Love Began with the First Meeting

And what he said was not entirely false. Like that one time, there was a slump in the share price of Shen Group which came as a
warning to him from Brian.
Sheridan sighed under the table. The fact that he was forced to do that showed that Brian had grown to become one of the super
powers in A City and he did not want to have a direct conflict with him. He finally stopped thinking about his business and looked
at Shirley. Her eyes had turned red and they were brimming with tears. He could not help but raise his hand to touch the corner
of her eye, wiping the tear away from her beautiful cheek. He said emotionally,"I never thought that I could see you again for the
rest of my life. When I found out that you were in A City, I followed you to every place you showed up. I really hated it that all I
could do was silently watch you from a distance. But it was very fortunate that I had eyes on you yesterday. If I had not been
watching you, I would have lost you and that would have left me with full of regret and self-loathing. I would have been pulled
again into the deepest of abyss, which for me is full of sadness and self-blaming."
Shirley was so moved by his words. She licked her lips slightly and looked at the man in front of her, who was her first love. But
he was also the reason why she met Richie and started a life filled with pure love with Richie. And since the past was so far
away now, no matter how much he had hurt her, they were now just poignant memories. Moreover, he had sacrificed so much for
her. She could not bear to blame him any more for his past deeds.
"Sheridan, will you remove the mask and show me your face? Could you? Please?" Shirley asked in a hushed tone. She did not
want to hurt him.
He couldn't look into her eyes after hearing that request. He kept his regretful gaze on the floor and replied in a soft tone,"I am
too ugly now. I am afraid it will scare you."
"I do not care what you look like now. I just want to see you..." Shirley's voice trembled. Tears were all but ready to fall down from
her eyes.
After a short silence, Sheridan decided to reveal his face to her. He withdrew his hand from Shirley's face and slowly reached for
his silver mask. He moved it away from his face... It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Ever since he had started wearing the
mask over twenty years ago, no one had seen his real face, other than himself when he looked into the mirror. He didn't know
why he kept it covered. Maybe he did not want others to see his ugly face or maybe he was trying to evade the past and become
a different person.
A horrible and drastic scar sprawled across his face - from the corner of his eye, it traveled across his face to the opposite corner
of his mouth. His handsome face was completely destroyed by the spider-web-like scar. Seeing the dreadful scar, Shirley was

devastated. She raised her trembling hand slowly, wanting to touch his face. She was on the verge of tears.
As Shirley reached for the wide scar on his face, Sheridan turned his face away slightly by instinct to avoid being touched. His
reflex reaction worsened her sorrow. Her hand stopped in mid-air. Then she withdrew it slowly. She could not control her
emotions anymore. Tears burst out from her bright, beautiful eyes.
She had been living such a joyful life all these years that she had forgotten what a heartbreak felt like. But now, as she looked at
Sheridan's scarred face, which was once so handsome and vibrant, she dared not image how much he must have suffered
through these years. Great pity and sadness overwhelmed her. She could not stop thinking that if it weren't for her, Ryan
wouldn't have treated him so cruelly.
"Don't cry, Shirley." Sheridan frowned. He did not want her to feel sorry for him. He continued to say,"I really don't want you to cry
for me. You should always be happy and beautiful."
"Sheridan, I am sorry. I am so sorry..." Shirley could not control her emotions. Only the tears she was shedding for him could help
her get rid of the great despair that was haunting her soul. She could not stop whimpering.
Sheridan couldn't bear to watch her cry so hard. Out of pure instinct, he reached for her and put his arms around her and
huddled the crying woman into his warm chest. He loved her so much and was willing to sacrifice everything he had for her.
Shirley hid her face on Sheridan's shoulder. She wanted to cry till her tears dried up; she wanted to cry for every bad thing that
had happened to Sheridan. Each time she thought of the pain Sheridan must have gone through, she cried even harder.
Sheridan's shoulder was wet with her tears of anguish.
"Shirley, please stop crying. It's not good for you, okay?" Sheridan tried to calm her down. He closed his eyes and let her rest in
his arms. He knew that he should eventually let her go. But at that moment, he could not let go. He did not want to control his
desire to hug her tightly. It would have been great if he could be in this embrace for the rest of his life. Maybe, with this precious
hug, his life wouldn't be too lonely anymore.
As a warm aura enveloped the flower room with their passion, pain and memories of the past, a loud bang was heard all of a
sudden. It felt like the room was hit by a bomb. And the next moment, the door collapsed with a loud thud.
Sheridan released Shirley instinctively and they both stood up to look at the door which was broken down. Two men were
standing at the doorway - Richie and Brian. Richie's usual cold and indifferent face was now unpredictable and his eagle eyes
were fixed on Sheridan. He glared at Sheridan as though he were Richie's prey. He was ready for the killer drive.

While the two men who loved Shirley made furious eye contact with each other, Brian seemed relaxed and even a little happy
about the situation his father was in. He leaned against the door frame and looked at his mother, who was obviously in the
middle of some emotional train wreck. He could see that her eyes were still red from too much crying. An evil and arrogant smile
unfolded on his face. Brian asked his mom in a low voice,"Mom, could you please tell your dear son where Molly is?"