A/N: For those who were asking why i didn't update last Friday; I updated but Wattpad had a glitch that's why it didn't send my readers a notification of my update. Anyway, i hope you like this chapter. Don't forget to share, comment and vote! Thanks :)

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MAGGIE's POV

I gasped in awe upon reaching the sunflower plantation. I already saw it from a far from the house and it was so pretty, but now that I finally had the chance to come see it up close, it was so breathtakingly beautiful.

I've never been to a sunflower plantation before and having the chance to visit one was an unforgettable experience, especially that I was with him.

I looked at Marco. He was fondly staring at me. He finally agreed to tour me around his property and our first destination was here at the plantation. I couldn't believe how huge his property was. I knew that he's rich but I didn't expect him to be this rich.

"Do you like it here?" He asked.

I smiled. "This place is really beautiful, Marco. You're so lucky to have all these. I'm sure, you always come here whenever you're stressed out of city life."

"Actually, I only visit this place at least once a year." He confessed and that surprised me.

"Why? Are you really that busy that you can't even come here often?" He remained silent for a couple of seconds while gazing at me. I thought he wouldn't answer my question but he eventually did.

"My life is never been a bed of roses. I am not even allowed to live normally even if I wanted to. This is the only place that I treasure the most; where I can be myself without thinking about other things, but I can't come here often." What he said confused me.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked as I touched the petal of one of the sunflowers. He approached me and then hugged me from behind.

"Did you know that the scientific name of sunflower is Helianthus, hmmm? Helia for Sun and Anthus for Flower. I can say that you're like a sunflower, my queen. It always brightens my day but out of my reach." He whispered to my ear. His voice sounded so suave to my ears.

Just like always, his embrace made my body feel hot as my heart started racing again. I mentally shook my head. Until now, I still couldn't believe how strong his effect on me.

"Out of your reach, huh? Am I really?" I mumbled.

"Before, yes. But now, I've finally found the courage to let you know how much I treasure and love you and I'm glad I did because we're here, together in this place. Whatever happens, at least I could tell to myself that I did everything I could to win you over. At least, I would probably not regret anything if you wouldn't choose me." There was a hint of pain in his voice. "But I'm still hoping that one day, you'll reciprocate my feelings though." He continued in a newly found determination.

I bit my lower lip. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as my heartbeat became even more erratic. I cleared my throat.

"I've heard of its meaning before but did you know that sunflower is the symbol of faith, loyalty and adoration?" I questioned, trying to ignore the feelings that he was stirring within me. His warmth felt so good against my body and it was making me feel so secure and safe.

"I know that that's why I decided to have sunflowers in my property. This is probably cliché and corny but these sunflowers were planted for you. When I learned what they symbolize, I instantly thought of my love for you. I've been faithful and loyal to you all these years. That's how much I love and adore you that I am willing to be corny." He admitted and that made my cheeks flush for some reason.

"I-I don't know what to say." I uttered and then bit my lower lip again.

He chuckled. "You don't have to say anything. I'm more than happy because you like it." He let go of me. "Go over there. There are different varieties of sunflowers in this plantation and I'm sure, you'll love it." He suggested while pointing ahead us. I couldn't even see the end of the sunflower plantation because of how huge it was.

I excitedly did as I was told and walked down the cobble pathway in the middle of the plantation.

"Oh, my gosh!" I squealed when I saw the red sunflowers. I touched one of it while gazing at it in wonder. Then I heard a click of a camera. I looked at Marco's direction with a scowl.

"Did you just take a picture of me?" He laughed amusedly. He was holding his phone.

"Yes, I did. You looked so enchanting while gazing at the sunflower that you were holding and I couldn't help myself but to take a photo of it." He answered nonchalantly. I rolled my eyes.

I walked towards him. "Let me see." He quickly hid his phone inside the pocket of his pants.

"Sorry, but no. This is my treasure. You might erase it if I let you see it." His eyes were gleaming playfully.

"Marco! Let me see!" I hissed and tried to draw his phone out of his pants. He laughed and caught my hands to stop me, but as stubborn as I was, I didn't give up.

"You're really persistent, huh, my queen?"

"You should know that by now." I answered and pulled back my hands from his grip. Because his grip wasn't that tight, I succeeded of freeing myself. I then targeted his side and tickled him. He kept on laughing while trying to stop me from tickling him.

"Stop it! I'm ticklish there!" He kept on laughing uncontrollably as I tickled him even more. He was so ticklish there that he forgot his phone. Because of that, I succeeded on taking his phone from his pocket. I then ran away, walking through the sunflower plants.

"Hey, come back here!" He ran after me. I over my shoulder to check my distance from him. When I saw that he was already getting closer, I squealed while laughing and ran as fast as I could.

"Run, my queen, run!" He even growled, pretending to be an animal, chasing after me and I couldn't hold back my laugh. I kept on running until I finally reached the end of the sunflower plants. I stopped on my tracks when I saw the meadow ahead of me.

