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MARCO's POV

I crumpled the picture that I was holding in anger while gritting my teeth. My suspicion was right all along. It was my fault why she's in this situation now. I left her alone for one and a half years and because of that, I couldn't protect her.

"So, what's your plan now, Unu? Are you going to leave her alone now or do something to shoo that guy away?" The curious question of Marcus. We're in my penthouse where I stay for the time being.

"You don't have to ask me such silly questions, frati. I know that you already know what's on my mind right now."

He sighed and then leaned his back against the headrest of the couch. "Then, you know that you need someone to help you with this. Fighting Apollyon and his men will not be easy. Now that he's here, he's prepared for the possible battle for sure. We don't know what he's planning to do now especially that he's just lurking nearby. I don't want to say this but it will be difficult for you to move against him, especially now that an important person in your life is already involved."

I balled my hands into fists in rising anger. "This is my fault so I must do everything in my power to fix this problem. If only I didn't let him escape from me before, he wouldn't be here now, messing with what's important to me." I looked at him intently. "Listen to me, Dui. I know that I already told you before not to interfere with my plans but I take that back. The situation is different now and I need your help. I should fix the mess that I couldn't finish one and a half years ago. This time, I'll make sure to hit two birds with one stone."

Dui nodded his head. "I understand, frati. Don't worry. We got your back. We were already expecting you to say that, so we're all prepared for the worst."

"Good. That's music to my ears."

"What about your job now, frati? Are you going to quit or stay now that you already know the location of Apollyon?" Dui asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Quit? Are you kidding me? This is my chance to be with her as close as I could. If I quit my job, I can't supervise her the right way, especially now that I confirmed my suspicion. I shouldn't leave her alone no matter what happens. Anyway, tell our men to guard Super L from a distance from now on. I'll be the one to survey inside." I instructed firmly.

"If you want, I will personally handle this case." He volunteered but I shook my head.

"No. Stay in our headquarters and supervise our transactions. What about the other bosses in ET VINDEX? Have they contacted you yet?"

"Not yet. Everything is under our control so there's no reason for them to look for you. They're busy with their own businesses so lucky you. They haven't noticed your absence."

I heaved a sigh and massaged my temples. "That's good to hear. You should go back tonight then. Make sure to send people who are capable for this mission. I won't tolerate any mistake. Remember that this is Apollyon we're talking about. He's not the kind to be taken lightly, so you should tell our men not to let him nor his comrades detect their presence around Super L."

"I understand, Unu. Don't worry, we can handle this." Marcus promised. After that, he stayed for another 30 minutes more before he left.

I picked up the picture that I crumpled a while ago and stared at it. My lips thinned.

"I won't let you get away this time, Apollyon. If you managed to escape from me in Sicily before, I won't give you the chance to do that to me again. I promise you that. I'll take back what you took away from me by hook or by crook." I couldn't hide the hatred in my voice. I crumpled the picture once again and then threw it in the garbage bin.

MAGGIE's POV

I closed the car door upon getting out of my car and then locked it. I was about to stride my way out of there when I noticed a movement behind me. I turned around swiftly to see who it was and my heart skipped a beat upon seeing his handsome face. I swallowed hard.

"What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you." He answered casually. He was holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

"This is for you." He handed it to me but I didn't accept it.

"No, Marco. I can't accept this." I said softly and turned my back on him, intending to leave him there alone but he spoke again.

"Let's talk." He voiced out but I shook my head vigorously.

"We don't have anything to talk about. If you'll excuse me, I need to open Super L." I answered and started walking away from him. He didn't say anything. I thought he already gave up but I was wrong. I haven't even got away from him that far when I felt his hand on my wrist, stopping me from walking away.

"Why are you avoiding me? It's been a week that you're acting as if I don't exist." He demanded; irritation was evident in his voice.

"I'm not avoiding you." I answered while trying my best to calm myself down. Damn! My whole body was already slightly shaking just by feeling his warm palm on my wrist, but thankfully, I managed to answer his question without stuttering.

It has been a week since that day, when we kissed, and I've been trying my best to avoid him for good. He tried to talk to me a lot of times but I always found my way out so that we wouldn't be left alone together again.

I felt scared to be close to him again because I might not be able to stop myself from committing a mistake just like the last time. I didn't want that to happen again. Now that he already admitted his true feelings towards me, I should distance myself from him whenever I could. That's for the best for the both of us.

"Really? Don't give me that! I'm not stupid, you know. It's so obvious that you've been avoiding me ever since we—"

"—Stop! Don't say anything about it!" I interrupted him in anger but he didn't even flinch of my loud voice.

"Why? Are you afraid that you might lose yourself into surrendering to me again that's why you've been avoiding me like I have a contagious disease or something?" He taunted and that made my blood boil. I forcefully pulled my wrist from his grip and then met his eyes bravely.

