The Royal Contract

"Why did you cancel the dinner?"

"Are you dropping by tonight?"

"Are you insane?" She had been rambling to herself just like an idiot as she strode back and forth around her room. She had been practicing what she would say to him just in case he called.

She stopped as she walked by the mirror in her room and stared at herself. She just felt frustrated with herself. A part of her wished to understand Marcus. But another part just wanted to strangle his neck for making her feel this way.

"You, not him." She pointed to herself, looking at her reflection. "Have you gone mad?" She kept talking to herself.

She had been sulking in her apartment for what seemed like forever, waiting for Marcus to call. But disappointedly, her phone had been silent since she arrived at her apartment.

She had checked her messages countless times, but there was nothing. She had no idea what to think anymore about their current situation as doubt and fear crept into her heart and mind.

"Just stop it, Jacky." She told herself, slightly slapping her face, waking herself up from her madness.

She went out of her room and decided to just go about her business. There were tons of chores she had to do anyway. It was time to distract herself from dwelling on things that were out of her hands.

Just when she had finished preparing her dinner, her phone started buzzing on top of the counter. She had already forgotten that she had left it there. She guessed her tactic worked, at least for a while.

"Yes," Jacky answered the phone immediately without looking at the screen, not caring who might be calling.

She had given up hearing from Marcus and waited enough to last her a lifetime. Maybe he would still call, but she was not expecting it anymore. 

She was not mad at him. After talking with Evan, she knew that Marcus had changed compared to the man she once knew. However, she could not help but expect much more from him.

"Hi!" A familiar voice came from the other end of the line. "First of all, I am sorry." He continued when she had remained silent. "I know you are sick and tired of hearing me say sorry, but I am truly am."

He could hear her breathing in the other line. Her silence only meant one thing, she was hurt again by his action. But he had a valid reason this time. The only problem was he could not tell her even he wanted to.

"Please, Jacky. Say something." He spoke again on the line, wishing he was with her, holding her hand, kissing her.

Instead, he was stuck in the office, reading a report that his assistant had just given him. As much as he wanted to go and be with her, it was just not possible.

Then, he remembered the operation going on right now that he also wished he was a part of. But at the moment, he had his obligations to fulfill. 

"I understand." She finally answered him, finding the words that first came to mind. But her voice lacked sincerity.

She wished she could whole-heartedly understand why he was acting strange. She hoped he would give her more than sorry as an explanation for his actions.

"I don't think you do." He responded, hearing the edginess in her voice. 

As much as he wanted to divide his body to be present in three places, he could not. He had to prioritize his time to the most immediate matter.

Although he had promised that he would always think of her first, his situation now demanded more of his time. He believed when all of this was over, she would eventually understand his reasons.

"If you give me a valid justification for canceling on me, then maybe I will." She finally admitted. "Anyway, did you call just to say you are sorry? Or do you need anything else?" She asked calmly, not knowing what else she wanted from him.

As she said, she was not mad at him. Maybe a bit sad that he was not with her. Maybe lonely that for the first time, she thought she would not be alone anymore, and yet, here she was about to eat dinner on her own.

"I promise I will explain everything to you once my problems are resolved," Marcus said on the line, hoping that she would not press on and catch his lie. Lying by omission was still lying.

In the meantime, he would just have to risk that she would not hate him for putting her at the last of his priorities. For now, that was the only option he had.

"I promise I will make it up to you once all of this is over." He remained vague about his statement, hoping that she would assume that he was referring to the problems he was facing with the company.

He also hoped that he could handle these problems by himself. With the way things were going with the rescue, it would seem that he would be alone for a while.

He could not depend on Ethan with his mind distracted by the operation undergoing at the very moment. He could only count on himself to figure out what was ongoing with the two companies left in his charge.

"Fine." She finally agreed with him, feeling much better now that she had heard his voice. "I will expect a big gesture more than the flowers that you usually sent your bimbos." She added, slightly smiling on the phone.

She knew the drill. When Marcus was done with a fling, he would be sending them gifts with a sorry note. A few more cancelations, then the no-show. Finally, the women would get the drift. She was just dumped.

"Thank Alona for me. Tell her she had exquisite taste." She quickly said, knowing who had sent her the flowers and the note. It might be his idea, and the words might have come from him, but Alona did all the work.

"Again, I am sorry about that too." He knew that he had just made a mistake. "I promise to do better." He could not help but feel relieved after hearing her voice change. It was sweeter this time.

He could picture her looking at him with that big soulful eyes, threatening him to behave, but her lips curved upward, showing him that perfect smile.