Love Began with the First Meeting



Sally suddenly thought of something she'd read from a book before. "When you get something, oftentimes you don't get to have it for a long time. But once you lose something, there's a chance that it will come back to you again." It really fit her situation. Everyone always had something that made them sad whenever they saw, and everyone had someone that they'd never ever forget.

*

Sally sat by the roadside. She was wearing Chandler's suit and wasn't wearing her heels anymore, but instead they were neatly set aside. She could feel the rough gravel pressed up against the soles of her feet. She leaned her head slightly so that it was between her knees. She watched cars passing by as the street buzzed with its own noise her eyes reflected the gleam of the cars' lights.

Chandler leaned on the car, lit a cigarette, and took a drag. As he exhaled the smoke, the wind blew along with it. Neither he nor Sally spoke, as if they had an understanding. The two were quietly waiting for Rose. Deep in his heart, Chandler just wanted to give Sally some space where she could be alone and everything was quiet.

A sudden roar of the engine came, as a car pulled over behind Chandler's car. Chandler and Sally instinctively looked at the car. They watched as Rose got out, looking as beautiful as ever. She was extremely beautiful-she was tall and had an hour-glass figure. Today, she wearing a red, tight dress that hugged her breasts. It slid down all the way to her thighs like a fish tail elegantly showing her beautiful body. Her heels clicked as she walked towards Sally. When she spoke, her voice was cold like ice. "You're a coward. If you can't see him today, then with the worst case scenario, you can come to Dragon Island later with me."

Sally shook her head. If she didn't see Addison today or meet him so frequently, she would have to go to Dragon Island, but she just couldn't for now. Once she returned, she'd never be able to leave.

She stood up in her bare feet and looked at Rose. "Rose, thanks... I'll figure out another way. I survived not seeing him for the past seven years. I think I can wait a few days if that's how long it takes to see him."novelbin

Rose opened her mouth as if to curse Sally but Chandler piped in. "No problem," he said, winking at Rose before continuing, "Henrik hasn't lived on Dragon Island for so long. If he's returning, then he will take the people in his villa back." If Chandler wasn't mistaken, Sally was looking for Rachel, the girl his uncle adopted six years ago.

If it wasn't for Sally, Chandler would've forgotten all about Rachel. He occasionally saw her in the first few years after she was adopted but afterwards, he never saw her again. Once, he asked his aunt about her and she just said that Rachel was in another country. But he hadn't heard from anyone else about her whereabouts. He happened to know Rose then, so he just let it go.

However, it was always a surprise whenever someone changed drastically because it was always caused by something that happened whether it was an accident or just something special. For example, when Henrik returned, Roger gave him the Ji Family's business to manage because of an accident. Consequently, Henrik had to stay on Dragon Island for a period of time.

Rose was smart-she knew that something happened based on the look on Chandler's face. She didn't want to talk about it anymore. Instead, she sighed and said, "Just forget it. Let's just think about it carefully before we make any decisions." After, she looked at Chandler. "I'll bring Sally home. I'll call you later. Thanks for everything."

Chandler smiled up to his ears at Rose's gentle tone. "I'll hold you to that. Don't forget to call."

"All right, I won't." Rose chuckled to herself as she glanced at Chandler. She gestured for Sally to get in the car and then they drove off, each car going another direction.

Sally was exhausted since last night and her mind was still racing. She wasn't feeling her best when she got out of the car.

"Sally, are you okay?" Rose asked with concern.

Sally turned to Rose, shaking her head with a smile. "I'm fine. I'm just tired and need some rest..."

Rose fixed her eyes at her and nodded. She was worried about Sally but she didn't want to push it. After all, everyone had their own secrets and some just wanted it to stay that way-a secret.

They walked to the elevator silently. The clatter of high heels on the floor in the spacious and quiet park rung in Sally's ears.

Suddenly, Sally stopped and fixed her eyes on Addison who was staring at her deeply and standing in front of the Maybach car. She was petrified as she remained unmoved.

Rose followed Sally's eyes only to find Addison. She was astonished herself. She thought, 'Young Master? Why does he come here again?' There wouldn't be a problem if she hadn't seen him but since she did, she had to greet him. In addition to that, this man was the future ruler of Dragon Island. It would be a big load off the back if he was able to help Sally. Plus, he had a good relationship with Henrik.

"Let's go. We need to greet him," Rose said in a low voice.

Sally stepped backward automatically. "I'm not going. I'm tired. I need to go up first." As she spoke, she hurried to the elevator.

Addison looked at Sally walking in a hurry and his eyes deepened. "Sally, stop!"

Sally didn't want to stop but her legs did as if she was unable to lift them.

