The Royal Contract

Zach stared at the woman lying next to him. She had been acting strange since he came home. But he guessed it was his fault. He was late, and he forgot to call.

His last meeting with a new investor took longer than he had expected. In his rush to go home, he had neglected to call. He guessed he should never forget to do these things, especially now that he was entering a new level of relationship.

"I am sorry, Ria." He whispered to the woman sleeping beside him, feeling his earlier apologies were not enough.

There were new rules that he had to learn if he would make this work. He knew his business was relatively in its infancy, but he should not sacrifice his new relationship in exchange for it.

Slowly, the door to their bedroom cracked open. Then Zach noticed a small figure peeking into the tiny slit.

"Hey, Champ." He quickly rolled out of bed to check out on the little guy.

He walked to the door, trying not to make too much sound so as not to wake her up. He believed he could deal with this on his own.

"What is wrong?" He asked as soon as he stood beside him. But he still used a soft and low voice tone to avoid making too much noise.

Immediately, he knelt before the young boy, wondering what he was doing up in the middle of the night. So far, he did not find anything to worry about.

"I can't sleep." The boy complained, looking a little grumpy.

For someone who could not sleep, he noticed that the boy seemed sleepy and exhausted. He was ready to drop. But something seemed to be keeping him up.

"Why?" He asked, no clue of what could be the problem. First, he had no experience in raising a child. Then, he had no idea how to put them to sleep, especially when they seemed troubled.

"There is a monster... in my room." The boy said as he pointed behind his back. Edison looked bothered but did not seem terrified or anything like that.

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"Oh!" He tried to remember if there was a time that he had experienced something like this when he was a child. But he could not recall a similar incident.

"Mom can make it go away, Zachy." The little boy looked beyond him inside the room as if trying to see if his mother was awake.

"I am sure the monster is scared of Mommy, but can I try to make it run away." Zach looked at the woman, still sleeping on the bed, unaware of the ongoing situation.

He still did not want to disturb her unless it was a matter of life and death or something urgent. Besides, he believed he could deal with an imaginary monster. How hard could it be?

The little boy nodded his head, giving him the heads up. Then, he guided him toward his room while dragging him by his hand.

"Where did you see the monster?" He asked as he opened the door and turned the lights on.

Of course, the room was empty as he looked around. He did not see anyone else or notice anything moving. Everything seemed to be as it should be.

"Under the bed," Edison answered while pointing his finger in the center of the room. "Sometimes, he stood right next to Bear." The young boy walked with him further inside the room, showing him where Bear usually slept.

He stood beside the bed, checking the room for anything unusual. But as expected, the monster was just an imaginary character concocted by the boy.

"Hmmm!" He pretended to be thinking, acting like a detective who checked under the bed, behind the curtain. He even inspected the cabinets.

Of course, he did not find anything. But still, he did not want to act like what the boy said did not matter. He somewhat remembered how Ria had handled the situation in the Zoo.

"Ok. I don't seem to find the monster anywhere. What about you? Any luck?" He questioned the boy who stood not far behind him.

But Edison shook his head. "Maybe he is also scared of you." His little companion seemed satisfied that he had driven the monster away.

"Probably..." He shrugged his shoulder, agreeing with the boy. "But maybe, just maybe, you scared him away." He told the boy that made him look at him funnily.

"Me?" Edison looked at him incredulously. "I am not scary." He did not believe him.

He walked back to the small bed with an action figure design of a character with its red armor. He sat on the edge and patted the vacant space, urging the boy to sit beside him.

Immediately, Edison walked toward him, but he took Bear first and hugged him tightly before sitting beside him. Then, his face turned to him as if studying him.

"You don't have to look scary to scare anyone." He turned to the young boy and stared directly into his innocent eyes.

"But you have to act tough even if you are afraid." He placed his hands on the young boy's shoulder, pulling him into a standing position.

"Always stand tall, shoulders straight and chin up." He showed him he was stronger than he looked. "You should never allow those monsters to bully you. Show  them you are the boss in this room."

"Do you understand what I am saying?" He was unsure if he was doing the right thing. But he believed that was what his father did when he was young.

His father taught him to stand on his two feet and not let anybody trample on his right. Maybe that was when he was a bit older. But he had to start somewhere with this young one.

The boy nodded his head in understanding. "Ok. I will not let those monsters bully me out of my room." Edison stated with determination.

He never felt so proud of the young boy. It felt like his heart would burst. If this was how a father should feel, he liked it.

"That is my boy." He told him. He could only wish he could continue to guide this young man and be the father figure this boy needed as he grew up. "Now, do you think you can sleep now?"

When the boy nodded, he helped him back to his bed, tucking him under the blanket with Bear beside him. Then, he leaned down, kissing him on the forehead. "Good night, Champ!"

The boy smiled at him, blowing him a kiss. He could see that he was fighting his best to stay awake. But Edison was quickly losing the battle.

But as he closed his eyes, he heard him whisper something he was not expecting. It was the sweetest word he had ever heard from a child. And he loved it.

"Good night, Dad," Edison mumbled before he succumbed to silence.

The boy did not call him Zachy, but instead, Dad. It was the most exhilarating feeling, and he hoped the boy would not take it back when he woke up by morning.

He was still smiling when he returned to Ria's room, thinking about how he enjoyed this experience with his son.

Yes, he wanted Edison to be his official son. He liked it when the boy called him father. He might not be blood-related to him, but he knew they had a connection like what he had with his father.

"Hey, where have you been?" Suddenly, his attention turned to the woman in the bed, who was now awake. "And what is with the smile?" She continued to ask.

He hastily looked up and smiled back at the woman stretching her body underneath the flowery covers. Then he stopped on the edge of the bed to stare at her.

"I want to marry you. Not someday, not in a year, but soon." He declared, not wanting another excuse from her. "I know you are afraid because of what Ryan did to you, but I am not him. I will never be like him."

"And I want to adopt Edison. I want him to be my son." He added. Then, he started pacing the floor as he thought of how he should convince her that it was time that they sealed their fate.

"I know I dropped the ball tonight when I was super, duper late for dinner. And I will not lie to you. I might do it again at some point. But this is what I can promise. I will never do it intentionally." He abruptly stopped before her.

Then, he dropped to the floor, kneeling before her, taking her hand, and staring directly into two of the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

"I am not perfect. But I will love you with all my heart. You and Edison." He quickly corrected. "But I need you to agree to marry me soon. I can't continue living without you by my side."

He watched her expression change from sleepy to confused. Now, her face seemed to change into something else again.

"Ok!" She said as she smiled and lifted her shoulder as if agreeing to something because she had no choice.

"Ok, what?" He curiously asked. He thought her answer could mean several things.

He could not help but hope they were thinking of the same thing but was afraid at the same time that he might be wrong.

"Ok. I will marry you." She indifferently said as she took his face into the palms of her hands. "I will marry you tomorrow if that is what you want."

"And one more thing, I am sure Edison will love to be your son."