Love Began with the First Meeting

The military exercise lasted for fifteen days. At the end, the Blue Force with Edgar as its commander won. As a result, the whole of S Army were praised by the chief of general staff. Moreover, Edgar, as the legendary leader, became the undefeated god in their hearts. The God of war, so to speak. After returning to the barracks, everyone was granted a one-day holiday. On this day, except for the soldiers on duty, everyone could do whatever they wanted to do. They were even allowed to get drunk! Of course, the Eagle Special Brigade was not included. All soldiers in this special army unit had to keep ready and alert at all times. They never knew when their country could call upon them. Alcohol was definitely prohibited here. However, they could still have a good time together. Eating, playing, and a roaring campfire were all good choices. Enjoying women soldiers' singing songs was also a good option.

Under Edgar's leadership, several cadres were on duty rotation now. They were chatting through two-way radios. They were quite relaxed and exchanged banter and laughter on an open channel from time to time.

Maggie felt sad when she saw that Jake was being fawned about by the other soldiers because of his performance on the battlefield. She was not jealous of him because he was a capable soldier, and she was proud of him. She was angry however, because she hadn't taken part in the battle simulations nor had she managed to induce Edgar to love her.

"What? Are you unhappy?" Garth asked as he walked towards Maggie. He had always been very observant.

Maggie shrugged and shook her head with a small smile.

He stared deeply at her as if he wanted to look through her. Finally, he opened his mouth slowly, "The instructor asked us to send some food to Captain Edgar and..." He looked at the roasted lamb which he was carrying on a tray and said, "You are free now. How about doing us a favor?"

"In what universe am I free?" Maggie refuted with a soft giggle, but thinking of it, she changed her mind at once. "Okay, our leaders work so hard. I'll help."

Looking at her hopeful expression, Garth tried his best to not laugh. He nodded and answered, "Well done. You are a good comrade."

Cathy had hoped that Maggie would agree to help. She had made up the plate which was to be taken to Edgar with the idea of providing Maggie with an opportunity. So as not to be obvious about it, Maggie took food to several soldiers on duty, and then finally, with heart hammering in her chest, she took the roasted lamb's leg to Edgar. A happy smile played on her lips. She rushed over to his duty station at a high speed.

However, her excitement evaporated, like mist before the scorching sun, when she saw Claire hugging Edgar. Her fervor cooled instantly, as if she was doused by ice water.

Maggie froze and just stared at them as her mind had gone blank with shock. After a while, she came to her senses and almost choked on the feelings of bitterness which threatened to overwhelm her. 'Why didn't I think of this? How could a man keep himself calm with a beautiful woman in his arms? According to Benjamin, it's quite easy to conquer a man. I should have just thrown myself at him!'

Maggie thought angrily. She decided that she couldn't run away and take no action. It just wasn't in her to run away from a fight. She was the daughter of William and such a thing could never happen to his daughter.

With thoughts of separating the couple, Maggie rushed to them at a sprint speed, while shouting out, "Captain Edgar! I've brought you some of the roast lamb."

Claire never thought that someone would come here, to an isolated guard post in the dead of night, let alone be interrupted by Maggie, her rival! She instinctively stepped away from Edgar, as Maggie interposed herself between them.

At first Maggie looked at Claire who was embarrassed and then at Edgar who was cool and unperturbed. Maggie wore a surprised expression as if she had only just seen them together this very moment.

'Wait! I have to get into character, ' Maggie thought, as a plan formed. Sniffing emotionally, her eyes reddening with sorrow, she looked at them with an extremely sad expression while asking, "You... What are you doing?" "Maggie," Claire started, but was cut off.

"How can you call me Maggie? Are you innocent?" Maggie had turned her head to interrupt Claire and then she stared at Edgar as if waiting for his explanation. However, he didn't say a word for a while. She felt a deep ache in her heart and said angrily then, "Why? How can you do this with her?" She didn't even say Claire's name. The woman had lost all significance to her already. "That day, you told me that you would keep away from her only if I would be a good girl. Why do you now cheat on me?" Dramatically, she forced tears from her eyes and allowed her voice to quiver with angst as she thickened the plot. "Edgar, how can you cheat on my heart's commitment after making love to me? And now you step on it like it is nothing! Did our nights of passion mean nothing to you?"

Hearing Maggie's words, Claire widened her eyes, staring at Maggie. Then she turned to Edgar waiting for his explanation. The color had left her face and she looked at him less keenly now.

Frowning slightly, Edgar took in Maggie's performance, thinking that she should choose to be an good actress and perhaps enter Mr. Eric Long's entertainment company.

"Maggie..." he said helplessly. "Don't be naughty."

