The Royal Contract

Chapter 245 - Entwine Tangled Mess

"How is your dad?" Alex asked her, meeting Dani outside of her father's room.

He opted not to enter the room, not wanting to disturb the patient and her mother, who was probably resting by now. He would have come earlier, but Dani insisted that he pushed through with his meeting.

The meeting, as expected, took longer than he wanted, but he could not leave without finishing it unless there was an emergency. Besides, Dani would not want him to neglect his obligation to his company.

"He woke up earlier. A little disoriented but lucid and stable." They both sat on a couch in a waiting area on the same floor, near the elevators.

Dani felt there was no use for both of them to waste their time just sitting around the hospital room, waiting for her father to recover. If anything changed, the doctors assured her that they would inform her immediately.

She would also go to work if not for her mother, who looked so distraught despite the strong front she kept showing her. She could not leave her in that condition.

"What did the doctors say?" He moved closer to her, placing his arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

He would have stayed with her the whole day if she allowed it, but she was always as stubborn as he was. But he respected her wishes to be alone with her mother.

Although he asked her secretary to update him every hour of Ethan's condition, calling their contact inside the hospital for updates. If he heard something amiss, he would leave everything behind to run to her side.

"Well, they said that Dad was lucky it was just a mild heart attack, and his secretary was able to administer first aid to him while they waited for the ambulance." Dani narrated the doctor's diagnosis.

The doctors would still be running a few more tests to determine the extent of the damage, but they were optimistic that he would recover from this without any permanent effect on his body.

"Then that is good news. I'm glad that your dad will soon be fine." He felt glad that nothing serious happened to Ethan. He rubbed Dani's shoulder, reassuring her that he would always be there for her.

He might have no experience with this kind of situation, but he knew he loved her. He would do anything for her.

"What about you? Did you close your deal?" She looked up to him and watched her face.

She had enough of talking about her father. She wanted to know what happened to him and his day. She also knew that he had a rough day. Their conversations could not revolve purely around her.

"Why don't we go home, so you can also rest, and I will tell you all about it later?" He suggested, seeing the fatigue in her stance.

She would never admit to being tired until she dropped down. It was what Alex observed about her. This time, he was not waiting for that to happen.

"Just let me get my things and say goodbye to Mom." She stood up from her seat and left him.

When she walked into the room, her father was still sleeping, as if nothing happened to him. The only indication that he was sick was the slight paleness of his skin and the different tubes and machines attached to his body.

She strode over to her mother, who also fell asleep on the extra bed provided for her by the hospital. She refused to leave her father's side despite the doctor's assurance that he was already stable.

She left the room with her things, silently walking away, not wanting to disturb the sleeping form. She walked back to where Alex was waiting for her to take her home.

"Can we go to your place?" She requested, not that she did not want to see Jacky. She was just too tired to entertain any more questions if she went back to her apartment tonight.

She knew that Jacky meant well. Jacky was like a sister to her and another daughter to her parents. But right now, she did not feel like chatting after the day's ordeal.

"Sure, anything you want. Have you eaten anything today?" Although he kept texting her and reminding her that she should eat and rest, he wondered if she did follow any of it.

"I had a few bites earlier." That was her answer to his question.

She tried to eat during lunch and dinner, but her appetite was not cooperating. She ended up toying with her food and throwing it in the trash after a while of staring at it.

She was not going to admit that to him because she knew he would not appreciate that. But she relished the fact that he cared enough to remind her every time to eat and take some rest.

"Ok." He mentally thought of preparing a quick soup to fill her stomach before sending her off to bed.

There were moments that Dani took care of him during times he was too exhausted from his work. Well, it was his turn to return the favor.

On the way home, he talked more about his work. He informed her that the negotiation was successful. "Your idea about..." But he paused, unable to continue with his sentence, noticing that she remained quiet on her seat.

He allowed her to sleep throughout the car ride. Glad that she was finally getting the rest she badly needed. When he stopped at a red light, he turned to her to fix her position and make her more comfortable.

He suddenly remembered the night that he first met her. He was very attracted to her, but he wanted to keep his hands to himself, thinking she was so young and innocent then.

"But you were not." He muttered to her sleeping form as he recalled how she tried to seduce him and succeeded. He continued driving when the light turned green, smiling at his recollections of that night.

He suddenly wondered if fate had something to do with all of this. Was she the one fated to be his wife and bring him to his knees, or was she going to be his downfall?

Was their future set to bring them into a successful union or to leave them in an entwine tangled mess?