The Royal Contract

"Have you reached your daughter?" Ethan asked as his private nurse helped him on his chair.

He was recovering at a good pace but not fast enough for his liking. He wanted to be back to his old self, but the doctors informed him that it would take time for his operation to heal and his strength from coming back.

"Not yet. Maybe something is wrong with Dani's phone. I'll try to contact Jacky instead in a bit." Laura moved around their room as she cleaned up and prepared for the day.

She was not alarmed about their daughter's whereabouts. She knew if she found herself in trouble, they would immediately inform them about her condition.

"You do that. I want to see my daughter tomorrow with her fiancé." He directed his wife.

He was bored out of his mind since he got out of the hospital. Laura was still adamant on her rules that he could not discuss any business during his recovery.

Laura assured him that Alex was doing a great job in running his business. But he still would like to hear some details coming from him. 

Besides that, he genuinely missed his daughter, who had not been around to visit him. He knew that she was going through many cases, but it should not be a reason not to have time to see him.

"Let me see what I can do, but I can't force her if she is busy." She reasoned to her husband, who was becoming more irrational every day that went by.

She was a bit concerned, but she knew she should take a stronger stand against his wishes to work and stress himself. She would believe his doctors rather than be sorry in the end.

"Well, she and Alex should make time for an old, dying man." He insisted as he signaled for his nurse to leave the room.

He could not help but be sentimental about his condition. He felt like he was an imbecile who could not even take care of himself. Would he still be the same if he did recover?

"You are not dying, not if I can help it." Laura pointed out all the effort she was making to keep him alive. "So, please listen to me." She could not stress her reasons enough for him to understand.

She could see that he was starting to lose hope. She began to doubt if she was doing him the right thing by taking what he most loved away from him.

But she could not tolerate the stress that it caused him every time he dealt with his empire. She was so glad that he finally turned over the reign to Alex, but it seemed not good enough.

"Well, I might as well be because I am going out of my mind being coop up in this place without anyone else to talk to about anything else." He complained as he grabbed the remote of the television.

It was the only connection he had with the outside world. It was his only source of information about what was happening with his company and with his competitions.

He did have several visitors, relatives, friends, and business associates. However, he was tired of talking about the weather or the nonsense topic.

"Come now, honey. Stop doing that to yourself. You will be strong again. Then, we can live, normally again." His wife pleaded with him to be open-minded about his situation.

He could already see her expression change. Her earlier enthusiastic outlook had disappeared, replaced with the worried line on her beautiful face.

"Fine. I will try to make an effort this time, but call your daughter because I want to see them." He told her, needing to see Dani, not just to talk but to tell her how much he loved her.

In all honesty, he had some things that he wished to share with her. He wanted to clear the air between them. If anything would happen to him, he had to tell her the truth about their misunderstandings.

"Ok. I will try Jacky's line. Maybe she is with her, or she might know where she is." She dialed Jacky's number.

She had already tried calling her daughter's number, but she was out of coverage. She also did it with Alex's number, but she came up with the same result.

Finally, Jacky answered her call. "Yes, Laura. What can I do for you?" She asked over the line.

She was slightly startled that Dani's mother was calling her. She rarely did that, but she realized that she might be looking for Dani. With her phone unreachable, she was the first person she would call.

"I am trying to reach Dani, but I can't seem to contact her," Laura stated as she began to search for answers to her questions. "Do you have an idea where Dani and Alex are right now?"

If anyone had an idea of their whereabouts, it would be Jacky. She always made it a point to know where her friend was most of the time, making her the best friend that any parents would want for their child.

"Well, Alex took her to an island for a quick vacation. Unfortunately, the communication had some problems, the reason why we can't contact them." She continued to explain to Dani's mother the situation.

She did not want her to worry any further when there was no cause for it. Her friend was safe with Alex and having a great time. They could all relax until they came back from their trip.

"That is nice to hear. Can you inform me when I can contact Dani or Alex? I need to talk to her." Laura notified Jacky. 

She was glad to hear that her daughter was safe and in good hands, having some time to relax and having some fun. Although, she would have preferred her home at the moment with her father, who needed her.

"I will sure to give you a call as soon as I hear from Dani," Jacky promised Laura before ending the call. 

She could not disappoint Laura since she was like the closest mother to her. Growing up in foster homes, surrounded by parents who never gave a damn, was not an ideal way to grow up.

Meeting Laura was like heaven-sent since she became her guardian angel.