The Royal Contract

Adam looked up at the tall building before him. It was not the same as the one he was in earlier, but it was as imposing and luxurious, judging by its size and design. And their family also owned this one.

Serena Anderson was a famous actress and sister of his friend, David. How could he miss that? But he was a busy man with many responsibilities, and taking note of who was famous was not his priority.

Anyway, he was only here to take his file and nothing more. It was easy to track the actress down. All he had to do was call his friend, David and explain his situation, which was slightly awkward.

“Good luck with my sister,” David told him afterward, seeing the security video of their unfortunate encounter. “From what I saw, she will not make it easy for you.”

Then, he gave him the address of her residence where he might find her. But David could not guarantee if she would be home because she moved a lot from one place to another.

His friend offered to deal with his sister, but he declined. It was his mess. He needed to clean this up.

.....

At that moment, he stood in the reception area, hoping to check if she was home. But the receptionist would not entertain him without an invitation from the actress.

Fortunately, he had a few friends working in this building as well. A few phone calls later, he was on his way to her apartment floor. He immediately knocked on her apartment door, but it swung slightly ajar.

“Get out!” He heard a feminine voice shout inside. Then, a masculine voice responded as if he was consoling her. He could not hear much from the doorway, so he could not conclude what he heard.

He tried to peek through the door but barely saw anything. He did not intend to eavesdrop on other people’s affairs, but that girl could be in trouble.

Although, he also thought it could also be nothing. Barging inside without probable cause would be trespassing unless he had reason to believe the girl required help.

“I am sorry...” Adam heard a few words coming from the man. Then, she said something, but he hardly made out a word.

Then, in the small slit on the door, he saw that the man had her in his arms, kissing her, and it appeared she liked it. There went his detective skills. It was probably just some lover’s quarrel.

Anyway, he should probably come back later. It did not seem appropriate for him to be standing outside the door while they were making out. It would look creepy and stalkerish.

He had barely stepped away from the door when he heard her again. “Stop!” She did not shout this time, but it was loud and clear enough as it reached his ears. “I want you to stop and get out of my life for good.” She repeated, louder this time.

This time, he heard the distress in her voice. He looked again at the opening and saw her struggling in his arms. “You don’t know what you are saying. You are just angry.” The guy said arrogantly at her.

“You know you can’t live without me. That is why you keep coming back.” The man hissed at her. This time, Adam could not keep his hands to himself as he pushed the door and barged inside the room.

He witnessed the man grabbing her by her golden hair when she tried to get out of his grip. Then he slapped her hard, right across the cheeks, for resisting his advances. The famous actress landed on the couch with a thud.

“Hey!” Adam shouted, getting the man’s attention, but before the other guy could look at him, he grabbed him by the collar of his neck and pulled him away from her, slamming him on the other side of the room.

Of course, he let one of his fist land on his face before finally letting him go. He could not allow what he did to her to get away without any consequence. He was lucky that he could still control himself.

Although he did not condone violence, he could not stop himself from retaliating. He hated seeing men taking advantage of a woman because they thought they were stronger. That was just wrong in his book.

The other guy was big, but he was not small either. “Serena already asked you to leave.” The other man was surprised by his sudden appearance in the scene, but he quickly recovered.

“And who are you?” The man faced him, ready to punch him in the face, but he dodged his attack, pushing him away this time.

“It is none of your business who I am. But you have no right to hurt anyone.” Adam fisted his hand on his side, trying his best not to beat the crap out of this idiot.

The man quickly stood up again but did not bother to come closer. “What are you even doing in my girlfriend’s apartment?” He asked as if telling him that he had no right to interfere in their business.

Adam stood between him and the actress, protecting her from the so-called boyfriend. “From what I heard, she just ended your relationship. So, you are free to leave.” He commented, pointing to the door.

“Serena, who is this clown? Do you even know this guy?” The man shouted at him as he questioned the woman behind him. “If you know what is good for you, you will mind your own business.” He continued throwing threats at him.

“Elliot, just leave.” She finally stood behind her unknown savior, hoping her ex would get the message. “I don’t want to see you ever again.”

She wrapped her arms around the stranger’s body. “I am seeing him now.”

She hoped her act would finally convince her ex to leave and never come back. It was her fault for letting scumbags like this man into her life. She should have known better to pick better men and learned from her past.

“You are picking this nobody over me.” Elliot laughed as it echoed in the room. “You’re more fucking crazy than I thought.” He picked up his coat that was lying on the couch. “Don’t come back to me crying.” Then, he marched out the door.

She could only hope it was for good.

When the door closed with a bang, she quickly pulled away from the stranger in her apartment. She did not exactly have a good look at his face. But when she did, she could tell it looked familiar.

But she was still shaking from the experience, and her face was still hurting from the impact. Could she, at least, get a few deep breaths and a pack of ice first?