Shawn agreed reluctantly.
Brian gave Shawn a few last minute reminders before hanging up. That was only when Brian picked up
his phone to call Molly back.
When Molly picked up the call, she didn't say a word. Brian asked in a low voice, "What's up?"
"Brian, go online. See it for yourself," Molly burst into tears before she could finish. She didn't really
care about anything else - she was just feeling too harassed and dejected. While she partially didn't
mind being called so many names by other people - she was already used to self-hatred - what
bothered her were all the made-up rumors that people were believing to be true. They were saying she
had an affair with Spark and that she had left him for Brian. She didn't sound like a very good person in
that version of the story.
Brian frowned when he heard Molly's voice shaking and crying over the phone. He'd never heard Molly
like this before even if she was always down. Brian went on his computer to look for what Molly was
talking about. He skimmed through the post briefly after which he said coldly, "You are not the other
woman."
He hung up the phone right away without another word.
Tony could see that Brian was furious. He had a dark and ominous look on his face. Tony tried to sneak
a glance at his computer screen but it was too far away for him to see clearly. But one thing Tony was
sure about was that this was definitely about Molly.
Still looking as menacing as before, Brian read through the comments - the same ones that Molly had
just read. Even as Brian was reading, the comments and views were just getting higher and higher.
Brian's face darkened and proceeded to type a few commands and codes. Once he pressed enter, the
website had frozen and so had all the other websites that republished the story.
While his face looked calm, his eyes looked livid. Without turning to Tony, Brian said, "Choose a place
and tell all of the presses in A City that I'm holding a press conference."
A bit shocked, Tony opened his mouth as if to say something but decided against it. He immediately
went on to do just as what Brian had ordered.
***
Manny was, meanwhile, still at the hospital.
Manny was fuming as looked through page after page. In his mind, he was cursing whoever was
behind this. When Manny had just clicked on another page to go to, a website error occurred. He tried
to click again but to no avail.
"They've started hacking," Manny mumbled as he slammed his laptop closed. He turned his glance
towards Spark who was looking at him with empty eyes in his bed. Manny said, "Spark? Are you up?"
"..." Spark licked his lips - he could feel his head was about to explode. Manny immediately stood up to
get a cup of water for Spark. He went over to Spark and reached out his arm to support Spark as he
drank the water.
"What were you watching just now?" Spark asked when his dry throat felt a bit better.
Manny's eyes twinkled as if it was about to give something away but he quickly waved Spark off,
"Nothing! Just some gossip."
Spark didn't ask any more questions as he stared at Manny with his deep eyes. "I'm hungry..." he
croaked.
"Oh," Manny said, having not thought about that. "I'm going to buy porridge for you or maybe some
soup. The doctor said you should keep a light diet for the next few days," Manny said.
"Mhm," Spark said lightly but his eyes had just turned darker. If Molly was here, she would have known
to make porridge or soup for him. He had gotten so used to that kind of life - the life that he had been
living for the past four years - that he had forgotten that he had lived liked this his whole life. Much
longer than the four years he had spent with Molly.
Manny took one last look at Spark, sighing before going to buy his food.
Spark turned his head to look out the window and watched the gloomy weather. It felt like he was
watching his mind. He had been so downcast and he didn't know if he would ever feel better again.
Whether he was asleep or awake, all his mind could think of was Molly: Molly smiling, Molly angry,
Molly crying, anything Molly. His mind wouldn't stop thinking of Molly so he had nowhere else to hide.
"Mol..." Spark mumbled to himself, "How are you doing now?"
Only silence could be heard. A flash of pain and bitterness flashed across his tired eyes.
Soon, Manny was back with food which Spark didn't eat much of. After a while, a doctor came in to
check on Spark. He examined him and found that his fever had gone down a bit but his body
temperature was still 38 degrees. The doctor advised him to get lots of rest and to drink lots of water.
"Nanny," Spark's voice sounded soft and weak, "Does Daniel know that we're here?"
Manny kept his eyes fixed on Spark - he could tell that Spark just really wanted to ask about Molly. He
answered, "You just fainted out of nowhere yesterday so I didn't have the time to tell Daniel,"
Spark grimaced in response, not saying another word. He was lying on his bed looking frail as ever.
After a few moments, he reached for the remote control on his bedside table to turn on the television,
just flipping through channels casually.
"Now we're standing at the spot where Mr. Brian Long has chosen to hold his press conference. Mr.
Brian Long is the owner of the Grand Night Casino. This is going to be the first press conference that
Brian will hold since he's settled into A City. No word has been released on what exactly the press
conference is about. Some speculations say this is about the recent news that broke out about Spark
and his other woman, Xia. 'Extremely Crazy' posted the news this morning and is now currently frozen
due to a hostile hacking attack. Now, the press conference will start in ten minutes. Mr. Brian
announced this conference just a few…"
As the reporter spoke matter-of-factly, Spark's face turned even paler than it already was. Manny was
too shocked that he forgot to respond.
"What happened?" Spark asked, wheezing, "What post? It involves me and Molly? What's happening?"
When Manny was finally able to gather himself, he looked downright upset. He tried to avoid details as
much as possible as he told Spark about the news. Spark's eyes turned bloody red when the TV
screen showed Brian arriving at the press conference.
"Molly Xia is not a third Party. It's I who stepped in other people's relationship." Hearing Brian's striking
words, all the media present exploded.
***
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