Chapter 3: Married But Ghosted

Lillian's strong attraction to him would have developed to love later on, if not for Leo ghosting her after their wedding. 

Yes, Leo left the day after their wedding, saying he had urgent matters to tend to, and they never met each other again after that.

With no one to introduce as her husband, Lillian kept quiet about her marriage when she returned home. 

Lillian went back to working hard as usual despite the money in her bank account she had received from Leo. No, perhaps even more fiercely this time.

Where else would she pour her frustration over her supposed romance that slipped away from her grasp?

It was a life event after all. Lillian got married and parted with her husband shortly after. It gave her quite the unexplainable feeling.

Was it disappointment?

After all, they did not even get much time to talk.

After their wedding, they went on a romantic dinner at a good hotel. They got a room after, but they forgot something important. Lillian's alcohol tolerance. She seemed fine when they drank some wine not knowing it was strong enough to lull her to sleep once again when the silence came.

Thus, they were not able to go all the way either since Lillian fell asleep after showering while waiting for Leo to finish showering as well.

In the morning, Lillian just woke up when Leo received a call and had to leave. Thus, even their supposed honeymoon was cut short. And it was the last time they were together.

Still, Lillian did gain some valuable experience and insights about dating and the ways of adults when the moon rises.

Parting with Leo so soon may have also been a way to prevent her from getting hurt since their marriage was because of a deal.

Falling in love with him while for he only saw her as a temporary wife, would have been harder to move on from.

Still, with what she experienced with Leo, Lillian was at least able to pretend she was no longer a virgin; that she had tried going all the way. 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 often 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 probably 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.

But 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.