Hi, guys! This update was supposed to be uploaded tomorrow but i have an appointment so i decided to just update now. I hope you like it. Happy reading. :)

MAGGIE's POV

I took a long deep breath to calm myself down. I couldn't help but to feel a little bit nervous. The pressure of the competition was starting to get into me. Tonight's the night that I have been waiting for so I must give my best. I shouldn't mess this up!

I raised my chin and posed as confidently as I could but when my eyes caught that one particular man that was sitting at the front, at the judges table to be exact, I couldn't help but to feel uneasy. Damn! What the hell is he doing here anyway? How come no one informed me that he would be one of the judges for tonight?! I thought Ezron would be the one to judge?!

It's the final round of the beauty pageant so I tried not to throw him a glance. There were many contestants from different states and I should do everything to stand out in a good way.

"Contestant number two, Ms. Maggie Lenard." I heard the host called so I moved forward with a confident walk and a sweet smile. My supporters cheered for me.

"Contestant number two, Mr. Pearce will be the one to ask you a question." The host informed me and I groaned inwardly. I've been avoiding looking at his direction since a while ago but now, I didn't have a choice but to do so! Why is this happening to me?!

"Good evening, contestant number two." His manly baritone voice echoed throughout the whole stadium. I met his gaze with a confident smile even though my insides were in turmoil.

"Good evening too, Mr. Pearce." Thankfully, I didn't stutter.

He nodded his head formally and then threw me his question. "Here is your question. If you could only have one wish, what could it be?"

It was a typical question in beauty pageants but I suddenly found myself having a hard time because of the way he was staring at me. His eyes were fixed on me as if he was reading everything that was on my mind. I mentally shook my head. Focus, Maggie!

I evaded those piercing amber eyes of his and tried my best to be as confident and calm as ever. Thankfully, I finally found my voice and answered right away. But because I was distracted, I wasn't contented with my answer. I felt like something was lacking and I wanted to punch myself but at the same time, I couldn't help but to blame Marco.

The pageant ended with me being the first runner up. I was upset with myself because my concentration was lacking and that landed me being the first place. Well, first place is better than nothing, I thought as I tried to cheer myself up.

"Congratulations, sis! First place, huh? Not bad!" Christine, my sister, greeted me happily.

I pouted. "Thanks, sis. I could've done better if not because of..."

Christine's eyebrows knitted together. "Because of what?" She asked confusedly. I was about to answer her question when I saw our parents walking towards us with wide smiles on their faces.

"Congratulations, darling! You did a good job!" They both chanted and kissed me on the cheeks. They looked so happy of my achievement. A smile finally appeared my face.

"Thank you, mom, dad. I was brave enough to face all the hardships throughout the whole competition because you were always there to support me. Even during the pre-pageant, you were there for me. You served as my strength." I answered and hugged them gratefully.

"Of course. We're so proud of you that's why we always make sure to support you in whatever you want to do in life." Happiness surged within me. I'm really so lucky to have them.

"Darling, Regan and Zandro came with their friends to support you too." My mother informed me. I was about to answer when my eyes caught a glimpse of my cousins together with their friends coming to our direction. My eyes widened when I saw him with them. Marco Pearce!

Each of them congratulated me except him. He never changed. Does he really hate me? If so, why?

I felt my blood boil in irritation. I really don't like him.

"This is for you, Mags. You did a great job." Regan said and gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I couldn't help but to chuckle. He looked serious as usual. I thought he wouldn't come to watch the pageant because I knew how busy he was but he actually came.

"And this is my gift for you, my little cousin." Zandro said with a lopsided grin and handed me a cruise certificate. I cocked an eyebrow.

"Royal Casanova? This is the new cruise ship of Amouretti International, right?" I asked while reading what's written on the certificate. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Not that new. It's been six months since its launching but you haven't stepped foot in it yet. Why's that?"

I rolled my eyes. "I've been very busy preparing for this pageant and you know that."

He chuckled. "I know but now that the pageant is over, you can finally relax and Royal Casanova is the right place for you." I was about to answer when my sister interrupted me.

"What about me, Z?" She even pointed at herself. The expression on her face was priceless.

"You already experienced it last month, right?" Zandro answered. Christine grinned.

"Yes but I want to go back. It's unfair that you're inviting Mags but not me."

Zandro laughed. "Don't worry, little cousin. I'll give you a cruise certificate when you get married." I couldn't help but to laugh because of Zander's answer.

"Are you kidding me? I'm still twenty years old! I haven't even graduated college yet." She whined. Everyone of us laughed at her. Well, except him!

