Lili was busy in the office all day with shiyi attending meetings. And finally in the evening ,she got some rest when shiyi came to her.
"Lili you can go home I'll come late today." He told her.
"But what happened?" She asked closing the laptop.
"Our client is here in the city and decided to have a meeting. It is far from here so you can go home early, I'll come with Lang." He said.
"Okay, come early." He was already out but she didn't knew he heard it. He smiled while closing the door at her words and turned around only to find lang smiling at him sheepishly.
"Come early.." he said in a shriller voice copying Lili.
"What?" Shiyi hid his smiled and asked with a poker face.
"Nothing!" Lang was so done with his friend.
"Ahhh I'm hungry...." She streched her arms and looked at the clock it shows four pm.
She decided to leave the office and eat at her regular place as it had been a long time since she went there.
"Hello lili, long time no see...huh" she entered in an old restaurant in the market and an old lady greeted her.
"Hey dian, how are you?" She greeted her back.
"All good, so your regular order?" She asked and Lili nodded and started stepping towards the cabin where she always sits.
"Uh, dian i think someone is sitting here-" she got interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Oh Lili??.. hey!!" Her head snapped from where the voice came and she was shocked to see him here.
"Zhang You here?" She walked towards him as he cut the call and stepped towards her.
"I come here often, how about you?" They sat on the table.
"I too come here often how about we didn't met earlier." She asked.
"About that as you know I was in foreign so.." he said.
"Oh yeah" she said and her order arrived and they started eating.
"So how's shiyi?" Zhang asked out of the air.
"He's good..why?" Lili said before eating.
"No I just asked it seems like he's over working." Lili looked at him.
"Yeah, he don't stay at home anyways."she lowered her eyes.
"No man wants to go out when he have a wife as beautiful as you." He smiled at her and she smiled back.
"But really... I mean... why? Did you two fight?" He asked and Lili looked at him.
"Zhang you are my really good friend. I am happy that you care about me." She said.
"Lili this was not the answer to my question. Now I'm sure something really happened between you two.....Tell me do I need to break his bones?!" He was about to get up but lili held his hand and stopped him.
"No zhang sit down it's nothing like that!!" She made him sit while laughing.
"Then how's it??" Lili sighed knowing he's stubborn.
"We have nothing to fight over when it's nothing between us"
"Means?" Zhang got confused.
"We are married on a contract." His eyes widened.
"What??!!" He shouted but not that loud.
"Shh!!!" She made him shut up.
"You are what???" He whispered shouted again.
"Contract marriage??!! How?!! When??!!" He was truly shocked.
"Our company collaborated with theirs to stop the downfall of chen groups. There was no way out than marrying us...so.." lili explained.
"So you married him?!!"he can't believe it.
"What's the date?? I mean for how many months did you signed this contract?" He asked relaxing a bit.
"It is optional for a year and minimum is 7 months."
"And it had been 2 months to your marriage right?" He asked and she nodded.
"But as long as i know you didn't need to make your marriage public if it is contracted." He said after thinking.
"I... dad said it is now compulsory to show it publically." She stuttered because she was going to say something else.
"Okay leave that!! Are you gonna divorce him after 7 months or whatever it is?" He asked and Lili looked up at him. She don't the answer herself.. why?....her answer should be yes but why she is not able to say it...?...She thought to herself.
"Why?" She whispered but zhang was not able to hear her.
"Lili?"he called her.
"I don't know zhang." She said.
Zhang was about to say something but her phone ranged. It was her mother.
"Hello mom?" She picked up the call.
"Lili...!!!" It looked like her mother was trying hard to speak. She was crying?
"Mom!! What happened??!!" She got up and after her zhang too.
"Your dad!!" Her mother said and teared up, crying loudly.
"Mom?!! Hello??! Mom!!!" She quickly picked up her purse and rushed towards her car.
"Hello lili...." It was chen qi.
" Qi!! What happened?!!?" Lili was really scared now.
"Dad fainted and we had admitted him to the city hospital but doctor said he is serious..." She can tell he was also trying hard to control his tears.
"Lili, what happened??" Zhang came out running behind her.
"My dad!!" Tears made their way from her eyes rolling down to her cheeks.
"Wait let me drive.."he hurriedly moved to the driver's seat and started the car.
"To the city hospital."he nodded and sped up.
...
"Dad!!" She shouted when they reached the hospital.
"Mom!! What happened!!??" She said as soon as she saw her mom and chen qi. Her mom hugged and cried and then lili too wasn't able to control her tears anymore and they both cried.
"Doctor! How's dad?" They heard Chen qi rushing towards the doctor when he came out of the ICU.
"Chen Qi, he's very serious, his Disease is out of control.", the doctor said. they all looked confused but chen qi just stepped back and sat on the chair with his head falling down.
"Disease? What disease?!" Lili asked the doctor.
