Chapter 60: Funeral
If Soleia had been sleepy just now, she was no longer tired any longer. Whatever remaining bits of drowsiness that had been haunting her had quickly dissipated into nothingness. She had never been more awake than now, with her eyes wide open.
"Marry you?" she said, wondering if she had been so vain that she heard his request wrongly.
Unfortunately, Ralph nodded once, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. All of a sudden, the ice shelter that had been infinitely warm and had kept her snug and comfortable felt as though it was an icy prison.
"I..." Soleia trailed off, looking left and right. "I didn’t... I thought..."
Seeing her struggle for words, Rafael instantly felt the intense desire to give himself a tight slap across the face. He had come off so headstrong that this might as well be a profession of his love! And right after his supposed best friend had accused them of adultery! It was as good as hammering the last nail into the coffin.
Thus, he quickly shook his head, laughing slightly.
"I am sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn’t have said that. I have made things awkward now, haven’t I?"
His laughter turned a little more forced, a little more awkward. So much so that Soleia didn’t twice before lunging forward to hold his arm when he turned to leave.
"Princess?" Rafael asked, confused. He stared at her hand and then met her eyes, his eyebrows knitting together slightly.