The Royal Contract

"Cassie, are you still awake?" He walked to the door excitedly, carrying a paper bag in his hand.

He was supposed to have a late shift, but the operation did not push through. Miraculously, the child recovered from her comatose and appeared to be doing well even without the need for operation.

He had been looking forward to going home earlier than before since she had stayed with him at his apartment. His lonely life had been more colorful with her around.

"In here." She shouted at him, directing him to follow her voice into the small kitchen.

She was not expecting him to come home early. These past few days, he had been practically living in the hospital. He would only come home to take a bath and change, and then, he was off again.

"Where?" He looked around the source of her voice, but he found the room empty. There was no sign of her anywhere. He wondered if he only imagined her voice as his eyes roamed around the room.

"Down here, Jacob." She spoke again as she continued with her business.

She was about to prepare dinner when she accidentally dropped her small pouch on the floor. When she retrieved her things, she found some of them had rolled all over the place.

"Oh, I hope dinner is not down there." He jokingly commented, finding the scene interesting.

He found her underneath the kitchen counter, with her bum sticking on the air. She knelt and bent on the floor, reaching for something under the covers.

He knew that she had a body that many men would die to have, but he did not realize that he would be one of them. He had not noticed her in that way before. But now, he began to appreciate her figure at his angle.

"Fortunately for you, nope. I dropped some of my things." She explained to him, finally picking up the last piece, her lipstick. 

She slowly stood up from her position, finding her knees a bit stiff after kneeling too long. Jacob quickly grabbed her by the arms to help her stand straight, seeing that she had some difficulty.

"Do you need some help?" He asked as he checked the floor for any remaining things she might have left still scattered around.

She thanked him, fixing the shirt and the shorts she was wearing before facing him. She found the gesture very endearing. If his brother stood in Jacob's shoes, Nick would never have bothered to give her the time of day to help her.

"I'm good. Why don't you sit down while I start dinner." She instructed, pointing to the chair by the counter.

She grabbed the ingredients she would need in the ref, deciding on a quick and easy meal to prepare. She was not an expert, but she did make a delicious pasta meal.

"Ok, by the way, I brought you this." He placed the brown bag in front of her that contained a bottle of wine.

He felt like celebrating with the turn of events at the hospital. In addition, he was not working the next day. It was a perfect way to enjoy and relax for a change.

Besides, it would be nice to drink with good company. In the few times that he had the pleasure of conversing with her, he learned that he liked talking to her.

"Wow! What is the occasion?" She grabbed the bottle on the table and read the label. 

It was not the type of wine that she usually had before. It was a cheap imitation of a famous brand, but she did not care. She believed it would taste better since she would be drinking it with someone not as bitter as Nick.

"Do we need an occasion? Maybe I only want to enjoy a night without thinking that tomorrow will be the end of everything." He told her as he took a comfortable seat on the counter, watching her move around his kitchen.

He saw her clutch a knife and chop some vegetables on the board with ease. It was like he was watching her create a masterpiece in front of him.

"I used to do that. Look at where it had gotten me." She warned him, thinking of how she wasted her life because of her wrong decisions.

If only she had planned more carefully and thought of the consequences of her actions, then maybe, she would not be in this mess.

She might be living a different life. She suddenly remembered her best friend and ex-lover. She might be with Troy by now, married and occupying a white picket fence two-story house.

"Well, you have been hanging out in the wrong crowd." He corrected her. He could not help but compare him to his brother.

He believed that he was a better man than him, not only because his brother was a criminal while he was a doctor. But because he treated women with respect.

"Are you saying that you are the right one?" She raised her brows at him, looking at him with skepticism. "Do you think you are better and nicer than the rest of them?"

She temporarily stopped her mincing as she stared at him, waiting for his answer. She did observe during the short time she had been staying with him that he was indeed a good guy.

"Modesty aside, I do think so." Jacob knew that she was only taunting him, but he could not help but ride along. "I believe that you won't find any other men out there better than me."

"What about you?" He diverted the attention away from him and redirected it back to her. "What can you tell me about yourself?"

They never talked much about anything personal about her. Cassie did share things about her past, but mostly it revolved around his brother. She was yet to tell him about her interests, ambitions, or dreams.

But he usually did not push her to tell him anything that she was not comfortable sharing. It was slow progress of getting to know each other, but he did not see the urgency of the matter.

"I decided to leave tomorrow." She unexpectedly blurted out.

She could not remain hidden forever in his apartment. She would eventually have to leave.. She felt she already had overstayed the welcome.