Love Began with the First Meeting

A woman is perceptual. She can be hurt badly by love, or be strong beyond imagination because of love.

There was a slight edge to Hanson's voice as his eyes looked questioningly at Clement, who stood beside him gazing at the scenery. "What?"

Hanson asked and swirled the wine glass he held in one hand, the liquid sloshing to the side. He could not, for the life of him, understand the situation. There was a short pause before he got an answer from his companion.

Clement's head whipped to the side to look at Hanson and said, "What is the worst is that there appears to be a man giving her a helping hand and even a hug when she is hurt by the man she loves deeply."

His companion wore a thoughtful expression at his words. For someone like Hanson who was inexperienced, he thought that Clement's words were rather profound.

The thin lips of Clement curled into a smile as he gazed back to the scenery and said, "A woman can be brave for love, and also be fragile for love. If Brian keeps pretending to be indifferent to Molly while Mr. Eric Long genuinely shows his love to her, and being really nice and gentle to her," he said as he smirked, then continued, "It is possible that Molly will throw herself into his arms, even if it is a mistake."

Just outside the area, the polished dress shoes of Brian Long walked quietly down the hall. He was looking for Hanson. The hand holding his glass of wine almost choked the glass's stem when he heard Clement's words as he passed by.

The voice continued. "Hanson, I don't think the luxury yacht will belong to you later. You should get ready to send it to Dragon Island," Clement continued. "As for me, Mr. Eric Long is probably winning. Plus, the reports from the entertainment media and economic and financial circles will come at them thick and fast for the very first time tomorrow," Clement added loftily.

Just as he was about to speak some more to Hanson who listened quite attentively, he suddenly stopped mid-sentence with eyes widened in embarrassment. When Hanson saw this, he looked confused and turned his head around to the direction of Clement's eyes to see what was wrong, and there in the corridor, stood Brian Long. Clement was surprised and said, "Brian? How come you are here?"

However, Brian only gave them an icy look and went away without a word. Hanson and Clement looked at each other confusedly in consternation.

"Now you are all washed up," Hanson spoke up, his voice full of sympathy. He gazed at Brian's receding figure that looked cold and arrogant even when his back faced them, and said, "I'm afraid the stock price of Ye Family will slump dramatically tomorrow."

However, Clement did not seem to share his sentiments. "Now I've found out the fact--whenever I mention Molly, I will have bad luck!" he said through gritted teeth and shook his head in indignation. His face turned long and sour. He turned to Hanson and asked, "Hanson, will Brian be actually cruel that much? I cannot believe it!"

Hanson really did not know as the man was unpredictable and hard to read. "It's hard to say," he replied. Then again, Hanson seemed to gloat over his answer with a smile on his face. He added, "I will mourn you if that is true!" The curve of his smile became wider. He raised his hand that held the glass of wine as if in a celebratory toast.

Meanwhile, in A City.

After several days of gloomy cloudy weather, the sun finally decided to show its face and blessed the city with finer weather. The warm light dripped through the window of The Summer Breeze and to Mark's boyish face where he stood before it. Spark made a cup of Hawaiian fruit milk tea for him and placed it on the table.

"What's in your mind? Are you worried about anything?" Spark asked Mark gently when he saw Mark standing still there for a while. He sat beside the window and soft music was still on in the room.

Across him, Mark tentatively said, "I am thinking about..." He pursed his lips and paused mid-sentence. His eyes looked pensive, and he continued, "If Papa Brian really does not want to be back together with Mommy, and if Mommy gets married to Uncle Eric, shall I call him Papa Eric, or Uncle Eric?" His face wore a puzzled and upset expression as he continued, "And if that really happens, shall I still call Papa Brian Papa Brian, or Uncle Brian?"

"..." Spark only looked at the boy in front of him, stunned and unsure of what to say. He didn't really understand why but the boy surely had lots of strange thoughts. After a while, he said,"Ummm, Mark, what do you call me?" His words came out slowly. "Daddy, of course!" Mark said without hesitation.

"So you see, it is only a name you call other people," Spark said as he shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter what you will call Papa Brian and Uncle Eric."

However, Mark disagreed and shook his head, "But it does actually!" "You've never seen how upset Papa Brian's face was when I called him Uncle Brian!" At this, Mark pressed his lips into a thin line and spoke in a firm voice, "Humph! If Mommy decides to marry Uncle Eric, I will call Papa Brian Uncle Brian!"

He then nodded his head after he said those, as if he made a really big decision.

However, Spark's eyebrows shot up. "Is that really what you want?" He asked Mark in a low voice. His tone reflected seriousness as if he was talking to an adult and not a young boy.

Hearing Spark's question, Mark could only remain silent. His head dropped down slowly and he fidgeted and played with his fingers uneasily.

The older man sighed inwardly to himself. He knew better than Mark himself what the young boy's little gestures meant. He then beckoned Mark to come closer to him. When the boy did so, he pulled him into his arms and sat him on his lap. His voice was gentle as he said, "Mark, Daddy promise. I promise that you will have a happy family with Mommy and Papa Brian."

At this, Mark stopped fidgeting with his fingers and raised his head to look at him. His big, bright eyes stared at Spark and said, "Daddy, are you serious?" A slight frown made its way on his young face, and he continued, "But Papa Brian seemed to be disappointed at Mommy." Unhappiness was evident in his soft voice. His eyes still looked downcast, and he added, "Mommy has tried hard and even I can see it. But Papa Brian seemed not to care!"

However, Spark just held him tightly and reassured him, "Yes, he did. Papa Brian cared about your Mommy a lot. Because he cares too much for her, he dare not..." He was unable to continue his words. His eyes no longer checked on the boy on his lap but stared into the distance. 'No one can give Molly so much as Brian does. It will be the best if Molly gets back together with Brian,

Spark thought to himself.

Today was a quiet and peaceful night at Sun Island. The gentle breeze gently blew and fanned the trees and the moonlight softly illuminated the surroundings. Molly felt a sense of calmness in the noise of silence.

Her body leaned on the railings with the rings. Her eyes stared at the salty water flowing into the moat. The lights from the fishing boats by the dock reflected on the peaceful water like glowing waves, and brought her a serene feeling.

Beside Molly, Eric leaned his back on the railings with the rings as well. His eyes observed the cars going to and fro on the road and said wistfully, "Molly, forget about Brian."

At his words, Molly's body only stiffened. She gave a little smile and asked him in return,"Can you forget about me?"

However, no answer came out of Eric's lips.

He did not respond to Molly's question, and that gave them their answers.

Eric then stood upright and straightened his shirt. He said, "Let's go back, It's late now."

On the other hand, Molly had other ideas. "But I still want to stay here for a while," she said in protest. Her voice was low and her head dropped down in loneliness.

Eric's eyes observed the lonely figure of Molly, then he said with a serious expression on his face, "Okay, I will stay with you."