The Royal Contract

It was like something was missing, but she was not sure what. But she sure felt a lot of pain in the lower part of her body. She blinked her eyes several times, realizing she was not in her room.

It was not her house.

The lights were bright, and the walls and ceilings were white, but she did not recognize the place until she had seen her surroundings. Rotating her head, she saw the machines around her.

“Anybody out there.” She whispered, trying to make sense of her surrounding. She needed answers as she searched her memories for an explanation.

She closed her eyes for a second, hoping to clear her mind. Then, she opened it again to see her husband walking toward her with a smile. But there was something wrong.

She had noticed it in his eyes as he approached closer. Embedded deep in those orbs, she could see the sadness. Despite the smile on his lips, something was bothering him.

.....

But what?

Then, a man on a coat followed him inside the room, wearing an expression she could not understand. Her husband looked at him as if begging, but the doctor maintained his stoic look, neither happy nor sad.

“Hi, baby. I am glad that you are finally awake.” He held her hand, gripping it tightly in his hands and pulling it upwards until it rested on his cheek. He caressed her as if he had almost lost her. Did he?

She could feel his warmth radiating into her skin from the tiny contact, feeling the love and concern overflowing from him. However, she was still clueless until something popped up in her head.

It was a weird memory. Was it a dream? Whatever it was, she did not like it. It was an image that could only mean horrible things. Correction, it was not a dream, but a nightmare.

“What is going on?” She finally asked as she heard her voice float in the air. “What am I doing here?” Then, she noticed the dark circles in his eyes. It looked like he had been lacking sleep and crying.

But why?

He still had not answered her question, but it seemed that his eyes would like to shed some tears again. Was she dying? Was that it? But she could not remember if she was even sick.

“Ms. Kenley, I am Dr. Wyett, assigned with your condition.” The doctor stood on the other side of her bed, introducing herself. It seemed the doctor was also assessing her state as she held herself from divulging her health situation.

Did she dare to guess what was in her husband’s and the doctor’s mind? If she had a choice, she would want to be clueless because she could already foresee that it would not be something good.

Still, she hoped against hope that she might be wrong. “What is wrong with me? Will you explain what happened?” She was afraid to ask, but she knew she needed an answer as she alternated between looking at her husband and the doctor.

“First, do you remember your name?” The doctor conducted several tests to check her mental capacity and body movements.

“What are you not telling me?” She was tired of responding to all the doctor’s questions. It was now time that they answered hers.

She looked at her husband, wanting to hear what was going on. She could not bear the waiting anymore, impatient to know what was wrong with her.

“Marcus, what is it?” She could see it in his eyes. He had something big to tell her, but he seemed hesitant, afraid of what her reaction would be.

Honestly, she was afraid too, but she had to know.

“I am sorry, Jacky.” He finally responded, looking directly into her eyes. “But we lost... our baby” Then, he halted, unable to continue anymore. He did not shed tears, but his eyes were filled with them, threatening to fall.

Then, it came flooding into her mind, the last memory that she could remember. She went home early to surprise him with a special dinner because she had something remarkable to tell him.

She was cooking his favorite dish and even picked his favorite wine. She had almost finished her preparation when her phone rang. She ran to get it, thinking it might be him, then her feet slipped.

She was falling.

Yes, she probably landed on the floor hard, knocked the wind out of her, then the last thing she remembered was the lights turning black. She concluded that she had an accident.

And she lost their baby.

“Marcus!” That was all that came out of her lips as the memories came back, rushing like a tidal wave.

Tears automatically filled her eyes, and then they flowed down her cheeks. There was no stopping it as the pain of losing her child had finally sunk into her mind and soul.

“Jacky!” She heard his voice, but she ignored him. She could only feel the pain of what she had done.

She killed her baby.

Then, her mind returned to that night when she took the pregnancy test as soon as she had arrived home. She had asked her secretary to buy it for her, suspecting that she might be pregnant because of the delay in her period and the unusual symptoms she had been experiencing.

She could not believe it when the stick turned positive. Although they had been careful, there were times that, during the heat of passion, they had unprotected sex. So, it was no surprise that she might get knocked up.

Although it was not yet in their plans to have a baby, they would still accept if fate would bless them with one. Last night, after seeing the result, she knew it was a sign that they were ready to have children.

“I am sorry.” Jacky finally uttered in between her sobs. “I am sorry, Marcus, for killing our child.” She had no one else to blame but herself.

She cried.

She whined against the cruelty of their fate.

She blamed herself for the terrible fate of her unborn child.