was gone. This was not the only thing that saddened Dante on that day. It was not the only thing that made the god''s heart shatter into pieces and made it impossible for him to find it in his heart to forgive. The Time Master soon came across the news that his brother, Dimitri was dead and killed by no other than ''Loriel Ashborn'' himself who ascended Cretea to be a god. On that day, Dante''s heart grew cold and he vowed to avenge his brother and find Elise. Chapter 290 - Loriel Is Banished From Cretea "Why are you not fighting back?" Loriel asked between his panting breath. His eyes were bloodshot from his anger, but still, he could still retain his clear mind. Dante was so fierce and strong when they fought thest time. But why he couldn''t fight back now? Was he injured? Dimitri managed a chokedugh. "It is not worth my time to fight you. Your punishment has already been served so long. You''ll lose the woman you love because you couldn''t appreciate her." Loriel growled and grabbed the man by the neck. "Bring her back or I''ll crush your windpipe." "Do it." "Why you insolent god!" Loriel''s hands tightened across Dimitri to force the Time Master to act but he didn''t. Instead, the light in the man''s eyes slowly vanished and finally¡­ disappeared. Loriel growled. "Do not think that I will let my guard down. Come on!! Fight me!" However, Dimitri didn''t answer anymore and the life from the god vanished. Loriel''s eyes widened and he suddenly threw the body back and shook his head. "No. You''re faking your death." There was no response and Dante did not rise up to his feet tough and mock him. "You killed the Time God!" "No, I didn''t." Loriel shook his head. "He''s not weak so why would he¡­" "This new god killed the old god!" Terror filled the faces of some of the gods. Amidst it all, Loriel looked at his hands and shook his head. "No, he was going to bring me to Elise. I didn''t mean to kill him as he did to me. At least, I wouldn''t kill him until Elise was back with me. So this is impossible¡ªARGHHH!" In annoyance at the sudden turn of events, Loriel screamed and shouted while clenching his fist tightly that veins popped on them. Tears of anger slid down his eyes at the thought of losing his only chance of reuniting with Elise. "You''re faking it, Dante. Get up you coward and fight me." Loriel shouted at the thin air but refused to settle down. He didn''t believe it and he shouted it across the entire Cretea. In doing so unleashed his power in agony. Thend was copsing all around him and Loriel was on the edge of overexerting his powers to their limits. He was so frustrated and felt defeated. He won the fight with the Time Master, but why did he feel like he was the loser?? He was so close to meeting Elise but he ruined his chance by killing the only one who could bring back his wife. The winds howled across Cretea and the new gods were forced into hiding and shielding themselves by the sheer magnitude of the winds. A chunk of Cretea found themselves broken down alongside the temples copsing as trees were uprooted. AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! In a fit of panic and agony, Loriel saw everything destroyed in his path because he couldn''t control his emotions. The new gods struggled to get out of the rubble that was still slowly copsing and the old gods suddenly surrounded him and pointed at him in unity. There was a look of seriousness on their faces as they gauged the new god. All of thembined their powers and said one thing. "Leave." "Go away." "We do not want you here." "Never return to Cretea." It was uneptable for Loriel to kill a god vital to Cretea but more importantly, it was highly frowned upon for a god to raise his hand against another. There was unity in Cretea because all of them decided to live together in peace. Loriel was the opposite of it. So, before the king knew it, he was forced to leave and return back to the humannds. He chose to leave without any more altercations and made his way to Summeria. There was nowhere else for him to go. *** When Loriel returned to his kingdom, thend was already so different and so were the buildings and even the pce looked unfamiliar. Loriel saw the people look at him as if they saw a ghost or didn''t even see him at all. "I have returned," Loriel said but he was unhappy. His heart was heavy after the events that unraveled because he wanted to see Elise but now it seemed like the only option left for him was to wait for the moment in the future where he would meet his wife again. "Your Majesty...er, Lord Loriel Ashborn." Horatio greeted him but he looked much older than thest time king saw him. The royal butler looked at Loriel in awe. The former king of Summeria left a nephew in charge when he left for Cretea but Horatio stayed and hoped for his return. "What happened?" Loriel frowned. "You were gone for seven years, Sir," Horatio exined. "What?" Loriel was in shock and looked around at his surroundings. Finally, he sighed. "It only felt like¡­ weeks at most. So time flowed differently there." It was simr to him being sent to the future by Dante for a year when he encountered Elise as a child. Back then, it was difficult for him to adjust but now the difference was nearly a decade. "Is there anything we can do for you?" Horatio asked. "We have your old belongings in one of the pces here, Lord Loriel. And we have Brick too." "That old cat is still alive?" Loriel asked in amazement. "Yes, Your Majesty. Er..." Horatio was used to serving Lorielpared to the nephew even after all these years. There was an even more regal aura to Loriel which was actually godly in reality. "I wish to see the cat," Loriel said with nostalgia. Even though he hadn''t greeted the new king yet, Loriel prioritized the cat over his own rtive and was both happy and sad to see that the pce that his nephew didn''t touch was the queen''s. "The new queen of Summeria is staying in the chambers of her husband," Horatio exined. "I see, thank you." Loriel softly said as he eyed the cat. Brick was still alive but he could see the mistrust in its eyes and it started growling at Loriel in anger. The cat''s memory was sharp and recognized him in an instant and it attacked Loriel. If Brick could tell Loriel was more powerful than ever, it did not care and only tried to scratch him. A sad smile came on Loriel''s face as he knelt down and petted its head. "Yes, I miss her too and it is my fault." His voice was shaky when he spoke, almost on the brink of tears. . . ______________ Poor Brick.... Chapter 291 - Fifteen Centuries Later Loriel stayed in Summeria for a couple of years and helped assist his nephew by giving him advice on how to rule. However, he mostly kept to himself and instead chose to remain in his wife''s chamber and stay with Brick. The time in Cretea changed him and most especially, realizing how much Elise mattered to him made Loriel look and reminisce inside of her old study because there was nothing else that he could. All Loriel could do was wait and he would do it wholeheartedly. He wept when the old cat finally died and then stayed in Summeria until Loriel himself had to see his royal butler buried. He said the oaths of funeral passing for Horatio who took care of him even while he was a child. After that time period, Loriel chose to leave. There was no other reason for him to remain and he wished to explore the world like he used to before. Loriel could not be idle and stay in Summeria all his life, he wanted to find if there was an artifact or great magic that could send him to the future. Or anything that might help him. His nephew''s son was already hoping to have Loriel mentor him, but he refused to do so and preferred to leave. He would leave Summeria in their care and would go on and travel around the world. That was how Loriel would travel the world multiple times over, visiting old friends and searching for things that might possibly aid him in the future. The former king of Summeria would encounter things that he would send or inform the kingdom. While he chose not to personally interfere with the affairs of the kingdom, Loriel would gather information that was useful. Even though he was now a god, Loriel preferred to pay for things and it meant acquiring money and assets. In the event that he met Elise in the future, it was also vital for him to prepare for that day. Loriel would give her the entire world if he could and he did his best to do just that. And after fifteen centuries when he was on the brink of desperation¡­ when he finally wanted to give up on life¡­ on that one rainy day, he would find her again. His wife was standing right outside the window shop of the cafe. *** "Elise, is that really you?" a gentle voice suddenly asked. When Elise looked up, it was a face that she could hardly recognize¡­ but somehow, a part of her instantly knew who he was. It was the Time Master. He was the only person that she could never forget. She promised him that much before she drank the waters that erased her memories and wiped them away. Somehow, it was like a sudden click sounded in her ear and Dante was the trigger that unlocked all of her memories. She fell to her knees in agony and clutched her head, biting back down a scream. The Time Master rushed to her side and held her up, trying to help ease the pain, but then it was gone and vanished at that moment. Elise became icy quiet and she lifted her head to look him in the eye. "Dante?" Elise asked. "Yes, it''s me." Dante couldn''t help but smile gently upon seeing her look better. He was so relieved to see that she was alright. The Time Master quickly pulled the woman into a hug and found a warmth spread into his chest. All this time, Dante had done his best to search for her and while he was raising Alexei, did his best to go from one time portal into another. He did all of that in the hopes of seeing her again but he never thought that the two of them would meet like this. Was it fate that son and mother reunited again in the future? Elise coughed and pushed the man away. Her memories were piecing themselves back together and she knew that he was a friend. She was grateful for him being there when she needed him but she had a lot of questions. "Where is my son?" she asked. "Elise¡­" "Dante, you told me that my memories of Loriel would vanish but everything was gone," Elise''s lips trembled. Dante knew that this was going toe up, but seeing her looking so terrified hurt the Time Master. It was painful to see. Elise pointed at him. "Do you have an excuse for that? You told me that it wouldn''t affect a god that much and I would be able to keep the people I cherished the most. You asked me to remember you too." "I was wrong," Dante averted his gaze. Elise stepped away from Dante and furrowed her brows. "What? Exin." "When you drank the immortality potion, I thought that you would be immortal and so the effects would diminish greatly. You were going to recover your memories slowly, and yet I failed to realize that only your baby would be immortal." "So this was an error on your part?" Elise asked and onlyughed a little. She was hysterical after what Loriel revealed and this time it was Dante. "A life-changing error? I came to the future and lived an entire life that wasn''t my own because of that one mistake, Dante." The Time Master could see that Elise had changed so much when hest saw her. Before, in the past, Elise might have forgiven him on the spot. But right now she was upset and that was incredibly fair. More than fair. Dante wasn''t sure how he was going to fix it but he bowed his head lowly and said. "I''m incredibly sorry, please know that if I could take it all back¡­" "I mean, you technically could. Couldn''t you?" Elise dared him and smiled. "Go back in time and stop all of this from happening. Why didn''t you do just that in the first ce?" "Elise, my powers are not so simple like that." Dante sighed. "I overlooked the time when you saved a younger Loriel, but it''s different now. Besides, I thought you wanted to meet your son?" Elise''s anger went out and she let out a deep breath. "Where is he?" "You''ve already met him." . . ______________________ From Missrealitybites: I have a feeling that "The Cursed King" is close to the ending. Soon, Elise will be reunited with her son and... husband. Should she forgive Loriel after everything? What do you think? Chapter 292 - Dante And Elise "You''ve already met him." The words spilled out of Dante''s lips before he could even realize that he shouldn''t have said that. When the Time Master raised Alexei, he told the boy that he was an orphan. He grew up thinking that his father was Dante, Dimitri''s twin brother and Elise, who were both killed by Loriel Ashborn. Now, he just told Elise that Alexei was her son? She would surely want to meet her son, and since it seemed she had gathered all her memory back, Dante''s story to Alexei wouldn''t match what Elise would tell her son. This was not