Kiss Me Not

Yang Global Hospital, At Country D

Berry was watching the Royal Wedding live on her laptop inside her father's hospital room when she saw Brione lose consciousness.

"Oh my God, Bri!" she gasped at the sight of her friend falling to the floor. Worried, she immediately called Mitch who she knew had attended the wedding. "Mitch, what happened!? Is Bri okay!?"

"Yes, Berry. She's stable at the moment," Mitch chuckled from the other line. "Don't worry. It's honestly good news! She's pregnant!"

Hearing her friend's ecstatic words, the previous worry that gripped Berry was replaced with extreme happiness as she burst out loud, "Oh my gosh! She's going to be a mother!"

At her outburst, all the eyes in the room inevitably landed on her. Seeing the attention, Berry relayed the news to her family. "Bri is pregnant!"

It was a joyous occasion. Her family knew Brione. They considered her a close friend, so they were happy to hear the good news as well.

"You shouldn't contact her now while she's still resting," Mitch's voice echoed out from the phone. "I'm sure she'll leave a message in our group chat as soon as she's awake. I have to go now, Berry. Please send my regards to Aunty and Uncle. And tell Uncle to get well soon, okay?"

"Okay, I will," Berry smiled. "Bye Mitch, and have fun with your husband over there!"

Ending the call with a teasing tone, Berry let out a sigh of relief as she put down her phone. There was nothing to worry about. It even ended up being good news!

"Will your f.i.a.n.c.e. pick you up?" Mickey teasingly asked, shaking Berry off from her reverie by spelling out the obvious.

"Yes?" Berry snorted "Why?"

"Why even ask that? Dad's awake now. And of course, he'd wanted to meet him," Mickey mumbled out with a pout.

Blinking at her sibling's words, Berry reassuringly looked at her father and said, "He'll come to formally meet you, Dad. Don't worry."

In his bed, her father only nodded with a smile. At least that was one problem solved…

"Have you met his family?" her mother asked.

"Yes, Mom. Harry and I are already planning to have our wedding this coming month," Berry replied with a smile. "Honestly, I would've preferred not to have a wedding ceremony in the first place. I suggested we just register our marriage at the civil registry, but he really didn't want that…"

"Well, Of course! Why wouldn't he give you a wedding ceremony?" Mousy chimed in with a knowing frown. "You're the only woman in our family, Big Sis, and you deserve a grand wedding to really spread the message."

The family chuckled at their casual banter. It was a comfortable atmosphere, and it was only getting better the more Berry thought about her upcoming marriage.

"Are you happy, Daughter?" her mother suddenly asked, grabbing her attention as she looked at her.

Of course, Berry nodded, her smile stretching as wide as she could possibly make it.

"She sure is, Mom! Look how her eyes are twinkling," Mickey teased, pointing at Berry in as he spoke. "Plus, haven't you had enough already with how she's constantly building up her fiance nonstop? She can't even stop bragging about her engagement ring!"

Berry didn't mind the playful teasing. In fact, she wanted it that way. Her family should know that her decision was final, and that she actually really wanted to settle down with the man she finally chose. She wasn't sure if what she was feeling for Harry was already love, seeing as it might be too soon to tell for some, but Berry could tell that she was already developing a deep connection with him. Even with how quickly and turbulent their romance started, she really felt that there was something between them that could blossom into something more if given enough time.

"By the way, Big Sis, I did a quick search about him, and I found out that he's the son of Senior Cha's second wife with another man," Mickey inquisitively relayed. "Is that true?"

Berry nodded, "Yes. Harry said that even though he wasn't Senior Cha's real son, the Cha Family still treated him like one of their own."

"Yeah… I can see that," Mickey nodded in agreement. "He's even the one managing the family business as the CEO…"

Berry chuckled and amusingly asked, "Hey, are you doing a profile check on him? Why do you know so many things about him?"

"That's because I did," Mickey smugly grinned. "Of course, I wanna know more about him. It's only natural, and I'm sure Dad will ask me and Mousey to check on him anyway." he proudly smiled as he continued. "We just wanna make sure that he has no bad records like being violent women or being a known playboy. You're our only princess, the best sister in the world! So we don't want you to end up with someone that doesn't deserve you. Wealth and power don't matter… He's handsome, so that's a bonus, but we want you to end up with a good man first and foremost."

"Ah… That's so sweet of you two!" Berry squealed as she couldn't help but lovingly hug the twins. "Since when did you two grow up like this?"

"We have our ways."

The siblings were having fun in their little banter when a knock on the door grabbed their attention.

"That's probably Brother-in-law!" Mousy excitedly declared as he quickly walked to the door. "I'll get it!"

As the door opened, Harry was revealed standing in front of them with a fruit basket and paper bags hanging on his hands and arms. Mickey and Mousey quickly helped him by grabbing the gifts from the older man's arms.

"Good evening," Harry greeted everyone in the room with a smile. "I brought some take-out dinner with me since Berry said you'd all prefer eating here with Uncle instead of going out…"

"Thanks. And please call him Dad already, or Father," Mousey teasingly waved off with a snort. "Also, you should call Mom, Mom, or Mother, if you want. We'll be family soon, and you better get used to it."

Harry could only smile timidly as he ushered himself into the room. Before he could try to deny the offer, the oldest woman in the room chimed in.

"Mousey's right, Harry. We'll be a family soon, so we're already your second parents," Berry's mother seconded.

"I-Thanks…"

Not even given some time to recover, Harry then found himself being pulled by Berry towards her father so that she could formally introduce him.

"Dad, this is Harry Cha, your soon-to-be son-in-law," Berry proudly declared. She then Berry looked at Harry and introduced him to her father, "Harry, this is my father."

Taking his cue, Harry bowed his head in respect since he knew that Berry's father was still weak and unable to move. Opting out of a handshake, Berry's father simply chose to smile at him.

"'It's nice to meet you, son.' That's what his smile meant," Mousey interrupted, making everyone chuckle.

Having made his introductions, Harry sat with Berry on the couch and continued, "My family would be honored to meet all of you. They're actually excited to set a formal date, but I told them about Un- ah, Father's condition. So instead, they want to visit here in the hospital… if that's okay with all of you, of course…" he meekly offered. "If not, then we can set a schedule once Father is already back in his full strength."

Berry's mother looked at her husband, and with a sigh, she said, "I think it'll be better if we set a schedule once my husband has adequately recovered, Harry. You see, men are prideful creatures, and knowing my husband, he'd prefer to meet your family once he's back on his feet and in good condition." She smiled, "It won't take long anyway. The doctors said that he can go back into some of his normal routine in two weeks' time."

"I understand, Mother," Harry replied with an understanding smile.

It's been a while since he last said the word 'Mother.' Subconsciously, Harry found himself looking at Berry, and he couldn't help but feel a bit tense because of a family secret he hadn't told her yet. Having seemingly noticed him, she turned to him and gave him a sweet smile. Inwardly, Harry wondered if Berry would still look at him the same way once she found out about his past.