The Royal Contract

Something woke her up, but she could barely fathom what it was. When she tried to open her eyes, she barely saw anything as shadows surrounded her vision.

She closed her eyes again, thinking it was still too early to get out of bed. Besides, she was positive she was having a good dream as a smile crept into her lips. She quickly returned to sleep, hoping she could return to her beautiful dream.

"Hey! Wake up." A slightly familiar voice spoke up, but she could not remember who it was. But she swore she had heard it before.

"Aaahhh! Go away." She shooed whoever was the one disturbing her sleep. She could not lose the dream she was having, especially when it was already in its climax.

Her eyes, this time, refused to open as her body cuddled deeper under the warm covers. She enjoyed the softness of the bed and fluffiness of the pillows to give it up until she succumbed again in deep slumber.

After another couple of hours, her consciousness started stirring again. When she tried to open her eyes, she hardly saw anything else except the bright light that came from the other direction. 

She quickly turned away from it and waited till her eyes adjusted to the morning sun. Then, she stretched her body to remove the aches and pains she felt in her muscles and joints.

"Ooohhh!" She could feel a headache starting at the base of her neck and crawling up to her temples. 

That was what she got for drinking too much. She chastised herself as she slowly tried to remember what happened last night. When would she learn to control her liquor consumption?

She might be a strong drinker but not that strong either. She still had a considerable limit that she had to stop. Or else, she would keep ending up like this every time.

"Shit!" She suddenly shouted as she abruptly sat on the bed, which worsened the pain she was feeling. But her mind started to rehash last night's event, slowly recalling going to the club with Nick, dancing, and drinking.

It was not that bad, she thought at first. But when her mind reminded her of the rest of what happened, she began to panic. She could see in her memory how the brawl started and the way she had run away from the club, trying to find her chance to escape.

Then, eventually settling in hiding in the ditch behind a bush until the coast was clear. She remembered failing to secure a vehicle that she could use to escape.

"What happened?" She tapped on her forehead, trying to recall the rest of the story.

But, she did not remember what happened after that. She turned her head in every direction of the room and touched the white sheet that covered her body. She wondered where she was.

She was definite that it was not her apartment. "Did Nick catch me?" She questioned herself. Then, a more alarming thought went through her mind causing a chill to course through her body. "Am I dead? Is this heaven?" She mumbled aloud. "But this could not be heaven." She continued, studying every detail of the place.

She was sure that she could not be in heaven after all the evil things she had done in her life. She did not deserve a reward for being a selfish bitch. 

But if this was hell, maybe it was not that bad at all. But then again, she was not sure if she still had not seen the worse yet. It could be calm between the storm. Later on, she would feel its full wrath.

"No, this is not heaven nor hell. It is just my rented apartment." The slowly becoming familiar voice spoke again. "You are not yet dead, and I am not an angel or a demon." He jokingly said as if he was trying to lighten up the mood.

"I'm glad that you are finally awake. I was beginning to worry since it is already past lunchtime." He added when she failed to respond to his banter.

He had been checking on her since this morning, but she would not wake up. He was worried that she might have been traumatized by what happened last night. He still did not know the entire story of why she had run away and almost endangered herself.

He could tell it had something to do with his brother. Nick was furious when he learned that she was gone from the club. 

He did not notice that she left when the fight ensued.

The fight he started caused a lot of chaos. The bouncer and the other securities had to restrain him from leaving.

It appeared that the man he had beat up was a son of a powerful and wealthy man. It was not easy to bail him out of the situation. It took time to settle the incident. By the time they had finished, this woman was gone.

"Who are you?" She finally spoke up, looking at the man who was still standing by the door. Then, she rubbed her eyes to remove the cobwebs that prevented her from a clear view. Then, she finally saw his face. 

She remembered him from last night. He was talking with Nick. Then, he joined her in the bar and had a couple of drinks. What was he doing here? Did Nick discover her hiding place last night? Was she once again a prisoner in this house? More questions plagued her mind as she looked at the man who was now moving in her direction.

"I'm Jacob." He introduced himself. "I found you on the ditch unconscious. I could not leave you there because you might suffer hypothermia, and you also had several bruises that needed treatment." He pointed to her arms and legs that were starting to form some discolorations.

He could see the panic look in her eyes as if she was about to run. She was scared, but she was trying to hide it under her passive stare and a brave face. He had seen this look from many of his patients when they could not decide if they wanted the operation.

"I am Nick's secret bastard brother." He did not know why he felt the need to explain to her who he was. Maybe it was to make her feel comfortable around him, to make her trust him by telling her more about himself.

But he realized his mistake when she suddenly scrambled out of bed and was about to make her escape. It was clear that she was running away from his brother. He was suddenly more curious about her reason.

"Please, just let me go. Tell your brother that I got away." She pleaded when he did not move away from the door.

She just confirmed that Nick had found her, and she was once again at his mercy. But this time, she was sure that he would not allow her to fool him again. She would pay for what she had done, and it would probably cause her life if she could not convince this man to let her go.

"Wait. Not so fast. I assure you that I am not acting on behalf of my brother. I only brought you here because I don't want any harm to befall you." He tried to convince her. He knew she was not in the condition to leave, not just yet.

"Let me treat your bruises and maybe eat something. Then, you are free to go." He assured her, raising his hands to indicate that he was harmless and did not plan to hurt her. 

He could see that she was not easily convinced, and her wary look warned him that he should not do any dirty tricks. But he was not like his brother. 

He treated all women equally, the way he would treat his mom.. He believed that everyone should have equal rights, whether women or men.