The Royal Contract

Chapter 376 - Out Of The Blue

Jacob woke up with a grumbling stomach as his nose involuntarily started sniffing the air. There was a delicious aroma piercing his consciousness, making his body aware of his surrounding.

His mind pondered if he could be dreaming, but then again, why would he be asking that if he was. It just did not make sense as his nose continued to enjoy the enticing smell of delicious food.

"If only I could cook like that." Jacob thought to himself, feeling the lack of food on his stomach. He suddenly remembered the burger he barely ate for dinner last night before the staff paged him again.

He tried to pry his eyes open, but it was a struggle. It was not a hangover since he barely drank last night with his new friend, but he was tired, extremely tired.

His alarm had not gone off yet, so it must still be early, but he could already see the bright light coming from his window. He was not due to the hospital this morning, so he planned to stay late on the bed.

"What the heck?" He yelped when he fell on the floor when he quickly turned on his back.

He believed that he went straight to bed last night, but apparently, he did not make it further in his apartment. He was surprised when he found himself on his sofa instead of the bed.

Luckily, he had found a place not too far from the hospital. It would have been harder if he had to drive several more minutes in traffic before reaching his home.

"Oh! I am glad that you are finally awake. I made breakfast." Someone not far spoke to him. It took him a few seconds to adjust his eyes to see who it was.

He was shocked to find that he was not alone in his apartment. He quickly scrambled on his feet to make himself decent. But he finally recognized who the intruder was.

He did not expect that she would still be here. After he had attended to her bruises and forced her to eat something, he thought that she would leave at the first chance she got.

"You are still here." He uttered in amazement, suddenly feeling dumb for saying the obvious. "I meant I assumed you had left when I went to work." He quickly corrected his statement.

In his defense, he felt like he was still dreaming and nothing about this morning was real. He seldom slept on his sofa, finding his bed more comfortable.

Then, he never had a girl come over to his place. Well, at least, this new place of his. He barely met new people in this city to have someone to come over, let alone have a sleepover.

"I hope you don't mind. I was still not feeling quite well yesterday. I decided to take on your offer to stay for one more day." She immediately explained her presence, still in his apartment.

She did still feel sore after the bruising she got from what happened the other night, in addition to her exposure to the cold temperature of the night breeze.

She was lucky, Jacob found her just in time, or she might be suffering a worse condition. She did not want to think of what else could be worse than her present situation.

"No. Of course not, Cassie. I don't mind." He stopped his mumbling as he walked closer to her.

It was a small apartment but big enough to cater to his need. It had a small kitchen, a decent size living room, but only one bedroom. His mind was suddenly analyzing the situation.

If he did make it to his bedroom, and then he might end up sleeping on the same bed as her. That might have been one chaotic night. He thanked his lucky star for letting him fall on the sofa instead.

"Don't worry. Once we eat breakfast, I will call a cab and be out of your hair in a jiff." She swore, putting his palm up in the air. "Don't be mad, but I rummaged through your kitchen and cooked what I found edible in it."

She did have a hard time finding the ingredients she needed to cook a decent meal. But she believed she managed to prepare a delicious one despite the lack of food in the pantry.

"I'm sorry about that. I planned to do some groceries, but I am always busy at the hospital. I always ended up eating at the cafeteria." He explained the situation in his kitchen.

He was suddenly slightly embarrassed with his situation, but he did try. It was just hard to live a regular life for a man like him. With his irregular schedules and long hours of work, doing domesticated things was his last priority.

He then noticed that his place did not seem like a pigsty anymore. There were no scattered clothes or leftover food in the living room or the kitchen. Not that he was very messy, he just was too tired to do anything else.

He instantly wondered what his room must have looked like this morning. He did remember leaving it a bit untidy. But judging from what he was seeing, he could expect that it was now neat.

"Anyway, you should not have cleaned the place up." He told her as he moved to get some coffee. He noticed that she also had managed to prepare some. "You also did not have to cook. We could just have ordered."

"It is alright. I am hungry since it is your food, then I should be the one to cook. Besides, I had nothing to do when you left. The least I can do for your hospitality is to tidy the place." She explained to him, hoping that he did not mind.

Cleaning up his small apartment was not that hard. He was not that gross that he had left rotten foods around the place. Maybe an empty soda on the table and a few clothes around the room but nothing terrible.

As he mentioned yesterday, he was a doctor. Maybe he was telling the truth. He did not have time to buy groceries, explaining his lack of food in the refrigerator or his cabinets.

"Then, let us eat. I am also starving." Smelling the scent of the food that was already on the table. He could not wait to dig in as his eyes feasted on the beautifully cooked homemade food in front of him.

It had been a while that somebody had cooked for him. He longed to taste something that was freshly cooked and did not come from a box. It could have been a boiled egg, but he would have loved it too.

"Sure," Cassie sat opposite to him and offered the omelet, bacon, and some garlic toasts she had prepared. She would have cooked more, but there was nothing left in the kitchen.

"Anyway, you don't have to rush to leave. You can still stay for a few more days if you need a place to crash. Although my place is nothing much to look at, you will be safe here.." He suddenly offered out of the blue.