The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

Flynn was laid to rest a few days later. There were only a handful of family members present and his friends weren't many either.

Lanni and Luna were still in disbelief when they gave their final respects. Who would have thought that the carefree man that liked to make fun of everything would perish so easily? It was unbelievable but they had no choice but to accept it.

Veruschka spent the few days that followed in B City. Although they had only met recently, she hit it off with Luna and one would think they had known each other for ages. They had a lot in common and would chat for hours on end.

Since Xingyu and Luna's villa was spacious enough, they let her temporarily live with them instead of staying at the hotel on her own. She had no family to get back to in Germany and was in no rush to get back, so she waited until the day that Flynn's will would be read.

The executor was invited to Li Yuming's villa where everyone had agreed to gather.

Veruschka sat next to Luna and looked tense.

Luna patted her back. "It will be alright."

The latter nodded but didn't stop the tears from gathering in her eyes. This was the final evidence that her man was dead. The tiny hope she held that he would be back—despite watching him being lowered into the ground—had snapped.

She burst into tears as soon as she heard the representative read the declaration of Flynn's identity on his will.

Xingyu grabbed Luna's hand before she could follow her and whispered in her ear, "let her calm down on her own."

Luna nodded reluctantly.

It turned out that Flynn had more estates than they could ever imagine. He had left all his properties in Germany for Veruschka and their unborn baby, while the estate he had gathered in B City was distributed among Lanni, Luna and Li Yuming.

He had also left behind a letter for Li Yuming, stating that he had never held a grudge against her and that he regretted not reaching out to bury the hatchet that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

Li Yuming had tears in her eyes when the letter was read out.

"I should have been the one to reach out. He was just a child with nothing to be blamed about." She sniffled. "We were both victims and shouldn't have hated each other and played the blame game."

"It's not your fault either, mom." Lanni patted her shoulder.

Li Yuming hugged her to comfort herself and went out to speak to Veruschka. She found her staring at the fountain as though the water made her feel calmer.

"Hey," She whispered.

Veruschka turned and offered a smile when she saw that it was Luna's mother. "Hi. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my emotions in control."

"You can't be blamed for that." Li Yuming consoled her and closed in on her. "I know we have only known each other for a short while but… if you ever need anything, I'll be here to help."

Veruschka smiled gently. "I don't want to impose on you. It's already enough that Lanni and Luna have been so helpful to me."

"You wouldn't be imposing on us." Li Yuming reassured her. "It's not safe to be on your own while pregnant. If you feel like moving to B City, we will be there for you."

"How did you know I wanted to move to B City?" She stifled a laugh in embarrassment.

"It's nothing to be shy about." Li Yuming smiled. "But if you want to move, you should do so soon while you are still allowed to travel around."

"I'll take note of that." Veruschka offered her a hug and rubbed her stomach.

Seeing her actions, Li Yuming vowed to help her through her pregnancy. It was the least she could do for Flynn.

"I'll go back to Germany in two days." She stated.

"I'll help you prepare for your departure if you don't mind." She promised, and Veruschka nodded.

___

Lanni got back to work the next day. It was hard to focus at first but she had a lot of work to do, so she had no choice but to try her best.

Lin Jian kept checking on her every hour or two. He would bring random snacks and drinks to help her feel better, or a blanket and a pillow which made her wonder whether she was supposed to work or sleep in her office the entire time.

"Sister-in-law, are you alright?" He asked when he poked his head into her office for the umpteenth time in the afternoon. He had dropped the friend-in-law honorific and switched to sister-in-law.

She massaged her forehead in frustration.

"Does your head hurt?" He asked worriedly and prepared to bring her painkillers or call a doctor.

Lanni shot a glare at him. "I'm perfectly fine, okay? Don't make it sound like I'm a toddler in your care."

Lin Jian scratched his head. "If I don't check on you often enough, Xiehan will kill me for not taking good care of his wife. Who am I to disobey?" He said in his defense.

"It's enough to check on me once. Don't do it every few minutes like I'm on the verge of death!" She glared at him. How was she supposed to work with him buzzing around her like an annoying fly?

The mention of death dimmed her mood yet again. It had taken her what felt like forever to take in the fact that her brother was no more. She had only known him for a few years, known that they were siblings two years ago and it had taken her too long to accept it. When she finally did, he was no more. She felt empty.

"Are you alright?" Lin Jian asked, which resulted in her grabbing the pillow he had brought her to make her rest better and throwing it in his face. He laughed and caught it before it fell. "I'll take that as a yes."

She smiled bitterly and tears spilled out of her eyes.

Lin Jian panicked. "Lanni, are you feeling unwell? You can take the rest of the day off."

She shook her head and wiped her tears away, biting her lip tightly to stop another bout. "I'll be alright."

She had been saying the same thing every time she thought about her past with Flynn—when she still thought he bullied her because he hated her—and couldn't stop herself from crying.

Lin Jian closed in and sat on the chair opposite her desk. "It's okay to cry. Only by recognizing your feelings will you be able to move on. And you are not in any rush to move on. Sometimes it might take a few days, sometimes even years. No one gets to tell you when you should or if it's too soon."

Lanni listened to his words and felt as though she was reading something from one of those articles written by shrinks. Why did shrinks even exist?

Realizing that she was starting to be bitter about everything in life, she grabbed a file from her desk and showed it to Lin Jian.

"Since you are here, we can discuss work-related matters." She suggested.

"You don't have to force yourself to work." He advised.

"Then we can talk about your personal life. Why did you switch to calling me sister-in-law?" She asked. She knew that she was overthinking everything but at the moment, she could cling to anything as long as it helped her forget about the thing she didn't want to think about anymore.

He studied her like she was out of her mind. "Must I have a reason before I can call you that? Ruby and I are in a relationship and her brother is your husband." He explained.

"I see." She slumped into the backrest of her chair.

"Do you think you can have a word with Han Xichen?" He gently suggested. She had lost a lot of weight in just a few days and had dark circles around her eyes from lack of sleep.

She frowned at his words. "Do you think we are close enough for you to tell me that I need to see a shrink?"

He shrugged. "That makes sense, we aren't. Actually, it was just a suggestion.. You can ignore it if you don't want to."