The Royal Contract

However, Amelia felt slightly out of sorts, sensing eyes at the back of her head watching her. She tried hard to ignore it, knowing there was no reason for him to stare at her.

She believed he was way over whatever happened to them in the past. She should not expect much from his visit except that he was here for the child and not for her.

“Can you set him down on the changing counter?” She asked, using a voice that seemed not to care. At that moment, she had no choice but to talk to this man even if it was the last thing she wished to do.

She thought she would not be this affected by his presence after the months of not seeing him. Somehow, she was under the illusion that her heart had slightly healed with time.

Crazy, stupid heart.

Unfortunately, she realized she was far from being over him. She still ached for him, wanting him so much but knowing she could not have him. She had already decided that she would forget him.

.....

“I don’t know how.” Evan moved beside her as he watched her arrange the things she would probably need for the baby.

He had no idea of how to handle a baby. The last thing he had on his mind was having one. He only came here to see the baby, not take care of a child. But the main reason he was here today would be to see her, more than anything else.

Now, having her beside him, all he wished to do was pull her into his arms. But, of course, having a child in his arms prevented him from doing anything else but staring at her.

“It is easy.” She told him, moving slightly to her left to give him room to come closer to the table. She needed to distract herself before she did something stupid that she would regret later.

But the baby gave her no options, and ignoring him became impossible. When she looked up, he seemed genuinely clueless about what he had to do with the baby, seemingly afraid he might hurt their little angel.

“Maybe for you.” Evan could not keep his eyes away from her face, missing seeing her beautiful smile. But it was absent from her lips as she did her best to look away from him.

However, he could not blame her for feeling that way. It was him who had messed up. But he was here to try again. This time, he was not easily giving up.

“It is.” She insisted. “You cradle her head like Angela showed you, then support her body with your arms as you carefully put her down.” She instructed, tapping on the blanket she had set up on the table.

She could take the baby from him, but that would mean they would have some physical contact. That was not happening. She was not ready for that. Besides, he had to learn how to handle Luisa as his next legal guardian.

She waited as he gently laid the baby on the small table, but she watched like a hawk in case he made a mistake. But somehow, she trusted that he would be extra careful, avoiding hurting the baby.

“I guess that was not that hard.” He breathed a sigh of relief once Luisa was comfortably on the table. Thankfully, she had lessened her crying to a minimum compared to earlier.

He was afraid he was hurting her with his grip, but he could not loosen his hold, afraid she might fall. But Angela assured him that her cries had nothing to do with him but more on the problem underneath her clothes.

She still looked uncomfortable and unhappy with her situation as she kicked her feet and moved her hands in the air. But who would not be under her circumstances?

“The hard part has yet to begin.” She responded to his statement, not letting him off the hook that easily. He asked to be part of this child’s life. Then she would give him that chance.

Yes, being stuck with him in this room was turning into a very uncomfortable situation for her. But it also had some perks, seeing the discomfort in his face. Somehow, she felt a little satisfied, getting her little, sweet revenge as a small smile crossed her lips.

But she quickly wiped them away, not wanting him to see that she was enjoying this small payback. But it did not mean that she had forgiven him. This situation had nothing to do with what happened to them.

Besides, he did not seem like he was asking her for anything.

“What do you mean?” He asked, looking like he had no idea. But he would soon find out as she turned to her other side to get what she needed.

Then, she faced him, handing him the cleaning materials he would need to change Luisa’s diaper.

From what he had seen, he knew he would not like what she had planned for him. First of all, that was just disgusting. He could already imagine what she had in mind.

Second, it was disgusting.

Lastly, it was disgusting.

He could not do it as he felt something crawl underneath his skin.

“This...” It took her tremendous control not to lose her composure as she gazed at his shocked face. She wanted to laugh at his pale face. They had not yet started, and he seemed ready to faint.

As if he could not believe she was asking him to clean the poop on the baby’s bum. But it was something that he had to learn eventually. That was if he would have a family of his own.

Once again, her heart was gripped with sadness, thinking he would build a life and family with someone else. Suddenly, she wondered why losing him was more painful than losing Lance when she had been in love with Lance for years, more than him.

“No, I am not doing that.” He pulled his hands away from the baby. “Ah ah...” Stepping back away from the table, wiggling his fingers to emphasize no. “I don’t know how, and besides, that is a girl’s job.” His gaze landed on Luisa first before looking at her.

Honestly, he liked looking at babies. He found them adorable. But other than that, he could not imagine himself having one himself. At least not in the foreseeable future.

Looking at the enormous responsibility of having a child, he knew already that he was bound to fail as a father. Financially, he had no problem supporting a dozen kids if he had to, but the emotional part was his problem.

“Yes, you are,” Amelia replied, shoving the cleaning materials into his hands. She was not about to let him talk himself out of this one.

Then, she stepped slightly a couple of feet away, giving him room to work on the baby’s diaper.

“A little help, please.” He finally surrendered, moving closer to the baby. She looked determined to make him do it, so he felt he had to do it.

He could not afford to disappoint or antagonize her anymore, especially if he had plans to woe her and asked for her forgiveness. He had to do what he could to gain her understanding.

“Fine.” She moved back closer to him but still with a space between them.

She could see that he seemed out of his element as he stared at the baby, unable to do anything. She knew then that she had no choice but to help with this slight predicament.

“Thanks,” Evan could not help the smile that grazed his lips, claiming the small victory. But he knew he was far from winning this battle. He needed a larger strategy to win this war.

However, his little triumph was short-lived as his eyes watched Amelia demonstrate what he had to do. He had hoped that she would continue it and finish the task, but she stopped and gave the floor to him.

“Your turn.” She instructed what he had to do, telling him each step. But looking at the soiled diaper still worn by their little angel, he was almost afraid to touch the adorable angel.

How could someone so little produce such a gross thing?

As he attempted to hold the diaper in his hands, he could feel his stomach churning, smelling the horrid odor from the offending material. “Are you sure this is normal?” Pulling the dirty object between his fingers while pinching his nose.

“That is not how you should dispose of those?” Amelia quickly took the diaper from him, placing it in the wastebasket.

“Move aside.” She tapped him on the shoulders, making him step away from the table. “You are only making things worse,” Amelia irritatedly said as she attempted to clean the mess he had made.

“I am sorry.” He had no idea why he was apologizing. It might be because of the chaos before him. But honestly, he was subtlely repenting for his sins. “Let me try again. This time I will do better.”

Again, it would seem it was his fault, messing up again. But he was not giving up. He would do everything to stop making it worse for him. One victory and one blunder, and he was back to square one.