The Royal Contract

The circus that Edward and Nick started eventually died down, and the regular program resumed, much to the relief of the organizers. The night was not yet over, and the event must go on.

Alex escorted Dani back to the party, seeing their friends converging in the center of the ballroom. Mingling with their friends, he then realized that Marcus was nowhere in sight.

"Congratulations, Alex. You never mentioned to us that you are going to inherit Hamilton's multibillion-dollar group of company." David clapped him in the back to show his support. 

"I could not say it until Ethan announced it," Alex explained it to David, but he knew hundreds of questions were already swirling in his mind about this arrangement.

He could only bring one lawyer to the negotiation table because he did not want Ethan to think he was making a hostile takeover of his company. So, he only took Marcus as his second in command.

Ever since Marcus accepted Dani in his life, things between them had slowly returned to normal. Eventually, Alex informed him about his plans, and Marcus guided him to the legalities.

"Well, it was a real surprise. It was like you won a lottery," Evan expressed with excitement. "But I better shut up." He suddenly realized what he implied in front of Dani.

"Don't worry. It only looks like Alex had won a lottery, but it is worse than that." Dani assured Evan that she was not offended by his statement. "He also inherited the entire burden of running that place."

She wanted to put some enthusiasm in her voice, but it still ended up sounding like she just gave him a death sentence. But in truth, it was like Alex was about to sit in the electric chair and not a throne.

"You look stunning in that gown." Rosella complimented the dress she was wearing as she came closer to her side. At least that distracted her from her thoughts.

"You look lovely too, Rosella." She told her in a friendly tone. She was glad that David seemed to be finally settling with one girl. She did like David. She sensed that he was a good man.

"Just call me, Rose. Well, most of my friends do, except for David. He likes calling me by my name, Rosella." She offered, wanting her to consider her as a friend.

"Then, call me Dani too." She could feel that they would hit it off. She sensed that they had a few things that they had in common. They continued to talk while the men talked, on their side. 

Jacky, on the other hand, excused herself from Lance's side and joined Dani and Rose. She had enough of the surprises. She wanted answers from her friend.

"But what about the Council?" Lance suddenly reminded his cousin about their arrangement with their family back home, pulling him away from the others. 

He had sensed this was what Alex had been aiming for since he started his business in this country. But he could not help think of the faith of their kingdom in the hands of Edward.

After training in this country under his cousin, Lance counted on Alex to realize that Edward was not fit for the throne. Then, he would eventually decide that he should take his place as their king.

"I will deal with them when I visit them," Alex whispered to his cousin, remembering seeing his cousin with Jacky in his arms earlier.

He wondered what was happening with them. But he would deal with that another time. Besides, it was not his problem to meddle with in the first place. As of now, he already had his problems to solve.

At least his father agreed with his ideas. He supported what he wanted to do with his life. He believed that should be enough approval he needed to proceed with his plan.

"Yeah, I guess," Lance answered him, a bit disappointed with the turn of events.

But he could not blame Alex for wanting a different life. Everybody deserved to follow their heart's desire. Maybe he should follow his advice and follow what he believed he desired.

He looked at the woman in his arms earlier, which was the object of his affection. He did not want to think any more about the rules and the what-ifs. He would deal with it when the time came. For now, he would try to follow his heart.

"Have anybody seen Marcus?" Alex asked his friends, who seemed to be too busy to notice that he was not around.

"I think I saw him walking to the bar earlier," Evan said, recalling the earlier scene in his mind.

"Well, if you will excuse me for a few minutes, I need something from him." He informed Dani that he would be back and walked in the direction of the bar.

He was glad that their friends were all here to support them. But there was still one thing he had to do before the night was over, and he would need their friends to help him.

But now, he needed Marcus to set it up for him because he could not pull this off by himself. He wanted this night to be memorable for Dani. He did not wish the earlier event as the last thing she remembered about this night.

"Marcus, are you ready with the plan," Alex asked him, and he nodded with a smile.

"Of course, I am. I'm just waiting for your signal." Marcus told him.

He knew that he could not mess this up. It was seldom that Alex asked for personal favors, and it would be perfect.

The signal was when almost all the other guests had left. He wanted the final scene to be an intimate event, with only their families and friends would remain as their guests.

"Then, everything is set." He uttered with a shaky breath. He could feel that he was nervous, but there was no reason to be. 

"Everything is all set, man. All we need is to wait for the people to leave." Marcus promised him that everything would work according to their plan.

Marcus never saw his friend in such a state. Alex could go toe to toe to the king and even probably to the President of their country but never be this agitated.

"Good. Why don't you join us? The group is having a blast." He offered, seeing that he was drinking alone in the bar. 

He was still far from being drunk, but he was still concerned about him. He had a clear idea why he was acting this way. He believed that it had to do with Jacky being in the arms of Lance.

"No. I want to be alone for a while. You go ahead. I promise I will join later." Marcus said to his friend. "Don't worry. I will make sure that all is perfect later." He added, noticing his friend's worry lines.

"Ok. But be sure to join us once the crowd starts leaving." He instructed Marcus, who only nodded but never looked his way again.

Marcus was just too proud to admit that he had made a mistake or too stupid to realize what he had lost.. But the bottom line was, he was miserable for losing the one valuable person in his life.