The Royal Contract

She woke up in her bed alone. She felt the other side of the bed and found it empty. It had been a while since she slept on a bed without Alex at her side. She missed him and regretted letting her stubbornness get the best of her.

Last night, she decided to go straight to her apartment instead of going to Alex's place. She did not feel like confronting him, feeling confused with the situation. It was their first misunderstanding. She could not even figure out if she could consider that a fight.

"Aaahhh." Feeling so frustrated with herself. It was still very early, but she could not sleep anymore. She walked out of her room and prepared some coffee.

As she stared at the steam coming from the hot brewed, her mind kept going back to past events. She accused Alex of meddling with her life, just like what her father did.

But if she would review their relationship. Alex was only concerned for her safety because he cared too much and loved her. In all honesty, she was starting to understand what her father also did for her.

"I'm so stupid." She mumbled to herself as she realized that she had overreacted. She should not have said those things to Alex when all he was thinking about was her safety.

She finally accepted that Alex was right. Anything could happen to her if she did not escape Nick. Nick was far cunning and tricky. He could have easily maneuvered her moves and caught her.

The thought that she would be at his mercy was made the hair in her nape crawls. She could not imagine what he would do to her if he had her cornered in his office.

"Why are you up so early?" Jacky came out of her room, still rubbing her eyes as she adjusted them to the bright light of the room. "Wait, why are you home?" 

She was unsure if she was dreaming, but clearly, she could see her friend in front of her. She did not even notice that she came home last night. But in fairness, she went to bed early.

She had not been home for a while. When she did come home, she usually informed her. She could only surmise that something might be wrong. Could it be trouble in paradise? 

"I could not sleep, and I finished very late last night. I did not want to disturb Alex by coming to his apartment. I decided to crash here instead." She made up some lame excuse hoping that Jacky would buy her story.

Although, it had never been an issue with them if one or the other came home late before. She had another reason. She did not know how to confront Alex from the way she acted.

Alex, not showing up in her office or calling her the rest of the afternoon, proved that he was also affected by their argument. She did not know what to say to him. Would sorry be enough to fix this?

"Are you sure there is nothing wrong between you and Alex?" She could not help but ask, seeing the shadows in her friend's eyes. She could see that Dani had been troubled with something.

Well, Jacky hoped that she was wrong with her speculations. She was rooting for the two to have a beautiful love affair, the happy ever after sort of story that she only saw in fairytale books.

She was in a way wishing that the relationship of the two would change her view of love, that it did exist. It would have been her proof that it was not just an illusion and a lie.

"Why do you always have to be so inquisitive?" She asked her friend who sat down beside her, carrying her cup of coffee. 

It would seem Jacky had no plan to go back to bed soon, leaving her with no choice but to tell her the truth. She knew she could never lie to her.

"Because I care." Jacky sipped slowly on her hot coffee, careful not to burn her lips. She knew she would need something powerful to wake her up. Remember, she was not a morning person. 

She wanted to be there for her friend, to listen to whatever was going through her mind. Based on her expression, this had nothing to do with work but more to do with love. Despite her desperation to believe in everlasting love, she had to face the truth.

She could not live in fairyland, knowing that the reality was, it did not exist. Her friend had a dilemma, and she should be there to help her out, even if it would ruin her idea of a perfect couple.

"Now, tell me all about it and make it count. I am not giving up on sleep to hear a crappy story." Jacky encouraged her friend to speak up. "And don't you dare keep a detail out." 

She was only lightening up the mood. Seeing her friend's smile was what she was going after. She wanted to think that whatever her problem was would still have a reasonable solution.

"I think we had our first argument, and I don't know how I should handle it." She admitted to her friend.

She discerned that maybe talking about it with her friend might clear her mind. Maybe Jacky could shed some light and share some wisdom that she could use to help her out with her predicament.

She related her situation to her friend, leaving nothing out. It was like they were back when they first became friends. Sharing almost everything about each other had strengthened their bond as friends.

"And what made you think that I would know the answer to that?" She looked at her incredulously. She believed her friend had gone insane for asking her about a love situation.

She did say that she would help but loved had failed her several times. She would not know what to do with her dilemma. Giving her advice might only worsen her situation rather than solve it.

"Well, you had been in several relationships. Maybe in some way, you might have a better insight into my current predicament.

"Not having many failed relationships meant I can be an expert in affairs of the heart." She corrected her. "But I can certainly try. Come on, tell me everything."

She might know a few things about heartache, but that did not equate to becoming a love guru.