Love Began with the First Meeting

Edgar nodded his head as one last goodbye and escorted Jennifer towards their table.

Their dinner was supposed to be a happy moment for their family but it was slightly ruined by their run-in with Edgar and Jennifer. Even Mark could sense that something was wrong. He looked hesitantly at Brian and then at Molly who had already turned numb due to the tension. Brian noticed Mark's uneasiness—something that Brian was trying to avoid for Mark to feel in the first place. So he tried his best to divert Mark's attention from what had just happened by bringing up topics after topics so that Mark would forget the whole thing. Molly was also distracted by the conversation- her face gradually lighting up as the night went on.

"Papa Brian, can I sleep with you tonight?" Mark suddenly asked of Brian, his eyes were almost begging as he looked at Brian while they were driving on the way home.

"Okay," Brian answered simply, not even looking back at Mark.

This was enough to light up Mark's eyes and paint a big smile on his face, "This is the best day ever!" he cried excitedly.

Molly sat in silence in the back seat, listening to their conversation. She somehow felt jealous at their closeness. She hated to admit it but she couldn't ignore it. She felt as if she was estranged from her own son. 'It's been barely a month since I left him with Brian and how quickly they've grown close. It's like I didn't spend the last four years with him, ' she whined in her mind.

Brian could see that Molly was pouting in the backseat; he smiled at that sight. 'If Mark is all you care about, that's fine, I love taking care of Mark. Because I know that as long as Mark is here, you won't ever leave. And dealing with Mark is fine. I don't own XK Intelligence Agency for nothing—I know how things work. Always use your enemy's weakness against him. And yours was pretty obvious and it's sitting right here next to me.

use him especially if it means I get

When they were finished, they saw Brian standing against the window talking on the phone as they headed out of the bathroom. "That's great. When I return from QY

said before immediately

going downstairs to get milk for

pick Mark up. He put him gently on the bed and covered a blanket over him. Molly was just passing by when she heard Brian talking softly, "Every night before you go to sleep, I'm allowing you to ask me

of them right

figure it out," Brian said

answer. She could imagine

up for any clips of conversation she could hear. Molly's mind was racing. She was trying to compare Brian and Spark and their respective relationships to Mark. While they were both nothing but loving towards Mark—they differ in that Spark just succumbed to Mark's every whim while Brian was a bit more on the disciplining side. Spark would do everything as long as it pleased Mark. Brian, meanwhile, would make Mark choose, teach him restraint, and discipline him all the while

Mark started living here, Brian

And more so, it was a four-year marriage that Molly wanted out of, a marriage that meant so much to Spark. She met him when she was at her lowest and he helped her get back on her feet. He gave her home, took care of Mark, and stayed by her side even if he knew that Molly would never see him as more than a dear friend. There was no way Molly could ever pay him back for all those years. She felt herself so cruel and merciless. She disgusted herself, yet she felt that she had to do it, not only for Mark, but also for him. She could not allow herself to ignore his

lost count. She was so happy that Mark wasn't the shy boy he was