The Royal Contract

Alex stopped by a small diner along the way, but instead of dining inside, he decided to take out the food and eat in the car.

They did not want to attract any attention to themselves. Although Alex and Dani were not a celebrity, their photos were still splashed on the news not so long ago. Someone might still recognize them without their disguises.

"Are we still far from our destination?" She was hoping not. She could see that Alex was already tired and he had been driving for two hours now. There was tremendous traffic going out of the city, and it was very frustrating to be behind the wheel in such a condition.

"Don't worry. I handled worse." Alex assured her, quickly glancing at her with his reassuring smile. Then, he focused his attention back on the road. "We're not that far anyway."

Finally, they arrived at a beautiful driveway with a massive house at the end. "Whose house is this?" 

It was a modern house with huge glass windows everywhere. She wondered if he owned the place. They arrived a bit late, but the lights brightened up the place. 

She saw the security men were the first to roam around, securing the place. She guessed staying with him would mean getting used to his men.

"This is David's place. He is loaning it to us for the weekend." Alex answered her as he grabbed their things and guided her to the front entrance.

After pressing a password to the keypad, the door opened, and they entered the narrow hallway that led to the spacious living room.

"Does anyone lives here?" She asked, checking out the minimalist style of the interior of the house.

Although the house was too big for her liking, she did appreciate the simplicity of the decorations and the functionality of the furniture compared to it being grand.

In her opinion, the lack of feminine touch only indicated that it was one big bachelor's pad. It figured, judging from what she observed with his friends, who did not do committed relationships.

"No, but someone comes to check and clean. David only uses this house when he needs to unwind from the stress of his job. He loved to surf as a hobby." Alex informed her.

"Oh, I never knew that about my boss. That would explain the surfboard trophy in his office." She did not put much thought into what his friends do outside of work. "What about you? Do you like to surf?"

She always wondered what else he could do because he seemed to be good at everything he did. Nobody could be that perfect, not even him.

Then, she realized that after the trip. There was no particular instance that Alex formally introduced her as his girlfriend to his friends. 

Maybe the opportunity had not come up because they were living in their bubble. Or, he thought that since they already knew each other, there was no more need for it. She quickly thrashed the thought away.

"Unfortunately, I am not. Surfing was not a popular sport in my hometown, so I never had the chance to learn it." He continued to walk further inside until they stopped in the middle of the living room.

"Did David not offered to teach you?" She believed that Alex could have learned it if he wished. She always saw him as the athletic type and quite adventurous too.

"By the time David introduced it to me, I was already busy with my studies. And then, with building my business. I never have time to focus on it." Alex explained. "By the way, the kitchen is over there." Pointing to the other side of the room.

"Oh! So, you mean during college, and until now, you have been all work, work, work, and no play." She quirked her brow at him, finding it hard to believe his claim.

But at least she learned a new thing about him. He now had one thing he could not do. But was there a point in his life that he was a womanizer like his friends? 

As the saying went, friends with the same feathers flocked together. But would that make a difference in her opinion of him? She could speculate or find out, but did she have the guts to ask?

"I'm not as perfect as you think. I also go out with my friends. Drink in bars, parties, and the likes. But I always knew my limits." He continued his tour of the place.

"You said that you like going out with your friends." Then, she paused for a few seconds to recompose her line of questioning. "Are you as wild as them when you were young?"

"If you are asking if I changed woman like I changed my shirt, then sorry to disappoint you. I am not like that." He dropped their things on the floor and moved to the far end of the house.

"Oh. I assumed with friends like Marcus. You might be like him back then." She felt ashamed for even thinking then asking him about it.

Although she always sensed that he was different from his friends, she sometimes could not help but wondered if he only changed recently or when he met Tyra.

Until now, she still wondered why he and Tyra did not work out. From the way Tyra acted around him as she remembered it, she was still very much in love with him. What about him? Did he still love her?

"As I told you before, I have more respect for women to use them for my satisfaction. Maybe it was the way my parents raised me. Or the values I learned from my grandparents." He opened a sliding door towards a large veranda, revealing the panoramic scenery of the backyard.

Alex did remember his friends trying so hard to influence him to their ways. But remembering Nanna's words, he knew she would crawl out of her grave once she heard he hurt a woman for selfish reasons.

"Wow, this place has a magnificent view." She pointed out as she walked out of the room and into the open air.

She always loved to go out of the city and explore what nature had to offer. Something she enjoyed when she was young, vacationing with her parents to different parts of the world. 

Now, looking at the darkness outside, sprinkled with stars above the sky, she could not remember a night like this back home. But then again, when did she had time to look outside and enjoy the view.

"Yes, one of the many reasons why David bought this place." He remembered when David first bought it and showed it to him. 

He could see the fascination in David's eye with this place. It had nothing to do with the view but with the real estate agent selling the property. 

He also loved this place. But he preferred something else, something closer to his heart. Maybe something that his future wife would also like to share with him. So, he would wait for her before investing in an estate.

"I could see that now." She agreed with him, but thinking that they were referring to the same reason.

"Shall we go and see our room? We can explore the place tomorrow. I know you are tired, and your foot must be hurting by now." He voiced out his concern as he guided her towards the stairs and moved to the second floor of the building.

"I can hardly open my eyes." She stated as she walked close to the bed and sat on it. She wiggled her toes to relax her foot and ankle. Although she could walk on it, she could still feel the stiffness in the affected area.

He just dropped their things on the side of the cabinets and laid down on the bed beside her. "Me, too," Alex responded with a yawn, stretching his arms and body, finding a comfortable position.

She turned her head to him and a smile formed on her lips. She was exhausted from the week that she had, but somehow, it was all worth it, now that she was here with him.

After cleaning up and changing into nightwear, Dani laid beside him and snuggled close to him. She let the darkness claimed her, with a single thought, excited with the new adventure they would be sharing.