The convenient marriage

Chapter 52. Third-person's omniscient point of view

This fact coupled with the clause from the contract, which prevented her from leaking any inkling concerning a future divorce from Zane, had made Jillian never express any rash opinions regarding their marriage, or better said the end of it.

"You did not, but you never managed to form a bond with Zane for all these years already that I assumed your marriage would always end in a divorce."

Those who were close to Jillian and Zane could see with their own eyes that they had no love for each other, they barely even behaved like a married couple, so it wasn't unbelievable to think they wouldn't last together. As such Jillian had not taken offence in Aileen's opinion or think there was more meaning behind her words.

"Honestly, in the past I did not see myself as being Mrs. Black for my whole life, even less did I picture myself in the position of a mother. And even if I did give birth, never did I imagine they would be Zane's children for that matter. But since I found out about the pregnancy, I have kept thinking about this. Maintaining my current relationship, trying to become a real family with Zane and the children, might not be so bad." Jillian spoke sincerely.

To say that it was unexpected for a pregnancy to appear, considering the whole purpose of this marriage was to make an heir, at least on a conscious level it would be a lie. All the appointments to the doctor and the signed contract, these were all made with the final goal being a pregnancy. But the child that would result from said pregnancy would be handed over to Zane, so technically Jillian would lose her parenting rights and the ability of calling herself the child's mother.

As such, when the pregnancy was only a possibility and not a reality, Jillian had never deeply thought over a future with Zane. Especially since she had always considered herself only a replacement...

It had been more than four years since she had become a part of the Langdon's main family, before Jillian had found out the real reason that old master Langdon had adopted her as his granddaughter. She had been too small in the beginning to understand that she was only a substitute. As such, the care of the old master and the bond she had formed with him were genuinely cherished by Jillian.

This was until she overheard the maids speaking, only then did she know there was a real Aria, a real granddaughter. Since that time, she hadn't been able to see the gestures that the old man did towards her as being for her own sake anymore. Everything he was doing was only due to his desire to fulfill his regrets.

For this reason, even though she still followed the plans the old man had in his mind for her future, including her marriage, she had always held a grudge and a reticence inside her heart. Even the marriage with Zane made her feel uncomfortable, she felt as though she was living someone else's life. Each time that man uttered the name Aria, it reminded her she was not the one who should have been his wife. It was a suffocating feeling...

It was just that she was afraid to be abandoned were she to go against the old man, so she had still followed his plans to the tee. Well at least until the old man died she did. The marriage was supposed to be forever, not until an heir was born.

"Are you sure you won't regret it? You are talking about your whole life here. Can you live with that cold man until you die? Jillian, it's not that I think that your future with him will be hard. Far from it actually, with his money you will live comfortably for a hundred more lives, not to mention just this one.

But this is all you are getting from this marriage... money. Money which you already have from the old master... a lot of it actually.

Jillian ponder over this...the old master poured all his love for his missing granddaughter onto you for all those years, but you were only a replacement for that girl, so it caused you much heartache. I am sure of this as I have stood beside you all the steps of the way.