Love Began with the First Meeting novel Chapter 129

"There are matters that still need to be dealt with on Sun Island. Why did you not go with Mom?" Eric asked in a nonchalant tone.

"The congressional proposal needs to be revised."

"Oh, I see." Eric clenched his teeth. He held up his milk glass. Anger and indignation overwhelmed him. While he slowly drank the milk, he caught glimpse of Frank. Hate arose in him to an extent where he could not hide it, like a sharp rope reining in his heart. He could not control his frustrations anymore.

*

There was an assortment of flowers in the flower room of the greenhouse; most of them were purple. They looked beautiful, particularly since it was very rare to see so many flowers in winter. It was certainly very comforting to be surrounded by those exuberant flowers. The warm and cozy environment threatened to pull out all kinds of hidden feelings. The emotions couldn't be expressed in words.

A white swing chair hung low in the midst of all the flowers. Swinging slowly in the chair, Shirley felt that she had gone back to the past again. She remembered the days during which she could not be with Richie. There was no other way for her to support his life, other than by missing him dearly. She drew his pictures everyday, outlining his figure day after day. When she missed him too much, she spoke his name out aloud - once, twice, ten times, hundreds of times or even thousands of times. Only by doing this, could she go through the hard times.

"Why did you build this flower room?" Shirley asked Sheridan, who was sitting next to her.

Sheridan was still wearing his sliver mask. A shadow of a smile appeared on his lips and he replied softly,"When Elias was in Moonlight Island, he changed the acid-base property of the flowers on the island to turn them purple. I was curious about it and heard that it was because Ryan had asked for them to be changed into purple. Afterwards, I learned why. Ryan had fallen in love with someone and one day she had said that she loved the color purple. So Ryan asked all the flowers on the island to be turned into purple."

Ryan... That man was still alive in her memory.

Shirley's bright eyes turned dim when she heard his name. Even after so many years, she still remembered how he had abused her when they were both young. Those memories were carved into her mind, she could never forget it. When they grew up, Ryan's love had become even more lunatic. He loved Shirley so deeply that he wanted to imprison her and keep her to himself, so that he could wholly possess Shirley. No one could get involved in their relationship. Although there was pain and hurt in the past with Ryan, she still thought about him with fondness.

She knew very well that Ryan had truly loved her, but in a wayward and crazy way.

Shirley looked around her and asked out of curiosity,"All the flowers on Moonlight Island are purple. But some of the flowers here have other colors as well. What's the reason?"

Sheridan couldn't reply immediately. He gazed at Shirley with his brooding, deep eyes trying to figure out her real intention behind the question. After a while, he answered,"Although the woman whom Ryan was in love with liked purple flowers, I don't think she wanted all the flowers in a garden to be of a single color. At least, I understand that she always held the view that all things in the world had their own meaning and usefulness. One does not outweigh the importance of the other because it is, after all, the circle of life. And that is what makes life and everything around us so wonderful and intriguing."

His words reached the deepest part of her heart. In fact, he knew her so well. Every word he had just said was exactly how she viewed life.

"Brian has brought about a multitude of problems and troubles for you, hasn't he?" Shirley felt sorry for Sheridan. All this while, she had known that he was alive and was trying to keep his distance from her on purpose. Besides, Richie loathed him and would never allow her to meet Sheridan. She was relieved to know that he was alive, but she had no further information on him or about how he was doing. After all, all he had done back then was for her sake. But, not meeting him was a good choice for both him and her.

"He's not too bad," Sheridan answered with a delightful smile. "Brian really is just like his father. However, the manner in which he takes care of his business is totally different from that of his father. He is cruel, wild and arrogant, thinks he is the most powerful man in the world and hardly knows any fear. He is always coming out with the unexpected."

He was almost gloating, as if Brian was his spoiled child. Although Brian was Richie's flesh and blood, it couldn't be denied that he was also Shirley's kid. Sometimes, Sheridan would picture an impossible image in his mind. If he had listened to Shirley and had tried to understand her better, then they would have had a kid too, one who had both their bloods. If that could have been a reality, the child would now have been older than Brian.

Shirley beamed at the thought of her son. "Richie and I have spoiled him too much." There was no hiding her love for Brian. She knew well that sometimes the way Brian handled matters was cruel and brutal, but like every mother in the world, she loved her son selflessly. No matter what he did, she would be on his side and would support him to the best of her abilities.

"After all, he is the man who will stand at the top of the world someday." Sheridan absentmindedly turned towards a purple tulip bud in the distance. He continued,"Just like how rats never fail to dig holes themselves after they are born, humans take after their parents as well. The son will inherit his father's good and bad genes. Brian has an omnipotent father, who dominates the world and looks down on everybody else. In any case, let's say that he will not disappoint his father."

A lump formed in her throat. She looked at Sheridan. The silver mask in his face reflected the grim light of the faint morning. The light did not warm her heart. She wanted so much to apologize to him. Shirley couldn't understand how he could say those things about the past without any care in the world. She couldn't fathom the emotion that was driving him, to pretend as if nothing had happened to him. She never asked Brian about what he had done, but she knew for sure that if it weren't for Sheridan's tolerance and concession, Brian's power could not have grown to be so strong in the region.

"Sheridan-" She started to say.

"No, Shirley." Sheridan interrupted her and turned away from the purple flower that had captured his attention. He knew what she was going to say next and it would not be good for their relationship. He didn't need to hear it from her. He smiled and said,"This is all I can do for you right now. There is no need for you to apologize to me. And frankly, Brian could ride the whirlwind and control everything even without me compromising for him. And you know, Shirley, What I did is not just for your sake or his. If I had conflicts with him, I would have to bear losses too, which I would not want."