Love Began with the First Meeting



"I can't remember the last time we were this busy," Spark commented as he leaned against the fence. He was watching as Molly and Shirley handled the flowers, with a sly smile on his face.

Clad in a yellow knee-length floral dress with matching pearly white combat boots, Wing looked like the poster girl for spring. She was so charming with her sweet smile complemented with big and bright eyes clear as day as if she hadn't aged a day. Happiness gleamed from her eyes-maybe it was because of how much the Long Family protected her or how Weston took good care of her and she seemed to be filled with so much love in her heart. Even though she wasn't sure of anything, she never let anyone or anything taint her smile.

"Shirley finally found a daughter-in-law who's willing to play with her." Wing chuckled. "When Molly called her, she returned to Dragon Island right away even if she left Richie all alone. Richie didn't have a choice but to come with her. He had to rearrange his schedule and everything."

Spark shrugged, uncertain what to say. He still wasn't that comfortable seeing Molly and Brian this happy in front of him. Nheless, that didn't mean that he wasn't happy for Molly.

"Does it still bother you?" Wing turned her head to look at Spark.

Spark widened his smile. "Some things are better left unsaid."

Wing heaved a small sigh and shifted her gaze back to Molly. Molly looked so happy. Brian stayed true to the Long Family's tradition of loving one's partner unconditionally. It couldn't be denied that for some couples their happiness was brought on by a group of people. While the couple would then be infinitely grateful to the people around them for that, this also meant that they would have to be eternally in debt to them too.

Just like Frank and Spark... Spark's musical style was exactly the same as it was before. When his hands had fully recovered, he went back to play music because he said he needed to integrate his soul to his violin once again. To everyone, his music sounded the same, but to those who really knew him, they could tell that something was different. If you listened really closely, you could tell that he was in sorrow like with every note that he played, he was heaving a sigh.

"Wing," Shirley exclaimed when she finished her flower arrangement. "It's almost time. Where's Weston?"

Wing smiled. "He has to pick up Katie before coming here. Katie's been sick for the past few days so she's been tagging along with him. He's all she needs."

"Who does Katie resemble the most?" Shirley pursed her lips. However, it wasn't because Katie was acting like a spoiled child by following him around and it was pretty obvious that she was just being jealous.

"I've never seen you depend on someone like that," Wing said as she pulled Shirley's arms. "You see, I'm sticking to you, too." Wing caressed Shirley's face as she spoke. "Since I know how busy you get, I didn't want to bother you anymore."

Sheryl felt fulfilled upon hearing this. Even though they had a rough past, it was all just memories now that they would value for a long time—its bitterness long gone and only to be looked back to with fondness. Maybe that was what other people were thinking too, it didn't matter if it was good or bad. What they didn't know was that when they start realizing things, their hearts were going to be so full. Or maybe these were the type of things that people realized as life went on. Or maybe moments like these bittersweets tasted like life.

While the women arranged flowers at Garden In The Air of the Empire Hotel, the men sat together and had a nice chat. As they all chatted, they each would glance at their partners every now and then to check on them.

"I received the phone call..." Richie kept his eyes ahead now.

Brian looked as cold as Richie did. "I mean it."

Richie frowned, unable to understand his son. "Did you really think about it?"

"I did! Before making the decision, I thought about it really hard." Brian raised his head and looked at Richie as if he wasn't his father, like he was just a rival over a business deal. "Edgar was right about one thing. He said that we need to fight for what we want because we're desperate."

Richie was a smart enough guy to have thought of every possible thing that Brian has thought of. "It's not a good idea to meddle with other people's business even if you're acting under the XK Intelligence Agency. At the end of the day, you're still part of the Long Family. Walls have ears. You can hide but there's no use especially when someone starts looking into you."

Brian remained silent. He took quite a big risk when he helped Edgar and Cain, but to him, it was all worth it when the murderer of Molly's family was finally caught. In addition to that, his close relationship with the Nan Family of Y Country might be beneficial for Eric in the future.