good at all. "I have?" Elise''s eyes bulged and her heart pounded. A part of her already knew who it was but she couldn''t be so sure. "Take me to him and introduce me to him properly." "Elise, will you go with me somewhere else for a moment to calm ourselves first?" Dante was panicking on the inside but he didn''t know what to do except dy the meeting. How was he going to exin to Alexei that he lied all this time? "No!" Elise stomped her foot on the concrete floor and red at Dante. "I will not calm down or go anywhere else!" That one action made the earth tremble beneath them for a moment and nearly made the Time Master fall off bnce. The Elise in front of him was bolder and fiercer. If having no memories allowed her to be more confident with herself and not be dictated by past norms and beliefs, having her entire memories gave Elise the whole picture of what happened and she was frustrated. "I''ve lived my entire life so held back by everything and now you''re going to hold me back too? When I was younger, I lived my life so eager to marry Loriel and start a new life with him but now that I''m older and I have a son¡­ you still refuse to bring me to him? Who do you think you are to tell me what I should or should not do???" Dante immediately dropped to his knees before Elise. He bowed his head low so that his forehead touched the floor. His shoulders were shaking and he knew that this was barely enough to appease her anger, but he wanted her to know. "I have done something unforgivable, Elise. Elise¡­ please, I need to fix everything first before you can meet Alexei. I raised him and told him that he was an orphan and that his parents were killed by Loriel." "What?" Elise was stunned. Dante raised his head and looked at Elise with tears in his eyes. The man could no longer lie or hide the truth from Elise and it was finally where he found relief to finally say everything that he''d been bottling up for the past centuries. "I''ve seen how much love you have given to your husband fifteen centuries ago and yet all that he did to you made you suffer. It made me hate him so much that I wanted to kill him because of how terrible he was to you." Elise looked at the pitiful expression and there was only a frown on her face. "You tried to kill Loriel?" She was listening to him for now and understanding everything that was provided to her. "I tried to kill Loriel too and yet he survived. Then he came up to Cretea to be an immortal and, during that time, he killed my brother, Dimitri. I''ve hated him for so long¡­ that I thought it was justified that his only son would also hate him." "Dante. How could you do all of this?" Elise narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn''t believe how Dante could justify what his lies by saying he did it for Elise and Dimitri. Before the Time God could say anything else, Elise continued shaking her head. Everything was so cool right now as she was epting all the information, but she was moments away from bursting up and unleashing everything that was within her heart. There was an icy tone evident in Elise''s voice. "It was not in your position to interfere with my life and make decisions for me, Dante. Even if I were to appreciate it, it was not up to you. Why did you do all of this? Revenge surely, but he wouldn''t have killed your brother if you didn''t try to kill him first, right?" "It was because, and I still do¡­ I love you." Dante smiled sadly and shook his head. Elise''s eyes widened and she was startled for a moment and stepped back. She who had lived through and remembered everything in the past life but was still taken aback by this sudden revtion. She had never seen Dante as anything more but a good friend and never noticed it at all. "Ever since you freed me and we became friends, I fell in love with you and thought how miserable Elise''s life is to be with that scumbag that I thought, maybe, just maybe, if Loriel was out of the picture, I could make you happy." "YOU could make me happy?!!??" "I thought I could, that I would treat you better than him because I knew how he didn''t treat you properly. But then everything started to go wrong and you disappeared through the time portal. I raised Alexei by myself and I''ve searched for you all through these fifteen centuries in hopes of seeing you again." Dante smiled sadly. "I was wrong to think that I could make you happy. I put you through all of this suffering because I thought I could help you move on from your pathetic husband by helping you forget. However, all I did was actually help him make you fall in love all over again with him. That bastard didn''t even tell you the entire truth!" He looked at Elise deeply.. His expression was a mix of pain, shame, and regret. Chapter 293 - Elise And Alexei "Dante, you''ve also hidden the truth to me." Elise shook her head in frustration. She covered her face as tears leaked out from the corner of her eyes. "It''s so funny how the two of you are alike and yet you also came here expecting me to look over what you did, huh?" "No, Elise!" Dante shook his head. "I came here to give you the truth and apologize. I''m not expecting anything else after all that has happened. I just want you to be happy. We''re nothing like each other!" "Alexei is my son, isn''t he? He''s the same Alexei, right?" Elise asked. "Yes." "Then please leave me alone for now," Elise spoke to Dante as tears continued to trickle down her cheek. "I don''t want to see you or Loriel okay? I need to see my son. If you really love me and are looking out for my happiness then you''ll understand this much, right? Goodbye." Without another word, Elise turned away from Dante and left him. *** Meanwhile, Alexei and Loriel were both eyeing each other warily and refused to move away from each other. After everything that Alexei had been through, he was doing his best to hold back from attacking Loriel. The man who killed his parents was in front of him and if it weren''t for Elise''s sake, he would have started attacking again. Loriel, on the other hand, was only fervently waiting for his wife toe back. He did not know if she could find it in her heart to forgive him, but he wanted to be with her and make her feel loved. He would make up for everything he did to her in the past. Yes, he had got his punishment, and it was not even for a short time. Fifteen centuries was quite a long time for someone to think and reflect on his behavior. However, he realized, it was one-sided. It was his way of punishing himself for his selfishness. He still had not made it up to his wife. Elise had not seen that he changed, that he wanted to be a good husband to her and make her happy. Loriel didn''t care at all about this young god before him, whoever this boy was was irrelevant to him now. "I¡­ I can''t stand by here and do nothing and wait for her. I need to apologize better and kneel on the ground and beg for her to forgive me." Loriel muttered to himself and then suddenly ran past Alexei. Before Alexei could shout, Loriel sent a wind st towards the younger god and sent him backward into one of the buildings to keep Alexei from interfering in this matter. It was not the god''s business anyway so he should stay out of Loriel''s way. Loriel located his wife but then stopped. Suddenly the former king of Summeria felt like he was stunned by a lightning bolt when he came to a standstill and saw Elise with¡­ Dante? It was the Time Master and the two of them were talking with one another. Loriel hid himself and overheard the conversation. Before Loriel could do anything else, Elise came running out from the street and was focused wholeheartedly on finding her son and didn''t see him. She located Alexei in the rubble and let out a cry of surprise. She knelt in front of the young god and healed him before she suddenly hugged the young god. Alexei was so surprised but then Elise suddenly whispered into the boy''s ear and said something. A look of confusion, startlement, and then grimness appeared on Alexei''s face before suddenly he started to fly into the air with Elise on his back and the two of them wouldpletely disappear through the clouds. Loriel who was moments away from jumping to a wrong conclusion of Elise leaving him for someone else was suddenly shocked when the Time Master came from the street right after Elise. Dante stopped in his tracks and stared at Loriel nkly. Unlike Elise, he noticed Loriel''s presence hiding and eavesdropping on them. Originally, the Time Master was trying to chase after Elise who was going to talk with her son. He was nervous and afraid, but also Dante wanted to be there to apologize to Alexei and to break down the news as gently as possible. However, now the two former enemies stood in front of each other. The two of them were alike in some aspects and shared the same love and affection for Elise, and yet neither were epted by the woman right now. Dante''s gaze became cold as Loriel stared at him. "I killed you already so¡­" Loriel clenched his fist and growled at the Time Master. "You fooled me! You kept my wife away from me and refused to return her. How are you still alive? I killed you with my bare hands back then!" Dante stared at his brother''s killer and shook his head. "You are a fool and yet one way or another, Elise alwayses back to you. I don''t understand it at all and yet besides my love for her, I believe it is also right that I avenge my brother today." "You should have been the one who died that day then," Loriel summoned wind des all around him and sent the attack towards the Time Master. Dante simply flicked out from the wind des and shook his head. "No. You should have stayed dead." *** Elsewhere high above the air, Elise was trying to remove herself from Alexei''s back. "I think I can handle flying on my own. You can put me down now," she whispered. "No, no. You''re not used to handling your powers yet," Alexei lectured Elise as if he was the older one between the two of them. "You told me that some jerks are trying to take you with him? Is he some kind of zombie that came back from the dead? How spooky and I thought Raphael was the creepy one." "What?" Elise couldn''t believe what she just heard. She had asked her son to take her away from the city because Dante was chasing after her. But she also didn''t immediately reveal that she was his mother because they needed to do it somewhere safer and quieter. . . ________________ From Missrealitybites: I have a feeling that this book will end by the first week of December. So, you don''t have to pay a lot of coins for the highest tier privilege, I will change the highest tier price for December 1 into only 100 coins. You can use the coins to purchase privilege for my new book instead. hehehe... Have you read my werewolf book? The title is "The King''s Wife Is The Alpha''s Mate" Chapter 294 - Elise Tells The Truth To Alexei Alexei chose to help Elise because the woman obviously needed a break. Heck, after everything that happened with that bastard Loriel, Alexei would have also wanted to run away like Elise. He really couldn''t me the woman and it must have been so tiring being pursued by not only one but two men. Thankfully, Alexei was the best at finding a great spot to hide away from the world. At this particr moment, Alexei wasn''t going to take her anywhere in New York but instead, he opened up a portal in the air, taught to him by ''Dimitri'', and soon there was a bright light that swept over the two of them. Elise and Alexei arrived in the mountains of Cretea. "We''re in Cretea now?" Elise''s eyes widened and she quickly looked at Alexei who looked a bit pale. She rushed to his side and ced a gentle hand on his back. "Are you okay?" Teleporting was something that took a lot of energy from Alexei so he didn''t like using it, but now the two of them were countless miles away from Elise''s husband and whoever raised Dante from the dead or something. His guardian would have probably encountered that if he was heading to New York wouldn''t he? "Oh crap, I forgot to tell my guardian that I''m in Cretea now and the service here is terrible." Elise needed to tell him the truth. Elise watched this person in front of her actually show a lot of concern to his guardian who was actually Dante all this time who pretended to be his twin brother, Dimitri. It was going to be incredibly hard to exin it and Elise actually just received the information today. However, she took a deep breath and then touched Alexei''s shoulder. "Would you mind if we go somewhere else first?" There were other gods and visitors in Cretea and all of them were looking at Elise and Alexei. The young god normally didn''t care about the looks of others but he was receptive to Elise''s need and nodded quickly. "Alright, let''s go somewhere where people won''t disturb us," Alexei nodded. Mother and son would eventually end up in an area in Cretea that was dedicated to the god of war personally. There was a great temple