As Eric peered into Molly's gleaming eyes, he realized that everything else fell to the category of trivial.
He was just staring at Molly when he pressed his lips against her forehead - something that he didn't
realize he did until it was done.
"Little Molly, the day will come when you will rise above. You will finally become the glorious pearl that
you actually are. You just will. I guarantee you that you will."
Molly remained still only keeping her gaze at Eric. Eventually, Eric stood up while Molly remained
frozen at his words. This scared and thrilled Molly at the same time.
Eric raised his hand to stroke Molly's face; he could feel where her tears had just dried up making Eric's
heart swell.
He would never admit this but the truth was, he only talked to Molly at first to mess with Brian - but this
was way beyond Brian now. The more he got to know her, the harder he fell. He had never felt this way
before and he hated it. He didn't want to end up like his father who fought with his brother over a
woman.
But, if he really did fall in love with her, he would never give her up as his father did. He would fight for
it. Even if no one won.
The situation was getting too intense for Molly to take so she took a step back just as Eric was about to
touch her lips with his fingers. Molly looked down, biting her lips wondering what Eric was about to do.
Eric stopped as Molly stepped back. His face turning casual all at once,"You're responsible for me now
since you're my first."
This caught Molly off guard.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
Eric grinned, obviously teasing,"I mean, you were the first person I've ever cooked for. Why? What
were you thinking about?"
Molly didn't appreciate the joke - she also especially didn't like it that the chefs around them were
snickering, trying to hold back their laughter. Molly pushed Eric away and stomped on his feet. She
turned around and tried to walk away before Eric could even respond. But the moment she swiveled,
she froze. She was unable to move; she just stood there as if her feet were glued to the ground.
Molly met Brian's eyes - Brian was standing there, his face hardened, and his eyes black as ever
staring so hard at Molly like he was piercing through her soul. He saw everything - he was there when
Eric kissed her on the forehead but he said nothing. He stood there, ever so furious. Yet his anger only
rendered him frozen.
"Mr. Brian Long!" Eric turned to look at him, showing no emotion. He crossed his arms and leaned
against the table. "Brian, what are you doing here?" he asked arrogantly.
Brian knew Eric was picking a fight, he paid no attention to that. He cast him a glare and walked
towards Molly,"I followed you out and spent all this time trying to find out where you were," he said
rather coldly.
Molly scrutinized his face - he was jealous. But Molly instantly shoved the idea way - no way, why
would Brian be jealous? For her?
Molly shook her head as if to show disappointment when she saw a flash of anger on Brian's face. She
nodded towards him just to acknowledge that he just spent a lot of time looking for her.
But this didn't improve the situation, Brian only got angrier. Molly wondered why with Eric she was so
relaxed and loose but with Brian, she was so uptight and scared - it was as if she was acting as if Brian
was going to eat her alive.
Molly was just about to open her mouth to say something when someone gripped her arm. This threw
off her balance.
"Brian, see what you did," Eric clicked his tongue,"You scared little Molly." Eric didn't wait for Brian to
respond before continuing,"By the way, why were you spending so much time looking for Molly? What
happened? Why did you need to know where Molly was? But weren't you with Beck this morning?"
Brian's face remained stoic despite all these loaded questions being thrown at him. Molly, on the other
hand, felt bitterness in her heart.
Molly didn't know what to do - she couldn't move. Eric pulled her closer to him - he could probably tell
that Molly was already getting overwhelmed. Molly, despite having pulled towards Eric, was still staring
at Brian rather sourly.
Brian was oblivious to Molly's resentment. He instead shot a look at Eric's hand gripped on Molly's
arm,"Eric, this is my business. Not yours. Not anyone else's. Mine. My business."
Brian's cold words didn't throw Eric off one bit. He kept his easy smile, with an arm slung over Molly's
shoulder,"I don't care, Brian. My work here is done. I'm going to take Molly home now. Do whatever you
want."
Eric's eyes were gleaming with pride. He held on to Molly's stiff body.
She remained there because she wanted to ask Brian so many questions: What was Brian doing
there? Why would she be anywhere else? Why was he looking for her? How did he know about Justin?
But the question Molly wanted to ask the most was: Why was Brian looking for her when he was
already with Becky?
Molly shut her eyes, overwhelmed with sadness and bitterness. She hated that she felt so many things
for Brian. She hated that her heart was with Brian and the worst part was she didn't want it back. She
kept on pushing her limit again and again and again but never did she regret it.
"Come with me,"
Brian pleaded; his voice was soft but his eyes were sharp. He wouldn't take no for answer.
Molly looked at Brian in contempt, she wanted to tell him off so bad that she wasn't her property, that
she wasn't his to order around - she had wanted to do this for so long.
But, of course, she couldn't.
"Brian, let go of her." Eric's voice rung through the air. He always was good at dealing with Brian,
especially in front of a lot of people, their staff even. He was just messing around with Brian earlier but
seeing how Brian treated Molly, he was serious now. He really didn't want Brian to do anything with
Molly.
Brian didn't even flinch,"Are you coming with me or not?" Brian asked Molly for the second time.
Brian never took no as an answer, especially from Molly.
That was the last straw for Molly. She wriggled her hand free from Eric's grip and pushed Brian aside.
Brian blocked her with his arm - he was too strong for Molly, of course. Luckily, Eric was there who
helped her. She shot a glare at Brian.
Everyone pushed her away! Every single one of them!
From here on, Molly was cold and it would show in her eyes. She gritted her teeth, her chest was
heaving from breathing so heavily. She couldn't calm herself down no matter how hard she tried.
Suddenly, the air started to become suffocating. The chefs were now just staring at one another -
unsure of what to do. They had been working at A-Magic for the longest time and this wasn't their first
time to witness something like this. They knew how much drama went on behind the scenes of places
like this. But it was the rule of thumb that they act as if nothing was happening.
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