The Royal Contract

He could not say that he was not disappointed. He was.

Big time.

He had so much high hope that something good would come out of his second chance. When he saw her at the beach and then again at the orphanage, he believed it was fate, telling him to hold on.

But he did not expect that she would still turn him down. She would not be willing to take a chance with him. Sadly, she could not trust him with her heart.

"Serena..." Adam mumbled her name, allowing himself to say it out loud, at least for the last time.

After this night, he swore he would use all his effort to forget about her. He moved on and lived his life. It would not be easy, but he had no choice.

He believed that someday, he would find a way to get on with his life. He would probably meet someone else that he could love and would love him back. But first, he had to teach his heart to forget.

"Serena, I love you." He knew he had to say it. He had to declare it to the world. So, he could finally let it go.

He grabbed the scotch that was sitting idly on the counter and decided to take a few shots. He poured a good amount into his glass and downed it in one go. Then, he refilled his glass one more time.

He did not intend to get wasted, but he needed something that would put him to sleep. He still had an early flight in the morning that he could not miss.

"But I can't do this anymore." He walked over to the balcony that overlook the ocean.

It was such a beautiful sight but all his eyes could see was her face looking back at him.

Would he ever forget her? Or would her image haunt him forever? But how could he erase her from his mind when he would have a constant reminder of her while working for her brother?

Should he quit when he hardly began? But what about his plans? He would be working for David not because of her but for all those people, just like Ken, he wished to help.

"No, I can't do that." He guessed he just had to find another way to forget about her. Maybe he should focus on his work and other responsibilities until he could purge himself of all his feelings for her.

He was about to put his glass back on his lips when he stopped upon hearing a knock on his door. He turned around, wondering who would disturb him at this late of the night.

Besides, he remembered telling the front desk he was not taking calls or accepting guests. He just wanted to be left alone.

"Whose there?" He finally asked when the knocking persisted. Although he wished to ignore it, he doubted whoever it was would quietly go away as it continued to bang on his door.

"What do you want?" He frustratedly asked again, louder this time as he walked closer to the door.

Maybe he could open the door and slam it on the face of the person on the other side to make his point. He could do that. Or maybe shout at the stranger to scram.

He was usually a calm and entertaining person, but not today. The last thing he wanted was someone else invading his private space.

"Room service." The voice said behind the locked door. "I have an urgent delivery for Mr. Adam Mason." The hotel staff informed him.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he heard the other person on the closed door. "I did not order any room service." He stated, confused and suspicious of the delivery.

"No, Sir. Someone send it to you. They said you must receive it tonight." The voice explained to him.

But who would send him a package? The only person who knew he was here was David and Serena. He doubted it was the latter since she had already said she did not want anything to do with him.

Therefore, it might be David. But he had not received any calls from him regarding a package. The last time he talked to his friend. He was busy with his fiancee, who finally woke up from her coma.

But maybe, he concluded, it was work-related. Since his friend was busy, he forgot to tell him about it. In the end, he rushed to the door to open it.

"Yes." He faced the person holding a flower bouquet with balloons and a stuffed toy attached to it.

"Delivery for..." But he did not allow the staff to finish the sentence.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Adam uttered in surprise and irritation.

He expected to see a pile of documents or a folder or something, not some crappy romantic gesture. It was like someone was rubbing salt into his injury.

He was ready to slam the door on the other person when the staff pushed her body inside the room. She squeezed her body passed the small space between him and the door until she was inside.

He could not see her face due to the balloons covering the upper portion of her body, but that would not stop him from throwing her out of his room.

"No. It is not a joke." She finally spoke differently from the one she used earlier. And insanely enough, it sounded familiar.

He knew he had two glasses of hard liquor. Nonetheless, he was confident that he was not drunk. Therefore, why was he seeing things and hearing voices as the woman partially revealed her face?

"Serena?" He questioned, blinking several times, hoping his foggy brain would miraculously clear up and make his delusion disappear.

He believed that he was conjuring the image of her from his desperation to see her. Now, he started to wonder if the flowers and balloons were part of a weird dream he was currently having.

He turned away from her, hoping to shake off this strange feeling. And when he glanced back at her, she would magically disappear from his line of sight. Then, he would realize that none of that was real.

"Yeah, it is me." She answered. And he swore he heard her.

Finally, he wondered if it was not a dream. That by some miracle, Serena had come to see him. But why? What did she want from him? And what was the gift for?

He did not wish to hope because it might break him. And the next time, he might not recover from the heartbreak.

"What are you doing here?" He finally dared to ask when he looked at her again and found her staring back at him.

She looked so real it was difficult for him to imagine she was just a dream. Truthfully, nothing about the scene before him made sense.

This time, he could see her face clearly as she moved the package in her dainty hands toward him. "This is for you."

It took him a few seconds to register what was happening, but eventually, he took the package in her hands and stared at it.

"I hope I am not too late." She said, looking slightly anxious as she stood straight before him.

He automatically checked his watch, wondering what time it was. It was not yet midnight. "No. I don't think it is that late. But I was not expecting anyone would visit me tonight." He answered her.

He placed the flowers and balloons on the side table and stared at the woman, who he could not believe was in his room. This time, he had confirmed that she was real and not just a figment of his imagination.

Although he would still prefer to touch her, he did not want to spook her and make her disappear in a puff of smoke.

"I don't think I was speaking about the time." She suddenly stated as she walked further inside the room.

He looked puzzled, unsure of what she was saying. He finally closed the door behind him and followed her to the small living room inside the suite.

"Why are you here, Serena? I thought that we had nothing else to talk about." He had to know what was going on with her.

She was speaking in riddles that he was afraid he might misinterpret it. He needed an assurance that they were on the same page.

"I thought so too. But I think I am wrong." She walked further into the balcony, staring at the night sky he was looking at earlier.

His heart immediately skipped a beat upon hearing her statement, but he held himself, not wanting to jump to a conclusion. She could be talking about something else while he was thinking of another.

"What are you trying to say, Serena?" He wanted to hear the words.

The last thing he wanted was to believe that something was between them. Only to realize in the end that there was not.

"Do I need to spell it out?" She said as she finally turned to look at him with those expressive eyes.

Was he reading what she wanted to say or what he wished to see?