The Royal Contract

"But you don't even know me. I can be a serial killer or a gold digger." She tried to dissuade him from his plans to pursue her.

"Are you? But I highly doubt it." He stared at her as if he was reading her expression.

"I'm not, but I can still be a terrible person that you should not associate yourself with, and besides, you should not be too trusting." She insisted as she thought of what she had done to him.

"I know we all have a back story that we are not comfortable to say on the first few dates. But I know if you will only give us a chance to tell our stories, then maybe we might end up liking each other more." Sebastian was hopeful that he was able to persuade her.

From the way she looked at him earlier, he could already tell that she was about to end whatever they had when it hardly even started.

"But what I am about to tell you might change your mind? Please let me say it first before you tell me that you want to continue seeing me." Jacky pleaded before he started insisting that he liked her.

Jacky believed that after hearing her out, Sebastian might not look at her the same. No man would like what she did. It was unforgivable, even in her standard. 

She swore never to do it to anyone, but she unknowingly did it anyway. Now, she realized her mistake. She would be surprised if Sebastian would still want to see her after this.

"You make it sound like you did a very terrible thing, but whatever it is, let me be the judge of that. But I hope you will also take note that I am not perfect too." Sebastian wanted to encourage her to say what was bothering her. 

"Ok. We need to stop seeing each other because I only used you as my rebound guy from my past relationships. It is not fair to you for me to treat you in such a manner. You are a decent guy, and you deserved more than a girl like me." She babbled as fast as she could before she lost the nerve to voice them out.

"Wow, that was a mouthful." He whistled, slightly teasing her, but he only intended to lighten the mood. 

"I'm serious." She chastised him after seeing him smiling at her discomfort.

"I am serious. What I gathered from what you said is that you used me as a rebound guy, is that correct?" He looked at her direct in the eyes to show her how serious he was.

She was expecting that he would respond with an outburst, but he turned as calm as a cucumber as he studied her under his gaze. She could only nod at his question.

"Does it had something to do with the man we saw the other day?" He suddenly remembered the ex-boyfriend they met at the restaurant. She seemed affected by his presence. So, it was the only logical explanation he could think of at the moment.

"Partly yes, and no." She had no idea how to explain to him what sort of mess she was in currently.

"What do you mean? Do you still like him or love him?" Sebastian had to know the history and the extent of her feelings to the other man to gauge how he would like to pursue this topic.

"It is a long story, and I don't know if you want to hear all about it," Jacky said, debating whether she should tell him or end it right now and leave.

"Well, we have all night. Would you want to talk about this more privately?" Seeing that she was having a hard time talking about it in front of all these strangers around them. "Here is the thing. If by some bad luck that we did not work out, I still want us to be friends."

"If you are sure, maybe we can talk at your place. My place is not ideal since Dani and Alex will be there." She suggested after contemplating his offer. She felt that it might be a good idea to talk about it. 

"But I don't want to intrude in your place if it will be a problem. We can probably talk in the car." She did not want to be a burden to him and dumped her issues on his lap.

"It is no problem. You are always welcome to my place." He assured her, thinking that it was probably the best place for them to talk seriously about what else she was keeping from him.

They left the restaurant and rode his car to his place, which was not that far. He told her that it was convenient for him to stay nearby, so he had easy access to the hospital.

As soon as they entered his apartment, she finally realized that he was rich. No ordinary doctor could afford a place like this. He immediately offered her a seat in the living room. 

"Would you like a glass of wine?" He offered as he walked towards the other side of the room.

"Sure." Then, when they both settled down on the couch, she blurted out something. "I'm not having sex with you." She suddenly felt embarrassed for saying that. 

Not that she was a prude or saving herself for marriage. On the contrary, she was what others would call a bit slutty. But not tonight or anytime soon. 

"Of course not. We are just going to talk about why you think we can't be an us." He pointed out, slightly smiling a bit to make her a bit comfortable. 

But amuse that she was nervous beside him. A characteristic that he never associated with her before.

"About your question? I was in love with Marcus for a while. Well, I think I was. But he did something that broke my heart. Now, I am not sure if I don't love him anymore, or I am just angry with him for what he did." She planned to lay it all out to him.

She knew she could not keep dodging his questions. She had to come clean to him if there was a chance that they could even be friends.

A single tear started to drop in her eyes. She had no idea why or what it was for, but she could not stop it as another one rolled down.

"I'm sorry, I am not sure why I am crying. But I want to believe that we are over now." She continued.

"Don't worry. Let yourself grieve. I think that is one of the things that you did not do when you broke up with that guy." Sebastian encouraged her to cry because that was a natural reaction to pain. It was a way to release her emotions and start the process of healing.

"But there is something else. Right after we broke off, I also met another guy. But I believe he is far different from Marcus. He made me feel special during the time that I felt so alone." Thinking about Lance still made her miss him. 

She believed that he was someone that she would have a difficult time forgetting. She was uncertain if she developed feelings for him in that short time, they were together. But he certainly made an impact in her life.

"Oh. Are you still together?" He asked, thinking that she might still be in a relationship with another man.

"Nope, we are not. We never had a relationship. Maybe I just put a color to his kindness and friendship. But somehow, it affected me when we parted." Jacky admitted what she had kept denying to herself.

"So, now you think that by dating me, you are using me as a rebound from your failed relationship with them." He finally concluded for her. 

He thought about their situation. 

If he looked at it from another person's perspective, it would seem that she was telling him the truth. But in his opinion, she was just a lost grown woman, trying to find her way back to normalcy.

Fate had dealt her a bad card, and she should not pay for it. That was unless she did deserve it, but he doubted that she did. She might have a bad past. But from the way he saw it, she could use a break.

"Yes, can't you see that?" She insisted as she wiped the tears that dropped on her cheeks. "So, I don't think it would be a good idea if you keep seeing me or become friends with me."

She was not sure if Sebastian was only mocking her or he was genuinely concerned about her from the way he was acting. But to her, no sane man would want to be a part of her life.

"Hey, stop that. I care for you, whether you want to believe that or not. But I do. I don't care if you felt that you had to use me to get over the two men in your life. What matters to me is that you were honest about it." He touched her face with his fingers just below her eyes and started wiping away her tears.

"Don't do that. Don't take pity on me. I don't need it." She slapped his hand away from her face, unamused with what he said.

"Stop it, Jacky. I am your friend for now. If that is what you need." He pulled her to him, giving her a firm embrace and enveloping her in his warmth. 

"Please, just for tonight, let me be your friend." He supported her to continue to cry on his chest, allowing her to release all her pent-up emotions.

He was not sure if his actions would make a difference, but he genuinely liked Jacky. He believed that she deserved a second chance for happiness. He thought that she was a rare gem that he did not want to let go of just like that.