The Royal Contract

Chapter 436 – Banned Territories

She grabbed the bottle of wine from the welcome package that was left on a side table inside her bedroom. "This is nice." She uttered to herself, examining the expensive bottle in her hands.

She wanted to see her friend, but she was informed that it was impossible because Dani had a prior engagement. She was a bit disappointed, yet she understood her friend's situation.

After a meeting with another program coordinator, Marcus and Jacky decided to go their separate ways. She had declined the dinner buffet prepared for the guest at the garden, opting to stay in her room for the night.

She was tired, frustrated, and not in the mood to mingle. She would be no good company to anyone who would bump into her.  Not that she was expecting to see her type of crowd.

"So, let me see what we have here." She walked further inside the room, scanning the immense space. It was a different room from the one she occupied the last time she was here.

It was actually enormous and more extravagant than the previous one she had before. The design focused on the feminity of the room. 

It was something she would approve of, especially the girly colorful decorations. It suited her personality and made the room quite lovely and lively. 

"What can I do to pass the time?" She thought, dropping down on the sofa, pouring the wine in a glass. 

She could use the reddish liquid to relax her muscles, calm her nerves and hopefully give her a sound sleep. As of now, she was not sure what was making her more agitated.

She leaned her tired body on the back of the cushion, putting her feet up on the coffee table. After taking a sip, she let her eyes wander around the room until it ended up on the ceiling.

She was staring at the beautiful architecture and the colorful arts, but it could have been a blank wall. She would never have noticed any of it as her mind flew away somewhere else.

Was it the wedding, or was it the thought of seeing Lance again causing her restlessness? Then, another thought nagged at her. 

Could there be another reason for her internal turmoil?

"This is insane." She stopped herself from letting her mind go to her unwanted reflections of the past or her recent past.

She drank the remaining wine in her glass and refilled it again with a next half full. Then, she took the glass of wine, walking past the living room into the open balcony.

As soon as she stepped outside the doors, she already sensed the calming effect of the air. The night had already seized hold of the light outside, allowing the darkness to take over.

Only in this kind of scenario did she find the beauty behind the shadows. A moment like this showed her that darkness could be exciting and intriguing, giving the vibe of mystery and enchantment.

But before she could drink half of the content of her glass, a knock on her room surprised her. It was late, and she was not expecting anyone to drop by.

"Who is it?" She shouted as soon as she stood in front of the door. Still, she did not attempt to open the door, waiting for the other person to answer.

"It is me, Marcus." The man said behind the door.

But hearing his voice and confirming with his name did little to assure her that she should open the door. On the contrary, it only increased her anxiety to see him again.

Suddenly the thought that she had been avoiding earlier came rushing at the forefront of her mind. She did not want to go to dinner without the assurance that Dani would be there was a lie.

It would seem that Dani's absence at the dinner did not count much to her. The thing that actually mattered was seeing him present in the gathering.

"Are you going to open the door, or are you just going to let me rot out here all night?" Marcus asked with a slight plea in his voice.

He had been debating whether to go back to his room or proceed as planned. The plan was to go to Jacky's room and knock on her door.

It all sounded so simple in his head, but it was more difficult than he had thought when he stood outside her door. His hand poised in front of him but could not bang his fist on the wooden door.

But finally, after several options, he found the courage to do what he had to do. Then he found himself face to face with the woman who had him twisted in a knot when she opened the door.

"What do you want?" Jacky asked, raising her eyebrows at him, daring him to answer.

She was beginning to think that his presence in front of her was becoming less and less a coincidence. It was as if some of their encounters were deliberate.

But it could be her paranoia acting out, making her doubt his intentions. She found it unbelievable that he had a change of heart and suddenly grown a heart.

"I thought that we might grab dinner together. Not here, but I know a place not far from here." He quickly amended his offer, seeing that she was about to decline. "I think I still owe you a pizza or a burger." 

He reminded her of their arrangement earlier. He thought it was a perfect excuse to see her and spend time with her. He now understood what Alex had gone through after meeting Dani.

It felt like Jacky was his opium that he could not get enough of. He craved for her the more she moved farther away from him. But he could do nothing but wait for crumbs to fall to satiate his hunger.

"I am not hungry like I told them." Referring to the organizers who invited her to join them at the party.

"But I think your stomach begs to disagree." He stated, trying to catch her with her bluff. He pretended to hear her intestine make a guttural sound due to a lack of food. "Besides, you should not be drinking with an empty stomach.

Marcus did not actually hear anything coming from Jacky. But he could sense that she was already hungry because she had barely eaten anything the entire day.

"My stomach is not making a sound just like you are implying, but a pizza sounds good." She suddenly realized that her stomach was almost empty.

Maybe it would not be that bad to go get a pizza with him compared to going to the garden with all those stuffy guests. 

She believed she just needed to be extra careful not to fall again for his charms.

"Shall we go?" He quickly offered before she changed her mind, which she would likely do if she came to her senses.

"Fine. Just let me grab my bag." Warning bells rang in her head, but she was ignoring it.

But seeing him, his handsome face, his impeccable body, and his boyish charms, she knew it would never be easy.. As much as she tried to control herself, her mind finally went straight to banned territories.