"Why are you just coming home now?" Brian asked flatly. Even though he knew very well that Molly
asked to get off John's car from somewhere near the villa and asked if she could walk back alone.
During that walk, Molly talked to Spark who had been following her.
"I was looking for a job," Molly said calmly, "You said I just need to be here at night."
Brian turned his head to look at her. She was surprisingly calm at that moment. He frowned and said,
"Molly, is this how it's going to be now?"
Molly clenched her hands into fists, turned back, and spat, "My attitude depends on how you treat me. I
don't owe you anything now and if it wasn't for Spark and all those other people, do you think I'd
willingly be here?"
Her harsh words hurt Brian. He saw how apathetic Molly had become. He wore a twisted smile and
said indifferently, "In that case, I suggest you behave in such a way that will please me because
otherwise, I wouldn't have a choice but make them miserable."
The corners of Molly's lips twitched but she managed to hold her tongue in. She loosened her clenched
hands and said, "I'm going upstairs to change."
As soon as Molly turned around, the door flew open - it was Lucy. She looked at Molly quickly then
back at Brian, "Mr. Brian Long!"
"Yes?"
"I'm launching my first art exhibition the day after tomorrow, would you..." Lucy trailed off, hesitating for
a moment before continuing, "like to see it?"
Brian saw in Lucy's eyes how much she was expecting he'd be there but he still refused her, "No," he
continued, "But Lisa and John can have a day off then."
Lucy shifted from being disappointed to happiness, "Mr. Brian Long, thank you so much. Well, if you
don't want anything else, I'll be going now." Lucy walked out extremely satisfied. When she closed the
door; she slowly turned around, looked behind, and started walking. A twisted smile could be clearly
seen on her face - a complete turn from the childish face she put on for Brian.
Molly changed her clothes and went out without having lunch first. She just said that she wanted to find
a job soon. But in reality, she just didn't want to be at the villa a second longer.
Lisa put down the bowl of soup that she was holding. When seeing that Brian was eating alone again,
she sighed and walked away. Brian didn't go out that afternoon. He was standing in front of the window
in his study that faced the gate where he could see Molly leaving.
"Knock, knock!" someone called from behind the door.
"Come in," Brian said.
Tony let himself in and said, "Mr. Brian Long, Mrs. Molly Long is being followed."
"Do you know who it is?"
"More than one group of people," Tony frowned, "At least three different groups."
Brian frowned and thought, 'Besides those who were fighting against the Empire, is the parliament also
interested in us?' So he asked, "What about the Parliament?"
"No, they're very quiet for the moment," Tony answered but they both knew very well what that meant -
a big storm was coming.
"If so, then just let them follow her," Brian said as he stared outside, "And remove our people."
"Mr. Brian?" Tony was confused.
Brian was silent for a long while before finally speaking, "If they knew that we were secretly protecting
her then things are going to be worse."
Tony sighed lightly. Before, Mr. Brian's weakness was Miss Becky but right now, he had a bigger one -
Molly.
"How about Eric?"
"Mr. Eric's already arranged everything. The National Congress is still under the control of the Chief
Commissioner for the time being," Tony paused then said with a serious look on his face, "Mr. Eric said
that we should be suspicious of everyone."
"Well, it's always good to be prepared," Ever since that day he returned from Becky's apartment, Eric's
been mad at him - treating him like an enemy, shooting him dirty looks.
"Mr. Brian," Tony couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you just tell Eric directly?"
"He's mad at me right now, people will think we're weak and then become arrogant and careless -
sooner or later, they'll slip up," Brian said absentmindedly as he continued to stare out the window,
watching Molly move at a turtle's pace, "No matter how good of an actor Eric is, he can't just be
pretending in front of me."
Tony just kept looking at Brian, feeling sympathy for him. He was taking too much responsibility on his
shoulders. Even if no one understood him or even if everyone judged him, he wouldn't care. He could
only imagine what Brian was feeling right now. Despite the obvious hurt inside, he remained his cold
and hard exterior.
When night fell, Molly didn't have dinner or even saw Brian when she came back. She just went back to
her room and spent the rest of the night shut in there. Brian was still standing in front of the window of
his study shrouded in a thick cloud of cigarette smoke.
A buzzing sound came so he put out his cigarette and picked up the phone.
"How's Mark?"
"He just woke up," Shirley said in a low voice, "He's very well-behaved and just asked one question."
"That's good."
"Bri..."
"Yes?"
Shirley was silent for a moment before speaking, "Are you hurting now?"
"…" Brian paused, "Shirley, I'm going to find a way out of this for the sake of Mark. He's a ticking time
bomb and I'm afraid..." His voice was shaking and didn't continue his sentence anymore.
"I know you're just trying to protect her but aren't you afraid that Molly's just going to end up
disappointed in you? What if she falls in love with someone else?" Shirley knew very well just how
much Brian loved Molly and she didn't want to see him get hurt.
Brian's eyes dimmed, "If she does, I'll make sure to destroy whoever that will be." He may have
sounded tough on the phone but there was fear in his eyes - something even he himself couldn't
understand.
With the lights off, Molly was curled up on the bed.
She was grimacing as if she was having a nightmare. She wanted to wake up but it was as if her
nightmare was trapping her inside her brain. She held Mark's favorite stuffed Winnie Bear as tightly as
she would, whispering something constantly.
Suddenly, the door of Molly's room flew open. A man came in and sat down by her bedside. He gazed
at her for a while. In his hands was a small box. He opened it and took out a needle.
He gently held Molly's arm and raised the syringe. The silver of the needle glowed under the moonlight.
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