Finally the day that I was waiting for had come. I took a shower, combed my hair, shaved, brushed my teeth and even applied perfume. After putting on a ludicrously expensive, tailor made suit, I eagerly awaited Elizabeth to come out of her room.
I told her that it was an outing to rekindle, if not love, then friendship and that I was going to make it special, so I asked her to dress up a bit. It didn't take long for her to emerge and I was momentarily left speechless.
She wore an elegant blood red dress that matched her hair to a tee. She gave me a strange look, momentarily surprised as well, then said. "You actually dressed up as well? Are we going to meet a king of a nation, or something?"
"Like I'd ever dress up for such a mundane event." I answered, slightly nervous. This didn't make any sense, I used to be so calm and relaxed while talking to Liz in the past, but now, for some reason, I felt so on edge. It felt like I was meeting her for the first time. "Shall we go?" I asked, extending my elbow towards her."
"Yeah…" Liz answered slightly blushing and took hold of it.
We were about to exit, when I received a call. I was about to decline, but then saw that it was from the hag of the Long family. This seemed suspicious, she called me out of the blue after all this time and I was tempted to answer, but then remembered that I had far more important things to do at the moment.
Liz saw the caller ID and asked. "This seems important, shouldn't you take it?"
"Not as important as my time with you." I answered and was rewarded with a blush from her.
The ringing stopped, then a message popped up. "Come to the manor tonight. I wish to officially welcome you to the family."
I saw the message and hesitated. On one hand, there was the only responsibility left to me by the one I once called a friend, on the other hand, was what I wanted to do myself. I thought for a moment and finally decided to just ignore the message.
"Tell me, Adam, are we in any rush tonight?" Elizabeth's soft, melodic voice rang in my ear. "If not, we could stop by the Long family and hear them out."
"You noticed the message?"
"I noticed your hesitation and put two and two together." She said. "You would have just ignored it, if it wasn't important and the only important thing to you related to the Long family is whether or not they accept you."
I sighed. "We are in no hurry, but I really didn't want to involve you in this drama any more than you're already involved."
"It's fine, I don't mind getting involved, if it's beneficial to you." Elizabeth gave the most wonderfully kind smile.
I patted her head. "You really are too good for me."
Half an hour later, we arrived at the Long estate and were immediately ushered into the grand dining room. I looked around - the whole Long family was sitting at the table - reasonable - it was a family meeting. What was unreasonable was the presence of the Chu girl and a middle aged couple sitting on either side of her.
I looked around for clues - everyone seemed calm and composed except for Nicole - who seemed nervous - giving strange, panicked glances to Liz and Calvin - that seemed ready to kill me at any moment. What the hell is happening here?
"I didn't expect you to bring a guest with you." The hag said, then gestured to a seat prepared for me and continued. "Well, this way it might even be easier. Sit." Then she gestured to the attendant. "Bring another chair for the miss."
After everyone was seated and the appetizers were brought forward, the hag began to speak again. "As I've said in the message, our Long family is willing to take you in officially…"
"But?" I asked.
"But…" The hag was about to say something more, but was interrupted by Nicole.
"Let's end this here, it seems that we had a misunderstanding." Nicole seemed panicked, her gaze shifting between me and Liz.
"Nonsense." The hag said. "In business, these things are decided by families and not the individuals." Then she turned to me. "We will officially take you in and even arrange you a good job in one of our companies, your life will be set, if you follow what I say."
"I'm listening." I said, genuinely intrigued. Have they finally begun to value me?
"First of all, as a member of the Long family, you should mind your associations." She glanced at Liz. "That girl is indeed fine looking, but you should look for someone that would be more than that."
"What?" My voice was dripping with malice. "Say that again."
The hag seemed not to notice that the temperature in the room spiked dramatically. "We have arranged for you a far more suitable partner then her." She looked at Nicole, that seemed to want to shrink under the table.
My blood was beginning to boil, but I held my composure. I looked at Liz, she seemed ready to cry. "Who I am with is none of your damn business, you fucking witch." I said through gritted teeth, still trying to keep it in.
"You should be glad." The matriarch said. "We were originally planning to wed Nicole with Calvin, but due to some disagreements, we decided to change it up a bit." She gave me a disdainful look. "If it hadn't come out to light that Miss Chu preferred you over our Calvin, do you really think that we would even consider taking you in?"
I gave Nicole a death glare. This bitch helps me to get back with Elizabeth on the surface, but schemes to break us up below the table? I should show her what happens to those that go against me and their families. I thought and was about to vocalize it, when the perpetrator spoke first.
