He looked at Molly guiltily, but he believed that he had no choice but to do what he had to do, even
though she might misunderstand or even dislike him.
Steven tried his best to refrain from moving his eyes away. He looked miserably at the daughter whom
he should have protected, but who had to pretend to be strong for their sake. His heart felt like it was
being pricked by a million needles. It hurt so much that he was suffocated.
Shirley sighed deeply. Seeing how determined Molly was, she felt very sorry for her. She already knew
how this was going to end.
Shane finished shuffling quickly and put the cards on the table. As his thumb slid over them, the cards
were lined up in an extremely trim order.
"Casino War!" Molly tried hard to keep calm as she said that.
Brian frowned slightly, but did not object.
Molly took a deep breath before she walked to the cards. Then she looked at them on the table, closed
her eyes for a second and opened them again. She was so nervous that she gulped. Her hand
trembled and hesitated while sliding over the cards. Finally, holding her breath, she picked up a card
and turned it over.
Ace of hearts!
Molly's eyes brightened, while her heart, which was a moment ago ready to burst out of her mouth,
leaped in joy. She tried hard not to look excited and then she said to Brian,"It's your turn."
After a quick glance at the card chosen by Molly, Brian walked forward to the rest of the cards. He
contemplated for a while, picked one of them seemingly at random and turned it over with his slender
fingers to show it to Molly, as he said indifferently,"I win."
Seeing the Ace of spades in Brian's hand, Molly was quickly furious and yelled,"You cheat!"
Brian smiled cunningly and everybody's attention was on him. He said arrogantly,"Molly, I have
seventy-eight casinos all over the world. How could I manage them all if I didn't have at least this much
ability?"
Molly's face fell immediately. Her heart could not handle such back to back attacks. She staggered
back in panic. What a terrifying man! It seemed like there was nothing he couldn't do, even though he
was only four or five years older than her.
Brian's soft fingers gently slid over Molly's pale face, to which he had taken a liking recently. He wanted
to feel the air around Molly which somehow seemed different from the others. It was supposed to be
comfortable, but when his fingers touched her face, he became influenced by her emotions and by her
sadness.
And at that moment, he was very unhappy.
It was he who had set the trap for Steven, but he had not expected Shirley to bring Molly there. So he
had to change his plan as soon as they had entered the scene. He wanted Molly to be desperate.
However, now that she was, he was extremely unhappy to see her pale face. Why?
Molly laughed at her situation. Once again it was Brian's win. She asked him with poison in her
voice,"You have destroyed my hope once again and I have nothing left. Are you happy now? Are you
satisfied?"
"This is just the punishment for your big mouth in the afternoon." Brian was somehow frustrated at
Molly's question. He withdrew his hand from her face and said coldly,"You have played enough for
today. Now let's go back."
Molly managed to endure the overwhelming grief in her heart and tried hard to calm down. Her
eyelashes were wet with tears. She said,"I want to speak to my father. Could you give me a minute?"
Seeing Molly's quivering lips, Brian stayed silent for a while, but he finally agreed.
Inside Dream Cafe, Shirley sat and looked at Molly and Steven who were sitting on the roadside bench
on the cold windy night. She frowned.
"There are matters that they have to settle between themselves," a voice as deep as a violoncello
spoke. Shirley turned around, glared at the person, and turned her face back immediately.
Richie shook his head helplessly. He sat down by her side, glanced outside and said indifferently,"I'm
afraid that Brian has a very inappropriate crush on that girl."
"What is an inappropriate crush?" Shirley obviously did not agree with him. She turned to face Richie
and said,"I'm sure that nobody will ever have any doubts that the little devil is your son. Is there any
difference in your temper tantrums?"
Richie scowled. He did understand what Shirley meant. After all, when he was young, he did many
things to hurt her. Thinking about that, he said,"Shirley, Molly will be Brian's fate."
"Fate?" Shirley grinned,"So, I am your fate ?"
A faint smile appeared on Richie's sculptural face. His smile was enough to spoil her.
"Don't you know about Brian's temper?" Richie sighed. "He has been influenced by you and Wing. He
is too persistent about love. To be honest, I don't want him to love anyone too much. If Brian falls in
love with someone deeply, he will certainly have a hard time."
"If so, he deserves it!" Despite what she said, Shirley did love her son dearly and felt sorry for him. She
forgot all about her quarrel with Richie and muttered mostly to herself,"If only he could measure his
emotions clearly before hurting others..."
Richie held Shirley in his arms and looked at the father and daughter outside. He said,"He wouldn't
understand it until he experiences it himself."
Shirley's heart sank. She hid in Richie's arms. She clung on to the familiar faint smell of tobacco from
his body. She was happy with her life and she wanted every strong-willed girl like Molly to be happy as
well. Molly deserved her own happiness. She was such a kind hearted girl.
Richie tenderly held Shirley close to his chest with his chin rubbing her hair. He loved Shirley for her
kindness and tenacity; her occasional stubbornness did not matter much to him. He loved her so much
that he was willing to accept her as she was. He did not need to explain anything to her, and she did
not mention about the morning's events either.
They already had a tacit understanding of what they wanted for themselves and how important they
were to each other.
But Shirley did not know at the time that there was a secret about Molly she never disclosed. Once the
secret came to light, would Brian be able to decide what he really wanted?
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda