The long pink eyelashes fluttered like beautiful butterfly wings, and the violet eyes revealed beneath them gazed into the distance.
Lariette looked on, not comprehending, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard. Her plump lips parted slightly, and a red tongue could be seen.
"I'm preparing to propose to you."
"He said it was a proposal... a proposal meant he wanted to marry me. Asrahan! Marrying him..."
As soon as she recalled his words, her cheeks flushed. She was so happy, her heart felt like it would burst, but she couldn't believe it. In Lariette's life, marriage had always been a negative word. From a young age, Duke Blanche assigned her the duty of following the marriage dictated by him to revive the family.
Lariette obeyed his opinion and got engaged to Marquis Segreb. Every time she imagined her marriage with the pervert, she shuddered. Since she broke off the engagement with the Marquis and left the Blanche family, she completely erased the word "marriage" from her mind. It was instinctual because she didn't want to relive that unpleasant memory.
That's why Lariette never imagined marriage with Asrahan. Thinking about the limited time they had pained her heart just by imagining it. She didn't even dare to think about it afterward. However, as soon as the word "marriage" came out of her lover's mouth, the image of herself smiling happily after marrying him was etched in her mind. It was so clear that she couldn't erase it even a little.
"Lariette."
Lariette's eyes widened again at the sweet voice calling her. Asrahan had a beautiful smile like that of a painting.
"Before I met you, my life was like darkness."
Asrahan briefly remembered his horrifying past, wandering repeatedly on the battlefield, fighting the curse that consumed him, and soon becoming accustomed to it. He lived a joyless life.
"You were the first light I found. Even though I was immature, stupid, and rejected you, you still came to me and colored my life with beautiful hues."
Lariette was the first one to call him by his name, she smiled at him amiably and took his hand. For the first time since he was born, it seemed like light filled his life.
"You filled me with your warmth."
"You are so precious. I wondered for a long time if I could dare to touch you, but I only realized it after you left."
"Asrahan..."
"I can't live without you anymore." Asrahan carefully tilted his head and kissed the back of Lariette's hand, the touch of his lips tickling her. "Lariette."
Their blue eyes met, his gaze was serious and desperate, his pupils trembled with fear of her possible rejection.
"I love you."
After he finished speaking, Asrahan knelt beside the bed. His large hands searched in his pocket and then took out what he had prepared during the day.
"I want to be with you every day and every moment."
Lariette's eyes widened as she looked at what he held in his hand. The luxurious case opened, revealing a beautiful ring. It was an elegantly cut pink diamond, delicately set in the center and adorned with smaller fine diamonds. It was the national treasure that Asrahan had urgently transferred from another kingdom and saved. It was expensive, beautiful, and renowned on the continent.
"Please marry me," his voice trembled slightly with anxiety.
Lariette no longer felt restless. That calmed her mind considerably.
