Chapter 3

With my support, things between Lillian and Charles took off like a rocket.

A week later, Charles showed up at our door with bags of gifts.

He looked a bit embarrassed.

"I'm here to... discuss engagement details."

Lillian brought tea out from the kitchen, her face red as an apple.

I couldn't help but smile and invited Charles to sit down.

"Charles, I won't beat around the bush. She may be Lillian, but I've always treated her like my own mother all these years. I have no problem with her marrying you, but I need to ask you a few things."

He sat up straight.

"Go ahead."

"Are your feelings for Lillian genuine?"

"Absolutely genuine."

When he said this, his eyes never left Lillian. That kind of gaze couldn't lie.

I nodded and asked my second question.

"You have no children. If Lillian wants to have one in the future, can you support the child?"

At this, Lillian nearly dropped her teacup and glared at me with a red face.

"Valerie! What are you saying!"

But Charles laughed—a big, hearty laugh.

"Valerie, I can't promise much else, but supporting a child is absolutely no problem."

That's when I learned Charles owned an entire building unit in the North District.

With the rental income alone, he could support not just one child, but ten.

Though I'd known Charles was a catch and many people had tried to set him up before, but he'd never been interested, hearing him state his assets firsthand still shocked me.

In that area of the North District, a two-bedroom apartment rented for at least three thousand a month. Twenty-four units would bring in several hundred thousand a year.

With that settled, I didn't need to ask any more questions.

I squeezed Lillian's hand.

"Charles, I'm entrusting her to you. If you treat her badly, I won't forgive you."

He immediately pulled a card from his pocket and pushed it across the coffee table to me.

"Valerie, this is eighty thousand—consider it a wedding gift."

I gave the card to Lillian.

"Charles, I'm not after your money. I just want you to treat my mom well. This money is for her."

Lillian's eyes instantly reddened as she tried to push the card back into my hands.

"That won't do. Charles gave it to you, you should keep it. Actually, I needs to discuss something with you."

"These years haven't been easy for you. Without you, this family would have fallen apart long ago. I'm planning to transfer the furniture factory to your name, and leave the house and savings to you too."

I was stunned.

Originally, I only wanted to take back what was rightfully mine.

But I never expected her to give me everything.

I was about to speak when Lillian raised her hand to stop me.

"Valerie, let me finish first."

She wiped away tears.

"All these years, the hardships you've endured in this family—caring for your father-in-law for five years without complaint—I've seen it all."

"Now I'm remarrying. These things originally belonged to you and Ethan. Since Ethan is gone, they should be yours. I can't let you walk away with nothing."

My heart churned with indescribable emotions.

Ethan was a bastard. He'd wronged me.

But Lillian had genuinely treated me well.

I couldn't let her suffer a loss either.

In the end, I only took the factory and savings, leaving the house to Lillian.

I also added another twenty thousand to Charles's card, making it an even hundred thousand as Lillian's wedding gift.

As for whether Ethan could eventually get his hands on any of Lillian's money, that would depend on whether she could accept her son rising from the dead.

After handling these matters, Lillian and Charles officially registered their marriage.

I suggested they have a travel wedding, booking international flights and a five-star hotel for a month-long honeymoon trip.

I had a vague sense that Ethan had planted informants around us.

Otherwise, in my past life, he wouldn't have appeared so quickly to fight for the inheritance right after Lillian died.

If we held a big wedding ceremony or if news got out about Lillian moving to Charles's place, who knew what trouble might arise.

Before sending them off to the airport, I even slipped some intimate aids into Lillian's suitcase.

I hoped this month and a half trip would help them conceive.