Love Began with the First Meeting



Maggie moved forward and studied the engravings on the tombstone. The picture on it had been worn down, and the image was hardly recognizable to the uninformed viewer. The only information which could be established was that there was a couple buried here. Their identities were lost to the ravages of time.

Maggie bowed to the tombstone with all of her respect. Without considering why they had died, she still showed reverence, for the deceased always deserved respect.

"So your parents were buried here." Maggie didn't have any idea of how to continue their conversation, so she helplessly stated the obvious. In addition, what confused her was that with Cain's present identity and status, it would be a simple matter to find a better place for his parents to rest forever.

"Hmm," Cain responded in a light voice. "I was not capable of doing anything about it previously, but luckily I met a nice guy who has helped me settle the problem. Otherwise, I couldn't ever imagine that I might need to scatter their bones and ashes to the hills." His tone was oddly disembodied and eerily calm, causing anyone who heard him to feel a sense of chill. "For so many years, I have never returned home in my own country, nor have I worshipped my parents. In terms of that, I am far from a filial son."

Hearing his confession, Maggie felt his immense grief. If what Tompson had said before was the truth, then Cain's parents had been wrongfully put to death. As a matter of fact, what Cain was doing was right, and in a certain sense, proper; however, Maggie couldn't condone his actions when it involved Edgar.

"May I ask what happened to them?" Maggie turned to Cain pushing for the truth.

Cain also turned to stare at Maggie with maic eyes which seemed to pierce through her. He remained silent and just kept looking at her until Maggie couldn't bear it anymore. His eyes seemed to change then, becoming like an all-encompassing ocean which threatened to engulf Maggie and drown her in his mournful world. "You already knew about it, didn't you?"

While Maggie had been dispassionate earlier, she now couldn't help being shocked by his question and forcing a sneer she retorted, "What do you mean? I... Why would I know that?"

Cain focused on the tombstone and continued in a peaceful voice, "Didn't you already know everything when you met with Tompson yesterday?" He bent down with a gentleman's gesture to pull out the last few missed weeds, and, after he again straightened, he said, "You shouldn't have come with me today. I was thinking earlier, if you didn't serve yourself up as bait, I wouldn't treat you as such. But you've chosen to do it anyway." He gave his own interpretation. While speaking, his face fell as if Maggie had let him down.

Maggie was taken by surprise by Cain's sophisticated strategy and she involuntarily stepped backwards and tried to defend herself with feigned awkwardness, "Cain, what are you talking about?"

Cain switched his gaze from Maggie to the sun and added, "You are smart and sensitive to my psychological strategies. However, no one can hold a candle to me, except maybe for Edgar. What a pity! Not only you, but Tompson is also the same." He smiled, "How was it possible for Tompson to overhear such a big piece of news from an eavesdropped conversation in a foreign country?" He continued staring forcefully at Maggie, who was almost unable to stay upright under his scrutiny. "People are only capable of opening their minds in an unfamiliar environment. Without his information and his friend's investigation, how would he have urged Edgar to escape in such a short period of time?"

Hearing what Cain said, Maggie suddenly had an epiphany. "So your ultimate goal was to force Edgar to flee?"

Cain smiled scornfully. "Edgar was already a legend when he was at Sharp Blade Commando. Even though he had made a limited contribution to A City as a senior cadre, he had facilitated the exchange of both the new and the old groups. When he returned to the Eagle, what he has accomplished until now has been extraordinary. Despite the fact that he was demoted by two ranks, everyone knows that an appropriate timing will propel him up the ranks for promotion. As the leader of the special brigade, he may be the first officer destined for the central power. What a pity..." Maggie wasn't upset at his explanation, but she tried her best to suppress her tears and put on a tough smile. "What about your next move?" Her smile gradually vanished as she said, "I've always wondered what your real purpose was. Perhaps everybody, no matter if they understand someone else's mentality or not, is exactly the same. Especially when it comes to revenge."

Cain still maintained his poker face, listening to what Maggie wanted to say next.novelbin

"As for the mentality of avengers..." Maggie no longer needed to feign pretense since everything was made clear. "They hope that others will experience what they have suffered previously. Cain, don't you realize that your measures for seeking revenge is too childish and ineffective?"

Remaining untouched by Maggie's challenge, Cain continued after a lengthy pause, "Death only brings a moment of pain. In most cases, having to keep on living is the most painful punishment." He heaved a sigh, tilting his head up to the warm sunshine which filled the snowy landscape with warmth. Then he slowly added, "Maggie, when you've lost your whole world, that is a grief that you can never bear."

