A Soul Left Unsullied

Chapter 16: Money

Hello! I haven't been able to post last week since I had exams. So today, I'll be posting 3 chapters at once. Also check out Lilith's corset in the image attached to the chapter, it's so pretty.

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The next morning, I went down to the kitchen, dreading to see Lilith. I hoped I wouldn't have to confront my jumbled thoughts and feelings about her.

Luckily she wasn't there, I opened the fridge and yesterday's groceries had been neatly put away.

After my day out, I was planning to make some toast with pesto eggs. Unfortunately that plan couldn't be executed right now.

I wasn't in the mood for eggs but maybe I could make a pesto pasta salad. Pesto could heal all my heart's wounds, it was that strong of a condiment.

I searched the fridge extensively and had to resign myself. I had forgotten it in my hurry to get out of the store yesterday.
This already put me in a sour mood, I thought as I got a banana and a hazelnut chocolate bar out.

As I ate my breakfast slowly, I noticed that for the first time since I moved in, it seemed that nobody was home. Maybe I could finally get back to work now that nobody was here to distract me.

Over the years, I had picked up and subsequently dropped various side hustles – from managing a travel planning business on Nework to selling handmade perfumes for an Etsy shop. When I had been fully consumed by my alcoholism, Aunt Lisa had put the Etsy business on pause for me. So now I could come back to these businesses without my reputation having been too tarnished.

I would have to start with the travel agent gig. It was the easiest to pick back up thanks to Nework. Nework was a freelancing platform that had only been founded a few years ago. Freelancers didn't have the ability to pause their services like on Etsy. But if you someone bought your services, you had to accept their "request" within 5 days, otherwise Nework alerted the customer that the service was no longer available and refunded their money.

This meant that my reputation wouldn't be too tarnished and I might find some recent requests that I could approve immediately.

I needed to figure out if my role as guardian afforded me the time to rekindle my passion for perfume-making. I needed to make a living after all.

My money was starting to run out so I needed to go back to work.

Turning to my Nework profile, I was greeted by a pleasant surprise, I had gotten 3 recent requests for Rome and 1 for Marrakech. I immediately accepted.
Most of them were luxury trips so the commissions could be quite substantial, on top of standard fees for my services.
Planning trips and finding the best deals was something I genuinely loved doing. Which is why everytime I was kicked out of a stable job, I came back to it.

I happily searched away and made itineraries for my clients. By the time, I was finished it was already night time,  I had spent the whole day on this.

As the front door swung open, announcing the return of Lilith and Aunt Lisa, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment at Lilith being dressed yet again.

Despite that, the outfit looked absolutely stunning.

Tge red wine corset crop top made her look really sultry, it showed off her generous decollete and brought out the contrast between her pale skin and dark hair. Drapped over her shoulders was a black blazer that complimented the a-line black tulle skirt and the floral black sandals she was wearing.

She looked breathtaking and yet  the clothes looked so foreign on her.

She entered the house and came over to my work space, she glanced over at the computer "Is that your job? A travel planner ? How interesting, I never would have pegged you for the organized type."

I blushed profusely. I knew that my room and the house were a mess. I was never very good at keeping a house in order,  but for some reason, planning vacations always invigorated me. I answered, the embarrassment still burning my cheeks: "I have to make money somehow; this guardian thing isn't going to pay the bills."

She looked at me astonished, then turned around to give the same look to Aunt Lisa, and then her gaze was back on me. "Your aunt didn't tell you? You're paid, of course, for your services. Since you're still being trained, you're getting a little less. But eventually you'll get about $100,000 a year."

My jaw hit the floor. "A $100,000 a year?!"

"Well, yes, all work deserves compensation; there is no need to be surprised. If you need training for the whole year, which you won't, you would be making about $60k. On months when we have no visitors, you'll be paid about $5000, and on months when we have visitors, you'll be paid about $10,000. It'll average out to $100k a year; you'll receive your first salary at the end of the month." She was puzzled at my reaction.

Damn $100k a year ?! I could do so much with $100k a year; all my dreams could come true.

She put a hand on my forearm. "You'll need to put a little bit of it back into the house, obviously, like food, a paint job, and some other small matters. If something breaks and requires a lot of money, we will obviously provide the funds for it."

This was a good gig, a great gig even; I didn't know why I was so resistant to it after all. I could climb mountains if they wanted me to.

Without looking at her in the eye, I asked, "How about time off?"

She sat down before responding. "On average, you'll get two couples per month; at the beginning of the month, we'll know how many couples are coming in and when. The rest of the time is for you to do as you please. We rarely get emergencies, maybe once a year. You'll also get at least a few days between each couple. But we do have our busy months; typically in August and December, we can get as many as ten couples per month."

I could avoid the most packed holidays and travel sometimes else. This was great; it felt incredible to know I would have so much disposable income and time to devote to my hobbies.

Now this was something worth the emotional labor and torture I endured during the trials.

Out of curiosity, I asked, "Is this coming out of your pocket? Or are you an employee just like us?"

She thought about it for a little while. "I'm partially funding all of this because I want to. This was my idea, but when I asked for Lucifer's help in executing it, he insisted on shouldering most of the costs. I'm both an employee and a founder, I suppose. I do not get paid, though; Lucifer has given me enough, and I don't see the need for more."

Impulsively, I blurted out, "Yeah, a husband paying his wife could be kind of weird."

She chuckled for a little while. "Lucifer isn't my husband; he was my lover, and we are great friends and confidantes, but that's about all there is."

"Oh, could I ask why you split up?" Damn me and my curiosity, I thought as soon as the question left my lips.

She smiled. "Hm, I suppose we found out we were better suited as friends than lovers. He wanted to dedicate his time to ruling and learning more about the world and Hell. Me, on the other hand, I wanted to explore some parts of myself that were forbidden to me before."

I looked at her quizzically, urging her to elaborate, and she said "My attraction to women is one of them. Finally being free and getting to know myself is another." She pointed up "The big guy upstairs wasn't a fan of either. Lucifer and I helped each other be free of that authority, even if it got us cast down. Better live in the gutter free than imprisoned in a golden cage. For us anyways."

It was my first time seeing this side of her; it was my first time relating to her. I also yearned for freedom and self-discovery.

Maybe she and I weren't so different after all.

Maybe this would be a good partnership after all.

Maybe we.. As soon as I thought of us as "we", I pushed the thought away. I didn't want to open that door; I was too afraid of finishing that sentence.