With no one to introduce as her husband, Lillian kept quiet about her marriage when she returned home.
The business trip in Las Vegas was two months long and Lillian closed the deal within the month. Since their business partners decided to test things out first and speak with her again, Lillian was mostly free for a month.
That one month she had mostly with no work to do for her main corporate work was a first. She could not do her other part time work in another country so she had nothing else to do.
Thus, in that one month, most of it was spent with Leo preparing for their wedding in Las Vegas and going on dates.
When he learned she had no experience with men, he refused to go all the way with her until their wedding night. But they did do other couple things so Lillian still gained a lot of experience.
She finally tried going to dates and tours with a man and taking pictures here and there or simply enjoying some free time together.
It was like a dream that her business trip in Las Vegas had gifted her.
But eventually, no matter how nice the dream was, everyone wakes up eventually. And so did she, when Leo left in a hurry, and she returned to working as usual.
Lillian did gain some valuable experience and insights about dating and the ways of adults.
With what she experienced, Lillian was at least able to pretend she was no longer a virgin. And she said she was in a long-distance relationship. Thus, the jokes and teasing on her every time the topic came up, finally stopped.
Lillian knew she didn't need to please everybody, or always do what others say, but it was hard when it always gets brought up, and she was the only one who could not relate, or did not understand.
With what she experienced with Leo, she was able to speak from real experience, at least on the things they had tried.
However, the true romance she thought she would finally experience, vanished before her very eyes.
After their marriage, they never met again despite remaining married on paper. They communicated by phone but that was all they had. They did not see each other again in person after their wedding.
The connection and thrill Lillian was expecting with her supposed relationship with Leo died down too, especially as the months went on.
Lillian simply concluded that at least she got a lot of experience out of this.
Leo did maintain communication in the first year of their marriage, so she still got to see him and speak with him by phone when their free time, which was just once to thrice a month, somehow jived.
But after a year, the communication between them suddenly stopped.
Leo no longer called and his phone did not ring even when she tried to call him so many times. Either he had blocked her, or he lost his phone and did not care to contact her again.
Lillian did not even know his home or temporary address, so there was no other way to contact him aside from his phone.
Leo had already told her as well when they were in Las Vegas that he was not on any social media. Thus, she had no way to find him especially when she was busy with work.
Lillian even worried that he might have gotten into an accident and died, but when she tried asking records for a death certificate, there was none. There was no news of any Leonard Zhao dying either. It meant Leo was very much alive and well, but simply not contacting her.
She kept trying to contact him until she got tired and stopped. Still, she hoped and waited that he would suddenly contact her again one day, or visit her to clear things up, or end it.
Two years went by with nothing.
Lillian then realized she was ghosted. He must have only needed to get his inheritance and was not truly interested in her. Or he gave up because they were both too busy.
Leo did not even tell her a proper goodbye, or at least, divorced her after he got his inheritance, so that she was free to find a lover and marry again. But he didn't, and she could not contact him at all, so Lillian simply gave up on finding another lover.
She enjoyed the benefit she got from their marriage instead. Money.
What Leo gave Lillian was a huge sum of money for her, but it must have been a measly amount to him since he did not even look bothered by it, so she figured he must be filthy rich.
Leo said his inheritance from his grandmother's side was just a few million dollars and some parcel of land. But Lillian figured it must be bigger if he could simply give her, someone he met at a bar and proposed to the next day, a huge sum without stressing about it.
It was a mystery to her, but did not ask further questions since it somehow felt dangerous to pry. Like the more she knew, the more danger she would be in.
Now, Leo was just a memory to her that she sometimes fondly or bitterly revisits.
Regardless of him ghosting her, Leo was one of the reasons Lillian could afford to take a day off and take it easy like she did today.
Leo had paid her a good sum in her currency and she used it wisely.
Lillian quit her other corporate work and focused on her own company. She made her travel company bigger and created branches in other locations.
She also started doing more business and invested in the stock exchange, trading, real estate, AI, and other opportunities she found.
Wanting to be more productive, she even helped her most trusted friends put up their own businesses by being one of the main investors and lent money to help them become stable. Once the businesses stabilized, she earned money from them without lifting a finger.
Lillian worked super hard the past three years when she was given the opportunity to get her hands on that lump sum of money.