A/N: hi guys! My book SHE'S MINE, EXCLUSIVELY MINE is still available on Shopee and Lazada in the Philippines. It will soon to be available on National Bookstore, Expressions, Booksale and Pandayan nationwide!

HAPPY READING:)

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MARCO's POV

I longingly stared at Maggie and I's picture on my phone. I took a deep breath. I missed her so bad already. It has been almost two weeks since the last time I've talked to her and it was slowly killing me.

The day when she left me, I wanted to go follow her in order to stop her from leaving me but just when I was about to go out of the hospital, Kyrus came and told me Maggie's message.

I refused to just let her go without her listening to my side of the story but Dui and Kyrus made me realize that I should give Maggie enough time to think. I didn't want to force her into talking to me when she's not yet ready.

This was what I've feared for to happen before that was why I didn't tell her everything even though she asked me to tell her everything already. I got scared that she might not forgive me and leave me for good if she discovered everything.

But I refused to give up on just like that. I temporarily let her be but that doesn't mean that I already gave up without even trying.

Thankfully, she answered my call that day and told me the exact same thing that she told Kyrus. I respected her decision no matter how hard it was for me. Each day that passes was adding to the longing that I was feeling. I missed her so bad that it was becoming harder for each passing day to wake up without her by my side.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and I noticed that the bruises on my face were almost gone. Maggie told me not to show myself in front of her with bruises on my face that was why I waited until they finally got healed. They're almost gone and now, I made a decision. I couldn't wait any longer to see my wife. I've already waited long enough.

Even though I haven't been with her since she left, I sent my men to secretly guard her 24/7 without her noticing it. But during the day ever since I got out of the hospital, I've been stalking her to make sure that she's okay. I couldn't resist not seeing her for so long that I had to do that.

"I miss you so much already, my queen." I whispered and then heaved a sigh. I was about to stand up to go to the terrace to breath some fresh air when I heard a knock on the door.

"C'mon in." I said a little bit louder. The door opened and my father came in. Yes, he's fine now and he just got discharged from the hospital the other day.

"Figghiu, can I talk to you?" He asked a little bit reluctantly. His voice was faint and still looked weak.

"Okay." I agreed and then put down my phone on the bed. He slowly walked towards the ottoman chair and then sat there. He didn't start the conversation right away. He was just staring at me for a couple of seconds before a small smile broke across his face.

"I just want to thank you, figghiu, for allowing me to stay here while recovering." My eyebrows creased.

"What are you talking about, papà? Of course, I'll allow you to stay here. You're my father." His smile widened. But then, his eyes brimmed with tears all of a sudden. I got alarmed.

"What happened, papà? Are you hurt somewhere?" I asked worriedly. He chuckled and then shook his head while wiping his tears.

"I'm fine, figghiu. I am just so happy right now. Hearing you call me papà is out of this world. I can't believe that one day, I could be with you and Dui like this. I also talked to your brother a while ago before he left. I personally explained to him everything that happened in the past. Thankfully, he finally listened. I'm so glad because you both finally forgave me and your mamma."

"There's nothing to forgive, papà. You and mamma didn't do anything wrong. You were both got deceived by Dimitri. What happened to us wasn't your fault. You trusted him because he was your friend and he took that as an opportunity to destroy our family." I couldn't help but to grit my teeth as I remembered what Dimitri did.

Even though he's already gone, I still couldn't forgive of everything that he's done to us.

Papà shook his head. "No, figghiu. I'm also one to blame of all the things that you and Dui have been through because if I wasn't too trusting, you wouldn't've ended in the orphanage. You've gone through a lot because I was too careless and trusting. I thought, I was doing the right thing because I didn't want you both to be taken away from us but that was the biggest mistake of my life. Your mamma didn't want me to give you two to Dimitri that day but I didn't listen to her.

"I trusted him too much because he was my friend. Because of that one single mistake of trusting him, our lives got ruined. You two didn't grow up with us and it was the most painful thing. We mourned for the two of you for many years and your mother's health deteriorated through the years because of what happened. She's been blaming herself. She felt like she was the one who sent you two to your death.

