"Molly, you stay here,"
Brian ordered.
His words stopped everyone's steps, especially that of Becky's and Eric's.
Becky turned her head back in reflex despite her vision loss, whereas Eric just gaped at Molly.
The atmosphere instantly turned heavy. Harrow and Tony exchanged looks. Harrow was enjoying the
show, while Tony put on a solemn look.
Wing looked at Brian, then at Molly. At last, she glanced around and said, "Let's go."
She took the lead to step outside, followed by Harrow, Tony and the medical staff. But three people
remained still -- Eric, Becky and Molly.
Becky clenched her fists inside the sleeves of her hospital dress with a sneering smile, not sure herself
if it was directed at others, or at herself. She stiffly turned around and walked out, telling herself again
and again that she must put up with all these things.
Eric kept his eyes on Molly. He had not moved at all since the moment Brian had asked her to stay.
Eric's face was less playful now, and more mature and serious. Deep down, he was hoping, 'Little
Molly, don't stay.'
Molly looked at the exhausted Brian. Her heart overflowed with guilt when she thought back to what
had happened in the Phoenix Mountain. She was awake on the way back. And her heart was torn apart
at the sight of Brian who was unconscious with blood at the corner of his mouth.
She remembered him saying, 'I won't let you get injured. Do you believe in me?'
And he delivered on his promise both times. He protected her. But in doing so, he wounded himself,
and this time it was even more serious.
Molly stared affectionately at Brian. A few seconds later, her eyes began to feel heavy with tears. She
blinked, then said, "I'm a bit tired. You need some rest too."
Molly turned around, trying not to think about what had happened that night when Brian had been
undergoing the surgery for the wound to his left shoulder. The operation got tricky because the
previous wound hadn't recovered yet. The doctor said that Brian had almost lost his left arm to
necrosis. And that was because he took all the bumps and bruises to protect her, putting himself in a
dangerous situation.
Molly winked, eyes teaming with tears. She was just about to step outside the ward when Brian
grabbed one of her arms.
She turned back and saw Brian's gloomy look. She gaped at him for a few seconds before she
regained her poise and howled, "Brian, are you crazy? "
How could he just grasp her with the hand which had the IV drip line? His abrupt move turned Molly's
face pale. She hastily turned back in an attempt to call the nurse. Yet the moment she tried to move,
she was pulled back again and Brian ordered, "Eric, you get out."
Eric's eyes had become dim. He didn't move, but he was composed. He said, "Brian, Little Molly has
barely slept over the past three days. Her eyes were affected by the flash bomb. Don you want her to
become blind like Becky?"
Brian scowled at Eric, who still had his eyes on Molly. He said coldly, "What is the use of all these
doctors here, if she loses her sight just because of a flash bomb?"
Eric was running out of excuses and he turned to look at Brian. With a small smile, Eric replied, "You
just woke up. You better get some rest. If Uncle Richie sees that your injury is serious, he will be mad
at you. But well, if you don't care about it, then just do what you want."
Brian frowned, peered at Eric with his sharp black eyes, like he was trying to see through him. It was
only after a while that he slowly said, "Eric, isn't this what you wanted to see?"
Brian's question may have been vague to others, but Eric knew exactly what he was talking about. In
response, Eric put on a real smile and said roguishly, "Men change, don't they? Brian, you changed. So
did I."
"Then let's see who the winner is going to be," Brian challenged him openly and finished their
discussion.
Eric wheeled out of the ward with a very different look than before. When he passed by Molly, he curled
his lips into a sinister smile as if he was a leopard ready to catch his prey.
The only ones left at the ward now were Molly and Brian. Brian locked the door, closed the blinds, then
said grimly to Molly, "I told you to stay. Why did you try to leave?"
Molly looked at Brian's arm from which he had stripped off the intravenous drip line. She choked, "Do
you want to die? If you want to die, please don't die in front of me. Let me leave, then you can do
whatever you want."
Brian looked at her sobbing face, smiled, then said sluggishly, "I won't die.
Worse injuries haven't managed to kill me. This is nothing."
That being said, Molly's guilty look really cheered up Brian. He extended his hand to brush through her
hair, he gazed at her ashen face and her bloodshot eyes. He frowned and admonished her, "What
about you? You should get some rest too after going through that experience with the flash bomb. Or
don't you want your eyes?"
Her eyes?
That topic stung her. She stiffened, then pushed him away and stepped back.
Her move turned Brian's eyes deep and icy. He sneered, "Molly, are you pushing me away now?"
Molly pressed her lips together, her eyes on Brian's bleak look. She shook her head, then answered in
a hoarse voice, " Bri, how about you lie on the bed now? I will call the nurse over."
"There's no need for that." Brian was getting enraged by Molly's continuous rejection. But when he
noticed her look of plea, he compromised, "If you lie with me, I will get on the bed and have some rest."
"But..." Molly hesitated.
"Eric said that you barely got any rest these past three days," Brian said while leading Molly to the bed.
He pushed her down. Together with her, Brian also lay on the bed, "I'll sleep with you."
Molly blushed. She struggled to get up, but Brian stopped her with a cold warning, "You can struggle,
but I won't let you go. Remember, I have an injury on my shoulder."
Molly glanced at Brian's left shoulder. She saw blood stains on the gown.
She lay still on the bed meekly. Brian put on a victorious smile, held her in his arms, and covered
themselves with the quilt.
Snow was falling outside like little elves dancing in the air.
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