Chapter 16 Am I that bad in your eyes?
At 4 a.m., Lillian finally went to bed, sleeping for just over an hour and not resting well. When she woke up, she felt dizzy, and her nose was congested. She knew she must have caught a cold from sweeping the snow. She put on an extra layer of clothing and reached for some cold medicine to take.
In the kitchen, Kelly had thoughtfully prepared chicken soup for her. Seeing Lillian come in, Kelly quickly urged her to drink it.
This morning, Kelly noticed that someone had cleared all the snow from the yard. As she bustled about the kitchen, she said, "You swept the snow, didn't you? With it being so cold, I was worried you might catch a cold. So, I got up early and made you some chicken soup. I'll pour it into a thermos in a bit, and you can take it to the office to drink."
Lillian, touched by the gesture, hugged Kelly from behind. "Kelly, you're so sweet to me."
"Eh? Your forehead feels a bit warm," Kelly said, feeling Lillian's brow. "You're always this sweet. You must have caught a cold. Go ahead and have some chicken soup."
Lillian drank a big bowl of chicken soup and ate some oatmeal, feeling comfortable in her stomach and breaking a sweat on her forehead. Before leaving, she took cold medicine, regaining some of her energy.
Not long after Lillian left the house, Alexander came downstairs.
“Mr. Sinclair, what would you like for breakfast? I made some oatmeal this morning,” Kelly asked from the side.
Alexander nodded, "Oatmeal is fine."
Kelly quickly set the breakfast on the dining table and prattled on, "The temperature has dropped these past few days, Mr. Sinclair, you should keep warm. I made chicken soup this morning. It would be best if you had some, don’t end up like Lillian. She woke up not feeling well and her forehead was hot; she must have a cold."
Focused on his tablet, Alexander seemed to ignore Kelly's words.
Then Kevin arrived. As soon as he entered the dining room and saw Kelly, he asked, "Kelly, who cleared the snow from the yard? Quentin has a bad back, and I told him I’d shovel the snow."
Pretending ignorance, Kelly replied, "He didn't shovel the snow, I had him rest in bed."
"If not Quentin, who did it?" Kevin asked, puzzled.
Alexander set down his tablet, started to eat his oatmeal with a spoon, and said irritably, "Keep it down. You’re noisy as soon as you walk in. It was Lillian who shoveled the snow.”
Kevin was taken aback and exchanged a knowing look with Kelly. Sensing the mood, they both remained silent—Kelly returned to the kitchen, and Kevin quietly sat down.
When Lillian arrived at the secretarial office, she felt something was off, as if something strange was going on. Taylor came out to outline the day's tasks, which seemed normal, but when she spoke to her colleague Sharon Clark, Sharon acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing, ignoring her.
Lillian was clueless, not knowing what she could have done to offend Sharon. She got up, clutching her documents, and headed to the print room. After she left, a few secretaries began whispering among themselves, murmuring a few words before dispersing.
The whole morning passed like that. No one spoke to her, and even when she tried to initiate conversation, she was met with silence.
She found herself ostracized.
Lillian was utterly perplexed, unable to comprehend why they would behave in such a manner. As she racked her brain, she figured it had to have something to do with Taylor. Surely Taylor was seeking retribution for the events of the previous day. The whole office was aware of Taylor's crush on Alexander, and now she portrayed Lillian as a threat—of course, this was merely Taylor's personal sentiment. Consequently, it only made sense for Taylor to harbor animosity toward her.
How could things have turned out this way? What did it have to do with her at all? Lillian felt deeply wronged yet found herself unable to articulate a defense.
What troubled her even more was the matter of Alexander's money. They were only married by contract; how could she possibly accept the $660,000 he had offered her? Therefore, she had no choice but to shoulder the debt alone. To Alexander, a sum of $660,000 might have been trivial, but to Lillian, it was astronomical. If she had to pay off her debt through odd jobs, how long would it take her to repay it entirely?
With these troubling thoughts, her anxiety increased, and her headache intensified. It all seemed to spiral in an uncontrollable direction, reminiscent of a butterfly effect.
During the lunch break, when everyone from the secretarial office had gone out to eat, Alexander remained in his office. Seizing the opportunity, Lillian decided to knock on his door.
"Mr. Sinclair, are you busy? I need to speak with you," she said as she entered, getting right to the point.
Alexander, seated behind his desk and absorbed in some documents, did not lift his gaze as he uttered a single word. "Speak."
Lillian placed a piece of paper on his desk and slid it over. "This is an IOU. The money you gave Lisa yesterday—I'll pay you back in installments every month, with interest equivalent to the bank's rate. If you have no objections, please sign here."
Upon hearing this, Alexander glanced at the document but did not pick it up for a closer look. Instead, he asked icily, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, since we have no real connection, there's no reason for me to take the money you offered. Lisa certainly won't be returning it, so I'll have to pay it back. However, I don't have the funds right now, so I can only repay you over time."
Alexander pinched the IOU between his fingers, skimmed through it, and flippantly tossed it aside. The paper fluttered to the ground, prompting Lillian to stoop down and pick it up once more.
"Mr. Sinclair, do you disagree?" she asked, her brow furrowing.
Without looking up from his documents, Alexander dismissed her proposal with disdain. "Don't put on an act for me. Wasn't it you who arranged for Lisa to come asking for money?"
"Mr. Sinclair, I did no such thing! Why must you always misunderstand me?" Lillian truly did not grasp why he always thought so poorly of her.
"Whether you did it or not, you know best," Alexander said sharply, lifting his eyes to meet hers with a piercing gaze. "I've told you before, save your tricks for someone else and don't test my limits. Get out!"
Lillian was humiliated again, and her self-esteem was wounded. Tears welled up in her eyes as she choked out, "Mr. Sinclair, I apologize for what Lisa did. But I don't play the petty games you're imagining. All I have is respect. I hope you can respect me too!"
Alexander set down the files, leaned back into his chair, crossed his arms, and watched her mockingly. He asked with a sneer, "Do you really think I could respect a woman who repeatedly tries to seduce me by sitting on my lap?"
Preconceived notions had tainted Alexander's view of Lillian, and given his impression of Adam's character, it only made matters worse.
"What?" Lillian asked silently, anger rising in her voice, "If you think so badly of me, why would you choose to enter into a contractual marriage with me?"
"Lillian!" Alexander's brows furrowed deeply, his voice ice cold, "According to clause 28 of the agreement, you're not allowed to question me."
"What? Is that really in the agreement?"
"You should go back and read the contract. You signed it!" Alexander said impatiently, "Get out, I don't want to say it a third time!"