Rose, who was still standing there, was confused. 'What the hell is happening here?' she thought to herself. It seemed as if Addison knew Sally. But Sally only got out a month ago and never went anywhere else except Romantic Club. If she knew Addison, she couldn't have known him within this period of time.

Rose frowned as she thought this over. If she wasn't mistaken, Sally had known Addison even before she went to prison.

Addison ignored Rose's intense gaze and just stepped forward. Then he grabbed Sally's wrist forcefully and walked back.

"Let me go..." Sally's wrist was starting to feel sore. "Addison Long! Let go!"

Addison suddenly stopped while Sally used the opportunity to wrestle her hand free from his grip. However, he just grabbed it back, this time even tighter. "Sally Li, say that again!" His eyes looked fierce. "Say that again. Tell me to let go! Tell me to loosen my grip!"

Perhaps, Sally was just tired or just too freaked out already. So when she heard this, she blurted, "Let go! Let go! Loosen your grip! Addison Long, let me go!" she howled. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? Will you just let go?"

Addison looked at Sally as if she was crazy-his eyes gave him away that he was hurt. He slowly loosened his grip but he really hadn't given up. Instead, he just moved his fingers slightly to give that illusion, because after a few seconds, he gripped her wrist again. This time, he gripped even harder.

"Hmm..." Sally groaned in pain and looked at Addison miserably, pleading, "What do you want?"

"Nothing." Afterward, Addison turned in an attempt to drag Sally back to his car.

Rose was suddenly jolted to reality when she heard Sally protesting. She hurried over and grabbed Sally's free arm. Then she looked at Addison with a polite smile. "Young Master, what are you doing?" She'd worked at Romantic Club for so long and it was part of her job to escort different kinds of powerful people who come from just as powerful families. So she knew the boss of Romantic Club personally. "Young Master, you probably know about Romantic Club's situation. You know the rules there everything is consensual. Sally's just a waitress. If you want a woman who can chat with you and have a few drinks with you, then I can make plans for you. I'm not that young anymore, but I am quite ell-known in Romantic Club..." As she spoke, she blocked the way to the door of the car.

Addison wouldn't let Sally go and looked at Rose coldly. "Step aside!" It may just be two words but it was all that was needed to assert Addison's authority.

Rose's lips were quivering. She was scared of Addison hence she didn't know what to do. "Young Master. This is an old rule in the club. Even if you don't like me, you have to at least think of Mr. Frank Mu, right?"

Addison narrowed his eyes. He seldom lost his temper and had always kept his gentleman style. But after all, he was the successor and he grew up in the Long Family. How could he be as harmless as he looked?

Addison didn't say anything, but instead, he tightened his grip on Sally. When Sally grimaced in pain, he closed his eyes and said rather sharply, "I'm saying this for the last time. Step aside!"

Rose stepped aside even though she didn't want to. She just felt as if she didn't have a choice as Addison terrified her. When Addison opened the car door and tried to pull Sally in, she grabbed Sally's wrist instinctively.

Rose knew that this wasn't a good idea. But she also reckoned that Addison wouldn't just break one of Frank Mu's rules. She concluded that Sally and Addison weren't just mere acquaintances. They had a history, and Rose was sure of that now. However, what bugged her was that seven years ago, Sally wasn't even 18 yet. How could a student in high school have anything to do with Addison who had been groomed as the successor of a royal family since the day he was born?

When he felt someone else tug Sally away from him, he'd completely lost his temper. He was glaring at Rose as if he wanted to kill her and tear her up into a million pieces-he was seething.

Sally closed her eyes and said indifferently before Addison could speak, "Rose, it's fine. I'm coming with him." She fixed her eyes on Addison and smiled coldly. "Addison Long, didn't I make this clear to you last night? Even if I go with you, what can you do?" There was sarcasm in her voice. "I was able to leave without saying goodbye to you seven years ago and not once did I try looking for you in all those years. Do you still want..." "Wyatt hired a private investigator." There seemed to be pain in Addison's eyes but his voice was calm, almost emotionless. He watched the shift of emotions in Sally's eyes before continuing, "Sally, let's see when you'll finally stop lying." Then he looked at Rose coldly and didn't say anything.

Rose loosened her hand involuntarily because she saw the look in Addison's eyes. When she recalled what Sally had just said, she concluded that Sally and Addison really did know each other from before. Did Sally use to live on Dragon Island? Rose figured it wasn't far from impossible. After all, she was also from Dragon Island.

The next thing she heard was the door of the car slamming shut and the Maybach speeding away, its engine roaring. Rose came to her senses after standing there for a long time.

She took out her phone and called Chandler. When Chandler's eager voice came from the other end of the phone, she asked right away, "Did something unusual happen tonight?"

