"What! Really! That was awesome!" Ed interrupted Raila by jumping into her embrace and locking his lips with hers. After at least ten minutes and three long, passionate kisses, they separated. He looked at her with an excited expression.
"I'm going to be a father! I've already thought of children's names. If it's a son, then Alexandros, Alex for short, and if it's a daughter, then Anna. I can't wait to see that little guy... Sorry, dear. Although I will try my best, if for some reason I can't be here during their birth, please forgive me."
"You know this could be my last opportunity to find some reliable people and go to sea. If I miss it now, I might never get such a chance again. And you remember my promise, right? I wanted to make you a rich lady who can buy anything and live like a queen. To do that, I have to set sail..."
"Shh, you don't have to comfort me," Raila interjected. "Between us, I am the older one, not you, so don't treat me like a little girl. I've seen more of the world than you, and I understand this matter very clearly. That's why I've never tried to stop you from going to sea."
"I only said you would be missing the biggest moment of being a father: holding your child the moment it's born. You will surely regret missing that for the rest of your life. Hehehe." Raila gently tapped Ed's forehead with a flick of her finger, her tone teasing.
"Now you're already making me feel regretful about going to sea. Damn it! I hope that grumpy captain in the cowboy hat gives me a vacation; otherwise, I'll blow him to the sky for sure," Ed said angrily, shaking his fist.
"I doubt you can do that. I've heard most treasure hunters are very powerful, and you can't even win against me. How are you going to blow him up? With your naughty tongue? Then your chance of getting blown to the sky is higher than his, hehehe."
"By the way, I didn't expect you to have such good naming sense. When did you think of our child's names?" Raila asked casually. She grabbed Ed's hand and walked out of the kitchen, asking him to wait a moment. She hurriedly ran into her bedroom and soon returned empty-handed. Then, she grabbed his hand again, walked out the back door, and started heading toward the cliff.
"You're underestimating your man, woman. I can't beat you because I don't want to. Otherwise, with your temper, I'd surely have to sleep on the couch. As for my naming sense, you haven't even explored 10% of me. There are a lot of things you have no idea about, heheh," Ed spoke without caring where Raila was taking him or the strange looks people gave them as they walked hand-in-hand.
"Yes, yes, when you come back, I'll continue to explore. So, when did you think of our child's names? Also, you bastard, you didn't even ask me about it once," Raila complained with a pout.
"It was after you started threatening me to give you a child so I wouldn't be able to forget you after going to sea, even if I wanted to. I put a lot of thought into those two names. I read that in an old civilization called Greece, Alexandros means 'defender of the people.' While I'm away, our son will protect the family... or maybe not, at least until he's old enough. And in many cultures and languages, the name Anna is often associated with grace and favor. I personally like it a lot."
"Wow, I didn't expect you went to such lengths to pick our child's names. If you had told me earlier, I would have surely given you a good reward. But now, time is limited, so you can save it for later," Raila said, looking impressed.
"Thank you. Although I may not look it, I am very reliable in these kinds of matters, especially when it comes to impressing my own wife..."
"What! What did you just say?" Raila suddenly stopped and exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"What? 'Thank you'?" Ed replied, pretending not to understand her reaction.
"No, after that!" She corrected him, annoyed.
"'Although I may not look...'"
"Damn it, not that! Forget it. You called me your wife?" Seeing that Ed didn't understand her hint, she pointed it out directly.
"Yes, so what? I've already gotten you pregnant. What else is left? We can already consider ourselves half husband and wife. We just need blessings from our families and the Stone Mother... Now I remember, you naughty woman! Why didn't you tell me that Aunt Marcy knows about our relationship?" Ed asked angrily, making Raila, who was about to say something, gulp and let out an awkward laugh.
"Hahaha, sorry! She forced me not to say anything, otherwise she'd make sure we never met again. And you know Aunt Marcy's words aren't something you can take lightly, so I didn't risk it... Did she tell you everything?" Raila asked nervously.
"Yes, everything. And she even gave us her blessing, saying I can rest assured she'll take care of you while I'm absent. That's why I said now we only need to do the formalities to officially become husband and wife. However, I think we should wait until I come back. Then, I'll have enough money to make our wedding so grand that every single person on this island will remember it for the rest of their lives," Ed spoke with a proud expression, gazing at the blue sea before them.
"Oh, it seems like you have something big planned for our wedding. Now I'm looking forward to it even more. By the way, do you remember this place?" Raila replied with a chuckle, not taking Ed's words about a grand wedding seriously.
"Yes, I could never forget this place. This is where I found my life's greatest treasure: crying under a tree in desperation, thinking about jumping from the cliff but unable to make up her mind because of her daughters."
"You don't have to be so detailed!" Raila gave Ed an elbow and spoke with embarrassment.
"By the way, I've always wondered: if I hadn't met you that day, would you have really jumped off the cliff?" Ed asked with a smile. He was sitting at the edge of the cliff under which he had found his treasure, looking at Raila's beautiful face as she stared at the calm sea.
"Probably not. Although I was completely broken at that time, I knew that if I did that, no one would be there to protect my girls from that beast. However, I would have surely made a bad decision that I'd regret until my last breath. After all, the Stone Mother's curse is no joke. But it was a blessing in misfortune that I was able to meet you, and my life finally turned in the direction I had always dreamed of," She spoke in a soft voice, placing her head on Ed's shoulder.
"Wow, you were thinking of murdering your own husband? That's something I didn't know about you. It seems I have to be careful in the future in case you have similar thoughts about me, you know, once a thief is always a thief..."
"Ouch, ouch! Just joking, just joking! Don't pull so hard!" Ed screamed as Raila pulled his ear hard in anger.
"You damn brat, how dare you talk about your sweet wife like that?" Instead of releasing him, she twisted his ear with more strength.
"Sorry, sorry! Please forgive me..." Finally sighing helplessly with a smile, Raila let go of Ed's ear. He was still holding it and moaning in pain. She took out a small, baby-fist-sized box from her pocket.
"Ahem... What is it?" Ed asked curiously, looking at the box in Raila's hand while still rubbing his ear.
"Since you gave me a gift that will always remind me of you," She said, placing her hand on her stomach, "Then naturally, I also had to prepare one for you. Take it and open it."