The Royal Contract

"Everything is set. The gown is beautiful. The cake will surely be the center of attention in the reception." Dani giggled happily at her mom as she enumerated what was in her checklist of things she still needed in her wedding. 

The wedding of the century, many of the press was saying. But the organizers still had a month to iron out the kinks and made sure that everything would be perfect, just the way she dreamed it would be.

Well, she was only going to get married once, so she wanted it to be beautiful and flawless.

"I am sure that the gown, the cake, and everything will fade away once your groom sees you. You will be the center of everyone's attention." Her mom hugged her and let her be comforted in her bosom, just like the way she used to when she was little.

Then, she fell asleep, knowing that the wedding of her dreams was almost at her reach and the man that she loved would soon be hers, forever.

When she woke up, she was surprised to hear a commotion downstairs. Her father was shouting profanities, and everyone in the house was rushing around.

"Ethan, calm down. It will not help if you keep shouting. Why are you doing this?" Her mother asked her father as she took a peek at the top of the stairs.

She wanted to know what was going on. But if she went down, her father would refuse to tell them what was wrong. It was better if she kept herself out of sight and listened to what her father had to say.

"Laura, the wedding is off. I can't let Dani marry that scam bug." Ethan hissed in anger as he tried to take a deep breath. 

"Why? I thought that you like him. You have been his number one supporter from the start. What changed?" Laura asked, shocked at the way her husband was acting.

She never liked Nick. There was something about him that did not feel right with her. But since Ethan vouched for him, she never questioned Nick's sincerity. She knew that her husband's ability to judge people was enough to guarantee Nick's character.

So, hearing her husband saying that he did not want Nick for their daughter was a great surprise for her. She had to know the reason for his sudden change of heart.

"No," Dani almost blurted out, but she managed to cover her mouth before they noticed her. She wanted to hear what else her father had to say about Nick.

She did not want to hear any more lies because they were protecting her. She wanted the entire truth. And she would only learn it by listening to their secret.

"Let's move to my office." Her father directed her mother to the room on the other side of the house.

Dani quickly ran down the stairs to follow them. She knew where she was going to hide to listen to them. It was a secret place that nobody knew, except for her and her grandfather, who passed away.

She moved to the other room, next to her father's office. Inside the large cabinet, she squeezed her body until she was flat on the wall. There was a tiny hole in the wall that she could use to look inside the office, and the thin wall was not soundproof. His grandfather designed it in such a way to use for spying on his guests.

"What is it that you are not saying?" Laura finally asked when they were safely inside the office.

"I recently discovered that Nick was only using Dani to get to me. He didn't love our daughter. He only wants the money that he will get once he was married to our daughter. And a possible way to secure my position in the future." Ethan elaborated on what he recently discovered.

"How did you come up with this news?" Laura still could not believe what he was hearing. 

She and Dani were talking about the wedding last night. She had no idea how her daughter was going to take the news. Funnily, she already knew this all along, but she also believed Ethan when he said that Nick was the right man for Dani.

"I have a reliable source. I also have proof that Nick was cheating on our daughter." He stated, guaranteeing her that his accusations had a found basis.

"What do we do now?" Laura asked as she sat defeated in a chair near her. 

She was afraid of what Dani would think and feel about this. Dani was totally in love with Nick. And learning about this news would surely devastate her. 

She could already feel how her daughter's heart would break once she found out that the wedding was off. But more importantly, hearing that Nick did not love her. 

"For now, pretend you don't know anything," Ethan said as he walked into the drawer of his desk. "I will confront Nick first at the office and make sure that he will never be able to see or call Dani again. I will be back later so we can discuss this as a family."

Dani heard his father came out of his office and walked out of the house, leaving her mother still sitting on the chair. She also quickly stumbled out of the room and ran. 

She kept running and running, but it seemed that she was not going anywhere. She was tired, but her feet kept on going until she fell on the soft floor. 

When she opened her eyes, she was lying down on her bed with a man at her side, looking at her concernedly. She scrubbed her eyes to assure herself that she was awake and not in another dream.

But when her eyes opened, it still landed on Alex and not Nick. 

"Hey, what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" Alex touched her sweaty face and checked on her.

He was concerned that whatever it was, it must be a terrible dream, even a nightmare from how she had reacted.

"Yeah, I think so, but I am not sure of what it was." She said automatically. She never wanted to talk about her past, not even to him. She did not want to lie to him, but she did not see any point in sharing that with him. 

Thankfully, she only had a bad dream. Or maybe a slight recollection of a past she wished she did not have to remember. But that was it, a time in her life that she had to forget. Because now, she had Alex at her side.

"Are you sure? You know whatever it was, maybe I can help." Alex offered as he positioned himself closer to her and cradled her in his arms. "I'm a good listener."

She tilted her head to him and kissed him. "I know. I'll make sure to consider that when I need someone to talk to about my problems." She appreciated what he was doing, but in her opinion, she had it under control. She did not have to recall what she buried in the recesses of her mind.

But unfortunately, it is still embedded in her brain, and it would take a miracle for her to erase it from her memory. It was probably seeing Nick the other night that might have triggered the memory.