The Royal Contract

Adam was just her lawyer, nothing else. She had fired countless people before and never felt anything like this. She had a terrible sensation in her gut that would not go away.

Nevertheless, she thought she could get out of this place while he was at work. She did not expect he would come home early and catch her.

She intended to leave without saying goodbye to him. She did not want this awkwardness she felt now. It would have been easier if she had just sent him a thank you note with the check.

“I don’t think that is it. There is something you are not telling me.” She heard him say. And he was right.

There were many things she had kept from him. And she intended to keep it that way. There was no more need for him to learn the truth since she had already decided to leave this horrible experience behind and bury it in the deepest part of her brain, never to dig it up again.

“As I said, I am firing you as my legal counsel. There is nothing else for us to talk about.” She said again. “The door is open. Please leave so I can finish packing.” Dismissing the man still standing before her.

Suddenly, she regretted coming over instead of letting Nora get her remaining things in her apartment. She did not know why she had to do this herself, but now she knew it had been a terrible idea.

Nonetheless, why was she avoiding him in the first place? Honestly, she did not want to answer that.

.....

Or maybe subconsciously, she truly wanted to see him. She could not just admit it to herself because she was a coward.

Everybody thought that she was this big celebrity hotshot. But deep inside, she was just a loser. And all she wanted to do now was hide. To go to a place where nobody would know her and be nobody.

“There are plenty of things we still need to talk about.” He suddenly interrupted her, making her look up out of curiosity. “Us.” He uttered one word, which was the only clue she needed.

She suddenly turned away from him. She automatically understood what he was saying. She knew that he was attracted to her. She was also aware of how much she liked him.

But was that enough for them to jump into a relationship? Of course not. She would only put him in a compromising position and ruin his life if she allowed this silly notion to proceed.

Adam did not deserve a woman like her. Behind the spotlight, the glitter, and the makeup, she was just trash, while he was a man with a heart of gold. He was too good for a girl like her.

“What are you talking about?” She was not about to drag this man with her into the dirt. “There is no us.” She told him.

Look at how her impulsive actions had destroyed her career and how her decisions ruined her life. She was a mess. Then, she might not have a job tomorrow.

The entire gossip column might run all her stupid mistakes by the next news cycle. Then, her reputation would flash down the drain. She believed not even her family would want her back in their lives.

“I know you also feel the same way as me.” Then, she felt his hands covering her shoulders as he forced her to face him. “I like you so much. I am losing my mind looking for you. I will do anything I can to protect you if you let me.”

She could feel the sincerity in his voice. There was also a hint of desperation in them. A sadness that she knew she had brought to his life. She could not help but feel guilty, ashamed, and sad that she was the cause of his suffering.

But if she gave in to what he wanted, she would only worsen his situation.

She would only bring misery into his life. He was doing fine with his life until she came along.

“I like you too.” She could not lie to him, not about that. “But there is no future for us.” She told him. “I am sorry, but I don’t want to be with you.” She thought that they could work together without getting any strings attached. But clearly, Adam could not. Although she liked him, she could not string him along in her life.

Just like she said, he was a man who could only see the goodness in people. He could have been a great lawyer with top-notch clients, but he chose to help the masses.

Adam was a man that was just too good for her.

“What did that man say to you? Did he threaten you?” He asked, concluding that she based her decision on her ex-lover.

Partially, it was true.

Her ex-boyfriend had influenced some of her judgment. But it was just a factor, not the entirety of why she came up with her conclusion. But whatever she was about to do with her life now was purely her decision.

“Listen.” She finally looked him in the eye. “I want to go away. As far away from all of this.” She stopped, seeing the hurt in his eyes. “I need to do this for myself.” She knew she sounded selfish, but she believed it was the only way to fix her life.

At that moment, she could see that he saw her as a girl who needed fixing. Maybe that was what attracted all those men to her. They saw her as an easy target. A weakling that they could easily manipulate.

But that had to change.

She was tired of how people saw her. She believed the only person who could fix herself was her. She could not keep letting other people control her life or tell her what to do.

She finally wanted to see who she was. And not the person she wanted people to see.

At this point, she needed to learn to love herself before allowing someone else to love her. Maybe someday she would be worthy of a man’s true love.