"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 chocolate."

He had noticed that Elise's comfort drink nowadays was hot chocolate. 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 flattered. 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 accept 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 chocolate and gave it to Elise. He didn't make one for himself, just for Elise.

"Thank you," Elise whispered and accepted 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 chocolate 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 his late 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 regular 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 become 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 relaxing 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."

.

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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.