I wanted to yell at him but those tantalizing amber eyes of his were staring at me like he's trying to read the depths of my soul. My anger subsided just like that. I groaned inwardly. I pulled myself together.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We're already at work, Mr. Pearce, and I don't want to talk about personal stuff from here." I was about to walk away from him but I remembered something. "And to answer your question; yes, I've been avoiding you because I don't want to associate myself with you anymore. It's better for us to act professionally at all times to perform our jobs effectively so you should respect my decision. Don't come near me again. I hope you understand my point." I then walked away from him with long strides, afraid that he might do something crazy again.

I've made up my mind. Marco is nothing but a sin, a temptation that I shouldn't associate myself with anymore. Upon reaching my office, I sat on my swivel chair tiredly. It was still 8:45 am but I felt like I didn't have enough energy to work any longer.

Almost all the employees already arrived and now, they're busy preparing everything before we open the supermarket. I decided to begin my work too. But about ten minutes later, my phone rang. It was Keith.

"Hi, babe. Sorry for disturbing you but I am outside Super L right now. Can you come here? I just want to give you something." He asked sweetly.

I chuckled. "Okay. I'll be right there in a minute." I ended the call and then hurriedly went out of my office. I was walking towards the exit when I saw Marco talking to the other two guards. I noticed him looking at me but I just ignored him and walked past them. Just like whenever I'm near him, my heart began beating erratically like crazy again.

I quickened my steps. I wanted to see Keith right away in order to stop my heart from beating crazily like that. I was hoping that my heartbeat was going wild like that because Keith came over.

Keith smiled right away upon seeing me. "I missed you." He hugged me. I tried my best to forget about Marco and concentrated on Keith.

"I missed you too." I responded with an almost inaudible voice. I tightened my arms around him, wanting my heart to beat wildly just like it does with Marco but it didn't. In fact, my heartbeat became steady. I wanted to shout in frustration. Why won't it beat just like it does with Marco?!

"I like the way you hugged me just now." Keith admittedly while chuckling when we finally pulled away from our embrace. I forced a smile.

"Why are you here?" I tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible. His smile widened. He opened his car and then took a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the shotgun seat.

"This is for you, babe." I smiled upon seeing all my favorite flowers in one bouquet.

"Thank you." I said appreciatively but my smile died down when I remembered the bouquet that Marco wanted to give it to me a while ago. I felt bad for not taking it but it was the right thing to do. When I realized what I was thinking, I pushed the thought away and smiled again.

"My effort paid off. I managed to make you smile." That surprised me.

"W-What do you mean?" I asked quizzically.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if you haven't noticed, you've been so serious this past one week. We were together the other day but you were not yourself. You were brooding and I thought, maybe you had a problem with your job so I came here to give you that, hoping to see you smile and I succeeded." What he said touched my heart but for some reason, I felt bad even more.

"I'm sorry, babe, if I wasn't myself this past week. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you next time." I answered apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. You already managed to smile and that's enough for me." We embraced once again. After a couple of seconds, he pulled away from our embrace and was about to kiss me when someone cleared their throat.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Ms. Lenard, but there's a problem inside." Cecile said, a little bit uneasy. My eyebrows creased.

"What happened?"

"I-It's Marco." She answered but her eyes were on Keith. She suddenly looked tensed. I looked at Keith and he smiled at me.

"Don't worry about me, babe. Just go. I'll be going on ahead anyway. See you tonight, okay?" I kissed his cheek.

"Okay. See you later then." I said and then walked together with Cecile towards the entrance of Super L.

"Are you okay? You look scared." I asked confusedly. We stopped walking.

"Is he your boyfriend, Ms. Lenard?" Cecile asked out of the blue.

"Yes. Why?"

She forced a smile. "N-Nothing. I'm just curious, that's all." Her answer didn't convince me but I didn't ask anymore question. When we reached inside Super L, I was surprised to see all the broken bottles at the wine section.

"What happened here?" I asked but no one spoke. Everyone just threw a glance at Marco who remained quiet. He was just standing there with a dangerous look on his face while staring at the bouquet that I was holding.

"Who broke all the wines?" I asked again.

"It was Marco, Ms. Lenard." Cecile answered. I released a harsh breath.

"Come to my office, Mr. Pearce. Now!" I said sternly and then strode my way towards my office. I was almost at my office but I couldn't hear his footsteps following me behind, so I stopped and looked past my shoulders just to be surprised that he was just behind me. How come I didn't hear even a single footstep from him?

I mentally shook my head and then opened the door. I sat on my swivel chair and then placed the bouquet that I was holding on top of my table while waiting for Marco to enter. But then, my eyes widened when I heard him lock the door. What the heck!

"Why did you lock the door?!" I couldn't help but to get mad. Instead of answering me, he sauntered towards me quietly. My heart was thumping like crazy again. I stood up and was about to walk past him to get to the door when he snatched me by the waist and then enveloped me into a tight embrace from behind.

"Mr. Pearce, what do you think you're doing?!" I hissed as I tried to wiggle out of his embrace but my efforts were futile. He buried his face on the crook of my neck as his arms wrapped around my waist possessively. My body temperature went hot just like that.

