The Royal Contract

Her father, Ethan, was already waiting for them at the library where they would stay. Her father would play the good host and entertain them until they transferred to the dining room for dinner. She was used to this kind of scenario. 

She would assume that this was a family dinner for the three of them. Then again, she ended up entertaining several guests that her father invited. They could either be family friends or business associates. 

A few times, her father used this occasion to introduce her to some of his associates' sons. He always said that it was an opportunity to socialize and build relations. This time, she wondered who would be joining them for this elaborate feast.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked her, noticing she was unusually silent since her mother left them.

"Nothing. I was just wondering why my father invited us for dinner." She told him as they neared the room.

She found it odd the way her father was behaving. She remembered his unusual behavior this morning. Going to her office to say hi and checked her working condition. He had many paid people to do that. He did not usually do his dirty deeds to spy on her.

"Isn't this a normal occurrence in your home?" He assumed that dinner with her father was something that they routinely did. It would seem that he was wrong.

"I have not been home for a long time, especially for dinner." She confided in him. 

She loved her mom, and she wanted to visit her often, but she never liked the dinner they usually had as a family.

"Why? You seemed to be super close to your mom." He did not realize that she was also going through the same thing as his situation at home. Maybe not the same, but it had some similarities.

"My mom is great, but Dad is a little bit infuriating to be around." She was not sure why she was opening up to him now. Maybe being in this house again was making her emotional or illogical. "But don't get me wrong. I love both of them."

"I think we are not so different after all." He stated as they finally arrived at the opened door. He stopped whatever he still wanted to say when he saw her father.

When Ethan saw them, he immediately called for them to enter the room. She was a bit surprised to see that the library was empty except for her father. Were they too early for dinner, she wondered when nobody else was around.

Usually, there would be at least two or more guests already sitting with her father. He would be bursting in laughter as he entertained his guests. But tonight, it was just the three of them, which in her opinion, was very odd.

"Alex, welcome to our humble abode. I am sure that our home is far less grand than yours, but I hope it is still worth your presence." Her father said to Alex.

Both of them were a bit surprised by her father's greeting, but Alex recovered fast.

"Your home surpassed all my expectations. It is as grand as my father's home, but I think yours is more modern and elegant." He was not lying if he would base it on the structure of the building. This house would be far up-to-date than the palace where his father lived.

But he wondered what Ethan meant with his words. He believed that Ethan already knew his true identity. Based on Dani's face, she was as shocked as him. It meant that she still had no clue of who he was.

And the way Ethan compared his home with his father, he could only guess that he already had a meeting with him. He was amazed by what Ethan could do, but he was not surprised at all. He expected that much from him.

"I appreciate that, and I will take that as a compliment." Ethan offered them a seat and some drinks.

"Maybe later, Dad." Dani declined, still confused at the exchange she just witnessed. There was something in the way they were conversing. She tried to analyze each word, hoping to decipher their hidden messages. Then, it clicked in her mind.

Her father was not talking about Alex's house, but his father. Then, she wondered why her father would say that Alex had a grander home. Was Alex richer than her father? If so, she should know about it. The news would be all over him. It all did not make sense.

Although it was no surprise that her father already had his background check on Alex, it was something that she was expecting to happen.

"I'll take one." Alex did not want to refuse his host.

Ethan poured scotch for them in each glass. He did not put a cube of ice in Alex's, but he got one for himself before handing the drink to Alex.

"Thanks." Alex accepted the glass with a smile. His quick observation did not miss what just happened.

It would seem that Ethan even knew how he liked his drink. It was clear that Ethan already had him investigated, and he was not hiding it from him. It was a tactic of intimidation that usually worked on lesser men. But he was not that man.

He was more interested in their situation. He would enjoy learning from this man in front of him. He always wondered how his mind works. How he achieved such success? Now, he was in the front row, and he planned to take advantage of it. 

"Dad, why are we here?" Dani could not help questioning her father's motives.

She could sense that her father was gauging Alex with the way he was acting. She wanted to laugh and say that it was not necessary. Her father was getting worked up with a scenario that was not real. 

It would seem that her father was acting a bit strange. It would seem that he was protecting her from him. It was kind of funny that this time, her father chose to be righteous.