Maggie sensed a dangerous air coming from Cain, so she began considering her escape routes if she needed to flee from him. Although the cemetery was a closed off area, which made escape difficult, it did offer many places to hide.

After making a quick survey of the surrounding landscape, Maggie subconsciously clenched her hands. Her tension began to build and she mentally prepared herself to run.

"When you choose to flee, you should take into account how bad your situation is." Cain heaved a sigh. "You are unable to get away, being alone." Maggie sneered at his silly speculation. "How do you know that I'm alone?"

Cain smiled deprecatingly at Maggie. A ray of daylight fell on his handsome face, creating a sunburst against the bright winter sky. Maggie was momentarily distracted by the halo of light which framed his face like an illusion. It seemed that he was a king like in the Greek myths, being both gentle and aggressive at the same time.

"Are you naive enough to believe that Tompson could show up here and rescue you?"

Cain's question extinguished Maggie's last hope, but she just couldn't figure out why.

"The rate of marking time and that of walking are totally different," Cain kindly explained for Maggie. "It is less easy to control an analog machine compared to a smart machine, but there's still a way to!"

Hatred of this cold and cruel man had already made Maggie desperate, and she was completely devastated after she heard what he said. Realization struck that she was truly alone.

"That's why I knew of every conversation between Tompson and Edgar." His last words were as a nail in a coffin, and with the truth of her situation unveiled, Maggie's psychological defenses were ripped away.

Holding slices of bread and a bottle of mineral water, Edgar ate sparingly while he said into the walkie-talkie, "It's unacceptable for something like this to happen since you have stayed in Eagle for such a long time." He looked serious. "I had to leave Maggie alone, since Cain won't do any harm to her. By the way, have you found the stuff that I ask you for?"

"You're not an attractive enough prospect, so it's not going well in respect to Richard," Tompson answered. "Are you serious? You are really going to leave Maggie alone? With him?"

Edgar was speechless for a moment, and then allowed himself a bitter smile. "Just let it go. Right now! She is not our top priority at this very moment."

Hearing this, Tompson became irritated by his attitude and frowned. "Edgar, it is true that this might be the reality, but it's unbecoming that you speak about it yourself, right? Remember, you are Maggie's husband as well as the Captain of Eagle!" Tompson shouted in outrage into the walkie-talkie.

Edgar's smile became increasingly helpless and bitter, and he paused for a long while as he fought for calm before responding, "Compared with temporary happiness and company, I wish I could be her lifelong companion."

Hearing his promise, Tompson was touched by Edgar's determination. Tompson had lost his temper simply because he didn't agree with Edgar; however, he had made the same mistake by letting Maggie go into an unknown situation.

"What's your next plan?" Tompson asked, hopeful that Edgar had a magic wand to fix this terrible situation quickly.

Edgar put down the bread, drank a sip of water, and then revealed his strategy. "We need to work as a team. You go and protect Maggie, while I try to locate the previous black box."

"Deal!" Tompson agreed, but in his mind he wasn't so sure about the success of such a plan. Was it possible to unearth the evidence from back then? The nights became long and cold during winter. Snow falls were common, and temperatures plummeted during the coldest nights. The delightful atmosphere of New Year had turned sorrowful due to this event.

Hana heaved a helpless sigh after reading Maggie's text and then replied to it, "After all, you are married to Edgar. You should have a sense of propriety, even though you enjoy hanging out with Cain. Remember to stay sober."

The message sent back by Maggie made her heave another sigh and nod, as Maggie disregarded her choice and chose to go out with Cain. She was pretty sure about her daughter's personality, as Maggie had always behaved well. As for Cain, having met him several times over the last few days, she knew him to be a guy of integrity as well. In addition, her daughter was too smart to allow herself to be taken advantage of.

With a light sound of electricity crackling, William's house was thrown into total darkness. There were only two lamps which emitted some dim light, to guide movement around the dark space. The sudden silence was like that before a thunderstorm, leaving people distressed. Even the delight of New Year was now unable to eliminate this feeling.

"Where is that thing?" an anxious voice sounded somewhere in the darkness.

"It has already been destroyed."

"Are you sure?"

The male voice was suspicious about this answer. "What do you mean?"

"I'm just feeling uneasy. As you know, both Cain and Edgar have already had an eye out for it. So it is big trouble no matter who gets it in the end."

"It's going to be fine. My men are trustworthy. Besides, since Edgar and Cain are fighting against each other, it will be too late when they realize what happened."

"Oh, really?"

Suddenly, another skeptical voice came, like Satan coming from the dark night, full of mystery and malice.

And the darkness deepened and violence followed. ☐☐☐☐☐☐