When Brian heard Molly say this, his brows raised. He sat down beside her and placed one dainty hand on his big palm as he asked, "What do you mean by that, Molly?" Sounding a bit annoyed, he quipped, "You can't just start the game, then end it. You don't call the shots."
It was Molly's turn to be shocked by his response. She tried to withdraw her hand, but he held on to it. Molly moved to put some distance between them. She was afraid that Brian would see her intention to leave. Molly was two months pregnant now, and in another month, her baby bump would be showing. There was no way she could hide the pregnancy from him by then.
Unable to hold back his fury, Brian fixed his eyes on Molly. "Listen, Molly. Don't ever think about leaving me. Not on your life. Do you understand?" he ground the words out.
His threatening words prevented Molly from giving a response. Instead, she bit her lips and sneered.
Miserably, she thought, 'Why do you have to be so cruel to me, Brian?'
Molly was grateful that her bandaged eyes hid her turmoil. 'You used me so Becky's eyes would recover. Now, you want me to stay and watch as you two live happily ever after?
You took advantage of me this whole time. And you forced my family to leave me. Whatever you did for me was just an act. When you're gentle with me? When you tried to protect me? All of that was not true. You did all that for Becky, not me.'
Her heart was overwhelmed by sorrow and desperation. Molly further sank into silence. With no one to miss, she would now leave this place forever, taking only one thing that belonged to her - the baby inside of her.
It must have been her continued silence that made Brian sense Molly's resolution to leave him. As the thought gripped him in fear, all the anger he was keeping inside his heart bloomed and pushed itself out. Brian nearly went crazy trying to find matching eyes for Molly. For the first time, he even compromised himself just for her. Challenges usually angered Brian, but this time it filled his heart with gratitude. And he was more than thankful when the donor finally agreed.
For the past several weeks, Brian spent all his time with Molly. There was a restlessness about him that he couldn't control. Only when the medical team assured him that Molly had gotten past the critical phase did he finally calm down. It must have been the days of constant stress and strain that led him to black out. Although he slept long, the slumber was neither sound nor sweet because of a recurring nightmare. In this particular dream, Molly was leaving him.
When he woke up in panic, it was already the second day after the procedure, so he hurried to Molly's room. The moment he saw her awake, Brian was thrilled. As he listened to Dr. He's report that she was out of danger, he stared at Molly, while hoping deep down inside that she would call him "Bri" again. But he heard nothing. She never said a single word to him.
All that time, no matter what he said, Molly only sat as a quiet listener, never saying anything. It drove Brian crazy that she didn't speak. Good thing Dr. He confirmed that Molly's vocal cords were fine. And he was able to eavesdrop as she gently asked Felix about her eyes. Otherwise, Brian would have considered abducting Elias to ask about the success of his treatment of Molly's throat.
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