The Royal Contract

Alex could not wait to go back to Dani's side, but he had to let her spend some time with her family and friend first. Maybe get some rest before he went back to his room to check on her.

In the meantime, he lazed around with his friends, hoping to catch up with what was happening with them. But as he sat on one of the lounges, his mind kept going back to the scene this morning. How frightened he was of her condition. Then, how he wanted to take care of her.

His mind went back to what happened before he left the room. 

"Are you sure you are feeling fine?" He asked her while she laid in his bed. He, on the other hand, was sitting on the edge, bending down to her. He already double-checked with the doctor, and he assured him that she was already on her way to recovery.

"Yeah, go on and check on your friends. Maybe you'll see Jacky. Tell her that I want to see her."  She was a bit uncomfortable with the way Alex was behaving. Although he was usually courteous and attentive to her needs before, he was now overdoing it.

She believed that he was still feeling guilty for what happened to her, but she already told him that no one was to blame. It was a situation that was beyond their hands to control.

"Ok. If you are sure that you don't need me here anymore. But call me asap if you need something." He once again touched the skin on her forehead, making sure that the fever was truly gone. When he was satisfied, he stood from the bed and greeted her parents, who were about to enter the room.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to step away for a few minutes. I'll be back as soon as I can." He told her parents. When they finally acknowledge him, he went to kiss Dani on the forehead since it was part of their act. Then he walked out of the room to search for his friends.

In truth, he did not want to leave Dani's side ever since they arrived. But when her parents started fussing over her, he had to give them some time alone to be with their daughter. 

He left the room so they could have some privacy and time to take care of their daughter. He, on the other hand, started looking for his friends. 

He first bumped into his parents, who were also on their way to check on Dani. They also expressed their concern for her. Then, he saw next Jacky, who was on his way back from the grounds.  She just informed him that she came from the other house, looking for Dani, but was concerned about not finding Dani or him anywhere in the house. 

He narrated to her what happened yesterday and last night. Of course, excluding the things that he did to make her comfortable. He believed that part should only remain between him and Dani.

"Where is she now?" Jacky asked when he finished his recount of the situation. She could not blame Alex if he only wanted to give her friend a good time. He trusted Alex to think of what would be best for her friend, unlike his friend, Marcus, who was a stupid jerk.

"She is now resting in my room. Her parents are with her right now." Alex informed Jacky, glad that Dani had a good friend with her.

He then continued to look for his friends to check on them if they were all ok. He had not seen them since yesterday. As his guests, it was still his responsibility to make sure that they were doing well on their stay at his house.

"Hey, what happened to you and Dani? Why did I saw you come down from the helicopter carrying Dani in your arms?" David asked when he saw Alex walked into the clubhouse.

He was a bit concerned, seeing that Dani was quickly placed in a stretcher and carried inside the palace with a doctor following closely behind. He was supposed to follow them too, but he saw Alex's mother, who told him that it was nothing serious. 

"We got caught in the rain yesterday on our way back from our sightseeing. We had to stay overnight in the shed near the castle. Then late last night, she developed a fever and chills. We could not call for assistance since our phones were both wet from the rain. Luckily, the caretaker was early today, so he was able to call for help." He explained, still remembering the ordeal he and Dani had to go through.

He was almost panicking early this morning when she started shaking again. Fortunately, the helicopter was quick to rescue. The doctor was able to administer hydration and medication to Dani immediately. The doctor said that he did the right thing when he told him what he did during the night.

He assured Alex that Dani would be ok. A good rest today would speed up her recovery, and by tomorrow morning, she would be good as new. He still wished that he had been more careful so that this did not happen.

"Hope Dani is going to be alright," Evan stated after his story. Then he moved to the pool and dived, living the three of them on the chairs. "Aren't you going to swim with us?" He shouted as he emerged from the water.

"Not today. I am still very exhausted. I barely slept last night. I had to make sure that Dani is going to be ok." He replied to Evan.

He still needed to get back to his room to check on her. Then, maybe look for a place where he could take a nap. He believed that soon, he would not be able to keep his eyes open.

"Ok. Maybe we can do something else later or tomorrow. Just us. Let us not include the oldies." Evan, being the youngest in the group, was the most adventurous one.

"We'll think of something?" David said as he too joined Evan in the pool, diving with a big splash.

"What about you guys? What have you been doing while I was away?" He asked his friends who were in the pool except for Marcus, who was quiet, lounging beside him.

"We played tennis with those cousins of yours," Evan announced as he shifted into a sitting position on the side of the pool. "We don't know about Marcus. He had been sulking the rest of the day when you left."

"I'm not sulking. I am resting. There is a difference. Besides, my body was exhausted from the party and then the hunt." Marcus defended himself from the men around him.

But in only earned another set of laughter from his friends. Evan went back to swimming with David, leaving Alex and Marcus alone to talk.

"Or it might have something to do with the other night." He teased Marcus more, trying to see if he would show any sign of what he was feeling.

"Well, yeah. It is partly true. But I am truly exhausted." Marcus was not about to give his friend the satisfaction of knowing the real reason why he was not feeling so great.

He did not want to admit that he was indeed not in the mood to have fun. He did not feel like going out with his friends, playing with the girls. He did not want to see the girl he slept with the other night. Luckily, they already left early this morning. He would not be seeing her again.

"Shall I assume that the other part had something to do with Jacky?" This time, he used his serious tone. He also made sure that his voice was low enough so that the other two in the pool would not hear their conversation.

"I don't know, man." Marcus scratched the back of his neck, uneasy talking about his complicated relationship with Jacky. 

"You want to talk about it." He asked, wanting to help his friend who was having a hard time with what he did or did not do.

"It is very complicated." Marcus had no idea how to explain to Alex what was happening to him. He was too confused and afraid to analyze his situation.

"Well, talking about it might make it less complicated." He reasoned out, hoping that his friend would finally open up about his problem because he could see now that he did have one.

"Fine. I am confused at the way Jacky was acting around me. She was gone the whole day yesterday, then returned late last night with your cousin or friend. Then I was trying to talk to her this morning, but she refused." Marcus felt like Jacky was acting childish and irrational.

"Man, I could not blame Jacky for not wanting to see and talk to you. You were wrong to treat her that way." He told his friend his opinion on the matter, not wanting to sugarcoat his situation.

He might be afraid of relationships, but he still had high value for the opposite sex. He still believed that what Marcus and his friends were doing, having casual sex even if the girl gave her consent to the action, was still unfair to the girl.

"Don't tell me you are siding with her because you are afraid that Dani will be mad at you if you sided with me." Marcus accused his friend. But he knew that what he was saying was unfounded.

"You know me, man. Whether Dani or Jacky gets mad at me, I will always be your friend. However, I will never change my opinion on how we should treat women." Alex held his friend on the shoulder. 

"I'm sorry, man. I did not mean to say that." Marcus apologized for his words.

"It is not me who you should be sorry to, but with the girl you wronged. Did it never occurred to you that Jacky might be hurt when you left her in the party to fend for herself?" He reminded Marcus of that incident.

Marcus was his friend, but a mistake would never be right unless you corrected it. He was not condoning what his friend did. Marcus needed to apologize to Jacky for his wrongful act.