Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 761 Mark Is Bullied (Part One)

The farthest distance in the world is not that even I love you, I can't be with you, but when I plainly cannot resist the yearning to be with you, yet I've to pretend that you never had a place in my heart.

The rays of the morning sun found its way into the room through the gap in the curtain and hit the mirror on the opposite side of the room, which reflected the light straight at Molly's sleeping face. She frowned and tried to block the light with her hands. But the rays penetrated through her fingers and disturbed her peaceful sleep. Squinting her eyes and frowning irritably, she slowly opened her eyes and tried to take in her surroundings.

Her head felt like it was going to tear apart because of the terrible hangover. She whined and finally opened her eyes fully. She immediately sat upright in the bed as she found she was in an unfamiliar room. 'Where am I?' she panicked.

Enduring the sharp pain in her head, she looked around the room to replace out exactly where she was. She quickly realized that she was in a hotel room. Her heart raced at that point and she threw aside the quilt that was on top of her. She sighed in relief when she saw that she was still fully dressed. Only her jacket had been removed and was neatly placed on the chair nearby.

Molly was completely awake now, slowly recovering from her initial shock. She looked around the room once again. She frowned in confusion and murmured to herself, "How did I get here? I was drinking at the Lonely Bar last night and then..." She furrowed her brows, trying to remember what had happened at the bar last night. But nothing came to mind. She was blank.

As she tried to get out of bed, she saw a neatly written note tucked under a teacup on the dressing table. She got out of bed and picked up the note.

It said, 'Miss, the total bill for the wine and the room is 1850 dollars. You were too drunk to pay, so I took the cash from your wallet. Apologies for the intrusion.'

Molly glanced at her bag in the chair and stroked her forehead in annoyance. She was irritated that someone opened her bag without her permission, but she was also incredibly embarrassed that she had put herself in such a vulnerable position. "What the hell is wrong with me? How could I get drunk like that?" she reproached herself. After scanning the note one more time, she crumpled the paper and threw it into the trash can. Molly walked to her bag and made sure that everything was intact. She found her phone and checked for notifications. There were no missed calls, just one text message.

She opened the message folder.

It was from Mark, 'Mommy, why didn't you come home last night? This could be a serious problem for Papa Brian! But...if you're with Papa Brian, then that's good news for me and Vincent because your relationship with him has greatly improved. P.S.: Mommy, remember to call me back when you're free.'

Molly found it both funny and annoying as she read her little boy's message. She shook her head and dialed Mark's number.

Mark was in his art class, discussing something in secret with a few other children. Their faces were full of excitement and curiosity, and from time to time, they would give some enthusiastic?responses to his questions. The teacher chuckled and watched him rally the children like a small leader.

His phone suddenly rang. He took it out and saw his mom's number on the screen. He then excused himself for a moment, and walked to the corner to pick up the call, "Mommy?!"

As soon as Mark picked up the phone, Molly heard the sound of other children in the background. She asked, "Mark, where are you?"

"I'm at the kindergarten art class," Mark replied cheerfully.

"What are you doing there?" Molly asked, still confused.

"Nothing much. I'm just playing with them," Mark said innocently, and then changed the subject. "Mommy, are you back home?" "Not yet..." Molly said in an embarrassing tone, the corner of her lip twitching. "Mark, I promise you that this won't happen again."

"So you weren't at Papa Brian's place yesterday," Mark said with a tone of certainty. "Where were you all night, Mommy?" "I..." Molly started, hesitating.

"A Mommy who lies to her child is not a good Mommy," Mark said in an unhappy tone.

"Um..." Molly was lost. She didn't know how she was supposed to explain her situation to him without making it too awkward, "Well... I went back from Papa Brian's place because I had made some strategic mistakes. But on my way back home, I saw a bar, and I walked in on an impulse..."

"So you got drunk?" Mark asked bluntly.

"Um......." Molly couldn't replace the right words. She frowned at her misfortune and felt embarrassed in front of her little boy. But she decided to tell him the truth, saying, "You're right. I got pretty drunk." Pouting her lips like a mischievous kid, she continued, "It looks like the waiter at the bar sent me to this hotel for the night. I guess I was too drunk and they didn't know what to do." Mark listened without saying a word. After a pause, she said, "Mark, rest assured! Mommy will fight more valiantly and won't stop until we achieve our ultimate goal of winning over your Papa Brian!"

"All right, Mommy. I believe you!" Mark said with a soft smile. "Mommy, I'm sorry but I have to hang up now. I was in the middle of a game when you called. I should get back to it. And you need to report to me about your whereabouts and plans. Bye-bye." Mark hung up and continued his business with the other children.

Molly listened to the 'click' on the other end and raised an eyebrow. Mark was getting to be increasingly funny and annoying at the same time. She thought, 'My dear son, why do I feel like you are busier than I am now?' Shaking her head, Molly picked up her shoes and got ready to leave. She wasn't worried about Mark since Vincent was with him now. And Mark was an intelligent boy. He had the talent of what people called, 'dressing up like a pig to eat the tiger', a clever strategy where one pretended to be weak to loosen the enemy's guard against him; when the time was right, he then showed his real strength and defeated his enemy with a single strike.

Mark was not an easy prey for anyone. He was more than capable of taking care of himself.

"Mark, are you sure you want to do this?" the teacher asked. She had deep concerns for him. She viewed him as a lovely, feeble boy.

Mark looked away from the teacher and nodded slightly. He clenched his hands and said, "I don't know if this will work, but I know that if I don't do something about this, then nothing is going to change."

The teacher couldn't help but feel more concerned about him after hearing his soft, yet determined voice. She stroked Mark's head gently and said, "All right, you do what you have to do." She turned to the class and clapped her hands to attract the attention of the children. She looked at the excited kids and said, "Today's performance will be according to Mark's script. Are you confident about doing it as he said?"

"Yes!" the children answered in chorus, unable to contain their excitement. Usually, they had to study acting inside the classroom, but unexpectedly, they had gotten the chance to have their acting class outside the classroom today.

"Well, my dear boys and girls, I am sure that you will do great work," the teacher encouraged everyone. "And the person who delivers the best performance today will be rewarded with a beautiful red flower."

The children's smiles widened when they heard her words.

"However," the teacher raised her voice to grab their attention again, "Mark and I have something very important to tell you in advance." She looked around at all their attentive faces and continued, "The act that we are going to do today is only for academic purposes and is part of the art class. You are not allowed to repeat these actions outside the classroom because it is inappropriate behavior," the teacher paused and looked at the children seriously, "I want you to know that if you behave like that with another kid in real life, you will be making him very sad. It's not right. Do you understand, my dears?"

"Yes..." the children sang together in a sweet, soft voice.

The teacher smiled and led Mark and the children out of the classroom, followed closely by Vincent.

They rode the school bus to the place where Mark had picked.

Harrow clearly felt that Brian was being unusually absent-minded today. He had never seen Brian behave like this, even while Molly was by his side. Harrow wondered if it was something he had said. He quietly glanced at Brian's sullen face and noticed that Brian's mind was elsewhere. ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