The Royal Contract

"Hey, Jacky. Are you ok?" Dani quickly moved to her aide, thinking of the worse thing that could have happened to her.

She quickly checked her appearance, but she seemed to be ok. The only thing that looked out of place was her bag, which looked a bit disorganized. Was she robbed? She wondered as Jacky failed to answer her.

"Jacky?" It was Alex's turn to call out to her. He waved his hand in front of her face, but her frown suddenly shifted into a smile as if she remembered something great.

Alex moved aside, thinking that he might have made it worse as Jacky slowly moved out of the door and towards the living room. Still, failing to acknowledge their presence.

"Jacky. Are you drunk or going crazy?" This time, Dani could not take it anymore as she grabbed her friend and started shaking her by her shoulders.

She tried to smell if she reeked of alcohol, but Jacky still emanated the perfume she wore earlier. She was not drunk, but what was wrong with her.

"What?" Jacky finally responded and looked at them with that silly grin on her face. But she was still unaware of what just happened and the expression on her face.

Jacky quickly raised her brows, but when she saw the questioning look on Dani's face, Jacky realized what she had been doing for the last few minutes since she entered the apartment. She might have looked like a fool, daydreaming about a certain someone.

Then again, it was a waste of her time to think of such stupid notions when she already knew that there was no future in it. But then again, who said that dreaming was not allowed.

"You tell us. What's going on with you?" Dani examined her friend once again, snapping Jacky again from her thoughts.

Then, something clicked in her mind, figuring out what might be the reason for her friend's weird behavior. If the timing was right, she could only guess that Jacky might have run into Lance.

It was the only logical and obvious answer to her behavior right now. She was in shock, ecstatic, and then down because she saw the man that she had been dreaming of all this time.

She must be undergoing a roller coaster of emotions preventing her from comprehending what was happening at the moment. But would she admit to that? All she could do was speculate.

"I'm just happy because I saw Andy. We had so much fun together." Jacky remembered his brother and used him as an alibi. 

But what she said was true. She did have a great time with Andy. It had been a while since they last saw each other, so spending a few hours with him today had been a great way to use up her spare time. 

She promised him that she would come back soon to visit him or even take him out on a trip. She could not help the smile that showed again on her lips upon the thought that she would see her brother again soon.

"Oh, is that all?" Dani believed that Jacky genuinely enjoyed her time with Andy. But the way she acted earlier was not due to Andy. She was convinced about that.

It had nothing remotely anything to do with the sweet, young boy she recently visited but everything to do with a big, handsome boy who just left their apartment earlier.

"What else could there be?" Jacky said, playing innocent, not wanting to get caught as she grabbed her bag. "I am tired, so I better leave the two of you alone. I already had my dinner, so I am going straight to bed."

Jacky kissed Dani goodbye and waved to Alex as she entered her room without looking back. She finally closed the door and leaned on it. Glad that she was able to get out of there before Dani could question her any further.

Although she wished to share her feelings with Dani, she did not want to do it in the presence of Alex. That was just not right. She knew she could trust Alex, but he was still Lance's cousin. 

There was every likelihood that whatever she would say in front of Alex, it might get back to Lance, by accident or whatever means. She was not about to risk her feelings to be broadcasted when she was not even sure about it.

"Oh! Think carefully about what you are doing. You can't keep breaking your heart because you might not be able to put it together again." She reminded herself as she stood in front of her vanity mirror, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

She undressed and changed into her pajamas. Lying down on her bed, she realized that whatever she felt for Lance had been more complicated than what she wanted it to be. She knew she had to put a stop to it before it eventually broke her apart.

She knew Lance was a good man, and he would never intentionally break her heart. But he never did promise her anything but friendship, and she should not be dreaming or expecting more.

"Come on. You have to stop making a fool of yourself." She told herself, suddenly thinking of Sebastian.

She knew it was the right thing to do. Break her communication with Sebastian while they were not in a deep relationship. It would only break Sebastian's heart more if she did it when they were a month or more into the relationship.

Because she knew that even if they were in a year into the relationship, she might still break it with him and destroy his heart in the process. 

She did not regret doing it now while it was still raw and could still heal, instead of waiting till it was too late to fix things.

On the other side, Dani and Alex sat on the sofa, contemplating what just happened to Jacky. Dani did not wish to share her observation with Alex since she did not want him to have a manly talk with his cousin about Jacky.

That would be awkward for her friend if that happened. So, she just pretended to accept what Jacky said about Andy. "I am glad that Jacky enjoyed her time with his brother."

"Are you sure that it was really about him? Because if you ask me, I think it has Lance written all over that incident." Alex was not blind with the way the two hit it off back home. 

So, he would not be surprised if they found themselves in the same situation when they reunited here. If he was right, he could assume Lance and Jacky saw each other in the corridor.

"Are you also thinking of what I am thinking?" Dani said as she eyed him with curiosity.

The smile he gave her answered her inquiry, but the question was, could she trust him with their secrets? Would sharing her information help Jacky or only worsen her situation?

"I am thinking that two people were miserable when they separated but found themselves smiling again when they saw each other again." He was not naming names, but he knew they were thinking of the same thing.

The only problem that he found himself with was if he should do anything about it. Should he and Dani meddle with their affairs or let fate take over from here? But would destiny do the right thing or only play its cruel jokes?

"Funnily, I think we have the same thoughts." She admitted as much, but would she tell him more.

"Come on. I suppose we need to sleep on it some more. Because as of now, my mind is shifting to another great idea." He said as he pulled her towards him until she was straddling him on the couch.

"I think I like the way you are thinking. But I don't deem Jacky would appreciate seeing us here again once she decided to go out of her room." Dani reminded him, thinking of their last incident.

"Fine, to the room then." He picked her up and rushed her to the room, making her hysterically laugh while he tickled her side.

"Don't you dare drop me down?" She warned him between her laughter.

She never felt more alive whenever she was with him. It seemed like that if they worked together, nothing could go wrong. As if everything they do just magically clicked into place.