"Alex, it's a misunderstanding, I swear!" She pleaded. "When I told my family that I didn't want to marry Calvin, I accidentally let it slip that I liked you. The Long family reassured me that yours and Liz's relationship didn't work out, that was the only reason that I agreed to it!"
"Whether it worked out or not doesn't matter in the end." The hag said. "The only thing that matters is what the family decides." Then she turned to Elizabeth. "You really are beautiful, but do you think that your beauty is enough to enter our prestigious family?"
Liz lowered her head, I squeezed my fists hard enough to make my palms bleed.
"If you really love our Alex, shouldn't you realize that you'd only be holding him back and should let him go?" The hag continued. "Or is it just for the money?" Her eyes sharpened.
Liz shuttered. "No, I…"
"If it's for the money, I am willing to personally give you 100 thousand for you to leave him." The hag said with a smirk.
"This is going too far!" I shouted and slammed my hands on the table, cracking it in half. "Liz, don't listen to anything that old piece of shit says, I…"
"I should go." Liz said and got up, then looked at me. "Goodbye." Then left the house.
The hag laughed with self satisfaction. "See? This is what happens to love when money is involved." She kept talking while I was trying my damn hardest not to paint the walls with her blood.
After composing myself, I sighed and made a phone call. "Hey, It's me. Do it." After talking for barely a second, or two, I hung up. This left everyone speechless.
"What was that?" The matriarch said with a slightly nervous expression.
"Punishment." I answered.
Just as I said that, a phone call came in for the hag. She picked it up, listened for a second or two and her eyes widened. She looked at me, then at everyone else in the room, then at me again. "What… What did you do?" She asked, her voice trembling.
"Remember, I mentioned that I could destroy your entire family in a flash, right? I wasn't bluffing. Now, excuse me." I turned and began to leave.
"STOP!" The matriarch commanded, her voice uncertain, but commanding. "Where do you think you're going? Undo this now!" She stood up and banged her hand on what was left of the table. "Are you listening to me?" Her voice carried panic. "Please, I beg of you!" She rushed to me, clutching my waist. "We're family, you can't do this…" She pleaded.
"Family? When have you ever treated me like family?" I asked, my voice icy.
"Please, if you do this we'll be ruined." She began to cry, fell on her knees and hugged my leg trembling.
I simply pulled my leg loose and began walking out. "I gave you so many chances." I said, closing the door behind me.
I found Liz sitting near a man made pond, just looking at the ornamental fish and sat down beside her, grabbing one of the fish for a light snack. We sat together for what seemed like an eternity. Finally I spoke. "Liz, I…"
"She's right, you know… We aren't on the same level." She said, still looking at the fish.
"You really think that I care about something as meaningless as that?" I asked, spitting out a bone. "I am a literal king of a nation possessing the power of a god, by that logic, who is worthy of being with me? Should I spend my life alone?"
"Still, I am…"
"You're mine." I interrupted. "I will not allow someone that I value more than anything in this world to look down on herself. You're mine now and forever and I wish to make it official." I retrieved a small black box from the dimensional ring, then turned to Liz and took a knee, opening it. Liz gasped when she saw what was inside.
"Elizabeth, will you make me the happiest person in the world and marry me?" I asked.
"I… I…" She hesitated.
"Status means jack shit to me, I love you and want to be with you for the rest of my life, so I'm asking - do you want that too?" I continued.
Tears began rolling down her cheeks, with a wide smile she gave her answer. "Yes, I do."
A weight dropped off of my chest, for the first time in days, I felt at ease, then took her soft, elegant hand and slid the ring on her finger. "I promise, you will never regret this…" I was interrupted by a passionate kiss. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, I held her in my arms, embracing and kissing the one I loved.
After the kiss, Liz asked. "We should go, weren't we supposed to do something today?"
"Oh, right… I had this whole elaborate plan on the best date in the world that culminated in the proposal, but, since we're at the finish line now, I'm not sure what to do…" I confessed.
"Well, it might still be fun to do it. If it goes well, I'll marry you again, but…" Liz said, then gave me a mischievous smile. "If it goes poorly, I might just turn you down and marry you only once."
Join me on patreon at patreon.com/BonsaiCat for early access to new chapters or buy my book 'How to rule a fantasy world' on Amazon. It's the same stuff that you read here, but I fucked up with the naming and the book is already out, so fuck it, let's go with this name for the book. I appreciate all of your support and your forgiveness for my utter incompetence. Best regards, BonsaiCat.