Chapter 34 – Bittersweet Euphoria

“It’s beautiful…”

The stone glistened brilliantly under the sun. When moved at certain angles, the jewel’s light blue color sparkled against the light at a glance. More than the weight of the ring on her finger, it was Lucius’ touch, as he held her still trembling hand, that made her heart pound all the more.

‘So this is what it felt like to receive a ring during a proposal!’

Thanks to him, she was able to experience such unforgettable moment in any woman’s life.

A proposal solidified with a ring from her one and only love, nothing can be more perfect than this. She’s again speechless and unable to move, mesmerized by the ring and that loving hand on hers. As she lifted her head to look at Lucius, she found him staring passionately at her. She was grateful for his patience and consideration of her feelings that he waited for her to pacify herself and take a moment. She took a deep breath of satisfaction and glee as she spoke calmly this time.

“Really… Thank you so much. I didn’t know you would do this, so I was… quite surprised.”

“I’m sorry, Tiana. I wanted to do this the right way but I must have upset you instead.”

“No, no. your penitence is unnecessary. It’s just that I was shocked… I wasn’t expecting you to have this ring for me.”

“The wedding band will come later, but I personally wanted to give this to you. Though there are only two months left until the ceremony, in the meantime… I wanted to affirm you as my wife.”

“Oh…”

“As you’re my fiancée I want to give you this engagement ring. I’m pretty late, but…”

Tiana’s face radiated as he spoke. ‘Any surprise event like this is welcome. Solidify my status as your wife… Thank you very much for showing me such possessiveness of my love, my husband.’

Still, Tiana could not shake off all the excitement that had happened. She never thought that he’d give her a ring. She may never be able to get over herself looking at such magnificence of a ring again and again. ‘So this is why women like rings so much.’ It doesn’t look quite like a diamond for an engagement ring but regardless, the gem is absolutely unique.

“Thank you so much for this. I’m so happy. I’ll treasure it forever.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“It looks like a diamond, but it’s quite different; what is it?”

“It’s a jewel called sillimanite. It possesses diamond-like transparency, but it’s from a rare collection of jewels that have pleochroism properties.”

“Pleochroism?”

“Yep. If you look closely, you’ll see that the colors change at different angles.”

She looked closely, understood his point; the ring did change its colors. Angling from the front, it was a clear silver-gray with a light blue color, slightly yellowish pale green from the left, dark green from the right, and dark blue from the top and bottom.

“Wow, you’re right. That’s fascinating.”

“I thought it would match the mood of your eyes… I’m glad you like it.”

“Of course! I love it! It’s my first time seeing such an entrancing jewel that is now mine. It’s amazing! Thank you so much. Oh…”. Tiana, from being happy, suddenly let out a small shriek.

“What’s wrong?” Lucius looked at her closely, alarmed.

With the ring and the excitement in the atmosphere, she forgot. She should repay him for such a nice gift.

A little self-conscious, but determined, it was her turn to take hold of Lucius’ left hand. She then raised it to her lips and planted a kiss on his ring finger, smiling lovingly after.

She lifted her face to gaze at his blushing cheeks this time. It was his turn to stare at her blankly, speechless, and unable to move.

Tiana smiled brightly, dominating the power to make him feel exhilarated and even confused. “Since I couldn’t give you a ring, I will give my love to you… and gladly accept your proposal. And…”

Lucius was left in silence.

“Please marry me. I’ll be your wife.”

“…Tiana!”

Unable to control his feelings anymore, he pulled her closely and tightly in his arms. Tiana was pleasantly surprised by his uncalculating move but felt reassured in his warm embrace.

Finally allowing themselves to feel each other’s heartbeat in equal rhythm, she wrapped her hands around Lucius’ waist and held him lovingly.

She didn’t know their first embrace would be like this. Now that she felt his arms around her, hugging her tightly, nothing seemed to matter. He has given her a ring and declared herself to be his wife. Finally, Lucius will become her husband.

The only thing to worry about is the fact that he would be the ‘real’ Tiana’s husband, not hers, for she only has Tiana’s body.

Yes, she has decided to live as Tiana but since she was not her, there was a bitterness in her heart knowing that she was not the one being truly loved by Lucius after all.

‘When should I tell him that I’m not ‘Tiana’? When he finds out the truth, can he truly say that he loves ‘me’?’

The joy she was feeling through his arms gave her temporary strength to dismiss the inevitable dread she was feeling underneath her happiness. For now, their intertwined bodies were all that mattered.