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I cocked my head to the side, perplexed by his answer. “What?”
“You happened, Mirielle. You came here and rocked everything on its head.”
I paled, uncertain of what he was trying to say, but it fluttered my gut worriedly. His grin broadened. “I’m making you uncomfortable,” he guessed. “That’s not my intention.”
“I just don’t understand.”
Adjusting his position, he reached for my other hand and squeezed my fingers, his eyes boring into mine. “Then let me try to explain it.”
Drawing in a breath, he began. “Before you came here, I didn’t realize just how wrapped up I was in my own head. I refused to let anyone in, the idea making me… violent, really.”
I swallowed, struggling to keep a stoic expression on my face, but it was difficult when I didn’t understand where this was going.
“And you gave me plenty to worry about,” he went on. “You made me confront all of those suspicions, but you also made me see that maybe it’s not so bad, not knowing. Just because we don’t have all the answers doesn’t mean your past is sordid, Miri.”
I bit on my lower lip, dropping my eyes.
But what if it does?!I wanted to cry out.
“I know that you have a lot of doubts, and your lack of memory still troubles you, but it doesn’t worry me because if it’s meant to come back, it will.”
“But what if—” I started to say.
Zen shook his head, cutting me off. “No. We’re done playing the ‘what if’ game. It’s not healthy, and it’s not good for either of us—or the kingdom.”
I bit on the insides of my cheeks, torn between wanting to tell him about the memory I’d had and letting him reassure me with his calming words.
“You saved me tonight,” he continued. “You’ve done more for me since you’ve been here than my guards have their whole collective lives, really.”
My head jerked up, and I started to argue his point, but he wasn’t finished. “Which is how I know I always need you by my side.”
All the protests died on my lips, and I merely gaped at him. “I am by your side,” I replied haltingly. “All of my things are here…”
I trailed off, realizing that wasn’t what he meant when he released my right hand and reached into his back pocket to pull a small velvet box. Paralyzed, I stared at it, inherently understanding what it was and what he was about to ask me.
“No, Mirielle. I want you by my side in every sense of the word. I want you to be my queen.”
Dizziness surged through my head as he popped open the box, and I gawked at the biggest, shiniest sapphire I had ever seen.
“You like sapphires more than diamonds, don’t you?” he asked, reading my expression. “I saw how you reacted to the necklace.”
I still couldn’t move as he pulled the ring from its case and slid it onto my trembling left hand, but I didn’t stop him. “It fits perfectly. It’s fate, you see?”
Did the ring belong to his mother, too?I didn’t dare ask, the moment already too fragile in my mind for such a daring query. Did it matter if it belonged to Malinda? I couldn’t accept it… could I?
“What do you say, Mirielle?” he pressed softly, reaching up to cup my face, drawing my gaze back toward him. “Will you be by my side always?”
“Will you be by mine?” I blurted out uneasily.
He chuckled lightly, a glint of compassion tinging his eyes. “I thought I’d already made my sentiments clear on that,” he said softly. “I’m not going anywhere. This is proof of that commitment.”
He really meant it! How did I deserve this?
“I love you, Mirielle,” he rasped, his smile fading, pure seriousness overtaking his expression now. “Nothing is going to change that.”
My pulse roared in my ears as I again looked at the perfectly fitted ring on my hand, sweat breaking out under my hairline.
Disappointment clouded Zen’s face, and he dropped his hand from my cheek when my silence went on for too long. “I shouldn’t have sprung this on you,” he muttered. “You’ve been through enough tonight—”
