The Royal Contract

"Congratulations, Alexander, on a great fundraising event." An old gentleman that he recently met greeted him before walking away towards the exit.

Most of the guests had almost left. The party was a success. The donations exceeded all expectations. What more could Alex ask for tonight? Well, there was one more thing he wished to do before he concluded the evening.

With his family, her family, and friends left in the ballroom, he knew it was time to proceed with the last part of the program. Initially, he thought of doing it during the ceremonies.

But after Edward and Nick's stunt, he decided that it was not the right time. He had to postpone it another time. Then, he realized that tonight was the right time while everyone important in their life was still present.

"Are we all set?" He asked Marcus who was talking to the organizer.

It was the last one in his program before everybody left and packed up for the night. He had never done this in his life, so it was understandable to feel a bit anxious about it.

He left Dani with their family and moved towards the back of the ballroom to finalize his last mission for the night. He was glad that he put Marcus in charge. So far, all night had run more or less smoothly.

"Yes, and everybody is already gathered at the center, just waiting for your signal," Marcus informed him as he finalized the instructions to the organizers.

"Thanks, man. You are a great help." Alex clapped his friend on the shoulder, preparing himself mentally for what he had to do next. It was now or never. 

He walked towards the stage and took the mike from the host of the show. It was time to address his remaining guests and expressed his appreciation for their presence at this event.

"I wish to thank all of you for supporting this event." He spoke up until his voice reverberated around the room. He waited until all their attention was on him before he decided to continue.

He stood alone on the stage as everyone stepped in front of him, even Dani, looking at him with a smile on her face. She was beautiful no matter how he looked at her.

"You are all instrumental in making this night for me and Dani special." Alex continued saying to the remaining crowd in the ballroom. "It will not be a success if not for your help."

He continued to thank everyone in the crowd, including their parents and friends. He even saw Edward, who was about to walk out. It would seem that Nick and Cassie had left already.

The crowd started cheering for him and his accomplishment for tonight, congratulating him for his success. He signaled for the music to play in the background, and the entire ballroom echoed with a soft melody.

"We still have a few minutes to enjoy the night, so I encourage everyone to take a partner and dance with us. Dani, would you like to join me on the stage?" He waved to her to join him.

Their family and friends started taking their partners and began to swing to the rhythm. Everyone was having a great time as they took the opportunity to enjoy the remaining of the night.

"What is this?" Dani smiled at him, curious about the weird way he was acting. 

She could see that something was bothering him. She had noticed it all night, but she only attributed it to the stress of the event. However, she sensed that since the event was over, he seemed to be on edge still.

"Did you enjoy this night?" He asked as he held her in his arms, swaying her gently in the soft music. 

He would always find everything they do as something special, even the small things like watching a movie or lying on the bed with a book in their hands. What was important was that he had Dani beside him at all times.

"Of course. You worked so hard to make this happened, and I would always be grateful to you for it." She tiptoed on her toes and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"But there is one more thing that I wish to accomplish before we go and call this a night." He inserted his hand on his pant's pocket, making sure that it was still securely inside.

He knelt on one knee in front of Dani and took her hand in his. "What are you doing?" She was perplexed by his action. It took her a few minutes to process the situation.

Many things already happened tonight, and another one seemed to be too much. But Dani waited until he said what he came to do. However, she already had an idea of what he was thinking.

But was she ready for it? Well, yes. She had been waiting for him to talk about the marriage, but a proposal was not what she had in mind. Is that what was about to happen?

"I wanted to do this for weeks, but things always were not the right timing. But now, I am not taking any chances. I want to do what was right from the very start." He started explaining his action.

"What do you mean?" She had to strain her ears to hear his words and not just speculate about them.

She felt like the entire scenario was surreal, and she was in a dream and was about to wake up. She had to blink her eyes several times to make sure that she was wide awake.

"I meant I want to ask you in front of our family and friends if you will take me as your husband." He finally uttered the words that had been in the tip of his tongue for so long. "Please marry me."

This time, he wanted to do it right. Replace the mediocre story of their marriage proposal. He felt he was ready to marry Dani.

Not because he wanted the throne, but because he wanted her to be with him forever, for better and for worse.