The Royal Contract

1190 Burning in hell

She stared at the brown, bubbly liquid before her. She was not heartbroken, but she was desperate and disappointed. She hoped Adam would agree to her proposal, but he did not appear at her dinner invitation.

But he could not be mad at him. After all, he did not promise anything. He only said he would think about it but did not say yes. Still, he did not say no.

“I was hoping he would have changed his mind.” She said to her friend as they sat at the same bar where she first saw him. “And to make matters worse, he was here. But he never bothered to see me.”

“Hey, Roseann. Don’t be hard on yourself.” Her friend said as she took a swig of her drink. “I am sure a hundred men out there who would want to take you out and bang the living life out of you.”

She knew that was not how that phrase went, but she got the gist. Her friend might be as drunk as she was. But, of course, they had another friend who was the designated driver.

“But he is perfect,” Roseann said, still remembering seeing him as he exited the hospital building. Then, she thought she would find him drinking in the bar, waiting for her.

Unfortunately, she did not see him. Even the bartender told her that he did not come in. It meant he visited the hospital purely for business and had nothing to do with her.

“Hey, you don’t need him. I can be your rebound guy.” Her other friend jokingly said as he pointed to himself.

“No, you can’t be. You are the designated driver.” Roseann reiterated to the young intern that she had known since college.

.....

Besides, she knew that he had always had a crush on her. It would not help her situation if she encouraged his feelings for her, knowing she could never reciprocate it.

“And I can’t sleep around. I am not a slut.” She pointed to her other friend. “But I am not a homewrecker too.”

Technically, David and her sister were not married yet. But their relationship was beyond the saying of vows and certificates. They were soulmates.

She could not see herself ruining their relationship or her relationship with them by inserting herself and her emotions into the picture. After witnessing how David celebrated their anniversary, she wanted him more to herself.

But she had to stop the demon that was growing inside her. She had to eliminate the envy she felt for her sister. She had to be the better person and stop herself before she made matters worse.

“You are not,” Bernadeth said as she patted her hand. “You are a good person who just fell for the wrong guy. But you are strong. You can fight this temptation and move on with your life.”

She wanted to believe her friend. But what if she could not? Should she go away? Far away where she would not have any contact with David. Or should she just plunge into a relationship with her friend and damn with the consequence.

But both options did not appeal to her.

She could not run away from her life. She had worked so hard to reach this point in her career to give it up. And she could not leave her family. And worse of all, she could not use her other friend for selfish reasons.

“Anyway, what about you guys? Do you have anything to share? I don’t want to hug all the spotlight here.” Roseann told her friends, tired of talking about her situation.

She was here to get drunk, so she did not have to think of them. But instead, she still kept talking about them. She would rather hear their problems, hoping they would be worse than hers.

“Nothing much is happening with me,” Bernadeth said as she shrugged her petite shoulders.

“You?” She turned to her other friend, who was drinking a soda from a can. “What is wrong with you today, Roy?”

She noticed, except for that little jibe, he was silent. It was unusual for a man like him who always had something to say. Then, she heard about an incident earlier, but the story was vague.

“I think I might get kicked out of the program.” Her friend said with a solemn look on his handsome face.

She guessed it was worse than she thought. But she had to find out more so she could help her friend. Suddenly, thoughts of her problem vanished as her concern for her friend kicked in.

“What happened?” Bernadeth asked first as they looked at their other friend, who deserved the drink more than them.

“I killed a patient.” He said as he buried his face in the palm of his hands.

Of course, that was what doctors said if a patient had died under their watch. But they did not intentionally and planned to kill them. But for him to think that the hospital might remove him from the program was another matter.

“What do you mean?” Roseann asked, thinking of several scenarios in her mind.

Roy started explaining the earlier event in the operating room, where he accidentally made a miscalculation and a big mistake that might have caused the patient’s death.

“I am sure if it was just an accident, you will find a way to clear your name,” Roseann said a word of encouragement, wanting to cheer her friend. “Besides, they still had to review all the events. We are still not sure that your mistake was the reason for his death.”

She did not want to believe the hospital would blame their doctors for negligence without solid proof and a thorough investigation. Besides, they were interns. They might be the best, but they were still learning.

They were still humans who were susceptible to mistakes. But they were willing to learn from them, hoping they would never commit them again. Overall, they were here to help and not harm people’s lives.

“Come on...” But before she could finish her statement, somebody suddenly appeared beside her and tapped her shoulder.

“So, what are we celebrating tonight.” A familiar voice spoke before she could look at the unexpected guest. “Or is this a bad day for you guys?”

Instantly, she looked up, but the shock on her face told her that she had just answered his question as he smiled and took the seat next to her. “Do you mind if I join you guys?”

She wanted to say she did, but it would not come out, leaving the words stuck in her throat.

“Please, join us, David,” Bernadeth said, but he had already waved to the bartender for another round. “This is on me.” He said, treating them with another set of shots.

“And don’t worry. I have a driver, so you can drink as many as you like.” He addressed his statement to her friend, Roy, who was not drinking.

Immediately, Roy grabbed the first shot and gulped everything in one go. She guessed he needed it more than she and Bernatte did after the day he had. Suddenly, she was thankful that David had shown up.

Soon, they were drinking like there was no tomorrow, trying to console Roy from his misery. Even David said to look into his case and offered help if her friend needed future representation.

“You are a lifesaver,” Roy said, drunk but looking much better than his earlier state.

She surmised that she might feel similarly if that ever happened to her. As they said, it was just a matter of time before they had a patient that would change their life forever. She was still waiting for hers.

“I have not done anything yet,” David said as the night progressed with laughter this time.

“Anyway, why are you here?” Roseann suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be with her sister or at home. It was late.

“I was looking for you. I was worried since I had not seen you for a while.” He told her, which caught her by surprise.

She was not expecting that he had missed her. But she quickly cautioned herself from putting any meaning into it. That would not help her situation. Besides, she was supposed to be avoiding her.

And drinking with him was not a good sign.

“Well, you found me. I was just busy.” She excused herself as she decided to cut herself off from the alcohol before her rational thinking became impaired. The last thing she needed was for her to make a stupid mistake.

“And I think we had enough guys. We still have work tomorrow.” Roseann told her friends.

“We can still have one more round,” Roy said. He was not ready to go home yet.

“No.” She acted like the mother hen, pastoring her flock and forcing them to leave the establishment.

On the other hand, David just watched, looking unfazed by the alcohol he consumed. Then, he helped them into his car while his driver drove them home one at a time.

But the dilemma was far from over when she had to sit closer in the car beside him. She could feel his firm thighs rubbing against hers as the car maneuvered to the light traffic.

But more than that, she could feel the warmth of his skin against hers. It was like she was burning. But worse, she knew she would be burning in hell for the thoughts that went through her head.

She knew she had to cleanse herself before doing something she would regret for the rest of her life.

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