The Villain's Wife

Upon waking, Lily jolted up. Her senses on high alert as she examined the room. It's familiarity stung her eyes.

"Hey."

Lily blinked before she looked at the person sitting next to her. She felt her breath hitched as she met his eyes. It was as if the time froze. Before she could draw the air that she needed, Zhou Jingren's arms wrapped around her. His arms folded around his waist as he pulled her closer. Slowly, she melted into his arms.

For a few minutes, silence covered the room. The lights from the sun peeked on the curtains as they hugged. Their tears went unnoticed as the only sound that they heard was each other's heart drumming against their chests. She felt his body shook as he hugged her tighter, his breathing sparse, then he started sobbing.

His calloused hands stroked her head. With each gentle touch, Lily's tears spilled even more. Her shoulders trembled as the assurance of safety wrapped around her. She was safe. She was with him. Her terrible nightmare was over.

Relief surge inside her like a flood. She smiled. "Hey," she said, her voice a little coarse.

"Your back," she felt him kissed her forehead. Lily lifted her head and stared at his features. Slowly, her lips lifted into a beautiful smile.

"I am back."

Zhou Jingren leans closer, resting his forehead against hers. His hot breath stroked her chest, and for a moment, she wondered if this was all real. "Thank you," Lily uttered as she leaned closer, brushing her lips into his.

"I love you," he whispered before leaning in for a kiss. The kiss was soft, gentle. Its warmth immediately gave her a promise of safety, the promise of home. She felt his thumb started stroking her cheeks, wiping away the tears that she had. The kiss ended as Zhou Jingren gave her an assuring smile.

"I love you." Lily's lips lifted into a smile. "I love you." She repeated.

"I know," he nodded and chuckled. "Trust me, I know."

**********************************************

Sky City

"Jichen, give them more tissues," Lily jokingly said as she watched both Yang Mi and Li Shanshan bawled in front of her.

"You are not taking this seriously!" Li Shanshan hiccuped. "We thought you were dead! I cried a lot for you!" It had been two days since Lily came back. However, Zhou Jingren insisted on spending those two days alone with her. He told everyone that he is not accepting any visitors and did not talk to anyone for two days. Because of this, Li Shanshan, Fernando, and the others only got to see her today.

"I was so sad, Lily, ah! I thought you left me!" Li Shanshan continued sobbing as her husband stroked her back.

"I am alive and I am here… and I am safe." Lily said. She held both Li Shanshan and Yang Mi's hands and gave them an assuring smile. "Thank you."

Both women nodded before the three hugged each other.

Seeing Lily very much alive immediately made everyone happy. The reunion was full of tears and questions. However, not one of them mentioned Jack or what happened to him. To everyone, what happened to Lily was a bad nightmare.

"Qin Yuanfeng will be discharged soon." Bei Tian said. "He is planning to live here for the time being. Of course, I told him that I have been staying here for months now. Still, he insisted on doing so. So yeah… I guess I will have a roommate for a few weeks." He shrugged.

Lily eyed Zhou Jingren before she nodded. Gratefulness gleam within her orbs. She was thankful that Zhou Jingren has someone like Bei Tian. She was thankful to have people who truly cared for her and Zhou Jingren.

"How about Anna?" Lily asked. By now, everyone already left except Bei Tian and Zhou Jingren. "Did she…" Lily did not continue her words as she nodded in understanding. Within these two days, Lily and Zhou Jingren spent the time cuddling, kissing and just filling up the void that the temporary separation had created. Both of them had avoided talking about what happened. They have spent each other's time being together and being happy in each other's arms.

"The doctor said that it was already too late. She died right after we arrived at the hospital." Zhou Jingren stroked Lily's arms, consoling her. She nodded in response.

"I understand. I will give you a name and address. I hope we could find her daughter. How about George?"

"Well, he is still in a coma. We found him at the corner most part of the underground. My guess is Jack put him there because he does not dare to kill his own father." Bei Tian said. "Also… we have talked to some of George's people and it wasn't good."

"What do you mean?"

"Seems like George had been pressuring his own son to adopt in his… lifestyle." Bei Tian said as she shrugged. "Some people just can't handle this kind of life. Anyway, Zhou Jingren and I will take over the organization while George is still unconscious."

"The whole Mafia?" Lily widened her eyes. She would not want Zhou Jingren to deal with all of this and put himself in danger.

"Just the Tang Empire and the whole Arison business in the East." Zhou Jingren said.

A sighed of relief immediately escaped Lily's lips. "I want to meet with Cathy and the others tomorrow. I want to schedule a press conference a few days from now so we could clear up all this mess about my death."

"That would be good. I could help you with that. I suggest we—"

"I am stepping down." Lily interrupted Zhou Jingren. Both Bei Tian and Zhou Jingren stared at her, seemingly confused by her words. A smile dangled on Lily's lips as she continued, "Of course, this will be temporary. I just want to focus on healing… for a few months. It's like a vacation like a break from everything."