"He didn't told you yet?...yes I'm sorry but he have a heart disease and he had been coming to me from three months from now. He had forbidden me tell you anything but now it is serious.", the doctor said but they were shocked.
"Y...you are lying... YOU ARE LYING!!" Her mom first whispered then shouted before crying more harder. Lili just stood there without any movement and then looked at chen qi.
"He's lying right?! You know...I know him he can't have any disease the...the doctor is lying!!" Lili made chen qi look at her. But he just looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"Please don't tell me you knew it!!" Lili again teared up and chen qi hugged her.
"Who's lili, the patient inside is calling her." A nurse came to them and lili looked at her before wiping her tears away.
"Please do not talk to the patient that may cause discomfort to them." The nurse said and Lili nodded before going in.
"Can't we go and meet him?" Her mother asked.
"Yes you can meet him one by one" the nurse told them and lili nodded to them before going in.
The door cracked open and she saw him turning his head towards her and smiled lowly at her.
She smiled back facing the difficulty to control her tears.
"Dad, how are you feeling now?" She asked before sitting on the chair beside his bed. There were wires sticking to his body and machines surrounding him as he layed on the bed.
"Come closer." He said and she brought her face closer to him as he kissed on her forehead.
She smiled while wiping a tear in her eye before it roll down to her cheek. "I'm sorry I didn't told you before I thought-" he got interrupted by her.
"No need to talk this much." She ordered and he smiled.
"You know why I married you to Shiyi?" He suddenly said.
"W...why? Why are you saying this?" She was confused.
"When I cane to know that I'm ill, the first thing came in my mind were both of you. I know you both are workaholic and won't focus of marrying but I wanted to see your wedding before I die. I know now Qi had a girlfriend and he'll marry her also but your wedding was something you didn't liked." Lili tried to stop him from saying all this but he stopped her instead.
"I know we forced you for this marriage but I know I won't regret. I know this marriage is contracted but I didn't had any choice then and that's why I did every ritual even though we could have just sent you with him in your pyjamas. Lili.....Shiyi is a great guy or say he's the best man than anyone I had met in my whole life. You both make a great couple and I can see your future together. I know I'm asking for a lot but I hope you can think about it." He finished with tears in his eyes like Lili.
"Dad...." She wanted to speak so much but her throat denied so she hugged him. They pulled back after a minute or two.
"By the way, don't tell qi that I know he have a girlfriend." He said making her laugh.
"I'll send mom" she said while getting up. He nodded and looked at her retiring figure and thought many things.
"Mom, dad's calling you." She told her mother and she quickly wiped her tears and combed her hair with her hands before going in.
"Doctor what did the reports said?" Chen qi asked as soon as he asked the doctor drawing Lili's attention.
"We are trying hard and with every possible way to treat him but i think now it's all in his hands. If he decided to give up then we won't be able to do anything..." Lili sat down on the chair near her again tearing up and doctor stopped speaking and went from there to give them some time alone.
"He did everything for us but at the end what....this??..." Chen qi walked to her and hugged her when she wasnt able to speak more. Her throat was dry and no words were coming out from her mouth. She felt like the most helpless being.
"Don't worry ,he'll be fine i know and i know you know that too.." he tried to calm her down but only he know how much he was trying hard himself not to tear up. She felt her sobbing turned into hiccups do he went to bring some water while she sat there thinking everything and nothing, so much and her mind blank at the same time.
"Where's shiyi?" She heard chen qi while he gave her the water.
"He went for a meeting and he said he wil be late.". Her thoughts and words did not matched a bit, she was thinking of her father's word, each and every word came in her head making her feel dizzy.
She drank the full bottle in one go calming her down. "You can go home and i-" she interrupted chen qi. "No .... I'll stay here, with dad." He didn't spoke further knowing his sister very well.
"I'll arrange a room then, and i think we must send mom home, she fall sick fast." He knocked on the door before going in. While she sat there again rethinking everything.
"Don't worry everything will be fine.." Zhang consoled her.
...
"She isn't picking up my calls." Shiyi sped up his car as lang tried to calm him down.
"Relax bro she must be busy." But he turned a deaf ear to him and sped past the cars.
"Wait I'll try calling her." He took his phone out and tried her number twice but she didn't answered.
"Track her phone's location." Shiyi ordered and he immediately did which showed the name a of a hospital.
"She's in the city hospital." Shiyi's eyes widened and many negative things started coming in his mind as much as he started to say positive. He pressed the pedal again and in ten minutes he was at the hospital.
Only he knows how he passed that ten minutes. A drop of cold sweat streamed down from his forehead as he looked for Lili but didn't found her in the view and as he was about to go to the reception Lang already walked towards him and told him to go to the ICU.