that stood in front of them and yet contrary to him boasting about the ce, Alexei scratched the back of his head and looked at Elise. "Uh, if it''s a little messy¡­ don''t mind it, okay? I''ve been gone for at least two centuries and let''s just say that the nymphs aren''t exactly the best cleaners." Alexeiughed as he weed her to the temple. "Do you want some ambrosia? Make yourself at home, okay?" "Thank you, Alexei." Elise was led to a beautiful and open courtyard inside of the temple. She would look around here and find some nostalgia because it reminded her of her first time here in Cretea and she was in awe. However, right now, Elise was in awe of the young man in front of her. It never came to Elise''s mind before, but Alexei had been nothing but kind, amodating and respectful to her. The young man did have his own entricities but as Elise looked at Alexei she was starting to see the resemnce between him and Loriel, except for Loriel''s hair now that was no longer ash, but ck. Actually, not that she took a good look at Alexei, she could really see her husband''s physical features on this young man. Well¡­ not so young, when she took into ount that Alexei was actually around 15 centuries old. Tears stung her eyes to see Alexei fully grown and into a charming but good person. Elise wondered if his older sister survived, how wonderful would their rtionship be as siblings? "Oh no¡­ tears." Alexei winced when he saw the woman crying as he stepped into the courtyard with mugs and immediately ced them down and offered her a handkerchief. "It''s really stressful, huh?" "More than anything," Elise wiped her tears but managed a smile. "However, some things are necessary. Thank you so much for the drink, you''re so kind that it makes me miss my father and grandmother." "Huh? I remind you of your father?" Alexei''s brows immediately rose up as he sat down on the opposite side of her. "Is that apliment¡­?" Elise chuckled and nodded a bit. "My father was the king of Myreen, Alexander Leoralei." Alexei''s eyes widened and he put the mug that he was about to sip from. "Wait, I know that guy. He was one of the people I had to visit and learn from in the past. I think I was so young back then, but I met him because Myreen was said to be a utopia?" "Wait, what?" Elise this time was the one who was surprised and leaned forward towards Alexei. She didn''t think that she heard him correctly. Alexei coughed. "Dimitri, I mean my guardian said it was important for me to learn about how humans operate since I do technically watch over wars and stuff, but it means that I also needed to learn about peace so he dropped me off there. He tends to do that." Elise didn''t know what to say about Dante bringing Alexei to Myreen. A part of her hated the fact that her father and grandmother must have been so disappointed to know that she just disappeared, so this was a surprise. However, Elise didn''t care about whatever Dante did to make up for it. She sort of understood what he was trying to do, but right now, she held Alexei''s hand and asked. "What was it like to meet them?" "They were good people," Alexei smiled and did his best tofort the woman in front of him. Even though he did not have the full picture yet, he understood that Elise was actually a much older god than him. Now that Alexei thought about it some more, he thought that he saw a portrait that looked exactly like the woman in front of him and he only realized that just now. His memory of that time was a blur, but now he knew how it mattered to Elise. "Is that all?" Elise asked. Alexei shook his head and smiled. "No, there was more to it. Actually, they were really kind. Treated me like I was their grandson. Ha. They are good people, really. King Alexander even taught me how to use the thunderbolt move I used earlier because Dimitri doesn''t know how to fight at all, even for an ancient god." "I see." Elise couldn''t help but smile. "Still he raised you well, hasn''t he?" "He did." Alexei nodded. "After his brother, Dante was killed by Loriel, he took me to Cretea so I could stay with the other young gods. It was where I met Baron and also Hilde. Baron''s like my brother and Hilde, well, she said that I reminded her of someone." "Oh, they¡­ they were nice," Elise said. "Hilde not so much?" Alexei grinned at her. "No, not really." Elise shook her head and took a sip from the mug. She tasted chocte like exactly the same type of drink that Loriel made her and her eyes widened. "This drink is¡­?" "Ambrosia tastes like whatever is the most delicious thing to you, I think?" Alexei shrugged and sipped his drink. "Mine''s alcohol. What''s yours?" "Hot chocte." "Very modern." Elise rolled her eyes at the younger man but was burdened with the new amount of information she learned from her son. The fact that Dante had lied to Alexei about his identity and told him that Loriel killed his parents was never going to be okay with Elise. However, Elise could see how Dante did at least try to make it up to her father and grandmother. A part of Elise knew that her father and grandmother must have been able to tell that Alexei was their grandson and great-grandson respectively. She took a deep breath and then looked at her son and gently said. "I have something important to tell you, Alexei, and it''s going to be a long story, but¡­ let''s just say, I''m actually your mother." Alexei spat out his drink. "What?!" *** ONE HOUR LATER It was a long talk that was filled with a lot of questions and interruptions from Alexei. He wanted to cover his ears almost like a child and deny everything because Elise was telling him that everything he knew was a lie. Dimitri was dead. Dante was the one who raised him. Loriel was his father. Elise was his mother. NO WAY!!! THIS CAN''T BE TRUE! "Tell me you''re joking, Elise! I don''t have a simr sense of humor as you," Alexei looked at Elise pleadingly. "This is not funny, you know." Elise bit her lip. She only found out the truth today and she was still struggling to ept the reality. Everything she knew was also a lie. So, she could understand why Alexei couldn''t immediately ept her story. His world now suddenly turned upside down and Alexei was nothing more but someone who lived his entire life deceived and yet taken care of. At one point, the young god nearly broke his cup when Elise started exining why Alexei ended up with Dante. However, when Elise was finally done telling everything on her side, the young god of war''s head bowed down low and was resting on the table. Alexei couldn''t even look her in the eye and he looked glum. . . ________________ I just wrote the outline for Elise''s and Loriel''s story ending today and I really like it. I can''t wait to share it with you! Btw, Imissioned chibis for Elise and Loriel.. They look so cute!! You can see them in thement. Chapter 295 - Mother And Son "Alexei¡­?" Elise''s voice was raw but also gentle. Seeing the pain in Alexei''s eyes pained her too. She wished all this didn''t happen. However, now was not the time for denial. As the mother, she had to be the strong one between the two of them. "Alexei... I know this is a lot to take in¡­" "I¡­ I need a moment to think about everything," Alexei weaklyughed. "You''re telling me that the person I''ve hated all my life is my father and yet, Dimitri¡­ or Dante really, I know he cared about me too, yet what he did was..." "Dante thought he was doing the right thing," Elise smiled bitterly. "Almost all of us think that we are justified when we act a certain way. Loriel was hurt terribly and bitter when he married me, so the two of us thought he was justified for treating me like crap." "But it''s not okay." Alexei frowned. "That was a dick move. Just because he was in pain doesn''t justify that he could also hurt you or he couldsh out in a certain way. I''m surprised you''ve put up so much with him." "It never was fine, but it only took¡­ it took him a long time to realize that, and when he did, I was already heartbroken at that point and just wanted to forget about him." Elise shook her head and sighed. "What about now?" Alexei couldn''t help but scratch his head and ask. "This is all world-shattering news for me. But what happens next? You get a divorce with daddy and then live with me?" "Did you just call Loriel ''daddy''?" Elise''s eyes bulged. "I''m lightening up the mood, mother?" Alexei chuckled. He tried out to call her by her title as his parent again and then blushed. "Ah, this is weird. Is it weird¡­? I mean not in a bad way, but yeah. Mother. Is that fine? You don''t really look like a mother, though." "Well, I guess that''s the perks of being an immortal?" Elise shook her head and looked at her son dotingly. "I''m just happy to have met you, Alexei. I wish I was there for you while you were growing up, I could have changed your diapers or taken care of you." "All of us have a lot of wishes, huh?" Alexei chuckled and smiled. He wagged a finger at her. "Be d that you didn''t have to deal with me as a baby, Dante told me it was a bad time. My voice could pierce the heavens, he said." Elise rolled her eyes. "Nonsense. You are my child and I would have treasured every moment with you and I¡­ I''m sure that Loriel would have wanted the same." She lowered her face, trying to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes again. "Yeah, I''m sure he would have." Alexei smiled a little and then looked down at his mug. "Though, I do feel kind of justified in hitting him with a lightning bolt. He was a pretty awful husband for a good chunk of the time." "Haha, to be honest, I still don''t know what to feel right now," Elise smiled tiredly. She looked at her son with so much love in her eyes. "You and I¡­ we are in this together. I just found out everything today." "Yeah, I don''t know what to feel about this too." Alexei nodded slowly. "It''s a lot to process, even for a god. It''s not everyday you realize that everything was built on a lie after all." "I''m sorry, I wish I could have said it better." Elise squeezed Alexei''s hand. "You did well for someone who also received the shock of her life today," Alexeiughed. "But as long as we''re here¡­ then the two of us can just stay here in Cretea until you feel like you''re in a capacity to deal with things. Does that sound good to you, Mother?" "It does, thank you, Alexei." Elise smiled. "You''re wee," Alexei grinned and pulled up to his feet. "I have every motivation to be the son of the year." "I think you''re doing a great job already," Elise smiled and also stood up. She opened her arms and sheepishly gave Alexei a hug. "Compared to your father, you''re much less of a headache." "I think it''s not much of a challenge," Alexei chuckled but then gently squeezed his mother back. He buried his head in Elise''s hair and tried to blink back the tears from his eyes. "It''s okay," Elise, who noticed it, rubbed him gently on the back. "There''s nothing wrong with crying." "I know that." Alexei sniffed. The truth was that everything was so hard to take for Alexei and yet he could tell from the way how Elise spoke to him and was gentle despite everything that happened to her¡­ he couldn''t me her. Or anyone exactly. It was a really messy story of how a husband and wife had a rtionship that was extremely difficult at first. Alexei''s father, Loriel Ashborn, had put Elise under so much strain and pain because he was also forced into the situation. Alexei tried to imagine what he would do if he was in Loriel''s shoes. A man who fell in love with a woman during his youth but then had to sacrifice himself. Forced to love someone else who he was betrothed to when she was born. It was difficult and the way that Loriel reacted was human. It still meant that Lorielshed out at Elise in ways that were extremely irredeemable and yet somehow, along the way, Loriel realized how he was a jerk and finally, he did his best to wait for Elise and pay for his mistakes. Alexei shook his head for a moment. He was tired, but also curious about what was going to happen afterward. It all depended on his mother, in a way. . . ________________ Get the visuals for this book and my other books. Follow me on Instagram / TikTok / Facebook as @missrealitybites Be my patron on p a t r e o n./missrealitybites (remove the space) to support my works directly. Chapter 296 - Chaos Ensued Elsewhere back on earth, Loriel and Dante were facing off against each other ruthlessly and without any bars held back. Now that Elise had gone off with that young god, Loriel''s concern was paying back all those centuries that Dante made him spend alone. New York City shook and trembled at the brunt of attacks of Loriel whereas Dante dodged them skillfully and only sent back the blows. Amidst the fighting, Baron and Hilde who were still in their respective apartments started to make their move out. Baron and Hilde were both minor gods, respectively being that of Beauty and Fame, however, they were the type of gods