Love Began with the First Meeting

stretched out his hand and put it on her forehead. As soon as he touched her skin, he was startled by how hot she was.

The door of her room opened again. Brian stood at the door and looked inside. In the dim light of the bedside lamp, Molly was curled up in the quilt. He came up to her bed and watched her face. Molly's face was flushed out of color. Furrowing his brows slightly, he "Mol!" Brian tried to wake her up, but Molly only replied him with a moan of pain. He quickly took out his phone and dialed a number, "Come to the villa in half an hour. Mol has a fever."

After a moment's pause, the man said, "Okay," his tone was polite. Brian stroked Molly's cheek tenderly, while his brows furrowed in concern.

He stood up and strode out of the room. He returned with an ice pack and put it on Molly's forehead. He just got more worried when he saw Molly's face relax a bit at the coolness of the ice pack.

The doctor arrived at the villa in less than half an hour. Almost every attending doctor at the hospital understood how important Molly was to Brian so they always followed his orders.

After taking Molly's body temperature, the doctor looked at the number on the thermometer and frowned, "40.3 degrees centigrade. There're also some symptoms of a cardiopulmonary infection." With knitted eyebrows and tightened lips, Brian watched from the side and kept silent.

The doctor took out some drugs from his kit and put Molly on a drip. After another check-up, the doctor finally said, "Mr. Brian Long, Mrs. Molly Long is suffering a nightmare. She needs to rest or else she'll just get worse."

Brian glanced at Molly and nodded, "Okay, I see."

"I'm going to get going now, Mr. Brian Long," the doctor said as he placed more medicine on the table, "Make her take these when she wakes up."

After the doctor left the room, Brian sat down at the edge of the bed. He grabbed a towel and wiped Molly's sweat off her cheeks and freshened up her ice packs.

"Ugh," Molly's body started burning again. She groaned because of her headache.

Brian knitted his brows in worry. He glanced at the drip, and exchanged a new ice pack for Molly. Because of her fever, Molly's lips were slightly chapped out of dryness. Brian noticed that so he poured a glass of water and dipped a cotton swab in it and pressed it against her dry lips. Molly stuck out her tongue and licked her lips when she felt the rush of coolness run through her lips.

Brian just watched her closely. He dipped more water and dropped them on her lips, and Molly licked them off with the tip of her tongue instinctively. Gradually, the look in Brian's eyes shifted.

His hand froze in the air. Molly kept licking her lips yet there was no more water. Her face puckered with annoyance, and her tongue moved uneasily. She seemed to be really thirsty.

With her eyes closed and her eyebrows knitted, she breathed heavily and murmured something in a low voice. Brian leaned his ear towards her but couldn't understand her. With a soft sigh, he pulled away from her and continued to wet her lips with the cotton swab. The thunder continued to roar in the rainy night. Molly's breathing was shallow and difficult. She felt anguished as if her head was pulled ahead by something. Some words just kept echoing in her brain.

"As God is my witness, I, Brian Long, take thee, Molly Xia, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, in prosperous heaven, or thorny and dark hell, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance and thereto I pledge thee my faith...." "Mol, you'll be my wedded wife, and I'll give my promise to only you..." "The diamond in your ring is called 'the Soul of K'. From now on, your soul belongs to nobody but me..."

Molly opened her mouth slightly and breathed hard. She wanted to open her eyes but she couldn't. She was alone in a world of darkness, and she could hear nothing but the sound of a downpour. All of a sudden, the ring on her finger transformed into a huge shadow and swallowed her whole. She wanted to run away and escape but at the same time, she also wanted her ring back. Her mixed emotions almost tore her apart.

"Ow!"

With a moan of pain, she sat up in her cold sweat and panted heavily.

"Molly, finally, you're awake," A sweet voice flowed into Molly's ears and it refreshed her like a splash of cold water.

Molly tilted her head and saw Wing putting her book down on her chair and walking towards the bed. Her silky hair danced softly as she tranced forward. "Wing!" Molly called in surprise.

A sweet smile appeared on Wing's dimpled cheeks. She nodded in reply as she stretched out her hand to put on Molly's forehead. "Thank god, your fever's gone. I'll ask Lisa to cook for you. You still need to take some medicine though," Wing said.

Molly just looked stunned the whole time even after she watched Wing leave the room. She almost thought it was still a part of her dream. Molly looked out the window beside her bed. The sky was a clear blue, and the sun was shining bright, radiating its rays of light everywhere.

She withdrew her eyes and looked at the clock on the wall: it was almost noon. Frowning lightly, she got out of her bed to wash her face. She was still weak from getting sick that she almost fell to the floor as she made her way towards the bathroom. After washing hurriedly, she went out. She saw Wing and Lisa getting into her room respectively. Lisa was holding a tray of food.

"Thank god, you look much better now," Lisa put the tray on the table, "Mrs. Molly Long, you have to eat. You haven't eaten in the last few days."

"Last few days?" Molly's hand froze in the air. She blinked and stared at Lisa.

Lisa nodded silently. Wing explained with a smile, "You've been unconscious for three days with a high fever. The doctor has actually already moved to the villa. I've informed him that you're up now, and he'll check up on you after you eat." Molly frowned and looked towards Lisa. She then lowered her head, overwhelmed as she saw Lisa nod in confirmation.

"Come on, help yourself," Wing sat beside her, picked up the bowl of congee and handed it to Molly, "Finish it so you can have your check up."

Molly took the bowl from Wing slowly. She hadn't eaten in the last few days apparently and frank, she was starting to feel hungry now. She finished her food quietly and Lisa cleared up the dishes. Soon the doctor came into the room. He took Molly's body temperature and then did a physical examination for her. Finally, he instructed, "Mrs. Molly Long, you don't have a fever anymore but your body is still weak. I'll give you some new medicine and you still need to watch your diet for the next few days."

"Okay, thank you!" Wing said with a soft smile. She was always so easygoing and friendly.

After the doctor left the room, Wing turned to Molly who seemed distracted and said, "You're just recovering so just stay at home and rest first for a few days. We've already told the Troupe you're on a sick leave." Meeting Molly's blank eyes, she continued, "Besides, Mark's operation went well. He's now in his postoperative rehabilitation, and he can come home in two weeks."