The Cursed King

Elise looked at the gift cards and quickly came up with an idea. She said, "You can spend as much as you want from the $10k gift cards I have. I want you guys to choose whatever you like, and you only have to pay 50% of the actual cost."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean.. I have so many points in these gift cards that will expire soon if I don't use them. So, I am thinking of making extra money. You can use the value in these gift cards to shop and you only need to pay me 50%. That way, you can get nice expensive dresses for half the price, and I will get some money for myself. What do you think?" Elise quickly explained.

"That's awesome!" One woman gushed. "I want to wear the $700 outfit that Susan wore when she was attending the pitching for our newest project. She said she got it from here."

"Hey, come and check out to see if this dress will look good on me."

This is what Elise wanted: the colleagues to choose what they want to buy. It also allowed her to earn money. She knew that  Loriel was recovering money after he talked with his wealth manager last week, but it wasn't fair that she offered him nothing at all.

She had been living rent-free at his place for so long, and she felt bad about it. So, if she could make extra money by selling his points to her colleagues, wouldn't it be a win-win for everyone?

Elise's coworkers were happy, but they were still speechless. It seemed too good to be true.

However, it didn't last long as the giddiness of shopping took over them. There were colleagues who were willing to spend a lot of money on things that they wished to buy and didn't have to worry.

They would get an additional discount besides their company discount.

"Thank you so much, Elise. A few of us have been saving up to go shopping again. In fact, Susan and I have been planning to go shopping for the occasion," another woman said.

"I'm glad I am able to help out," Elise said with a smile.

Elise's colleagues started spreading across the entire store to find an outfit for themselves and it was time for her to do the same. 

While she wanted to find a gift for the people that suddenly became part of her life like Alex, Chef Lucy, Marc and especially Loriel... Elise really needed to get an appropriate outfit for the party.

The reason why Loriel probably gave her these gift cards was because he knew that her current clothes wouldn't look good when she was with him, didn't it?

While Elise was looking at the dresses and outfits that could be worn during the gala, she couldn't help but wonder what Loriel would wear. He agreed with being her date for the end-year party but she had no idea what outfit he was going to wear.

Her fingers brushed against the fabric of a sheer flowy dress. 

"Are you going to wear a matching outfit with your boyfriend?" Alana from Finance asked Elise. "What will your boyfriend wear?"

Elise turned to her right and saw Alana browsing through the same display of outfit. Alana's question got her thinking.

"Do we have to match our outfit?" Elise asked her back. "Why?"

"Of course you have to. That's one of the things that you need to look forward to as a couple." Alana replied. "That's what I usually do with my boyfriend when we attend an event together. It's like… a fashion statement, to show the world that you are together. Also, to make those bitches who try to steal my boyfriend know that he is taken… hahahahaha."

Elise chuckled at Alana's joke. She closed her eyes and thought of herself walking with Loriel during the party, wearing matching outfits. They would surely look good together.

Ah, well.. Loriel would look good in anything. Even just a pair of boardshorts.

Wait… she couldn't help but remember the time when she went home to find Loriel chilling on the sunchair wearing only his boardshorts after swimming. He looked so… good.

The imagination of it made her cheeks heat up. Emmelyn quickly shook the image away from her head. "I see... well I don't think he's that type of person."

"Really now? He doesn't like to wear matching outfits with his own girlfriend? That's a shame."

"Yeah. It's okay. I will just wear what I want. He will look good in anything. I am not worried about that," said Elise with a smile.

"Okay, if you say so."

"But I think I found something that I'd like to wear." Elise eyed the white dress and ran her fingers through the silky material. Secretly, she wanted to wear matching outfits with Loriel. However, it was difficult to match with someone when you didn't have any idea what they were going to wear.

However, by choosing this dress then she'd be able to complement whatever Loriel chose to wear. Elise already asked for too much by asking him to be her date. 

Once Elise and her other colleagues finally finished picking out their clothes, all of them went to the cashier counter. Elise prepared her gift cards and used them to pay for the entirety of the dresses brought by her colleagues.

That was also the time that these colleagues also started paying Elise the amount that she requested from them. It was a fairly large amount of money that made her colleagues look at Elise.

"I think you should deposit the money fast. I don't think I ever held that much money in my own hands before."

"Mhmm, agreed."

Elise placed the money in her bag and looked up to them. "But don't we have other places to go to?"

"We can go there next time. I may actually have spent too much money getting the dress I wanted." An awkward laugh came from her colleagues. 

"My son is also looking for me."

"The dog for me."

The women that were with Elise became more willing to splurge because of the gift cards. But now it seemed like they were all eager to get back to their respective homes. 

Elise nodded. "Alright then, I'll see you guys at the office."

"See you, Elise!"

"Thank you for today!"

"Have a safe trip~"

***

Elise returned back to the penthouse feeling excited about seeing Loriel. 

Once she stepped inside the place, she was quickly given the sight of Loriel having the two cats in his laps and simply rubbing their bellies.

A smile crossed her lips at the sight. It seemed like Pot and Pebble kept their word in keeping Loriel company.

"Ah, good evening Elise." Horatio greeted her and rolled up to her. "May I get your coat and scarf?"

"Oh, thank you." Elise handed it to him and then met Loriel's gaze.

"Welcome back, Elise." Loriel greeted her with a smile. 

Loriel eyed the one shopping bag in Elise's hand and wasn't exactly that surprised she didn't buy herself that many outfits, but this was something that could be fixed by another trip to the store.

Elise quickly shuffled through her bag and picked up the envelope.

It was now thick and wad with cash.

Elise strolled up to him and presented it to him. "Loriel, I wanted to give you this."

Loriel blinked and looked at Elise. "What is this for?"

"I want to contribute my fair share in staying here at your home," Elise said. This time her voice was firm and she looked serious. "It's not fair that I can stay here simply for being your company, I'd like to pay you. I don't like being a freeloader."

"That's..."

Elise scratched her cheek. "I may have uh, used the gift cards to get some money so don't worry about it. I don't have anything I want except to pay you properly."

Loriel studied Elise's expression and knew it was true. He eventually nodded and smiled. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Elise, but I don't need your money."

"It's only right that I pay you," Elise insisted. "Please accept this. I don't want to be a burden or freeloader."

Loriel looked at her for a long time. He wished he could just tell her who he was and that all his money and his property were hers too since she was his wife.

'Oh, Elise… you are NOT a freeloader. You are my dearly beloved wife. All I have is yours.'

He was dying to say those words to her. However, he couldn't. Not in this condition. Elise didn't know who they were and what was the real relationship between them. Loriel must wait until the right time came.

For now, he had to understand her perspective and accept the money she offered. She must not want to depend on other people and be a burden.

"Let's put this money in the drawer and talk about it later." Finally, Loriel relented. He took the envelope and put it in a kitchen drawer. Then, he stood up and offered a hand. "Since you came back earlier than I thought, would you like to have dinner with me?"

Elise already reached out to Loriel and grabbed his hand by instinct. "Ah, you haven't eaten dinner yet?"

"Nah, I didn't feel well today so I took a nap and only woke up just now. In time for dinner."

"Oh no… are you okay? Have you taken any medicine? Did you see a doctor?"

Loriel chuckled to see Elise look so worried.  "No, I am fine. Just got some light migraine. It's gone now."

He remembered how he often faked his headache in the past to get some attention from his wife. Now, he was too honest to use that cheap trick.

A smile crossed Elise's lips. "Alright then."