"Come, I'll drive you." Molly looked at Brian with her swollen, red eyes.
She couldn't make up her mind.
Maybe, it was because of how sad Spark had sounded or maybe it was just Brian's offer altogether.
Molly remained still, biting her lips hesitantly. Her mind was one big mess as if she was playing a game
that she didn't know the rules to. Every time she tried to get a win, she only sank deeper, her hands
empty.
Spark winced when he heard Brian's overbearing voice over the phone. It was unspoken of but the war
had already begun. Brian was obviously trying to get his message across to Spark: Molly was his,
disrupting her heart simultaneously. Killing two birds with one stone, huh.
"I'll wait for you," Spark said, hanging up the phone before Molly could answer back. "Tony's going to
pick up Mark and you're going to the hospital," Brian said right away.
Breaking his promise to Mark was the last thing Brian wanted to do but he didn't want Mark to see
Molly like that - desperate and miserable.
And that's what Brian did: he sent Molly to the hospital. It was quite an odd relationship if one took a
good look: Molly was sad and disheveled while Brian was calm and sharp as a tack.
Brian didn't come in with Molly when they got to the hospital, "I'll wait for you here," he said as he
remained seated in the car.
Molly didn't expect that. She looked at Brian, bemused. Brian sat still, "What? You want me to be there
while you talk divorce with Spark? No thanks."
Molly merely twitched her lips in disbelief as a response before getting off the car.
When Molly closed the door, she kept her eyes fixed on Brian or at least where he was supposed to be
because she couldn't actually see him through the heavily-tinted windows. She lingered for a while
before turning around and walking towards the hospital. If Molly was being honest about it, she was
actually grateful that Brian chose not to come in with her. She was grateful for the privacy. When he
had first offered to drive for her, she thought that it was just his way of controlling her or teasing her,
either way. But she realized now that she was just overthinking it.
Brian watched as Molly's figure disappeared into the hospital entrance, murmuring to himself, "Molly, I
have a lot of making up to do to Mark. I had to break my promise to him for you to be here but that's
okay; it doesn't matter; it's worth the extra effort because I won't leave you alone in all of this."
Brian nestled in his seat, gazing outside the window. The leaves that pranced along the ground
boasted a bright, fresh green as if it had just sprouted. If leaves could get a new start, could he and
Molly have one too?
Meanwhile, Molly had just asked where Spark's room was and had walked into the elevator. Spark was
more commonly referred to by his first and not his surname which in fact, made things easier.
Molly grew more nervous as she neared his ward. For a while, she even found it hard to breathe.
Ding!
The elevator door opened; she was here. She collected herself for a bit before walking out. The closer
she became to his ward, the heavier her steps became.
When she finally reached the door, she raised her hand to knock but froze in air; her knuckles refused
to touch the door. She tried to peep through the window but it was shining too brightly - making her
even more flustered than she already was.
Just as she was delaying her going in, the door suddenly flew open. It was Manny.
While Manny was still angry at Molly, he also knew that Molly did what she did for a reason. He put
aside his anger and let her in, "Spark's waiting for you." He grumbled as he walked past her to leave.
Even though he tried to hide it, Molly could still detect his anger over her which made her feel guilty.
She silently opened the door and walked in.
"You're here, " Spark said, forcing a smile that was more bitter than happy. He was still running with a
fever after all. He looked ashen and tired; his lips were parched, and his face sullen.
Molly nodded, her eyes poring over Spark, "You... It's just a fever?"
"What do you think?" Spark grimaced. "It was raining so hard that night and I didn't take good care of
myself so I got a fever. How about you? Are you alright?"
Molly nodded her head to say that she was okay as she moved forward. After four years together,
you'd think that they would know each other so well that they didn't have to say a word for them to
understand each other. But that was gone now - they were living in a different time and they were just
strangers now.
Silence filled the room. Spark relished the peaceful quiet while Molly was figuring out how to talk about
what she had come here for.
"Mol," Spark started to talk, trying to save the moment from being awkward, "How about you? How are
you? Are you okay?"
'I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come back to me, But as soon as I said, it just changed, ' Spark's
mind was racing. He didn't know what he was expecting and he couldn't get his mind and mouth to
cooperate with one another - he was too nervous. There was no way Molly would leave Mark just to be
with him and there was no way that Brian would ever let go of Molly.
"I... I'm alright," Molly said meekly.
Was she really? Maybe.
Once again, the room sank into silence. Spark was still a little bit woozy from being sick and
heartbroken at the same time. He stared at Molly, wishing he could talk to her like before but that was
long in the past, they could never go back now. When she left him for Brian yesterday, everything had
changed. They were just familiar strangers - perhaps, the most familiar strangers.
"Are we... Are we still friends?" Spark asked sourly.
This jolted Molly to look at Spark. Her nose twitched as if she was going to regret what she was going
to say. But she managed to control her tears, "Spark, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry."
"Don't say sorry..." Eventually, Molly wasn't able to hold it in anymore. She burst into tears while
Spark's eyes were also red from crying. He extended his hand to wipe off Molly's tears, "Don't cry. I
don't want to see you cry. I just want you to be happy. I only want to see you happy."
But his solace only made Molly cry harder. She pushed Spark's hand aside, stepped back, and
whispered, "Don't be so nice to me. I don't deserve it. Spark, I know you're not happy. You can hate me
all you want. It's my fault, anyway. I cheated you, I made you look stupid. The gossips on the internet
were right. I should have known this would all happen as soon as I saw Brian again. But I still gave you
my promise. I'm a bad person."
Molly was still sobbing, "The whole time I knew that you did nothing but stood by me. Even the day I
went to see Brian. But I just took you for granted. This is my fault. If I wasn't so selfish, I wouldn't have
made you those promises that I knew I was gonna break, then you never would have expected so
much for me and you wouldn't get hurt and you wouldn't have gotten hospitalized. It's all my fault."
"No, it's not your fault," Spark said as he pulled Molly into his arms. Molly tried to struggle free, but
even being sick, Spark was still stronger than her. He was holding her so tight he must have been
using all his strength, "Molly, don't be so hard on yourself. You're not a bad person, okay? You're not."
"That's not true. I am!" Molly cried harder into Spark's arms, "It's all my fault, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
"Please, Molly, please, don't say that anymore, stop saying that..." Tears streamed down Spark's face.
He frowned woefully. His arrogance was all gone; now he looked all wretched and forlorn. Teeth gritted
with determination, he said in a low voice, "Even if you rejected me at the beginning, I would still fall in
love with you. Love wouldn't dissipate just for objection." Spark couldn't control himself anymore, his
tears wouldn't stop falling. He thought long ago that his ability to love had died along with his mother.
For all those years, he never shed a single tear. But Molly made him believe that he could love again.
Her apology and how hard she was beating herself over it broke his heart. He consoled her, "Molly,
when you love someone, you always devote your heart and soul to it. Since I've known you, I've loved
you and I've given everything I have to you. It doesn't matter if you accept it or not because that doesn't
change anything. I love you. I still love you."
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda