Once the letter arrived the next morning, Duke Theodore dropped everything else to read it. Finally! He said to himself, but his thoughts could be read on his face, his butler stopping himself from chuckling before excusing himself.

            He took in a whiff of her perfume--which he hadn't smelled in so long, it was almost as if she was right there beside him. The entire time he was writing the letter, he was smiling, he went on to state that they should discuss the outing in person. It was merely an excuse to get to see her and he didn't care if she realized that. He would dare to shout to the world about his love for her and not feel ashamed about it.

And that's how they ended up meeting each other in a dessert shop, Suzette wore the nicest dress she could that hadn't been worn already, it was a peach-colored dress, she also had her nails painted the same color. Duke Theodore was wearing a suit with a coat that was adorned with several accessories, Suzette couldn't help but stare at his attire, he always looked good in everything that he wore.

            By the time that their desserts arrived--it was slices of cake from a variety of flavor, Duke Theodore picked up his fork, but for the most part he just watched as Suzette nibbled at the cakes. She was adorable, eventually, she noticed that he was staring at her. Thinking she had cake on her lips, she grabbed her handkerchief. He continued to smile at her, which made her self-conscious.

            Eventually, he broke off a piece of cake and moved it towards her, "Try this one." She had blinked but leaned forward, brushing her loose strands of hair out of the way and bit onto the fork.

            "Are...are you going to eat any...?" She had just realized he hadn't touched a single piece of cake.

            "Perhaps now that we've had an indirect kiss." He smiled mischievously, and she felt her face burn.

            Oh come on, why are you getting so embarrassed? Once upon a time--you used to sleep this man! She reminded herself, trying to discreetly fan herself off, Theodore continued his gaze upon her and then admitted, with a frown, "I'd prefer to watch you, with your sweets ban, you've lost too much weight, I feel like I might crush you at just a flick of my finger."  

            "Pfft, Theo," Suzette laughed, "I'm not that fragile." He smiled at her laughter and swiped his bangs back, eventually, Suzette looked around and noticed the ladies in the store staring at him. He paid the ladies no mind, and it seemed as if he didn't even notice them to begin with, "There're a lot of pretty girls around."

            "Is that so? Well, out of all of them, I'm spending time with the prettiest." Theodore's words made her swoon and thought to herself that that wasn't fair for her beating heart, "Now then, I know my schedule is more hectic than yours, so I wrote a list of days here we can have our outings. If none of these days work for you, let me know."

            "Outings...? As in plural?" She blinked, ignoring the fact that this was technically an outing as well, and he looked at her with the most hurt, puppy dog eyes. It looked like he had a pair of doggy ears on his forehead that drooped along with his shoulders.

            "Do you still not want to spend time with me?" He frowned again, the image of a puppy still on him.

            "No, it's just, are you sure you want to marry me again? I mean...after all, we both know I'm barren..." She whispered, she felt embarrassed bringing up this issue again, they had initially learned it after their second year of marriage. Suzette was devastated as she wanted children of her own and claimed the doctor was lying and that it was harassment--until another doctor examined her and said the same thing, it was also the cause of one of their major arguments.

            He sighed, brushing his fingers through his hair again, "Suzie, we've been through this, I can adopt an heir from my family line, and besides who knows, when they brought you back in time what if they healed that issue?"

            She felt her heart pounding faster, his opinion on it hasn't changed, "Do you...really think that they did?"

            He looked at her with eyes full of clarity so she couldn't even attempt to question him, "The angel we saw seemed to be bored, he made a game you know, I can see them changing certain elements to make it interesting."

            She began playing with her cake, "That reminds me...how were you able to get sent back in time?" She couldn't deny that she had been curious about it, and the fact he said 'we' showed that an angel sent him back.  

            He scanned the room and no one seemed to be paying attention but he felt a bit uneasy--less about eavesdroppers and more about her expected reaction, "Let's talk about that in the carriage ride."

            "Oh,...okay." She seemed a bit disappointed, but she knew there were a lot of people around, if someone overheard about them talking about how they've died once, they'd probably be accused of being lunatics or witches. She took another piece of cake, and eventually the ten slices that were on the table were gone.

            Theodore stood up first and held his hand out for Suzette to grab, they locked arms as they exited the cake shop. From outside they could hear the cheerful squealing of the girls recognizing him. It seems my future husband is quite popular, She gulped.

            They decided to take a walk around the area to help digest their cakes, even though he barely had any. The fact he only had two slices compared to her eight made her feel like she might need to cut back on her sweets after all. Theodore turned to her, pulling their arms forward so he could kiss the back of her hand, "What're you thinking about?"

            She pouted, "I think I ate too many, I think...I should cut back on my sweets..." In an instant, Theodore stopped moving, he looked at her as if she had been possessed, "Theo...?"

            "Suzie, don't. Eat what you want, you're too skinny--you have no need for a diet!" He reminded her.

            "I feel like you're leaving out something..." She gave him a deadpan look instead, "Will you also tell me that when we enter the carriage...?"

            He had a bit of a red face but smiled at her as if he had nothing to hide. She suddenly got a bad feeling about it. Once their walk was over they headed back to their carriage, after she was escorted inside, she crossed her legs and arms and with a determined look she said, "Okay, out with it."

            Theodore laughed a bit, and after regaining his composure looked deeply into her eyes, "Well, I was there at the time."

            She looked at him confused, "What do you mean you were there...?"

            He clarified, "'How could you do this, you overdramatic prick!'" She looked at him shocked and covered her mouth to hide her gulps, she may have said that but she didn't expect him to hear it!

            "Um, I..." She began, how exactly could she turn this around, he had heard everything. She looked up at him, and he didn't seem to be angry at all, in fact he was still smiling.

            "My soul was bound to my body still, so I was sitting on top of my grave that day when you appeared. As soon as I saw you, light appeared again in my eyes--I wanted to reach out and hold you, I wanted to slip back on the ring you threw at me. Thank you for grieving for me."   

            She whipped her body in the opposite direction, "You were my husband it was the least I could do!" even though she tried convincing herself, she couldn't stop her tears from flowing. She couldn't see anything through her tears but could hear him getting up, he pulled his arms around her, lifting her up into his lap.

            "Shhh, Suzie, it's okay."

            She sobbed, "People can see us."

            He smirked, "You need not worry, the curtains are already pulled." The warmth of his arms felt comforting as he continued to stroke her upper back and head. Her face was nuzzled in his chest and clavicle.

            "Here I am, a sobbing mess again..." She mumbled to herself.

            "Regardless of whether your upset or mad, you'll always be my queen." He assured her, and she focused on a different thing.

            Queen? That was when she remembered where she had seen the dress before that he had sent her, "Oh my god--you! That dress, why did you! That was meant for the queen, not me!"

            He laughed again with all his heart, "You're my future duchess and the queen of my life, you're more than deserving of it." The fact that the dress was brought up completely stopped her tears.