who were concerned about humanity''s survival as a whole and both made a move out to see the fighting. "Hey!" Hilde called out and shouted loudly as she tried to get in between the two gods fighting. Loriel scowled and tried to time his attack against hitting the goddess as Dante also held himself back and red at the goddess interrupting. Baron sighed and waved his hand. "If the two of you are going to keep fighting like this, can you guys do this somewhere else? New York isn''t going to bear the attacks of your fighting." Dante and Loriel both shared looks with each other, silently gauging with one another, and then eventually agreed wordlessly. Baron and Hilde sighed in relief, but before the two minor gods could say anything else, Dante opened a portal in front of him and motioned to Loriel. "Let us take it in a ce far away from humanity, shall we, Loriel Ashborn?" "It''s surprising that you actually care about this ce." Loriel looked at the portal and wondered if it was a trap. However, it was true that the destruction that they caused the entire city of New York was too much. "The gods of Cretea must protect humanity in their own way, it is after all one of our realms," Baron spoke up. "Some of us are immersed in the world of men or used to be a part of it after all." Hilde pointed out and stared at them with pursed lips. Loriel would eventually hold a hand up and sigh. In part, the destruction of this part of New York was his fault so he took out his phone and then contacted his nephew. "Marc, I want you to allot some funds into the repair of the city. I will be gone for a few days, so I expect everything to be in order when I return." Without another word, before his nephew could even question why there was a sudden outbreak of the city-level disaster, Loriel ended the phone call and then started to walk towards the portal that Dante provided them. He threw onest look at Baron and Hilde to say one thing. "Please go look for my wife. She was taken by one of the younger gods. His name is Alexei, I think?" Loriel stepped into the portal after that and disappeared right after Dante entered as well. Baron was still dumbfounded when Hilde nudged him and asked, "What happen to you?" Baron turned to her and furrowed his brows. "I don''t understand. That''s Dimitri, right? Did you see him fighting just now?" Hilde nodded. "Yeah." "But Dimitri cannot fight," Baron eximed. "I never saw him unleash that much power before. It''s very confusing." "Wait¡­" Hilde suddenly understood what Baron said. It''s true. She saw Dante, Dimitri''s twin killed after the tournament by Loriel and when she met Dimitri for the first time, she freaked out by the simrities, thinking Dante hade back to life. Onlyter did she realize Dante had a twin brother whose name was Dimitri and Dimitri couldn''t fight. So, Baron was right. Now, Hilde furrowed her brows too. "Yeah¡­ Now that you mentioned it¡­ It''s actually weird to see Dimitri fight Loriel. I understand he might want to avenge his brother, but what does it have to do with Elise? Loriel''s wife, right? That''s what he said before he left? Alexei took his wife?" Baron looked at Hilde with raised eyebrows. "You know Loriel Ashborn? That''s HIM?" "Yes." "That''s the man who killed Alexei''s parents!" Baron eximed. "Huh? How many gods did Loriel kill? Not only did he kill Dimitri''s brother, but he also killed Alexei''s parents?" Hilde pressed her mouth in shock. "I admit he had a fiery temper. No wonder he made so many enemies back in Cretea." "Let''s go and find Alexei. We need to know what the fuck is going on," said Baron. "Do you want to go to Cretea?" Hilde asked the handsome man. "I think we should," Baron replied tly. *** When Loriel entered the new domain, he would look and find himself surrounded by pure ice and a freezing temperature. There was cial ice all around him and Loriel pursed his lips and nced behind him to see Dante enter right after the portal. "Antarctica." the Time Master spoke. "I believe that is as far away as we can go from humanity. Unless you would like to fight in space? I doubt your ability to actually survive there." "This is enough," Loriel spoke coldly and eyed the Time Master. Without another second, the god summoned another lightning bolt and the white fment streaked through the sky and pierced the Time Master. Dante woulde out of the smoke and rush towards Loriel and return the attack. The two gods woulde back and forth with one another. However, contrary to the expectation of Baron and Hilde, even going to Antarctica was not enough to stop the effect of the attacks of the two strong gods both fighting to their limits. Despite their decision to change locations, the ferocity of their attacks was unlike any other. The fifteen centuries of pain that both men experienced were unleashed at this very moment and they would fight nonstop against each other. Before they even knew it, the fight would take so long and started to affect the ice caps. Hilde and Baron urging them to take the fight elsewhere now started to have earth catastrophic effects. The frozen ice started to shift and move, melting and the water started to rise above normal sea levels. Other gods who had been minding their own business started to notice the destruction and the natural disasters that exacerbated global warming and created a torrent of tsunamis, earthquakes, and other disasters across the continents. Everywhere, the news channels started reporting the severe effects of escted global warming. Humans were distraught by the sudden development and panic ensued when one by one, small inds were submerged by the rising sea level. "What''s going on????" "Is the worlding to an end?" "We need to investigate this abnormal climate change urrence." Many gods came out of theirfortable lives because of the news and started to investigate the issue. When they found out it was caused by two stubborn immortals who were fighting to the death, some of them tried to slow down the effects. Many were trying their best to mitigate the damage being caused by Loriel and Dante while alsoining about someone in Cretea to put the disasters and fighting to an end. It was at that point that Baron and Hilde started to move and make their way to find Elise and Alexei.. It took some time for both Baron and Hilde to reach Cretea and when they came there, it was because it was necessary for one person to intervene. Chapter 297 - Only You Can Stop This Madness Baron and Hilde realized, there was one person who could actually think of separating Loriel and Dante togetherpletely, and that person was Elise. When they reach Alexei''s ce, Baron and Hilde only found Elise who was sitting on the terrace, looking at the garden with a gloomy face. "Hey¡­ are you, uhm¡­ Elise?" Baron asked carefully. He didn''t understand why Alexei took Elise to his temple in Cretea. Shouldn''t he take Dimitri''s side since the man was the one who raised him? And where was Alexei now? "Yes, I am Elise," The beautiful woman looked up and saw Baron. She recognized him as the person who came with Alexei to Italy. "You are¡­ Alexei''s friend? Baron, isn''t it?" "Yes, yes. It''s me," Baron replied. "What are you doing here? Why are those two men fighting over you? Is Loriel Ashborn really your husband??" Elise caught distraught in Baron''s voice and she suddenly felt rmed. "Why? Did something happen?" She was wondering if Loriel did something to wreak havoc because she left. And oh¡­ what about Dante? Did they meet after Elise left New York? "Yes, something big happened," Baron sighed. He pressed his temple in frustration. "We need you to interfere and stop those two idiots from killing the." Hilde crossed her arms together. She looked at the earth goddess and sighed. "I think you''ll be the only one who can stop those fools, Elise." At this point, Hilde had set aside her personal feelings for Loriel and decided to ask Elise toe back and separate the two men who were fighting furiously and stop the world''s destruction. So, she shouldn''t really think about her own feelings when the safety of the world and the people in them was threatened. Hilde looked at Elise seriously. "I think they will only listen to you. Please, you have to stop this madness." Elise''s expression became determined and she nodded. "Let us go then." Baron raised his hand quickly. "We must not waste time. Do you know where Alexei keeps his space folder? We can save so much time with it and go see the two fools immediately." "Oh¡­ you mean the thing he used to get us here quickly?" Elise asked. She remembered Alexei took out something from his pocket before they went to Cretea and they could arrive here much faster, unlike Baron and Hilde who must take the normal route and needed some time to reach the holy ce. I think he brought it with him," Elise said. She sighed. "I haven''t seen Alexei all day." "Huh? Where did he go? Do you know?" Baron probed. He was still wondering what did Elise have to do with the fight between Loriel and Dimitri. Or, was it actually Dante? During their journey to Cretea, Hilde suddenly shared a crazy theory that came to her all of a sudden. She said it was possible that the man they knew as Dimitri all this time was actually Dante who took his twin brother''s identity. She suspected something happened in the past and Dante asked Dimitri to switch during the tournament where he was one of the supervising gods. That would exin why ''Dante'' couldn''t fight Loriel when he attacked the Time Master after the tournament ended. The reason why Loriel killed ''Dante'' was that he wanted him to bring him to his wife. Yet, earlier, Loriel shouted at them to go look for his wife, Elise, who went with Alexei. So.. was this the woman that became the source of rivalry between Loriel and Dante in the past? But, what did she have to do with Alexei? Ahhh.. so many questions! "I don''t know¡­" Elise replied with a low voice. She could guess that Alexei took it hard and needed time to gather his thoughts. "Was he upset?" Baron asked again. This didn''t sound like something Alexei would do, he thought. "What happened?" Elise had heard from Alexei that Baron was his best friend. So, she thought perhaps it was okay to tell this young man what actually happened between them. "What??" Baron and Hilde were both in shock when they heard Elise''s exnation. Now, everything made sense. The feud between Loriel and Dimitri¡­ ahem, Dante, Alexei''s disappearance.. and Elise being here. "Wait, I think I know where to find him," Baron said finally. He turned to Hilde and motioned her to do something. "I will go get Alexei. You go to see the gods council and tell them what Dante did. They have to know that he has been impersonating histe brother." "Okay¡­" Hilde took another look at Elise and then finally left. She felt displeased because, after all this time, Loriel still looked for his wife and was so devoted to her. And now, that woman finally reappeared. It''s not fair, she thought. How could a woman be loved so fiercely and deeply for such a long, long time? She, Hilde, was beautiful and attractive, she was in fact the goddess of beauty herself. Yet, no man ever loved her the way Loriel loved his wife. "We''ll be back soon," Baron reassured Elise, before he took his leave and go look for Alexei in a deep part of Cretea, the ghost woods, where the young god often visited whenever he was feeling upset. Elise waited in her son''s ce, pacing anxiously. She was worried that Loriel and Dante would cause such severe destruction that the world she knew would be destroyed. And of course, this would warrant punishment from the gods council as well. And what happened to Alexei? Was he still upset? Elise was feeling upset too. She felt like screaming and crying after everything that she suddenly found out on the same day. She cupped her face with both hands and started crying again. *** "Mother¡­" Alexei''s voice moved Elise from her tears. She looked up and found the handsome young man, whom, the more she looked at the more he resembled his father, that Elise felt so bad she didn''t recognize him earlier. Loriel in the past had a very simr appearance to Alexei''s, especially his messy ash hair. Now, he kept dark hair, for who knows why, but other than the difference in hair color, his face and build looked very simr to Alexei''s. Elise was so proud of her son. She got up and touched his arm. "You''re back." "Yeah. Baron told me, we need to go back¡­ to separate Loriel and... Dante." Alexei pursed his lips when he spoke. Yeah.. now he felt embarrassed to admit that those two older gods were rted to him. "Okay, let''s go, then," Elise said. Alexei took out a scroll from his pocket and read a spell. Soon, a portal opened and they traveled back to earth. When Elise opened her eyes, she would step into the ice caps. Across the sky, she would see both Loriel and Dante still fighting together and still exchanging blows. Even after four days, the