The Royal Contract

He had attended to her every need, breakfast in bed, even almost spoon-feeding her if she did not complain. Then, a warm bath had already waiting for her in the bathroom, with fresh rose petals and a lavender scent.

Then, he coerced her out of their apartment, asking her to go with him. When she asked where they were going, he only said they were visiting a place. But he would not tell her more.

“What are we doing here again?” Jacky glanced at her husband as she gaped at the beautiful home in front of them.

It was not that big, but not small either. Then, the architecture was not that old, so it might still be relatively new with the modern design and large, tinted glass windows surrounding the upper floors.

But not just that.

She could not stop staring at the lovely lawn and the manicured garden around the perimeter. She always wondered what it would be like to live in a house surrounded by greeneries, looking at an imposing tree not far from the main structure.

.....

It was a home that she had usually seen in a magazine. A white picket fence that most orphans liked her who had lived in the dirty street half their lives would dream about but could never imagine having.

She remembered how she had slept on a cardboard box in a dirty alley alongside the dumpster. Then, how she and her friends used the back of the building as their playground.

But that was how she had survived between foster homes until she found her luck. It had not been an easy journey, but she had made it out of that place. But was she in a better place?

“We are meeting with a friend,” Marcus answered her as they walked into the front door. But before he could say anything else or she could ask another question, the front door opened as if someone was expecting them.

“Thank you for meeting us on such short notice.” Marcus quickly said to the woman who opened the door.

Thankfully, Dani had thought of this last night as he discussed his situation with his friend, making the necessary arrangement for him. He would not have thought of this if not for her suggestion.

“Rosella, what are you doing here?” Jacky was surprised to see a familiar face on the other side of the door.

She was not expecting to find one of her friends in this place. She did not hear any news that she had transferred into the suburban homes. Not that she had updated herself with most of her friends’ lives nowadays.

She suddenly felt guilty that she had been drowning in her misery. She had neglected her friends and failed to comprehend what had been going on in their lives.

Yes! She constantly communicated with her friends. But they had been walking on eggshells around her, afraid to add to her pain. Now, she could only wonder what was on their minds, especially Dani, who must be worried about her.

She remembered she could not even ask her best friend about her pregnancy, afraid it would set her back to a crying frenzy. But was it fair to her friend who had always been there for her?

But was she ready to face her demons, recalling what happened to her last night?

“Of course, I am always here to help, Marcus.” Rosella first addressed Marcus, giving him a solid handshake and treating him as a friend and, at the same time, a client. “Jacky, it is nice to see you again. You look great.” She turned her attention to her friend.

She had been friends with Jacky since she became seriously involved with David. Her fiance finally felt it was time he introduced her to his family and friends. She did not mind the wait since she did not want David to feel she had forced him to tie the knots.

She would marry him when she had assurance that he was ready to lose his bachelor’s life. She did not want him to fall off the wagon when they were already deeply committed to each other because she was not ready to commit to one woman for the rest of his life.

“Thanks.” Jacky appreciated that her friend did not ask if she was ok. It was tiring to tell everyone she was ok. Instead of helping, they were more likely hurting her by reminding her constantly of her loss.

“Shall we come in?” Rosella offered, standing aside to widen the door for them to pass through. “Let me show you around.”

Rosella stepped aside, giving them a better view of the interior decorations before walking before them to guide them along the short hallway until they reached the receiving area.

The entire room was full of stylish furniture, trendy decor, and paintings that looked like they belonged to a museum. It was beautiful indeed and looked very classy.

“You have a beautiful home,” Jacky commented as her eyes roamed every inch of the room. Still, she speculated why Marcus brought her to Rosella’s home.

“Oh! Thanks, Jacky, but this is not mine.” Rosella looked at her as if she was also confused. “I am under the impression that you two are looking for a new place.” She tried to clarify the matter, glancing at Marcus and then at her friend.

“Yes, we are.” Marcus immediately interjected as he turned to her wife, who he knew would be surprised by the news. “I think it is time that we consider buying a house.”

He had not told him intentionally of his plans, wanting to see how she would react to it once she learned about it. From the expression on her face, he could not tell what was going through her mind. He feared she might reject his proposal even before seeing what he had to offer.

He figured that staying in their apartment where the memory of their loss would continue to remind his wife of the tragic incident was not such a good idea. “I feel it can be our new start.”

He took his wife’s hand and cradled it firmly in his hands, feeling the coldness of her skin against his warm palms. He still could not determine what she might be thinking as her eyes remained blank as she looked into his eyes.

“Would you like to see the rest of the house?” Rosella had no idea that Jacky was clueless about Marcus’s plans.

She was suddenly standing in the middle of an awkward situation. Fortunately, her phone rang, giving her an excuse to step away from the couple for a second.

She moved to the open doorway to the backyard, giving her friends some privacy to discuss this matter while she attended to a call. It must be another client finding an unknown caller on her screen. But she still heard some of their conversations before their voices faded away.

“Why did you not tell me?” Jacky asked her husband, not angry but a little perplexed. She was not expecting they would be house hunting when they had left their apartment.

“Because I want this to be my surprise to you,” Marcus said as she stared into her eyes.

He could see that Rosella did a great job finding them this place. It looked like what he had imagined Jacky might want in a house. It was not too imposing but not small for a starting family.

Although the decorations might not be what Jacky might desire for their home, she could easily replace them. But the backyard was what had caught his attention as well.

He liked the idea of the big tree with a swing under its shade. It made the place look like a home rather than a house. He could have a small pool in the backyard, and it would be great when they finally had a child again.

“But we should talk about these things. You can’t decide on matters this big on your own.” Jacky could not understand how she felt about it.

“I did not decide on anything yet.” Marcus could not understand the slight hostility in her voice. “I am merely suggesting that we should check out a new place where we can build a family.” He tried hard to lower his voice, not wanting to aggregate the situation.

Suddenly, she abruptly snatched her hands out of his and stepped back away from him. “What family? We lost our child. We are not building a family.” She raised her voice a little higher, looking at him as if he was spilling nonsense.

“Yes, we lost our first child. But we can still have more. We can still try again and start a family.” Marcus tried to reason with her, remaining relaxed, not to escalate her already agitated state.

The doctors had assured them that despite the miscarriage, Jacky would still be able to bear another child. Although, the doctors could not guarantee that it would all go well the next time since no one could. Pregnancy would always have risks.

But instead of calming her down, she moved a few more steps back as she looked at him with fury in her teary eyes. “You wish me to go through that again.” Suddenly, something in her snapped.

She could not even imagine herself having a baby and losing it again. That was one incident that she could not relive again. It was such a painful experience.

“I don’t know what you want, Jacky, because you won’t talk to me.” Marcus moved closer to her. “You are shutting me out.” Like her, he could not contain his emotions anymore as his voice rose an octave higher.

He was as lost as she was. He was also drowning in their situation, but unlike her, he was trying to swim back to the surface.