Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 244 An Involuntary Change (Part Two)

mayor, so if he saw an opportunity, he'd jump on it.

Edgar let out a gentle smile and didn't bother with an explanation. Let Bill wonder. He wasn't sure about everything right now, but he felt pretty positive that his little tricks over the years had finally irritated the man in the dark. Moreover, Jonny had appointed him as the Edgar wondered if the man in the dark had anything to do with Justin.

He looked up. His sharp eyes were concealed by his glasses.

Justin had been the commander of the battalion Steven had served back in the day. This wasn't like him, but he might be trying to get back at them. But why now, of all times?

In the hilltop villa

Brian got up early. It wasn't even sunup before he trudged into his study and started on XK Intelligence Agency's urgent business. By the time he was done, it was broad daylight. He massaged his forehead, between his eyebrows, and his eyes fell on Becky's picture, framed and sitting on the desk.

He still remembered how excited Molly had been when she first came to his study and saw this photo. Unfortunately, it hadn't aroused his curiosity and he hadn't noticed the likeness between them at that time. He did now. If he had, would he have found out the truth before Richie did?

Brian looked at Becky in the photo again. She smiled brilliantly, and her eyes were wonderfully expressive, in which he could always see a glimmer of hope. She could brighten a room when she walked in, and that was what drew Brian to her.

Molly was different than Becky. They were family. You could see it in their eyes, but Molly was weaker, more submissive. She simply accepted what happened to her, rather than actually doing something about it. Thinking about this depressed Brian. It bothered him that Molly said she loved him.

Humph!

It was a game, but she treated it way too seriously. 'Foolish girl!'

Brian swore quietly. The memory of Molly crying bitterly in his arms last night was fresh in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more irritable he got.

Brian suddenly tore his gaze from Becky's photo, stood up, and walked out of the den. As he hit the hallway, he unconsciously glanced at Molly's room, his bright eyes like black crystal. He stopped there for a time.

He pursed his lips and fought the impulse to go in and see Molly. He put his mind back on what he was doing and walked downstairs at a steady pace.

"Mr. Brian Long." Lisa was placing the breakfast on the table. "Coffee's ready. Are you eating breakfast at home?"

Brian cast a glance at the milk bottle on the table and then looked in the direction of the kitchen.

Lisa also looked back in the direction of the kitchen and said with a kindly smile, "Miss Xia isn't up yet."

Brian frowned at her words and asked in a cold voice, "Did I ask about her?"

Lisa was taken aback at first, but then laughed in her sleeve as she realized that Brian was stubborn and reluctant to admit it. But she wouldn't admit to him that she knew that -- she liked working too much to do that. She looked down and didn't answer.

Brian strolled over to the dinner table, sat down, and began to read the morning paper that Lisa prepared for him every day. Lisa went to the kitchen to bring the coffee she had just brewed to him. Then she left respectfully without disturbing him. That was the way he liked it. He liked the fact that Lisa just quietly gave him time to himself without being asked.

Brian scanned the newspaper. None of the headlines grabbed him just now, so he put the paper aside. He didn't know his face darkened.

Brian absent-mindedly picked up his coffee cup. Just as he was about to put it to his lips, he heard an annoying voice say, "You shouldn't drink coffee on an empty stomach". He frowned at the coffee cup in his hand and angrily raised it to his mouth.

"Okay. If you get a stomachache, then it's not my fault." Molly wasn't up yet, but her voice still rang in his head. She was always saying stupid things like that.

Brian's brows were scrunched together. He didn't mess around with the coffee cup any further. He looked down at the steaming coffee there. Finally, he put the cup aside, and his eyes fell on the milk in front of him.

Since when did he care what Molly thought?

Brian stared at the bottle of milk, lost in thought. After a long while, he snapped out of it and looked upstairs. Strangely, it was still quiet up there. Although he almost never stayed in the villa in the morning, he knew that Molly wasn't fond of sleep and usually rose early. It was unusual to see her still asleep at this hour. At the thought, Brian stood up without the least hesitation and walked upstairs. He didn't even know what he was doing. It was just a natural response.

Standing at the door of Molly's room, Brian remembered that it took a Herculean effort for her to stop crying last night. Brian pressed his lips together and turned the knob.

Molly slept like a log. The creaky door did nothing to wake her. She didn't even stir. With knitted brows, Brian strode forward and stopped beside the bed, looking down at her. Molly breathed evenly. She slept on her stomach because her buttocks were sore. Her face was sideways, but her cheeks, which should be white, were unhealthily red.

Now, he was a bit worried. Brian bent down instinctively and extended his long fingers to feel her cheek and get a benchmark temperature. It was burning hot! "Get up, Molly. You're sick," Brian said in a cold, angry voice.

"Hmm..." snorted Molly. She winced uneasily, contracting her brows. She was still sleepy.

Looking at the girl, Brian was distressed and angry. He muttered, "Look how weak you are! You get sick a lot. You really need to take better care of yourself."

Brian picked up the phone and called the doctor. He didn't realize that he was the one who made Molly so ill. He wouldn't. He rarely considered what effect he had on other people. It was stress that laid her low. She had no idea who she was, who her family was, and that bothered her more than anything. And stress does funny things to a body. Insomnia, headaches, no appetite, body aches, and yes, even fever if the stress is intense enough. She needed a respite from all of it, and Brian was no good at providing that.