Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 487 The Charity Auction (Part Two）

"Why, I've just been told that Molly's relationship with Spark is now out in the open. Is that true?"

a teasing voice came from behind. Brian didn't turn his head. He responded, "There are a lot of nosy people in this world."

Eric shrugged. He looked dashing and relaxed in a well-tailored casual suit unlike Brian who was in a double-breasted suit. Eric looked intimidating in his expensive clothes. "It will never happen for us," he commented as he watched Spark cut a portion of steak and put it on Molly's place. "We thought too highly of ourselves. A lovely girl like Molly wouldn't be able to get past someone like Spark."

"You think so?" Brian said coolly.

"Brian," Eric said forcefully but quietly, "Molly and Spark are already married. They have a son. Will you give up?"

Brian didn't answer. After a pause, he threw his cousin's question back at him, "And you?" He gave Eric a look

as sharp as knives. Eric teased back, "Of course, I won't! Because she isn't as happy as she says she is."

"Oh?"

Brian responded. Eric removed his gaze from Molly as he slowly spoke. "Happiness isn't what you show people. You can't fake it. People can sense that. It's in your eyes and your body language."

Brian sneered at this, "Eric, time for me to see what you have learned in the past four years."

Eric stiffened. "Brian, what are you talking about?" he asked, a light smile playing on his lips.

"Aren't you going to help Mol with this upcoming trial?" Brian asked. "Wait, let me rephrase that since obviously you'll just be doing this for yourself. Don't you want to take this chance to win Mol's heart?"

Eric neither denied nor admitted it. He just shrugged. He and Brian knew each other too well. Sometimes they didn't need any words to understand each other, just like this moment. Sometimes he wondered whether he would feel inferior to Brian forever and always live in his shadow if he hadn't overheard his parents' argument a long time before. He smiled wryly. There was no such thing as ifs and buts in life!

"Eric," Brian said as his eyes swept over to Molly again. She was talking to Daniel while Mark was gesturing something excitedly. If he remembered correctly, the last time Daniel was scheduled for an injection, he had run away. But Daniel looked perfectly fine tonight. Brian's guess was that Daniel must have found a way to get the drug on his own or found another person to help him. Either way, there were still a few days left before the injection kicked in with another attack. Then Brian continued, "I wanted Becky before then Molly. But every time Becky left me, I was just angry. It's not like I was waiting for her to come back. I thought it would be the same with Mol but I was wrong. In those four years, I had to gather all of my strength to fight my way through life and death. And even then, Mol never left my mind. She was there every second, every minute, every day for the past four years. I risked my life just to get my power back and it wasn't even for ambition or wanting to prove myself, it was for Mol. It was all for Mol."

Eric stared at Brian, astonished. His mouth moved as if he was trying to pick out the right words to say but in the end, he couldn't come up with anything.

"She's just a girl..." Brian smiled bitterly. "That's what I told myself then but it never worked. I missed her, I missed her like crazy and it's not like you could find her in a crowd. She's just a simple girl but I love her. It was only when I felt the emptiness of her absence that I started to understand our parents' kind of love. That's the kind of love that never goes away. It's just always there."

"Brian..." Eric said, his voice low.

"I imagined our meeting again so many times over the past four years. I imagined her being with someone who loved her, I imagined her staring into my eyes calmly but mostly, I imagined her running away." The look in Brian's eyes dimmed. "But I never imagined her married."

Brian's voice was dripping in anguish. He rarely showed his emotions, his face always unreadable and his tone always cold but at this moment, all you could see was his sadness. Even Eric had never seen him like that before. He had always known how long Brian had loved Molly but he never expected that it would run this deep even after four years had passed.

"When I heard that Spark was going to be at this concert, I figured that Mol would be here too so I came here and waited. When I found out Mark couldn't speak, I asked both Carina and Elias to check on him." As Brian spoke, he suddenly realized how ridiculous everything he had done was. "When I found out she was married with a son, it killed me. But I didn't want to see her suffer because of Mark's disability. I was stuck and I was confused. Even I couldn't understand myself anymore. It's like I couldn't control my emotions. I didn't want to see her cry and suffer - it hurt me too much. Do you understand, Eric?

Eric's hands were shaking. He couldn't understand what Brian was saying but all he knew was that he, too, was upset when he saw that Molly was unhappy. He had spent his time researching on Mark's disability. He had never loved anyone else, not even Becky. But he was so sure that what he felt for Molly was love. He didn't want to be polite in his love for Molly. He wouldn't just give up and let her be. He believed that if you wanted to be with someone, you had to fight for it. You had to hold on and never let go. That was how love should work.

And the only reason why Brian would tell him all of this was to send a message: that he wasn't giving up on Molly either and that he wasn't here to lose.

"Brian, four years ago, I wasn't able to catch up with you. You had a head start. But this time, you have nothing over me-"

"No," Brian interrupted him, looking at him sharply, "I do have something over you."

"What?" Eric frowned. 00000