The Royal Contract

Everybody was already seated when they arrived at the dining hall. But unfortunately, Dani would be sitting across from Edward on the other side of the table. She did not mind as long as Alex was still next to her. 

But she would have preferred another seat away from him. Now, she had to endure looking at him, but it would be difficult for them to have a conversation, which was a relief.

"Let me take this opportunity to welcome our guest on behalf of my father, King Edward II. We are delighted to receive such honorable guests in our midst." Edward stood up and spoke in front of everyone, raising his glass for a toast. But he made sure that his eyes, fixing his eyes on Dani.

He did not care that Alex was by her side. He was interested in her, and no one could stop him from getting to know her more.

"We are thankful for your hospitality. May this be the start of a good friendship between my family and the Royal Empire." Ethan responded to the prince's toast.

"We are glad that you joined us today, Edward." The duchess said to her nephew. It was a common courtesy that they should invite the Royal family on such an occasion. But the King had declined due to a previous commitment, so it was only Edward who attended.

"I am also glad I am here." Edward still did not tear his eyes away from Dani. "I hope that you are enjoying your time here on the island, Dani?" This time, he directed his question to her. 

He knew that he had avoided her the rest of the afternoon. But it was no reason for him to give up from pursuing her. In truth, she just became a new challenge for him that spiked his interest.

"Yes, I am. Alex made sure that I have a good time." Dani could not help but feel uncomfortable with the way Edward kept looking at her.

She did not like Edward, especially his arrogant personality. He was the kind of man that she usually avoided association with if she had a choice. 

She suddenly remembered Nick when she looked at Edward. They would appear to come from the same cloth. She was not happy about it.

The dinner ensued like the other dinners they had. Everybody tried to converse while eating, talking about their interests, businesses, and anything under the sun. 

But one thing that she did not like was the look that Edward kept throwing her way. She could not wait for the dinner to be over. So, they could go back to the villa away from everyone else.

"You have to forgive my family if they could not stop talking about nonsense," Alex whispered next to her. 

But he was not particularly happy with the way Edward was ignoring the fact that Dani was already engaged to him. He knew how Edward's mind works. 

As of now, Alex knew that Edward was planning to take Dani away from him, just liked what he did with Tyra. This time, he would not allow that to happen. Besides, he was confident that Dani would never fall for his false charms.

"I don't mind. Look at my father. He could not leave his business behind." Pointing to her dad, who was now talking about a business proposal. It appeared that he was encouraging the duke to look into it.

"Well, his idea is quite interesting," Alex commented on her father's proposal, appearing fascinated with the idea. He also overheard their conversation and thought that it was profitable.

"Don't tell me that you agreed with my dad. That this is the time and the place to discuss business." Dani could never understand men.

It was what her mom was complaining about ever since she was young. The way his father would take them on vacation, but he would still end up working half the time.

"I am merely expressing my opinion on the matter," Alex stated, looking at Dani with a smile, intrigued with her reaction.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault, not yours." She suddenly realized that she directed her ire to his father towards Alex. That was unfair to him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, wondering what caused her sudden change of mood.

"I get irritated when my father uses a family gathering like this as if we are in a boardroom discussing how he could expand his business more." Dani confided in him. Slowly, feeling comfortable sharing things with him.

"Maybe he is just more comfortable talking about business than anything else." Alex pointed out. "What about we talk about something else?" He felt he needed to change the topic since he was also guilty of such an act.

"That's a good idea." She answered him, not wanting to dwell on their fathers. At least their mothers were able to entertain themselves with the latest fashion. 

"What about we talk about how many kids we are planning to have?" He jokingly whispered in her ears. He only meant to lighten up the mood, but the way she looked at him, he guessed she did not see the humor in it.

"Ok, how many are you thinking?" She suddenly felt like humoring his lame attempt to divert her attention to something else. They needed something to do anyway, so why not play with his game to pass the time.

"I'm thinking of six," Alex answered her, glad that she finally came to her common sense.

  "Oh, that many. Where do you think you plan to put that in here?" She indicated her thin waistline, imagining herself getting pregnant six times.

But she did once wish for a big family. Being an only child had its perks, but it was also lonely. If she had a brother or a sister or both, maybe her father would not be so focused on her.

"Well, I'm sure we can fit them one at a time until we get six." He did try to imagine how difficult it was for a woman to get pregnant.

However, he really wanted to have many kids in the future when he was ready to settle down. But talking about it with Dani seemed not to be so frightening after all. On the contrary, he was enjoying it.

"I will assume that you would want all boys." She rolled her eyes at him. She thought that most men thought alike. She knew if her father had a choice, he would have preferred to have a son compared to a daughter.

"Of course not. I want to have four sons and hopefully two princesses." He said proudly, thinking that it was the perfect combination for the family he had in mind.

"Really? I never pegged you for a man who would want daughters." She looked at him, picturing him with their kids around him. She wondered if it was all a joke to him or he was serious about this.

"But I like to have princesses that I would adore just like you." Alex insisted as if he was trying to convince her that he was seriously thinking about it.

"Ahem." Jacky started clearing her throat. Then, lightly elbowed Dani on her side, trying to remind her where they were.

"But, I don't think..." She suddenly stopped what she was about to say to Alex after looking at Jacky's expression, who was sitting on her other side.

She suddenly realized that all conversation around the room had stopped. And all eyes were now focused on the two of them. Even Alex was unaware that they both had caught everyone's attention.