The Royal Contract

Chapter 633: Big News

“You don’t fight fair.” She shouted when she was about to overtake him before they had entered a narrow opening.

“What did I do?” Alex asked, placing an innocent smile on his lips as he turned to face her. But he still maintained his speed as she followed closely behind him.

He did have a few advantages, including having one of the fastest horses in the stable. Then, he knew the landscape of the entire place by heart.

But in his defense, he never had the intention of winning. He only wanted to see his wife find her drive again to win. She had been hiding behind her fear that she barely dared herself to go out of her comfort zone.

“As if you did not know,” Dani replied, picking up her pace. She could feel her adrenaline pumping, every nerve in her body was screaming due to the strain of the activity, but she was not ready to give up.

“I am entirely clueless.” He stated with a big grin on his face.

He looked back, and he could only see Ben following not too far behind, but his friends were long gone, buried behind the tall grasses.

.....

“Storm.” She called out to her. “Faster, baby.” She encouraged the gentle beast to push herself a little more. “I know you have it in you to win this.” She tapped her on the side as her legs kicked on her side to keep her going.

“You can say all you want, but the fact is, I am better than you, and the loser will have to clean the dishes tonight.” Alex goaded her more, pushing her more to her limits.

“We never agreed on that earlier. But fine, because I am not going to lose.” She claimed, passing him before entering the woody area of the place.

She looked behind her and could see that Alex was not far behind. The trail was narrow, with trees lining up on both sides, allowing only one horse at a time. But once it opened to another clearing, he would be able to overtake her. She knew it.

Unfortunately, she had no idea where she was going. She was unfamiliar with the terrain. She could not go faster than her current speed for fear that she might make a mistake and suddenly stumble on a cliff or something.

“You are doing great.” She continued as she spotted a wide opening just a few meters away from her. She knew that was it. She would lose once they were in the open space.

But she still pushed herself and her buddy, not wanting to surrender that easily. She had never shied away from a challenge, and she would give it all to win.

Finally, the horse stepped into the open sky, surrounded by luscious grass and wildflowers. The sun brightly shined above them, unobscured by the branches and leaves of the trees.

The wind blew on her hair, making it fly even higher this time. But she never noticed it as her eyes feasted on her surrounding. She was mesmerized, slowing slightly down as she neared the middle ground.

“I guessed we win, Storm.” She whispered to the horse, tapping her on the side of her neck.

A few seconds, Alex stopped at her side. She guessed he never intended to win because he could have sped up with his horse. But she still appreciated what he did.

She never felt more alive again after that thrilling run. It had been a while since she did ride a horse, but it was like riding a bike. She never forgot the steps.

“I guess the two of you did, fair and square.” Alex declared as he gazed again at one of his favorite places to go when he visited this place.

“Yes, we did. Storm really did a great job.” She dismounted the horse, knowing that they had arrived at the place. He did say that she would know it once she saw it.

“We are not sour losers. Aren’t we?” He patted his horse on the head. “Right, Thunder.” Letting him know that he also did a good job. They might not have won, but he accomplished his goal.

He also followed her and went down on his horse. He looked at his wife as her eyes wandered around the mountain tops on the other side of the hill.

Seeing the beautiful serenity surrounding his wife was prize enough for being the second-best. He could not ask for more. He was happy that he had placed that gorgeous smile on her lips.

“There is something I want to show you.” He grabbed her hands and took the reins from her. He kept her hand on his right while dragging the horses on his left.

“Where are we going, and where are Marcus and Jacky?” She asked, turning back to look in the direction they passed by earlier.

All she saw still on his horse was Ben. He was busy scouting the place, probably checking for possible dangers. But this time, she did not feel threatened because she was assured that Alex would protect her.

“They are probably doing some leisurely ride since Jacky is still uncomfortable on a horse.” He explained to her his presumption.

He believed even if Marcus was an expert horserider with a passenger like Jacky, it would be hard for him to ride as fast as them.

“I guess you are right.” She followed him into a small shady area with a picnic basket set up for them. Whoever prepared it, all the food looked delicious.

“We are eating our lunch here.” He announced, gesturing for her to sit down on one of the cushions scattered on the ground.

“How did you manage to prepare this?” Dani asked since he was with her most of the time.

“Not me.” Alex sat beside her and leaned closer to her. “Ben arranged all this for us.”

Ben had felt guilty for ruining their honeymoon when he failed to protect them, so he thought that doing this would at least make up for some of it.

“That is so thoughtful of him.” Dani looked at her bodyguard and wondered why he was still single. He was a wonderful man with a good soul.

She believed she should do something about him. Maybe introduced him to some of her good friends. Any girl would be lucky to have a man like him.

“He is a good man.” Alex acknowledged, finding Ben as a good friend he could always count on. It was why he assigned him to protect Dani in the first place. Because he believed in what he could do.

He never once blamed him for what happened to them. It was an unfortunate incident that one of his trusted men betrayed him.

“Anyway, there is something urgent that I wish to tell you.” Alex was slightly hesitant as he stared into her eyes.

He took her hand, wondering how she would react to the news he was about to tell her. Although, he also did not know how to respond to what he had heard earlier when his father called him.

Dani was in the bathroom taking a shower, so he doubted if she had listened to their exchange. But he had kept his voice down, not wanting anybody else to hear about the conversation.

Still, he felt he had to tell her now before she heard it from someone else. It was indeed big news that would affect their future.