"Elise?" Loriel felt his cheeks heated. He was wondering if his ears played tricks on him.
Did she really say her name was Elise?
If she was really Elise, why didn't she recognize him?
Was this just pure coincidence?
"Yes, that's me." She looked at him with her rounded eyes and confirmed his name, "You are... Loriel?"
"Yes," the man replied with a hoarse voice. His heart had not felt this much warmth and affection in fifteen centuries. Loriel never knew hearing her voice calling his name like this would make him feel so happy. He felt like he was in seventh heaven. "Please, call me Loriel."
Elise nodded. "Okay."
She looked around them and tried to read the signs to see which train they should take. While Loriel was still standing in his place, pressing his hand to his chest.
He knew right then, this woman was really his Elise.
Nobody could make his heart flutter the way she did. He had been roaming the earth for so long and met all kinds of people, men or women, and none of them impressed him nor made him feel intrigued, let alone made his heart flutter.
But this woman.. just with one word, calling his name, he felt like he was on top of the world. It was really hard to explain.
"Do you know which train we should take?" She turned to Loriel and asked the man.
Loriel had no idea which train to take. He didn't take public transport. If he needed to go anywhere, he had his car or chauffeur to take him anywhere.
"I think... that way," he said, pointing in a direction. "We can ask more people if we are not sure."
"Okay," Elise just followed the man's steps as Loriel approached a woman who looked like a student and seemed friendly enough to answer their questions.
Fortunately, the woman was helpful and she pointed them in the right direction. Five minutes later, Loriel and Elise had been sitting comfortably on the train heading to Central Park West. Since it was the weekend afternoon, the train was not full like usual.
Loriel noticed from the corner of his eyes, Elise looked deep in thoughts. This made him wonder what she was thinking.
Oh, how badly he wanted to know what was going on in that beautiful head.
What did actually happen to her? Where did she live all this time? Judging from her slightly more mature appearance, she was no longer the 20-year-old woman he saw the last time. So, how old was she now?
Unfortunately, Loriel couldn't really tell. She could be 40 or even 50 but still looked like she was in her twenties...
That's how good-looking she was!
Loriel remembered Elise's mother was beautiful and still looked youthful even in her fifties. Elise could inherit her mother's gene and kept her youthful appearance.
So, it would be difficult to tell when exactly she arrived in this modern world. Unless Elise would tell him herself.
Loriel glanced at her hands that she clasped gracefully on her lap, and his heart felt ached.
What happened to you, my love?
What did they do to you?
He remembered earlier Elise seemed worried and she quickly made up a name on the spot when Loriel introduced himself. The man could tell from her expression that 'Elise' was not the name she used to go by.
So, maybe... she didn't want to tell Loriel her name for whatever reason and she made up something to introduce herself to him. However, since Elise was her birth name, her brain unconsciously gave that name to Loriel.
So, what was her name now? And what made her seem worried to give him her new name?
Gosh, now Loriel wished he was a mind reader. It would be nice to know everything just by reading her mind.
"Where are you from?" Finally, he decided to ask her. He intentionally tried hard to make his tone sound casual and nonchalant. He didn't want her to think he was pushy and a stalker. So, he must tread carefully.
"I am not from around here," Elise replied. "Sorry, I prefer not to say. I hope you don't mind."
"Oh, no, I don't mind," Loriel waved his hand and smiled reassuringly. "I am just wondering if you are in trouble or something. If you are, you can tell me. I will help you."
"Why did you think I am in trouble?" Elise's eyes widened. She pressed her lips in shock. Obviously, she didn't expect Loriel to see through her so easily.
Well, of course, he knew her so well. She was a bad liar.
"Just a wild guess," Loriel explained. "Or, maybe you can call it intuition. As I said, I like human connection, so oftentimes I could understand people easily."
Human connection, my foot. He disliked most humans.
But, how else could he avoid her suspicion? She would definitely think he was a stalker if he told her he could understand her well because he knew her.
Not only he knew her, but he also loved her to death. While she... she didn't even remember who he was.
Now it really felt like one-sided love on his part.
Was this how she felt when he ignored her back then? She must feel so hurt because he didn't love her, even though they were betrothed from birth and she loved him so much.
[My poor Elise.]
[I am sorry for letting you experience such pain when you first came to Summeria. I was an ass-hole] Loriel thought bitterly.
[I wish I could turn back time and make it up to you.]
Aksara