He decided suddenly to play along, as he could act well too.

Maggie was shocked by his sudden intimate tone. It stirred her heart and she thought, 'My captain, I am seducing you. Don't you get it? Compared with this, Claire doesn't even hold a candle! But you've followed my words. Does it mean that you don't like Claire at all? Or do you simply use me as an excuse?' Her mind reeled with burning questions, but she decided to play the game to the hilt.

Maggie threw herself into Edgar's arms, and said in a voice choked with sobs, "I don't... I enrolled into the military school for you. Despite my hardships, I worked to reach you, to be with you. For what did I do these things?" Her voice was full of despair, as if finally she couldn't stand it after enduring so much these days. "However, you are always punishing me. You always get me into trouble. If you don't want to be with me, you can tell me directly. If you've fallen in love with someone else, you could also have just told me. You know, I am not gooey and sticky. I'd want you to be happy. But we did make a cute couple!"

Claire couldn't utter a single word. She was surprised at seeing how Maggie was performing. What shocked her most was that Edgar now wore a sad expression because of Maggie's exaggerated cries. 'Can someone tell me what the hell just happened?' Claire raged in her heart at being foiled by Maggie's words.

Edgar hugged Maggie without a further thought. Even he had forgotten that she was acting. When Maggie had said that she had gone to the military school for him, her words were like a sharp knife cutting his heart into little pieces. Therefore, he instinctively took her into his arms.

"But you never told me that you had feelings for others." Maggie accused Edgar, crying and saying, "Edgar, there is something wrong with the way you treat people!"

"..." Almost going crazy, Claire stared at Edgar and asked, "Edgar, what on earth has just happened? You and Maggie... Are you...?" She couldn't even finish her words. Stamping her foot, she gritted her teeth and glared at Edgar. In the end, she left sadly and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Edgar watched Claire depart. He thought that the performance would be over, but what had just happened with Maggie replayed again. At that moment, he was helpless to explain it clearly.

Then a sound interrupted over the open line of the two-way radio. The receiver and talk button were still locked in place, and everyone with a radio had heard the drama.

The Political Commissar: Well done! Edgar, no wonder that you didn't want to pass the assessment for promotion in recent years. You've been waiting for your girl!

The Division Head: Edgar, it's a big problem if you don't know how to work with people. You know, there are a lot of people waiting for you to quit the job! If you really want to have something to do with Maggie, you must then change your style. The Troupe Head: Edgar, I never thought that it would be like this. All this time, I worked so hard to give you relationship advice. Are you kidding me? Did you make a fool of me on purpose?

The Battalion Head: Captain Edgar... Actually, I think that Maggie is a good comrade. She is professional in her work and never complains about the hardships. She is one of the best graduates of the National Defense University. She will make an excellent assistant and a good wife.

The Instructor: Captain Edgar, I agree with them. Ah, where are you going to hold the wedding? How about on the training grounds like Captain Daniel? Ah, ah, both the legendary men of our Eagle Special Brigade getting married within two years will be a good tale. Listening to the excited prattle over the radio, Edgar rolled his eyes helplessly and pushed Maggie away. She was still continuing with the performance though. Barely glimpsing at Maggie, who was crying and smiling, Edgar walked away and said, "You think too much." He coldly changed channels on the two-way radio, cutting off their audience, as he had no wish to listen to them gossip about him and Maggie over the radio.

Maggie wiped her tears and handed the plate of roast lamb to Edgar. She said then in a perfectly neutral tone, "Captain Edgar, here you are, the roast lamb."

"..." Edgar didn't know what he could say to that. He had never expected that Maggie could behave like this. "It's the loss of the Oscars if you don't become an actress."

Maggie didn't mind his sarcastic compliment at all. Arching her eyebrows, she said, "You also acted pretty well just now. What? Do you want to burn the bridge after you've already crossed it? Or do you really have problems with relationships?"

But for Edgar being on duty now, he would have pulled Maggie into the dark forest to give her a lesson. He would have made her understand that she was still under his control, in more ways than one.

There came the sound of chatting between the cadres. They even suggested that Edgar should submit a marriage report to the chief. It was about three month before the new year. They had already achieved their annual task. Maybe they could take another holiday, if the chief was happy to hear about the new union between Edgar and Maggie.

Maggie didn't know that the chiefs had heard their conversations, or she would have dug a hole to bury herself. She couldn't be prouder, because she thought that her method had outwitted Claire and shown her up. Looking proudly at Edgar, she said, "Captain Edgar, I was not kidding." She continued, "When I went to the military academy, it really was for you!"

Edgar stared at her wordlessly, his heart in turmoil.