The money she got from Leo changed so many lives as Lillian now had a lot of employees in several locations in the country.
Lillian worked super hard the past three years when she was given the opportunity to get her hands on that lump sum of money.
Others may call it unethical, selling her soul for money, or whatever it was, but for Lillian, who was born poor, the deal gave her so much opportunity and opened so many doors even for the people who were close to her.
Lillian did rest at times, but she still kept grinding.
It was all to ensure that she would still be stable no matter what happened between her and her contract husband. Especially if he had found a new lover.
This thought bothered Lillian, but what else could she do if they did not form the connection they were supposed to form?
A long-distance relationship was harder than she thought, and perhaps it was why their relationship did not work. Or was it because both of their motives were impure when they began?
Who knows? Lillian had given up on stressing about it and logically considered the possibilities instead.
If Leo already has a new lover, perhaps, ever since he stopped contacting her, Lillian knew it would be trouble for her.
If Leo's new lover or next wife ends up as someone with an attitude, Lillian knew she might become the latter's target. Thus, she kept grinding to save up so she wouldn't be bullied.
Lillian did not want to end up penniless and bankrupt if Leo decided he no longer needed any connection with her, and he or his new lover decided to take back the money he had given her as payment.
She was already a millionaire before she met Leo. Her savings and total assets at the time were several million. However, with the money she received from Leo, many more opportunities became available when she had the capacity to invest. Thus, she increased her personal savings by a great difference from what they were before. Now, Lillian was a multimillionaire.
She was likely still no one compared to her husband, but at least she would not be bullied so easily when things came to it. She had prepared her own escape routes.
Lillian had also thoroughly prepared herself, so she could also return the amount her husband had paid her in case he truly had a new lover and wanted his money back.
Leo had sent her monthly allowances in their first year of marriage, and she used them for more investments. There were also gifts sent for her birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas, New Year, and other special holidays.
Lillian had made sure she accounted for all those and added the cost of his gifts and monthly allowances to the account where she had stored the amount she was saving up to return to him in case he asked.
She had always been the kind who calculated and planned everything. Her marriage to Leo was sudden, but everything else, she planned very carefully.
Lillian did not want to be a paper tiger. Thus, she prepared herself for the worst. Now, she was ready for it.
Or so she thought.
"Mm~ This tea is good! I'll have to buy more of this!" Lillian exclaimed.
This iced tea was perfect for this summer. Yet, here she was reminiscing about Leo.
Was it because she could afford this expensive tea now, thanks to him?
She first had this tea on one of their dates in Las Vegas three years ago.
'Geez. I should just forget about him,' Lillian thought, and tried to focus on the novel she was supposed to be reading.
Sighing in contentment as she took another sip of her iced tea, Lillian realized that Leo had not crossed her mind for a while. Only now after so long.
Perhaps it was because she was too focused on work, and it had been too long since the last time they talked. After all, his last call was two years ago.
At dawn, Lillian was surprised when she woke up drenched in sweat after a nightmare, and Leo was the first person that came to her mind.
She could not remember what her dream was about, but she was certain it was not good. She suddenly felt a bit worried.
Was her husband-in-paper doing something dangerous?
Lillian hoped that he was not doing any prohibited risky business.
Before they got married, Lillian learned that he was into tech and AI business, and there was nothing shady.
Of course, being a rich person must mean that he faces danger a lot. After all, even Lillian had to be more careful once her net worth grew bigger and her businesses expanded.
During their one month together in Las Vegas, they had shared some information about each other in order to perfect a loving-couple act in case she had to meet his grandparents, parents, or his entourage, but it never came to that point.
Based on their one month together, Lillian could say Leo was not a bad guy. Unless all she saw was pretense.
Lillian knew he hid a lot from her, but she did not mind since they could get to know each other as time went by. After months of only communicating by phone, Lillian had an inkling their relationship would not progress. She hoped it would, but it was alright if it didn't as long as he kept his word on their agreement.
She ended up knowing so little about him. But she knew at least that he was not a criminal, mass murderer, or anything like that.
Due to the nightmare, Lillian could not return to sleep despite not remembering what it was about, so she opened her computer and was engrossed with some writing gig until morning came.
Lillian did her daily routine, had breakfast, and lazily read a novel on the couch, considering today as a rest day since it was a Saturday.
It was a lovely day, but she felt too lazy to go out.
A day at home doing nothing was a treasure. She had been praying for a break like this to come, even if just once in a while. She waited patiently, and it was finally granted by the gods. She would rather not ruin it by going out.
After several hours, she opened the TV to take a break from her book.
As she was watching the news, Lillian immediately perked up when she saw her husband's face for the first time in a while.
But why does she have a bad feeling about this?