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Chapter 92 - MARCUS

"Please sit down, Marcus." I offered, motioning him to occupy the crème colored sofa, he obediently followed and moved forward.?He sank into the soft cushion with the natural grace of a king. After he was settled, I took the seat opposite him and placed the bouquet of fresh red roses on top of my lap before I shifted my attention back to his.

Marcus was intently looking at me and I\'m afraid I would melt?by the way he looked at me. I?manage to meet his unnerving glance despite the embarrassing peck on the cheeks he just gave me.

I couldn\'t believe he did it without my permission. It\'s not that big deal. It\'s just I don\'t want anyone invading my personal space without my own permission.

It couldn\'t be more awkward if someone saw what he just did. Luckily, there was no one present inside the parlor except us. The thought was somehow relieving.

A sense of sudden discomfort descended on me, my eyes shifted to search where the feeling was coming from. There was nothing amiss,?I said to myself shrugging my shoulders. Just when I was about to focus my wandering gaze back on Marcus, a soft flicker of movement on top of the stairs caught my attention as it moved away.

So Ace did see it. I sighed, feeling a bit guilty when I should be irritated instead. Ace was spying on us. I wonder if it\'s one of his responsibilities as my hired bodyguard.

"Beatrix?"

I shook my head, restrained my uncontrolled thoughts, and returned my attention back to my visitor. "I\'m still quite surprised to see you here, Marcus. May I ask how did you know I\'m here?"

Marcus smiled again. This time it\'s brighter than the last. "It was Alexander who gave me the information. In case you\'re wondering why I\'m here, I have a house here in Brittania. My mother lives here." He answered as if he\'d read the question behind my thoughts.

"Oh, I didn\'t know."

"Of course, I want to surprise you, Beatrix."

"Well, you did surprise me, Marcus."

"You\'ll be surprised more once I told you why I came here—aside from seeing you of course," Marcus said meaningfully, my eyebrows scrunching in confusion as I looked at him.

"What do you mean, Marcus?"

I straightened on my seat. My hands tightened around the bouquet of flowers almost squeezing the stem by the force I exerted. I just wish I\'m prepared for what he has to say.

"Beatrix. I want to ask for your hand." He said earnestly, straight to the point, and without filters. His expression softened a bit.

Shocked wouldn\'t be enough to describe what I feel. Dumbfounded would be quite close but still not enough. I just looked at him with my mouth wide open while I sat frozen on the sofa.

Marriage? Dear Lord, I wasn\'t prepared for this.

Marcus was a respectable man. He was rich and good-looking. He was exactly a good girl\'s dream guy. He\'s almost perfect on all sides and that is actually the problem. He\'s too good to be true. Too good for me actually.

He deserved a woman who would love him completely. Not someone with excess baggage like me. He was a good guy. It\'s not difficult to fall for someone like him. But I couldn\'t reciprocate his tender affection.

I could give the love he badly wanted— I have given it to someone else—Ace.

"I\'m hoping you\'re not that serious."

His shoulders fell. "I have never been this serious before, Beatrix."

I firmly closed my eyes and massaged my aching temples. My headache seems to worsen. I don\'t know how many of these unpredictable events my nerves would be able to tolerate. Last night I discovered I was divorced, and the next day a man came stumbling into my life asking for marriage. Fate must be playing a bad joke on me.

"Why me?Marcus?" I\'ve asked the words gently but with impact.

"That\'s not the question. The question is why not?" He responded, not giving up.

"If I\'ll count the reason why we will not finish until tomorrow. But since you asked, I will tell you the reason. I\'m divorced and I have a daughter."

Marcus didn\'t even flinch nor move a muscle. He appeared surprisingly calm even after I told him the truth. "I know, Beatrix. I too was wondering why you when there are hundreds and thousands of women in all Cordova. Brittania wasn\'t even included. But even after I told myself that, I couldn\'t seem to give you up. It\'s you I wanted and Faith Vienne."

He looked so sincere. I could feel he\'s telling the truth but things are happening so fast and its scaring me with its pace.

"Are you saying those things because my father has power, money, and influence? I don\'t know what you\'re after but cut that off Marcus. I\'m not ready to entertain anyone."

"Just as I thought. I know you wouldn\'t believe me." Marcus rose from his seat, his handsome face twisted with pain. He looked defeated but he\'s not giving up. Too determined to lose the battle he desperately wanted to be a victor to even give up easily.?"I just want to let you know that I don\'t give a damn about your inheritance. I\'m as rich and powerful as Alexander Crawford. What I\'m trying to say is I\'m willing to accept you, Beatrix, even your past just to prove what I feel for you is genuine."

He looked at me for one last time with sad, warm eyes before he finally strode to the door.?When he was gone, I didn\'t leave my seat, too shocked to even move.

I didn\'t know Marcus had some hidden feelings for me. I?noticed the unusual way he looked at me but I always assumed he was naturally caring to all of his female friends. It never occurred to me—not until now that his feeling lies beyond the boundary of friendship. Marcus wanted more but I couldn\'t give it to him.

After I accumulated enough strength to move my legs, I rose from the sofa and hastily moved towards the stairs. But before I could climb the first step, Ace suddenly emerged from nowhere.

He\'s beginning to creep me out with his nasty habit of unceremoniously popping up from nowhere. One of these days, he\'s going to be the death of me if he continues just to do that. I wonder how long would I last before I could succumb to a heart attack with his own doing.

"Why don\'t you give him a chance…. I could tell that he was sincere." Ace said arms crossed beneath his chest. He reminds me of a father in the act of scolding his daughter after he caught her rudely treating her playmate. Honestly,

his words shocked me more than his presence did.?That\'s the last thing I was expecting to hear from my ex-husband. I wasn\'t sure if he\'s trying to tease me or he\'s seriously telling me the best advice.

He showed not the slightest remorse to eavesdrop on my business. He even has the audacity to listen to such a private conversation. This man has no shame. I

thought father hired a bodyguard, not a human CCTV to watch my every move.

Ace could be so damn irritating at times, I silently thought. I shot him a scathing glare, tilted my chin in a defiant manner before meeting his gaze directly. "If you like Marcus, then why don\'t you marry him?"

I pushed the bouquet to his chest, he caught it in time before it could drop to the floor. I then marched to the staircase without looking behind. When he recovered from surprise, Ace\'s crisp laughter erupted down the staircase. He was still laughing when I reached the top of the staircase. When he called my name, I didn\'t look back. Frustrated by his lack of formality, I ignored him and I made a beeline straight to the privacy of the library.

Ace seriously thinks that I feel nothing for him anymore. I don\'t know whether to be happy or to be depressed at the idea. Or was it his other way of saying we don\'t have a chance to be together again since we\'ll both end up hurting each other again?

I don\'t know what to think now. I\'m so confused.

I pushed the door to the library open and moved inside the room with quick, hurried movements. When I reached the swivel chair, I slumped on top and rested my back on the soft cushion behind me. I

Somehow, the fact that I let Marcus walk away rendered me suffering with guilt. Perhaps I should have told him that friendship is the only thing I could offer. If he\'s sincere he will accept what I have to offer and wait for the right time until I am ready to fall in love again.

But then, I don\'t want to give him false hopes. I couldn\'t allow him to continue pursuing me when I?wasn\'t sure If I would develop some romantic feelings towards him.

Enough of this nonsense. I have an exam tomorrow. It\'s far more important than my lovelife. I let go a deep sigh, grabbed the reviewer and resumed my intensive studying.