"I hate it when you're with him. You declined the bouquet of flowers that I wanted to give you but you accepted his." He whispered huskily, his breath tickling my neck.

"You don't have the right to tell me that! He's my boyfriend so get away from me before I scream." I warned him, gathering all the strength I could muster to resist him, but that didn't get into him and to my horror, he began kissing my neck. A whimper involuntarily escaped my lips. Damn it!

"I missed you. You've been avoiding me for a week and I can't take it anymore." He sounded like he was having a hard time. His naughty hands began exploring the sensitive parts of my body as if he had the rights to do so.

Even though I didn't want to accept it, his masculine body felt so good against mine and it was getting harder for me to say no of his advances, but I persevered. I shouldn't repeat my mistake. When his arms loosened around me as his hands cupped my breasts, I used that as an opportunity to get away from him and I succeeded. Thank goodness!

"Get out." I said firmly upon getting away from him. He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"You're being unfair."

"What do you mean by I'm being unfair? Do you hear what you're saying?! I have a boyfriend, for crying out loud and you know that what you're doing is wrong!" I angrily said even though my voice was trembling. I felt like my knees were about to give out.

"You kissed me back and I felt that you liked me too. Don't deny it."

"So what if I kissed you back? That doesn't mean that I like you too! Many people out there kiss without any feelings involve and you know that."

He shook his head. "Really? You're telling me that you didn't feel anything when we kissed? Then, prove it to me."

"What kind of proof are you still looking for? Isn't my resistance enough for you to leave me alone?!"

"No, it's not enough. If you want me to leave you alone, then prove to me that you don't feel the same way; that you don't feel anything towards me. Come here and kiss me." He commanded.

I gaped at him, unable to say a word.

"You can't do it? Then I was right then." I couldn't accept his claim. I didn't want to think that I was really attracted to him. I gritted my teeth. I didn't know what game he was playing but I'll play along.

I stepped towards him and he looked surprised. "Fine. I'll give you the proof that you want." I said courageously even though deep inside of me, I was praying so hard that I could really do it without losing myself.

I tipped on my tippy toes as I held onto his shoulders, our eyes were locked. He smirked.

"Game. Show me, my queen. Let—" I didn't let him finish because I already initiated the kiss, determined to prove to him that his kisses were nothing to me. I just gave him a gentle smack on the lips and then ended it.

"That's it?" He questioned; amusement was evident on his handsome face.

"Yes, that's just it!" I hissed and was about to get away from him when he suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me roughly to his body. I gasped in surprised and was about to yell at him but he already silenced me with a passionate kiss.

I groaned in protest, but he just used that as an opportunity to deepen the kiss more. His expert lips and tongue coaxed me to respond and I got enchanted again. For some reason, I turn into a weak woman because of his seductions.

He groaned triumphantly when my lips moved to mimic the movement of his lips. Our tongues danced as our breaths mixed together. It was so hot and addicting, but then, my guilt began eating me away once again. My rational thinking woke me up from my deep slumber.

I placed my hands against his chest and pushed him away. "Stop! Please, just stop!" My voice was shaking.

"See? I was right. You like me too. The heat, the strong attraction and sexual tension; you feel it too and don't bother denying it because I won't believe you."

"So, what? That doesn't mean that I'll break up with Keith! Enough, Marco! You're making me feel like an easy woman just by treating me this way. Please, don't do this to me. I'm already feeling so bad of doing all these behind Keith so please, stop." I almost begged as my eyes watered. Guilt flashed through his eyes but it quickly disappeared.

"This guy is so lucky because you're so loyal to him. But I don't have any plans of backing out. I already told you before; he doesn't deserve you and I'm going to prove that to you." He approached me and then cupped my face. He stared into my eyes intently and then wiped my tears with his thumbs.

"I won't promise to leave you alone from now on. I'll do everything to make you mine and I always stay true to my words. If you're with the right guy, I would never try to take you away from him but you're not. He's not the one for you. I am." He declared and then walked out of the door.

Just when he was about to close the door behind him, he spoke one more time. "And about the wines; I'll pay it tomorrow so don't worry about it." He added and then closed the door.

I bit my lower lip and sat on the couch as if my strength left my body. This mustn't go on. I should do something to stop this before Marco succeeded on seducing me. He's stirring weird feelings from the depths of my heart everytime he's near and it was scaring me.

Later that day, I went for a date with Keith at the restaurant but something happened that I didn't expect. He proposed to me during our dinner and I said yes without thinking.

"You made me so happy!" Keith hugged me happily and then put the ring on my finger. I wanted to feel happy but for some reason, I couldn't. No! You're doing the right thing, Maggie! I said to myself but the other side of me was screaming the opposite.

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Do you have an idea of who Apollyon is?

Maggie accepted Keith's proposal. What do you think of this decision of hers?

Will there be a wedding soon?

What do you think will Marco do next?

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