Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 206 Secret Trading At Auctions (Part Two)

It wasn't the first time she'd seen him immersed in work, but somehow, today he looked appealing even when Molly had no idea what he was doing.

Brian was having a technical discussion with another person on screen, nothing of which made sense to Molly. But she felt the man's domineering spirit just by the way he talked.

His profile was beautiful, Molly noted, as she stared at him thoughtfully. It was like a sculptor's masterpiece, perfectly presented.

Initially, she occasionally stole glances at Brian. Then she couldn't control herself and became fixated with his face. And Molly didn't even realize what she was doing.

He knew Molly was staring at him but ignored it. Brian focused on Harrow's face on the computer screen as he continued to give orders related to their discussion. More than an hour later, he ended the video call and suddenly turned to look at Molly. She felt more than saw Brian's sharp and cold eyes on her and snapped out of her illusions. Molly blushed with embarrassment and hurriedly tried to defend herself. "I... I wasn't staring at you!" she stammered.

'All right! That was a lie, and you know it, ' Molly paused to think.

"No, I mean I was looking at you because..." she wanted to cry.

She'd just confessed to the man and didn't know how to get out of the embarrassing situation.

Molly covered her face with her hands and bit her lips in shame. What had she said?

Brian was now staring at Molly, fascinated by her facial expressions that changed by the second. Now, it was a mixture of chagrin and innocence.

His lips curved into a small, unobtrusive smile. Teasingly, he asked, "Did I say something?"

Molly opened her mouth to say something then closed it.

Flustered, she blinked repeatedly. She was at a loss for words. Brian was right. He hadn't said anything, yet why was she so anxious?

"I...uhm...I..." she stammered.

There was no reasonable excuse to explain her behavior, so she opted to resort to anger. It should help cover up the awkwardness she felt. "Never you mind! It's none of your business!"

Brian hid a smile, slightly wrinkled his brow and stood up. Loudly, he ordered,"Go get changed."

"Why? Where are we going?" Molly asked petulantly.

There was no way he would change her bad mood, she thought.

"We're having dinner."

"Well, I'm not hungry," she glared at him.

"But I am!" he shot back.

The cold tone indicated he wanted no argument.

"But my ankle is still aching," Molly nearly shouted.

Suddenly, she realized that Brian treated her better now than he did in the past, so she nearly forgot how cruel he could be. Molly also momentarily forgot her role in Brian's life. Did she really behave like a woman with him, at times petulant and unreasonable? Did he tolerate her bad manners now? His attitude was baffling.

To show displeasure with her behavior, Brian used to look at her with fierce eyes. Now he was waiting for the anger to kick in but felt nothing. He decided he preferred the lovely girl expressing her true feelings rather than the one who pretended to be polite and obedient. He didn't say anything else but continued staring at Molly with a slight smile. Other people often saw this as coldness and would unconsciously agree with his demands. But Molly didn't give in easily.

He couldn't help but be impressed by the woman.

'Molly, you are still to young to disobey me, 'Brian thought.

Struggling under Brian's cold gaze took too much energy, so Molly finally agreed to get changed. Her ankle was only slightly twisted, but it no longer hurt after Brian's ministrations. Despite the slight swelling and minor discomfort, she was able to walk by herself. Inside her bedroom, Molly picked out a skirt from her extensive wardrobe, all courtesy of Brian. He had given orders to bring a lot of clothes suitable for Molly, including the underwear and coats she would need. Inspecting her closet, she admitted Brian was very generous to his 'plaything'. After selecting her clothes, she looked at herself in the mirror. Hair tied in a ponytail, a cute flower clip was a perfect match for the pink and white skirt. A hanging shirt also revealed her alabaster shoulders. On her beautiful neck was the necklace given by Eric.

Molly held up the shell adorning her neck and looked at it with fondness. Each time she touched the necklace, it would always remind her of Eric's face with his cheeky grin.

Holding on to it warmed her heart.

She took a deep breath, turned around and walked out of the room. Brian watched Molly come out of the room. Her beauty was breathtaking, he thought. Then he noticed the necklace, and his expression changed. His face suddenly darkened with displeasure. But he never said a word.

At dinner, Molly sensed an awkwardness in Brian, and she felt uncomfortable. While he did act weird and could be unpredictable most of the time, his behavior now was baffling more than ever. He was in a good mood before she got dressed. And for a moment, when she stepped out of her room, he was fascinated. But quite suddenly, his look turned sullen. He stared at her as if she owed him millions, Molly thought.

The cold look never left his face, and he always inadvertently turned to stare at the shell hanging around her neck.

If memory served him right, Eric held that same shell last night.

So, Eric had given her the necklace! When he thought about this, Brian's face became even more gloomy.

His sullen attitude upset Molly. She didn't know what caused Brian's sudden displeasure and was not interested to replace out the reason behind it. All she could think of was the man was probably "schizophrenic", and she had no idea what caused his moods or behavior to change.

Secretly, Molly was complaining about the situation, so she didn't notice a man staring at her from afar.

More specifically, he was staring at the shell hanging around her neck.

A ringing phone suddenly broke the uneasy atmosphere between the two. Brian, with his face still impassive, answered his phone. "What is it?" he asked the caller.

"Brian, there's an auction tonight. Are you interested?" It was Eric on the other end of the line, the source of his displeasure. "It's a Supreme Auction that's only held once a year."

Excitedly he shared, "And I heard there a plenty of valuable things up for bidding!"

Brian didn't answer. He kept staring at Molly, who was using her fork to poke at the steak. With her head down, she appeared to be murdering the piece of meat. His eyes narrowed as he continued to watch her and asked, "You were there yesterday, weren't you?" "But I didn't see anything interesting yesterday," Eric explained.

"Tonight's auction, however, is different from the one yesterday," he said, while smiling.

"I heard there's a bracelet at tonight's auction, which makes a pair with Aunt Shirley's. These two bracelets are engraved with mandarin duck patterns*", he revealed.

(*TN: The mandarin duck symbolizes the love between a husband and wife)"

"Really?" Brian rolled his eyes, unimpressed.

"Are you sure that the bracelet matches that of Shirley's?" he inquired, slightly curious.

"Hahaha!" Eric gave a loud chuckle.

"Why would I be calling you now if I wasn't sure about the information?" he replied. 0000000