The Royal Contract

He paced back and forth inside his room like a madman. He turned around and came face to face with himself through his reflection in the mirror. Truthfully, he did not like what he saw.

Zach had told himself that he would act professionally around her. He would put aside his attraction since he knew it could not go anywhere. He had no plans of taking her seriously because she already had a responsibility.

Not that he was afraid of commitment. Maybe someday, not now. And besides, what if it did not work? He would only be adding to what she had gone through.

He was not as cruel as his friends, who used women like they were just their playthings. Therefore, rather than pursuing his growing attraction to her, he opted to avoid it.

“But what are you doing?” He asked again, staring into his eyes as if he was waiting for his image to dare to respond.

Why was he acting like a stalker, following her around when she seemed to avoid him as well? He did not have an answer to that. But every time she was close, he wanted to be near her.

He tried following her on the beach after their meeting, despite his mind reminding him that he should not. At first, he hesitated, thinking that he was breaking his rule. In addition, she might reject his invitation.

But all his reasons went out the window when his eyes focused on her. She looked like a sea goddess as her hair flew with the wind. He enjoyed watching her as she played with the water on her feet.

.....

The next thing he knew, he walked toward her, concocting some excuse to talk to her. But she shut him down by rejecting his offer to take her around. He should be thankful since she seemed to be doing him a favor.

“Then, why are you sulking like a schoolboy, rejected on his first date?” He again looked at his face, which seemed very disappointed.

When she walked away from him at the beach, he intended to let her go. But after a minute or two, he changed his mind. He felt a force that would not let him see her leave.

He ran after her. He knew he could easily catch up with her. But someone blocked his path. Yes, a woman from his past suddenly greeted him. It had been a while since they had last seen each other.

Despite their separation, they remained friends. Although, she moved away while he stayed. It was not just the long distance. He knew they were just not meant to be.

Let us say that they were not a perfect match.

“How are you? What are you doing here?” His ex asked as he halted to greet her properly, hugging and kissing her on the cheeks.

“I am good. I am here for work.” He responded. “What about you?” It was only polite that he should ask her the same thing. “What are you doing here?”

He asked her as he looked at her beautiful face. She became more beautiful than the last time he saw her. But that did not distract him from following the retreating back of the woman he was chasing a while ago.

“Would you believe it?” She asked as she wiggled her fingers in front of him. A big stone sparkled in his eyes as the sun bounced off its glassy surface.

“You are getting married?” He excitedly asked, thinking she was finally engaged to some lucky man. He would know since she was a great girl. It just happened that they would not work.

“No, dum dum.” She expressed with a silly face. “I am already married. And this is our honeymoon.” She corrected him, gesturing to the other ring on her finger.

Then, a big burly man with his face covered in a beard strode toward them. He recognized him as one of his old friends that he had not seen for a long time.

“Zach!” He greeted him with a bear hug. “So, you met my wife.” The man turned to his wife and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“I would not have guessed that you would end up together.” He remembered how they kept fighting in the good old days. But it seemed life had a funny way of showing his sense of humor.

He chatted more with them, trying to catch up with the past and the present. He suddenly realized it had been some time since he had seen his old friends.

Then, he eventually excused himself and left. He debated whether to follow Ria into her room and convince her to go with him. But fate seemed to intervene on his behalf, reminding him that he should not pursue his plan.

Therefore, he proceeded to his room to lock himself before he did something stupid and barged into her room. And what? Take her. That was stupid.

But after a few more minutes of staring at himself, the walls, and the view outside, he knew he could not stop himself. “I must be going crazy.” He mumbled as he exited his room.

Then, a few minutes later, he was knocking at her door. He loudly banged his fist on her door, but nobody answered. He repeated, thinking that she might be in the bathroom. Still, all he heard was silence from the other side of the door.

He remembered she said that she would return to her room. Yet, she was not in there. Hence, where was she? He wondered where else she would go when she did not return to the beach. He would have seen her if she did.

“Have you seen the lady occupying this room?” He asked a cleaning lady who exited the adjacent room. She might have noticed her leave. He could not think of anywhere else she might have gone, but maybe this woman had seen her leave.

“Oh! The Miss is with Mr. Stark. He came by earlier, and I saw them leave together.” The woman informed him before she pushed her cart away from him to enter another room.

He wondered what that man would need from her. He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and realized it had run out of battery. He must have forgotten to charge it last night since his mind was preoccupied with something else.

Her.