The Royal Contract

Chapter 1165  The other missing half

He looked at the massive house before him as he parked his car in the driveway. Then, he quickly made his way to the mahogany double doors by the main entrance.

Judging by the parked cars outside, he guessed his parents were entertaining some guests. But he did not care. At that moment, he was fuming with rage at what his mother or possibly his father did.

He honestly thought that it was Ryan who had Ria investigated, but he got it all wrong. He never suspected that his parents would be behind all of it. Regardless of their reasons, he could not tolerate their actions.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" He quickly asked one of the maids that he saw in the hallway. They were not in the living room, so he wondered where they could be.

"Sir Zach, they are in the garden by the poolside." The woman in her middle thirties answered him, pointing to the other side of the house.

Quickly, he marched toward the door that would lead him outside toward the open backyard. It had been a while since he had been home, but he could see that his mother had remodeled the house.

"Come on. Don\'t you see the point?" Zach could hear his father\'s voice loud and clear as he approached the courtyard.

His father was talking to someone about something. But he did not care about their topic. He was there for a different reason. And it had nothing to do with politics, business, or their guests.

"Zach, what a surprise?" His mother was the first to see him as he walked closer to where they gathered, nearby the pool. "I am not expecting that you will come by to visit." His mother quickly stood and walked toward him, hugging and kissing him.

But he was not in the mood for pleasantries as he ignored his mother and the guests who greeted him. His eyes focused on his father, who maintained a stoic face.

"Excuse me, but can I borrow my parents for a few minutes? I need to speak with them privately." He enunciated the last word, emphasizing it to make his point. He did not hide the fact that he was enraged.

He could see his parents were unhappy with his behavior, but they still maintained a smile on their beautiful faces. They pretended that nothing was wrong as they excused them from their guests.

"What is this all about?" His father hastily asked as soon as he closed the door of his private study room. "What seemed to be the problem?"

"I am hoping that you and Mom can tell me. It seems the two of you have a big issue with my relationship with Ria." He returned the question to his parents. Then, he looked at his mother for a reaction.

He could see a flicker of recognition in her eyes. "What are you talking about, Zachary? Relationship? And who is Ria again?" His mother fired her questions, denying knowing anything, pretending to be innocent of his accusation.

He could feel his heart bursting at the seams as he looked at his mother\'s performance. He would award her an award for her fabulous acting, but he already knew the truth. The only question was if his father knew about it.

"Ria, the girl that your son is dating." His father clarified to his mother. "And what issue? I don\'t understand." His father looked genuinely confused as he looked at him and his wife. "What is Zach talking about?" He inquired as he stared at his mother, who finally looked uncomfortable.

He could finally conclude that his father had nothing to do with this. It was probably his mother and Bianca who had concocted this plan without the knowledge of his father.

"Bianca already told me all about your plan, Mom." He finally confronted his mother, knowing she was the mastermind.

"Wait, what are you saying?" His father seemed to be clueless about all her plans.

"Why don\'t you ask her what she did?" He said, tired of his mother\'s manipulation of his life. "But I will not let you ruin my life again for the second time."

"What is your son talking about?" His father looked at his mother, seemingly confused and angry with his wife. "I told you to stop messing with his life. He is old enough to decide what is best for him."

He was surprised to see his father defending him against his mother. He was not expecting that at all. He always thought that what he did would never be good enough for his father. But he was glad to hear that his father was on his side.

It seemed his father finally saw him as someone worthy of his respect. Something that he had worked hard to earn throughout his life. Now, he finally felt that his father had his back.

"I don\'t know what is happening here, Zach, but I will get to the bottom of this." His father turned to him when his mother refused to answer. "But I assure you that your mother will stop this nonsense."

That was all he wished to hear from his parents. But he guessed he still had to say his piece to make it clear to them his intentions. "Thanks, Dad." He faced his father before shifting his attention to the woman who gave him life.

"I know you only meant well. You are thinking of what is best for me. But I am not a child anymore." He calmly explained to his mother.

He did not want to hate her. Despite what she did, he knew she was not a villain, just a concerned mother. Just like Ria, she acted according to what she thought would be best to protect him. But that had to stop.

"But you are still my son. And that woman is using you." His mother said, probably believing whatever lies formed in her head with the limited information she gathered.

"No." He answered his mother. "She is not. She did not even know who I was when she fell in love with me. She thought I was just a mailman." She explained to his mother.

He always knew from the first time he had seen her that she was special. He knew that he fell in love with her on their first kiss. And she also felt the same way. It just took time for them to admit it.

And it did not matter who she was to him or who he was to her. All that was important was how they felt for each other. That was how he knew that it was real.

"But..." His mother was about to contradict him when he stopped her.

"Stop!" Zach held his hand before her. "Nothing you say or do will change my mind about her. I love her so much. And I intend to marry her with or without your consent."

"Well, you have my permission, my son." His father seemed to approve of his plan. "Do you already bought the ring?" He asked with a wide grin on his lips.

"Actually..." He pulled the black box from his pocket. "I have." Showing it to his father. "I was going to propose to her, but I was waiting for the right timing." Then, his mother had to ruin everything.

Now, he had to win her over again after all this mess. He wondered if she would ever forgive him and trust her again, even if he had nothing to do with this. But could he blame her after what she had been through, especially with his mother?

"I just hope she will still accept me in their lives," Zach confessed to his father, his doubt.

His father finally moved closer to him and clasped him by the shoulder. "If you love this girl and her son. Then, you will never give up on them. You will continue to ask for forgiveness until she finally takes you back." His father told him. "...even if it takes you a lifetime."

He had never pictured his father as a romantic. But then again, he remembered how his father had treated his mother all these years. He might not be as showy as the one in the movies, but he had always appreciated his mother in other ways.

"I guess you are right." Zach stared at his father, suddenly seeing him in a new light. They had never talked like this before. Or maybe he was too absorbed in his immaturity that he failed to see his father for what he was.

Maybe his father only wanted him to learn, but he took it negatively. He guessed he understood his father more as they finally communicated on a higher level. He only had one person to thank for that, Ria. She taught him so much about life.

"Of course, I am right. Now, if you want Ria back, go." His father encouraged him to pursue his dream. "And by the way, if you don\'t want to run for office, that is ok too. I will support you in whatever you want to do."

Now, he knew what to do. His father just gave him an idea. He would beg, kneel before her, grovel at her feet if necessary, even for the rest of his life, if that was how long it would take for her to forgive him.

He would never give up on her because his father was right. He would not survive without her. He needed her in his life because she was the one person who could complete him. She was the other missing half of his life.