Love Began with the First Meeting novel Chapter 85

When they met for the first time, Shirley Ling and Molly immediately bonded so well, you'd think they were old friends reuniting. As they indulged in the pleasant chit-chat, they both forgot about the time. They just kept enjoying their cakes, while whispering to each other.

Molly was fascinated by Shirley's experience. Time to time, she would fixate her eyes on Shirley in admiration. Before, she had always thought that she was strong enough to endure the hardship. But the story of the elegant and optimistic woman in front of her, made Molly's experiences fade in comparison. The strength and resilience of Shirley was not endowed on her by her wealth and status. It was her inborn personality and the faith she had in pursuing a better life.

It was late night. The dessert shop was quiet, with only a handful of customers. Soft music was playing in the background, smoothly mixing with a few whispers here and there.

Right then, the wind chime hanging on the door-frame rang. Instinctively, Shirley shifted her gaze towards the door. When she saw a man and a woman walking into the shop, Shirley's eyes widened in shock. Instantly, she stood up and told Molly in a hurry,"Molly, I need to go to the ladies' room now."

Before Molly could respond to her, Shirley grabbed her handbag and rushed to the ladies' room. She hid herself there, because she had seen Brian, her demonic son, walking into the shop. She just hoped that he'd leave as soon as possible.

With her back to the shop's entrance, Molly didn't know who had walked in. She was still curious about Shirley's sudden panic and rush to the restroom. Just then, she heard a conversation between a waiter and the customers behind her.

"Please pack two pieces of mousse cake. Take away," said the woman's tender, sweet voice.

Hearing the order of the customer behind her, Molly pursed her lips and stared at the mousse cake in front of her. She wondered why so many people loved eating this sugary junk.

"Pack just one piece!"

Suddenly, a cold and imperious voice she heard. Molly's body instantly went stiff, reflexive to the voice.

"No, pack two pieces, please!" the woman disagreed and insisted. Her bossy voice easily gave a hint of anger and impatience.

"It's already late now. It's not healthy indulging in so much sweet food!" The man's previously imperious voice now sounded almost subdued and helpless.

"I didn't eat anything on the plane," the woman said.

"So you've starved yourself again, in order to eat the mousse cake. Right?" the man chided.

"The food on the plane tasted horrible!"

"If that was the case, I think I should suggest our uncle to fire all those chefs and hire some new ones..."

"You are so unreasonable!"the woman angrily yelled. "Okay, I don't want any cakes now."

The man went silent for a moment. In the end, he surrendered and said in a helpless voice,"Just for once! I won't promise you next time!"

"Okay, okay. I always know that Brian is the person who treats me best in the world!" the woman said happily and then gave the man a kiss on the cheek.

From the moment she recognized Brian's voice, Molly watched the whole drama with bewilderment. The woman's face glowed with a radiant smile, you'd think she was happy as a dead pig in the sunshine. Watching the woman, Molly took note of her details with keen interest: deep dimples, big eyes with a slight bend, her long, straight and satin hair falling on her back. The woman wore a white sweater and a pink fur coat, matching with black trousers and black ankle boots. She looked gorgeous and animated. Especially, the pink fur coat perfectly complemented her creamy-white and immaculate skin.

The woman, so naturally resplendent, exuded a royal, elegant persona. But her beauty and charm didn't seem to make her arrogant in any way. Instead, she looked very kind and easy-going.

With this woman, Brian looked a completely different man. There was not even a hint of his usual impertinence for all that time. Molly was surprised that he even let the woman have her way in the small disagreement they had over the number of cakes. Goodness gracious! Brian looked so docile and at the charm of this woman.

Seeing the darkness and unreasonable anger that always clouded Brian's eyes melt into sweetness in front of this woman, Molly's stomach clenched up in knots, sharp piercing pain coursing her heart.

Clutching the fork in her hand, Molly kept her eyes on the handsome man and beautiful woman standing in front of the bar counter, without even blinking. They were such a delightful couple in the shop, creating a scene that kept everyone spellbound.

Even though most of the people at the shop were wealthy, well-traveled folk who must have seen a lot of handsome men and beautiful women in their lives, they still found the charm of Brian and the woman next to him quite alluring.

Whispers could be heard, with some admirers even drawing comparisons to Park Shin Chun and Janie, the most famous celebrity couple of the time.

"Hey, look! Isn't that woman the famous pianist, Wing? She has quickly made a name for herself in music," one of the customers at the nearby table said in a low voice.

"You might be right. I think she looks like Wing... but who's the man next to her?" another inquired.

"Rumor has it that there is a man who's ever around Wing, always spoiling her in every aspect. Is this the man? There is a good chance, he is!"

"Oh!See? She's beautiful and talented. She has a promising career and her boyfriend is so handsome! How I admire her!"

"Stop your envy. We are in a different world."

The two customers at the nearby table kept talking about them.

Their discussions, although hushed in whispers, were amplified to a loud nauseating barrage in Molly's ears. Fluttering her eyelashes, she felt like she was going to suffocate from lack of air.

So... that was the woman Brian had gone to pick up personally.

'Wing...pianist, she's the perfect match for him. She's the right one to be by his side, '

Molly thought. But then, she came back to her senses.

At once she realized she had no right to decide who should stand by Brian's side. It was none of her business.

To him, Molly was just a toy. A body without a soul. A dispensable object he had acquired for his pleasures. Useful only for a month, with no strings attached. Now his girlfriend was back, which meant it was over between her and Brian. Now that the girlfriend wasn't the same woman in the photo in his study Molly was supposed to be glad that it was a different woman.

However, she felt sad. To hide her sorrow, she lowered her eyes, hoping no one noticed her conflicted emotions. She clutched the fork even harder. Her mind was totally taken up by the woman next to Brian.

She didn't give a hoot about how Brian would react if he found out she was sitting there right now.

"Molly Xia! Why are you here?" Just then, Brian's cold, angry voice roared from behind her.

Startled, Molly's body went rigid, dropping the fork onto the table. "I...I..." she lost her voice.

Even though her petite body was totally covered by his large coat, he still could see that she was shivering.

When he caught a glimpse of the dishes on the table, he realized the cake in front of Molly wasn't eaten up yet. But on the opposite side, the plate was already empty and the milk tea cup had only half left. Narrowing his eyes, Brian shifted his gaze towards Molly again and asked,"I didn't see Eric's car outside. Who's been sitting here with you?"

Reflexively, Molly cast a nervous glance at the woman in front of the bar counter, who was concentrating on her cakes as the waiter did the packing. Although the woman didn't see her, Molly still had a guilty feeling set in her heart. She feared the woman would find out that she was Brian's mistress.

Face gone completely pale, she stammered,"I...I...am together with a middle-aged woman..."

"A middle-aged woman?" a doubtful Brian asked, anger coloring his voice. "So...where's she?"

"She's in the ladies' room..." Mind careening in chaos, Molly answered without thinking.

Obvious fury in his eyes now, Brian scowled,"Very good. Molly, good job. I have been too charitable to you these days, but it seems you're forgetting there are limits to you."

"I..." The viciousness in his maniacal diatribe frightened Molly so much she couldn't find her voice. All she hoped for now was that Aunt Shirley could come back to her seat as soon as possible. However, she was also terrified at the thought of Aunt Shirley finding out about her indecent relationship with Brian.

"Brian?"

The beautiful woman at the counter called tenderly. Brian turned around to the woman at the bar counter, but before he left, he gave Molly those menacing looks and sternly warned,"If you are not home in half an hour, I will stop all of Sharon Zhao's medical treatment!"