The Royal Contract

"You hardly know me," Troy said, slightly shocked with her proposal. She was not expecting she would suggest that to a stranger. "I don't even know your name. Besides, I can be a serial killer for all you know."

He looked at the woman sitting across from him on the couch, wondering what was going through her mind. He pondered if she was serious about running away from his father.

Then, again what about him. Was he even considering taking this girl with him? What about marriage? He believed he had gone insane because he was still contemplating it.

"Well, my name is Tyra Richards, so if you give me your name, then maybe we would not be strangers anymore." She stated without hesitation. Then, she moved a bit closer to him, shifting to face him. "Well, are you?" 

She waited for his response to her queries, still amazed at her boldness. She was used to fighting for her place in this world. Being in the fashion industry was not a forgiving profession. 

If her mother was only alive, she might not be in this situation now. But her mother died. She found herself stuck in the care of a father who only thought of his interest.

"Am I what?" His mind was still swirling with the idea and did not catch most of what she said.

"Are you a serial killer?" She repeated to him, snapping her fingers at him. "Would you focus and listen? I am Tyra, and you are?" She was becoming impatient because any time her father might look for her.

"I'm Troy, and no. I am not a serial killer." He finally answered her. "Tyra Richards, why does that name sound familiar?" He voiced out his curiosity once the name registered in his brain.

He had heard her name before, but he could not identify where he had. He searched his memory bank if he had met her somewhere. But he could swear now was the first time he saw her.

"Then, all we need to do, Troy, is to share some information, and then, if we think we can pull this fake marriage, then we are good to go." Tyra felt that it was that easy.

"But your proposal is insane. Why don't you just run away from your father?" Troy suggested, still finding her whole idea ridiculous.

"Because he would not stop forcing me to marry someone. I know that one way or another, he would be able to convince me to agree with him." She pointed out.

She now realized how naive she was not to see through to what his father was doing all this time. He manipulated her to think that it was all her idea to break up with Alex and go out with Edward.

He played her like a puppet, and she danced and acted according to the strings he used to control her. But she was afraid that he still had that hold on her until she found a way to break away.

"Still, asking the first person you see to marry you is not the solution." He stated, disbelieving the persistence of this girl.

"Should I wait for my father to find the man out there that I should marry tomorrow? I don't think he would be better than you. He would still be a stranger who would have a hold on me." She rationalized to him.

"Unlike if I find a man who would be willing to marry me with a price and a deal. Then, I can dictate my terms. I am the one in control of my situation and fate." She added.

It did sound so simple to her ears when she explained it to him. The idea was becoming more convincing as the minutes passed. She believed it was perfect for her plan to escape the clutches of her father.

"I don't know." Troy still was skeptical about her plans, knowing nothing about her background. But he still was puzzled with himself since he was still entertaining her crazy idea.

She was indeed beautiful, so he could not ignore that, but he was surrounded by many beautiful women every night. He should be immune to that. 

"Think about it. After a time, we can divorce. And then, problem-solve." She told him. "You will be richer, and I will have my freedom."

For years she had tried to stay away from her father. But her guilt of what happened in the past always pulled her back to him. She felt obligated to listen to him and agree with his suggestions.

"What makes you think that I will want your money?" He raised his eyebrows at her, curious to what she would say to that.

"I guess I always assumed that all want money even if they already have them. Money was money, no matter how I look at it. Everybody wants it." She told him what she thought.

Then, some form of sound penetrated her ears, disrupting their conversation. Something loud came from behind the closed door. Both of them turned to the door with inquiries on their faces.

"What do you think was happening outside?" Tyra voiced out her curiosity with the noise that came from outside.

In every minute that passed, there was applause, a lot of applause, then discussions that seemed to intensify. She could not help but wonder what was causing the raucous outside.

"I have no idea," Troy responded to her while straining his ears near the door, analyzing the possibilities.

He moved closer to the door, leaving Tyra by the couch, and peeked outside. From his position, all he could discern from the situation was the mixed reaction of the crowd.

He recognized some people on the stage, but the sound was blurry, and the words were unrecognizable. He was not surprised though, it was a party, and things were always bound to happen.

"Maybe we should check it out." She offered as she stood and walked towards Troy's side.

They quickly walked towards the crowd and listened to the announcements, shocked to see the people standing on the stage. They stood among the crowd listening, figuring if it had any relevance to them.

Eventually, all the commotion died down, and everything seemed to go back to normal. But Troy noticed two figured walked to the side and argued. He recognized the girl anywhere, even if he did not see her face.

But when he finally saw Cassie clinging to Nick, he could only think of one thing he wanted to do. "What about going out first? Let us get to know each other." He suggested as he turned away from the scene and focused his attention on Tyra.

Marriage was such a big step. Besides, Tyra still might change her mind when the alcohol in her brain wore off. Or, better yet, if her anger with her father subsided.

"Like a date?" She questioned, looking at him funnily. "I just asked you to marry me, and you answer me with a date. Now, I think something is wrong with you."

"Well, here is my card. Call me if you decide to go out with me." He told her. "Now, I have to go. You have until morning. Then I will be out of here." He smiled at her. "It was nice meeting you."

Now, it was up to her if she could change his mind and postpone moving by morning. His bags were packed. He was going with or without her. This time, he was not referring to Cassie.

He did not want to make any haste decisions and end up in another disastrous relationship with a strange woman, even if it was just a fake marriage.