The Royal Contract

1039 With nowhere else to go

“Ok. Then, have a good night, Ria. I will see you tomorrow.” He seemed disappointed, but he did not insist like the other times. He forced a smile on his lips and then turned around.

Then, Zach was gone, going down the hallway as he disappeared from her sight. She concluded that something might have happened to him. Maybe it was the girl from earlier.

Suddenly, she remembered that she thought she had seen him at the office of Mr. Stark. But she was still not sure about that. Besides, why would he abruptly leave without saying a word, and why did he not mention it just now?

“Sure, I will see you tomorrow.” She responded, but she was unsure if he had heard her.

Somehow, she felt guilty for declining his offer. He was there when she needed him. Now that he seemed to need company, she could not oblige his simple request.

However, her situation still made it hard for her to think about him or herself. If she saw Ryan again, it could bring more complications to their lives. She did not care much about her, but she would protect her son, no matter what it took.

“Stop beating yourself up. You have to do the right thing for Edison.” She told herself as she closed the door.

She decided to make it up to her partner in another way once back home.

After all, she did not want to waste the friendship they had already shared, even if it was just for a fleeting moment.

.....

Anyway, she was glad that the clients had already signed the papers. They could finally go home, and she could finally see her son. One night more, and this would be all over. She could revert to her old, boring life.

“Dinner, right?” She almost forgot as she walked back further into the room.

She was about to pick up the phone to make a call for room service when it rang. She wondered who could be calling her. Who else but the desk? She thought.

“Yes, I am glad you called.” She immediately picked it up and was about to ask for a menu from their food services. But the call did not come from the hotel staff.

She almost dropped the phone when she heard his voice again. “I am also glad that I called. I was thinking of inviting you to my suite for dinner. Should I pick you up in your room in five minutes?”

His voice echoed in her ears, and his words were like knives piercing her skin. It brought chills to her spine, making her tremble from fear. First, how did he know where she was?

That was a dumb question since he was Ryan Brett, son of a powerful Senator. She heard that he would soon follow in his father’s footsteps as they groomed him for a position.

“I don’t know your game, Ryan, but I am not playing. So, better stop this nonsense and leave me alone.” She hissed through the phone, unable to contain her contempt for this man.

“Come now, baby. I know I made a mistake. I am sure for the sake of our son. You will at least try to forgive me.” He mellowed his voice down, trying to coerce her to agree.

But his tricks would not work on her again. She was a fool to believe his flowery words and empty promises. But she had learned never to trust this man ever again.

“Son?” She laughed out loud when she spoke that single word. “You do not have a son. You lost your right to my son when you signed those papers.” She reminded him, hoping that would work and he would finally leave her and her son alone.

It seemed that her fear had finally materialized. She just hoped that this was just a temporary phase. Her ex-boyfriend was using her son to rattle her for whatever game this was to him.

But after he lost, he would revert to not caring that he once impregnated her and had a son. Then, she could go back to living with her son in peace.

“That was a mistake. After seeing you, I know I should never have left you. I should have married you and been a father to my son.” He continued on the phone. “Please, have dinner with me, and let us talk about this.”

The nerve of this man. Did he think that it was as simple as that? He did not even sound like he was sorry. But he was demanding that she hear him out.

For what, a reconciliation?

That was funny.

When she begged him to take responsibility, he laughed at her, denying the child in her belly was his. He accused her of sleeping with other men, calling her a whore.

Then, when she begged him to help her with their son’s health condition, he turned his back on her. Luckily, she met Ms. Daniella. She came to her rescue. If not for her lawyer, her son would have died.

She owed a lot to the good Samaritans, Ms. Daniella and Mr. Alex, who had gone beyond their obligations of representing her interest in her case. But until now, they were there to guide her.

“That was your mistake. Now, live with it.” She told him, mustering all the confidence she had acquired since he left her.

She did not want to hear any more of his lies. Because once those did not work, he would resort to his demands, intimidations, and blackmails. However, experience told her that those were not idle threats. She was better off avoiding him until she was out of this place.

She dropped the phone out of her hands and let it dangle on the side of the table. Then, she ran around the room, grabbing her bag, phone and keys. She could get her other things later.

In the meantime, she needed to be out of there. She had to be miles away before he decided to come down and confront her in person. Luckily, he had given her a heads-up by calling first instead of dropping at her doorstep unannounced. Or else she would not have time to escape.

She almost broke the button on the elevator as she continued to press it. She could not run down the stairs since she was way up the building. But every second the doors did not open, the more her fear grew. Her heart felt like it fell to the floor when the doors finally opened, and a man greeted her.

She suddenly felt like a trapped animal with nowhere else to go.