The Royal Contract

She could run and try her luck to escape from his clutches. However, the odds were against her. She had no idea where he had taken her. She could be in the middle of nowhere.

Then, she still had no clue about Alex's condition. If she managed to escape and sought help, she would be putting Alex's life in jeopardy. She could not take that risk.

"Where is Alex?" She needed confirmation that Nick had him captive. She was not going to settle for his word. 

For all she knew, Alex escaped and was trying to rescue her. All this charade was a ploy to make her believe that he had Alex so that she would willingly do his bidding.

She took a deep breath as she calmed herself down. It would seem that her choice had dwindled down into one for now. But she would come up with more when she had a better view of her situation.

If she would get through this, she needed a clear head. She could not afford to show any more weakness because he would unquestionably exploit it to his advantage.

"He is out there." But he did not elaborate more as he ran his hands through his hair

"I swear if you hurt him, I will make you pay." She threatened him, but he only laughed at her words. He was clearly unfazed by her outburst. However, she was serious. She was done with Nick and his evil schemes.

She could not deny that he was capable of heinous crimes. She would have put him to jail a long time ago, but she had no evidence that would stick enough to bring him to justice.

"Hush now, my dear. That is no way to talk to your future husband." He mocked her as he turned away from her to gaze at the commotion on the grounds down below.

"You are delusional if you think I will ever marry you." She spat out, full of hatred in her every word. "Over my dead body."

She could not believe his audacity to insinuate that he would be able to convince her to marry him. She was fuming with anger and hatred for the man that held her captive.

"Well, probably not your death, but let us say your present husband, soon to be ex." That should stop her ranting, he thought. He was done playing games with her. "Do you want to see his body?" He nodded his head outside the window.

Now, he believed it was time to talk business with her. He had to make her understand that he was serious. Pleasure would come later when everything was settled. 

He knew her personality had drastically changed after they separated. He wondered if she also changed sexually. Based on the contour of her body, she was still desirable. But he contemplated if she had transformed into a total vixen in bed.

"Where is he?" She repeated her question earlier with a trembling voice and slightly shaking hand. She would be lying if she said that she did not fear, nor for her life, but for Alex.

She was suddenly afraid that this might not be a dream but some form of twisted reality created by Nick. She was terrified to find out that he had Alex's life in the palm of his hands.

But she squared her shoulders and swallowed her fear. At least, she tried hard to appear in control of her body and emotion as she looked Nick directly in his face, refusing to break eye contact when he turned to look at her.

"Come and look." Eventually, he beckoned her to come closer where he stood by the window.

He watched her move her feet in a forced stride towards him. Judging from her expression, following his directive was the last thing she wanted to do. But he was not giving her any other options.

"Come closer and look outside the window on your left." He instructed as he moved to make room for her.

She reluctantly stepped forward until she stood in front of him, looking out the window. She turned in the direction he instructed, unsure of what she would find.

She could feel him standing close behind her. She could feel her body cringing from his nearness. She wanted to shove her elbows on his ribs for him to move away. So, she could also inflict the same pain he was causing her. But she could not.

"What are you planning?" She asked in shallow breaths as she tried to hold the tears from falling down her cheeks. She fought hard to control herself from breaking down, from feeling defeated. 

Seeing that Alex's life was at his mercy, she could honestly admit that she temporarily lost her composure. Her knees weakened, and her body was enveloped in cold sweats as fear gripped her heart.

Her gaze never lost sight of the person kneeling on the ground, wrist bound behind his back with two huge, burly men standing on either side. She could see that his body was heavily beaten, but his conviction remained unbroken.

"He would remain alive, that is, if you do everything I ask." He whispered in her ears, letting his breath glide down her skin. 

She automatically flinched from his touch when he moved his fingers along her neck. Then, he swiped her hair on the other side of her shoulders, exposing her skin to his view.

"What exactly do you want?" She could not believe that she was so naive back then to believe every lie this man had ever told her. Then, she made the mistake of undermining his insanity when she finally realized he was not worth her time.

"What I always wanted? Your father's business." He said, reminding her of why he proposed to marry her before, in the first place. 

He held her firmly by her shoulders, reminding him of who was in charge. At the same time, allowing her to absorb her new situation. 

His excitement went through the roof when he felt her body mildly tremble, but she still refused to break down.. He wondered what else he should do and what buttons to push to make her finally lose all control.