The Royal Contract

"In a way, I got a better glimpse of your life, growing up. It is not hard to imagine because, in a way, we do have some similarities." She could relate to him from past experiences and understood what he had gone through in his life.

"Did you never, ever did consider becoming King just to save your kingdom from destruction or bring it back to its famous glory?" She could not help but speak out loud what was in her mind.

"Yes, at some point, I thought of it. But I believe that my being King will not be the solution to the extinction of our ways. I don't even know if I will be a good King." That was his response to his question.

He believed that he might even be the reason for its downfall. As of now, all he wanted was to demolish its hierarchy system and gave the lands and property shares to its rightful owners.

He believed he would treat The Empire like the companies he bought and restructured it according to its need to make it more functional.

"Well, enough about the kingdom." He was through talking about a kingdom that he did not wish to be a part of but could not seem to run away from, no matter how he tried.

Back at the house, exhausted from the long and exciting day they had, both decided to call it a day, retiring to their room to spend a few more minutes enjoying each other's company.

This time, no talking was necessary. Dani thought that they already had talked too much today. All she needed now was him, wrapped around her body.

Feelings and body language were mainly their way of communication. A few moans and groans were the only noise heard in their room, indicating only one thing, their satisfaction. After that, there was only silence.

She immediately fell asleep, but Alex remained wide awake, staring at the beautiful woman beside him. "How did I become so lucky?" Despite his past and his situation, he still managed to find a gem in his chaotic life.

He began to contemplate on their future. He wanted to know if he was indeed in love with her. But how could he possibly know if that was what he felt?

"I love you." He said in a barely audible sound as he leaned forward and touched her face. She could see that her breathing remained even, and there was no sudden movement on her part, so she was completely asleep. She did not hear his words.

He wanted to try the words on his lips while she was not aware. He heard somewhere that if he said it out loud to the other person involved, eventually, he would feel if it was true.

But sadly, he was not sure if something changed in him. He was still as clueless as before he said the words. He knew he deeply cared for Dani, but love was such a complicated feeling.

"I want to marry you." He tried again. Deep inside, if he had to marry, he would like that person to be Dani. But as she said before, she would not marry without love.

More than an hour later, he noticed Dani thrashing on the bed. She appeared to be having a troubled dream, more possibly a nightmare. He was about to wake her up when she suddenly uttered a name.

"Nick..." She whispered, looking like saying his name was causing her so much pain. Then, she started yelling. "No, no, no..." Repeatedly.

At that moment, he could not stand by and listen to her anymore. He had to do something. He grabbed her by the shoulder and started to shake her. "Dani, wake up. Wake up." 

He kept saying until he saw her open her eyes with tears threatening to fall. But he could see that she was still lost, trapped in her dream. Her eyes glazed with the fear of what she was going through.

"Hey, wake up. It's just a dream." He pulled her into his arms as he tried to calm her body down. She was still shaking in fright. He wiped the sweat that formed on her forehead with the palm of his hands, seeing her broken expression.

At this point, he knew something serious was causing her distress. It was not a random dream, but something that had bothered her for a long time.

"I'm sorry," Dani finally recovered, becoming aware of her situation. She had another awful dream, and Alex had witnessed it once again. Somehow, his warmth had started to relax her body and level her breathing.

"Are you ok?" He asked, feeling that she was regaining her consciousness. He smiled at her to reassure her that everything was going to be ok.

"It must be..." She was about to say something when he stopped her.

"No. I am not taking your excuses and lies. You are going to tell me what Nick did to you." He said firmly, using his stern voice to send his message across that he was serious.

Something was wrong with this picture, and he was not allowing her to keep hiding it from him. He would find out what was troubling her right now, whatever it took.

Hearing the concern in his voice together with the toughness in his expression, she knew that it would be harder for her to keep hiding things from him. But she was anxious to reveal her secrets to him.

She could not stop the tears that burst down her cheeks as she recalled her past. "It is not that simple." She told him as a sob escaped her lips, unable to continue with her words.

"I know it is difficult, but you will need to trust me with whatever was bothering you. Let me help you." He shifted his voice to a softer tone, hoping that she would find it easier for her to share her troubles.

He knew that telling him about her past would be difficult, but he had to try to help her. Then, he realized that he also had to come clean with her about his past. But it was not his time. He had to concentrate on her needs first.

She nodded her head. "Ok." She replied, suddenly realizing that she had to tell him everything. If there was any consolation to this entire situation, at least she was baring her soul to a man she trusted with her life.

Growing up being told that she was perfect, she eventually assumed that she could do no wrong. With everyone envying her life, it made her conclude that she was indeed a princess.

But what Nick and Cassie did to her. The betrayal of love and friendship destroyed everything she had believed in her entire life. 

She was not invincible like her father had told her. She was just like everyone else, capable of being hurt.

"Just start where you feel comfortable." Alex took her hand and placed it on his cheeks to provide her with some emotional support.

"Nick made me believe in love when he started courting me. He became my world, and I thought I was his." She began to recount to Alex the relationship she had with Nick.

It was a past that she had run away from but had eventually caught up with her. A relationship that she wished to forget. But her haunted memories and dreams never stopped and left her mind.