"The view isn't so bad but it's not that great either" Maggie said looking out the window. They were on the third floor and she couldn't understand why Brian would want to brag about his office. It was great, but she'd seen better. So much better.

"I disagree. I think the view is stunning" he replied from somewhere behind her. She turned around to ask him what he was talking about only to find his eyes on her.

"Stop trying to act cute. It doesn't suit you"

"You think that was cute? Come on Maggie, you know me better than anyone. If I want to act cute you won't be able to resist me"

"Okay, do whatever you want to do. I'm leaving" she moved from the window with intention of leaving the office but since he was closer he beat her to the door and leaned on it "Now you're just acting like a child"

"This is the only way I can get you to stay"

"Why? I have no business here. I came to see where I'll be working for the next two weeks and now that I have, I'm leaving. Get out of my way"

"I think it's time Maggie" he said ignoring her.

"Time for what?"

"For us to talk. Really talk"

"Move Brian" Maggie snapped, realizing what he wanted. She didn't want to talk to him about the past. As a matter of fact, she never wanted to talk about it. If she'd known this was where she would end up, she wouldn't have left the hotel.

"No. We need to clear things up" he told her taking out a bunch of keys from his pocket and locking the door. All of a sudden she felt trapped. He was forcing her to talk by locking both of them in the damn office.

"No Brian, let me out"

"I'm sorry that I didn't trust you. I think that was the cause of everything. I loved you but I didn't trust you"

"I don't care. Open that door"

"But Maggie, I need you to understand that my lack of trust stemmed from fear. The fear of losing was too great that it blinded me. I did a lot of stupid things that I regret so much now"

"I don't want to hear your stupid explanations Brian. What's done is done. Move on and leave me alone"

"I think I should be the one telling you that. Why haven't you moved on Maggie?" he asked regarding her.

"I have" she replied too quickly "I have a boyfriend and another family. I found my real father who had another daughter so that means I have a half sister. I have a completely different life from the one I had Brian" Maggie didn't know why she was telling him that. Of course everyone knew about her father but they weren't even on speaking terms. Hell, she didn't like talking about it to begin with. Why tell him that?

"Bullshit!" he took a step forward making her take one back unconsciously "You forget that out of everyone, I'm the one who knows you better than you know yourself. I know when you're telling me the truth and when you are lying. I'm not that boy toy of yours that believes everything you say"

"Stephan is not my boy toy. He's my boyfriend and I love him. Besides, if you knew me that well, you would have known that there was nothing going on between me and Drew"

"Another lie. Come on, keep going and I'll tell you if what you're saying is the truth or a lie" again he ignored that jab she threw at him, making her furious. Damn him for wanting to do this now.

"Screw you. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Open that door and let me out"

"I see it now Maggie. The reason you're so scared of talking to me"

"I'm not scared of you"

"No. You're just scared of getting rid of the anger and hatred you feel towards me. Am I right? You're afraid of what you'll find underneath that"

"Bullshit" she said vehemently "I don't want to talk to you because it's a waste of my time"

"Liar" Brian stated. The way he said it made Maggie want to pull her hair out. He moved to sit on the edge of his desk then crossing his arms, he looked at her, waiting. For what? She didn't know. Sighing, she tried to calm herself down. If she could stop blurting out things, he would listen to her and understand that she wasn't lying.

"What good will it do to talk now? Whatever happened is in the past. Let's leave it there and go on with our lives"

"I want that too. Which is why we're having this talk Maggie. I want you to be happy"

"I am happy"

"That's a lie. I can see it in your eyes. You smile, laugh, pretend you love your so called boyfriend but it's clear to me how sad you are. I hate seeing you that way"

"Fine. Let's say that for a moment you're right. What will talking do?"

"Let's start by admitting that you're not happy. Yes you have a boyfriend, a father, a sister, lots of money but you're not happy. Not like how you were when you only had Thomas"

"Back then something as simple as a bar of chocolate made me happy. Because I was innocent and naive. I've changed Brian"

"I acknowledge that and if you had changed for the better I would have let you be. Trust me Maggie, I don't like opening old wounds but it has to be done. We both need closure before we can move on"

"Speak for yourself"

"Please stop. Seeing you like this is killing me. I look at you and all I see is what I did to you. How I turned you into this person who's full of hate and anger. I hate myself for making people think you're an awful person when I know deep down you're just hurting. Do you know I left the baby with you on purpose?"

"No. I can't believe I fell for that. Good one Brian. There won't be a next time"

"The point is Abby thought you'd hurt Claire because of the hate you feel towards her. Five years ago she wouldn't have thought you were capable of hurting anyone, even the people who wronged you"

"What?" Maggie asked not believing what he was saying "Does your sister think I'm as evil as she is? Why the hell would I hurt an innocent child? I am a lot of things but I'm not that cruel Brian. I would never lay a hand on a child"

"That's what I told her. Because I know you, I know the kind of person you really are" it made her happy to know he trusted her that much but since she wasn't willing to admit that out loud she kept quiet "Do you know I fell in love with you the moment I laid my eyes on you?" he continued "I walked into my kitchen and there you were, doing dishes. I remember that when you turned around I thought 'Holy Fuck, who is this angel and where did she come from'. The way you talked, smiled, the sound of your laugh, I fell for you right there Maggie. I loved you so much and wanted to keep you for myself. I guess that was my mistake, not trusting that you loved me too"

"There's no point in telling me all that now...."

