Love Began with the First Meeting

Edgar had thought that he should give Maggie some time to deal with Tompson, but she was gone too long. She still hadn't come back when he thought she would have. After waiting for a long time, he began searching for her, using the techniques that he would normally use in scouting. His search finally ended with him at a bar. In the night of their marriage, the bridegroom was alone in the apartment, while the bride went out to meet another man. Edgar wanted to ask Maggie if she thought it was proper for her to act this way.

He sighed as he looked at the bar, letting his thoughts float around in his head. He spotted Maggie and Tompson as soon as he walked through the doors and immediately headed over to where they were seated. Standing in front of their small round table, he looked down at the bottles of beer-there were enough to cover the whole table. He frowned, then pulled out a chair and sat down indifferently. Glancing at Maggie, he knew that she was feeling guilty. Then he turned to Tompson. "What are you planning to do next?"

"Oh my God. Becoming husband and wife...and asking the same question..." Tompson said jokingly and smiled, glancing at Maggie. Just a few seconds ago, she was having drink after drink as though she was trying to beat him in a drinking contest, but now she was acting meekly, like a sheep who was caught for hypocrisy. Turning back to Edgar, he continued, "I want to rest first. I will think about what to do after the New Year."

Edgar nodded. He picked up an unopened bottle and took off the cap. Nodding at Tompson again, this time in a little hint sort of way, he drained the whole bottle in one gulp. When he finished, he stated, "I'm taking Maggie back home. If you need help, just let me know and I'll come to you."

Then he got up and pulled Maggie up to her feet, not waiting for Tompson's response. Maggie, who was still lost in thought, trying to come up with an explanation for her behavior, let herself be pulled out of the bar by Edgar.

Maggie headed to her car and opened the door, but before she could put her key into the ignition, Edgar stopped her, taking away the key. "Didn't you drink?" he asked her coldly.

Maggie was speechless. She paused and thought for a moment. "I only drank..."

"Your blood alcohol concentration is above the legal limit," Edgar said, still in a cold voice. He linked arms with her and pulled her with him to the main street. There, he hailed down a cab and pushed Maggie in before climbing in after her. He told the driver the address, and then sat in silence as the driver started on his way.

Maggie felt like things were going all wrong. The atmosphere inside the cab was so weird, so thick. She could hardly breathe, and there were unspoken words threatening the back of her throat. She wanted to explain to Edgar. She wanted to make amends. But meanwhile, she didn't think it was necessary for her to defend herself. She didn't think she did anything wrong.

"Uncle Three..." Maggie finally murmured, hoping to get Edgar's attention. However, he didn't turn to her, nor did he say a word. Pursing her lips, she decided against saying anything to him either. She turned to look out of her window.

It was very late. Despite the prosperity in S City, it was quiet in such a winter night. There were few cars and people outside.

It seemed that the taxi driver could also sense the tension. He glanced at his customers through the rearview mirror and assumed that they were family-the uncle had caught the niece drinking in a bar. Glancing at Maggie, the taxi driver guessed that she was an adult and perhaps the uncle was worrying too much. On the other hand, he reasoned that the uncle might have valid reasons for being angry since a girl should not be out late drinking.

"I know I should not have gone to meet Tompson after we obtained our certificates today, but..." Maggie suddenly shouted, turning towards Edgar. She could not bear the awkwardness any longer. "I couldn't decline his offer since something has obviously happened to him."

Before Edgar could respond, the taxi driver in the front got astonished. 'Didn't she call him Uncle just now? How could they obtain a marriage certificate?' he thought, scratching his head. In his mind, she meant a marriage certificate. Judging by the thick silence inside the tab, there was no other certificates that she could have been talking about.

The cab stopped in front of the gate of the apartment community. The taxi driver turned his head to look at Edgar in the back. Truth be told, he was a little scared of the expression on Edgar's face. He felt pity for Maggie. Maybe she had to marry a much older man who didn't love her or pamper her. He wondered whether the man committed domestic violence. He hoped not. With these thoughts in his mind, the taxi driver said, "Eighteen, thank you."

Edgar fished out his wallet from his pocket and took out a banknote with a face value of fifty and handed it to the driver. "Keep the change," he said. He then turned to Maggie, cold eyes burning into her face. "Get out," he hissed before turning to get off the car.

Like a child who had done something wrong, Maggie got out of the car and walked over to Edgar slowly and meekly. When the taxi slid away by her side, she peeped at Edgar. Thinking that she had the upper hand now, since they were at her home, she turned to lead. However, she didn't hear his footsteps. Curiously, she turned around to look behind her.

"Ouch!" Maggie bumped into Edgar's chest and stumbled back, losing her balance. She screamed and flailed her arms about as she fell back.

Frowning slightly, Edgar grasped Maggie's arm and pulled her back up.

In shock, Maggie gazed at Edgar. A while later, she felt her nose ache. "Why did you stand behind me all of a sudden? Wouldn't you feel sorry if I fell down?" she complained.

Edgar wore only a faint smile on his face. "Yes, I'd feel the pain. So I won't let you fall down as long as I'm by your side," he said. Maggie stared up at him. When he saw a glimmer of light in her eyes, he continued, "But it seems that you haven't gotten the essence of striking the first blow." He took hold of Maggie's hand. Then he tugged her a little, telling her to keep on walking.

Maggie became silent, bowing her head to watch her feet take step after step. After a while, she piped up, "When I saw the note, I forgot everything." Curling her lips, she added, "Mainly because I felt like everything that happened today was like a dream. It seems that I've been persistent with our relationship alone, but everything changed after a night and a day."

"I understand," Edgar said, squeezing Maggie's hand gently. "You don't have to explain anything to me. I believe you. The reason why I went to the bar was because I was afraid that you would drink. Tompson is wild and arrogant. He rarely does things he's supposed to. I was afraid that something might have happened if you did drink, so I went to check in on you." Taking a glance at Maggie, he continued, "As a girl, how could you feel like drinking every time you see alcohol? It seems like your stomach is never short of alcohol."