The Royal Contract

"Hi! Did you miss me?" He moved towards her without waiting for an invitation from her. 

He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer until there was no more space separating them. She barely closed the door as he lowered his head and claimed her lips without her permission.

But as soon as his lips touched hers, she knew that she had lost, finding herself mesmerized by his kiss, trapped in his embrace. His power over her was still eminent at the way he dominated them.

"Wait!" Cassie suddenly pushed him, pulling herself away from him when she felt him starting to remove her robe. But this was not the time for their reunion.

She surely had missed him. It had been a long time since they were together, but it was a necessary sacrifice for the fulfillment of their dreams.

"What?" He asked, a bit frustrated that she pulled away from him. "I'm tired of being separated from you. You know how much I miss you. I am tired of doing this mission for you. Why can't we go away and start over somewhere else?"

He had been thinking about it for a while. It was an option that was slowly becoming a good alternative compared to the life they had now. If only he could convince her to do what he wanted.

"You know why." She answered, irritated at him as she secured her robe back together. "You can't be seen with me. You can't be here." She started to panic, realizing that Nick could arrive at any moment and catch them.

"Remind me again why we are doing this. Because my brain seems to have forgotten why we need to do this." He moved to the living room and sat on the couch, not planning to leave any time soon.

"Because I need to do this for my family. For the injustice that they had suffered under the hands of the great Ethan Hamilton." She said as if that should be enough reason for all of this.

"But they are dead. We are still alive." He told her, not at all convinced that they should continue with their plans.

"I told you I would make them pay for everything they took from my family," Cassie answered stubbornly, refusing to listen to his reason. 

She was full of contempt, her hands fisted at her side, and her eyes glazed with so much fury, just thinking of the past.

"I understand that. I know I promised that I would help you achieve that. But is it not enough that you had ruined Nick and Dani's relationship? You also destroyed Dani and her father's bond." Nick said, pulling Cassie on his lap when she came close enough to his reach.

"That would never be enough. I want to see the great Ethan on his knees begging for forgiveness. I want to see him suffer just the same way as my father did." Cassie said, remembering the saddest part of her life.

She saw his father killed himself for losing everything he had worked hard for, pulling a gun on his mouth. He could not accept that he had failed as a father and a husband to provide a good life for his family.

She would never forget the hardship that she and her mother had to go through to survive. But only to end up with a mother who did not know what to do until she also succumbed to drinking and drugs, ending up dead due to an overdose.

"But we are already doing ok. You are not poor anymore. And you already have me. Why do you need to take revenge when we can both run away and have a good life together?" He could hear the plea in his voice as he tried to make her see his point of view.

He could understand the pain she was going through. They were both broken by the system when they found each other. They swore to help each other climbed out of their hell hole.

Now that they both had earned enough money, he felt that it should be enough for them to start afresh. He was tired and wanted to have a good and peaceful life with her.

"No, we are not yet through." She looked at him, trying to read his expression.

"But I think..." He wanted to tell her that he did not want to push through with their plans, but she stopped him.

"Please don't tell me that you will abandon me just like what my parents did. They just left me with all their problems on my own." She let the tears ran down her cheeks, seeing the hesitation in his eyes.

She pulled him to her, kissing him passionately, not wanting to lose the only person who truly understood who she was. She straddled him, holding on to him, afraid that he might leave her for good.

When she pulled away from their kiss and looked into his eyes, she saw the familiar love they had shared ever since they had met. He had been her protector, and she took care of him. It was a relationship of giving and take.

"I am not leaving you. I can never do that to you. But I hope that whatever you are doing is healing you and not breaking you into pieces." He looked into her eyes, making her see that her pain was also his.

"I know what I am doing. I need to do this to be whole again." She insisted as she stood firm.

"I hope you are right. Because I don't know if I can put you back together again if that ever happens." He answered her, remembering the time he first took her in his arms.

He knew that what they had was complicated. He loved Cassie with her whole heart, and he knew that she felt the same way about him. But her hatred had prevented her from having a piece of mind.

He swore to help her during those dark times so that she could finally find peace. But he was not sure anymore if what they were doing was the right thing to do. If seeking revenge was the way for her to heal.

"If you don't want to help me, then I can't stop you from leaving." She stood up from her position and walked to the door, opening it for him. "I will hate to see you go, but I will not stop you."

She loved him, but if he did not wish to help her anymore, and then she would not keep him. If she had to do her mission on her own, she would. 

"I love you, and I wished you would reconsider my proposal. But if not, I am still not leaving you. I will wait for you until you wake up from this nonsense." He told her as he walked past her into the hallway without a goodbye and without looking back.

She closed the door with tears running down her cheeks. She could not stop now, not when she was so close to her victory. If it was their destiny to be together, and then she would find her way back to him.

But she would not stop just because of him from seeking revenge.