Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 626 Undying Love (Part Two)

Biting her lip, Molly blinked to hold back the tears. Her eyes, even in misery, seemed to shine brighter because of the moonlight. After a deep breath, she managed to say, "Good night."

She continued to walk, grasping her phone so tightly that she could break it at any minute. With all her might, she tried not to look back. Only when she was in front of the house, did she let out a sigh of relief.

Brian stared at her longingly until she was out of sight. He withdrew his gaze from the direction where she left, and began to look around again in the backyard. He checked the lawn for anything that might be out of place, and when he found nothing, he decided to leave too.

The moon dimmed on the now vacant backyard. Not far from where Molly had been standing, a pale blue light could be detected. A ring was sitting on a leaf of grass. A round of mild wind gushed it off and it dropped onto the ground, concealed by the high grass. Morning arrived in wake of the sun's ascendancy into the crimson sky. Birds chirped, signaling the start of an early day.

Molly rolled out of bed early. She went into the dining room and saw that Brian wasn't downstairs for breakfast yet. She sat quietly at the table. Lisa poured her a glass of milk. As soon as she raised the glass, Brian's bedroom door was open. He was up and coming downstairs. She drank the milk in one go, determined not to utter a single word to him. She left as soon as she came. Brian stood on the stairs and watched her leave the room.

"Good morning, Mr. Brian Long." Lisa greeted him as soon as he came to the dining room. She poured him a glass of milk. "Today is Mrs. Long's first day at work," she reminded with a smile.

Brian didn't respond. He sat down, pulled up the financial newspaper and started to read, sipping some milk from time to time.

His indifference discouraged her. Taking the hint, Lisa sighed and left the man alone in the dining room.

As soon as he was done with breakfast, Brian decided it was time to leave for work. He was greeted by Tony who was parked in front of the house. Secretly, he wished he would cross paths with his wife on the road. Maybe it was fate. Maybe someone decided to grant his unspoken request. An accident obstructed the usual road they took to Emp Stock Exchange, and Tony had to go another direction. As it turned out, it happened to go past the building where Sasha Music Troupe was.

When they passed the building, Brian put down the files that he was reading and looked outside. He watched it as they drew closer, searched for a familiar face in the nearby streets, and gave up once they drifted farther from the building. The moment he looked away and returned to his files, a bus stopped in front of the building. The person who had been on his mind, Molly, got off the bus.

Molly's commute from the villa took her a while to get to work. She had to walk a long distance down the hill before getting to the nearest bus station. Despite leaving the house early, the tiring and long commute barely allowed her to make it on time.

"Sorry, sir," she apologized, "I'm late." Molly was panting as she stood in front of The Troupe Head. It was her first day, and she was already making a bad impression. The Troupe Head, however, didn't seem to mind one bit.

"It's okay! Don't worry about it," The Troupe Head said with a big smile. "The traffic is always bad in the morning. It's understandable for being a little late. Besides," he added, shrugging, "there's not much to do in the morning. The rehearsal won't start until 10 o'clock." After a deliberate pause, he asked, "Molly, did you have breakfast yet?"

Confused by The Troupe Head's big smile, Molly nodded nervously. She could sense that something was off. "Yes, sir. I did," she replied, smiling wanly. "Thanks for asking." "Um," she began politely, checking her watch, "if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to work now." As she headed to look for the troupe's agent to get familiarized with her job responsibilities, she heard The Troupe Head's voice again in the corridor. He was standing by his office's door. "Molly," he called out gently, a smile still plastered on his face. "If you need anything, just let me know. Make yourself comfortable, okay?"

Molly felt more awkward by his overly kind gesture. She forced a smile as she faced his direction, and quickly got out of his sight before he could say another word.

The Troupe Head shook his head disapprovingly. "I really don't understand these rich people sometimes," he mumbled. "They have all the money in the world to live a comfortable life. They can have everything they want at the snap of their fingers. Why do they even need to work?" He shook his head and closed the door behind him.

He was perplexed, but at the same time, he was glad that the troupe had a powerful boss like Mr. Brian Long now. He wouldn't have to worry about trivial matters like expenses anymore.

The agent of the troupe explained to Molly what she had to do. One thing she greatly appreciated was the fact that no one, apart from The Troupe Head, knew her true identity. Except for The Troupe Head's odd behavior, this discretion made everything run normally. On her first day, Molly's job was to get used to her work environment and read the troupe's profile. She buried her face in the files that were provided to her, making sure to get familiarized with every detail. The day went by too fast, perhaps because there was hardly any time for a break. But she didn't mind it one bit. After work, Molly took the bus to her old home. As soon as she saw the familiar road, a sense of sadness and nostalgia hit her unexpectedly.

The door was closed. Molly stood in front of it, sighing out loud. She knocked, but there was no answer. She knocked again, harder this time. Still, no one answered.

"I wonder. Where could Father be?" Molly couldn't help mumbling. Steven had just arrived last night. They had met at the airport briefly. Brian and she were on the way to the villa when she realized they didn't get the chance to exchange phone numbers. But she had told her father that she would come over and visit him today after work. Why wasn't he home?

She sat on the steps in front of the door. There was no harm in waiting for a bit. In the meantime, she took out her phone and browsed the internet. It was getting dark when she put her phone away. Steven still hadn't come back. Molly grew worried, knowing no other way to reach him. After a while, she took out her notepad. She wrote a message including her phone number, tore the paper, and slipped it under the door. Glancing around, she was left with no choice but to leave. 000