Before either Loriel or Elise even knew it, several days already passed by as the two of them became more situated with the routine of living with each other. It was as if the two of them had lived together before.

"I'll be going now, Loriel!" Elise called out to him before she left the penthouse and headed to the office for her work.

But before she could leave, Elise heard the door swing open as Loriel came out and held up a bag. He took out a lunch box from it and showed it to Elise. "I have prepared you lunch. This way you can save your money."

"Oh…" Elise batted her eyes at the lunch box in Loriel's hand.

The man looked so handsome and manly with his apron on. And his smile… oh he had such mesmerizing and angelic smile! It was hard to get her eyes off of him.

Elise didn't know Loriel took the opportunity to whip her lunch because after breakfast she went back to her room and got ready to leave for the office.

More importantly, the lunch was prepared in a cute Hello Kitty lunch box. Elise was not aware of the cultural significance of Hello Kitty, but she thought it was cute.

When did Loriel buy this lunch box? She asked herself. Elise would never guess that while she was working in the Sanderman Group's office, Loriel was restless at home, waiting for the office hours to end so he could see her again.

Finally, when he was stuck, not knowing what else to do while waiting for her return, he ended up checking the online marketplace.

He wanted to get her a lunch box so he could prepare her lunch every day. He could find an excuse for this gesture later, but what's important was he needed to do it.

"Well, we have leftovers from last night's dinner," said Loriel, making an excuse. "It's good and nutritious food, compared to the crap they serve at the cafeteria. Besides, you can also save money by bringing your own food. What do you think?"

Elise nodded. She agreed with everything the man said. However, she just felt bad seeing Loriel prepared lunch for her.

Didn't this feel a bit odd? She was the woman, but she worked outside of the house, while Loriel, the man, was staying home and prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner for them.

If they were married, this reversed role would make Elise laugh.

She was the breadwinner and Loriel was the househusband.

Except that she was not their breadwinner. Her salary, as an assistant was meager - Loriel still had more money than her - AND the man was not really her husband.

He just seemed obsessed with cooking and would always find excuses to cook something for them to eat. It was good that he could actually cook well. Elise always enjoyed the food he made.

"Thank you so much," said Elise. She accepted the lunch box reluctantly. Her reaction made Loriel furrow his brows.

"What's wrong? You don't like the lunch box? I got it as a gift and don't know what to make of it," said Loriel innocently. "So, I thought why not give it to you to bring your lunch to the office."

Secretly, Loriel hoped Elise would never search about the price of this lunch box. It was a limited edition and a collectible. People would gladly pay ten thousand dollars just for it.

He bought it on a whim because he thought it was so cute, just like her.

"No.. I really like it," said Elise. She bit her lip.

"But?"

There must be a 'but' if a girl said they liked something but their face looked uncomfortable. Did she feel forced to accept his lunchbox?

Loriel smiled and reached out his hand to take back the Hello Kitty lunch box. "You don't have to take it if you don't want to. I will not feel offended. I just thought the leftover is too good to waste. You did say last night that you like the food."

"I do like the food," Elise gripped the box more tightly. "But… I don't want to feel more indebted to you, more than I can repay you."

"Indebted? How?" Loriel furrowed his brows. "If anything, I am the one who feels indebted to you for keeping me company and eating the food I make. I like cooking and always feel sad that I have to eat it by myself."

"Oh… you do?"

"I do," said Loriel firmly. "After you come and live here with me, I found a new zest for life, and my passion for cooking is reignited. You might see this situation works in your favor because you get accommodation, but the truth is, I get benefits too."

He added, "I find a friend and companion in you. And my boring life suddenly changed for the better. Now, I even cook every day. I love doing more things with my life, and for that, I have to thank you."

Of course, nobody could win against Loriel in any argument because he had the wisdom of a fifteen-century-old immortal. He had seen it all and knew the right words to say every single time.

That's why, for him, it was easy to make Elise think that he was the one getting more benefit from their current living situation. And she shouldn't feel like she owed him anything.

"Oh… you are so kind," Elise looked at the man with awe in her eyes. "Now, you make it sound like I am doing you a favor by staying here and eating your food."

Loriel smiled. "Because that's the truth."

Elise looked down at the lunch box in her hands and finally, she decided to just accept the kindness shown by this man.

"Very well, thank you so much. I will take this." She smiled sheepishly and, after thinking about it for a brief second, she tip-toed and kissed Loriel on the cheek. "I will be off then. See you later!"

She quickly went out and left the stunned man. Elise walked briskly and didn't look back. Her cheeks flushed red. She didn't know what drove her to kiss Loriel's cheek just now.

It just felt right to do it.

Meanwhile, the former king was frozen in his place when Elise kissed his cheek. It was utterly unexpected.

His heart was pounding so hard and his chest was filled with so much warmth that the chilly autumn morning didn't affect him at all.

She just kissed his cheek.

He touched his cheek with his right hand and closed his eyes.

This was such a beautiful morning.

---------------

From the author:

Thank you so much for purchasing the highest tier privilege for the book, "The Cursed King" and supporting this book further.

I will work hard and publish more chapters every day (now my aim is 2 chapters per day, but hopefully I can do more) to justify your support.

Btw, a special reward for July '21 for the highest tier privilege readers (1000 coins for 20 advanced chapters), you are welcome to name a character. I still have many characters planned and haven't decided on their names.

You can send me a screenshot of the highest Privilege tier you have purchased by email to: [email protected], or my Instagram DM at @missrealitybites and a name that you wish to be immortalized in this book.

When the character appears and it has the name of your choosing, I will mention who picked the name. You can send me any male or female name, and I will find a character that will match the name.