The Royal Contract

"You should be resting and not wandering around your apartment all day." His mother nagged at him as she fussed around him since she arrived more than an hour ago.

Dani was left in the kitchen to clean up after dinner while her mother accompanied him in the living room. Thankfully, his father had remained silent as he watched the latest news on the television.

His parents had come over for dinner tonight, saying they missed having their company. However, he suspected they just wanted to check on him and his condition, particularly his mother.

"I barely moved a muscle from my office." He counteracted, slightly stretching his head in the direction of the kitchen, hoping that Dani would come back to rescue him from his mother.

He had worked at home since he felt a little better, hoping to help the company from its problems. He knew Ethan and Marcus were still capable of handling the business. 

Nevertheless, he was concerned about his father-in-law and his health condition. Besides, having three heads was better than two, working on the situations.

Well, he was also bored of just sitting or lying around with nothing else to do but stare at the air around him. His body might still be in pain, but his mind was not. He believed he was more than capable of working.

"I heard that you are overdoing it. Even Dani was concerned about your actions. She was afraid that you might be forcing yourself with work when she was not around." His mother continued as she placed a cup of tea in front of him.

Katherine brought the tea back from the palace, believing that it had medicinal properties, speeding up his recovery. He appreciated the gesture, but he was old enough to know what would help him in his recovery.

Besides, the pain was already tolerable compared to yesterday. He thought he might be able to go back to work in a few days. But Dani and his mother did not consider that as such a good idea.

"Dad, can you help me out?" He caught his father's eyes looking in their direction, so he thought to seek his support on the matter.

Women could be too worried about trivial things, to the point they could be overbearing sometimes. He believed his father would know what he was talking about and put on a good word for him.

"I think it would be better if you should listen to your mother and wife just this time." His father commented before returning his attention to the program on the screen.

He did not want to stand in the middle of the situation, knowing that his wife was in the protective motherly mode. He would just be burying himself in trouble if he sided with his son.

Better to stay away from this situation and keep his mouth shut. Besides, he could not see any harm in it if he would remain in the house for a week more and fully recover while resting.

"Thanks, Dad. You are a big help." Alex said sarcastically at his father, who only smirked at him when his mother had her back turned on him. "Traitor." He mouthed to his father without a sound. 

He knew his father heard it loud and clear as he laughed before turning away from him and concentrating back on the movie in front of him.

"Well, he knew better than to cross me," Katherine remarked, knowing what was going on between the two.

She had known how the two would conspire against her since he was a young boy. Sometimes, she would allow them to get away with it. But most times, she would teach them a lesson they never forgot.

"Anyway, do you have any news about Nick's case?" His father turned the volume down to look at his son, very much interested to hear the news about the mastermind behind their kidnapping.

He wished he had his hands around the man's neck. He would not have second thoughts of snapping them because he believed that the evil son of a bitch deserved it.

However, Dani was right. He had to face a fair trial and suffered behind bars. Dani believed that they had more than enough evidence to make him pay for life.

"Dani told me that the case was already filed against him. Nick was now taken into custody until the trial. He was not allowed to make bail because of the charges against him." Alex explained to them, sipping on the tea his mother had prepared for him.

The tea was bitter and unpleasant on the taste buds, but he did not want to displease his mother. He almost coughed it out when the liquid touched his tonsils, but he held it inside his mouth, swallowing it with some difficulty.

"I am glad if that was the case." His mother interrupted, still feeling the chill every time she remembered what her son and Dani had gone through. "I only wished for the speedy trial so all of us could put this all behind us."

She was very thankful that the couple had come out of this horrible experience with only minor injuries. She would not have taken it well if her son died, even her daughter-in-law.

She would want nothing else but to see the man behind bars and their lives back to normal. Although putting him in jail would not end all their problems, it was still one problem that they could leave behind.

"Don't worry, Mom." Dani interrupted the conversation as she walked back to the living room to join them. "Our lawyers are working hard on this case. They would not stop until Nick would be out of our lives for good." 

She would have defended the case against the man who had abused them. But she also believed that it was not such a good idea. Someone who was more experienced would be better to handle the lawsuit.

With the help of her boss, they had recommended someone who would be more suited to take on the case.. He and his team had handled cases like this before, and his records would show that he was the best litigator in town.