What's with him anyway? He only has one expression everytime I see him and it's tiring and annoying at the same time.

My dad put his arm over Christine's shoulders. "Don't worry, darling. We'll go cruising on your next birthday." Her face brightened up right away.

"Really, daddy?"

"Yes. C'mon, let's go."

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously. The program was already finished and the winners were free to go.

"To celebrate your victory, of course." My mother answered proudly. I couldn't help but to smile. They're really the best parents. I couldn't ask for more.

"So, are you guys going to come with us to celebrate?" Christine asked Regan, Zandro and their friends.

"Of course, they're coming with us. I already invited them a while ago." Daddy said. I bit my lower lip and discreetly threw him a glance. He never spoke since a while ago. Ever since Zandro officially introduced him to me the night of my 18th birthday, I seldom see him and never even once had a conversation with him.

I always felt uncomfortable around him. He always looked serious with his signature emotionless face. I always catch him staring at me whenever we're on the same place and it was making me tense and uncomfortable at the same time.

I've been wanting to ask him why he always stares at me but I don't have the guts to do so.

We were about to go when I suddenly remembered someone. "Wait." I said. Everyone looked at me.

"What happened, sweetie?" Dad asked.

"Brey isn't here yet." I answered and then took out my phone. I was about to call him when we heard a voice.

"Sorry for the wait, guys. I wanted to come earlier to watch the pageant but my meeting didn't finish on time." It was Brey. He was holding a bouquet of flowers. He gave it to me and then greeted me with a kiss on the cheek.

Because I couldn't hold the three bouquets at the same time anymore, my parents took them from me so that I could walk properly. I haven't changed into normal clothes yet. I was still wearing a sexy red gown.

Ever since Brey saved me from those thugs four years ago, we became closer. He became the closest man in my life that wasn't my relative.

Almost everyone around us kept on teasing us because of our closeness. I couldn't even remember how many times people mistook me for being his girlfriend.

There was even this one incident that he asked me to pretend as his girlfriend because a desperate woman kept on pestering him.

Even though he was always the serious type, he became the brother that I never had.

"Hey, not so close, bud." The protective voice of Regan pulled me out of my reverie. He was giving Brey a warning look. Even Zandro had the same expression on his face. I rolled my eyes.

"Here comes my protective cousins once again." I sarcastically said and then snaked my arm around Brey's arm.

"C'mon, everyone. let's just go." I pulled Brey and started walking.

"Mags, your arm. Someone will surely kill me later if you won't untangle your arms from mine right now." Brey said with amusement while we were walking to the parking lot. I looked at him quizzically.

"What do you mean?"

"You're really dense sometimes, brat." He answered, calling me by his pet name for me.

I pouted. "I told you, I'm not a brat and who cares if I want to hold onto you like this? There's no one here who gives a damn about it. Mom and dad are even okay with it." I reasoned out.

"Well, it's because we know that Brey here is a good man." My father butted in our conversation.

"Things will surely become bloody later." Oeris side-commented and that made me wonder what exactly he meant by it.

I faced him. "What the heck are you talking about?" I looked at my cousins then to Oeris, Ezron and Bryan. They all looked so amused except him, Marco. He looked like he was mad. His jaw was obviously flexing tightly.

"Little cousin, you should really practice how to read people around you." Zandro answered me while shaking his head. I opened my mouth, intending to answer him when my mother interrupted me.

"That's enough, guys. C'mon, get into your respective cars. Let's meet at La Belle Rouge." She said, referring to the restaurant that was owned by one of my cousins' friends.

"Okay, Mrs. Lenard. C'mon, Amouretti, before someone here drags you." It was Oeris. The guys laughed but I chose to just ignore them.

"It has been three years since you changed your surname but I still can't get use to it." I said to Brey. He found out that his father was still alive three years ago and thankfully, they accepted him.

I haven't seen his father before though and whenever I try to ask him about him, he always avoids the topic.

I always remember my Uncle and his family that were currently residing in Italy whenever I hear Brey's new surname. I've always been wondering if they were related but I knew that my Uncle only had a daughter named Nadia.

"Me too but I'm kinda used to it now. C'mon, get inside your car." Brey tried to untangle his arm from mine but I didn't allow him.

"I'll just ride with you. You're alone in your car, right?" Brey was about to answer when someone suddenly pulled him away from me. It was Marco!

"I don't have my car right now so I'll ride with him." He said with his usual cold voice. I could see how his jaw flexed. What the heck is his problem anyway?

