Love Began with the First Meeting novel Chapter 1405

Brightness and darkness were always intertwined, completely different but could not exist without the other.

If there was no light, there wouldn't be shadows and vice-versa.

When Henrik and Roger finally walked out, a luxury caravan had arrived. It made its way to its parking space slowly and an attendant opened the door.

A pair of shiny leather shoes had stepped on the ground as those slender legs cast a long shadow. Addison appeared in a black suit, white dress shirt, and a blue striped tie. The shield-shaped brooch on his chest shone brightly under the lights. His bright and deep eyes narrowed and then fixed towards Roger.

He was way different from the twins, Charlie and Evelyn, who only joined to have fun. Addison represented the imperial family for the celebration of Roger's birthday. After all, the imperial family paid attention to the top four families despite having frustrated them. There were times that political measures must be taken due to helplessness.

"Your Highness!" All members of the Ji Family bowed respectfully to him.

Addison looked forward and walked calmly to support Roger's arm. He smiled sincerely. "It's your birthday, so the spotlight is all yours today. There's no need for such formalities." Then he paused for a moment, glancing at Henrik and then his parents. "Everyone, please don't be so uptight because of my arrival. I wish all of us to relax and be merry in this day!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Everyone finally stood straight with smiles on their faces and invited Addison into the villa.

Despite the evening summer breeze blowing gently, some people felt restless. There were fake smiles, gossipy whispers, and suspicious glances at the gathering.

Different from other countries, Dragon Island followed the royal system but the Long Family made sure to stay close with their people. After all, the Long Family had devoted themselves to civilian harmony and the wish and core belief of Dragon Island. So Addison's attendance didn't make the party of this wealthy family stiff, although there were times wherein he had taken the spotlight.

A lot of things turned difficult upon Addison's arrival. Some people who wanted to do something would rather restrain themselves.

Addison didn't stay long in the lobby and accompanied Roger to the study room. Roger had a special hobby. It was playing chess. There was a reason why Addison seemed to quieter and calmer than most people. He couldn't speak properly when he was under the age of four due to language barriers. He was always busy with the affairs of the country and Dragon Empire Group. Nobody could have known since when he liked playing chess which wasn't suitable for young men.

"Oh. Mark has already accompanied Roger into his study." Elsa blinked innocently and watched with her head held high. Nobody could tell if it was because she saw him for the first time in the party. She even thought that Addison was way more handsome than Charlie.

Charlie's face fell for a moment and then his lips curled into an evil smile. He warned her, "Elsa, your eyes might pop out and fall off any moment now."

"Hmph! Shut up!" Elsa was way calmer dealing with Charlie than before. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Compared with the women who stared at Mark greedily, at least I know how to restrain myself." Then she uplifted her groomed eyebrows and glanced at Sally who was dressed in a long black evening dress that showed off her curves. "Look at that woman, for example. Ugh. Look at the stupid way she stares at Mark. An outsider might mistake her as Mark's secret lover."

"Huh? You saw that woman? Where?" Evelyn, who had brought too much food, happened to walk back and overheard what Elsa said. She stretched out her neck and scanned across the room with her large eyes.

Even Elsa could notice that woman's unusual stare. Charlie also looked at Sally and realized it at first glance. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly and the expression on his handsome yet devilish face froze. He rubbed his temple as he said, "Addison isn't that kind of man who would randomly abandon a woman. But this woman's a little strange, indeed."

"I'll go ask," Evelyn said. She turned around and placed the food plate in Ezra's hand.

"Wait!" Ezra had both his hands full with the food plates. He wanted to grab Evelyn but his hands were both occupied. Luckily, Charlie reacted quickly and grasped her. Ezra only shook his head helplessly. "It doesn't matter if this woman has anything to do with Mark. Don't get so worked up with this."

"That's where you're wrong!" Evelyn had a serious look on her face. "Mother told me that since Charlie and I are both married already and Mark's still single, she's very worried about him. It's normal for a mother to be worried about her own children, right? As Mother's beloved and most considerate daughter, I have to do something for her!

I have to!" Ezra was speechless and only sighed. He was powerless to stop Evelyn whenever she found a reason to have some fun.

