The Royal Contract

Chapter 145 – The Magic Was Over

She was rushing to finish her work since this morning. The only thing keeping her distracted was the thought that she would be seeing Alex tonight for dinner. He invited her yesterday after he dropped her off at her place. 

After a long time of not feeling this way, she was giggling inside like a schoolgirl. It was like she was about to go out for the first time with her crush. She could feel the excitement that course through her body. 

This time, she was savoring the feeling, unlike before, where she kept suppressing it. She suddenly felt alive with the knowledge that someone was thinking of her. But she had to admit that he was also constantly in her mind.

"Do you want to go out for lunch or eat here?" Jacky interrupted her thought when she suddenly appeared at the door. 

"Let's just eat here." She suggested, not wanting to go out and waste anymore of her time. "Just order whatever you like." She told Jacky, who went back to her desk.

She did not even realize that it was already noon. She was so engrossed in her work or busy being distracted by her thoughts that she barely noticed anything. Then, she remembered walking in her office that morning as she stared at the rose on her table.

Flowers scattered around her office when she arrived earlier. This time, her reaction was completely different from the first time she encountered the same scenario. She could not keep the smile out of her face, smelling one flower after the other.

"I assume that you don't want them around. Should I throw all of the flowers out?" Jacky teasingly said as she stood by the door. She grabbed one that was near her side and stared at it for some time.

She was happy for her friend when she told her last night that she and Alex were now an official couple. She honestly believed that Dani won a jackpot in Alex and vice versa. They were perfect for each other. She could not think of anything wrong that she could say about them.

But she wished that she also had that. She could not help but envy her friend, who seemed to have it all. But it did not mean that she would think ill of her friend. She was happy that her life was finally back in order. There was a man who was willing to love her unconditionally.

"Not this time." She stated as she feasted her eyes at the beauty around her. "But you can get as many as you want and placed it on your table." She offered since she knew how much Jacky liked flowers.

It suddenly brought her back to the secret garden, a magical place where their relationship started. She picked up a set of red roses near her and then looked on the other side. She could see peonies, tulips, and some assortments of flowers. It was all lovely.

"Well, I'll let you go back to your work." Jacky walked out of her room silently, picking two sets of her favorites. But not with the usual sarcasm, teasing, or anything that would indicate that she was back to normal.

"Jacky?" She stopped her before she was out of her sight. "I'm just here if you want to talk." 

She felt guilty that she had spent so little time with Jacky ever since their trip. She knew that she was undergoing something, but she was not able to help her. But how could she help someone who did not want to acknowledge that they needed help?

Last night, when they talked. Jacky only let Dani talked all night about her and Alex. But when it was time to talk about her. She suddenly excused herself, saying that she was exhausted. 

Dani felt that she should do something for her to get her friend back to her jolly self. She needed to make her open up to her.

"I'm good, but we have tons of backlog works to be done." Jacky gave her a sweet smile, but it did not even reach halfway to her cheek. Then, she was out of her door that morning.

Jacky barely entered her room unless there was something urgent that she had to give her. She missed that way that Jacky just barged into her office without any official reason at all.

Now, she looked at her friend, smiling at the delivery boy. But nothing in her smile would indicate that she was happy. It was a fake smile that would never fool her. She knew she had to do something about it.

"The food is here. Do you want to eat now?" She asked, placing the food on the side table, waiting for her instructions.

"Sure. I'll just put this away." She started clearing up her table. They usually eat at her table if they ordered in. That usually saved her time from going out and getting in line with the other diners. Every second of her time was precious to her.

Then, she got to thinking about her new relationship with Alex. Would she have time to spend with Alex while concentrating on her job? Now that she was given several more cases as part of their bargain, in exchange for her pro bono cases. 

Well, she just had to learn to juggle between her work and her relationship. How hard could that be? Her parents were able to handle such a situation, especially her mom. 

She believed she could also do the same. It would just need some time to adjust to the changes.

They started eating their lunch in silence, contemplating their thoughts. After a while, Dani decided that it was time to confront Jacky about her situation. She could not keep dodging her questions.

"How are you handling your breakup with Marcus?" She decided that a direct approach was the best way to get her attention. She kept eating her food as she observed her friend.

"I'm happy that I realized what a jerk he was this soon before it was too late," Jacky answered her as if she already memorized that answer in her mind.

"Are you sure that you are not yet that deep?" Dani had to know the extent of the damage that was done to her by this broken affair.

"I honestly thought that he was the one. But I guess I was wrong again." Jacky answered, emphasizing the last word.

She again started munching on her food and swallowed what remained in her mouth. She dropped the spoon back in its box and looked at Dani.

Jacky knew she could not keep avoiding the question, and she had to tell Dani everything. She did not want her to worry about her. But she was still trying to get a grip of her unexpected roller-coaster adventure in their trip. 

She went with Marcus thinking that he would take her to paradise. She winded up with Lance, who took her on a magic carpet ride. But both short relationships ended just like that. With a poof, she was alone again.

Now, she was back in her reality, where the truth was simple. The magic was over.