The Royal Contract

She would probably tremble in tremendous fear if she did not trust the man beside her since they seemed to be treading in unknown territory. But thankfully, somehow, she knew he would not put her in danger.

At least her gut feeling told her. She only hoped that her instinct still functioned the way it should, or else she would be in big trouble. It did fail her before, as her mind kept reminding her.

“Of course! I do.” He confidently answered as he turned to a narrower track away from the highway.

She noticed they were already on the outskirt of the main town. From her observation, they were heading further into a rocky rough road part away from civilization.

“Where are we going again?” She could not help but ask, but funnily, she sounded calm.

She guessed this would be the perfect place if he planned to do anything dreadful with her. She could scream at the top of her lungs, and no one would hear her. He could dump her body on those bushes or bury her on those soils, and no one would probably find her.

But that was her silly brain starting to imagine things as the light from the main road disappeared, and the darkness enveloped the entire place. The only light in their path came from the headlights.

“I told you I would show you something more spectacular than the view you saw earlier.” He reminded her of this morning.

.....

She remembered, but she was not paying much attention to it since she had no intention of going out with him. If not for her ex-boyfriend, she should be slumping on the couch, eating junk food while watching an old re-run.

But instead, here she was, running away, hiding from the man that could ruin her and her son’s life again. But she would deal with him if he started to pursue her and her son but not now when she was not ready.

“Isn’t that what the psycho killer says before they whack their victims?” She asked in her internal monologue as she gazed ahead. She was not thinking of the man beside her but picturing the father of her son in her head. He was the biggest psycho that almost destroyed her life.

The dim glow of the tiny piece of the moon barely helped with the visibility as the shadow overpowered it. But still, she appreciated the millions of stars that littered the sky.

It had been a long time since she had seen such a sight. The smog polluting the air in the city had almost covered the atmosphere. People hardly see so many stars anymore covering the sky, not like the one before her.

“I would not know since I am not one.” He answered as he glanced her way before concentrating back on the road.

She just realized she had spoken her thoughts loudly, and he heard every word. She quickly looked his way, afraid he might be offended, but he did not seem to be.

His face appeared more amused than anything else as a smile curved into his reddish lips. “I’m sorry. Maybe it would make the situation better if I said I was not thinking about you when I said that.”

What else could she do but apologize? Although, she was not lying about what she said. In her mind, Ryan was the psycho, and she had better found a way to stop him if he decided to come after her and her son.

“That is good to hear.” He smiled at her, pretending to look relieved. But she was surprised by what he said next. “Then, who was it you were referring to?” As he glanced her way.

She had no idea what to say to him. Should she tell him the truth or come up with another lie? But she was not good at creating a story. She was terrible at lying.

“Is this the place you are talking about?” She looked outside her window, noticing the beautiful house standing in the middle of nowhere. She was indeed surprised, but she also used the moment to ignore his question.

“Yes, this is the place. But that is not the surprise.” He pointed to the house, parked the car at the front, and then turned off the engine.

She hoped not because she could not find anything extraordinary about the view before her. Yes, it was a massive structure constructed beautifully, but it was still just a house.

“Whose place is this?” She asked because she did not want to get caught trespassing on private property. Although the gigantic gate had automatically opened when they arrived, it did not mean they had any right to enter the premises.

“I called a friend who owned it and asked to borrow it. We loved to go here during vacation. It is the reason I am familiar with this place.” Zach explained to her.

He exited the car and immediately opened her door, waiting to assist her. She was getting used to it. But, of course, he must be like this to all the girls. She was nothing special.

Soon, they entered the lovely home since he knew the passcode of the alarm system. Maybe he was not lying about knowing the owner as they proceeded into the living room.

“Are you thirsty or hungry? I think the caretaker of this place always replenishes the stock in case there are guests.” He offered as he walked towards the bar with a mini fridge hidden underneath it.

She guessed he knew his way around the place as she looked around the spacious ground floor. When she tilted her head, she saw that it had rooms on the second floor, with long spiral stairs on the other end.

She realized it was a home built more for comfort than a luxurious getaway. No wonder they would like to go here on vacation to relax. Even the cushion was inviting as she stared at it.

“Just water.” She told him, feeling the food was still digesting in her stomach.

But she could see the appeal of wanting a place like this. She liked this house more than the hotel where they were staying. It was quiet and relaxing.

Maybe if she worked hard enough, she could afford a place like this one day. She could dream but making it come true was another matter. Still, there was no harm in it.

“Why don’t you sit down while I make a phone call? I want to inform the caretaker that we are here so he would not be alarmed, thinking we are intruders.” He walked to another room, closed the door, and left her to explore.

Aside from the expensive paintings and decorations, there was nothing personal that she could see except for a portrait of a couple. She would assume that they were the owners of this place.

Probably the parents of Zach’s friend.

But they looked oddly familiar, but what did she know about faces as she moved along? But she could not help but wonder if Zach did belong to a prominent family. How else would he have rich friends?