The Royal Contract

Jacky immediately rushed to Dani's room as soon as she heard what happened to her friend. She arrived late last night after Lance invited her to have dinner at his place. By the time she arrived at the palace, it was already late, and it was raining hard.

She did not have time to check on Dani. But she did try to call her, but her phone was unreachable. She figured that she was safe with Alex, so she had nothing to worry about her situation. He would never let anything happened to her friend, unlike the man who invited her to be his date.

"Dani, are you alright? I heard what happened." Jacky reached for her friend, who laid in Alex's bed, in his room in the palace.

"Yeah, I am ok. It was just a slight fever. But I am feeling so much better now. The doctor said that I only need to relax today, but tomorrow I will be good as new." She did not want Jacky to worry about her when she was already recovering from the ordeal last night.

"Well, you can't stop me from worrying. I thought you were already asleep at the other house when I went home last night. Only to find out from Alex that you were out with him last night stranded in an old house with a fever." Jacky stated with worry. She could not help it.

"Thanks for your concern, but I am good. Stop it! I just got rid of my mother for cuddling me too much. Do you want me to do the same with you?" She threatened Jacky so that she would stop fussing around. 

"Fine. Don't throw me out." Jacky finally laid down next to her, not caring if she was sick and she might be contagious.

"By the way, how was your date?" She asked, curious to where her friend had been. At the same time, she was changing the topic to avoid being the center of her attention.

"It was great. I had a great time yesterday." Jacky told her with a smile, but it never reached her eyes.

"If it was so great, then why do I sense that there was something wrong?" She had never seen her friend in this state. "And what happened between you and Marcus?"

She was two things. She felt great, meaning the whole experience was mind-blowing. Or it was not good that she did not want to see the man ever again. This time, it felt different. She was undecided.

She believed that it also might have something to do with Marcus. With all the commotions and activities, she felt guilty for not having time for Jacky. She had abandoned her, not intentionally, but still, she was not there when she needed her. 

"I met Lance at the party. He invited me to go out with him. He was a perfect gentleman, and he showed me around, making sure that I was having a blast. But I felt guilty for using him because of that stupid jerk." Jacky confided with her friend.

"I assumed you are referring to Marcus." Well, Dani already assumed the worse about where Marcus and Jacky's relationship would end up. It was bound to end in a mess.

"Yes, he invited me here to be his date. I did not expect that he would take care of my every need, but I deserve a little respect from him." Jacky did not know why she was affected so much by Marcus' action. But she was, although she wanted not to.

"Yes, that is what I have been trying to tell you. Stop letting men define who you are. You deserve so much more than to wait for Marcus to be the man for you." She somehow guessed that Jacky had developed some feelings for Marcus.

After all, Marcus was the longest Jacky had been in a relationship, whether it was just a sexual one. Jacky would never admit that, but she had seen her denial as a way of covering up what she truly felt. 

She just hoped that it was not yet too late for her friend to get over Marcus. It was what she was afraid of when she warned her about her treatment of relationships.

"Yes, Dani. You are probably right." Jacky understood what her friend was trying to say to her. She was just too afraid to face the truth.

When she first met Marcus, she believed that he was the one for her. The way they clicked together, not only in bed, she was definite that she found the right man who would make her happy. 

But she realized later on that he did not feel the same way as her. He told her that this was nothing but a casual fling that they should enjoy while it lasted. She was a fool to agree, thinking that it would eventually change when he realized that she was the girl for him.

"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself. Maybe this Lance is the real deal. He might be the one fated for you." She wanted to cheer her friend up. Nothing could be gain if they kept dwelling on Marcus, who did not deserve her friend.

"Enough about me." Jacky turned to her friend with a sudden change of demeanor. That was one of her traits. She could easily hide what she truly felt. She could show a smile on her face even if her heart and mind did not feel the same way.

Maybe she did not find the perfect man for her after all. At least not with Marcus, anyway. But maybe there was another man out there who was better for her. She just had to open her heart and mind to the possibility.

"As I said, no need to worry about me." She interrupted her before she started worrying about her again.

"Not that. Why are you in Alex's room?" Jacky questioned, wondering why her friend was staying in his fake fiancé's room. 

"This is Alex's room." She did not know. She was as surprised as her.

All she could remember was going in and out of consciousness since last night. Then, remembering hearing people hovering around her. Then Alex was there, trying to soothe her. She had no clue on why she was staying in his room.

"Yes, it is," Jacky affirmed her earlier statement. "Are you two now an official couple? I noticed that since we arrived here, the two of you are almost inseparable. As in, are you two having sex?" Jacky had to ask since the two of them were almost living like they were a couple.

She wondered if the two already developed some feelings for each other. Or, they somehow come up with an arrangement like hers and Marcus. It was not such a questionable idea since the attraction between the two was very transparent. Anybody with a pair of eyes could see it.

"Of course not. I'm not like you." She suddenly bit her lips. She did not intend it to sound like that. "I'm sorry I meant..."

She only wanted to deny Jacky's assumption of what was going on between her and Alex. She did not want to sound too insensitive with her feelings.

"No need to explain. Honestly, you are right." She interrupted her friend, who seemed so mortified with her words. She would never be mad at her friend for speaking the truth.

"No, I am not right. You can find the right man for you. I wish that you will avoid the douchebags that you keep associating with because you deserved better." She hoped that her friend would open her eyes and realized that she was a great catch that any man would be lucky to have.

"Are you sure that you are referring to me?" Jacky smiled at her friend for giving her some morale booster. If Dani said it, she should believe it.

She began to contemplate on her relationships. How she always ended up alone. Or probably she was hurt too many times that trusting one person with her happiness was hard for her. Maybe finding the right man for her would be as impossible as flying to the moon. 

There were just too many speculations on why she ended up thinking this way, but one thing was for sure, she wanted a change. She wanted to be happy like the way she felt when she was with Lance yesterday. She wanted more of that.  Maybe it was time to consider not settling for anything less.