"Nevertheless, everything is a double-edged sword." Richie continued, "You have to admit that sometimes you go overboard." He couldn't figure out why Brian was acting weirder than Wing who he wasn't even able to raise.

As he thought of this, he glanced at Shirley who was sharing a chuckle with Wing. 'Did I go wrong in teaching them? Or should I have done it Shirley's way?' he wondered to himself.

"What are you talking about?" Spark drew nearer as he pulled a chair to sit on.

"It's something about the Dragon Island." Brian didn't even pretend to care. He just changed the topic. "What about your concert with Wing?" "We haven't done anything yet," Spark said without missing a beat.

"Alright." Brian nodded. If Spark had said otherwise, that would have been stranger as it was only a casual question, not something serious. Maggie and the rest of the group seemed to be enjoying their chitchat.

Since Maggie had been to the Dragon Island before, she served as a tour guide to the others. She made them try lots of food and activities. When they were done, someone suggested that they spend the night at the best buffet in town which was at Dragon Island's first-class hotel.

The Empire Hotel boasted of a long history as it was the only hotel subordinate of the Dragon Island congress. Royal guests and members of the Congress would stay the said hotel-but of course, nothing compared to the most powerful four families of the Dragon Island.novelbin

Maggie thought it made sense. Last time she was here, she stayed in another hotel. It was the first time that had she experienced being treated like that. The Empire Hotel really did treat her like she was royalty. She was also excited about the food she was going to eat that night at the Garden In The Air as well as the view she was going to see.

"How about we get some training in?" Maggie suggested. She brought the group to a war game field.

Since they received special training, they were stronger than the new recruits. However, they still weren't as good as the official field army.

None of them were able to compete with them. They all ended up panting like dogs on the grassland after the battle.

"In a few days, we're going to have a battle." The officiate seemed to be after the profit who could make from them. He was eyeing them greedily when he said, "If you're free, why don't you join us? We have a lot of awards up for grabs."

After exchanging a few glances, Maggie spoke for the group. She refused his invitation. "We'd love to but we're just visiting and we're leaving soon!" The man frowned upon hearing this. "Oh, well, what a pity."

They expressed their disappointment too to be polite. After which, they got changed as they all chatted happily with one another. When they returned to the Empire Hotel, they felt relaxed.

"See you later." Maggie opened the door as she shook her body.

"Wait..." Monica suddenly frowned. "What's the dress code for the Garden In The Air?" Since their trip wasn't originally for leisure, none of them had brought any nice clothes or shoes with them. Their clothes didn't really go with the sophistication of the hotel. 'What if we do something stupid later?' While that would be perfectly fine, it would only cause a problem if they influenced how others saw their country in a negative way.

Maggie shrugged. "Let's shower first. We have enough time anyway. Maybe, we can look around and buy stuff if we need anything."

"But everything's so expensive here," one of the two boys murmured helplessly. He came from a middle-class family. He didn't really have any designer or branded things. He couldn't possibly afford the stuff that they sold here.

After a pause, Benjamin said gently, "Maggie, why don't you ask the instructor first?"

Maggie immediately knew what Benjamin meant. He was suggesting that she ask Edgar. She nodded to him and then headed towards the other room. What they didn't know was that there was a surprise waiting for them in the said room.

There were dresses, coats, ties, tuxedos, shoes, jewelry, accessories, bags, and everything else you could think of. Some couldn't help but gush how distinguished the Empire Hotel's guests looked.

Soon, the anticipated night came.

Nights at Dragon Island came a little earlier than they did at S City. When the night came, the coastline buried the sun as the crescent moon rose on the opposite side. There were already a crowd of guests gathering in front of Garden In The Air in the Empire Hotel.

Most of which were wore extravagant clothing and were holding a goblet filled with champagne. It looked like an elite party for only the wealthy and powerful. Only laughter and chitchat filled the air-no gossiping, no power struggle.