"She forgot how to be happy. She couldn't even smile anymore. I tried to cheer her up in my own way but it wasn't enough for her to forget everything and move on. I didn't know what do back then. But then, someone came into our lives and I made another mistake when I decided to take him in. It was Keith. I thought, his presence would help your mamma cope up with our loss but it didn't. Yes, he managed to make her smile from time to time when he was still a kid but when he reached his teenage years, his attitude changed. Now, I finally understand why.

"Dimitri had been poisoning his mind without our knowledge. I just talked to the leader of the guards at the palace last night because they did their own investigation of how Dimitri managed to penetrate the palace to see Keith. He reported to me that, apparently, Dimitri had a spy at the palace that served as a bridge to him and his son, Keith. According to the witnesses, Dimitri had fed Keith many lies about our family. He made us look like the bad guy in Keith's eyes. He used his own son to gain power to the extent that he pretended to be dead so that we would take his son in.

"If I've known about Dimitri's real color from the start, I wouldn't've let him play with us like this. I was so stupid and gullible, believing that our friendship was real, but I was wrong. I was the only one who treated him as my best friend while he on the other hand saw me as a convenient steppingstone to reach his ambitions. Our friendship was nothing but a one-sided." I could hint the bitterness, regret and anger in his voice and I understood why.

"You didn't do anything wrong, papà. Dimitri was nothing but a snake and he doesn't deserve the friendship that you offered him. He took you for granted and tried to even kill you just to get his dirty hands to your power and wealth. He got rid of Dui and me because we were your heir. When he succeeded on doing so, he purposely pretended to be dead so that Keith would appear to be an orphan. He already expected that you would take Keith in to raise because he knew that you value him as a friend. He wanted Apollyon to be the heir instead.

"His plan was to kill you, avu and mamma so that all your wealth and power would be given to his son. He's nothing but a greedy person so you shouldn't feel sorry of what happened to him and his son because what happened to them were the consequences of their wrong-doings." I said sternly, couldn't hold back the anger that rose within me.

Dimitri and Keith didn't deserve anything from my family because even though Dimitri was already dead, the damage has been done. Dui and I couldn't be with our parents since we were babies because of him.

"I know but I can't help but to feel sorry for Keith. Dimitri pulled his son down to his level. He made him a criminal just like him and I can't help but to wonder what went wrong. Your mamma and I loved him as our own son but he still chose to be like his father. I don't understand why he became like this." Even though he didn't say it, I could see that he was hurt because of what Apollyon did to them. Not just that. He was also hurt of what he has become.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, papà. It's simple as that." I responded sarcastically. A humorless chuckle escaped his lips but he didn't say anything more. We remained quiet for a couple of seconds until he decided to break the silence.

"I called your mamma this morning. She's eager to see Dui and you as soon as possible. Ever since she heard the good news the other day that I've finally found you two, she's been so happy and enthusiastic of seeing you. She's so excited. I've never seen her happy and enthusiastic like this for very long time already. I feel like my wife finally returned after many years of mourning in her own little world." My heart ached just by the thought of my mother's pain all these years.

But knowing that she's so excited to see us made me so happy as well. Dui and I were also excited to meet her for the first time. We already talked to her via skype and it was amazing seeing her beautiful face for the first time.

She wanted to fly here to the US when papà first informed her that he finally found us but we stopped her from doing so. Papà said that her doctor prohibited her from travelling long distance because of health issues that's why we promised to go see her soon.

"Me too, papà. I'm already excited to see her but I can't leave the US yet without seeing my wife first. I need to fix everything between us first before going to Sicily."

He nodded his head. "I understand, figghiu. Everything's okay now so you should go and see your wife as soon as you can. Don't let this affect your marriage because it's not worth it. Tell her how much she means to you and make sure she will feel every word. Be honest and tell everything that you've been keeping from her and explain." He encouraged and then tapped my shoulder, giving his support.

