Chapter 66 - Willing To Wait

Winter may regret not trying to know Marcellus more during her former timeline, but she still can't forget everything he did back then.

Even though he did agree to get married with her, he still went around and flirted with other women. He was indifferent to her existence as he would avoid her most of the time. While she did decide that she would not expect him to act like a loving and affectionate husband, she still thought that he would treat her a little better than that at the very least.   

However, Marcellus never did - not until he found Winter barely holding on and losing almost everything.

'Because of that certain occasion, I did not hold a grudge against him. I did not see him as bad as my adoptive elder sister nor my uncle nor my aunt. Ever since he tried to help me, I believe he is good even though it had already been too late...' Winter brooded over and kept silent while Marcellus only continued to pin her on the wall and stare down at her. 

'But I do know I can never own his heart. When I approached him during the present timeline, I had long gotten rid of any hope that he would see me as someone important, much less in a romantic way. Sure, we finally saw each other in a different light, but I thought our relationship would be nothing but platonic.'

To begin with, him falling in love was something she used to consider impossible. Despite everything he told her earlier, it was still hard to believe. It's not that easy. Thinking that she doesn't want to lead him on any more than this, she decided to let him know as early as this very moment - about how she doesn't reciprocate his feelings, that is.   

Taking a deep breath, Winter steels her resolve and regards Marcellus in grave seriousness, earning a nonplussed yet expectant look from him. 

"I'm sorry, Sir Lexington. I can't see myself in a romantic relationship with you..." she then said out loud at last, making him flinch then stiffen. 

"I have heard everything you said earlier, and I understand that you would not say them if you did not mean them. But this is my response."

He stayed still and quiet from thereon, expression unsmiling and inscrutable.

Now, she can no longer read him at all. His silence is kind of thick and heavy, giving her the impression that he is struggling to take it in. He does appear somewhat crestfallen, but he's schooling his features well. Not that she wants him to feel that bad about her rejection, though. She only feels guilty if he happens to be forcing himself to look fine in front of her.

But then, a moment later, Winter sees Marcellus eventually softening up.   

"Well, I did see that coming..." he muttered, smiling sadly.

"I understand. I never took you as someone easy, anyway. At least, I get to tell you how I feel." 

"Thank you for understanding. Please, do know that I still see you as someone important, though..." she said in reassurance, finding his downhearted yet considerate expression a little difficult to bear. 

"Everything I told you earlier was true as well. I know you will meet someone who is better-"

"Hold up right there, Ms. Agreste."

When he cut her off all of the sudden, she blinked at him in surprise.

With that, he inched closer to her, making her back away even more until her head hit the wall. His sad smile then turns into a mischievous one, going back to his usual smugness. She raises a brow at this and tries to say something, but he goes ahead and puts his hand on the side of her head while the other grabs a strand of her hair.

"S-Sir Lexington?" Winter stammered out, looking perplexed. 

"If you think that you can change the future, then I think I can change your mind, too..." Marcellus remarked with a serious tone and a playful expression.

"I'm not giving up on you."

"Wait, what?!" 

"You should know me by now, Ms. Agreste. I'm not someone who gives up after one try. Besides, it's not like you're already in love with anyone yet, aren't you?"

"I-I'm not, but still...! You shouldn't be wasting your time on someone like me-"

"See that? You're underestimating yourself as well as my feelings for you. I may have been playing around for a long time, but I do get serious too. Will you be prepared for that, I wonder?"

Finally taking the lead once more, he drew his face nearer to hers and kissed her hair without breaking eye contact with her. She can't keep herself from blushing at the gesture and their closeness - then again, who could not have if he was being a smooth stunner and a hot specimen all at the same time. With that half-lidded, intent gaze of his, those striking features which can bewitch women and men alike, and that naughty smile he has, she can ever so barely escape his charms. 

For the finishing blow, Marcellus leaned down beside her ear and whispered with a deep, smoky tone that made Winter forget how to breathe for a second.   

"I'm more than willing to wait for you, Winter. So, you better be ready for what's to come."

She badly wanted to complain right then. She couldn't believe that he could be this unfair. 

For what seems like a long time, she thinks it's bad enough that he keeps messing around all the time, but right now, she's starting to have a feeling that him getting serious like this is probably even worse.   

---

That eventful evening ended with a blast that Winter didn't really ask for.

While Violet was the one who brought her to the party venue, Marcellus took his turn to send her back home, which was the reason why they ended up leaving a bit later than the other guests as it was against Ace's will. She spent time with the Miller's for a while at some point. And in all honesty, that was the only time she had a peace of mind that night.

Because Winter did not want August to get suspicious again, she decided to stay in the down low for almost a week and did not meet up with Marcellus in personal. This time, he also had his reason for not being able to see her - apparently, he would be on a business trip. With that, they agreed to settle with phone calls and text messages for the time being.

"But that didn't seem to make a difference at all! Even though we're not seeing each other, I feel like he's still as annoying as ever!" Winter bolted out at no one in particular, feeling more than exasperated.

Classes just dismissed. 

She's on her way to the grocery right now, having been told to shop for dinner. Since August will be coming home a little later than usual, she is in charge of cooking tonight. But then, thinking about what kind of meal she will make is the least of her concern at that moment - and it's all because of a certain someone.

"That cocky little prick...! He'll make me throw up at this rate!"

It just happened that Marcellus seemed to be treating their present means of communication as something similar to what a couple with a distance relationship does. His text messages, for one, are composed of nothing but love quotes, tooth-rottingly sweet compliments, cheesy pick-up lines, and even greetings that always start with calling her 'beautiful' or 'sunshine' or 'princess'.   

Ever since his confession that night, he has become one helpless romantic. 

"I did try to make him snap out of it and talk about serious matters for once, but he would only comply for a moment before going straight back to being a... a... a cocky little prick!" 

Everyone who passes by and sees Winter ranting to herself at that time is either weirded out or somewhat stupefied. She's walking down the street and causing quite a scene, but she's too infuriated to pay attention. Besides, it's not everyday she expresses her feelings like this, and she's already at her wit's end at this point. 

Marcellus knew when her classes would dismiss that afternoon, so he sent her a text message again - he doesn't really do it when she's still in the middle of a class since he said he quote, unquote "don't want her to get too distracted from her studies because of all these declarations of love that show just how perfect he can be as a boyfriend material".

'Say, did you hear the news...?' was what he wrote at first and she swore she thought he was going to tell her something serious. 

'Apparently, I got called as the country's hottest personality on a famous magazine. Then, there's that lovely little name of yours. From what I remember, you mentioned that your science teacher said that opposites attract. Well, I sure think so, too.'       

Winter tried not to care, but then, she recalled that she did kind of use a similar pick-up line during the first time she met Marcellus.