Chandler was a bit disappointed to hear this. He caught her up on what happened. "I think... Addison's changed. He's not really a warm-hearted guy." Rose felt upset after hearing everything that Chandler had said. "Well, you better go to sleep now. We'll have dinner soon." Afterward, she hung up on Chandler without waiting for him to respond.

The Maybach was practically flying through the road at more than 200 miles per hour. Cars dodged as it passed through and horns were honked out of anger.

T City was connected to Dragon Island. With the unusually developed entertainment industry thanks to Flight Media and Dream Media, it was prosperous and had attracted attention all over the world.

It was a city that never slept. At 11 p.m., the city was more alive than ever. Addison's car over-speeding wasn't much of a disturbance as one would think.

Sally grabbed the armrest tightly and curled her lips, looking ahead. The car roared as it sped off the road, stopping at nothing, not even vehicles until it finally pulled over by the seaside.

It was so quiet that the only thing that could be heard was waves crashing.

Sally didn't say anything, but instead in her mind, she was analyzing what Addison had just said. He told her that he asked Wyatt to hire a private investigator to find out what happened to her in the last seven years. She had killed someone and went to prison for it. She didn't want Addison to know about that part of her past.

Sally pursed her lips rather curtly. If Wyatt really did his job, it was impossible that he didn't know.

Maybe this was for the better. If he knew about her past, maybe he'd finally give up. After all, the royal family would never accept a convict as the future ruler's wife, right?

The thick silence was broken by the phone ringing-they were jolted back to the present.

Addison took out his cell phone and answered it after checking the number. Then Wyatt's firm voice came. "Young Master, someone's moved Miss Li's information."

"What does it say?" Addison asked.

"Nothing seems to have happened the last seven years, nothing unusual at least," Wyatt said seriously. "But both her parents died seven years ago, and her younger sister Rachel went missing after being adopted. The person who adopted Sally also died just recently..." He continued after pausing for a while, "All the information here must be fake."

Addison curled his lips and turned to Sally as he asked Wyatt, "What has she done in those seven years that she doesn't want anyone to know? Obviously, someone moved the information because of those seven years.

Sally was stunned. Even if she didn't know who did that, she was relieved.

Addison was smiling coldly. "Find out more information."

"No..." Sally said instinctively, anxiety evident in her eyes.

Addison remained silent and just gazed back at her as if he was waiting for her to continue.

Sally placed her hands under her legs as she gritted her teeth. "Addison, if I say that I don't want anything to do with you anymore, you're still not going to leave me alone, right?"

"Yes," Addison answered without thinking. "Before, I thought my father still had a lot of room for improvement in terms of his relationship with my mother. After all, I looked up to him. But now, I suddenly realize that sometimes, being reasonable isn't the best way to go."

Sally closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened them and looked at Addison. "Fine," she murmured, as if it took all she had to be able to compromise. "Addison, I hope you don't regret this."

"I never regret anything." Addison hung up the phone and said slowly and forcefully, "Come here." After, he pulled Sally into his arms. Then he leaned in and shoved his tongue in her mouth, kissing her hard.

There wasn't any tenderness at all in this kiss-only pure passion, aggression, and even anger. Sally wanted to push him away but it seemed as if

she couldn't.

Eventually, she gave in and stopped resisting as she let Addison kiss her. She closed her eyes slowly as tears streamed down her face.

She remembered her life before those seven years, specifically, her last few days of freedom. It was cherry blossom season. She was leaning against

a tree and watching the cherry blossoms dance with the wind. It seemed as if at that moment, she had nothing to worry about.

Addison was looking at her in amazement. She was wearing a white dress and an infectious smile on her face. Radiant was she as she stood underneath the falling cherry blossoms.

"Sally, you're so beautiful. It's a good thing that you are my girlfriend." Addison also leaned against the tree and turned to look at her, saying softly, "If you leave me someday, I don't know what I'd do. I'd be so lost without you."

Sally curled her lips and smiled. Then she turned and kissed Addison's cheek. Looking at his astonished expression, she said playfully, "If you treat me well, maybe I won't leave you."

Addison laughed. "You're just tempting me to do something bad with you." He sighed. "I'm just a regular boy. Don't call me a bully for teasing you, a

teenage girl."

"You know, I'll be an adult in half a year." Sally smiled, her eyebrows raised. She was obviously enjoying this. She didn't say anything, but Addison seemed to get it anyway. He indulged in her beautiful smile. He just wanted to look at her forever and hold her in his arms forever.

He suddenly shifted, catching Sally off guard as he pinned her against the cherry blossom tree. He was gazing at her-joy in his eyes. Then he leaned towards her so that his handsome face was close to hers. Soon, their lips touched. ☐☐☐☐