"Yes, papà. I only gave her time to think but that doesn't mean that it's the end of our marriage because I will never let that to happen."

"That's my boy. By the way, Dui didn't seem to be excited about going to Sicily to meet your mamma." I could hint the worry in his voice.

I laughed lightly. "Trust me, papà. Dui is as excited as me."

His eyebrows knitted together. "Really? I didn't see that on his face." My father said in wonder.

"That's Dui for you. He's more laidback and calmer than me but he's good at hiding his emotions from other people. But if you get to know him better, you will see right through him easily. He's the softy and gentler one between the two of us. I'm sure, he feels the same way that I do right now." I assured him and he finally smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that. I just misread him then. I'll try harder to figure him out and understand him. You two didn't grow up with us so it's understandable."

"You don't have to be pressured by this, papà. We have a lot of time ahead of us to make up for the lost times. Now, I can finally breath because everything is starting to fall into place. I only have one thing left to do and that's to take back my wife." I answered. For some reason, he suddenly fell silent.

"You're suddenly quiet, papà. Is there another thing that you want to discuss with me?" I asked. I could see the worry in his eyes and it made me feel uneasy for some reason.

"It's about your brother."

"Why? What about him?" He inhaled and then exhaled first before answering.

"It's about the throne. Before we discovered that you and Dui were alive, Keith was about to assume your avu's position. I initially declined the position because I was never interested in it from the start. But that didn't happen because you and Dui were alive. When I heard from Robert that you already began following the family's rule and married Maggie, I got worried about Dui." My forehead crinkled.

"Why?" I asked confusedly.

"Because you got Mantus' daughter first before Dui and Keith, you will be the rightful heir. But you have to do the final two rules before assuming the throne."

"What? I thought I was the rightful heir because I was the first born?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows. He shook his head.

"No. The rule states that the first one who gets the Mantus' daughter will get the position. Because of what Keith has done, he lost his Alessi name and his chance to rule. Now, the only one left is Dui. He has to work his way to the Alessi clan by proving himself." I stood up abruptly, stunned.

"What?! Dui is an Alessi, for fùck's sake!" I couldn't hold back my anger. My father's face became sad.

"The Alessi clan has very strict and complex rules, figghiu. Being the second-born, he has to work hard. In order to get any position, he has to participate in lotta dei gladiatori. He has to show that he deserves any position that he could get. If he manages to do that, that's the only time that he could be a real Alessi." I couldn't react right away. I was at loss for words.

Then, my jaw flexed in rage. "Dui is an Alessi and he doesn't need to prove anything just to use that name or get any position that he wants to! Since I am the heir to the throne now, I will abolish this fùcking rules when I assume the position! I will never let Dui participate in that dangerous game. Never!"

"I wish it's that easy, figghiu. Your avu still values the clan's rules even after all these years and he will never allow you to abolish it. He's still in the position and if he discovered that you're against the rule and planning to abolish it, I'm sure, he will do something about it. He has the power to do so." My hands balled into fists.

Dui had been a good brother to me ever since we were children. He never desired anything and has been supporting me with everything that I do. But thinking that he has to work hard just to earn his right for the Alessi name made my stomach churn.

I would never let Dui go through anything like that, especially in participating that dangerous game. I was planning to participate before because I wanted to defeat Keith the way I wanted. Dui and I already devised a plan but now that Keith was disqualified, doing that was useless anymore. I thought, everything was falling into place but I was wrong.

Then it dawned on me. Only Maggie could help me so that I could assume the throne quickly before avu detects that I was against the Alessi clan's law.

But if I would explain everything to Maggie, her anger at me would be doubled for sure. Before, I've thought of giving up the throne just for the sake of Maggie but now, the situation has changed. I need to do something for my brother. I just couldn't let him suffer like that.

I just hope that Maggie would understand me...

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Marco and Maggie will meet again on the next chapter so stay tuned! 

What do you think will happen next?

Will Maggie choose to forgive Marco after she hears everything or the opposite?

Is there a chance for them to get back together?

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