Love Began with the First Meeting novel Chapter 74

Was it 'Do you have any interest in my woman, Molly, Mr. Mayor'?

At first, she thought that it was all an illusion, perhaps they were not talking about her. But now, she knew that it was not just in her head. 'They were talking about to whom I'm supposed to belong to...'

Seeing Edgar's eyes, their memory of childhood came back and haunted her. His eyes were still as beautiful as when they were young, soft and warm like a jade when he was calm, glaring and deep like the stars in the night sky when he was emotional.

Though his eyes were the same as they used to be, he was no longer the same person she knew during childhood. He had become a totally different person and now, he saw her as just a pair of worn shoes.

What a bitter truth! Time passed by, and they all had changed. They were not kids any more. Time and reality changed not only her but him as well.

'To him, I have become a cheap woman, who deserves neither love nor respect. Therefore, he could just insult me in any way.'

All of these mixed feelings began rising to Molly all of a sudden. She laughed at herself in her thoughts and tried to calm herself down. She stopped looking at the room and tried to focus on her task. She held the tray even more tightly and told herself to be polite enough so that no one could find fault with her. The exclusive job on the VIP floor was made possible by Brian, so she was supposed to be really careful and should not mess it all up and be fired.

Molly bit the bullet and tried to calm down with all her strength. Then, she came forward and said with softness and unflappability," Sir, this is your wine."

Brian caught a glimpse of her and found a slight smile unfolding on her face. She was obviously tolerant of the situation even though her hands were obviously trembling. Even so, she still tried to pour the wine for him smoothly.

He must say that she showed satisfactory etiquette which met his standards. She had no experience in serving VIPs, yet he could find that she was really careful to do an exemplary job the whole night. Before that night, he had only seen her working in the casino's main hall, where she was very flexible and clever to serve the load of clients at a time. But now, to his surprise, he found that she was also attractive, determined, and focused while serving the VIPs.

'Molly, you really are a special woman!'

Edgar was stunned and came to a standstill when he found out that the person who had entered the room was Molly. After a short while, he calmed down and his facial expression returned to normal, which was indifferent and slightly treacherous. Witnessing that Molly followed every command of Brian including putting the wine glass beside him, an array of complex feelings came into Edgar's mind, which was revealed in his eyes. However, he still tried to hide what he felt and quickly prevented himself from showing any sign of mixed emotions on his face so as to avoid anyone seeing it.

The skillful dealer continued to deal the cards. With three Kings already on the table in front of him, Edgar caught a glimpse of his fifth card, and found that it was the fourth King. Now he possessed all the four cards.

"It seems that... I have good luck today!" Edgar said with slight happiness and surprise in his voice. He raised up the wine glass and took a sip. The red liquid sprawled in his mouth, like blood flowing in and around his mouth, showing great bloodthirsty coldness and indifference.

It seemed that Brian did not hear what Edgar said. He raised his eyebrows and opened his fifth card. With the newly obtained card, his cards on the table turned out to be four consecutive cards of spades: from the spade two to the spade five.

Meanwhile, Molly was waiting aside in a bid to serve them in time and watched the two men engrossed in the game. She pursed her lips and thought: 'Edgar already has 4 Kings on the table. Frankly speaking, he has occupied the dominant position and is more likely to win. The only chance for Brian to win this game is for him to have a straight flush of spades.

He has a straight flush of spades from the two to the five in his hands right now, but... If his last card fails to complete a straight flush of spades with the cards on the table, he will definitely lose this game.'

Brian glanced over at Edgar while slightly shaking the wine glass in his hand. His slim fingers gave out a little force to shake the red wine in the thin glass and swirled it inside the crystal glass. The red liquid could not keep itself on the glass wall for a long time and dropped slowly yet smoothly to the bottom. Obviously, the wine was premium and of excellent quality. Not a single drop of the liquid remained on the side of the glass, leaving no trace of the bloody wine.

He raised his eyes slightly and looked deeply towards Molly, finding that she was lost in thought. That triggered his interest and a small smile unfolded on his face under his eagle-like sharp eyes. He asked softly as though it was not out of purpose," Who do you want to win this game, Molly?"

Molly was guessing what Brian's bottom card was when he asked her. Although she had no idea what was at stake at this game, she knew that Brian wanted to add her to the bet as she heard it when she was coming in. But, Edgar was more than displeased and also degraded her as Brian's additional stake.

She felt really bad and hurt by what she heard. What she could do was only laugh at herself. The reality was so cruel that she could not breathe and the pain in her heart even made her frown.

The environment turned out to be more awkward and the air seemed to freeze. Every one in the room turned their attention to Molly. Most of them knew that Brian was the President of the Grand Night Casino, but Molly didn't.

Looking at Molly and licking his lollipop in his lips incessantly, Bill became very nervous for no reason at all. He was so anxious to hear Molly's answer as though Molly would be the one to decide who would actually win the game.

He already knew the bottom card of the mayor: the spade ace, and Brian was bound to lose this game!

But now, he could not help but become really stressed as his heart jumped into his throat. He held his breath and anxiously waited for her answer.

Edgar stopped looking at Molly. He just smiled slightly, which was partly hidden and partly visible, as though the result of the game was not crucial for him at all. He seemed to not care a bit for both the result and Molly.

Molly looked at Brian and found herself quite attracted to him. His eyes were so deep and serene, just like a deep lake in the forest, which one could get lost into with one single look. His well-shaped face was cold and devoid of any facial expression. His lips were thin and sexy. When he looked at her, everything seemed to come to a standstill, except for his slim fingers holding the wine glass and shaking the bloody wine.

Then out of instinct, she turned her head and caught a glimpse of Edgar. Unfortunately, he was not paying any attention to her dilemma. His coldness towards her made a hole in her heart. She finally realized the fact that Edgar was not her friend from childhood any more and decided to cut off everything that tied her to him. From now on, he was merely a stranger to her. Every one should have dignity, including her who could not even afford or deserve it.

A curled smile appeared on her pale face, an evidence that she had not recovered fully yet. Even the light make-up which covered her face could not conceal her weakness. She turned her head back to Brian and looked at him with a subtle smile. Instead of replying to his question, she asked him back," Are you willing to lose me in this game?"