two were still fighting fiercely and weren''t tired for one bit. Sigh. "Let me handle them," Elise told Baron and Alexei. She step forward and mustered up a strong wind from her left and right. It created a huge typhoon in the sky. When Elise raised both hands, the typhoon charged at the two gods and separate them from each other.. Loriel and Dante who saw the neer instantly slowed down. Chapter 298 - [Bonus ] The Happiest Day In Loriels Life "Elise?" Both Loriel and Dante paused their attacks at the sight of her. She winced her eyes in concern because both Loriel and Dante were injured beyond belief and yet immediately stayed away from each other. Alexei, who opened up the portal, flew off in Dante''s direction and as soon as the older god was within his reach, he threw a punch across Dante''s face. "You lied to me all this time, you bastard!" Tears welled up in his eyes as he deliver another blow, which Dante didn''t try to dodge. "Alexei¡­" The older god looked at Alexei with regret in his eyes. He could guess that Elise must have told Alexei the truth and now the young man was mad at him. Well... Dante couldn''t me Alexei for his punches. He knew he deserved them. "I am utterly disappointed with you," Alexei said with gritted teeth. "If you didn''t raise me, I would have killed you on the spot." Alexei threw Dante a reproachful re, and then looked away. Dante rubbed his bloodied temple and walked slowly toward Elise. Soon, he ended up at Elise''s feet and he dropped to his knees. "I¡­ I''m sorry, Elise. I really am," Dante smiled sadly as he looked at Alexei, and then at Elise again. "I was selfish. I didn''t know you would only suffer more because of me¡­ I looked for you everywhere for fifteen centuries. I wanted to make up for what I did. I also brought your son to see your family. I tried my best to give him a good life." Elise bit her lip and looked away. She knew how good Dante treated her son while Elise was away. But Elise wouldn''t have left in the first ce if Dante didn''t mess around with her life. She clenched her fists to the sides and when she finally spoke to Dante again, her voice was cold and filled with anger. "I cannot forgive you¡­ but I will do it for the sake of my son." "But what about our friendship?" "I cannot trust you anymore." Elise stepped away from him. "I would like it if you stay away from me and my family from now on." Tears glimmered in Dante''s eyes. Alexei looked sympathetic but he said nothing else. Even he didn''t know if he would ever forgive Dante after all that happened, much less his mother. "Elise¡­ please¡­" Dante still tried to beg Elise, but when he scooted closer to her, a strong arm appeared before him, and Alexei''s voice stopped him in his track. "We have reported you to the gods'' council. They would want to talk to you about your crime," Alexei said tly. It was obvious that he tried so hard not to blow up in rage. "Don''t youe near my mother again¡­ Or else." Dante looked up and saw the handsome face of Alexei looking at him with a very disappointed expression. That made his heart feel so upset. Dante felt disappointed with himself. Finally, he threw Elise another gaze, longingly, and in the next second, he disappeared. After Dante was gone, eventually, Elise looked in the way of her husband. Loriel noticed how Elise talked to Dante as if she knew him and his heart also stopped when he heard Elise referring to Alexei as her son. Her son...? So, did that mean... HIS son too? Alexei was his son? So, their baby was saved??? Tears slowly formed in Loriel''s eyes. He couldn''t believe this. He was badly injured and his body hurt everywhere but this revtion brought him so much joy that it felt like his heart was filled with happiness to the brim. He was finally reunited with his beloved wife, and their son was here too! This was the happiest day in Loriel''s long life. Even if he had to die today, he would die with no regret because he had finally found the two people he loved the most. His wife and child. Loriel cleared his throat and asked Elise. "Do you remember everything now?" Elise slowly nodded. "Yeah." Overjoyed and filled with relief, tears streamed down hard on Loriel''s face as he ran to his wife and threw his arms around her. "I''m so happy that you remember me now, wifey¡­ and yet I understand if you hate me. Please tell me if you do." Elise stayed silent for a moment and then said. "Get on your knees, Loriel." Loriel knelt at Elise''s feet and looked up at his wife. There was a tired smile and he would only wait for what she wanted him to do. If Elise wanted him to kneel so she could p him then Loriel would ept everything. "The two of you are nearly destroying the world and yet you both didn''t stop." Elise sighed and yet when she saw the injuries on her husband''s face, she was moved and would step closer to him. Loriel didn''t move as Elise touched his face and then felt the warmth of healing energy seep into his skin. It only took a few moments before he was healed. "I am so sorry, Elise," Loriel repeated his words again. "I should have told you the truth right away¡­ I should have been a better husband. There are a lot of things that I should have done." "I just want to go home, Loriel," Elise told him. She felt so tired and just wanted to lie down and gather her thoughts. "Cretea?" "The penthouse." "Ah, then I can take you back there." Loriel nodded and then looked awkwardly at his son, Alexei. Gosh¡­ now that he looked at the younger man properly, Loriel realized how much Alexei looked a lot like him. How could he not recognize himself in that boy?? Stupid Loriel! He realized he was really such a bad father. Not only was he a lousy husband, but he was also a bad father to their child. Loriel felt so disappointed with himself. "Alexei¡­" he called out to his son, awkwardly. "Do you¡­ want toe with us?" Alexei''s face was dumbfounded at that question. He groggily shook his head and said, "I¡­ I think I will have to catch up with you guys after this. You both go ahead." He opened up a portal for them and into New York. Elise wasn''t happy, but she understood why Alexei wanted to stay. So, she nodded. "I will see you soon, Alexei." "Of course." Alexei nodded weakly. *** Loriel and Elise stepped into the portal and soon found themselves outside of their penthouse. Alexei actually sent them here. Awkwardly, the two of them would head back into the penthouse and were greeted by Horatio and the sight of the two cats. "I¡­ I am not sure if you want me to be here, so I will leave you alone and give you some space for now," Loriel said. "I think I will go find my nephew and stay with him." Elise stared at her husband but then nodded again. "Thank you," she croaked a reply. The apartment was actually in a mess and the cats had grown thin, so Loriel cleared his throat. "I will clean up the penthouse and prepare some food if you get hungry." "Okay." Elise walked into her room and Loriel heard the sound of it locking. A sad smile crossed Loriel''s lips but he decided that he would do as he promised. He would give her space to actually let her take in everything. Once Loriel was done, he stepped at Elise''s door and gently knocked on it. "I will be leaving now but I left some food for you if you have the appetite to eat." After that, Loriel headed out of the penthouse and finally left his wife. *** Inside Elise''s room, the woman had sat on the bed and had been crying for thest few hours. Silent sobs had wracked inside of the room but she finally came to a stop. Elise did her best to be strong when she was with Alexei and tried her best to be a good mother. However, now that she was alone, all of the repressed tears came out. Everything was a lot to take in and yet after some time, her tears finally dried and she picked herself up again. Loriel was already gone and she had let her husband leave again. He left to give her space. Did she really need the space though? Elise asked herself. It suddenly felt so lonely, being on here all by herself. "Even now, it''s always him or me who runs away from each other," Elise said to herself and shook her head. "This can''t go on anymore." She pushed herself up to her feet and stepped out of her room. She looked wildly across the living room and noticed the food on the kitchen''s ind along with a note. The two cats were resting nicely on the couch. She rubbed their fur and picked up the note to read what was written on it. It was a short message from Loriel which also included the address to Marc Sanderman''s penthouse. Determined and finding strength, she would head for the door and throw the door open. CREAK. Elise stepped out of the penthouse and was ready to walk to their private elevator when her movements halted. Instead of seeing an empty hallway for her to step into, she saw Loriel was actually sitting on the floor and didn''t leave at all. The man looked up in surprise as he saw Elise closing the door behind her. "Loriel¡­ y-you didn''t leave?" Elise asked in shock. "What are you doing here?" Loriel smiled wistfully. "How could I ever actually do that again? I did leave to give you space, but I have learned my lessons and I would never leave your side ever again. Even though I said I will be away, but the truth is, I will always be near you so I can be there whenever you need me." . . ______________________ From Missrealitybites: This is actually the chapter for tomorrow, but I became too excited after I finished writing this and want you to read it as soon as possible. So, with this chapter, finally, Loriel and Elise are reunited. And we can see how Loriel has learned from his past mistakes. He no longer left her alone when conflict arose. What do you think about their reunion? Chapter 299 - We Should Start Over Loriel''s confession made tears prick Elise''s eyes and she quickly went down to the floor and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, Loriel¡­" she whispered. There was a look of momentary surprise on Loriel''s face but he immediately reached out and wrapped his arms around Elise''s back. He wasn''t expecting anything from Elise at all¡­ especially not a hug. The truth was that Loriel was actually preparing himself to be given a divorce statement by Elise, now that she had actually remembered everything. However, she actually hugged him? The man felt so moved. He couldn''t help but miss her touch. He missed everything about her. She was no longer just his wife in the modern world, but she was also his wife from the past. She had remembered everything, yet she didn''t throw tantrum, orsh out at him and demand him to leave her alone. She did none of those, even though Loriel was justified to receive all her anger and hatred. His Elise was truly the sweetest and kindest woman he had ever known. The man buried his face into his wife''s shoulder and relished the moment of having her in his arms again. He was so happy right now even though he wasn''t sure what he did to actually deserve this kind of treatment. At this moment, Elise was so close to tears at her husband''s words and she was incredibly touched and relieved to hear Loriel say them. She truly wanted to be with him right now and this was the first time that he had ever stayed. The two of them had been through so much already. After she was able to mull it over, Elise was given a perspective. There were some things that happened in the past that urred again over the course of time. Elise thought that the two of them would constantly repeat patterns that they''d done fifteen centuries ago. In the past, it was Elise who chased after Loriel, but this time around, it was Loriel. The pattern repeated even though the rtionship dynamics between them had changed. It was always that one of them would be distant while the other was pining for the other''s love. One of them always ended up leaving and then the other stayed still and only chased after the other when it was already far toote. Somehow, it almost seemed like the two of them were doomed to repeat the cycle again but now it was all over. Elise wanted it to be over. She could see that Loriel''s action was already breaking away from it and she wanted to do the same. Elise pulled away slightly and looked him in the eyes with a bright smile. She cupped his face and whispered. "Loriel, I forgive you." Loriel who had already been so happy to just have his wife in his arms again felt a tear slip through his cheek at her words. He was forgiven? Did he hear it correctly? "Elise¡­?" "You didn''t mishear me when I say that I forgive you," Elise repeated her words a bit more firmly and then smiled at Loriel. "I hope you can forgive me too for everything that happened. If I had known any sooner that you were suffering in the past because of me¡­ I would have tried my best to not hold you back." There were so many regrets and wishes between the two of them. "No, Elise. You''ve done nothing wrong at all and I don''t deserve your forgiveness." Loriel''s