Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 728 The Farewell (Part Two)

Ling blinked and then winced as she turned to face him. "Take off your clothes. Now!" he demanded suddenly.

A few minutes ago, she had completed her task, which was to stand by the room door and make obscene, lewd noises, like the ones that she heard on the x-rated tapes. 'A rather good job I did,' she thought as she drank her wine. Then she noticed Brian looking at her. "What? Mr. Brian Long!" she cried in shock. "You know our deal, and that was not the deal that we had agreed on. I only have to make those sounds to deceive Molly. That is all."

Brian did not respond. For several moments, he locked his deep, black eyes on her, as if he was contemplating something else entirely. Chills ran down Ling's spine at his intent gaze, not knowing what he was thinking or what he wanted to do with her. Brian was everything a man was supposed to be: rich, powerful, and really good-looking, and Ling wasn't blind to all of that, but fucking him just wasn't an option. How could she do that when Molly was outside, heart-broken and in utter despair and anguish? Ling would feel like a wicked and malevolent person if she did that, and she didn't want to be a wicked, malevolent person at all.

While she stood there, hesitated and deep in thought, Brian had already taken off his shirt, exposing his powerful and muscular body as if to entice her.

If there was one word to describe his body, it would be muscular. There was not a hint of loose skin anywhere on him. Everything was tight and strong and Ling would have swooned in front of him right there if it weren't for her dignity, which was the only thing overrode her desire for him. "Mr. Brian Long... what exactly do you mean?" she stammered and blushed, her cheeks turning a light pink. "I don't want to," she added.

"Neither do I," Brian answered immediately. His face stayed cold and expressionless as it had ever been. "I bet she will come here to confirm by herself in a minute."

"Really?" Ling asked, uncertainty and relief washing over her.

Brian gave her no further explanation to her dismay.

Reluctantly, Ling began to take off her clothes, everything but her bra and panties. As soon as she had finished undressing, Brian ordered her to get on the bed and lie down. She reluctantly complied.

She moved slowly onto the bed, trying not to imagine them doing it. As soon as she lay on the bed, and Brian got on the bed to crawl over her, they both heard the door unlocking and opening. It was Molly. What Molly saw was convincing enough to her: the rhythm of their sounds of passion, their movements, and the nakedness of their bodies that half-covered by the blanket. It was too convincing and ever so heart-breaking. Molly did not think for a second that it could all be a scene set up to fool her.

It was all too coincidental that Molly walked in right after the moment Brian had said she would. Ling was skeptical at first, but when Molly appeared in the doorway of the room, Ling could not help but cry out in wonder and embarrassment. Her cry added another string to Molly's heart because to her, the girl was upset and their passionate love-making stopped.

"How did you know that she would come in?" Ling asked Brian after Molly had left, agony and depression starting to ink at her. By that point, Brian had already gotten off the bed and went to sit in the armchair that was near the window, smoking.

'It was already bad enough, 'Ling thought, 'that a woman should see her husband making love to another woman. Their lewd noises would just make her suffer more. Really, it would all have been enough to drive any woman mad. Why would she want to come in and see it all?'

Brian flipped the ashes from his cigarette in the ashtray. His face was ice-cold and impassive. He was quiet. He did not answer Ling's question. Instead, he leaned backward, setting his head on the back of the chair. He then closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do but to conceal his deepest sorrow. He had to move on. He knew that, although his actions were hurtful towards Molly, he had no choice in this case; he had to let her go. Molly could be free at least.

And as for Ling's question, he was married to Molly for a while now and so he knew her well enough to know that she was going to come in to see it for herself.

It wasn't because of the knowledge he had acquired on psychological tendency lessons, but rather it was because he loved her.

There was another time that she'd caught him with another girl, Hannah. He was still unsure if Molly knew the truth about his affair with Hannah. However, the way that she was acting today proved to him that she might have known. That was how well he knew his Molly. Eventually, his thoughts drifted into the situation he knew Molly was facing. He knew that Fly was the one who wanted to hurt Molly the most due to the family vendetta. Brian knew that Fly had been scheming for a long time, wanting to reveal every single horrible thing that she knew to Molly, and then hurt Brian right in front of her to make her suffer. That was Fly's plan for ultimate revenge, leaving Molly to live in nothing but solitude with her own regrets, depression, and anguish. She wanted her to live in a world of numbness and nothingness.

'How foolish she was, 'Brian thought, a smirk creeping on his lips. How foolish and dumb of Fly to scheme and to spin a plot of hurting Molly when Brian was still around to protect her. Something that he was positive about was that Molly knew about his own plan and his intention. She had figured out that his affair with Hannah had merely been an exquisitely devised plot to protect her from lurking enemies, and she barged in today to check for herself hoping that it would be the same this time.

Nevertheless, she was convinced and her conviction was clear in her face, which had turned paler upon discovering him and Ling in bed. Although he did it to protect Molly and it went according to his plan, there was a sharp twang of pain in his heart as he thought of Molly, a twang that shocked through his veins and ran through his entire body.

He lifted his head from the chair and turned his head towards where Ling was. "Ling," he called to her, "have you ever been in love with someone?" It was a genuine question, and one that was full of sadness.

Ling was taken aback, completely caught off guard by the question. She turned to look at him, pursing her lips slightly in thought. "Mr. Brian Long," she said finally, her voice taking on an air of professionalism, "We are not allowed to have such privilege as falling in love with someone during our term of service."

Brian opened his eyes slowly and looked at her. In his eyes, Ling could see that there were some helplessness and regret swimming in a pool of doubt. After a pause, he spoke again, in a voice that sounded distant and almost foreign, "When love comes, no one sees it and no one can stop it from happening. They just fall in love. People are powerless to love. We can't resist it."

Ling frowned. "Maybe..." She was bewildered and when she spoke, she spoke rather hollowly. She mused on her own thoughts; she wasn't agreeing with him but rather just giving him something to digest. From where she stood, nothing could force her to do anything against her will or have power over her. As long as she refused to do something, she didn't have to do it, not even love.

Watching her, Brian realized that she did not agree with his view on love, which was fine. He too had been like that before. He, like Ling, believed that nothing had the power to make him do or say anything that he wasn't in control over. He was in charge of his own life and nothing could stand in place of himself. Now he believed that no one could escape from love. Not even a formidable person such as himself. Brian really believed that he, a man of big stature and somewhat intimidating demeanor, and Molly, a demure and sentimental soul were destined to be together once upon a time, entangled in the mess that was the fate of love. 0000