Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 836 The Proposal (Part Two)

Taoyuan Zhongzheng International Airport.

Dressed in light blue jeans and a white V-collar T-shirt, Spark arrived at the airport with his suitcase in tow.

In addition to his casual outfit, he wore a pair of tan sunglasses which made him look cool and aloof from the crowds gathered in the airport. After signing his boarding pass, he stopped to look around. There was not even one familiar face in the airport that he could talk to, nor was anyone seeing him off. He felt a single strand of loneliness in his heart then.

Breathing deeply to calm his disturbed heart and searching for some cheer, he dragged his suitcase over to the check-in before moving through the gate to wait for his flight. He sat down and studied the other passengers who were waiting there for the same plane as he was. 'Maybe everyone here is the same as me. Perhaps they are also heading towards a new destination which might be about to change their lives all over again.' he mused to himself.

However, he was not aware that Scott was in fact there, hiding behind a pole, watching him since the moment he arrived at the airport. It was rather sorrowful and aching for Scott to see Spark sitting at the airport all alone, by himself with no one for company. The feeling especially intensified upon reflecting on Spark's past insolence and how this contrasted so starkly with his ever haughty manner.

"Dad," Ivan's voice spoke to Scott, "if you want to say farewell to him, just go ahead and say it. There is no need to be so tense and hiding back here." He prompted idly with an absent look on his face. Ivan had always been the haughtiest and unruliest one in the family. At the moment, he was dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and a pair of large, dark sunglasses, with an over-the-knee coat in the same dark color as his glasses, and a pair of leather gloves. Between the black padded fingers, he clasped a cigar that made him look even more like a gangster.

"You little brat," Scott glared at him reproachfully and stormed. "If you had any balls, you'd go and say something yourself."

With a careless shrug, Ivan retorted, "At least it was me who encouraged him to take this step. I got him this far." A sly, cunning smile came over Ivan's face. His eyes narrowed in contemplation, and he resumed speaking, "But for the rest of it, that still depends on Spark himself."

Scott sighed deeply and morosely and asked, "Have you given that woman a call?"

"Nope," Ivan replied shortly. He was crystal clear in his mind as to which woman Scott was referring to. Then he continued with a slightly querulous tone in his voice, "Is it really necessary to call her? You know how temperamental Spark is. Letting her know his whereabouts is the last thing that he wants to think about right now. There would be no possibility of him even going if she were to replace out. So I won't tell her until the whole thing is settled."

Scott was puzzled by his comment. "Why? Would she dissuade him from going?" he asked with a confused look marring his face.

Ivan grinned shiftily at him and with a sideways look, he said, "How did you win my aunt's heart?" As he spoke, his eyes glistened with mockery of Scott.

Scott's eyes darkened instantly at being teased. His brows bristled and knitted together into a knot of anger while he stared furiously at Ivan. Lesley was the name that touched the innermost softness of his heart. His heart pricked with pain at the very thought or every mentioning of her name since she had gone to another world. Her death had separated them forever.

Oblivious to Scott's pain, Ivan continued voicing his thoughts on Spark's trip this time, "I don't know if Spark is really all that confident at the moment. I think he would want to keep things under wraps from her, lest anything should go wrong. Any failure would be very painful to him, and to her as well. I understand Spark. He would typically be more concerned with her feelings, and probably ignore his own. You know how his hand was injured. He would rather take all the pain than let that woman suffer even a little bit."

Mulling over Ivan's long speech, Scott was silent for some time. Actually, that was how the whole situation struck him concerning Spark's concern for Molly. He sighed deeply and turned to look in the direction of Spark's departure. There was no sign of him. He had long gone, having boarded his plane. Scott stared at the departure gate for a moment longer, his soft and pensive eyes looking ahead, then leaning on his cane, he left. On his way back, his mind puzzled at the lives of his three sons. Among them, Spark was the one who lived a completely different lifestyle. Scott had lost count of how many girls Ivan and Harrow had hooked up with so far. They were consummate playboys. He had loathed and rebuked their attitude on their love life before. But now seeing how Spark had been through so much torture in his love life, Scott thought he rather wished Spark had been the same as his brothers. Surely a life of no regrets and play was better than what Spark had suffered?

Ivan stared after Scott's stooped figure as he shuffled off and bent by the weight of his concerns. He could guess what was torturing Scott's mind right now. He sighed helplessly and glanced at the plane that was carrying Spark and motoring down the runway beyond the windows before setting off. Walking ahead, Ivan took out a postcard from his coat pocket and handed it to his waiting assistant. "Send this card with a lily bouquet over to Molly on her wedding day," he requested.

"Yes, sir," the assistant nodded and took it from him.

*

The Long Family Mansion, the Glamour Hall.

This was where Richie used to live. All the decorations were made based on his own requests at that time. The displays about the building were all in a black and white color scheme, which very much reflected their owner's calm but sophisticated demeanor. Richie was truly the straight and direct kind of person who had distinct, clear boundaries between things he liked and those he detested. This absolute contrast of black and white was the embodiment of his character.

Sitting on the couch in the living room, Molly's eyes roved about the room. As if she was influenced by this vivid contrast of the two extremely opposite colors, her mind gradually became contradicted and diverted into the complete different things as well. On one hand, she felt she could not wait to marry Brian and start their life together; but on the other, she was also disappointed that she had not actually received Brian's proposal. This inevitably filled her heart with imperfection and doubt. It spoiled her happiness at the prospects of this perfect occasion.

"Mommy," came a vibrant, sweet voice from behind her. She turned instinctively to look for the speaker. It was Mark who came rushing to her after freeing his hand from Shirley's. "Why are you here alone?" he cried as he hugged Molly and leaned his head against her chest. 0000000