The Royal Contract

Chapter 892: The five stages of grief

“Still, thanks, man, for bailing me out.” He dropped the phone back into his pocket after taking the call from his friend, David. Then, he let his eyes wander around him, looking at the sun as it rose from the east.

He had to deal with Jacky as soon as he was out of that cell, seeing how distraught she was. He did not have time to deal with his friends or thank them for their help. So, he quickly called them as soon as he was up.

At the moment, he watched his sleeping wife inside their bedroom as he stood outside the balcony. Honestly, he wanted to smack himself hard for putting Jacky through all that. The source of this content is ɴovᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet

Last night, he was lucky that Jacky stopped him before he seriously injured the other guy. Or, he might be spending the rest of his life behind bars, rotting for a senseless crime he had no intention of committing.

“Hey, baby. Are you alright?” He quickly moved over to her side, pushing the hair away from her face, when he saw her stir on their bed and open her eyes.

He had asked that question repeatedly since he held her in his arms last night. Although she said she was ok, he still could not shake the feeling that he had hurt her more than she was already going through.

“I am not ok. What about you?” She mournfully mumbled as she moved to a sitting position, and tears formed in her eyes. “Are you?” She focused her eyes on him, trying to read what he must be feeling.

.....

Last night, she realized she had been selfish, only thinking about her feelings. Grief had consumed her that she never stopped to think he had also lost a child just like her. He was also in tremendous pain.

What happened to them was a wake-up call not only for him but for her as well. She was not going through this alone. He was with her all step of the way. She just had to acknowledge they needed each other to get through this.

“I am not,” Marcus admitted, closing his eyes and letting the tears finally fall from his eyes, down on his cheeks. It was the first time he would be grieving for their lost child.

She pulled him closer, cradling his muscular form into her petite body. She had only seen him cry once. It would be the second one. So, she knew it was a big deal with him. He was not taking the loss of their child lightly as she had thought before.

“I think you are right. We should both go to therapy.” She finally conceded, knowing they would need all the help to pull through this horrible situation.

Then, she grabbed his hand and checked the wound on his knuckles. Her fingers gently slid through the bruises as if willing to heal. She should never have ignored his feelings. Then maybe they would not have ended up in this situation.

She pulled his face until his eyes were directly looking into her eyes. “We will find a way to get through this.” She whispered into his ears as she pulled him into another hug.

She allowed him to rest his head on her bosom, absorbing his pain the way he had been her strength all this time. It would not be an easy road ahead of them, but she believed that now they had open to each other, they might make it easier.

After a while, he heard a buzzing sound coming from outside their room, waking him up. They must have dozed off after the earlier incident, checking on his sleeping beside him.

He hastily slid off the bed and walked out of the room, hoping not to wake Jacky, who looked so peaceful. She hardly got enough rest, having sleepless nights and a few occasional nightmares.

“Hey, Alex.” He greeted his friend upon opening the front door. “What is it?” He suddenly thought that there might be some emergency.

He wondered if it was work-related. He had been working on several negotiations. Any one of those might require his attention. Or, it could be about last night’s incident.

“Sorry, Marcus, to bother you...” But before Alex could say more, a very round, pregnant woman appeared beside him.

“Hi, Marcus! How are you? Where is Jacky? How is she?” Dani greeted him and fired away her questions.

He responded with monosyllable words as he opened his door wider for them to pass, letting the couple inside the apartment where they were staying while in the city.

He had bought Jacky a beautiful house in the suburban area, but without a child, it was too big for just the two of them. Jacky felt more comfortable in this apartment. Well, until the miscarriage.

He learned earlier that she did not want to stay in this house because it haunted her. It constantly reminded her of losing her child. Now, he contemplated whether they should move to another place.

“I think you two should go pack and leave. Take my friend on a long vacation.” Dani suggested as they sat in the kitchen, where he offered them some refreshments.

“I am in a middle of a big merger. I could not just leave Alex alone.” Marcus scrubbed his face, unable to think straight, torn by the idea of taking his wife out of this place or leaving his friend to deal with the problems in their company.

“I think I can manage with David and Evan while you take care of yourself and your wife. I need you a hundred percent on your A game.” Alex agreed with his wife, believing that Marcus would be no use with his current emotional state.

He would be constantly distracted by the pressure of dealing with his loss and his wife, who also needed emotional support. He did not doubt that what happened last night would be an isolated case if he continued on his downward path.

It was better to deal with this now before the problem escalated to something that would be harder to manage. “But as of now, I need you to get all the help for you and Jacky.”

“I already arrange a vacation spot for the two of you. It is where Alex had taken me when we were also going through a difficult situation.” Dani informed her friend, wanting him to worry about anything else.

“Are you sure about this?” Marcus still asked Alex, but he acknowledged that he and his wife needed this trip. It might be what the doctor ordered for them to heal.

“We only want what is best for you and Jacky,” Alex answered, greatly concerned about the couple’s wellbeing, tapping him on the shoulders for assurance. “You can leave any time you are ready. Everything is already on standby.”

“Thanks. I appreciate all of this.” Marcus shook their hands and showed them the way out. They did not want to bother Jacky from her nap.

Now, it was up to him to convince her that it was time for their second chance in life. But first, they had to go through the five stages of grief.