I noticed the guys snickering but when Marco glared at them, they stopped, but then, there was still evident amusement on their faces. Regan was trying his hardest to conceal his amusement that but failed. I shook my head. These guys!

"Fine. I'll just ride with my family then." I sighed in defeat.

"Good choice or else, there will be hell to pay." Oeris remarked again while laughing and then got in his car. The other guys followed except Brey and Marco.

"Are you sure you want to ride in my car?" Brey asked Marco. They've became close ever since Brey joined the TBG. The latter was staring daggers at Brey and that made me uncomfortable around him even more.

"Let's just go, Amouretti." Marco answered dismissively and then turned his back on us. Brey followed him while shaking his head. I rolled my eyes then joined my family in our van.

"What's with those guys always acting strange like that whenever Marco is around?" I uttered while on our way to the restaurant.

"Really, sis? You don't know?" Christine asked me with a deadpan look. I scowled at her.

"About what?" I asked in frustration. She was staring at me like I was dumb or something.

She shook her head. "You're really dense." She answered while shaking her head. I got irritated. I was about to reprimand her when our father spoke.

"That's enough, Chris. Let your sister realize things on her own."

"Stop that, honey. Maggie is still young so it can't be helped." My mom contradicted.

"I'm two years younger than her, mom, but I know what's going on without anyone telling me. Sometimes, Mags doesn't care about what's going on around her that's why she's oblivious." My younger sister reasoned out.

"And what are the things you know that I'm oblivious about?" I couldn't help but to get tick off.

"That's enough, you two. We're here to celebrate so forget about those things for now." Our father rebuked. I heaved a sigh.

When we arrived at the restaurant, they instantly served our food. Apparently, my parents already made a reservation earlier. We talked about random things while eating and thank God because no one spoke about strange things again. Then, Luna arrived.

She was late because she needed to stay at the stadium even though the program was already finished. She was one of the organizers of the beauty pageant that was why she needed to stay behind.

"Sorry, I'm late. Gosh, I'm so tired already." She said after she greeted everyone. I introduced her to the other guys as well.

"It's okay. At least, you managed to come." I answered.

"Congratulations on being the first runner-up, Mags. I couldn't even greet you right away after the pageant because I was so busy." She explained.

I smiled. "It's okay. I understand. C'mon, let's just eat. I'm so hungry." After eating, I felt the need to change my outfit so I went to the washroom and changed into casual clothes. When I finished, I went out.

I was about to go back to our table when I heard someone calling my name. My eyebrows creased. It was one of my classmates in the University.

"Hi, Maggie."

"Oh, hi, Marlon. What are you doing here?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, my date stood me up and I was about to go home when I saw you." He smiled. "It's been a while since we last saw each other. You've become more beautiful. Well, you've always been beautiful."

I chuckled. "Thanks, Marlon. You've never changed. You're still a sweet-tongued guy." I answered amusedly.

"I am not. I'm just telling you the truth. You know how much I liked you even when we were in the university." Yes. He tried to court me before but I declined.

"Marlon..." Before I could finish what I was about to say, he took my hand.

"Why don't you come with me? My date didn't come so..." My eyes went to his hand that was holding mine. I was about to pull back my hand when someone suddenly walked through between us, causing Marlon's hand to pull away from mine.

"What the—What is your problem, man?" Marlon asked irritably. The guy turned around. I looked at him and my jaw dropped when I saw Marco with his knitted eyebrows. He looked pissed off for a reason I don't know.

"You're in my way." Marco answered and approached Marlon. "Is there a problem with that?" He then asked him. I didn't know what happened. Marlon paled all of a sudden while staring at Marco. I couldn't see Marco's face because his back was on my direction.

"N-Nothing." Marlon answered with a trembling voice. "I-I'll go on ahead, M-Maggie."

Before I could even answer, Marlon rushed towards the exit as if a ghost was after him.

"What did you do to him?" I asked with a scowl. Marco faced me. His face was ridiculously calm.

"You saw what happened. I didn't do anything to him." Even his voice softened unlike a while ago.

"But he looked scared."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe because he saw how handsome I am."

I gaped at him. Is he serious?

I was about to answer when he spoke once again. "Don't just let any guy hold your hand like that." My eyebrows creased.

"Huh? And why not?"

"Because I said so. C'mon, let's go back. Everyone is waiting for us." Before I could answer, he turned his back on me and walked away. I was left speechless. What is he up to anyway?

Then I realized something. That was our first conversation ever since we got introduced to each other by Zandro four years ago.

"What the heck." I uttered to myself bemusedly before I followed him to our table.

****

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What is your first impression on Maggie and Marco?

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