eyes stung and this time, he couldn''t stop the tears from falling across his cheeks. He tried to shake his head and looked her in the eye. "You can''t forgive someone like me." "Well, I''m the one who makes the decision, not you." Elise brushed her thumb across his tear and only smiled more brightly this time. She could feel tears also go down her cheeks. "So when I say that you are forgiven it means that you are forgiven." Loriel''s shoulder shook and trembled and he looked at his wifepletely tearful. He was still in disbelief and he couldn''t stop the tears that continued to leak out from his eyes as he sniffed and looked at Elise seriously. "After everything that happened, you deserve to be mad and never forgive me. I''ve been a horrible husband and everything I did was to make it up to you and in hopes that I could be happy with you again. That was incredibly selfish of me. How could you forgive me?" "While it is true that you were a terrible husband to me in the past. There''s one thing that made me think. I couldn''t fathom how you''ve actually waited all this time to be with me." Elise whispered softly. "You could have chosen to be happy with someone else all these centuries." She remembered how beautiful Hilde was, and she could guess that Hilde harbored a crush on her husband, and Hilde was only one goddess among so many in Cretea. There might be many other goddesses who were interested in Loriel, if he would give them a chance. Or, Loriel could also meet other women throughout his lifetime. If he married many mortal women in the past fifteen centuries and moved on from Elise, nobody could me him. Living alone for such a long time must be hellish if not utterly boring. Yet, he didn''t open his heart to even friends, let alone other women. Elise remembered Loriel told her he didn''t like to socialize. Other than Marc Sanderman, he didn''t have any friends or family. How much had he had suffered throughout the past fifteen centuries? People said time heals. Surely, if Loriel gave himself the chance to move on from Elise, he could have found his happiness with other people. Yet.. here he was, sitting on the floor, watching over her and protecting her from outside the door, after suffering and searching and waiting for her for such a long time. "How could I be happy?" Loriel held her cheek. "I''ve realized that I''ve loved you and no other woman could make me happy. I only want to be with you Elise and make it up to you." Elise blushed and then pulled up to her feet. "I''ve chosen to forgive you because of this devotion of yours to be with me¡­ I''ve seen that you have actually changed. And it is also because I love you." Loriel''s eyes were gleaming in tears. More and more were forming in the corners of his eyes. He couldn''t even hide them any longer. Did... did Elise say she loved him? What? She still loved him? After all that he did to her? "Elise¡­" Loriel became very emotional. "What did you say¡­? Do you¡­ really¡­ do you really still love me?" Elise smiled faintly and nodded. "I still love you, but¡­" Panic immediately filled Loriel''s being. "B-but¡­?" Elise took a deep breath. "... but I really think we should start over." "Start over?" Loriel''s heart started to pound as he looked at his wife with a dumbfounded expression. Did he hear her correctly? Had she forgiven him only to make a decision to stay away from him as well? Did this mean.. she forgave him, but she didn''t want to be with him anymore? Did she want him to start over and chase her to show her how much he really love her? No problem. He would chase her. He would show how much he loved her and devoted his life to her. "Yes." Elise stepped away from him. "I want us to start over." There was such a beautiful look on her face that even if Elise had said she wanted Loriel to die, he would have done just that. Anything to see her smile. However, contrary to Loriel''s expectation, suddenly, Elise swept into a curtsy in front of him. "Hello, my name is Elise Leoralei and I''m incredibly happy to meet you atst." She looked up and smiled at him brightly. "You who have been betrothed to me from when I was born. I''ve been waiting for you all this time. Did I ever tell you that I watched you from a crystal ball since I was a child?" Loriel''s eyes widened and, before he knew it, he gave her a courtly bow and then extended a hand to her. "Hello, Elise... I am Loriel Maxim Ashborn. I''ve been aware that our mothers both wished that they were born sisters and now we''re expected to marry each other." Tears streamed down hard on his face. So¡­ this was what she meant by starting over. She wanted them to restart their rtionship, as if they just met for the first time, and started everything correctly. Loriel''s heart was filled with so much love and warmth to the brim. He was grateful for the second chance. This time, he would do things right. Elise gently took Loriel''s hand and gave it a firm shake. She smiled at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "Yes. They''re a bit behind the times, aren''t they?" Loriel chuckled and tugged her to him. Elise''s face was blushing but she awaited him to make a move. He gently brushed her hair behind an ear and then proceeded to give her a soft kiss on the lips. "I think I''m quite thrilled with this arrangement," he whispered before the kiss. . . __________________ From Missrealitybites: What do you think about the ending? XD Just kidding, I will still write a few more chapters for Loriel and Elise and give them more scenes to share their happily ever after with us. Tbh, I am extremely sad this week because this novel is my entry for AllNovelFull Spirity Award and it didn''t win anything :(. A few days ago we got the info leaked that the winning authors are already contacted to attend the award ceremony in Singapore on Dec 20. The writing contest has many types of awards, two types of gold (Spirity and Adaptation), two types of silver (each can have multiple winners), and two types of bronze (each can also have multiple winners). That means, there are MANY winners. The male lead side alone has 4 winners just for the bronze. I feel disappointed in myself that this book doesn''t get anything out of that many awards, not even bronze. I know this book is not super popr, so I wasn''t even hoping for gold or silver, but at least bronze...? This book is also not good enough for bronze? I don''t really know the criteria for the judge to decide winners, it was never clear, and now I don''t really care. I tried to cheer myself up and said it''s not my luck or whatever, but it''s hard not to feel bad or sad about it. Anyway.. just letting you know the oue since I asked you for your support from the beginning of this book because I write this for thepetition. I think it''s only fair if you know now what happened because I won''t be posting more chapters to discuss the result when they announce it on Dec 20, since this story will end in a few days. I am sorry, I fail you with this book. I will not give up, don''t worry. I am feeling really sad, but I have to pick myself up soon because I have another book joining the werewolf writingpetition. I would love to see your support for "The King''s Wife Is The Alpha''s Mate". We''ll meet Nichs, Sophie, and Lnd there. It would mean the world to me if you would read and support the book too after Loriel''s and Elise''s story ends. xx Chapter 300 - Reconciling They kissed for a long time and vented their longing for each other. For Loriel, this was truly the best day of his long life. All his yearning, waiting, and perseverance paid off when Elise came back to his life. And what''s made this wholesome reunion even better was the fact that their son was still alive. And not only did he survive, but he was also still around. After he became immortal, Loriel was ready with the possibility that if he was reunited with his wife again someday, he would only have several decades together with her and their children toe. As an immortal, he would stay young forever, while his wife and children would age and die, just like what happened to everyone he knew in his lifetime. Marc Sanderman was his only family left before he met Elise and someday Marc would be dead too and perhaps the Ashborn''s and Sanderman family line would be truly extinct. Marc didn''t seem interested in getting a wife and building a family. So, his family name would end with him when he died. So, Loriel would really be left with no one. But today... everything was different. He had his Elise back and their son was also already an immortal. They all could live as a happy family together until the end of time. "I love you, wifey," Loriel pulled away from Elise and looked at her beautiful eyes with a gaze filled with so much love. His heart was warm, his mind was content. "Thank you for existing." Elise smiled and nodded. She had suffered so much in her previous life, but she knew her husband suffered more and longer. He was especially eaten by guilt and remorse that made his long life a living hell. But he persevered because of his love and devotion to her. Even though his regret came toote and had caused them to separate for such a long time, at least Loriel had understood and taken ownership of all his mistakes. Now, he wanted to start over, just like Elise. And this time, they would do things right. "It''s gettingte, we shoulde in and continue talking inside," Elise said, sping her hand with his. "I would love to know more about you." "Yes... I would love that," Loriel nodded. He opened the door for them and walked together with Elise to the penthouse. The two cats came to them, purring. Both were pleased to see their two hoomans came back. *** Loriel and Elise were now seated once again in the penthouse with the two kittens, Pott and Pebble happily ying around in the living room. The television was turned on and reporting some news about the recent cmities that happened across the globe but it was all background noise to their happy conversation. It paled inparison to how much happiness the couple was now experiencing. Loriel and Elise were in their own little bubble and their gazes were entirely on each other at this moment. Right now, it was as if nothing else really mattered except for the two of them and in their eyes, it really did feel just like that. The two of them were now talking over what happened in the past fifteen centuries and also of their time together as a married couple. Lingering questions that both never had the chance to be asked before were nowid out in the open. Loriel, who had always been sure of it in the past, decided to ask for confirmation from his wife. "When I was a child and had gotten kidnapped because my sisters wanted me dead¡­ you were the fairy who saved me, weren''t you?" Elise blushed and nodded. "Yes. You were so cute as a child back then." Loriel felt a bit sheepish and scratched the back of his neck. "Was it because I thought that you were the most beautiful woman alive so I only came to the conclusion that you had to be some kind of fairy? By the way, I don''t think I was really cute since I was a bit thin as a child." "While it''s true that your assumption was really adorable," Elise chuckled and yed with his hair idly. "I think that I actually liked seeing the younger Loriel because you were so meek and gentle before. I was really upset with those kidnappers." "You know, I was more upset that you were with that Time Master back then," Loriel''s expression darkened for a moment. "I only wanted to hold your hand but then he sent me a year into the future." "I really think that was idental." Elise couldn''t help but poke Loriel''s cheek and gave him a kiss on the cheek to help ease his mood. "Time powers are a bit¡­ difficult, but I''m grateful for Dante for giving me the opportunity to save you." Loriel snorted. "At least he was only good for that." Elise''s head rested against Loriel''s chest as she satfortably against hisp. She looked up at him and asked. "When did you ever dye your hair? It used to be really¡­ ash, like well. your family are after all the Ashborns." Loriel chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Do you prefer my hair that way, Elise? I decided to change my hair color because I kept getting stares from other people and I think it was because of my hair color so I changed it to ck." Elise raised a brow. She touched his ash hair that was often messy in the past, but now he mostly kept it tidy. She said, "You think you were getting stares because of your hair color?" "It attracted too much attention, doesn''t it?" Loriel shrugged. "I think it lessened now because I''ve gone with a moremon hair color. Ash, silver and such¡­ it was somon in the past but now it''s not." "I think you''ve failed to realize how much people love dyeing their hair now or wearing wigs, Loriel. Actually many people dye their hair to white or ash to make them look more attractive and stand out." Loriel