Others may call it unethical, selling her soul for money, or whatever it was, but for Lillian who was born poor, it gave her so much opportunity and opened so many doors even for the people who were close to her.
The money she got from Leo changed so many lives as Lillian now had a a lot of employees in several locations in the country.
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 her, but what else could she do if they did not form the connection they were supposed to do?
A long-distance relationship was harder 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.
For instance, the possibility that Leo may already have a new lover, perhaps, since he stopped contacting her.
If Leo's new lover or next wife ends up as someone with an attitude, Lillian knew she might become her target. Thus, she kept grinding to save up so she won't be bullied.
Lillian did not want to end up penniless and bankrupt if Leo decides he no longer needed any connection with her, and he or his new lover, decides to take back the money he had given her as payment.
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 it came to it. She had prepared her own escape routes.
Lillian had 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 as well, and she used it for more investments. There were also gifts sent for her birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas day, 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 in advance. Her marriage with 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!"
Sighing in contentment as she took another sip of her iced tea, Lillian realized that her Leo had not crossed her mind for a while.
She was too focused on work as well that he barely crossed her mind. After all, his last call was two years ago.
At dawn, Lillian was surprised when she woke up in the middle of the night 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.
Based on the information she got from being with him for a month, he was not a bad guy. Unless all she saw was pretense.
Lillian knew he hid a lot from her, but she did not mind as long as he kept his word on their agreement. 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 other work 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 Sunday.
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, she saw her husband's face for the first time in a while.
"The CEO of Schmidt-Martin Tech Industries and new Chairman of the Zhao Group, Mr. Leonard Zhao is currently missing after his private plane crashed on a mountain last night. . . Some experts say that Mr. Leonard is likely dead."
The novel Lillian was reading fell from her hands as she listened to the news.
According to the reporter, her husband, whom she refers to as Leo as per his instructions, was supposedly on his way to a business meeting in Tokyo. However, as of 11:00 PM the previous night, they lost contact with him and his cohorts.
The reporter continued to narrate as Lillian gawked at the TV.
The Zhao Group accordingly received news that her husband's private plane had been spotted going in the wrong direction and staying in midair for a few minutes before there was an explosion and it went down the mountain by midnight and had caused a massive fire.
The Zhao Group had declared that her husband and those who were with him were missing.
Lillian hoped and prayed they were simply missing for now and would be found soonest.
However, according to theories from experts who were interviewed, it was unlikely that anyone would survive a plane crash at that height, especially after it fell and caused a massive fire.
Accordingly, rescuers had been sent immediately but the fire had caused too much delay.
Neither survivors nor carcasses were found. It was likely that they were burned to ash trapped inside since everything in the plane was burned.
Lillian blinked repeatedly as she felt a lump in her throat. Her vision got blurry and she realized that tears were streaming down her cheeks.
She was crying for the husband she barely knew. Or was it because she was a widow now at the age of twenty-nine?