The Cursed King

Seeing his wife pout, Loriel couldn't help but smile. Gosh... she was so adorable.

"You know I'm kidding," Loriel replied and kissed his wife's forehead. "I respect your decision and I'll even be the one taking and picking you up from work. That's something I'm looking forward to doing. It'll be a good routine."

Elise smiled at that and then looked at their current dinner preparations.

"Not to mention that I'm excited to have our leftover dinner be my lunch tomorrow so we can save time from cooking another meal. It's quite efficient," Elise said..

"Oh yes, but only if we have leftovers," Loriel said. "I think I have quite an appetite tonight, so I'll just cook you something else in case I eat everything."

Loriel only did that before to not make Elise feel guilty about accepting food from him before, but now it was different. And yet, whatever made Loriel's wife happy, he was more than ready to make it happen.

"Thank you," Elise smiled. She felt relief because Loriel was truly very supportive of whatever she wanted and would always be there for her.

The two of them were starting to ease down into their relationship as husband and wife. 

It made Elise glad.  According to Elise's coworkers, it was easy for couples to be together when everything was all well and things were great, but it was during times of trouble and crises that showed the commitment of a couple.

Love was not enough, it was also important for both Elise and Loriel to make conscious choices that helped sustain their relationship instead of having it be torn down by distrust and other circumstances that walked in their life.

This was the happiest that Elise has ever been… until the smile on her face faded away.

"Ughh…." She suddenly placed a hand on her stomach and winced as a pain settled within her stomach. She cried, "It hurts…"

Was Elise having her premenstrual cramps now?

It was a little later than she expected, but it was better now than ever.

Elise tried to ignore it and continued helping out with the dinner preparations until her vision became blurry and she stepped back dizzily.

Everything around her was beginning to spin and she could see little dots and circles of light strain her sight.

When Loriel glanced at his wife, the man caught Elise before she fainted.

"Elise!!! What happened to you?!!" Loriel was very worried. He quickly carried her body and placed her in bed.

When Elise woke up in bed, Loriel was right at her side and looked immediately relieved at seeing her finally wake up. 

"Are you feeling better, honey? You should have told me that you were not feeling well. I would have been able to take care of you," Loriel said.

Elise was always sickly and weak in the past.

Loriel shouldn't have asked too much help from her and simply allowed his wife to rest while he prepared dinner. The man could only blame himself for not being that watchful and perceptive of Elise's condition.

"Please don't be too harsh on yourself," Elise smiled weakly and held her head a little. She was feeling much better than before, no longer feeling faint at all."

"Water?" Loriel offered his wife a glass of water first to sip and drink. He wasn't sure what made her pass out specifically, but he was sure to tell Marc that Elise was not feeling well enough to work and that he'd take her to a doctor.

"Thank you, I am a bit parched." Elise drank the entire glass down and felt a little better.  She looked at her husband's face and asked. "Did you stay here until I woke up?"

"Yes."

"What about dinner?" Elise asked.

"How could I eat when my wife fainted?" Loriel responded and held her hand. "Do you have any idea as to why you suddenly blacked out earlier? I haven't been able to ask you this before, but I wonder if you have any conditions that I need to be aware of?"

Elise shook her head. "No, I'm usually healthy… I just felt a cramp in my stomach earlier and then a migraine, before I finally realized that I'm here with you. Thank you for taking care of me."

"I would do anything for you, honey," Loriel told her. "Tomorrow, let's go visit a doctor, alright?"

"But I'm fine, it was just me fainting a little."

"I can't help but worry. Please do it for me, alright? I wouldn't be able to be at ease until we clear out any reasons for your fainting. If it's anemia or some other condition, we need to figure it out."

"Alright you win, let's do it in the morning so I can still go to work, okay?"

"Fine."

Elise smiled at Loriel's words until a realization came to her mind. 

All throughout their entire trip for their honeymoon, Elise's scheduled period didn't arrive at all. Based on her search before, it was not strange for one's period to change when one changed time zones.

The two of them constantly flew around and it was a physically strenuous time.

...So Elise never questioned it and was just waiting. But what if…? 

"Is something the matter, Elise?" Loriel gently asked his wife once he noticed the change in her expression.

"I… I don't want to jump to conclusions." Elise told Loriel seriously as she started twiddling with her thumbs. Was it too soon to think and consider? A quick look at the symptoms was sure to make her think otherwise.

"Elise, it's alright. You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything," Loriel said. "I'm your husband and you can be confident that I won't take it the wrong way. What am I supposed to do if I can't even be someone you can confide in?"

Elise looked at her husband's face and then decided Loriel was right. If anything, Loriel had the right to know if there was any chance or possibility that Elise was… pregnant?