Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 76 A Talk Under The Cold Night (Part One)

"What if I had said that I wanted Mr. Gu to win?" Molly blurted out her question, not knowing why.

Having heard her question, Brian stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. The sharp, piercing eyes rested on Molly's furrowed brows, taking in her cautious yet eager face. Was she expecting an answer? Brian grinned in delight, then in mock peacefulness inquired," You want to know?"

Relishing his mocking question, he grinned mischievously as he waited for Molly's response, his eyes getting deeper with malice.

Molly was only his pet and his toy for one month. The previous day, he had asked her if she was bored at the villa and she blurted out her answer without hesitation. Not knowing why, Brian had granted her the permission to go back to work at the casino. Right off the bat, Brian had asked Jason to arrange for her to serve in the VIP rooms. The idea of Molly showing up in the big hall, among so many people, wasn't something he would tolerate. She was his woman and her picture-perfect smile was only his to relish, something he could ill-afford to share with anyone.

However, the reluctance of sharing her smile with others made him slightly frown. He wondered why he would have such ideas in his mind. He sneered at his silly thoughts.

Looking at Brian's deep, flinty eyes, Molly pursed her lips and nodded.

"Call my name now!" a sudden, calm demand came.

"What?" Confused, Molly stared at him, questions written all over her face.

With a furrowed brow, Brian repeated in a lower steely, voice," Call my name!"

Once more, Molly frowned in confusion. Cursing within, slightly squinting at narcissistic man's face, she called his name, hesitation ringing in her voice. "Brian Long?"

The man standing in front of Molly furrowed his brows tightly, as if pondering over her incredulous voice on his name. Angrily, he sneered," Huh! My full name... You brought it out so smoothly!"

Ever since this woman knew his name, she'd never called it properly. Every time, she spoke his name, she had always made it sound rough. She had shouted it either in a fit of anger or out of heart-rending misery.

Gradually, Molly sensed his usual cold, malevolent aura, mixed with the chilly and humid air around them. A wise person should know how to submit to circumstances. Experience from the past few days had taught her that it was best to just play along. Better feign obedience and make him happy for the time being than suffer the consequences. Although her mother didn't understand all the sacrifices Molly was making for the family, still, Molly was grateful that all her mother's medical expenses were covered. Even though her mother felt reluctant to stay in that hospital, she wouldn't be able to leave it now.

From the time her brother, Daniel informed her of their mother's improved condition, Molly had been hopeful.

Waking up from her reverie, she looked at Brian, a flood of complicated emotions coursing through her. All the same, she was grateful to Brian for providing her the means to save her mother. As long as her mother was getting good medical attention, she'd try her best to get along with him. 'Just a few weeks... two more weeks of putting up with his arrogance, his threats,' she estimated. The humiliation and pain she faced at his hands was nothing compared to her mom's health complications.

"So how should I address you? Mr. Long? Boss? Brian? Bri?" As she guessed out different ways to address him, her eyes lit-up mischievously and her lips curled into a smile. Finally, almost teasingly, she asked," Or Little Brian?"

Despite all her attempts, Brian remained stiff, unmoved, and expressionless. Noticing his indifferent demeanor, Molly's smile slowly fizzled out. Softly, she muttered, a sense of resignation echoing on her every syllable," I've put forward so many choices... There must be at least one you like." She pouted, frustrated at his unfeeling halo.

Listening to Molly mumbling to herself, Brian's needless anger seemed to wane, at least, briefly. He let out an incredulous hum, cold as the winter wind, but stayed his eyes fixed on Molly, still expecting her answer.

Apprehensive at Brian's intensive glance, Molly compressed her lips, cleared her throat and nervously, called in a tender, unsteady voice," Bri..."

That unexpected last-ditch attempt struck a chord in Brian's heart. The conceited and unpredictable man enjoyed Molly's mixed emotions of tenderness, helplessness, subservience and grievance. Under the silent, freezing night, his toy was alluring and this entertained him.

A brief tinge of empathy crossed his mind, but he dismissed it right away, choosing instead to mull over the pleasurable feeling of the moment.

Even so, he still didn't understand why he was so serious about how Molly addressed him. Last time, he heard her call out the name Edgar a few times and surprisingly, he had been bothered by it. Earlier today, he got wind of it that Edgar Gu would inspect all casinos on Moonlight Street. Without a doubt, Brían knew well that Edgar's first target would be the Grand Night Casino.

Over the past few years, the Grand Night Casino had become notorious for highly questionable activities. In fact, the name kept popping up in investigations on heinous crimes, including a number of murder cases.

In an elaborate plan for cleaning up the city, black market activities would definitely be the first casualties of Edgar's sweeping changes. And there was no better place to start the crack down than the most infamous casino in the city - the Grand Night Casino! Brian remembered that he had thwarted an abduction and saved Molly. After that incident, he had even willingly kept Molly company at the villa for the whole night. However, this woman kept mumbling the name "Edgar" the whole night!

Huh!

Molly still kept Edgar in her mind, the guy who always protected her, her Prince Charming since childhood. Enduring the whole night listening to Molly mumbling Edgar's name, Brian saw to it that Molly would overhear their conversation to let her know what Edgar thought about her now.

To disillusion other people's dreams was something he fancied. He felt ecstatic watching feeble creatures breakdown in despair. He wondered why people thought it was twisted to revel in someone's pain. In any case, Brian didn't give a hoot. I