showed a look of slight contempt when he thought about the people Elise was referring to. "Those are other people who want to get attention. All that mattered to me before I found you again was staying in the background and not being visible to others if I could." Elise rolled her eyes and knew that her husband really didn''t seem to understand that people were looking at him because of how incredibly handsome he was. His hair made little difference in this situation, but he thought it did. "So which one do you prefer, Elise? Do you like how my hair is now ck or did you like how I looked more in the past?" Loriel looked at his wife with a loving smile. "I''d be more than happy to revert back to ash if you have a certain preference for it." He motioned his hand and suddenly his hair went back to its original ash color. Now, he really looked A LOT like Alexei. For a moment, Elise was dumbfounded. She remembered Loriel with this look very vividly. She loved him looking this way. But she had also been used to his new looks during their marriage in modern times. To be honest, she liked both and didn''t care if he chose any style to his liking. He looked great regardless. Elise cupped his cheeks and smiled broadly. "Oh, Loriel. You look the same to me either way. I don''t see much of a difference." "What?" Loriel batted his eyes. "You really don''t have a preference on which one looks better on me? Or does my appearance really don''t matter that much?" Elise noticed how he seemed to genuinely care about her opinion about appearance and she kissed his nose and smiled gently. "Whatever hair color you have, Loriel. Even if you suddenly decide to shave your head and go bald?" Elise''s lips pursed for a moment as the image shed to her mind, but she smiled at him. "It doesn''t matter to me because I''ll love you always." "Oh Elise," A tear slipped down Loriel''s cheek again. And he held the two of her hands in his and asked. "How could you love me this much?" "What?" Elise arched her brow at him and chuckled. "Would your love change for me if I suddenly change hair color or if I do something like¡­ get a tattoo? You wouldn''t leave me if I went bald would you?" "Of course not." Loriel rapidly shook his head and kissed her hands. He stared deeply into her eyes. "I love you, Elise. I would have wanted to grow old with you and I would have massaged your aching back and kissed the wrinkles off your forehead." Elise smiled at the thought and she had actually envisioned that kind of life when she first met him. Right now though, things were different for the two of them now that they were immortals. "I''m at least d that I won''t have to experience what it feels like to have a creaky back then." she joked. "It''s good to be an immortal." The two of them continued to talk with each other and spoke of whatever came to their minds at that moment. It was a free-flowing conversation and their topics changed from one thing to another as the hours passed by between the two of them. Before the two of them knew it, it was finally midnight and time to go to bed. They had had such a long day and now their bodies were badly in need of rest. . . _________________ From Missrealitybites: I am publishing the final chapters for "The Cursed King" for the next few days. The book will conclude by the end of this week or early next week. Therefore, I have changed the Privilege Tier for December to only: * Tier 1 with 1 coin for 2 advanced chapters * Tier 2 with 100 coins for 38 advanced chapters I will not set the book toplete immediately because I want to publish some bonus chapters in the future (Loriel''s and Elise''s life in modern times, possible future children, etc). If I set it toplete after the story ends by end of this week, I cannot publish the side stories the way I want it. So, please understand that in order for me to do it, I will have to leave the book open until I can write the bonus chapters (possibly on January ''22). Chapter 301 - Loriel Doesnt Want To Share His Elise With Other People "Where do you want to sleep?" Loriel tugged on Elise''s sleeves when they left the dining room toward their bedrooms. There were two bedrooms in the penthouse. One was given to Elise when she first started living here with Loriel and after they got married, she moved into his bedroom. But earlier today, when they arrived here after the incident involving Loriel and Dante in Antarctica, Elise went to her old room and locked herself inside to cry. Thus, Loriel didn''t want to be presumptuous and just assumed that his wife would go back to sharing a room with him. So, he decided to ask her. "In the bedroom," Elise said. "Uhm.. which bedroom?" Loriel batted his eyes and looked at his wife longingly. His action made Elise chuckle. Loriel''s expression now looked like a cute puppy, giving her his best puppy eyes. It filled her heart with warmth to the brim. She couldn''t remember Loriel Ashborn, her cold husband in the past, who didn''t care about her feelings. What she saw now was only this loving, doting, and extremely caring man. She liked the new Loriel. Very much. "Our room, of course," Elise said with a smile. Loriel stepped closer to her and sped their hands together. He pulled her to his chest with his other hand and nted a sweet kiss on her forehead. "Thank you," he whispered. They held hands walking toward Loriel''s master bedroom that was already decorated with Elise in mind. The soft fluffy silk sheet had nice warm colors. There was even a vanity set in the corner of the room, right next to the walk-in closet, not that Elise needed to use it to put on makeup. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, ording to Loriel. Elise loved the gesture and she was reminded of the past when she had her chamber decorated to fit Loriel''s taste so he would feelfortable staying with her. This time, it was Loriel who did that for her. "Do you want to sleep now?" Loriel asked after he closed the door behind him. He flicked his finger and the room lighting was changed into a nice mood-light, perfect for sleep. "Hmm... I think I want to take a bath before bed," Elise said. "You?" Loriel had already taken a shower earlier when Elise locked herself in her room, crying. He had changed clothes and got rid of his dirty clothes from the fight with Dante. He was now ready to sleep and rest. But¡­ if Elise was taking a bath, he was suddenly tempted to join her. That is.. if Elise was willing to let him join. Would she say yes? Ahh... if you never ask, you never know, Loriel made up his mind. He pretended to scratch his arm and his shirt as if showing his body was itchy and needed washing. "Uhm¡­ can I join you for a bath?" he asked Elise, again using his best puppy eyes. Elise touched his cheek and smiled sweetly. "Of course." Loriel couldn''t hide his big grin when he heard her approval. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her nape. "I love you¡­ so much." Then, he scooped her up with his arms and carried her to the bathroom. The light immediately turned on with a perfect mood-lighting and a faint score of ssical music yed in the background. With a flick of his finger, the water ran and filled the bathtub with warm water. Loriel put down his wife on a stool next to the bath and kissed her lips. He went to the cupboard and looked for bath salt and essential oil. The nice scent of aromatherapy immediately wafted in the air. It was oh so rxing. Loriel remembered his wife loved taking this aromatherapy bath when she was still in Summeria. So, he made sure he made it as perfectly as possible. "I hope you like it," he said, this time with their oldnguage that he had not used for centuries. He and Elise spoke in English after they met in the modern world, but there were so many things that couldn''t be conveyed properly using modernnguage when he wanted to express his love for her. Summerians had a richer vocabry when it came to expressing love and affection. All this time, Loriel was dying to use their oldnguage with Elise. However, since she lost her memories, even though she would understand what he said, she would be shocked to find out she spoke a foreignnguage that she didn''t have any knowledge about. Elise''s eyes bulged when she heard the familiar words uttered by her husband. A flood of memories filled her heart and suddenly she was engulfed in nostalgia, more than the time when she heard the truth from Dante. Suddenly, home felt so close to her heart. Castilse was her home with Loriel and now it was no longer just a fragment in her distant memory. Tears slowly dripped down her cheeks. She pressed her chest and closed her eyes, as she listened to Loriel speaking some more in their oldnguage. At that moment, Elise realized, she was now truly home. "I love you, wifey¡­" Loriel came closer to her and rubbed her hair lovingly. From this day onward, he would speak in their oldnguage to his wife and only used English when they were with other people. This made him feel that what he had with Elise was very special. He loved her so much and didn''t want to share her with other people. Having their ownnguage made him feel the exclusivity of his union with his dear wife. What he and Elise had, no other people had it. "I love you too, Loriel," Elise replied to his words in Summerian too. She opened her eyes and looked at Loriel with a smile. "Husband." "I like that very much..." Loriel grinned more broadly. He loved how his name and the word ''husband'' rolled in her tongue. . . ________________ From Missrealitybites: Yep, that''s expected of Loriel. He is so possessive that he doesn''t want to share his wife with other people XD. PS: Now that the book is ending, if you want to read my other books and you like Loriel, I can suggest you read my first book called "The Alchemists". Have I told you that Loriel''s character is inspired by the man called Lauriel Medici in "The Alchemists"? Yep. I love Lauriel so much that I regretted not writing his own separate book. So, when I had the opportunity, I decided to use his story to write "The Cursed King". If you wish to read about the other version of Loriel, you can go read that book. Different from Loriel, Lauriel is very cool and he was not a jerk to his wife, ever. Unlike Loriel Ashborn. Lauriel Medici is a 570-year-old immortal who is an expert in poison and medicine (basically an expert on all nts), he speaks 70nguages, has traveled around the world at least 50 times, used to lead a big pirate group under the name of ck Bart in the 17th century, and after living for almost 6 centuries, he just wanted to die. I will not spill his story here, but if you read the book, just the first volume (the first story), you will see why Loriel''s story is inspired by Lauriel. And you can let me know which one do you like more, Loriel or Lauriel. PPS: Thank you Diana Gherman for gifting a dragon to Loriel and Elise. You are so kind! xx Chapter 302 - Happy Together Needless to say, the bath took longer than it was supposed to be. Both Loriel and Elise were drowned in love after they were reunited, this time, each of them was as much in love as the other. It was no longer one-sided love for Elise, and for Loriel, he could pour out all the love in his heart to this woman, his fairy, his real first and true love. They kissed intimately, enjoyed each other''s presence and bodies, and made sweet love all through the night, from bath to bed. For the first time in their life, Elise and Loriel were making love with love, having the full knowledge and understanding of who they were and what the other person meant to them. Loriel felt like he was reborn and given a second chance in life, love, and everything. He was really grateful and he vowed to never take anything for granted. Being alone and lonely for 15 centuries made him value Elise more than anyone could ever imagine. "I love you, wifey," he whispered huskily when he rolled to the side and pulled her into his embrace. "I can''t wait to spend the rest of forever with you." "Hmmm¡­ I love you too," Elise muttered so softly. Her energy was drained after vigorous lovemaking with Loriel earlier. It was oh so amazing. There was nothing like makeup sex after such emotional rollercoaster events that shook their rtionship. Now, she was tired and wanted to snuggle in his embrace. Loriel gently pulled her and turned her around to face him, so he could admire her sleeping face. Elise was truly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even after more than fifteen centuries. Her long curlyshes fluttered during her sleep, and her soft breath felt warm on his naked chest. Loriel couldn''t understand how he could be this lucky tond this sweet and amazing woman as his wife. He watched her drifting to sleep and he nted small kisses on her forehead and her hair. Then he wrapped his arms more tightly on her back. Loriel hoped Elise would get pregnant again and they could be parents together. They would enjoy the process from