Stephan was sitting on one of the chairs in the backyard when Amy stormed out. The murderous look in her eyes could only be put there by one person. Maggie. She had a way of getting on your nerves and making you want to do something crazy. He knew how to handle her temper tantrums. Amy and Mr. Miller didn't, so they were bound to get angry over the tiniest provocation.
"What did she do now?" he asked sighing. Amy took a moment to calm herself down and when it didn't work she screamed
"That bitch is going too far"
"Either talk or go back inside" he told her in a cool tone
"I can't..... Aarrgh she's so annoying"
"Calm down and tell me what happened"
"She asked for Jamie's knowing very well it was the one thing I wasn't willing to give up. My mother left that place for me. Maggie knows that and she's blackmailing my father into giving it to her" Amy rushed to say. Stephan whistled
"Wow, there's no predicting her next move. I didn't see that one coming"
"Daddy believes she's a good person but I'm not as blind as he is. People like her go around lighting fires then walk away, leaving others to burn"
"Your father is right. Maggie is a good person. It's just that she's hurting right now and can't see past her pain"
"That doesn't give her the right to hurt others. What did I do to her?"
"Have you perhaps stopped to think that you might not be okay with having a sister?"
"What?"
"You've been the center of attention all your life Amy. Your father has treated you like a princess but now that another child has come into the picture, it's not just you anymore. Mr. Miller has to think about Maggie too and you can't accept that. If you did, you wouldn't be so angry" he told her calmly knowing he was touching a nerve.
"I should have known you were also going to take her side. What kind of spell has she cast on all of you?"
"You know I'm right Amy. Maggie can also see that so she's trying to cripple you first before you even think of attacking her"
"You're crazy Stephan. Ever since I found out who she was, I've been nothing but nice to her. I've tried to understand where she's coming from but not anymore. If she doesn't stop, I will be forced to fight back"
"There's no need for that. You'll see that Maggie is just testing you all. She wants to see if you'll run when things get worse"
"I'm honestly done accommodating her. If you don't stop her, I won't care who she is or what my father thinks"
"Sit down Amy. I have no intention of helping her destroy anyone or herself so rest assured, she'll be back to normal soon" Stephan watched as Amy paced for a few seconds then sat down. They were definitely sisters. That short temper they had was volatile but still adorable. One second they were screaming their heads off and the next they were cool as cucumber. Like nothing had happened.
"Why do you love her anyway?"
He smiled knowing why she was asking that "I didn't choose to love her. It just happened. I don't need a reason to love Maggie"
"You had to have seen something in her"
"She's beautiful, inside and out. The first time I saw her, I knew that"
Amy scoffed "You're just infatuated with her. If you truly loved her, you'd know that there's nothing beautiful inside her. She's rotten Stephan. Rotten from the inside out"
"We both have our opinions about Maggie. I won't force you to like her, but I will remind you to be careful. I won't let you or anyone hurt her. Keep that in mind Amy"
"God, why is she so lucky when she doesn't even deserve it?" she asked getting up and kicking her chair back, she stomped off.
Stephan understood her frustration and knew he had to stop Maggie, but he was also going to protect her from Amy. That girl was jealous and if she wasn't careful, she'd end up worse than Maggie. Besides, he knew what he was doing. Unlike what Amy thought, he wasn't infatuated. He loved Maggie enough to accept her good and bad side. That's what it meant to love someone unconditionally. His phone pinged, indicating he had a new message. It was from Maggie.
Have dinner with me.
Anytime beautiful. Shall I come over? I can help you prepare it 😘
It's too early. I have to go get groceries first. You're not allowed to step foot in this house before 6.
Now I'm just curious. What will you be feeding me?
Everything's on the menu. Including me 😉. See you later.
Stephan sat back and read that last message over and over again until he his eyes hurt. Was that an invitation? No. It was too soon. She wasn't ready to really be with him. But she'd said she was on the menu too. What had gotten into her? Could it be that she'd had a change of heart yesterday? There was nothing he wanted more than to be with her. He'd loved her for so long without expecting anything in return. Was she finally ready to give him a chance?
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Maggie laid back on her bed smiling to herself. Amy had lost terribly and even though they didn't know each other that well, she wasn't about to underestimate her little sister. Already, she'd gone off to complain to Stephan telling him how bad she was. Maggie hadn't intended to eavesdrop on their conversation. She was simply looking for Stephan to ask him if he would have dinner with her. She wanted to thank him for being there for her yesterday when she'd broken down.
Imagine her disappointment when she heard him say he wasn't really going to help her. After promising to give her anything she asked for, he went behind her back and told Amy he wasn't helping her. Did he think she was a child? Telling her what she wanted to hear then decide otherwise when she wasn't around? Was there anyone who was truly on her side or was she completely alone?
Did it matter? The answer wasn't at all surprising. Whether she was alone or not wasn't a problem. Maggie believed her downfall was inevitable. Sooner or later someone was going to bring her down. Because there was no such thing as being on top forever. So while she still had power, she was going to bring everyone down with her. There was no reason for her to suffer alone. Laughing, she got up and went to prepare dinner. It was possible she'd lost her mind but who cared?
She ordered candles, wine and roses online and she was assured they would deliver them in two hours. Since it was still early, she went about the kitchen making sure she had everything she needed. Then she went back upstairs to get ready. That was after ordering food from an Italian restaurant. As much as she loved cooking, she wasn't about to cook for that traitor Stephan. She was pissed at him for lying to her. She hadn't asked for his help. He was the one who'd offered it. The ass.
