The Royal Contract

Chapter 988: Nothing left but bones

She came back to the living room after more than a few minutes. She changed her clothes into something more comfortable after washing her face and brushing her hair.

She debated whether to shower, but that would take a lot of time. She did not wish to bore him while waiting for her to finish. Besides, the hot meal looked appetizing. She did not want it to go cold.

“Sorry about that.” She took a seat on the spot she had occupied earlier and pretended to check the movie he was watching. “Did you change the movie?” Noticing that it was not the one playing when she woke up.

And wanting something to talk about instead of the awkwardness she had suddenly felt around her. She had been with plenty of men but had never felt this way before, not even with the men she had loved.

The last time she felt like giggling about a man was when she was a teenager, looking from afar at her childhood crush. In this business, relationships had been more like a game of connections and arrangements, money and fame, nothing about passion and love.

She was a fool to equate her relationship with Elliot with the latter. Maybe she had cared for him and thought of it as love, but she now concluded that he did not feel any such thing.

To him, their affair was about what the people wanted. They did look great on the movie screen. The fans craved their offset love romance. And she was under the illusion that it was real.

.....

“Yeah, I am not much about romance,” Adam answered as his eyes glanced her way.

She could see what he meant by that as she watched the scenes turning into a brawl fight. Suddenly, she wondered if he liked to fight since he did have a mean punch. She could still remember Elliot lying on the floor.

“You know you can audition as an actor. You will do great in action movies.” She suggested, looking at his attractive face and masculine arms that showed on the short sleeves of his shirt.

He was not as handsome as Elliot, but his chiseled face and body would work well in a leading action role. But, of course, that was if he could act. But why would he enter the crazy entertainment world when he was busy saving the world?

“Unfortunately, I don’t see myself in such a superficial and shallow world.” Adam casually answered. “Not that I am generalizing.” He suddenly felt afraid he had offended her, taking his words back. “I think you are more than that.”

She was not insulted by those words since she also believed it was true. It was a business that many had exploited for their gains. For some artists, it was passion, but to most, it was for the glory.

“Don’t worry. I also think the same thing. But unfortunately for me, I liked it. I also believe it is the only thing I am good at.” She admitted, not wanting him to think she was mad about his opinion of her work.

The promise of glitz and glamour had lured many aspiring actors or dreamers into her world. But it was not the money or the fame that had pushed her feet in this direction.

It was her passion for the art of becoming someone else in front of the camera that had her living in this chaotic industry. But in the end, she feared that this world would realize that she did not belong and spilled her out of it soon enough.

“I don’t believe that. I am sure that you can be anything you wish to be.” Adam said. If he had not worked hard enough, he would be just another statistic of those who failed to reach their ambition.

He would not be where he was today, doing what he had always dreamt of doing. He had seen people he knew back then still striving to make ends meet because they had easily given up on their dreams.

“But that is the problem. All I ever wanted was to act in front of the camera.” Now, that dream might soon end as she thought of the battle she had to win. “Anyway, how did you learn how to fight? Maybe I should take up some lessons from you.”

She wanted to change the subject as she ate the delicious food he had brought with him. It was depressing to think she might lose the thing that she had fought hard to have.

“Living in the slums taught me how to defend myself. But, of course, I took some formal lessons in boxing at a local gym.” He explained his knowledge of self-defense. “But I can bring you there and introduce you to my trainer.” He offered, glad that they shifted the topic to something else.

“I like that. Can we do it tomorrow if you are free?” She suggested, thinking of nothing else to do. Besides, she finally agreed that she might need to learn some basics in defending herself.

“Sure. We can do it early in the morning since I have clients in the afternoon.” He would have taught her, but his work also demands most of his time. “I can also show you around the neighborhood. So, you know where to go for supplies and stuff.”

“I love that.” She felt excited that she would be spending more time with him, feeling the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

But she only smiled at him, not wanting to show how much his presence had affected her. Despite being a star, she had never been bold with men. She might be attractive to one or two of her co-stars, but she would not breathe a word about it to anyone.

Now, she could tell that she was attracted to this man. But even if she wanted to make the first move, she did not feel it would be right. She was still in a messy ending relationship, and it would be unfair to him to be standing in the middle.

It would look like she was using him as a rebound from her failed relationship with the famous actor. Adam would become bait for the piranhas in the media circus. They would be feeding on him until there was nothing left but bones.