The green grasses and different wildflowers were swaying as the wind blows. I momentarily forgot that Marco was chasing after me as I gazed at the view mesmerizingly. I could see the houses around two kilometers away. Those must be the houses of the workers at the farm, I thought.

I looked at Marco's phone that I was holding and was about turn it on when I squealed in surprise as someone hugged me from behind. It was none other than Marco.

"Gotcha!" He breathed against my nape. "You can't escape from me this time."

"Hmp! Fine. If you don't want me to see the picture, then so be it!" I took his hand and handed him his phone. He chuckled and rested his chin on my shoulder. His arms wrapped around me possessively.

"Don't be mad. I was only joking. Here, look at how beautiful you are in this picture." He showed me the photo. I couldn't help but smile upon seeing it.

"I must admit, you did a good job capturing that moment." I praised.

"Of course. My eyes are only focused on you after all." I could feel my cheeks blushing because of his answer. Damn, he's such a sweet-tongue guy!

We stayed in that position while gazing at the scenic view in front of us. The gentle breeze was so calming and Marco's embrace made me feel complete. I couldn't ask for more. Deep inside of me, I was wishing that the time would stop so that we could remain in this place without anything to worry about.

"My queen?" He called with a sweet voice.

I chuckled. "Why do you love calling me that?"

"Because you're my only queen." He answered with all honesty and I was at lost for words. "Do you mind if I take us a picture right now?" He then queried.

"Sure." I agreed without a second thought. He took out his cellphone and opened the camera.

"Smile." We both smiled on the camera and when we saw the outcome, out smiles widened.

"We really look good together." He bragged proudly and it made me chuckle softly. After that, no one spoke. We were just enjoying the scenic view and that fresh air.

"Are those the houses of the workers here?" I broke the silence between us.

"Yes. Those are actually shelters that my family provided for them." He answered. I craned my head to look at him.

"You have a family? I thought you don't have one?" His eyes avoided my piercing gaze and didn't comment about it. I heaved a sigh.

"Fine. If you don't want to tell me about it, I'll respect that." I unwrapped his arms from my waist.

"Are you mad?" He asked worriedly.

I shook my head. "No. It's your personal life and if you don't want to disclose about your private life to me, then I can't do anything about that." A smile broke across his face. He cupped my face and stared into my eyes lovingly.

"One day, you will know everything about me. I promise you that." I nodded my head in response. We both sat on the grassy field. There were many wildflowers around us and they looked pleasing to the eyes.

"These wildflowers are so pretty." I muttered as I touched a couple of small ones. Marco smiled and picked one and then put it behind my left ear.

"That's more like it. My queen has to wear a flower behind her left ear only." My eyebrows creased.

"Left ear only? And why's that?"

"Because when a woman wears a flower behind her left ear, that means she's already taken and no one has the right to own her except her lover." I couldn't help but to chuckle amusedly.

"Yes. I am taken and—"

"—Yes, you are because you're mine." He interrupted with a serious face. I gulped inaudibly. He caressed my cheek and that made me close my eyes.

"You are my flower, my queen. A flower that exclusively belongs to me." He whispered and the next thing I knew, his lips were already on mine, kissing me ever so gently. The kiss was only for a couple of seconds but it made me breathless.

When our lips parted, he rested his forehead against mine as he closed his eyes. It's already our eighth day here and I've been thinking a lot about my decision lately, carefully weighing it on my mind and heart. And now, I've finally came to a final decision.

I knew that I would appear selfish and cruel with this decision of mine but I couldn't risk my happiness just because of debt of gratitude.

"Marco..."

"Hmm?" He hummed while caressing my cheeks gently.

"I need to go back to the USA for now." He opened his eyes and pulled away from me. His eyebrows were knitted together while staring at me, stunned.

"W-Why? We had a deal. You promis—"

"Shhh." I silenced him but putting my forefinger on his lips.

"I know and I intend to fulfil that promise. You've been asking me for a chance, right?" I asked. He nodded his head. "Then, let me do this. Let me make everything right first before anything else." Our eyes were locked and I could see the reluctance in those amber eyes of his.

"Trust me on this, okay?" I cupped his face and caressed his cheeks with my thumbs. He heaved a sigh and then nodded his head.

"Okay. If this is what you really want, I won't forbid you to go back."

I beamed. "Thank you." I kissed him on the cheek and that shocked him. I snapped my fingers before his face. He blinked innumerably and I couldn't help but laugh.

"You look silly."

"That's the first time." He uttered like a fool.

"First time? You already kissed me numerous times, hello?"

"No. I mean, that's the first time that you kissed me willingly. On the cheeks though." My laugh became louder. He gasped while staring at me awe.

"You're more beautiful when laughing or smiling, my queen." He complimented. I rolled my eyes.

"Hmp! Flatterer!"

He shook his head vigorously. "Of course, not. I'm just telling the truth." I playfully sneered at him and then stood up.

"Let's go?" I lent him my hand. He took it and then stood up. We then walked hand in hand while exploring the area together. There was a comfortable silence between us while walking with a contented smile on our faces.

