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MAGGIE's POV

A smile appeared on my face upon seeing the name of Keith on my phone's screen, calling. I answered it right away.

"Hello?"

"Hello, babe. I'm sorry, I can't pick you up later because I have to attend another meeting. If you want, you can just go directly to the restaurant but I'll be late for 30 minutes. Is it okay for you to wait?"

I chuckled. "It's okay. I'll just wait for you. I know you're busy because you just came back from Sicily. Of course, you have a lot of work to do."

"I'm such a lucky guy to have you as my girlfriend." He answered and it made me chuckle.

"Of course, you are." We both laughed.

"I gotta go now, babe. See you later at the restaurant then."

I sighed. "Okay. See you later." I answered and ended the call. I couldn't help but to wonder why Keith kept on bugging me about having dinner with him tonight. I told him yesterday that I had a lot of work to do but he insisted. He said that he wanted to tell me about something very important so I said yes.

I looked at the time on my wristwatch. It was already 6:30 pm. My out would be at 8 pm today. I was about to turn around to go back to my office when I suddenly heard someone spoke behind me.

"Was that your boyfriend?" I bit my lower lip upon realizing who it was. It has been a week since Keith came back and I've been wanting to ask Marco if he followed me and Keith to the restaurant that day but I didn't have the guts to do so.

Instead of asking, I just did everything I could to avoid him because everytime our eyes meet, I could see the strange emotions in those amber eyes of his and it was making me more uncomfortable than before.

I felt like he changed even though we didn't have the chance to talk again after our last conversation. The way he was staring at me made me feel like I've done something bad that he didn't like and it left me wondering about it for a week already.

I cleared my throat and pulled myself together. What's with him that I kept on feeling this way everytime he's near? Am I going crazy or what? This is not like you, Maggie.

"How did you know about my boyfriend, Mr. Pearce? You've never met him before." I answered and met his eyes bravely. I was secretly trying to observe his reaction in order to confirm if he really knew about Keith.

"I told you to call me by my name." His voice was commanding even though he appeared to be composed yet his face was hardened by an unknown emotion.

I heaved a sigh. "How did you know that I have a boyfriend?" I parroted my question.

"That's not important. Where did you meet that guy anyway? Do you even know anything about him?" My eyebrows furrowed because of his questions.

"That's none of your business. Answer my question. How did you know about my boyfriend? Did you follow me last week to the restaurant?" I asked him frankly before I could even stop myself. I tried to read the emotion on his face but there was nothing I could see other than his handsome yet emotionless face.

I've always been good at reading people but with Marco, I always have the hard time figuring him out. He's good at concealing his emotions. Such a mysterious man.

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" He answered nonchalantly and for some reason, the beating of my heart became erratic. I suddenly had the hard time breathing as if the air around us thickened. I was caught off guard. I didn't actually expect him to admit it to me without even batting an eye.

"W-What? W-Why did you have to do that?" I groaned inwardly when I stuttered. I wanted to get mad and chide at him because I felt like he was invading my privacy by following me but my mind has a lot of questions. Why did he follow me that day? Was he planning something? Does he know Keith personally?

"Because I wanted to. Just a fair warning. Break up with that boyfriend of yours while it's still early. He's not the right guy for you." I gritted my teeth.

"You don't have the right for you to tell me that! We're not even close for you to tell me those things!" I hissed in anger but he looked unaffected. He zeroed his gaze on me.

"Let me ask you one thing. How well do you know that guy? I'm sure that you just met him one and a half years ago." I gaped at him. I was surprised of what he said.

"H-How did you know about all that?" My voice raised an octave and I noticed that the employees nearby and some shoppers were already staring at us curiously. We were near the exit.

My cheeks went red. I forgot where we at. Suddenly, without thinking, I took Marco's hand and pulled him inside, to my office for us to talk without everyone watching us. Upon entering inside, I closed the door so that no one could disturb us.

"Now, talk! Explain to me why you're saying all these!" I ordered sternly but I noticed that he wasn't listening to me. He was staring at his hand like a fool. His face softened too.

"That was the first time." He muttered without looking at me.

"Huh? W-What do you mean?"

He raised his gaze and looked at me intently. "That was the first time that you touched me." My crazy heart reacted again and this time, the reaction of my heart was stronger and wilder. I was at lost for words. This was what I feared about. From the beginning, I knew that Marco had this strange effect on me and it was beginning to scare me.

Even though he never bothered approaching me nor talking to me before, he could manage to affect me just by staring at me. Those amber eyes of his could melt even the hardest wall.

I tried to talk but not a single word came out of my lips.

