The Royal Contract

"I'm glad you're finally awake." Dani greeted Jacky, who just walked out of her room, still wearing her pajama.

She arrived late last night, so she was not sure if Jacky was already asleep or out. But she did not want to bother her if she was already sleeping. She just proceeded to her room and went straight to bed.

She woke up early, feeling so refresh and alive. She noticed the glow in her skin that the sun painted on her skin. She loved it. She also felt like the heaviness in her heart decreased down considerably.

"When did you arrive back?" Jacky asked, putting her hands over her mouth as she yawned.

She walked to the counter and grabbed the coffee that Dani handed her. She arrived late last night, but she was not sure if Dani was already in the house at the time.

"Alex dropped me late last night." She informed her friend, who was still struggling to wake herself up.

Jacky did not seem like she was drunk. But the dark circles around her eyes indicated that she lacked some sleep. Her slumped shoulders meant that she was going through something big.

The only few times she saw her like this was when she dumped Marcus and left Lance. What could be the reason for this disturbing expression on Jacky's face, she wondered.

"Oh, so he is not here." Jacky surmised with indifference. 

She was glad because she was not in the mood for socializing so early in the morning. But she just needed some strong coffee to boost her energy back.

"Nope," Dani answered her as she circled her friend around the counter. "What's wrong?" She could not stand it anymore. 

She could sense that something happened while she was away but could not exactly pinpoint what it was. But whatever it was, she had every intention of getting the truth from her.

Jacky looked at her as if sensing if she should tell her the truth or dodge her question. But she would make sure that Jacky would choose the former.

"Fine." Jacky knew that when Dani was in her lawyering mood, she would not get away from her interrogation. She might as well come clean to her before she started cross-examining her. 

She planned to tell her anyway. She just hoped maybe later after work when she had thought about it more thoroughly. But telling her now might be a better idea. She might have a better insight into her situation.

"Spill it out." Dani could not stand the suspense of whatever Jacky was keeping from her.

Basing on what was happening to her this last week, she could only think of one thing that could be bothering her. But it was better to hear what she had to say compared to speculating about it.

"I think I just broke off with Sebastian last night." She blurted out before she lost the nerve to tell her friend. "We went out last night, and then..." She could not think of the right word to use for what she did.

"You what?" Dani asked, unable to understand what she just did. "I thought you liked Sebastian. I thought you were giving him a chance." 

"Initially, that was the plan, but when he brought me to his house and started making out with me." She paused again, unable to continue with what she had to say.

"What happened? Did he..." She was not able to finish her question when Jacky stopped her.

"No, not that." Jacky already sensed where Dani's question was going. "He always was a perfect gentleman. It was me who had the problem."

Sebastian could never hurt a fly. If she only had a choice, she would choose him. He was kind, caring, and everything she wanted in a man. But her stupid heart did not want him. She could not lie to him and keep using him for her selfish need.

"Tell me." Dani encouraged her friend to speak up and tell her what went wrong. She wanted to be able to help her in her situation if she could.

She could see the conflict in Jacky's eyes. Whatever happened between her and Sebastian must have affected her deeply. But she would not know how to help her if she would not tell her the details.

"He was so sweet and romantic. The dinner went well, so when the night was over. We decided to go back to his place." Jacky sipped on her coffee again, hoping for another boost of courage.

"Then," Dani waited for the rest of the story.

She had more than enough time to listen to her. But she did not care if she would be late for work. She would let her friend finish her story for as long as it took.

"Once inside, I started kissing him. I was desperate to feel something for him. I wanted him to be the one." She closed her eyes, remembering every second of that particular scene.

"But disappointingly, I felt nothing for him. It was like kissing a friend. There were no fireworks." Jacky continued with her narration of the event.

She was not sure if she was making sense to her friend. But to her, it made perfect sense that they were not fated to be together. It was difficult to explain how she felt, but that was what her mind and heart concluded.

"What about him? What did he say?" She asked Jacky, who covered her face with her hands.

She could only imagine what Sebastian went through after she told him that they were through. He seemed heavily invested with her friend. She believed that he was genuinely interested in a serious relationship with Jacky.

But who was she to meddle with their affair when she could not even figure out the situation on her own? All she could do was listen and tried to be there for her friend.

"He still hoped that I would reconsider and still give him a chance." She recounted the way he proposed that they kept seeing each other. Maybe in time, she would eventually change her mind about him.

But she knew that time would not change her mind about how she felt about him. No matter how much she invested in that relationship, she knew that it would only give her the same result.

"But what is your final decision?" Dani asked, but already knowing what was on her mind.

She knew that Jacky would not keep using Sebastian by making him hope for something that had no possibility of happening. Jacky was too honest to keep Sebastian for her selfish reason.

"I told him that we have to end it." Jacky dropped her hands on the counter as she stared at her coffee in front of her. 

She hardly saw a reflection on the black liquid surface, but she could only imagine her appearance at that moment and sense what she felt inside. 

Her hair was all over the place, her eyes were puffy from crying, not because she loved Sebastian, but because she was another lost girl. She was a big mess.

"Don't worry. You'll get through this. You always do." Dani assured Jacky with a comforting smile, a hug, and a pat on the back.

"I hope so. I know so." She decided to change her response, hoping that a positive outlook would change her mood.