Fᴏʀ Hɪꜱ Sᴀᴋᴇ | ✔

seven|where there is so much truth in his words but -

Edward's POV —

Marry me, Emily . Be my wife. Seize your rightful place in my heart. Be my queen as this king couldn't possibly rule his kingdom alone anymore while he still writhed each day for you and — your touch.

The words were stuck in his head, singing their own emotions and their own feeling of happiness if ever they could come true.

He gazed at her with adoration, not being able to play this game of cat and mouse anymore. Either he be the man and let her know he couldn't care a whit about how she thought of that fake marriage — because he was very well about the way on his knees again to offer the real one — or he be the coward and suffer his fate by seeing her getting snatched by someone else.

But Emily wasn't a property. And it mattered to him a whole lot than he'd still hesitate to admit— about what she thought of him as her life partner in general.

Perhaps, he should go about this in the modern way and not just jump right into the marriage. He didn't want to scare her away with the burden of his feelings anymore than he already did when he wasn't sure of them himself.

But now that he couldn't imagine doing anything for the rest of his life alone, other than to just brood in grimness for ever letting her go, his hands itched to just grab her who stood no more than two inches from him— and yet he couldn't be sure if her wariness and aloofness had stung him more than it did now.

Something had changed between them and it wasn't a one night thing. It has been brewing for years, tumbling and emanating that sweet essence of being born, being growing so real and so — mesmerizing — between them.

Emily looked at him with confusion, her lips claiming the sweetest pout.

She thinks he'd muck up again? He'd be damned if he didn't do his best to go about this the right way.

Squeezing her fingers, he said, "What do you think of me, lily?" He made sure she met his determined gaze head on, "as a man?"

Emily gasped, releasing a breath she'd been holding for so long. He could see the thoughts working in her head, and knowing her, she'd probably think this is some sort of a trick question.

"If you think this is the time to joke around, perhaps you should return back home, Edward."

She worked her fingers out of his but he was quick to grab her slipping wrist. "This is no joke, lily. I'm as serious as you might have never seen me before."

"Then you think of me as a joke if you ever think you're gonna trick me into answering this trickery."

His fingers curled tightly around her wrist as he tugged a little and she was forced to meet his eyes once again. "I'm as serious as a damn AIDS report if you think this is an adequate metaphor one can use to claim substantiality in this matter."

She seemed to be at a loss of words now and he was surprised using medical terms at all ever got him somewhere — with her stubbornness and his slipping patience.

"What do you wish for me to say, Edward? I've never been subjected to such a query before. Do you feel you're losing your masculinity just because you got divorced young and you don't have the confidence to convince Lara to marry you anymore?"

His mouth was hard as the solitary muscle in his jaw ticked in annoyance. "There is going to be no involvement of Lara in this question, Lily. She had no part in it."

A faint emotion passed through her brown eyes — surprise, or perhaps hurt — he wasn't sure but it was long gone before he could decipher it further. "You know Edward, I've never blamed anyone for what happened between us, to our marriage, or as to what we are now" she looked down,"or whatever is left between us."