To my horror, he suddenly began sauntering towards me. I swallowed hard. I felt like my heart was about to come out of my chest.

"Why are you coming closer?" I asked, trying my hardest not to stutter again. He didn't answer and just continued walking slowly towards me. I stepped backwards, intending to get away from him but I almost groaned out loud in frustration when I felt my back hit the cold surface of the wall. Damn!

"Y-You're too close." I rebuked with an almost inaudible voice when he got me cornered against the wall. He trapped me between his arms as he placed his palms against the wall. He slightly bent his head forward. I literally stopped breathing because our faces were now just an inch away from one another.

"Break up with that boyfriend of yours. He's not a good guy." He commanded and that pissed me off. I pushed him away with all my might but he didn't budge.

"You don't have the right to tell me what to do! Even though Keith is so secretive about his personal life, I trust him! He saved me once and that's enough for me to trust him! Why do you care all of a sudden? You never had any interest in me before but now, you're acting as if you care about me! What do you want from me?!" I was almost screaming already because of anger but that didn't affect Marco one bit.

"Do you love him?" He questioned instead of answering my questions.

"Where are these questions coming from? Since when did you start caring about me for you to act this way?! You don't have any right to do this to me. I'm your boss but we're not friends!" I said to him exasperatedly.

I was beyond confused and anger because of what he was saying. I felt like the silent, uncaring and cold Marco that I knew before changed all of a sudden to a person I couldn't recognize. Well, it's not like I know a lot about him anyway.

His tantalizing amber eyes focused on me like spotlights. "Just answer my question. Do you love this guy?" He repeated with a stern voice this time as if obliging me to tell him the truth no matter what. I opened my lips, intending to say yes, but nothing came out of my mouth.

He smirked. "Thankfully, you didn't say yes, or else, I wouldn't know what to do with that guy." Before I could answer, he finally distanced himself from me. I almost sighed in relief. "Maybe we started on the wrong foot but I am telling you now; I applied to this job because of you. I've already done enough for me to just let you get away from me just like that."

A gasp escaped my lips. "W-What do you mean?"

He turned around and started walking away. I thought he wouldn't answer my question but when he was about to open the door, he looked back at me one more time and spoke. "I like you for the longest time, Maggie, and I've decided to pursue you for good. I've already waited long enough. This time, I won't hold back anymore."

I gasped in shock. My eyes grew wide as saucers while staring at him with my jaw slack open.

"Y-You're kidding, right?" I voiced out when I've finally found my voice.

"Do I look like the type to kid around?" He countered with his usual serious demeanor.

"I already have a b-boyfriend." I answered with a small voice and looked down. For some reason, I couldn't look at him in the eyes.

"Do I look like the kind of guy who cares about that? I won't stop you from seeing that guy if you don't want to break up with him but you can't stop me from doing whatever I can to make you mine either." He said before he went out of my office.

I clutched my chest with my hand because my heartbeat went wilder than a while ago. Oh, my God. What just happened? Did Marco really just confess to me?!

I slowly sat on my swivel chair like I wasn't myself, staring into space. I couldn't believe of what Marco just declared. He likes me! I bit my lower lip when I felt that unfamiliar feeling inside of my heart that I've never felt before. It was like a hurricane that was forcefully invading my senses, roughly breaking my defenses.

I shook my head vigorously. "No! Stop it, Maggie! You already have Keith for Christ's sake!" I chastised myself like a fool. I couldn't help but to be mad at myself. Why do I suddenly feel this way?

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I didn't go out of my office after that because I didn't want to see Marco. I tried to do all my paperwork but I couldn't concentrate at all. What he confessed to me kept on repeating inside my head like a broken record. I could still recall the emotion on his face while declaring his feelings for me. I groaned inwardly.

Because of lack of concentration, I had to extend my time for a little bit. The store closed at 7:30 pm but I decided to stay until 8:30 pm to finish everything. Keith and I's dinner date was at 9 pm anyway so I had enough time to finish everything before leaving.

Everyone went home already and I was left there all alone. Just as the time turned 8:25, I already finished everything. I stood up from my seat and went to the washroom. I brushed my teeth and washed my face.

After that, I changed my clothes. I then patted powder on my face and applied lip gloss on my lips. When I finally got contented of my look, I decided to go out. I looked at the window and realized that it was pouring hard outside. I didn't even notice it because I was so engrossed in my work, but even so, I needed to go out to. I was about to open the door when the lights suddenly turned off.

My heart started beating like a drum because of panic and nervousness. I'm afraid of the dark! I could feel my whole body began trembling. I remained immobile while looking around, waiting for the lights to turn back on but that didn't happen.

