Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 630 My Violin Plays Only For You (Part Two)

Brian did not respond except for raising his hand a bit and then taking a sip of his wine. The look in his eyes deepened as he looked again outside the window as the night wore on.

Lisa went to the kitchen and put the box of milk on the marble countertop. She was about to ask Brian if he had dinner or not, but before she could even say anything she felt the indifference emanating from Brian a few feet away, and internally swallowed her question instead. A few minutes passed and Brian seemed to be a little calmer, but she eventually hesitated anyway. The question died on her lips as she knew he wouldn't answer her at all, so as soon as she unboxed the milk and put it in the fridge she left the house and headed home without a word.

Lisa finally arrived at her own home and proceeded to their bedroom. She gently pushed the door open to see her husband there and went inside. "I really can't stand the strange vibes between them anymore. They act almost like strangers! What should I do to help them?" Lisa complained with a deep sigh. She outstretched her legs to relax and cracked her knuckles, feeling the satisfying pop from her tired fingers.

Her husband glanced at her from the nightstand and then continued to take care of his plants. "Just leave them alone. Do you think that you can take control over Mr. Brian Long's matters?"

"I know I can't, but I just can't stand seeing them like this," Lisa said with a hint of exhaustion in her voice as she slowly sat on the edge of the bed. "It's like no one ever sees them at their own house together. They avoid each other almost like enemies! And it's been quite a while too..."

Lucy was just about to go to the kitchen to grab a drink, but she stopped in her tracks when she reached her parents' bedroom down the hall. Her mother's complaints could be heard through the wood of door, and her father replied shortly with disinterest.

A hint of coldness flashed through Lucy's eyes. With quiet steps to avoid being caught eavesdropping, she turned around and returned to her room instead. In her arms was a newly-finished painting of her father planting flowers in the garden.

When she reached her room she carefully set aside the painting on her desk and sat on the bed. She took out her phone and was about to dial a number, but her fingers paused on the screen in hesitation. She eventually sent out a message instead.

*

The red velvet cake remained untouched. "Mol," Spark called out her name, breaking the silence between them. With a gentle smile on his face, he casually said, "At some point in our lives everyone will get exhausted and would want to take a break, and I'm no exception."

"Spark, you mean to say you get tired because of me, right?" Molly asked in a slightly shaky voice, sadness evident on her face. She continued, "Because of me, you stay in this city, run a cake shop here right across Sasha Music Troupe, and then give up your dream of being a great violinist. Am I right?"

Spark chuckled a little at her words. He then explained seriously, "It's true that I've stayed in the city because of you. As for the cake shop, it's a different story. I run it in memory of my mother," he began. "You know, she baked really delicious cakes. What I would give to eat some of those again." "Besides, it's merely a coincidence that my cake shop is here opposite to your workplace. It's not like I can control that." "This shop had caught my fancy for quite a while before you even appeared in the Sasha Music Troupe. I never expected you to work there, let alone in a place so close to me so I was quite surprised," he said, relaxing a little more in the sofa chair. "You mentioned that I gave up my dream of being a violinist..." When he saw Molly was holding her breath for his next words, Spark discontinued intentionally. His mouth curled into a wide grin and said, "Who told you that?"

Molly furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Before she could voice out the doubts she'd been holding, Spark snapped his fingers at a passing waitress and told her, "Go and get my violin for me."

The waitress simply nodded and went to retrieve the instrument. All the staff in the shop knew that their boss was a music enthusiast, but they didn't know that he could actually play the violin. Besides, to them an international music superstar did not really equate to their boss who was a cake shop owner. Although they did see his resemblance to the famous "Spark," they never thought of them being one person.

Soon after the waitress returned with a black violin case. He took it from her and nodded, placing the case on the table. He opened it gently, took out the violin and leisurely said, "Mol, this violin--"

"The Stradivarius violin?" Molly interrupted.

Spark nodded and continued slowly while observing the instrument, "Every violinist dreams of getting it or even just playing it, but I've been rejecting it after Mark gave it to me because it was actually a gift from Brian, only given by Mark's hand," he paused in his words as self-mockery was etched on his face. "I didn't understand why Brian did it at first, so I just simply took it as a display of his power. But later on, I found out that he actually did it for Mark's sake." Looking up at Molly, he said with a soft smile on his lips, "I haven't played it for you yet. Do you want to listen to it?"

Molly caught a glimpse of eagerness and the slightest hint of sadness in Spark's eyes. She nodded her head without a second thought.

Spark's face immediately beamed with pleasure. He pushed back the sofa chair with the backs of his knees and stood up. He positioned the violin between his chin and shoulder. His other hand held the bow that still rested at his side. He gazed deeply at Molly as his lips curled into an arrogant, cheeky grin. Despite the pleasant and casual look on his face, he was actually more nervous than anyone else at that moment. He was afraid that he'd never be able to play the violin again. He told himself before that he couldn't play the violin because Molly wasn't with him, and now he would actually know if he was right or wrong.

*

With its glittering lights and splendid facade, Dragon Island was truly a fascinating sight to behold at night. It was peaceful and quiet and only the slight sounds of crickets could be heard.

Jeff sat on an elegant chair in the smoking room and glanced at the message on his phone, his lips turning upward into a sadistic smile.

Reuben, who was sitting across him, took a long drag from his pipe before glancing casually at Jeff and asked, "What's the news?" Raising his head to look at him, Jeff smiled as he got up from his seat, "I've got to go now. Things will go on as you've planned." "Jeff?" Reuben called.

"Old man," Jeff stopped in his tracks, his back facing Reuben, "Now that things have come to this, there's no turning back for us now."

*

All the patrons in the cake shop paused whatever they were doing to look at Spark when they saw him stand up to play the violin. The music playing from the speakers was turned off, and the whole shop was enveloped in silence. Everyone stared at Spark with eager eyes. Some of them even held out their phone's cameras.

Spark slightly raised his head and cleared everyone else's presence from his mind, focusing his amber eyes solely at Molly who was sitting in front of him. He slowly raised his hand and rested the bow over the tightly wound strings. With eyes closed, he then pressed his fingers on the violin's fret board and pulled the bow.

The rich, melodious sound of the violin flowed forth from his fingers and it was made even more vibrant by his strong emotions. Playing here in the cake shop with Molly in front of him was a stark difference from making music in concert or opera halls, but the familiar melody of the song The Summer Breeze evoked the same distinct feelings from its player.

A lump formed in Molly's throat, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she watched Spark play. Pieces of memories flashed through her mind as the music soothed her ears: their short conversation in that park where Spark composed The Summer Breeze for her; the wonderful time they spent together in the Burano Island in Venice... 000000☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