The Cursed King

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 placed the two cats back on the floor and stretched. "Work is coming 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 becoming a career woman, Loriel." 

"What about the bakery?" Loriel raised a brow. "Have you changed your plans? 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 planning," 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 relationship was stronger than ever and the two of them enjoyed their quiet days of relaxing 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 too late 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.