Love Began with the First Meeting

"Oh my god..." Ximena couldn't help but smile at this amusing emotional manipulation Molly was trying to lure her with. With a sigh, she said, "Well, okay then! I'm coming and I would be your bridesmaid!" Molly was audibly laughing at the other end of the line. "Oh Molly Long... When did you become someone I could not stand?" Despite her complaints, of course, Ximena would not refuse Molly. In fact, they both knew that her complaints were nothing but a joke between two good friends. Yes, she was Molly's first friend. But actually, Molly was her first friend too.

Both of them had been with powerful and influential men. While their experiences were different in details, they were similar in nature. Because of that, they could easily understand each other and sympathize with what the other person was going though. Perhaps it was because of their similar experiences that they were able to maintain their friendship, despite not seeing each other frequently or hearing from each other very often.

"Hey! Don't forget to bring Aaron with you, huh!" Molly said in excitement. "I'll making him one of Brian's groomsmen!"

Hearing Molly's suggestion, Ximena could not help but fall silent and speechless. Instantly, the scene where Aaron, who was with a poker face as usual, was standing behind Brian came to her mind. Thinking about the two outstanding men, both with a handsome yet emotionless face, standing side by side, in suit that only accentuated their tall, muscular figures, Ximena involuntarily trembled. She could not decide whether she was shaking because of her wild imagination or the cold air the air conditioner was blowing inside the room. "I can't guarantee that he would attend the wedding," Ximena said seriously. "Recently, there has been something wrong with an overseas branch of the Leng's Corporations. He might need to fly out there to handle the issue next Monday." Hearing that, Molly inevitably became disappointed, but then she understood that men, especially those like Aaron and Brian, had a lot of things to deal with on a daily basis. Besides, she felt that there was still something between Ximena and Aaron that kept them away from each other.

"All right," Molly conceded, her tone effectively hiding her disappointment. "I understand that he may be absent, but you must come!" Molly said firmly.

"I am 100% sure that I will attend your wedding. Actually, I would have gone even if you haven't invited me!" Ximena said, her tone playful again.

Hearing that, Molly was smiled wide. After saying a few more banter, she hung up the phone delightedly. Seeing how complacent she was, Mark, who had listened to her talk with Ximena silently, rolled his eyes in disdain. "Mommy, you're already a mother with a son at my age, but you look and sound like you're going to be married for the first time..."

Molly didn't mind her son reminding her of the truth. She was too pleased with what happened. With a smile from her heart, she looked at Mark, who was wearing a suit like an adult and was sitting behind a big desk. 'Well, you look so strange!' she thought. "Have you gotten a Shadow?" Molly asked, as she had been very curious about the existence of Shadows. "Do you want a Shadow like Lenny? I think that that style of Shadow would be useful... in case you can't get a girlfriend in the future," Molly said, chuckling. Hearing that, Mark looked at her mother bitterly and said, "I don't want that at all..." He could not bear to think about the weird atmosphere between Lenny and his Uncle Eric.

Of course Molly had said that only to crack a joke, and she knew clearly that she could not meddle in her son's future relationships. Despite the happiness that she was currently feeling, she felt a sense of guilt towards her son. Because the medications she had to take when she was pregnant with him, he ended up being born with a speech disorder. Fortunately, he was able to gain the ability to speak. Then, when the both of them came back to be with Brian, his biological father, Molly and Brian couldn't get along well for the longest time. That ended up with them parting ways. She and Mark went to Britain, and during the two years that they were there, she was so busy training hard that Mark had basically been an orphan, not being taken care of by his parents. Now, at such a young age, for her and for Brian's sake, he would need undergo the training the candidates for the next leadership position in Dragon Island had to get. Molly could not help but feel sorry for her son. She felt like she owed him a lot, but at the same time she was grateful that she had him as her son-a resilient, strong, and loving little man.

*

After receiving the phone call from Molly, Ximena's mood improved significantly. Although she couldn't have such a happy ending herself for the time being, she felt very happy that her friend finally did. "Ximena, Ximena..."

Somebody was calling Ximena from outside. Hearing that, Ximena came to her senses and quickly looked at the direction of the door of her office. Without wasting another second, she answered, "What's the matter, mom?" Yes, she was calling Freya "mom". After the past two years, she found that there was nothing that could not be overcome, but that there was something that she didn't want to give up. That was the affection between she and the only person in the world who she had blood relationship with.

In a hurry, Ximena stood up and walked outside. As soon as she went out of her office, she saw Freya walking towards her office. Upon seeing her, Freya took a crab out of the basket she was holding and said, "I asked somebody to bring some crabs to me. You and Aaron have to have dinner at my apartment today. Okay?!"

Looking at the crab that was struggling to escape her mom's grasp, Ximena didn't know whether she should laugh or scream. "Mom, why don't you ask that somebody to send the crabs directly to your apartment?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that you might not be interested in the dinner if you haven't had a look at them..." Freya answered while throwing the crab back into the basket. "Besides, I plan to braise some crabs here right now for the staff's supper. I was told that they have to work overtime today for a few big orders."

"Yeah, I have to work overtime too!" Ximena said, shrugging. Seeing that Freya looked stunned at her announcement, she smiled and explained, "I have just received an order that I really cannot decline. I'm afraid there is not enough time if I don't join in with the others. I have to finish the design sketch today, so that we could start tailoring as soon as possible." While saying that, she turned around and walked back to her office. "Call Aaron and tell him to come here for supper. Actually, I don't know if he is free or not. He's been very busy for the past few days."

"Okay," Freya answered with a wide smile on her lips, which looked comfortable and warm.

She was upgraded from Ximena's "aunt" to being her "mom". Nobody except herself knew how it felt during the whole process. As the only two people directly involved with the whole thing, only she and Ximena had the right to talk about that. This change indicated that Ximena had decided that she would no longer dig around and try to uncover what had happened in the past and that their relationship as mother and daughter would never change no matter what would happen in the future.

Ximena was so concentrated on drawing the design sketch that she didn't notice that Aaron already arrived at her shop. She modified lines and filled colors after thinking carefully. Finally, when she looked at the draft sketch in her hands, a satisfied smile appeared on her lips and it gradually spread throughout her whole face. The dress she sketched was royal blue and it had lace edges. 'Molly will look gorgeous in it,' she thought, imaging the moment Molly donning this dress. 000000