The Royal Contract

All he wanted was to marry the woman he loved, but planning a wedding amidst the tragedy happening around him appeared to be not a good sign. Somehow, they had to hit pause with their plans.

David, his bestfriend, had to face the possibility of mourning for the only woman he loved. They never thought that they would end up like Alex, but here they were, madly in love with one woman.

Then, Gerald, his colleague, was found dead of a gunshot wound and burned for an unknown reason. Whoever did it was still at large. Whatever the motive was had remained a mystery.

Then, there was Eida. She was silently grieving for the love of her life, who was about to get married to another woman. She might deny how much she was in pain, but he could see it in her eyes.

The only good thing that happened around them recently was the birth of Ares, the son of Alex and Dani. At least, somehow, his birth negated death and tragedy. But was it enough to make him think life was worth living?

Then, a voice infiltrated his thoughts, snapping him back to the present. “Hey, Evan.” She called his attention as she leaned against his body and touched his chest. “What seems to be bothering you?” The woman in his arms asked.

At least this beautiful woman cradled in his body made every challenging part of his life worth living and fighting. Their relationship might not have been ideal at the start. It was not perfect until now.

He enjoyed every second he had spent with her, even the hardships because it taught him many things about how to love. He was no expert, but somewhat, he had managed to do just fine.

.....

“I want to marry you soon, but...” He said, slightly hesitating. He could not stop thinking of all the possibilities. What if something happened to one of them? What then? Would he still have a chance to marry her? Or if he died, would it be fair that she would become a young widow?

Then again, could he keep waiting for the perfect timing? Until all their friends were ok before taking the next step in their relationship by marrying her. Or should he take matters into his hand and marry her as soon as he could arrange it?

He had thought about it before. Was it the right thing to do? But how would he know, leaving him to wonder more about it? Then, he shifted his gaze to his fiance as they both lay down on the bed,

“And you know that is what I also want. I could not wait to be your wife. But I do understand if you need to postpone our wedding. We can always do it some other time.” Amelia offered with a reassuring smile. “There is no rush.” She added, as usual, never demanding.

He did not know how he found luck after what he had done in his past. He still could not believe lady luck had found a way for them to meet. But he could not help but fear that his fortune might not last long and eventually run out.

Fate would exact its punishment for all his wrong deeds. Then, Amelia would realize that he was not the one for her. What would he do when she decided to leave him? He just could not let that happen.

“Yeah, we can.” But his voice lacked the conviction.

True, he agreed about what she said. He could marry her some other time. However, he believed he could not wait. He wanted her so much. He wanted her to be his wife now and enjoy their life together while they still could.

He did not want one of them to suffer the same fate as their friends, David and Rosella. Or even Gerald and Haley, who would never get the chance to be together.

“I also don’t want to wait.” She suddenly told him, surprising him. It appeared they might be thinking of the same thing. “I think we should marry now.” She said, this time with determination.

She leaned on her palms as she lifted her head to look at him. He could see that she was not joking about this. He stared into her eyes, studying them, thinking whether he should take her seriously.

“What are you saying? Are you ok with us getting married without our friends?” But thinking about it, they were mostly his friends. Amelia just recently met them through him.

“I think you should be asking yourself that question. After all, those people are your friends, not mine. I only need Angela, Eida, and Luisa present at my wedding. I don’t even mind if my father doesn’t come.” She said to him with all seriousness.

He contemplated what she said as she returned to his chest, using it as a pillow for her head. She probably could hear the wild throbbing of his heart as it beat only for her.

And it gradually increased as excitement coursed through his vein just thinking about marrying her. He believed he had been ready since he had bought her ring and proposed to her. And he could not wait for anyone else to make her his wife.

“I think we should get married now.” Evan abruptly stood up and pulled her up with him. “I think I should have the jet ready. So we can fly to Vegas as soon as possible.”

Amelia only looked at him, slightly flabbergasted, as her eyes widened, unable to believe what he had said. “We could not just get married.” She uttered in surprise.

He quickly walked to the closet, dragging her with him. “We need to pack a few things because we are booking a few days for our wedding and honeymoon.” He added with a wink.

“This is insane. Nobody could arrange a wedding just like that.” She said that they had been planning for weeks and hardly were anywhere. “Besides, I can’t marry you if it is just the two of us.” She protested.

“Of course, we are not getting married without our family.” Then, he tugged her gently out of their room into the kitchen, where he could hear noises.

“Ok. Attention, everyone. That includes you, my little princess.” He clapped his hands to make the others shift their gazes in his direction. “Look and listen.” He continued when all eyes were on him, except for Luisa, who was busy playing with her fingers.

“I need you to wrap all this up. Let us finish breakfast as soon as possible.” He pointed to the food that his grandmother was cooking. “Then, please start packing your things.”

“What is the meaning of this?” His grandmother looked at him oddly. Maybe thinking he was going insane. Strangely enough, it might be the case.

He was insanely in love with his fiance and could not wait for their union to be over. He would not wait for some tragic incident before he acted on his promise to make her an official part of his life.

“We...” He pointed at Amelia and then at himself. “... are getting married today.” It was still early. A few hours’ flights, then they would be at the church, saying their “I do.”

“That is preposterous. What foolish air got inside that head of yours.” Angela walked over to her and patted his cheeks as if trying to wake him up from his nonsense.

“That is what I was saying to him.” Amelia walked over to Luisa, lifting her from her portable cradle and dancing with the little child in her arms. “I think you should put some sense into your Uncle Evan.” She mumbled to her little ears.

“Hey, I heard that. And that is not an insane idea.” He complained as he walked over to the child and asked if he could hold her.

Somehow, he had learned not to be afraid of her. She was just a child, so fragile but so adorable too. He knew he could squash her with his arms. Therefore, he cradled her with gentleness he never knew he possessed.

“Tell them, Luisa, my idea was the sanest idea I had ever had.” He tried to coerce the child to work with him in convincing these ladies to cooperate.

When she smiled, he knew that she agreed with her. “You see. Even Luisa believed we should do it.”

Then, he turned to the three women looking at him. “You said it yourself, Amelia. You only need them to be present at your wedding. And I agree with you. All we need is them.”

They could always remarry some other time. Then, they could finally celebrate their union with their family and friends. But for now, he only wanted the most important people in their lives at this very moment to join them in this union, their immediate family.