The Royal Contract

Honestly, she felt like she was dreaming as she gazed at the majestic view of the ocean before her. She wished she would not wake up from this enchanting dream.

If only she could stay like this forever and forget the world she had left behind, forget the pain. But that was wishful thinking.

“How are you feeling today?” A hand held her by the shoulder. Immediately, she was not alone anymore.

However, she welcomed his presence. He only added to the allure of the place. He had brought colors and life to her empty soul. Yes! She was on the brink of death, but he would not let her go.

He kept pulling her back even when she had finally given up. He fought for her when she stopped fighting for herself. It was not fair to him, but she admitted he was stronger between them.

“I am much better.” She would admit that the battle had just begun, but her ammunitions were almost empty. “Thanks, Marcus.” She turned to her husband and kissed him on the cheek.

.....

She wanted to act tough, but it seemed her old self had abandoned her and left her alone in this fight. She wished to stop crying at night, but the tears kept coming without warning. She had no way of stopping them.

“That is good, Jacky.” But he could tell she was lying. All the signs pointed out that she was still suffering. She was showing a good front. But at night, he could hear her silently crying.

But he was not giving up. He believed that they could recover from this. It would just need time and patience. He just had to be strong for them. He could not give up on her.

“So, do you want lunch?” She quickly stood from her seat on the patio and walked towards the kitchen of their villa.

It was nice of their friends to arrange this vacation for them. She appreciated that they would like to help, but she could not help but wonder if it would do her much good.

Nothing had changed since she had arrived in this beautiful, magical place. Although it did distract her occasionally from her thoughts a few times, she still came back to the problem. She lost her child, and she could not bring her back.

“Yeah, I am starving.” Marcus could only follow her lead. “But we have an appointment with the in-house therapist in an hour.” He reminded her.

It was part of the package of staying in this vacation place. It was for couples with marital problems and other issues involving their relationship.

At that moment, it was not yet a problem, but he could not wait for their situation to eat up their relationship until there was nothing left. Dani was right. They had to address the problem now while the pain was still raw.

“Oh! Is that today?” Jacky acted surprised. Marcus had discussed it with her, but she forgot that the appointment was a bit later.

In truth, her mind was not interested in anything much these days. Her mind and body could only focus on a few things. To do her mundane task, cook, eat, drink and sleep. The last one was still debatable.

Even if she managed to get some sleep, she would still end with a nightmare. She had tried hard not to think about it. But her waking hours were worse than what her mind conjured when unconscious.

“Yes, Jacky. You know we have to talk to someone.” He could see her hesitation.

His wife was someone who could not trust anyone easily. She did not open up about her life to strangers, not even to friends or even to him. He could tell that she still had some deep dark secrets she had buried deep in her mind. Something that only she knew and nobody else.

He could not blame her. She had to brave the street when she was young by doing what she had to do to survive the horrors of her past. It was one of the things that he respected about her.

So, he had never tried to pry about her secrets. He believed when she was ready to tell him. She would do it of her own volition. Therefore, talking to a shrink must be terrifying for her. But he would be there for her every step of the way.

“Ok. I understand.” She answered him as she sat beside him, playing with her food.

“You have to eat, Jacky.” Marcus noticed how she would twirl her fork in her plate, but she barely put much into her mouth. “Please, at least try harder.”

He was also concerned for her health. He supposed she was punishing herself too much because she kept blaming herself for losing their child. But the fault did not lie only with her. He believed he was equally to blame for not being there for her.

“I am trying.” She responded by putting a piece of potato into her mouth, but he could tell it was a struggle.

He knew they badly needed help because he had already lost his child. He could not afford to lose his wife too.

It was just not an option.

He loved Jacky so much.

“Don’t worry. I am here to help. I am not leaving.” Marcus knew she needed constant reassurance that she was not alone in this battle. “We are in this together, even if it would take us forever.”

He pulled her closer to him as they prepared for their first therapy session as a couple. There was no guarantee that this would work, but it was a start.

He just hoped that Jacky would open up and finally let go of all the baggage holding her back. Honestly, he could not help but assume that losing their child was not the only issue.

Something else in her past had resurfaced and was now adding up to her burden. This latest incident had just been the trigger that detonated the bomb, causing the massive explosion inside her.