"That's where you're wrong" he snarled getting up from the desk and approaching her "We both know the reason you're so reluctant to let go of all this resentment. It's because that love is still there. It hurts, every time you see me it hurts and you hold on to that so you won't face the fact that you still love me Maggie"

"Wow, I didn't realize how obnoxious you were until now. You've got some nerve to spit out all this nonsense. Do you honestly think that after everything you and your sister did to me I would still love you?"

"Crazy, right?" he asked winding a hand around her waist while the other one went into her hair "I am a hundred percent sure you love me. Just like I love you" 

In the process of slapping his hands away, she froze "What?"

"I love you. Despite knowing you might never forgive me I still love you Maggie. It's always been you. I tried dating, hell I even put a ring on Denise's finger but all the while I wished it was you. Even when I was being an asshole I still loved you. That's never going to change"

"Let go of me, we're done here" she used all her strength to get him to let go of her but it was useless. He was stronger than she was. So much stronger.

"You can deny it all you want but deep in your heart I know you realize I'm speaking the truth"

"Let me go you bastard. Love me? Where were you when Abby was dragging me out of your house mercilessly? Huh? Where were you and your stupid love when those men were attacking me?" Maggie yelled into his face because his hands were still around her and she was starting to get really pissed "I was fucking pregnant with your baby Brian. Pregnant and scared. I didn't see those men coming because I was so busy crying over you otherwise I would have run or screamed for help or just do something"

"I'm sorry" he murmured but she was done listening to him. If he wanted to hear the truth then he was going to get it.

"What good is your sorry now? Do you want to know why I had a miscarriage? It was because those men tried to rape me...."

"No" he said stumbling back. Without thinking, Maggie swung her purse and hit him smack on the chest

"Yes. I fought them like a possessed person. I kicked, screamed, cried, did everything I could so they wouldn't touch me. And that's not even the funny part. Do you want to know the truth that I live with everyday? It's the fact that I'm a selfish bitch. All I thought about in that moment was myself. I didn't stop to think about the baby I was carrying. I go to sleep every night wondering why I fought so hard. I should have let them do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't touch my baby"

"No Maggie" he attempted to touch her but she shoved him away.

"Yes. People get over such things, don't they? I wouldn't have been the first person to be abused like that. I would have gotten over it and had my baby. But since I was so selfish, I fought and lost something more precious. Now tell me, how is your loving me ever going to fix that? Can you honestly stand there and keep going on about how much you love me? I don't care if you jump off this fucking building because of me. Nothing you do or say will erase all the things that happened five years ago" she finished her rant breathing heavily. Maggie was so proud of herself for not breaking down in front of him. To her, it meant that she'd truly become stronger over the years.

That was something to be proud of. Wasn't it? Any other time she would have been a mess. If she was having this talk with anyone else, she would be crying her heart out because it made her sad to remember. But with Brian, she wasn't sad. She was angry. So damn angry that she couldn't bring herself to shed a tear. It was a realization that would have made her happy, if Brian hadn't fallen on his knees, crying and begging her to forgive him.

This was the same arrogant man she hated to the core, on his knees, falling apart right in front of her. It wasn't something she ever thought was possible. Too shocked to do anything, Maggie stood there, just looking at him. The way he cried reminded her of how she'd cried in Stephan's arms. It had felt as if someone had stabbed her and kept twisting the knife so she would feel the pain down to the tips of her toes. The only difference was that Stephan had been there for her. Brian was alone at moment. She didn't feel like comforting or making him feel better which meant he was alone.

"I should be the one crying like this. Not you" she said squatting down in front of him "I was the one that went through all that. Not you Brian. Me"

"I'm sorry Maggie. I'm so sorry" he told her wiping away the tears together with the snort on his face. It was disgusting and pitiful at the same time.

"So am I"

"I will do anything for you to forgive me. Please tell me what I should do"

"Nothing. Leave me alone and go live your life"

"Don't say that Maggie. We can't keep living like this. Only by forgiving me will we be able to move on"

"That's easy for you to say. As if all I have to is snap my fingers and you're forgiven. Do you think that if I could forget about everything, I'll be locked in this office with you?"

"What do I have to do to get your forgiveness?"

"I don't know" she straightened up and walked to the window "I feel like if I forgive you, I'm accepting that what happened was okay when it wasn't. I want you to suffer Brian. I want you to know what it's like to feel helpless and useless"

"I feel that everyday, today more than ever. If I could, I would give up my life to go back to that day and undo all the things I did and said. It's not easy living with all this guilt. It's a cross that I'll carry for the rest of my life. Forgiving me won't change that. It'll just make my life a little easier"

"I don't know. I just don't know"

"Please Maggie" he begged and she was surprised that she was actually considering it.

**********************************************

Uh, well, that's not how I thought this would go. Tables are turning, things are changing and Maggie is getting closer to the finish line.

In your head, how do you think Maggie will end? Delight me with your theories.