Chapter 20 The Jealous CEO Kissed Her
Maggie's heart raced as she immediately looked at Fiorello to gauge his reaction.
Feeling guilty as if she had hid something, she explained, "I didn't mean to keep it from you, nor did I come to the reunion because of my ex-boyfriend. Don't get the wrong idea."
When they first met, Maggie had been upfront about her past relationship. Fiorello had noticed Samwise's reaction instantly.
Even if Maggie had no particular thoughts on the matter, Samwise definitely did.
At the traffic light, Fiorello smoothly brought the car to a stop and turned to look at her. "Maggie, you don’t have to be nervous, I believe in you."
Hearing this, Maggie’s eyes widened in slight astonishment.
If it were any other man, jealousy or even anger might not be out of the question.
Fiorello's reaction, however, was calm. He was neither angry nor jealous, which made sense considering the two had only recently met and were more or less a couple in name only, with a marriage license but without any actual emotional bond. With this in mind, Maggie began to feel at ease.
Fiorello was unaware of Maggie's thoughts. His lack of anger or jealousy stemmed from the fact that Samwise was not seen as a serious rival.
Even if Fiorello didn't mind, Maggie still felt the need to explain, "We dated for half a year back in high school. Then, we both got into CyberU. His family chose an overseas school for him, and when he moved abroad, we lost touch. It never went beyond hand-holding. We didn’t even kiss."
The light turned green, and Fiorello started the car and continued driving. "You graduated from CyberU. Why did you choose to run a street vendor stall at the night market?"
"Huh?" Maggie was a bit surprised. Why wasn't Fiorello concerned about her past with Samwise?
Regaining her composure, Maggie said, "Something happened back then. I only completed one semester before dropping out. I didn't graduate."
Seeing that Maggie seemed uncomfortable and unwilling to delve deeper, Fiorello didn't press the issue.
Maggie thought he would continue to inquire, but when he didn't, she became somewhat restless.
Back at their home in Waters Edge, Maggie couldn't help herself and revealed, "I was in the design program back then. I loved jewelry design, but after a plagiarism scandal that caused quite the stir, coupled with a heartbreak, I couldn’t handle the pressure from all the gossip and dropped out."
In truth, Arya and Dulcinea had told her all this. Maggie's memories of that year at CyberU were hazy.
She only vaguely remembered experiencing these events and had forgotten some details. She had suffered from severe depression and undergone lengthy treatment to recover.
Regarding the plagiarism incident, her recollections were unclear as well, but Dulcinea had told her that she had been wrongfully accused.
Maggie wasn't entirely clear on the specific truths of her past.
Ever since she overcame her depression, she hadn't clung to the past but started anew, setting up her own sidewalk sale stand and striving for self-reliance.
What happened before didn't matter anymore. Taking the right steps forward was what was most important to her.
Fiorello didn't pry into Maggie's affairs out of a desire not to reopen her wounds.
There had to be a story behind her dropping out of Cyber University midway through her studies, and he hadn't expected Maggie to share it on her own.
Watching her, his eyes conveyed an indescribable sense of compassion. He asked, "Do you have any regrets?"
If Maggie had graduated from CyberU, her life would certainly have been better than it was now.
Maggie shook her head, "I chose my own path, there's nothing to regret. I also believe that there's more than one way to get to Rome."
Fiorello nodded in approval, "I believe you can make it."
Maggie's gaze was as firm as when Fiorello first saw her, when she stood holding her identity certificate and asked if he was willing to marry her.
"Have you not been drinking today?" Maggie asked, noticing for the first time that Fiorello didn't smell of alcohol.
Usually, Fiorello would come home inebriated, leaving little room for a proper conversation between them.
"I didn't have any engagements today and planned to come home early to help you at the night market."
Fiorello didn't have engagements not because they didn't exist, but because he had asked his brother, Holden, to attend in his stead.
Now, Holden was still at the dinner table, toasting and drinking.
"Oh." Maggie asked, "Have you had dinner? If not, I can cook something."
"I've eaten already," replied Fiorello with a smile, seeing that Maggie seemed downcast. "I'm going to do some work in the study. You should rest early."
At that moment, Maggie needed a quiet and solitary space more than anything.
"Mhm."
Indeed, Maggie wanted to be alone for a while. The get-together with her classmates had affected her mood.
After Fiorello headed to the study, she went to her bedroom to wash up, changed into pajamas, and lay in bed, ready to rest.
It was then that her phone beeped with a message notification from WhatsApp.
Maggie opened it, her heart swelled with mixed feelings.
It was Samwise, requesting to add her as a friend, with a note: Let's start over.
Maggie found this to be ironic and somewhat infuriating.
Samwise knew she was married, yet he sent such message in the middle of the night—what were his intentions? Maggie simply deleted it without accepting the request, and then silenced her phone to go to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Maggie woke up parched. She sleepily threw off the covers and left her room, groping in the dark for a glass of water, when she suddenly bumped into Fiorello.
"Ah!" Maggie exclaimed instinctively as she staggered backward, her legs hitting the couch behind her, tossing her off balance. Instinctively, she reached for Fiorello to stop her fall, but they both ended up tumbling onto the couch.
Fiorello's lips landed perfectly on Maggie's in a surprising kiss. The soft sensation sent a shock through both of them, electrifying them.
The dimly lit room, their close position, and bits of scattered memories flickered through Maggie's mind. They were fragments of memories she had forgotten, and when she tried to piece them together, her mind went blank again.
Meanwhile, some not-so-child-friendly images flashed through Fiorello's mind…
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