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I took a long deep breath as I entered the restaurant. I saw Keith at the table on the corner of that cozy restaurant right away. I slowly walked towards him. He was talking to someone on the phone but when he saw me, he ended the call and stood up.

He rushed towards me and then gave me a hug. "I missed you so much, babe." He said and then pulled away a little bit. He was about to kiss me when I automatically looked at the other side, evading his kiss.

"Keith, let's talk." I said in an almost inaudible voice. I just came home yesterday and I called Keith right away to meet up with me. He sounded so happy and it pained me to think that the happiness that he was feeling would be replaced by something negative. I haven't told him my decision yet but my heart was already clenching painfully for him.

"O-Okay." We sat on our respective seats.

"This is for you, babe." He handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I forced a smile.

"Thank you." I placed in on top of our table.

He smiled. "You're welcome, babe. Anyway, you look so serious. What happened? How was your vacation? When you called me yesterday, I was so happy because you finally came back. I was so worried about you because you weren't answering my calls and texts."

"I'm sorry about that." I swallowed hard before continuing. "My vacation was great. I had a good time." I bit my lower lip. My throat tightened.

"Really? That's good to hear. Now that you're finally here, we can finally talk about our wedding. But first, I want to officially meet your family first. I want to—"

"—Keith, I want us to talk about us." I interrupted him. His eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you want us to talk about? Why don't we order first before that?" I shook my head and then took his hand. I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

"Listen to me, please?" I pleaded. He heaved a sigh and then nodded his head.

"Okay. What do you want us to talk about? You're scaring me." Tears threatened to fall from my eyes. I haven't uttered the words yet but I felt so bad already. But then, I already made up my mind since the other day. My heart already chose someone else.

I let go of his hand and then look at the engagement on my finger. I knew I was the worst for doing this to him but I would be unfair to him and to myself if I chose to continue our relationship. I slowly slid the ring off my finger and my tears fell at the same time.

"W-What are you doing? Why are you removing the ring from your finger, babe?" He asked in shock. With my shaking hand, I took his left hand and placed the ring on his palm.

"I'm sorry, Keith, but I have to do this." I cried as I looked down, couldn't look him in the eyes. I saw his hand clenched tightly but he didn't say anything for a couple of seconds.

"I'm so sorry, Keith, but I'm giving you back your ring...and I'm breaking up with you." A whimper escaped my lips upon uttering those words.

"No! I can't accept your sorry, Maggie." He finally spoke and his voice sounded so cold and dangerous. I lifted up my gaze and I gasped loudly when I saw the expression on his face. His face was contorted in so much anger. He looked murderous.

"Keith—"

"—This is because of that b*stard Marco, right?" My eyebrows creased.

"H-How did you know about him?"

His eyes turned into slits. "Trust me. I know him more than you do. Do you really think that I am not aware of your growing attraction towards that b*stard?" He tsked. "I did everything I could to get you, Maggie, and I won't let it end like this. I would never give you to him."

I couldn't react right away. I already expected that he wouldn't accept my decision right away but I didn't expect his reaction to be like this. He looked like a different person. I could sense the danger in him and I couldn't move anymore. I felt like my body went frozen in fear.

He grabbed my wrist roughly and stared into my eyes. "You will marry me and that's final. I went easy on you all this time but my patience has ran out." His gripped around my wrist tightened even more. I winced.

"K-Keith, you're hurting me." He acted like he didn't hear what I've said and then stood up. Everyone was already looking at us.

"Stand up." He ordered but I didn't oblige. "I said stand up!" He roared thunderously and then yanked my hand roughly.

"Keith, let go off me!" I tried to protest but he didn't listen. One of the guy customers approached us.

"Hey, let go of her, man. Can't you see that you're already hurting her?" The man rebuke but to my horror, Keith suddenly brought out a gun and then shot him. Everyone screamed in fear and ran for their lives.

"Keith, what have you done?!" I screamed in horror.

"Shut up!" He spat at me and then dragged me towards the exit. Before he opened the door, he looked back. "Make sure to clean this mess up!" He commanded and I saw four men with guns. They were the men sitting next to our table a while ago.

"What—" Before I could ask a question, he yanked me by the hand once again and dragged me towards the parking lot. I kept on screaming for help but no one came because of fear that Keith might shoot them too.

"I said, shut up, you wench!" Keith roared and punch me on my stomach. That took my strength away. My breathing almost stopped. He scooped me up onto his arms.

"We'll get married now and no one can stop me! I've already invested a lot on you, Maggie, and I would never let it all go to waste just like that. You're my only key to reach my ambitions and Marco would've to kill me first before he could take you away from me!" I heard him say as if he'd gone insane.

My vision became blurry. I felt so weak. I couldn't believe how everything turned out.

Maybe this is my karma of cheating on Keith. Tears polled from my eyes as I closed them. The image of Marco suddenly appeared on my mind. His amber eyes were lovingly gazing at me. Marco, please help me...

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