The Royal Contract

Haley had a fantastic night chatting with her brother and sister-in-law. It was nice to have some familiar faces around.

Although she had made many friends on the island, it was still different when she was with family. She did not have to pretend to be someone else. She could be Haley again.

But then again, something popped into her mind. "Witness Protection." Her brother was trying to convince her to enter the program. He said it was the safest way to protect and safeguard her identity.

But did she need that? She thought that hiding on this island was temporary. She hoped that she could return to her life even before she gave birth to her child.

But from how she looked at it, she would stay in this situation for a long time. But how long? A year or years. Could she ever return to her previous life?

What about her child? Would her son or daughter be doomed in this situation? She hoped not because this was not the life she wished to give her child.

"No, I can't allow this to happen." She did not want her child to be in constant fear. She did not wish for a life that she had to hide who she was.

But what could she do, sprawling on a chair on the balcony of her room while she watched the waves as they crashed on the sand?

"I like the color on your face. You look like you are glowing." Trixie commented when she entered her room, carrying a cup of hot, still steaming, coffee in her hand.

She did feel refreshed, having an uninterrupted goodnight's sleep. It was seldom that she did not dream. And last night, she could not remember thinking about him.

"Yeah, I think I automatically dozed off when I hit the pillows last night." She explained to her assistant.

It could be her exhaustion, or it could be her pregnancy. Lately, she was feeling the effect of her condition as it affected her body and her daily activities.

Fortunately, her morning sickness did not worsen, unlike the scary stories she heard about pregnant women who could hardly get out of bed in the morning.

"So, I take it you had a good time dining with your friends," Trixie concluded, probably seeing the slight difference in her.

She wished she could tell her the truth and stop hiding in this facade. But she was afraid that the more people knew about her secret, the risk of being discovered became higher.

"Yeah." Haley acknowledged with a nod. "They are old clients of mine." She told her, avoiding telling her the truth about their identity.

As far as everyone was concerned, they were just her old friends who happened to be on vacation in this resort. And it was a coincidence that she saw them.

"I guess it is a small world," Trixie remarked, knowing the resort was a remote area. The likelihood of seeing someone you knew was relatively small.

"Yeah, I guess it is." She responded as she looked at the vast blue ocean outside her window.

She guessed despite how big the world was. It was still not big enough for her to hide from the people who were after her.

She could keep hiding, but she would never be free, always looking over her shoulder, wondering when her father would find her.

"Is there anything you need?" Trixie asked as she moved around her room, fixing her things and putting them where they belonged.

She took a last look at the birds flying over the waters and the trickling people walking and swimming along the shore.

Frankly, she envied all of them, seeing how they enjoyed their freedom under the sun. She had been on this island, watching the sun rise and set almost every day, but she could never go near the water without fear that some punk who worked for her father would see her.

"I just need you to give this to the head engineer." She moved toward her table and grabbed the design plans she had finished yesterday.

"Tell him if there are still changes he wants me to make, just put some notes on the forms." Haley had no plan to go to work today.

She, Marcus, and Jacky had plans to go out. Finally, she had a chance to explore the island. Mike said he would take her on a tour once he visited, but he never did. He always had some excuse for canceling on her.

But, of course, she understood his situation. He was a busy man with many responsibilities. She could not expect he would drop everything just because she was lonely.

He was her friend, not her keeper.

"Ok. I will take care of this. Anything else." She asked as she grabbed the plans.

She could think of a few things, but those were not urgent matters. She could handle it later when she returned or do it the next day.

"Nah! I am good." Haley told her assistant, dismissing her for the rest of the day. She would be out anyway.

She watched her assistant leave and closed the door, and then she was alone again. She looked at her beautiful room with all the amenities she needed for comfort and enjoyment.

But all she saw was the invisible bars that locked her inside. It was nothing but a private cell disguised as this fancy place.
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She still had an hour before the happy couple picked her up. Therefore, she fixed herself a sandwich, feeling hungry again.

"What else do you want?" She asked her child as she gently patted her belly. She wanted her child to grow healthy and strong.

"Oh, yeah!" She remembered that she had some fruits in her fridge. She could use something fresh to cool her down.

The heat was finally picking up, making her sweat all over her body. Maybe a cold shower could also do the trick.

But her phone chimed, catching her attention. She remembered leaving them on the table. Therefore, she hastily moved to get it.

Only a few people knew her number. Therefore, she could only guess it might be Mike. She had not heard from him for a while.

She would worry about him if her brother did not assure her he was ok. Usually, Mike tried to call at least once a day to check on her or make her laugh.

"Hello..." But disappointingly, it was the Engineer who received her plans.

He had some questions and clarifications, which were part of their jobs. She knew never to consult with him, and he would always check on her when there were things they did not understand.

It did not take long before the call was over.

She checked on her watch, seeing that she still had time for a quick shower. But as she was about to put down her phone. She remembered something.

She quickly rushed into her laptop, booting it on, remembering she needed to search for a material she wished to do on one of the designs.

She went on a website and quickly searched for the item. It did not take her long before she finished booking her order.

She was closing her account when she thought about checking her old email account. She did not see any problem if she snooped around her mail.

"Oh, my..." She thought, seeing hundreds of emails flooding her account. She knew it would be impossible to scan all of them.

However, there was no use reading them if she was not going back to her past life. If her brother thought that it was better if she had a fresh start.

She was about to log off when she noticed one new email that popped up. It came from her father, as the sender indicated.

"Not anymore." She said to herself. She was not going to fall for her father's trap. But she could not pry her eyes away from the heading.

It only had one word but enough to capture her full attention. She wished she did not look at it because a part of her wanted to see what was inside.

"Leave me alone." She wanted to shout at her father. But she had only herself to blame for being nosy.

Now, should she open the file? What might be inside?

GERALD, that was all to make her wonder if she should open her father's message. But she could not help but think that it might be Pandora's box.

Once she opened it, there was no way to close it again. There would be no stopping the consequence of revealing what was inside.

But, like all secrets, there was no confining it. It would always find its way to the open, revealing every detail of the truth, every single one of them.

"No." She shouted, but it sounded like a whisper as the word barely escaped her lips as her voice failed her.

"This could not be real." She expressed in disbelief, reading the first file that she opened.

Her father did not send any messages. But he attached several files with Gerald's name on it. She quickly downloaded the rest of the files her father had mailed to her.

Slowly, she opened each file, pictures, and evidence that showed her his true colors. They were details contradicting everything she knew about him.

"You are lying." She angrily shouted, infuriated at her father for trying to manipulate the truth.

She could only conclude that her father fabricated those stories about him. Her father created those horrible accusations to ruin his name.

In her heart, she knew it could not be accurate. None of this was true. But somehow, her mind had some doubts.

Who was Gerald? Who was the man that she loved?