"Mark's business is none of your business," Charlie said and nodded at Elsa. Then he dragged Evelyn to the resting area. "You should be well-behaved and eat your food. None of us should get involved." Addison was gentle but it was under the situation that nothing had irritated him. Addison had always been bold and decisive since childhood and was willing to sacrifice anything to keep their parents stay together. As the future successor of Dragon Island, he would never be the man who would spoil Evelyn.

Everybody made sure not to get in others' relationships. If something went wrong, it was more likely that Evelyn made trouble. Who knew what kind of troubles Evelyn could bring? Although Evelyn liked to have fun, she wouldn't simply just go and do anything as she pleased. She pouted for she felt restrained. In order to satisfy herself, she started to eat.

"Hmph! Fine. I won't get involved. After all, I am going to Katie's concert in two days," Evelyn grumbled after she took a spoonful of her food. "And I'll be too busy to care about anything else!"

Charlie nodded and made eye contact with Ezra. He said, "Please watch over Evelyn." Then he turned around to look at Sally again. Alas! The alluring woman who was like a rose had disappeared from her original spot!

Sally didn't actually want to return to Dragon Island but sometimes, there were things she couldn't get to decide on. When Rose was about to leave for the airport, Sally had a parcel delivered to her. She didn't contact anybody for the past seven years. She hardly knew anybody except for the people in Romantic Club.

What was mailed to her was simply strange. She even thought that it was from Addison. Then she quickly denied it.

Addison was a control freak. Perhaps Spark's music had affected him when he was young or he was already groomed to be ruler. He was sure to make everything look exquisite from the big picture down to the smallest detail. The parcel delivered to her was obviously random. She didn't remember that she had ordered something anyways.

Her heart thumped out of panic. Sally gulped and opened the parcel. It felt like she was throwing herself into the unknown. It was a photo before her eyes, which would force her to go to the place where she would never come back from in her life, if she could.

"Hey, Sally, the party will be on..." Rose looked at Sally and whispered. Rose had never told a single soul about the relationship between Sally and Addison. She didn't even ask Sally about what happened last night. Some stories were better kept hidden, after all.

"Don't worry, Rose, I'm fine." Sally forced herself to smile as she shook her head. It seemed like a lot of prominent people came to the party today, including politicians, businessmen, superstars, and some unknown rich men. Compared with what she had known back then, the influence of the Ji Family had never weakened. Ah, that was right. Nobody would give her a second glance because she wasn't a powerful politician, an influential entrepreneur, or a famous star. The moment the party started, she had thought that she would finally have a chance to see whether what the photo said was true.

Rose watched over Sally and the latter was calm throughout the party, except that when Addison showed up, Sally felt panic. So Rose thought she must be okay and relaxed. "You haven't eaten anything yet, right? You should eat!" When she paused, she saw Sally open her lips trying to say something. Rose added before Sally could even speak, "You should be mindful of your health, you know. Health is a person's most important wealth!"

Sally wanted to tell Rose that she didn't have any appetite but when she saw the latter's serious expression, she only nodded. Ever since she saw the photo, she didn't have any appetite for food and drink. If such thing was true, it would mean that Little Pear was living a more miserable life than a beggar.

Sally's heart was broken and filled with guilt. She opened and closed the clip to put food and didn't notice that her plate was already full of food. Rose softly reminded her and she heard some people whispering about her in disdain. Her thoughts finally came back to earth.

"Oh my, it looks like she hasn't eaten anything for a long time, eh?"

"Look at her! She looks so poor! No matter how expensive her dress is, it would still be obvious that she came from a poor family!"

"But, Lili, why are you saying such unpleasant words? All the men coming to this party are either wealthy or powerful. What are we going to do if she hooks up with someone powerful? Someone we can't afford to offend?"

Rose could only frown and look at the people who whispered at Sally's back with disgust. How could they? They claimed to be from well-mannered families but they were not different from disgusting reptiles! She already had taken part in this kind of parties where there were many wealthy men and poisonous words from the superstars and rich women. However, Sally was indifferent and unaffected. Rose couldn't help but admire how aloof she was right now.

Sally put down the food clip and said, "Rose, let's just go. Let's not waste our time." She didn't want to bother herself with these women. Those women must have thought that having diamonds was a personality. Except for Little Pear, it was only Addison who could arouse her interest.

She was fine until Addison appeared in her thoughts. Her heart throbbed sadly as she thought of him. The greatest pain for a person, especially for a woman, was missing a man whom she loved and who loved her as well.