His negative thoughts never stopped until he saw lili sitting on the chair before the ICU with her head down. He sighed a breathe of relief before rushing to her and pulling her in a tight hug while he calmed himself down not even looking at the person sitting beside her.
She was firstly shocked at who this person was but as soon as the his familiar scent filled in her nostrils she hugged him back as her eyes watered.
"Why weren't you picking up my calls?"his voice filled with worry but it was enought to calm her down. "Dad...." The words left her mouth and he immediately pulled back looking at her face tears flowing from her eyes which were red and puffy, and there were some tear stains on her face telling she cried before.
"What happened?... Lili??....lili???" He asked but her eyes closed down and she fainted in his arms.
"Doctor....doctor!!!" His voice was the last thing she heard before her eyes closed fully.
...
SHIYI'S POV
I was sitting there,beside the bed where she was laying, with a needle taped to her hand as the liquid transferred from the bottle in her. My heart wrenched at the view I don't know why. Her father is serious, the doctor told me and she got so stressed that she fainted and now suffering from weakness.
I suddenly remembered what Mr Chen said at the day before our wedding when he called me in his study.
FLASHBACK
"Mr Chen, you asked for me?" I asked as i entered in the room and he nodded before telling me to sit.
"Lili is my only daughter and I love her unconditionally. To tell you the truth I'm sick i mean I have a heart disease." He looked at me with his watered eyes. And I was too shocked to speak.
"Mr chen....this i-" he interrupted me.
"Shiyi, let me speak, I don't know how much time I have, that's why i decided to get her married..... to you, I know she won't even think of marriage but I want to see her happy with her life partner. I know this is a contract marriage but I hope you can do more than that." His eyes glistening with hope.
I was completely speechless, the father of my to be wife is telling me that he's ill and have hopes from me in this contract marriage??
"But why did you choose me?" I was curious to know. He think that he's gonna die and decided to marry his daughter to me?
"I know you since your dad is my buisness partner, means more than a decade and in my eyes you are the best man for my Lili, your lifestyles, your thinking, your habits are much more alike. I thought that you two make a good couple and I hope you will. Let me tell you, Lili is stubborn but she'll stick to the thing till the very end she decided to stay with and it's her mindset with her life partner too. Even though she agreed to marry you i can see her feeling safe around you. You know what she never had been close to any man even though I told her to have a boyfriend that time too she denied. And I have seen her grown closer to you from the day you two met. She never even thought of marriage saying that it's just a distraction but I think that you can change her thoughts like her mother changed mine." He looked like he remembered their old days when he smiled.
" You have so many hopes from me and I am afraid what if I-" he again stopped me from speaking further.
"I understand your hesitation but I believe in you, Shiyi.." he grabbed my hand and looked at me with believe in his eyes.
"Mr Chen !!! Where are you!!!" Before he can say something Mrs Chen shouted.
"Shit!! I am done now!!" He looked at the door and shouted "coming" while I smiled at this couple. They really are like teenagers who are in love.
Present
I looked at Lili who looked pale and then i looked at the my phone screen to see the time, it was 2:54 am. I sighed but suddenly her hand shakes which was in my hands and she flutter open her eyes. She looked at the surroundings before her eyes finally settled on me making me feel butterflies like always. They were now less red.
She tried to get up so I helped her, all the time she was looking at me.
"How are you feeling now?" I asked after looking at her for a whole minute.
"I am fine, how's dad?" She asked but what can I say? What should I say? I got no words and then Chen qi came in.
"Lili, are you feeling alright?"he asked immediately.
"Yes I'm fine how's dad, is he okay?"
"Yeah he's fine, he's in a deep sleep, he's literally snoring. I can't believe..." He dropped at the couch making her laugh. He never failed to lighten up everyone's mood in a serious situation.
"A nurse came to check up on him and laughed before looking at me, like seriously?? he made fun of me infront of that beautiful lady..." He complained.
" Bro you know that I have my sis in law's phone number?" Lili picked up her phone and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
She can do that sometimes only. I laughed to me remembering a moment when she tried to raise an eyebrow looking at me but failed.
"And why are you laughing?" She gave me the same look.
"No...nothing." I acted like I was scared but she looked so cute that I just wanna do is pull her cheeks until they are red.
"Lili....my sweet sister...I will bring you chocolates and books but please keep that phone aside...hmm??!" He spoke in his sweetest voice making Lili change her mind.
Wow! I need to learn this trick.
...
AUTHOR'S SPACE
Longer update....i know it's too late but first thing to tell I wasn't able to find a good plot. Trust me i literally deleted 5 chapters after writing and finally ended up at this story i hope you'll like it..
And second thing you guess.... it's personal . 😂😉
And one more thing ,i started to write in the character's thought bcz i think in this way we can know more about how one feel and I'll try to write more pov's....
So stay tuned.
I Love my lovely readers...
Thank you
Byee
ENJOY READING;-)