The Royal Contract

1162 The root of the problem

It took him a while to force a confession out of his two friends. It seemed the entire thing was not their idea in the first place. Someone else orchestrated the plan. They just executed the command.

“It was not my idea anyway,” Ryan finally gave in after half an hour of interrogating him. “Bianca forced me to join her in her crusade to win you over.” He pointed to the woman who was silent on his side.

“And what was the plan here? How did you know that Ria is involved with me and that she used to have a relationship with Ryan?” He turned his attention to the woman that he used to date. “Answer me before I lose my patience.”

Usually, he was a calm guy. He did not resort to violence, always trying to find an amicable way to deal with things. But at the moment, his mind was beyond finding a peaceful solution to their situation.

“Who had Ria investigated? You?” He first asked Bianca, who still refused to talk, but he could see the fear in her eyes, probably because he had never acted violently against her.

“What about you?” He turned to his other friend when Bianca shook her head to deny his charge.

“No.” Ryan quickly disclaimed his accusation. “I have already forgotten about her, but Bianca dug up her past and somehow found me at the end of the string.” Ryan finally sang like a canary, revealing everything he knew.

He told him what Bianca instructed him to do. The chance encounters with Ria were not a mere coincidence but all premeditated. Even Bianca’s sudden appearances in his life were all planned carefully.

He already suspected that, but now, he confirmed everything from what his friend told him. Well, now, a former friend. He could not stay friends with people he could not trust anymore, not after this.

.....

“Why did you have to do that, Bianca? What did Ria ever do to you?” Zach could not understand how a person could be selfish and think only of herself. “What are you thinking? You will never get me back by ruining my relationship with Ria.”

He ran his fingers through his hair as he paced the floor before his friends, who sat on the sofa. He suddenly wished to strangle their necks and shake them hard to put some sense into their brains.

“What you did is unforgivable?” He told her. “But I said that truth that I am willing to forget and be friends with you. But not after this.” He said exasperatedly as he finally sat on one of the vacant chairs.

“I know.” Bianca pouted her lips as if she did not regret her actions. “But I still have to try. I love you.” She told him, but he could not see remorse in her expression. “You belong to me and not that piece of trash.”

“Besides, this is not my sole idea. I did not come up with this plan.” She finally confided in him as if she was not the only one to blame.

Now, he was confused. Were they going to pass the blame to each other until he lost his patience with them? He had to find out the bottom line of this entire incident so he could stop it from worsening.

“Who are you blaming now? Him?” He pointed to Ryan, who once again denied everything.

“Hey, I was just a pawn.” Ryan raised his hand in surrender, not wanting to be pointed as the leader of this band.

“They promised they would support me in the next election if I can get Ria out of your life. All I had to do was make Ria false promises or do whatever was necessary to convince you that she was cheating on you.” He informed him of the plan.

“They?” He suddenly noticed that someone else had orchestrated this grand scheme other than these two clowns. But who? That was the question. “Who are you talking about?”

“Who will give you support for your candidacy?” Zach urged him to confess and reveal what else he was hiding from him. “Tell me before I smash your face on that coffee table.”

Indeed, he was about to lose his patience with his former friends when they refused to reveal their other accomplice. But he was not going to stop until he found the truth.

He grabbed his friend by his collar and pulled him off the sofa. Then, he poised his fist in the air, ready to land him a blow in the face. Ryan was big and bulky, but that was all for aesthetics.

As far as he knew, his friend was one big coward. He only used his father’s influence, money, and power to get him out of a tight spot. But he could never handle conflict.

“Wait!” He shouted, pulling his hands up to cover his face from the blow of his punch.

He quickly stopped before his fist made an impact on his face. “Tell me before I destroy that beautiful face of yours.” He warned him because it was not a threat but a promise he had every intention to fulfill if he did not cooperate with him.

“All I know is that Bianca set it up with them. She was the one dealing with your parents.” Ryan finally spoke of what he knew.

Now, that was a shock to him to learn that his parents might have something to do with this. They could even be the mastermind of this fiasco.

“Is that true?” He finally let go of Ryan and turned to his ex, who turned her back on him, standing up and taking her bag with her.

“You know what. I am leaving, and you can’t make me stay.” Bianca stepped toward the door, but he held her by the wrist, stopping her from leaving.

“No, you are not leaving. No one is going anywhere until I get all my answers. And I swear if you breathe even a small lie, I will know. And you will wish you were never born.” He was being melodramatic, but he had to find a way to make them talk.

“And I will never have second thoughts about hurting you if it means protecting Ria from the likes of you.” That was not a threat but a promise because he would not let anything happen to Ria.

“You are hurting me.” She finally reacted as he tightened his grip on her wrist, putting pressure on her skin.

“And I can do more than that if you don’t start talking.” He used a menacing voice to scare her off. Despite his anger, he was unsure if he could strike a woman.

“Fine. Your mother has been tracking your activities. Then, she noticed you were getting too close to this woman, which was beneath our social status.” She started narrating what she knew.

“So, she asked me to distract you from her. Your mother asked me to seduce you back and win you over. But I guessed I was too late because you were already dating her.” She continued.

“What does Ryan have to do with this?” He asked, wanting a few clarifications.

“Your mother had Ria investigated too. Then, she learned that Ryan had a child with her. So, she asked me to convince Ryan to cooperate with her in seducing Ria in exchange for a promise of support.” Bianca answered all his remaining questions, making it clear that his mother was the mastermind behind all this.

He guessed he was blindsided by the situation, not expecting that his parents, if his father was part of this, were the ones who wanted to sabotage his relationship with Ria just because she was not like them.

“You two are a piece of shit for doing this.” He shouted as he expressed his infuriation.

Nevertheless, come to think of it.

This situation should not be a shock to him anymore. One thing he hated about politics and politicians was the lies, the terrible things attached to the job. And his parents were no saints.

They had partaken on more than one or two occasions about lying to everyone at one point or another. They said it was part of their job description and a necessary evil to survive and maintain their position.

But to him, that was just an excuse to hold on to power.

“I don’t want to see the two of you again.” Zach thought he wasted his life, thinking his friend could change, but he remained an asshole until the end. He guessed he did not need a friend like him.

Regarding Bianca, he was disappointed with her. She had been a good friend, intelligent and beautiful. But she always allowed other people to use her, just like how she allowed his mother to manipulate her to do this.

He finally let go of her and stormed out of the room, already hearing enough to know it was over between the three of them. Now, it was time to face the consequence of their actions.

But first, he had to do something. He had to confront the root of the problem.

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