With a smile, Sharon said,"The only thing left between him and me is hatred. How can he hurt me any
more? Now, the only person who can hurt me is you, because you are the only one who matters to me
in any case!"
Steven looked her straight into the eyes. He wrapped his arms around Sharon even more tightly and
said in a deep, calm voice,"Sharon, for these so many years, I have understood your feelings!"
Attentive, Sharon did not say anything. She only frowned, sensing an impending storm.
Steven and Sharon had been talking in their room. When Daniel walked back into the living room, they
had not noticed, so they went on talking freely, oblivious to his presence. He overheard what they said.
And there was a shocker to Daniel, who could not believe what he heard. Molly - his elder sister was
not his father's daughter? That was beyond imagination!
Daniel was so shocked that he fled out. He ran so fast on the snow crunching beneath his feet. He only
stopped running when his feet hurt and he was dog tired. He bent down, resting his hands on the
knees as he gasped for air. And to compound his exhaustion, he was ill-at-ease with what he had
overheard from his parents a moment ago.
His sister was not his father's daughter, no wonder his father had not shown any pity for Molly, no
wonder his father had pushed Molly to a man. What did his father mean when he said "Molly is safe in
spite of a few difficulties"?
That sounded like Molly was in danger, and his father was downplaying the situation. Daniel was angry
that they burdened Molly, even putting her in the line of danger over matters that his father should have
shouldered as the man of the house.
Were his dad and mom even remotely concerned about his sister's welfare? Did they bother at all that
Molly like anyone else needed her parent's support or had dreams and ambitions for a better life and
future. With these thoughts in mind, Daniel was livid.
The more he thought it, the more furiously his anger burnt, and his heart was pounding. He looked like
an injured young bear, mad angry but unable to do much about the situation.
*
With a book in his hands, Molly was sitting on the sofa, but she was not in the mood to read. She felt
uneasy, maybe because it was the first time Steven had contacted her since she started following
Brian. Therefore, she believed that certainly something had happened to her family.
The more she thought, the disturbed she became. She could not sit still any longer. She looked at the
clock and found that it was not four o'clock yet. In general, Brian got home after six o'clock at the
earliest. If she acted quickly enough, there should be enough time for her to go back home and come
back.
On that thought, she put the book aside and went upstairs to change her clothes. As soon as she
stepped out of the door, she returned, as if something else had come to her mind. She left a note on
the dining table before she ran towards the gate of the villa.
"Miss Xia, are you going out?" John asked when he saw her running.
Molly frowned slightly. She pretended that she did not hear what John said, so she did not stop
running.
John wondered why Molly was in a hurry. He was considering whether it was necessary to drive her
when a car turned into the courtyard. Sighting the car, Molly stopped running in panic.
The car stopped beside her, only to realize it was Tony, driving Brian. When their eyes met, Molly could
have been knocked down with a feather.
She bit her lips and looked at Brian, feeling guilty as sin.
"Where are you going?" Brian asked, his eyes on stalks too. But he knew the answer, from the
conversation he had earlier with Molly. His voice was so chilly that it sounded more horrifying than the
bad weather outside.
The initial feeling of guilt now mixed with shame and disappointment at being stopped dead in her
tracks overwhelmed Molly. She closed her mouth tightly, the oppressive air around Brian choking her
out of breath.
Quietly, Brian glared at Molly with falcon like eyes, which gradually became dark and deep. He finally
looked away, rolled up the window and told Tony to drive on.
After the car stopped in the parking lot, Molly seeming undecided looked both ways, first at the car and
then a hesitatingly at the gate. Eventually, she went back with her head stooped, shoulders drooping.
She entered the villa right on Brian's heels. The oncoming heat could not even bring her close to
comfort. Instead, a kind of gloomy cold enfolded her, biting from head to toes.
Brian did not speak to her. He did 't even take a look at her. He made a beeline for the mini-bar, poured
a glass of wine and sat on a high stool. He delicately held the glass of wine by his slender fingers and
fixed his deep, indifferent eyes on the snow outside.
Fidgeting, Molly stood still at the door. She saw Brian raising his hand and sipping a little of the scarlet
liquor. She looked at him sideways while he swallowed. Different from his affected elegance she saw at
the hospital in QY Island yesterday, now all that remained on his face was a haze.
Molly bit her lips harder. In her eyes, she fought to hold back tears of anxiety. Was it wrong to go back
and check on her family?
From what she knew, her father was not the kind of a man who could call asking her to go back, unless
he had really good reasons. And what did he mean, when he said it would still be OK if she went back
later when she was free? That sounded much like his way of emphasizing that they needed her back
by any means, even if it wasn't immediately possible. It left her feeling quite uneasy!
Edgar placed people in her neighborhood, so what? Were they surely informers? Couldn't they have
been placed to protect her parents?
She and Edgar no longer had any special relationship. It infuriated her that Brian always thought she
was a loose woman.
In his opinion, she was no more than a dispensable object for every Tom, Dick and Harry's pleasure,
and only deserving of fair treatment when he was in the mood.
The more she thought, the more aggrieved she felt. When she could not take it anymore and was
about to burst into tears, she bit her lips, turned around and went upstairs.
"Stop!"
Brian curtly demanded. But feeling overwhelmed, Molly did not stop. She shuffled weakly up to the first
flight of stairs when the sharp clink of breaking glass froze her still.
She turned around reflectively in panic and looked towards Brian. The wine glass had been shattered
right in his hand, leaving a nauseating splatter of blood and wine. It was a horrific sight.
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