Opening her lingerie drawer, she took out a two piece, red lace she'd bought while she was on a shoot in Paris. It came with a tiny silk robe that did nothing to cover her up. Paired with silver stilettos, she looked like a goddess. Satisfied with her outfit, she took a shower then got down to putting on her makeup. Knowing Stephan liked her hair curly, she didn't bother straightening it. By the time she was done, the food had already arrived. Wearing a long white robe, she paid the delivery man then set the table.
The candles that had arrived earlier were placed in two parallel lines that led to the dinner table with rose petals in the middle. Maggie switched off the lights, lit the candles and rushed upstairs to change. This was going to be a memorable night for him. Until she decided otherwise. She was doing last minute touches on her makeup when the doorbell rang. She grabbed her phone and called him.
"Are you the one at the door?"
"Yes"
"Come on in then" she purred leaving her bedroom just as Stephan opened the door. She stopped on the last step so that when he entered, she was the first thing he saw.
In the middle of asking "What's with all the mystery..." he froze.
"Well, what do you think?" she asked still on the phone. When he didn't answer immediately, she came down, careful not to trip on those heels and stopped in front of him "Cat got your tongue?"
"I... Wow.... Did I miss something?" he asked running his eyes over her body. His eyes went all the way down to her shoes then slowly went back up and stopped at her cleavage.
"No. Are you hungry?"
"Yes" the reply came out so fast that Maggie was forced to smile.
"Okay. Let's eat. I ordered your favorite" she knew food was the last thing on his mind but still led him to the table where she indicated for him to seat, before seating opposite him. Maggie could see the confusion together with raw desire in his eyes. She wondered how long it would take him before he snapped.
"I thought you said you were cooking"
"I ran out of time. As you can see, I couldn't be in two places at once" she said sweeping a hand in front of her face.
"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked taking a bite of his food. Maggie hadn't touched hers because she didn't feel like eating. Lucky for her, Stephan was too confused to notice she was only drinking the wine.
"I thought that it would be nice for us to have dinner. Just the two of us"
"Dressed like that? Am I supposed to eat while you're sitting across from me with barely anything on?"
"It depends on what you choose to eat Stephan" she replied with a straight face.
Gripping his fork Stephan said "Don't play with me Maggie"
"I'm not joking. I do recall telling you everything's on the menu. Take your pick darling"
Pushing his chair back, he got up and went over to where she sat "You're playing with fire. Stop provoking me. I'm just about to lose the little control I still have"
"Do I look like I'm playing?" Maggie asked standing up too. She pulled one of the strings on her robe and let it fall open, offering him quite the view.
"No. You're not....." she placed her lips on his, cutting off what he was about to say. She knew what she was doing. Playing with fire he said? Slanting her lips, she kissed him and was surprised that he was resisting her. Shocked she took a step back and narrowed her eyes
"It seems you're really not interested. That's a first"
"What are you doing?"
"What every couple does. Intimate dinner, wine, sex... "she trailed off.
"But we're not a couple Maggie. Are we?"
"Don't you want us to be? I was under the illusion you had feelings for me"
"It's not an illusion" he said grabbing her hand and jerking her forward. Wrapping his arms around her, he dipped his head and kissed her, probing her mouth open with his tongue. Maggie realized Stephan had turned the tables on her. She had been in control right up until she tried to kiss him. Could he have guessed what her plans were? She was about to push him back when he let her go and said "I do love you Maggie but I won't allow you to play with me. This little dinner would have been perfect if you weren't acting"
"I'm not....."
"Save it. I know when you're being genuine and when you're acting. Now care to tell me what brought on this behavior? I thought we were okay"
"Okay?" she asked pulling the robe together. All of a sudden she felt exposed and not just physically.
Instead of answering her, he walked to the sofa, grabbed a throw blanket and handed it to her "Cover yourself up then sit down and let's talk. Tell me where I went wrong"
"Stop ordering me around in my own house" she snapped, angry that her plan had failed.
"Then start talking before I get angry. I don't like it when you play with me"
"Says the biggest liar of all time"
"What makes you say that? What did I lie about?"
"I heard you when you were talking with Amy" she stopped to see his reaction. There was none.
"And?"
"You told her you had no plans to help me after promising to be by my side. Why did you lie to me?"
"That's what brought on all this?" he swept a hand over the table.
"I hate liars the most Stephan"
"Did you stay to listen to the rest of the conversation?"
"What else should I have heard?" Maggie asked stubbornly, raising her chin. Getting up, Stephan took her chin between his forefinger and thumb and said,
"That's your problem mia cara. You're acting irrational because you're angry. And while I'm willing to support you, I won't let you do anything stupid or involve me in your revenge. I haven't done anything to deserve your scorn Maggie"
"But you....." this time he was the one who cut her off. One hand went around her waist while the other at the back of her neck. He didn't give her time to resist. He walked her backwards, towards the living room where he made her seat on an armchair.
"If I remember correctly, you told me to choose what I wanted eat" he told her grinning.
"I.... You know.... "
"I'm picking you over that delicious food you ordered. You better scream out my name correctly or I will be really pissed"
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I need water. It's about to get hot in here.
Do I still have to warn people about mature content?
And y'all who are resisting Stephan, are you going to give in already? I love him. I also love that he can see right through Maggie. What's not to love?