Love Began with the First Meeting

The more she thought about it, the more sorrowful she became. Tiny beads of tears formed in her big beautiful eyes and her eyelashes quivered. The pitiful look on her face would urge anyone who saw her to hug and console her. Evelyn's wails echoed, which made Elsa feel helpless.

"I'm sorry. I... I shouldn't have laughed." Elsa quickly followed Evelyn. Stuttering, she sincerely apologized, "Hmm... Evelyn... I am so sorry... You can laugh at me as well. Many people laugh at me. It's okay. Evelyn, please don't cry." The more she consoled her, the louder In the meantime, Charlie parked the car to the side of the ride and got off. Instead of walking over to the girls, he hoisted himself up onto the hood of the car and sat down at the engine cover with his legs crossed, arms folded in a casual manner.

In the family, Evelyn was without rival an epicure and a connoisseur of food, and she associated no stigma with that epithet. Perhaps it was because no matter how much she ate, she'd never put on the weight. By some miraculous stroke of luck, she managed to stay very slim and fit, despite having such a good appetite. Evelyn was the kind of person who wouldn't be bothered by anything. She would take things as they were without giving it a second thought. When she felt happy, she would laugh; when she felt annoyed, she would turn angry. But she rarely cried. The Long Family wouldn't even allow the chance for her to cry.

Only the Long Family knew that even though Evelyn behaved like a man on the outside, she was quite vulnerable and sensitive on the inside. She was especially vulnerable when it came to the things she cared about a lot.

After some time, Elsa winked at Charlie asking for his help, but he just ignored the signal sent by Elsa, letting Evelyn cry under the tree.

Evelyn wasn't the only one who was feeling sad. In some ways, she and Charlie shared the same feelings. He wanted to comfort the crying girl, but he also respected her boundaries as a person and that was why he pretended like he didn't know what Elsa was talking about.

As he lowered his face, hair fell over his forehead, concealing his eyes. His shiny hair glimmered, dully reflecting the dim light cast by the crescent moon and streetlamp overhead. Although he had the looks of a sun-kissed Grecian sculpted by the Gods and Goddesses themselves, he exuded an air of apprehension into the hearts of those who looked to cross him.

Evelyn cried non-stop, for at least a few more minutes, while Elsa felt so awkward and embarrassed that her face turned red. Watching the girl, who always laughed in school, the home-coming queen, break down like that in front of her, was the last thing Elsa had ever imagined to see with her own eyes.

"It's not your fault," Evelyn suddenly responded.

"Huh?" Elsa was confused.

Pulling out some tissue from her pocket, Evelyn wiped away the tears from her face. Then she raised her proud face and continued, "I mean, I wasn't crying because of you. And I wasn't crying at all. It's just sand in my eyes." Turning her head away, she explained, "It's not your fault, and you don't need to apologize. I should be the one to say sorry."

Elsa shook her head and blinked at her. Although she knew that this wasn't the best time to be laughing, she still laughed, failing to control herself upon realizing just how adorable Evelyn was. "Sorry... I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you." When she saw how Evelyn looked at her, Elsa explained herself, "I... I am laughing because..." Looking down to avoid eye contact, she mumbled, "You'd rather cry than admit the truth. It's obvious that you are lying to your own feelings."

Evelyn pursed her lips, cautiously looking back to see if Charlie was listening and explained, "I don't want to be judged by others. If you tell anyone else about what happened, I will..." Suddenly, she paused and frowned. In truth, she wanted to say that she wouldn't regard Elsa as her sister-in-law again, but after thinking about it, she realized that it wasn't something she could decide on. That decision was for Charlie to make.

"Alright." Elsa held Evelyn's delicate hands. "I promise I won't tell anyone else. It's a secret between us, okay?"

Pressing her lips, Evelyn smiled and then nodded in agreement. Eyes still red, she walked over to Charlie. She knew very well that he was aware of what had happened and was just pretending to be oblivious for her sake. "You drive!" she ordered, pushing the keys to his hands.

"Okay!" Charlie was happy to oblige. He gently rubbed Evelyn's hair, his hand secretly sweeping across her cheek, wiping away the only remaining drop of tear left on her face.

**

Shaun swirled the glass of wine in his hand, eyes gazing at Ezra. After a while, he said, "Evelyn may not look like it. After all, the Long family has a reputation for coming off as strong, self-effacing people, but deep down she has a sensitive heart. You're being too hasty." He shook his head. "Your methods are only going to yield the undesirable results."

Ezra took down his spectacles, slowly placing it on the counter of the bar. His eye sight was not bad to the point that he couldn't survive without glasses.

Since he was a bad-tempered young man who looked well below his age, the glasses had become his camouflage to hide the qualities that weren't ideal for him to be a lawyer.

He swirled the whiskey in his square-shaped glass, listening to the chinking of the ice cubes, breathing in a fragrance that only years in an oak barrel could achieve. Taking a sip from his glass, he sighed, "This is the only way. I can't think of any other way to tell Evelyn that she has to leave Long Family one day!" He downed the rest of his drink in one gulp and banged the empty glass on the counter, making a heavy sound. "Mr. Lu, you have known Charlie for quite a long time. Isn't it weird how much he loves his sister? And you know Addison, he... Ahh..."