Edgar led her into the elevator of her apartment. Maggie, tired of his lecture, rolled her eyes. "I didn't know you nagged so much," she said.
With a helpless smile, Edgar glanced at Maggie again. When the doors of the elevator opened slowly, he asked, "And how could you say that you've been persistent alone?" He led her to her apartment and opened the door as he had always done before.
Maggie really wanted to ask him why he didn't carry a spare key and why he always opened her door with the iron wire. But she was even more anxious about wanting to complain about something else.
"Wasn't that the truth?" Maggie asked as she got out of her shoes "Humph! I sent you a message every day even though something important was happening. I sent you one every day but what did you do? Did you reply?" She felt saddened when she remembered this. She had felt their relationship had been confirmed before she left Eagle Special Brigade, but later she found that was her own wishful thinking.
At her complains, Edgar fixed his gaze on her, watching her and keeping his eyes locked on hers until he sensed that she was getting nervous and didn't have anything else to say. "On the afternoon of the day you left, I received an order from the leadership and I had to lead a commando to go abroad to take part in a peacekeeping operation," he told her.
Maggie stared up at him, surprised to hear such a quick and calm response. She had thought of many possibilities, but had never thought of the possibility that Edgar had to go to keep the peace.
"We didn't come back until only a few days ago," Edgar continued, his voice touched by tiredness that disappeared as quickly as it seemed to have appeared. "But I came to see you yesterday..."
Maggie came from a military family and had grown up in a military compound. In addition, she was now a student of National Defense University. She knew too well what a peacekeeping mission meant and how dangerous it could be. There was a chance of peacekeepers dying at any point in time. Moreover, it was uncertain whether or not their bodies could be brought back to their homeland.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Maggie asked. She could not help but blame herself for being inconsiderate. Even though William did not tell her about Edgar's mission, she should not have doubted his character—she should have given him more slack and believed that he was not as cold and heartless as she had thought he was.
Seeing the self-doubt on her face, Edgar sighed deeply. "I didn't know what kind of situation I was going to face myself. How could I tell you?" he said. Then he sighed again and tightened his grip around her. "At that time, I thought that if I was not able to come back, your father would have to find a way to change your mind about me, and if I came back safe and sound, I would marry you." His lips were curled up in a faint smile and his gaze grew deeper. "I didn't want to care anymore whether we're suitable for each other or not. I only wanted to marry you as soon as possible."
Maggie sniffed, her eyes turning red. In an annoyed and coquettish voice, she said, "It was me who started our relationship...How can you make the final decision?"
"It doesn't matter. The point is that you fell in love with me first!" Edgar said in a knavish tone. Then he held Maggie away from himself to gaze into her eyes, his own burning with love and passion. "You youngsters always say that the one who loves the other more is in a bad spot in the relationship, right?"
"Then... what..."
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