The Royal Contract

Chapter 853: A zebra could change its stripes

She sat on the gurney of the tiny cubicle where the nurse had asked them to wait. “You know you are overreacting, Alex.” She protested as he drove her to the emergency room to have her checked.

Her eyes roamed at the familiar place, not finding being in it comforting. Although she had nothing against a hospital, she still preferred to stay away. She was ok. She did not need a doctor to examine her.

His eyes searched her face before responding to her. “Can you blame me? You should have seen yourself earlier. I still want a doctor to check on you.” His voice carried no room for argument.

But stubborn as she was, she could not help herself. “It was probably the wine from last night or maybe something she ate. And the exhaustion that got to me.” She continued to reason out.

She was sure it was nothing serious, although she still felt slightly dizzy and queasy. But she still did not believe it should merit a trip to the doctor.

Currently, they had to wait for a doctor to attend to her. Fortunately, it did not take long because she could see the concern in his eyes as if he could not wait another minute to know what was wrong with her.

At least a familiar doctor showed up, taking her chart. “Alex.” He greeted him first. Then, his eyes turned to her, noticing her on the bed. “Dani, what is wrong? What brought you here?”

.....

“Hello, Dr. Reece.” She was not surprised to see him here since he had worked for this hospital for quite some time. “I am sure it is nothing, Sebastian. My body is just reacting to something I ate last night.”

She had a look at herself in the bathroom mirror earlier. Even she was a bit concerned. She looked like she had just seen a ghost as her face lost color. If she was honest, she did not feel well at the time. But that was normal after vomiting.

But she quickly regained her strength after the heaving stopped. She tried to minimize what her body had experienced, not wanting the unnecessary fuss. She believed it was just due to some slight food poisoning. But she felt much better now.

“I need to be sure. You almost fainted on the bathroom floor.” Alex interrupted her as he moved to her side, grabbing her hand to make a point. “There is nothing wrong if I want to be cautious.”

After all the things that happened to them, she could not blame him for being overly protective of her. Still, she believed this was excessive to rush to the doctor when she could rest and wait for her mild symptoms to run their course at home.

“I think there is no harm in running some test since you are already here.” Her doctor friend recommended as he took the side of her husband. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovelFɪre.net

Two against one.

She had no choice but to concede. So, she might as well consent to the test that the doctor would order. But at the moment, he wanted to ask a few questions about her earlier experience and present condition.

“Tell me what you were doing before you vomited and almost fainted,” Sebastian asked as he held a tablet in his hand.

Suddenly, she remembered what they were doing that morning, making her slightly blush before the doctor. How could she explain to her friend that she was giving him an oral sex job? But was that crucial to this?

She doubted it, but just for fun, she could not resist.

“I think I might know what happened earlier.” She looked at the doctor and then to her husband, who had no clue what she had in mind. “Do you remember, Alex?” She could not help the glint shining in her eyes at the naughty thought playing in her mind.

“Any information would help diagnose your condition.” Sebastian encouraged her to continue as he checked her vital signs. The doctor checked her pulse and blood pressure through the machines he attached to her body.

“Well, I was...” But before she could say more, Alex stopped her by standing beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“I don’t think the doctor needs the full details.” She could feel her husband’s embarrassment, but, of course, she was only teasing him.

However, the look on her husband’s face was priceless upon realizing what she was about to tell the doctor. It was a moment that she would remember for a long time.

“As I was saying, I woke up, and when I tried to stand up, I suddenly felt dizzy and had to run to the bathroom.” She explained to her husband’s sudden relief.

She was not about to divulge to a friend what they did inside the room unless it was a medical emergency, which she doubted was her current case.

“Honestly, I believed it was too much food and champagne.” Dani reiterated, not believing that something else was wrong with her body.

She believed she just had her yearly check-up a couple of months ago. Based on that, she was in perfect health. After her father had his first attack, she wanted everyone checked.

So, she did not believe this would be anything but a minor illness that a good night’s sleep and a healthy diet could readily cure. Besides, her symptoms were already gone. She felt perfectly alright.

“Still, let me run some tests,” Sebastian arranged for their transfer to a private room while he conducted the other examinations.

Even if she disagreed with the plan, she allowed it, not wanting Alex to worry about her. She was sure that the doctor would just be wasting his time, finding nothing that should alarm them.

“I hope this will not take long because all I want now is a long, warm relaxing bath and a long comfortable sleep on my bed.” She told the nurse assisting Sebastian as he drew blood on her skin for the testing.

“Don’t worry. It will only take a while. You will be out of here soon enough.” Doctor Sebastian tapped her on the hand after he finished the routine procedure and left.

Now, here she was with Alex waiting for the result. It would be a lie if she said she did not feel anxious about the results. Her experience with the hospital had not been great.

“Hello, Dani. It is a surprise to see you here.” She suddenly turned to the door, surprised to see a face she never expected to encounter again soon. “I hope it is nothing serious.”

But she knew they were bound to bump into each other one time or another. She was not expecting it to happen in the hospital. “Hello, Cassie. I hope so too.” But here they were.

She had heard that she was now in charge of Nick’s properties. Jacob had made her the person in charge of his inheritance because Jacob only had one thing he would like to do, cure sick people.

She was probably here to see Jacob and accidentally learned that she was here. But somehow, she was happy to see her. They might not become friends again, but she had no ill feelings against her.

“Hello, Alex.” Cassie turned to her husband with a friendly smile. “I know I have never thanked you enough for helping me. It is because of you that I am now free from Nick.” She moved further inside the small room so she could face them.

“There is no need. We only did what was right. You might have made a mistake in the past, but you already paid for it. All we can do now is move forward.” Dani could not help but feel happy for her former friend, seeing the light come back in her eyes.

All the hatred she had seen in her former friend had vanished, replaced with a happy smile. She could only attribute this to Jacob. She only hoped their relationship grew stronger because she could see they were good for each other.

They seemed to be a perfect match.

“There is no need to thank us because your help saved us from Nick’s evil plans. It is us who should be thanking you.” Alex interjected, smiling at Cassie, who had slight tears in her eyes.

Cassie had remained standing before them as if she had something more to say but was slightly hesitating. “What is it?” Dani asked, hoping she could help her say what was on her mind.

She knew she had already forgiven her for all her former friend had done to her. But she was unsure if she could do more for her or if they could return to what they used to be.

“Jacob had asked me to marry him, and I already accepted.” Cassie finally told them. “I don’t have families I can invite to the wedding. So, I thought if you two would join us. You are the only family I have left.”

She suddenly remembered that Cassie had always been a sister to her until she broke her heart when she betrayed her. But now, could she accept her back into her life just like before?

Could she trust her not to do what she did to her before? Has she changed into this new persona she was showing her? There was only one way to find out. She had to try. But was she willing to do it?

She would have to take a risk and believed that a zebra could change its stripes.