#Chapter 36: The Ring

Elara Alaric stood in the garden with the late afternoon sun framing his figure, the small box in his hand held out between us. I blinked, unsure if I was imagining it. But when he extended it toward me without a word, and my heart stuttered in response, I knew it was real. Slowly, I reached for it, my fingers brushing against his as he handed it over. Upon closer inspection, I couldn’t stop the soft gasp that escaped me. The ring was perhaps the loveliest thing I’d ever seen. The grain was polished to a shine, and it was adorned with faint etchings—a flower, I realized as I looked more closely, surrounded by tiny carved leaves that wound all the way around the ring. The craftsmanship was astonishing. “I hope you like it,” Alaric said quietly. “I made it for you.” My head snapped up, my eyes going wide as they searched his face. “You… made this?” He nodded. “You said yesterday that the thought behind something was more important than the cost. So, I