Chapter 734 The Farewell (Part Eight)

Brian hid his face against his mother's shoulder. Right now, sorrow was the only thing he knew. After he managed to catch his breath, he started to explain, "I love her so much... I've loved only her and no other girl could replace her... But Molly has been through so much while she was with me and there's no saying whether that would stop or not... So I had to let her go... There was no other choice. I had to let her go, to get her out of harm's way..." He closed his eyes, ruefully thinking on his next words, then continued, "Mom, as much as I want to keep her and love her, I can't. I can never give her the life she wanted..." He paused as his trembling voice and dizziness prevented him from speaking.

"My son..." Shirley hugged him even tighter, leaning her head against his and rocking him slightly back and forth as though he was a small child again. But she couldn't think of anything to say to him. She understood how he felt. She understood why things had to be the way they were. She had returned to the hotel room a few minutes ago to see Brian looking out of the window. She had hoped that their departure would bring back her son's memory, but after watching him by the window, she had realized that he had his memory all this time and was only pretending to had lost it. She suddenly remembered Richie's words from earlier and understood what he meant.

She knew that Brian was destined to have an extraordinary life, and this life could mean a lot of cruel, unspeakable things like killing others or even being killed. Molly was just a common girl, who could never be able to assimilate to that kind of life. If she stayed by Brian's side, then every day she would be living in the uncertain space that was between life and death, and she would not get away from the fear of losing her beloved ones all the time. Brian may be strong and powerful, but he could not guarantee that he could protect her continuously all the time; there would always be the threat of danger in her life. Shirley knew that Brian would rather keep all of the danger and horror to himself than putting her in harm's way. She deserved to have an ordinary, happy life.

She also knew that loving someone also meant letting them go if it would benefit them rather than to hurt them. Suddenly, Shirley realized that history was repeating itself. She was once in the same situation that her son and daughter-in-law faced. She loved her

"You're my wife in name only, on paper only. My heart and love will never be yours."

Edward made it clear to Daisy that she was nothing to him. They were both victims of family greed -- the marriage was arranged for them.

Six years passed. She remained quiet, gaining a reputation in the army as a tough-as-nails colonel. When she walked into his life again, Edward fell in love with this woman...

n't love me anymore. If I keep hanging around you any longer, you would only come to despise me and that would be the thing I would hate the most."

Drowning in her own agony, she bit down on her bottom lip hard, trying not to break down in front of Mark.

"Mommy?" Mark looked up at her, noticing her distressed and sorrowful mind. Although he was young, he understood that she was feeling miserable, and so his eyes conveyed to her the kind of tender and loving care that most children would not have towards their parents. But Mark knew. "I'll always be by your side. I'll never leave you. You'll always have me by your side," Mark said in a voice much too gentle and wise for his age. There were tears in his eyes. At his age, he was much too concerned about Molly's being heartbroken and in suffering pain.

His words were very poignant and they moved her. They made her realize that she could no longer wallow in sorrow and pain, but for her own sake and the sake of her son, she had to turn her attention ahead, to the future, and not look back at the past. Molly looked down at Mark and then frowned in thought. "Let's go," she said resolutely.

She took Mark by the hand and started to lead him forward.

The snow was still falling delicately all around them and the music was still playing. Pretty soon, mother and son left the premises of the square and nowhere to be seen, but their footprints were imprinted in the snow, indicating the direction where they went. As one looked at them, slowly getting covered with a new layer of snow, one would wonder what lay ahead for Molly and her son Mark.