"Ahhh!" I screamed in fear when the thunder suddenly struck loudly in the sky. I covered my ears as my fear intensified even more. Tears suddenly threatened to fall from my eyes. I sat on the floor while still covering my ears, praying for the lights to turn back on but it didn't.

The thunder and lightning continued on wreaking havoc in the sky and it was affecting me more and more. Then, another thunder blared loudly and I screamed again. I was already crying. I wanted to stand up and hide but my legs were shaking.

Ever since that horrific day, I've became afraid of the dark especially when there's thunderstorms.

Just when I thought I was going to trap there alone all night, the door opened.

"Maggie!" That voice was familiar. I looked up and saw Marco. It wasn't that dark for me to not recognize him right away. Before I could stop myself, I stood up and threw my arms around him. My whole body was still trembling in fear. I sobbed against his chest.

I felt his strong arms wrap around my shaking body. "Shhh...That's enough. I'm here for you. You don't have to be scared anymore." His voice sounded so gentle. I felt him kiss my forehead while his hand was stroking my back, trying to calm me down.

I didn't know how long we stayed in that position but one thing was for sure. I felt safe in his arms. Even though the thunder and lightning kept on striking like crazy, I managed to relax. He kept on whispering soothing words to me while stroking my back. His embrace made me feel so safe.

When he scooped me up onto his arms and carried me somewhere, I didn't protest. I just wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face on his muscled chest.

"You can't go out in this condition. I think, it will rain the whole night so it's better for us to stay here and wait for the rain to stop." He said and then sat on the couch with me on his lap. I suddenly got conscious of our position so I tried to stand up to get away from him but he didn't let me.

"Shhh. Stay." He whispered in my ear and tightened his arms around my waist.

"But—"

"—No buts. I know you're scared. With this kind of weather, I can't let you go out." He answered with finality.

"But Keith is waiting for me." I whispered back.

"If he really loves you, he will be here to rescue you. I assume that you already told him about your condition, right?"

I slowly nodded my head. "Yes. He knows."

"Then he should understand if you can't go meet with him tonight." There was a tinge of anger in his voice because of an unknown reason. We remained in that position for a couple of minutes. I wanted to ask him how he knew about my condition but I chose to remain silent.

There was a part of me that was telling me to get away from him because it was wrong. I shouldn't be this close to him let alone hug him but for some reason, I couldn't get out of his embrace.

"Why are you still here? I thought your already went home?" I asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

"I didn't."

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't leave you here alone." He answered casually. I felt my cheeks redden. Don't tell me he was outside the whole time?

"Why are you acting strange all of a sudden? You never even cared enough to look at me before but now, you're telling me that you like me. How come? You're confusing me, you know that?" I confessed with an almost inaudible voice.

He heaved a sigh and I felt him kiss my temple once again. Then, he made me look at him by placing a finger under my chin. Our eyes met. Even though it was dark, I could still see how his eyes stared at me intently, full of gentleness.

"I like you for the longest time. You said that I've never even looked at you before but you're wrong. You've always been the apple of my eyes, Maggie. I don't know how to court a woman properly and I'm not the romantic kind of guy either. I decided to just keep on watching you from afar but when I discovered that you already have a boyfriend, I realized that couldn't do let him take you. I decided to do everything in my power make you mine. You're mine, Maggie. Mine." No words came out of my mouth because of shock upon hearing his declaration.

My heartbeat was racing but I tried my best to pull myself together and ignore what he said. I must do the right thing.

"I already have Keith, Marco." I answered and looked away.

"Look at me." He demanded as if he didn't hear what I've just said.

"Marco—"

"—Look at me." He interrupted huskily and I couldn't do anything but to oblige. I unknowingly wet my already dry lips with the tip of my tongue.

He drew his face closer to mine until our lips were almost touching already. I had the difficulty breathing properly all of a sudden because of how close he was to me. His breath was fanning my face. His hands were caressing my face gently.

"You're so beautiful, my queen. At last. You're finally in my arms. Hell would freeze over but I won't let any man have you. Remember that." My queen?! I was about to ask him about what he just called me when his lips suddenly captured my lips with a kiss. I gasped in shock.

The first thing that came into my mind was to push him away but when his lips moved against mine teasingly and seductively, i forgot about the world. All I knew was the kiss that we were sharing. I felt like we flew to another dimension and I lost myself. Oh, gosh.

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Marco didn't waste any time when the opportunity came. LOL

What do you think of this chapter?

Will this be the beginning for their love to flourish?

What do you think will happen next?

Will Maggie break up with Keith after that kiss?

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