Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 533 I Only Did It For You (Part Three)

She held back from stomping her foot, but snarled at him, "Eric, you're really infuriating!" Molly almost hit the roof because of his malicious behavior. "Are you happy when you see me feeling terrible?"

"Why would I feel that?" Eric shot back. He quickly shed the reserved look and focused his eyes intently on Molly. Eric watched her flinch at his serious gaze and then enunciated each of his next words. "Little Molly, I was sincere when I said all those things to you. I'm no longer the same person I was before. What I feel for you isn't just because I like to compete with Brian. If you feel horrible, I will be sorry for you. If you feel sad, it will break my heart. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

His sudden confession took Molly by surprise. She forced a small smile as she stammered with her reply. "You... I... Don't say that to me," she appealed.

"What then should I say?" Eric asked coldly. "Molly, I have more than just a terrible crush on you, and I'm very serious about my feelings for you."

It was all so confusing for Molly. Her heart and mind were a mess. She felt as if her thoughts were a ball of yarn that a playful kitten tangled up. Her eyes went blank, and she now didn't know what to say or how to act. But subconsciously, Molly wanted to resist Eric like she did Brian.

Before she could snap out of her trance, Eric's face loomed in front of Molly's and terrified her. She screamed and tried to back away from him but ended up pressing herself tightly against the back of the sofa. Eric leaned even closer, so she had no way to escape. The only choice she had was to push her hands against his chest.

Disappointment filled Eric's eyes. As he stared at Molly, the look in his eyes changed dramatically. Eventually, he opened his mouth and spoke in a tone full of resentment. "What is so special about you? Why did I fall in love with a woman as ordinary as you?" The hands on his chest slackened. Molly bit her lips and looked into his eyes with a blank stare. Spitefully, Eric said, "I should never have fallen in love with you. Do you know that I..." He stopped in mid-sentence. But his eyes never wavered as he stared at Molly and finished what he was saying in his mind, 'I didn't wish to fall in love with you at all!'

Sensing Molly's anxiety, Eric sneered and pulled away from her. As he turned back, his eyes clashed with Brian's sharp gaze. The expression on his face immediately relaxed, and he greeted his cousin casually, "Brian!"

Startled by Brian's sudden appearance, Molly quickly pulled herself together and adjusted herself on the sofa. With tight lips and a nervous look, she resembled a wife caught red-handed cheating on her husband.

He glanced at her with disinterest and then turned to Eric, and said in a clipped tone, "Come upstairs with me!"

Without waiting for a reply, Brian headed towards the stairs. Eric paused and told Molly, "Wait for me here. I want to take you to see someone." Then he followed Brian up the stairs.

She watched the cousins walk into the study and shut the door behind them. Molly now had time to ponder Eric's words earlier, and suddenly felt as if on pins and needles. Molly never imagined Eric falling in love with her, but he did sound serious when he expressed his affection for her.

Inside the study...

Eric sat opposite Brian, as casually as if nothing happened earlier. With a careless tone, he asked, "You held the press conference not to clear Molly's name but to claim 'ownership' of her, right?"

Brian was tight-lipped and did not move.

Grinning broadly, Eric extended his arms and leaned on the table and again tried to fan the flames. "I felt bored while waiting for you, so I had an intimate talk with Little Molly."

His cousin refused to rise to the bait. Instead, Brian let his fingers dance over the keyboard. It was unfortunate that he walked in just as Eric confessed his feelings for Molly. And he knew his cousin was not kidding this time.

Eric tried a different tact to solicit a reaction. "I bet you held the press conference for Mark's sake! Am I right?" he prodded.

This time, Brian reacted to his statement. His fingers stopped typing and his eyebrows slightly knitted.

His cousin responded with an arrogant laugh. Eric grabbed a pen from the table and started twirling it in his fingers. "Little Molly seemed somewhat disappointed when I told her that." Brian's head snapped to look at Eric.

But he decided to change the topic of conversation instead. "Is there any issue in QY Island?" he asked glumly. He didn't want to talk about Molly. It was clear to him what Eric's purpose was for saying those things to Molly. He deliberately misled the woman about Brian's intentions because he was aware his cousin would never bother to explain things to her.

Inside, Brian was secretly laughing, although outwardly, his eyes had darkened. Eric's words only served to confuse Molly and make her misunderstand him again. But the only reason it muddled her feelings was because Molly never bared her heart to Brian even as she kept resisting him. Otherwise, why else would she be suspicious of his motives no matter what Eric said?

Deciding to focus on business first, Eric said, "Something is wrong with our project." The primary reason why he was at the villa was because of the urgent matter in QY Island. He knew that the only way to provide Molly with strong support was to be powerful enough to compete with Brian. "Word from the Shadow Organization is that someone intends to target our entertainment center," Eric reported.

His cousin slowly leaned back against his chair. It seemed that Brian's suspicions that morning had been confirmed. 'Humph. I knew he'd showed up in our casino intentionally to get our attention."

Eric eyed him carefully, trying to piece together the puzzle. "You mean this matter is related to that man who made a hit in your casino in Las Vegas?" He had heard about that incident and the culprit behind it.

"Probably," Brian replied without reaction. "The Grand Night in QY Island started its soft opening. I'll be going there one of these days," he told Eric.

"Let me go with you," Eric offered eagerly. 000000