"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 accept 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 accept 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 accept?"

"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 relationship, but she blushed as Loriel pulled her into his arms.

Satisfaction and a sense of unexplainable 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 become 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 accepted his proposal, she still didn't want him to spend too much money on a lavish 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 man laughed 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 playfully. He grabbed her close and planted 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 planning 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 becoming all too aware of their closeness again. "Ah, now that we have our plans 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 playfully. "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 hiccuped. 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 to compensate for the lack of chapters in September.. I hope you are okay with that. xx