The Royal Contract

Still, she was not going to let him get away with this. She was not letting him win. But she needed time to think and consider what would be best for her son. After all, it was not just her that she had to think about but her son’s welfare too.

“What are you doing, Ryan?” She questioned when she finally had a chance to confront him when her son was busy watching the movies again. “I already told you that we are over. Nothing you do will change that.”

She could only assume that he spiked her drink last night. That was how she lost consciousness and ended up in this situation. Regarding her son, she still had to know his intentions for bringing Edison here.

“Preparing for our wedding, what else? Ria, you need a husband, and my son needs a father.” Ryan nonchalantly answered her as if she had consented to his plans.

“Are you insane?” She angrily muttered to him, but she still kept her voice down. “What makes you think that I will marry you?”

There went her hope that Ryan would honor their agreement. She should have known not to trust him. She always put faith in humanity and the goodness of people, but she should have included him in the exceptions.

“Because you want to keep your son,” Ryan said in a not-so-threatening voice, but she knew what he meant by it. “You know my lawyers can dig up many stories about you and your methods of raising our son. And it will not be pretty.”

“I am a good mother, and I raised my son well. You will not find anything that will stand up in court.” Ria answered him, determined to end this insanity as soon as possible.

.....

“You know that, and I know it, but the court will see it the other way. My highly-paid lawyers will paint a picture of a mother that had neglected her child for years.

They will see my son taken care of by another family while his mother partied and enjoyed herself.” Ryan continued his delusional story.

“No judge will believe you.” Ria could feel her heart wildly beating inside her chest from fury as she looked at the devil before her. “You can never prove any of that.”

She wanted to shout at him. Still, she calmed herself down, not wanting her son to be traumatized if things went south between them. She had to use her logic to find out his plan so she could prepare for it.

“On the contrary, proving it is easy. I can easily pay off material witnesses that would collaborate my accusations. And I promise you I can do worse than that.” This time, his voice changed, hinting that she should be afraid.

She could feel the chill go through her spine, knowing he could be capable of such heinous things. At that very moment, she was terrified that he might have the upper hand.

He turned to her and put his hands against her arms, gripping them tighter. “And I will prove to them that you are just another piece of trash, a gold-digging whore who was about to trap another victim, just like you did to me.”

“Let go of me.” She tried to pry his hands off her arms, but his grip only hurt her more. “No one will believe you.” She attempted to dissuade him from his plans.

“Who do you think the judge will believe? You, a whore, or me, the son of the most respected Senator.” He suddenly laughed. “I think you already knew the answer to that.”

“Now, I will give you an hour to contemplate my offer. Marry me, and things will be great for you and your son.” Ryan finally let go of her, but his hands traveled up her face, grazing the side of her cheeks with his fingers.

“But if you go against me, I will use all my resources to take my son and destroy you.” He leaned down and kissed her on her cheeks.

She quickly flinched from his kiss. She felt sick to her stomach. But what could a person like her do? Should she come crying to Alex and Dani again for help? But they already did so much for her.

What about Tabby? He swore to have her back. But he was just an investigator. She would only put his life in jeopardy by involving him in this.

Then, there was Zach. He promised to be there for her. To love and protect her and her son from those who wanted to harm them. But was it still the same case after what she saw last night?

“You know what my greatest regret was? It was not marrying you and being a father to my son. And for listening to my jackass father. But I will remedy that situation.” He said that with contempt.

She could only assume he directed his hatred at his father and not at her. However, she still had to tread lightly around him, not wanting to escalate their situation to anything violent, not when her son was present.

“Mama, I have to pee.” Suddenly, she heard her child standing close to her. Edison was tagging on her dress as he tried to catch her attention.

“You can use that room. And I hope you will use the time to think about my offer. You have one hour. Then, I will need your answer.” He pointed at the room next to the living room.

She quickly guided her son to the bedroom, wanting to be far away from this evil man. He was right. She needed time to think, but not about his offer, because she had no intention of taking it.

She had to plan their escape and how to beat him in this silly game of his. She would not allow him to destroy her life and her son. Nevertheless, she knew it would not be an easy task.

Regarding Zach, she guessed she had no right to judge him without giving him a chance to explain himself. She always believed in the saying that every story had two sides.