The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

Xu Fangyang almost choked on her drink out of shock. She coughed for a while and Lanni panicked. Had she gone too far? When the latter stopped coughing, she offered the bottle of water that she had bought but was yet to drink from. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

Xu Fangyang nodded and drank a few sips before she managed to stop her cough. "Thank you." Her voice was still hoarse for a while.

When she was alright, she glared at Lanni. "What nonsense are you insinuating? There is nothing between Storm and me! He has been married for years and that only ended a few days ago, and I'm nothing but his lawyer."

Lanni made sure the latter was not about to drink her cappuccino, not ready to make her choke again. She looked indifferent about it. "The private investigators I just mentioned found it out. I'm sorry that he invaded your privacy but he didn't mean to. He only wanted to find something that we could use to prove Storm's innocence and accidentally stumbled upon the information." She bluffed and kept things vague.

There was no freaking investigator who had uncovered anything. She had done so herself within the few minutes that she saw Xu Fangyang. The woman looked like she wanted to get away from what she felt was bullshit but at the same time, her eyes held a ray of hope that this media agency could really help her prove Storm's innocence.

She clearly didn't trust anyone but was willing to try for him. Only a woman in love would act like that and have the kind of horrified expressions that Xu Fangyang did when Lanni talked about a star's career potentially ending because the truth was found out too late.

Her reaction to the news that her feelings had been found out was enough evidence to prove that Lanni was right, and it was too late to keep pretending.

Luckily, the woman didn't probe about the investigation. She might have given herself away, considering the latter was a lawyer.

Xu Fangyang looked into her cup. "He doesn't know."

Lanni was relieved that she had only talked about feelings, not a relationship.

"Do you prefer to talk about it somewhere else?" She offered.

The latter shook her head. They had booked a private booth whose walls were sound proof and no one would come in unnecessarily.

She sipped her drink. "Storm didn't do any of the things that the media claims he did. But you know how slow the police are in our country. They keep promising to investigate further and although they do, they rarely ever find anything new. I couldn't find a private investigator that I could trust."

Lanni nodded, understanding that it was not because it was difficult to find one. Xu Fangyang was just more worried because this was a case that involved the man she loved.

"It may be difficult for me to represent him in court if anyone found out about my feelings. Someone could use it against us so I hope you will keep it secret. Besides, it is not the right time for him to be involved with another woman." She said to Lanni, who understood and nodded.

"It's your secret to tell or keep."

They went ahead to discuss the tidbits that Lin, Star and Skylar had found out, all of which Xu Fangyang knew. In fact, she knew everything about the case which was why Lanni had sought her in the first place.

"I always found Anna suspicious." Xu Fangyang spoke, making Lanni relieved that she finally believed her. "She was too good to be true. No one is perfect but she was. I don't believe that it's possible for a woman to be beautiful, smart, innocent, kind and have a good temper."

"What are you trying to say?" Lanni narrowed her eyes slightly. She had met a few women who could check all those boxes. Although it was rare, it was not impossible.

Xu Fangyang slapped her forehead. "It's not what you are thinking. There has to be a limit to kindness even for saints. No one is perfect, Lanni. There has to be a flaw no matter how slight it is. That woman was…" She looked infuriated as well as baffled. As if she could not find the right word to describe it, she sighed and changed her approach. "What would you do if you met a woman who loved your husband and spent more time with him than you did?"

"I would…" Lanni felt furious just imagining the situation even though there was no such woman in hers and Xiehan's lives. She decided to be truthful. "I'm not usually one to cause trouble. I would not confront her unless she is trying to seduce him or ruin our marriage but that doesn't mean I will not be awfully jealous."

"Exactly." Xu Fangyang almost raised her voice as though she had finally met someone with whom she was on the same page. "I was jealous of her even though she was the legal wife. I know of women who accepted their husbands' mistresses just to save their marriages but that doesn't mean those women were not jealous.

But Anna…she was friendly to me in a way that was over the top. At first I was guilty and thought that she didn't know how I felt but later, I was shocked out of my wits. One day, she told me that she would be happy for us if Storm were to reciprocate my feelings for him. She said that she would abort the baby she was carrying and divorce him, or give birth to the baby and give me its custody so we would be a complete family."

"What?" Lanni was shocked. That was ridiculous. Was giving out one's child part of being kind? It was suspicious.

Xu Fangyang finished her drink with a smirk. "The next day, she put up a white lotus show and cried to Storm to tell him that I threatened to have her kicked out of her house and promised to replace her."

Lanni had the urge to roll her eyes. "You said she was kind and I thought that she really was a real life angel. Why didn't you mention that she was a white lotus?" She shook her head, and Xu Fangyang laughed.

"That's because I thought she was kind too." She looked like she was having fun after making Lanni go through an emotional roller coaster.

"What happened? Did Storm believe her?" She asked.

"That has been my point from the start. She was a woman who didn't ever complain about anything. Even when Storm had to stay out late because of concerts that happened one after another or be away from home for weeks, she would always give him the perfect smile and wish him the best. The first time she ever complained about anything was on that day and she cried while at it."

"That's tragic." Lanni rapped her finger against the surface of the table. "Why does it sound like she had been planning to get you out of his life from the start?"

"Bingo." Xu Fangyang was completely out of her professional mode as she explained the events that followed. "She was trying to get away everyone who knew Storm and could be helpful in preparation for the grand scheme. It was too late when I realized that she was Axel's sister and her marriage to him had been part of Axel's plan."

It was Lanni's turn to choke.

"Are you okay?" Xu Fangyang looked concerned.

"I'm not! Can you not drop such bombs without a warning?" She exaggerated even though she was indeed shocked out of her wits.

Xu Fangyang laughed. "Did you know that the order in which events are presented in court may impact the verdict? It depends on which order is more convincing."

"Now I do." Lanni had to agree. "Do you think it's possible to meet him?"

"If he agrees. I'll need to talk to him first." The latter said.

Lanni's phone rang but she took one glance and ignored the call.

"Do you need to pick that?" Xu Fangyang asked.

"I'll call them back later." She set her phone on silent mode and the two of them made their way to the detention centre.

____

AN

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