She pressed her lips, swallowed one big gulp, and took a deep breath again. She told herself that three days was enough to mope around - it had to end now. Mark was trying his best to be strong while fighting against the disease so she should be doing the same.
She took one last deep breath, stood up, and then headed to the bathroom.
At that moment, the door of the villa flew open. Brian walked inside, hands shoved in his pants, followed by Tony.
"Mr. Brian!" Lisa greeted. She was just finishing up with cleaning the kitchen. "Should I cook dinner for you?" she asked.
Brian stopped in his tracks and lifted his head as if he was looking upstairs. Lisa followed his gaze and said, "Mrs. Molly Long hasn't had dinner. She's actually lost a lot of weight over the past few days." She said this in an attempt to make Brian sympathize with Molly seeing that he was already peeved.
A trace of pity flashed across his eyes but Brian said coldly, "She won't starve to death by missing one or two meals. She isn't stupid. Does she have to be dragged out just so she would put something in her mouth?" Without missing a beat, Brian headed directly upstairs.
"So..."
"You can rest now," Brian interrupted Lisa. After taking only a few steps, he stopped and turned his head slightly, "Doesn't Lucy's art exhibition open tomorrow?"
Lisa suppressed the feeling of hopelessness in her heart and said with a smile, "Yes, it does. Tomorrow at Central Gallery." She didn't agree with what Lucy was planning but she was her daughter after all and this would be her first large-scale exhibition. Lisa also hoped that Brian would come.
"Hmm," Brian said then simply turned back around and went up stairs. Before heading to his study, he glanced at the door of Mark's bedroom which was closed. He lingered for a while before entering his study.
Molly wasn't aware that Brian was coming back today. She had just taken a bath and was in a silk robe with a big towel wrapped around her hair. She took out a stack of newspapers out of her bag and scanned the recruitment page as she lay on the bed. She skimmed through the page making marks on openings that was suitable for her. Her eyes twinkled when she found a job opening from a big company. The troupe was recruiting three assistants.
Molly excitedly marked the opening with a big circle and a star in red ink.
Molly stopped skimming the paper anymore since she had already found one that she liked. She folded up the paper and placed it on top of the bedside table, turned off the lights and went to sleep. Now more than ever, she was determined to bounce back and be strong.
The dim light from the crescent moon sprinkled into the room, spreading unto Molly's face. She looked even lonelier in the ringing silence.
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