"Are you sure about this?" Lillian verified with Leo.
It was such a huge amount of money, and she could not fathom why he was willing to spend it on her.
Or was he simply that rich?
He did not even seem bothered by the amount when he offered it. And he was willing to add more, too.
Lillian wondered if it was alright to marry such a wealthy man. She knew it would surely have benefits indeed, but in movies and books, weren't wealthy men also dangerous because they had a lot of enemies and business rivals?
However, before Lillian could dwell on it, Leo gave her hand a squeeze and said, "Yes, of course. Please, don't reject it this time. This is my last resort."
Leo smiled once again. But Lillian noticed he seemed nervous even when he was trying to hide it.
"You do know that this money would go to other people if you don't accept it, right?" Leo pointed out that whether Lillian accepted this deal or not, he would still spend money to pay someone to marry him, so the better deal for him was if she accepted it.
Thus, rather than letting the money go to someone else, the best decision for Lillian right now was to accept the offer, take the money, and marry Leo as her husband.
The win-win for them in this was if the deal was sealed.
With practicality in mind and to finally shut up those who had been gossiping about her and insisting she get married, Lillian decided to agree to Leo's offer.
After more explanation from Leo and the promise he would pay upfront, Lillian finally said, "Alright, let's get married."
Leo was wide-eyed before he hugged and kissed her.
"Thank you! I'll send the money right away."
"You're still happy with this?" Lillian asked, already feeling bad.
"I am," Leo grinned. "What's important is you'll be my wife and not someone random."
Lillian felt bad even more at the bright smile on Leo's face. She had rejected him repeatedly earlier, but she agreed when a huge amount of money got involved. Leo was the one who offered it, though.
Leo opened his phone and showed her the amount he promised in a debit account app.
"The money is already in this account. This is the card," Leo handed her a black card with the said amount as promised and told her the password.
They were in another country, so it was better for him not to pay in cash here, so giving her one of his cards was the better option.
Lillian tried it on the nearby ATM, and it worked. The amount Leo showed was indeed there as well, and he had given her the email and password used in the bank app. He made her change the password so he could no longer access it.
"Then, shall we get married? Let's register right away and have the wedding ceremony later," Leo grinned.
"You mean, right now?" Lillian blinked twice.
"Of course. Strike while the iron is hot. I won't let you change your mind. No, you're not allowed to change your mind now," Leo chuckled.
Lillian gulped before she finally nodded. She had already received the payment, and it was a huge sum of money, so she could no longer say no. She must fulfill what she agreed to.
Leo drove them somewhere, and they indeed registered immediately.
Lillian was a married woman before she could fully process what happened.
"Then, shall we plan our marriage ceremony?" Leo said as they drove back to his hotel. He had made arrangements there with expensive food and wine prepared by best chefs of the hotel for their private celebration of their first day as husband and wife.
"Can you let me process everything first? We're already registered, so you can be assured I won't run away," Lillian requested.
"Right, of course," Leo agreed. He remained silent the rest of the drive and let Lillian focus on her thoughts.
Everything happened too fast.
Lillian thought things would be more dramatic.
People discussed marriage registration and weddings with great drama and emotion. And they always said it was coupled with careful planning.
Yet, Lillian's now a married woman after signing and submitting the documents. That was all it took. And it happened in less than an hour.
She was having a hard time to truly feel and accept that she's no longer single. That she's a married woman now. And that this man beside her, driving them back to his hotel suite, is her husband.
Lillian was wondering if she would regret the choice she made someday. But it was too late to back out. She chose to agree to this, so she must stand by her choice.
She assured herself that she had all the time to get to know Leo now that they were married. She had some free time too since her major work for this business trip was already achieved.
The business trip here in Las Vegas was two months long, and Lillian closed the deal within a month.
Since their business partners decided to test things out first and speak with her again in case there were problems, Lillian had to stay in Vegas for another month.
Her boss would likely send more work to do, but since she could not do her other part-time jobs, Lillian would be mostly free on weekends for a month.
This one month with no work weekends was a first for Lillian, since she could not go to her businesses.
She could do her other part-time gigs, but she had completed most of them the past month. Thus, most of her free time was spent with Leo on dates and preparing for their wedding ceremony, which they agreed to be on the last week of the month.
They spent the mornings on tours and dates. For the late nights, they mostly slept together in Leo's suite, but they still did not go all the way.
When Leo learned she had no experience with physical intimacy, he refused to go all the way with her until after their wedding ceremony. But they did do other couple things as preparation, so Lillian gained new experiences.