The Royal Contract

Chapter 400 - The Test Of Time

"Ok. I have a question?" He interrupted her when she continued to laugh with him about another of his embarrassing moments when he was young.

He took a sip of his wine while he waited for her response. Both of them were enjoying the delicious food and their unusual conversation.

"Ok. Ask away." She stifled her laughter, trying to regain control of her emotions. It was his turn to ask again.

They had been sharing about the past blunders that they never thought they would dare to reminisce about again. But they seemed to be enjoying the topic so far.

She never felt more closer to him than today. It was as if she had found the keys to the other locked chapters in his life. The same went with her as she allowed herself to open up freely to him.

"Have you ever farted in front of a guy?" He asked away, observing how she would react to his question.

It was not something that he would ask just anybody, let alone a woman. It was not a topic he would commonly talk about during dinner.

But he also believed that if serious conversations have a place on the dinner table, so as silly topics. Life would not be complete without a few laughs here and there.

"Are you serious?" She asked as she looked at him with a frown. She could not believe that he would dare to ask her something as gross as that.

Although farting was a natural reaction when the body produced too many gases, she still felt awkward answering his question. It was not ladylike to fart in public places.

"Do I not look serious? Besides, it is for scientific purposes." He wiped the smile on his face, pretending to be anything but serious as he waited for her answer.

He was enjoying the way her face contorted at his question. He could see that she was debating whether to answer him or ignore him.

"Yes, but only in extreme cases where I had no other choice. Luckily, no one has caught me doing it." She finally decided to tell him honestly. "I am sure that you also did the same thing more than once in your lifetime."

She believed it was a natural thing to do. A common occurrence in the human body that no one could control. She did not consider one bit that there was an exemption to that rule.

She told him about an instant that she had a bad case of the stomach flu. She was young back then, but she still remembered the incident like it was yesterday.

"It would not be fair if I will not admit doing it occasionally." He confirmed her assumption.

It might be a topic that nobody would like to discuss, but talking about a taboo subject somehow opened them to a new level in their relationship.

He believed it made their connection stronger. He only hoped it would be a way to open their communications more and build a solid foundation through trust, respect, and love.

"I think it is getting late." She glanced at her watch. "But we can still catch a late-night movie if you like."

She never thought that telling him about her awkward secrets would be so much fun. Instead of feeling humiliated about it, she felt better after getting them off her chest.

"Then, we should go. We don't want to be late." He assisted her out of the diner and back into his car.

He did find going to movies on dates was a cliche, but he did enjoy having her around. He did not mind more than an hour or two, sitting in the darkroom, with a wide-screen movie projector in front of them.

He would enjoy any activities as long as she was his partner. Besides, talking about the good points and the flaws of the movie might not be intellectual, but it was certainly fun.

"What about a horror film?" She suggested as they stood outside the ticketing booth.

She was not a scary cat, so watching something frightening would not be a problem. Besides, horror films were exciting. It would be fun to talk about its productions, costumes, make-ups, and the lines of the movie.

"Sounds perfect to me." He accepted her recommendation, agreeing with her assessment.

They settled in the middle section of the cinema where they had a good view of the large screen. There were several people around them but not too close.

Fortunately, the room was not full of moviegoers since it was already late. He did fear for their safety in such a confined and dark space.

"Maybe you would like to share those popcorns with me." She jokingly said, watching him hug the basket of the sweet, delicious treat in his arms.

But she did see that his eyes were roaming around the room as if he was assessing the place. It was rare that she saw him act this way.

Most of the time, he appeared to be calm and uncaring about their surroundings when they were out on a date. He usually trusted his men to protect them from any eventualities.

"Oh. I forgot all about it." He mentioned, looking at the kernels on his arms. He slowly moved it towards her, handing her the bucket. His eyes signal to his men to be on guard.

Two of their bodyguards joined them inside, but they stayed in the corner, not far from their location. Their eyes were watchful, but not on the screen.

They focused on the dark corners, constantly searching for something, any imminent danger. They could never let their guards down, not even for a single second since a lot might happen by then.

"Is there something wrong?" She could not help but be disturbed at the way he was acting. Instincts kicked in, telling her that something was not right.

"I don't know, but I suddenly had a bad feeling." He did not want to lie to her, especially when they had already established open communication.

"But, it could be nothing. I only want to be sure that nothing will ruin this night." He quickly added, seeing the worry lines on her face.

In truth, he already received word from his father about the circulating rumors about a threat to ruin their wedding. Although it was still unclear, his father only wanted him to take extra precautions.

He knew he could trust his men to do their jobs in protecting them, but his gut feeling was nagging at him to be vigilant once they entered the dark place.

He could sense that someone might be watching them. But it might only be his overprotectiveness kicking in and making him paranoid for no reason.

"Well, there is no reason not to be extra careful." She voiced out, suddenly agreeing with him.

She finally understood the length of what he would do to take care of her. She was through fighting him over it. This time, she would allow him to do what he must do to protect her.

She would stop defying everything he was doing for her. She had to trust him completely with her life.

They were still a long way from building a relationship that could withstand the test of time, but at least she believed that they were halfway through.