The Royal Contract

"Wake up, sleepyhead." She whispered to him as he opened his eyes to a woman dressed in white that knelt before him. He had to rub his eyes several times to verify that he was not dreaming.

He could only make out the outline of her face, the white clothes covering her body as the lights from behind her poured in. His vision was slightly impaired, driving her to the conclusion that he was with the presence of an angel.

He was not exactly expecting that he would oversleep, end up sleeping on a couch and wake up with a beautiful angel at his side. If this was a dream, he would rather sleep some more.

"Really? You are just going to stare at me. I am trying to wake you up for almost an hour." The angel complained as she stood up from her kneeling position and walked to the other side of the room.

She was bored out of her mind, and another minute longer, she would explode. She had to convince her friend to take her out or else she would sneak out again by herself.

"Wait!" He was confused. He once again rubbed his eyes to clear them from his state of sleepiness. 

She could not be an angel. Angels did not complain and threw tantrums just like that. He must be mistaken, thinking that he was already awake, when clearly he was still dreaming.

"Wake up, Jacob." The angel returned to his side and sat on the edge of the couch.

She grabbed both sides of his cheeks and cradled them in the palm of her hands. This time, he had a better view of her face when his vision had eventually cleared.

"Cassie." He automatically said, finally fully awake. He could not believe that he had mistaken her for an angel.

Anyway, despite some of her crass ways, she did have some saving grace. He could still consider her an angel for trying to mend her ways.

He had dropped by her place last night after a long shift at the hospital. It was late, so he decided to sleep on the couch instead of going back to his apartment.

"I am sorry to wake you up, but I do wish you would go out with me today." She put on her sad face, trying to convince him that he should reconsider his decision to accompany her outside.

All she wanted to do was to breathe some fresh, to feel the sunlight on her skin, and to do some shopping. It was what most women her age would be doing at this time.

She also heard about her ex-friend's wedding today. She could bet that Nick was snooping around the palace, trying his best to ruin the day.

It would mean that she was free to go out without constantly looking behind her back. Nick's men would be busy following their boss to hell, so no one would be around to look for her.

"I already told you that it is not such a good idea for you to be out in the open. Someone might recognize you and report you back to Nick." Jacob begged her to listen.

He had to try to appeal to her rationale before she did something stupid that they would both end up regretting. He might not know his brother too well, but he could guarantee that he was serious about his plans with her.

"Nick and his men are busy with the wedding. I am sure that this is my only opportunity to go out until Alex had ultimately found a way to put Nick behind bars." She pleaded with him.

"Besides, I am about to go crazy if I stay here without seeing the outside world for a few hours." She continued begging. "Please, please, please."

Her face suddenly looked like an angel, begging for mercy. She knew if she kept insisting, he would finally give in to her pleading.

"I am not so sure about this, but I still think this is a very, big mistake." He could not believe that he was caving in with her manipulation.

He stood up from the couch and moved towards the bathroom to clean himself and prepare for a day out. Unfortunately, she knew it was his day off today. He had no plans to do but spent it with her.

"Thank you, Jacob. I promise you will not regret agreeing to this." She jumped in her place, excited about the idea of spending the day with her friend. 

She did not care much about shopping. She did not need much inside the apartment. But she was indeed looking forward to seeing new things, people, sights, and spending a day with him would be a bonus.

"Hurry up, Jacob. There is this special diner that I want to go to for breakfast." She shouted over the back of the apartment where he was taking a shower at the extra bathroom.

She still could not understand why he would choose to hang out with her when he could spend it with the new people he had been meeting at the hospital.

She doubted that he was developing some sort of feelings for her. That would be insane. After all, his brother was her ex-boyfriend. 

Then again, she did feel guilty that she might be using him. She might be taking advantage of his kindness since he felt guilty for what his brother did to her.

"Almost done, just a few more minutes." He yelled back at her.

She settled on the sofa as she waited for him to finish getting dressed. Luckily, he had a few clean clothes in her spare room. The ones she had borrowed when she was still living with him.

She watched him come out of the bathroom only in a tiny towel wrapped around his waist. It was not the first time she had seen him in such a state of undress. But she could not help but admire his physique. 

For a doctor, he had really taken good care of his body. Eating right and exercising was basically his health regimen. But she quickly looked away when he noticed that she was staring as he strode towards the spare room.

"Where are we going anyway?" He finally asked when he returned to the living room, fully clothed.

He had a smile on his face, showing her that he was excited about this little adventure of theirs. But his eyes still showed some weariness, a concern for her safety.

"Breakfast first, then a little going around town. Then, let our feet take us to wherever they wished to be." She stated, clearing her mind of all the thoughts that suddenly surfaced in her consciousness.

Today, she was setting aside all bottled-up feelings. She only wanted to look forward to a good day with him. Fear had no place in her emotion, only happiness and having fun.

"Sounds like a great plan." He agreed with her, guiding her outside the door of her apartment.

Something was telling him to stop this nonsense and to return back inside the safety of her room.. But another part of him wanted to give her a chance to be free, even for a moment.