The Royal Contract

She would love to run a marathon but not today. She touched her head wet with perspirations, and her waist, aching with every step. She loved the view before her as the sun rose from the east, but she needed her rest.

“Enough.” She complained as she eyed the bench a few feet from where she stood. Immediately, she made her way to the wooden chair and made herself comfortable with her husband assisting her.

As part of the order of her doctors, she had to take a few minutes of walking every morning. They said that it would help her in her labor. But it did not mean that she had to overdo it.

Luckily, their garden on the rooftop of their apartment had ample space for her to take her stroll. She did not need to go too far to absorb a little sunshine and breathe fresh air.

However, the closer she was to her term, the harder it was to move around. It felt like she swallowed a gigantic watermelon that was weighing her down.

“But we barely...” Alex was about to argue with her, but she would not hear it. It was her body, and she was saying enough. She would walk again when she was ready.

.....

She had finally agreed to stay at home after she felt an unusual cramp in her belly. Then, her body acted alarming with the dizzy spells and the high blood pressure.

Her doctor thought it could be nothing. Some pregnant women experienced these symptoms. Or, her doctor might have said that so she would not worry. Still, her physician suggested that she should take it slow and stop working in the meantime.

Of course, for her baby, she had to comply. But she would go crazy if she had nothing to do but stare at her apartment. So, she agreed to a compromise of taking a little work at home but resting more.

“Hey, there you are.” A friendly, familiar voice interrupted their quiet morning, making them look at their visitor. “I like what you have done to this place.” He complimented as he touched a rosebud that was about to bloom soon.

“Evan.” Alex beckoned him to join them as he sat beside his wife, taking her hands in his.

After they had been to the doctor, the couple had decided to make some changes in their affair. Since they had been busy with their careers, they had forgotten to change their wills and other arrangements.

Now that they were having a baby, they felt they needed to update their plans for the future, including their unborn child in the equation. They had to secure their child’s future if anything should happen to them.

“I am glad that you came. I would have dropped by at your office, but as you can see, I am under house arrest.” Dani jokingly said as one of her hands automatically touched her swollen belly while the other stayed connected with her husband.

Since Marcus was away on vacation and David was busy with an urgent case, they had appointed Evan to handle their personal affairs. Aside from their two friends, Evan was one of the people they trusted most in their lives.

“You know I never have a choice when it came to you. I believe you will hunt me down if I have not shown up.” Evan replied, shaking his hands out of fear, but they all knew he was only teasing her back. “But I am happy to see you are looking great.”

He was happy that his friends were having a baby. Lately, the thought of having his own had been surprisingly not so frightening anymore. The idea of building his family had been keeping him awake at night.

He could not wait to see Amelia again and win her back. So far, he believed that he was making significant progress. He did not want to rock the boat by messing up again.

However, he remembered that last night when he called her. She sounded weird. It was like she was keeping something from him. She said it was nothing, just busy with the party.

Then when he called back, she was already exhausted and had to go early to rest. He did not want to put too much thought into it, but it was still nagging at him.

“Thanks, man, for coming on short notice.” Alex pointed for his friend to sit down on the other available bench.

“So, why am I here?” Evan asked his friend, having no idea why they summoned him.

The couple talked about what they had discussed the night before. They wanted Evan to draw a will that would include their child in their future and some contingency if something would happen to them.

They knew it sounded morbid to talk about their deaths, but it was necessary since nobody had any control over when somebody would die. They still could remember when they visited Jacky at the hospital. They overheard someone talking about a couple who died in a car accident, leaving their small child orphaned. They only wanted to be prepared for any eventuality.

Soon, they moved to Alex’s office to discuss the situation more, while Dani went to the kitchen to ask their helper to prepare breakfast. While she was in her late trimester, Alex had insisted that she had some company in the house while he was away.

He was not comfortable leaving her alone in the apartment with her condition. Of course, she agreed with him, remembering what happened to Jacky, who had no one to help her when the accident occurred.

Then, Dani returned to the other room to join the meeting but stopped by the door when she heard Evan talking about something else. She did not want him to stop if he saw her, so she stayed hidden by the door, eavesdropping on their conversation.

“We all make mistakes. Even I fumbled a few times when Dani and I started. I am sure you know Marcus made a big mess before he and Jacky ended up together.” She heard her husband tell Evan, trying to give him some advice.

She could not agree more with Alex. She remembered how men could easily ruin relationships with their insensitivity and immaturity.