Chapter 2: Hide

Vivian concluded that if her husband wasn’t dead, she might be putting him in a more precarious situation by exposing herself to danger. She may be kidnapped and used to catch him if he was hiding somewhere.

It was common sense to her that she held no value to Zander, but she was still his wife-in-paper. And based on the days they had spent together three years ago, he seemed to be a good man.

Zander would surely think she was his responsibility and would try to get her back. Of course, Vivian did not want to be harmed in any way either, so she had to go into hiding.

If there was something she hated in this world, it would be pain. She had run away from pain all her life and she had succeeded. She did not want to experience it now.

Just imagining what kind of torture her husband’s enemies might have prepared for her sent her packing her bags quickly.

Opening her wardrobe, she was relieved that she still had a lot of new clothes that she had never used before. It would be useful in hiding herself the following days. She knew full well that she could not go out wearing clothes she had used before.

If the enemy was someone who could hurt a multibillionaire like Zander, they were surely powerful. She was sure it was easy for them to track her location. Wearing clothes she had worn before was like exposing herself and willingly getting kidnapped.

Gladly, Vivian often bought clothes as souvenirs on her travels, so she had a lot of them in stock. She chose the cheapest and normal-looking ones so she would not stand out. She only prepared two pairs of elegant-looking ones just in case she needed them.

Vivian contacted her business managers and informed them that she would be traveling for a while. Thus, they had to take care of the company as usual and send their reports as usual.

Except, they were not allowed to call her and they should not expect a call from her either. She would only respond via mail once she had the time.

Vivian reasoned that she would be too busy and thus, in case of problems, they had to solve them themselves and send her a detailed report of what happened.

It could take several days or more for the matter about her husband to be settled. Vivian was not sure when she could access her emails again, but it was better than not being in contact with her managers at all. She entrusted checking her businesses to her personal assistant.

Thankfully, she had hired reliable people. Her personal secretary, named Hotaru Rei Xi, was a very reliable person.

Hotaru was half Chinese half Japanese. Vivian met her several years ago and hired her. Hotaru had shown a strong work ethic and proved to be extremely capable, so Vivian never let go of her.

“It seems you will not be around for more than a month this time. If I recall it right, this would be the first time right Ms. Chen?” Hotaru verified.

“Yes. I have things I need to do after I go on tour, so it might be more than a month before I can come back or contact you,” Vivian explained.

“I understand. I will do my best to take care of your business while you are away.”

“Thank you, Rei-chan. I’m really glad that I met you that day several years ago. If not for you, I couldn’t have a leave for a long time like this.”

“It was I who was most grateful, Ms. Chen. I feel honored that you trust me so much,” Hotaru replied, and Vivian almost laughed at how the latter sounded like a butler.

She could almost see Hotaru as a butler who was bowing her head to her as she said those words. But that’s if only Hotaru was a male. She was a girl, so she would be a maid if they were in a different setting. Hotaru did almost always dress up as a male though.

“Please stay safe in your travels, Ms. Chen.”

“Yes, of course. But you do know what to do with my assets if something happens to me, right?”

Vivian wanted to be sure that her assets would be properly dealt with in case she suddenly died on her trips, so she had already contacted lawyers before and had authorized Hotaru to take care of it.

“By any chance, you are not going somewhere dangerous, right?” Hotaru sounded anxious.

“You worry too much. I’m not going to a war-torn country or anything.”

But Vivian could not deny that she might be in danger. She knew Hotaru had become attached to her after years of working for her, so she understood her worries. Hotaru was now dear to her as well.

“Ms. Chen, if you are going somewhere dangerous, please take me with you. I can work as your personal guard. I have the ability. I will protect you with my life.”

“Calm down, Rei-chan. What would I do if I didn’t have you to take care of everything?”

Vivian was puzzled at Hotaru’s sudden panic. Hotaru was usually calm and calculated. This was the first time she sounded so alarmed that she even volunteered to go with her.

“Ms. Chen, I swear I can do both works at the same time. Please let me come with you,” Hotaru pleaded.

“You have nothing to worry about, Rei-chan. I’m only going for a vacation after my travels. I hadn’t had the time to rest for some time, so I thought that I would take this opportunity to lie low.”

“Is that so? You’re truly not going anywhere dangerous?”

“I’m not. I think there’s nothing so dangerous about where I am heading. I might even be bored at times when my work is done. But the signal might be a problem, so I could only contact you when I could go to somewhere with proper connectivity.”

“It sounds like an isolated island or mountain,” Hotaru was still suspicious.

“Haha. Not really. But as long as you are here taking care of my work for me, I have nothing to worry about. So you don’t have to overthink things. Just do your job and I will have a better time. Alright?”

“Understood. In case of emergencies, please contact me immediately. I will do my best to help,” Hotaru promised.

“Yes. Thank you.”

Vivian smiled. It made her happy that Hotaru was worried about her. However, she would rather not involve other people with her problems concerning her husband. If a life was to be ruined, hers was enough. She did not have to drag people into it.

With Hotaru in charge of all her business ventures, Vivian was rest assured that even if she was gone for a month or more, she would not suddenly go bankrupt.

Vivian cleared any sign that she was home that day. She activated the security features and locked up her house. She brought only clothes she had never worn before and even changed her perfume.

Even her wedding ring was not on her finger, not that she wore it all the time anyway. Only she and her husband knew that she was already married.

In truth, Vivian only wore their ring on their wedding day until she parted with her husband. It was because she did not know how to explain that she had married a man she had just met for two billion.

Well, no one could blame her. Only someone holy would say no to a deal like that. And she wasn’t one. Vivian was rather honest with her desires.

Knowing that using her car might expose her location, Vivian hailed a cab instead. She went to purchase necessary items from several shops, such as supplies, gloves, and even included hair dye, wigs, and contact lenses.

She wore disguises in every shop she went to and only used cash. Thankfully, she had hidden a stash of cash at her home for emergency purposes.

Vivian then went to a hotel owned by someone she knew. She had him book an entire floor for her but it was reserved under his name so that she would not be tracked.

It was kind of scary for Vivian to stay on an entire floor by herself, but it felt safer. If she did not have the entire floor booked, if one of her husband’s enemies discovered her whereabouts, they might book a room beside hers and she would not even know. Thus, she opted for the whole floor.

Other people might think she was just being paranoid. And she may indeed be being paranoid.

However, she had read too many novels about things regarding her current situation and it was better safe than sorry.

Instead of waiting for the danger to catch her by surprise, she would at least try to keep herself safe and survive what was to come.

She had always been the type that prepared in advance and took precautions when she thought it was necessary. She felt like this was one of those times she should apply it.

More importantly, she still had to confirm whether her husband was really dead or alive somewhere.

Surely, his parents would keep looking for him. And she prayed to all the gods she knew for his safety and that he would be found by trustworthy people before his enemy did.

A/N: Hi everyone! What do you think of our female lead so far? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. Thank you for reading this and do add it to your library.