Love Persists

Chapter 29

Mandie's POV:
After helping me into the boat, he began to row my across, the light of the lantern used to light our path, reflecting off of the shimmering water. He docked the boat and helped me out of it, before offering his arm once again. We traveled up through the cellars and then up a few more ladders and flights of stairs, remaining in the shadows of the opera house.

He offered his hand to me, helping me up the final ladder before opening a door and holding it for me. Being slightly uncertain, I walked out the door, being met with a cool breeze. He had led me out into what seemed to be the roof of the opera house which looked out upon the beautiful city. The stars were shining brilliantly in the nearly cloudless sky, its incomparable to anything I had ever seen before.

"Oh Erik, this is so beautiful," I breathed, captivated by the sight.

He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and whispered into my ear, "it is only a mere fraction of the beauty that I see in you, mon amour."

"Erik, please do not tell me such things when they clearly cannot be true," I replied as my face heated up and I tried to control my racing heart.

He placed a kiss on my neck before replying, "I am only trying to tell you the truth. Mandie, from the moment I met you, you intrigued me. For some reason I still never fully comprehended, you stubbornly insisted I converse with you, despite my oddities. You became my angel in my own personal hell, the only reason I wished to remain trapped in that modern society. I feared that I had lost you forever when I woke up back in my own time, choosing to dull the pain by trying to convince myself you were nothing but I dream. I came quite close to actually believing that lie, until you showed up again as though to torture me. I know I should have immediately returned to you with open arms, but I was so scared of losing you and to be honest, I still am. Every morning I wake up afraid that you are no longer with me and it is not until I see your beautiful face smiling back at me, although you have only just been roused from your sleep, that I am assured I have been blessed with one more day with you. That is all that I can hope for now, just one more day. And each day that passes, I hope that the next will not cause us to part. I love you, Mandie, more than I ever thought it possible to love another person. And I want to spend the rest of my days by your side. And although that may not turn out to be an option for us, I want us to try. Mandie, will you fight desperately for our love to survive and stand by my side as my wife?"

Erik descended to one knee, holding out a stunning diamond ring on a rose gold band, which reflected in the glowing stars. My vision became blurry as shock and elation washed over me, my head still spinning from the words of love that had come spilling out of Erik's mouth.

"Yes, Erik, is that even a question?" I managed to get before finally breaking down into sobs.
"Have I hurt you?" He asked, suddenly concerned as he slipped the ring onto my finger.

"N-no! I am just so happy," I explained through my tears. "I will never be deserving of you and yet you wish for me to become your wife. It is like all of my dreams I never knew I had are coming true."