beginning to end and wee another child into this world. This time, they would do things right. *** After both Elise and Loriel made a decision to start over, what happened afterward were nothing but blissful days for the couple. The two were so incredibly happy together and spent each day with all the love they had for each other in the open. Elise padded out of their room sleepily and rubbed her eyes. After so much time in the bedroom, she was actually surprised to see that Loriel was already awake so early. The handsome man was only wearing boxers and was shirtless, showing his chiseled chest and sick-packed abdomen. He tied an apron against his waist and was busy cooking in the kitchen. "What would you like to eat for breakfast, Elise?" Loriel asked as he was frying some eggs over a pan. One could smell the fragrant scent of sizzling bacon and sausages in the pan right next to it. Elise yawned a bit and stepped towards her husband and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What are you making, honey?" Loriel couldn''t help but grin at his wife''s affections. "I''m currently making an English breakfast. Bacon, fried egg, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans¡­ and well everything. But I can also make something else if you wish. I didn''t want to wake you up so I made this first." "I can make the tea or coffee," Elise offered with a smile. "I''m already good with what you''re making." "I''d appreciate it if you could make me tea. That would be lovely," Loriel kissed his wife on the lips. "Mmm¡­ Loriel, you might be burning the egg." Elise broke off the kiss and chuckled. She made her way to get a teapot and filled it with water and a bag of tea. Just like in the past, she didn''t need the stove to heat the water. Loriel finished cooking and soon the two settled for breakfast at their dining table. Pott and Pebble scrambled sleepily from their basket bed and prowled to the couple and happily purred and mewled for some food. Their household robot prepared the kitten''s meal and soon the two were happily eating in the corner of the room while Elise and Loriel chatted during their breakfast. Elise happily ate the eggs andplimented her husband. "Your cooking is really great now, Loriel." Elise smiled. "I suppose fifteen centuries of being by yourself has now taught you how to be a master chef. Now I get why the restaurant food is nothingpared to your cooking." Loriel chuckled and took a sip of his tea. "And yet I''m confident that everything that you make will be infinitely better than mine. Thank you for the tea, this brings back a lot of memories." Elise blushed. "Over our first time?" "A lot of our times together after sex," Loriel smirked a little as he ced the cup back on the table. "I have to admit that I look forward to your cup of tea besides our times together in bed." Elise rolled her eyes and only chuckled. "Simr to how you also started to pretend to have migraines just so I would take care of you? I actually believed that my powers weren''t enough to heal people but no, you were actually faking it." Loriel coughed. "Well, I was too much of an idiot to admit it aloud that I wanted you to be with me. I had to make my excuses." "I''m just happy that it has brought the two of us together." Elise smiled warmly at him. This time, the two made a decision tomunicate with each other properly and for there to be no more misunderstandings between them. In the past, Elise did not want to trouble Loriel or even make him ufortable. She made sure that between the two of them, Loriel was seen as the strong, powerful, and dependable king and besides using fire powers to heat up their tea or simply tend to the garden of thete Queen Maude, Elise was meek and didn''t use them. However, right now, Elise was so much bolder and more open than she was in the past. Whether it was because her time in this age helped make her blossom into a more outspoken woman, or she was actually always like this¡­ Loriel loved her either way. He was happy that their rtionship was stronger than ever. There were a couple of things that were on the mind of the two and they started to discuss it as well. Elise and Loriel didn''t look or pay much attention to the television, but it was obvious that his time in Antarctica did a number on the world. "If I hadn''t been there to stop you, would you and Dante really have destroyed the world and thrown it into chaos?" Elise shook her head lightly as she finally turned on the television and cuddled with Loriel once again on the sofa. This time, Loriel''s head was resting on Elise''sp exactly like their past and she was massaging his forehead idly. Loriel looked up guilty at Elise and shrugged. "I''m pretty sure that someone would have prevented it. There are a lot of other gods and immortals." "Yes, I guess so¡­" Elise pursed her lips and sighed in relief. "I''m d that both the Sanderman Group along with other esteemedpanies are moving forward and helping out in the rehabilitation of New York and other ces that were struck by cmities." "Don''t worry about it," Loriel cupped his wife''s cheek. "People are very resilient. I think Marc is still making people attend their work in thepany despite the storm that I conjured here." Elise''s expression shifted. "Wow, I didn''t expect that he''d be that strict with his employees. But ah, it means that I''ve also missed work for at least a week or two now." Loriel''s brows raised. "Huh? You still have the intention to work there?" Elise chuckled. "What if I say yes? Will you stop me? We''re now living here in the modern age and I also want to get a job. You''re not going to still ask me to stay at home and live like I was before? I don''t need to be treated like a princess inside of a castle, Loriel." . . _______________________ From Missrealitybites: Will Loriel let Elise keep her job... or will he tell her to quit? What do you think? PS: Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this book, "The Cursed King" by sending your golden tickets here,menting, and voting power stones. I would like to especially thank the Top 3 golden tickets contributors in November: DespinaNY, Diana Gherman, and Lisa Demko. THANK YOU so much! PPS: If you would like to support me in December, would you mind sending your golden tickets to my new werewolf book instead of "The Cursed King"? I need the support because I am writing it to join the werewolfpetition. It''s called "The King''s Wife Is The Alpha''s Mate". After failing the AllNovelFull Spirity Award contest, I really wish I can win the werewolf contest. Thank you! Chapter 303 - [Bonus ] Family Hug "I won''t stop you at all, Elise." Loriel looked at his wife with a loving smile. "Whatever it is that you want to do¡­ I want to be there to support you as your husband. Whether you want to work in thepany or do something else, I''ll be with you." "Thank you, Loriel." Elise pecked his lips and smiled broadly. "I''m relieved that you think that way. Unlike me, you had to live for fifteen centuries by yourself and may have stuck with some old ways. I was afraid that you''d still be a bit traditional in your way of thinking." Loriel shook his head. "Those years made me realize and reflect on my actions, among those things, I realized that it''s important for me to actually listen to what you want. I want our rtionship to be stronger than before, so I''ve contemted a lot." Elise chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Those years truly have done a good thing for you¡­ but I think there''s someone else that you have to make it up to and not just myself." Loriel''s expression immediately changed as he realized who his wife was referring to. When he searched for his wife and realized that she was with a younger god to know about her true identity, Loriel only cared about telling the truth to Elise. He wanted to be the one who told her. Loriel hadn''t paid any attention to any other god whether it was Hilde or someone else because all that he was living for was to be reunited with Elise and make up for everything that he had done to her. However, now that Loriel was aware that their second child had survived and was all grown up at over fifteen centuries old, he knew that there was a lot of work involved in reiming his title as a father. Fatherhood was new to Loriel but he wanted to make it up to his son, Alexei. He nodded and looked at Elise. "...I know that he managed to get along with you. But, I''m a little nervous once he actually gets here." "Because he spent over a thousand years wanting to kill you?" Elise raised a brow. "That and because he grew up with Dante." Loriel sighed. "He might have been lied to and known the man as Dimitri, but it still means that there was a strong father figure in his life. It means that I have a lot to prove." Loriel''s own rtionship with his father was so long ago that it almost felt like he had no frame of reference whatsoever. Elise grabbed her husband''s hand and squeezed it. "We''ll all be going through this together, so don''t worry too much about it. I''m sure that Alexei''s also willing to get to know you." "I know that I''ve chosen to listen to you Elise¡­ but how are you so sure about this?" Loriel raised a brow. "Well, he told me that he''s going for a visit." There was a knock on the door and Elise stood up from the couch with a smile. Pott and Pebble immediately started crawling out from their bed basket and headed for the door. Elise gushed excitedly, "I think that''s him." Loriel looked at Elise in shock, but before he could do or say anything, she opened the door and revealed his son. Alexei was standing awkwardly at the door and was all dressed up neatly and he even brought a small pot that held a small bonsai tree. "Hey¡­ mother." Alexeiughed sheepishly and presented it to Elise who epted it with a smile and weed her son inside of the penthouse. "I brought you a tree instead of a bouquet because you might want to grow it." "Thank you, Alexei. I was actually hoping that I could start a small garden here on the penthouse''s balcony." Elise held the pot and looked at it warmly. "I appreciate the gift." Alexei shed a smile at Elise and nodded. The reason why he felt a certain attachment to her confused him before but now it all made sense, and yet there was someone else besides Elise and he coughed. "Is¡­ my not-parent-killer here?" Loriel raised a brow at the title and raised a hand. This kind of interaction between them was really unexpected because he was expecting his son to be more¡­ reserved, and yet Alexei was talking about their past like it was nothing. New and young gods were strange. "I''m here?" Loriel said. "Haha, there you are." Alexei chuckled and offered him a hand to which Loriel took and the two of them shook hands. "I wanted toe here earlier but I decided to finish some things and let you guys talk things out." This kind of interaction wasn''t so bad. Loriel nodded his head in appreciation. "Thank you, I appreciate that you dropped by here for a visit. Alexei." Would calling him son right away be strange? Loriel was a bit helplessly clueless. Alexei took a deep breath and looked at Loriel in the eye. Even though he was the literal god of war, somehow, this interaction was a lot harder than literally walking through a battlefield. "Sorry about trying to kill you two weeks ago, crazy times, and just found out that my parents are still alive and my guardian lied to me all this time¡­ uh, do you want to hug it out?" he said. "Hug it out?" Loriel was surprised. Alexei slowly opened his arms and stepped forward to Loriel and grinned. "It''s awkward but I believe a hug from my father isn''t supposed to be strange, right? Or do you want to discuss sports? Er¡­ I honestly don''t know what your interests are besides my mother." Loriel chuckled at his son''s words and then threw his arms around the younger man and engulfed him with a hug. "We have a lot of time to discuss any shared interests¡ªbut, thank you for dropping by. I really mean it, son." Elise looked at the two hugging and felt her heart touched at the sight. She didn''t think that she''d ever have a chance to see a reunion between father and son, but it filled her with joy and she couldn''t help but add. "How about letting me join in this family hug too?" . . ___________________ Alexei Dimitri Ashborn: "Or do you want to discuss sports? Er¡­ I honestly don''t know what your interests are besides my mother." Even his son knows how boring Loriel is. His one and only interest is his wife. XD PS: I cannot dispense thest two chapters from Privilege because the only way to do it was by marking this book asplete. If I did that, this book will be considered FINAL and I cannot publish any extra chapters in the future. So, for that, I apologize that you must read thest two chapters on W E B N O V E L app and unlock the privilege which cost only 1 coin.. I hope you don''t mind ^^. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!