Chapter 93 His Compensation
Lillian sat next to Alexander, with Harry on his other side.
"Alexander, I'm really glad you could come over for lunch today." Harry said emotionally. "Seeing Lillian and Oscar being taken care of so well by you. That's a relief."
He raised his glass and said, "The wine here isn't expensive, but it tastes pretty good. Come on. Let's have a drink together."
Alexander picked up his glass, clinked it with Harry's in a polite manner, and drank it all in one go.
"Alexander. Try this." Lola said as she placed a piece of steak on Alexander's plate.
While talking to Harry, Alexander didn't look at the food Lola put on his plate. Instead, he turned and placed the steak into Lillian's plate.
"Alexander..." Lola said with a laugh, "This is what I got for you."
Alexander replied, "Your sister loves steak. Give her more."
His tone carried a hint of command.
Lillian was a bit surprised. 'Was he speaking up for her?'
She looked at Lola and said, "We're all family. No need to be so polite."
Lola stiffened her neck and glared at Lillian.
Adam, sitting across from them, was quite quiet. He had a few drinks with Alexander without doing much else.
Lola, however, cast several resentful glances at Lillian without eating much.
After lunch, Harry wanted them to stay a bit longer, but Lillian suggested that they were about to leave.
"Can't you stay a bit longer?" Harry said reluctantly to Lillian. "When will you come back again?"
"We'll see. Alexander is quite busy." Lillian said, looking at Harry's graying hair with mixed feelings. She advised, "Take care of yourself at work. Buy whatever you want to eat. Don't be frugal."
Oscar walked over and echoed Lillian's words, "Exactly, Harry, don't be stingy with money." He took an envelope from his down jacket pocket and stuffed it into Harry's hand. "This is the money I earned from my part-time job. Keep it to buy some good food."
Harry declined, "You need money too. Keep it for yourself."
Lisa stepped forward and snatched the envelope, "Oscar gave it to you. It's his way of showing he cares."
Oscar, annoyed by Lisa's greed, grabbed the envelope back and shoved it into Harry's hand. "Harry, you keep it."
Lisa pouted unhappily.
Seeing that Alexander had already walked out, Lillian urged Oscar, "Let's go."
They walked slowly toward the street corner after leaving the building.
"Alexander, I'm sorry you had to see that today." Oscar said, walking beside him, embarrassed.
Lillian chuckled, "Oscar, didn't remember when he had already witnessed all the silly and funny things Lisa did?”
Oscar said, "He used to just hear about it. Now he's experienced it firsthand. What was Lola thinking today? I was so angry watching her. But Adam was quite well-behaved today."
Lillian thought to herself, 'Maybe Adam was scared by Alexander last time?'
"But did you notice how Alexander didn't want to engage with Lola at all during dinner? He was always defending you." Oscar said with a smug smile.
Since childhood, Lola had always bullied Oscar in various ways. He disliked her. Even though Lola was two years older, he never called her 'sister.'
Lillian calmly said, "No way," but couldn't help glancing at Alexander.
He remained expressionless, walking slowly ahead.
After returning home, they each went to their rooms. Lillian uploaded her completed drawings to a forum and wrote about today's events. There were various comments on the post. She read through them one by one. One comment from a girl was interesting, suggesting she should try to get as much money from him as possible within the year to secure her future.
Lillian smiled and replied: [Asking him for money is out of the question. I owe him a lot of debt.]
After dinner, Alexander sent her a text from upstairs: [Come to the study.]
She was curious about what he wanted.
"Kelly, Alexander called me. I'm going upstairs." she said.
"Take his coffee up with you." Kelly handed her the coffee.
Lillian went to the study, put down the coffee, and asked, "What do you need?"
Alexander took a bank card from the drawer and placed it on the desk. "Regarding what happened in Aetherland, no matter what, I owe you an apology. This card has $27598. Take it as my compensation."
$27598 was no small amount.
Lillian stood there, staring at the bank card.
"The card has no password." Alexander added.
To be honest, Lillian was tempted. With this money, Oscar's surgery would be covered. Or, she could use it to pay off some of her debt to him, reducing it to just over $13799. Either way, her burden would be much lighter. But her pride wouldn't allow her to take the money. Taking it would make her no different from a prostitute.
"Why are you just standing there?" Alexander asked. "Are you afraid to take it?"
Lillian thought for a moment, then looked at him and asked, "Can you compensate me in another way?"
"You don't want the money?" he asked with a teasing smile. "Do you think of yourself as a prostitute?"
Lillian glared at him and said, "We ended up together because Adam made love with your girlfriend. In Aetherland, you made love with me. Doesn't that make us even? Can you compensate me with a divorce?"
After much thought, she realized that freedom was more valuable than money!
Alexander was clearly surprised by her request, a look of astonishment in his eyes.
He laughed and flatly refused, "No way!"
"Why not? You made love with me!" Lillian asked, puzzled.
Alexander said irritably, "That happened against our will. I didn't want to make love with you either! Besides, we have an agreement. Have you forgotten? The contract clearly states a one-year term. If you breach it early, you'll have to pay a penalty."
Hearing about the penalty, Lillian felt helpless. Everything required money.
"Do you want to know the amount of the penalty?" Alexander asked in a deep voice.
Lillian grabbed the card from the table, annoyed, and said, "I don't want to know!" She turned and left.
"You shouldn't be stubborn. Oscar's condition is unstable. He urgently needs money. Keep this money for emergencies. You can continue to repay your debt monthly."
'Do I just make a deal with my chastity? If I dwelled on that, I might as well not live. Hadn't Adam already done the same? Selling myself for $68996 wasn't a bad price.' Lillian thought bitterly and self-mockingly.
