30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 114: Lily’s Liberation

Ethan suddenly pulled out of her soft body, grabbed her by the shoulders, and clamped his hand around her chin, cold and ruthless. "Lily, what right do you have to talk to me about love?! Did you think about love when you climbed into Alex Carter’s bed?!"

He had done so much for her.

The things he should have done, the things he shouldn’t have done, he had done them all.

And now she dared to talk to him about love?!

How laughable.

Sleeping with Alex—was that love? Yet when she slept with him, it was just a physical act, wasn’t it?!

"Ethan..." Lily’s chin ached from his grip, the pain digging deep into her bones. The intense pain erased the last bit of reason left in her. With disdain, she glared at Ethan’s cold, furious face and said each word slowly, "Do you even realize how twisted your views are? You’re nothing but a twisted pervert!"

"Get out of my sight, Lily!" Ethan roared, pushing her away in a fit of rage. He stood over her, glaring down. "You’re the kind of woman any man can have, and you don’t deserve to talk to me about love!"

Ethan’s voice was hoarse from shouting, his anger reaching a fever pitch.

"Get out! Just get out! Lily, I never want to see you again! Get out!"

He grabbed a pillow and threw it at her head.

He wants me to leave?

Does he think I want to stay with him?

This man who only knows how to mistreat women... I don’t need him! I don’t need him at all!

Tears fell from her eyes once again.

"Fine, I’ll go."

The words were meant to sound carefree, but they came out pitiful, and the tears fell uncontrollably.

Lily hurriedly put on her dress and opened the presidential suite door. Cipher and several bodyguards were stationed outside. When they saw her, they raised their hands to stop her.

"Lily! Get out! Never let me see you again for the rest of your life!"

Ethan’s angry roar echoed from inside the room.

Cipher’s mouth twitched slightly, and he stepped aside, allowing Lily to leave...

As she left the hotel, Lily saw the name on the building—30-Day Anniversary Hotel.

Her heart suddenly throbbed with pain.

Tears flowed involuntarily from her eyes as she stumbled out of the hotel. Is this it? Have I finally left Ethan for good?

When she had wanted to escape, there had been no way out.

Now, with just one sentence from Ethan, she was free again.

Great...

She was no longer a mistress. She no longer had to worry about being exposed.

She didn’t have to keep lying, one lie snowballing into another like an endless cycle.

The pain of lying was no better than having to believe the lies...

But now that she was free, why couldn’t she feel happy? She should be celebrating, maybe even popping a bottle of champagne—a celebration that she had finally escaped from a man who had hurt her...

But the tears wouldn’t stop falling.

The city streets were busy with people rushing about. Lily’s slender figure wandered down the street, her eyes vacant, with no direction. Her stomach growled loudly in protest.

Grumble—

She didn’t have a single cent on her. Ethan had thrown away the Tears of Airlie necklace, and the only thing she had left was the Tears of Airlie ring on her finger.

Lily walked into a small store, wiped away her tears, and asked, "Can I borrow a phone to make a call? My friend will come and pay you when she arrives."

The store owner looked at her pale face like a beggar. "Make your call quickly and leave. You don’t have to pay. Just go."

I must look terrible, Lily thought to herself.

She dialed her friend Sophia Bennett’s number and forced the words out. "Sophia, can you take me out to eat?"

Lily stood by the roadside, waiting.

Twenty minutes later, Sophia arrived in a taxi. The moment she saw Lily, she gasped in shock. "Lily! What rehab center did you just get released from?!"

Rehab center?!

"Do I really look that bad?" Lily managed a faint, painful smile.

"People in rehab look more alive than you do. You look like death warmed over. What happened?" Sophia pulled her into the taxi.

"Are you sure your big mouth won’t broadcast this to the world?"

"Of course not. Do you think I’m that kind of person?!"

"Yes."

"..."

Sophia was notorious in their magazine office for being a walking gossip station. The moment any juicy gossip reached her ears, the entire world would know in no time...

But she was a good person—loyal and kindhearted.

Sophia took her straight back to her small rented apartment and handed her a brand-new dress she hadn’t even opened yet. "Go on, take a shower. I’ll whip up something to eat."

"You didn’t tell my uncle, right?" Lily asked. If her uncle saw her in this pitiful state, he would undoubtedly be distraught.

While putting on an apron, Sophia replied, "As soon as you called, I rushed out of the magazine office. I didn’t even take leave. How would I have had time to tell your uncle?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Lily’s heart warmed with gratitude.

In her time of need, she still had a good friend like Sophia.

"Thank you, Sophia," Lily said sincerely.

"Hey, what are friends for? Remember those seven nights you stayed up with me after I went through seven breakups? I haven’t forgotten." Sophia smiled and shooed her toward the bathroom.

As Lily entered the bathroom, she finally understood why the store owner had looked at her like that...

It wasn’t just that she looked miserable...

She really did look as bad as Sophia had said—like someone who had just been released from rehab.

Her reflection in the bathroom mirror was ghastly pale, her eyes dull, her lips colorless, and there was a gash on her forehead from being slammed into the wall.

It’s only been three days...

How did I become like this?

Lily staggered backward, barely able to recognize herself. No, this isn’t me. I won’t let myself live like this... How did I become so broken?

After hastily washing up, Lily grabbed some powder and blush from Sophia’s vanity and applied it to her face. She immediately looked much better.

"Well, well, Lily knows how to use makeup? The sun must be rising in the west!" Sophia teased as she walked out of the bathroom, but her tone was approving. "You look a lot better now. I was scared when I saw you on the street earlier."

I scared myself when I looked in the mirror, Lily thought.

"I’ve been eating weird meals for three days," Lily said as she sat at the dinner table.

Sophia quickly brought over a few stir-fried dishes and a bowl of soup, looking at her with sympathy. "Didn’t you always eat takeout when you were working as a journalist? How come you look like this after three days of boxed meals?"

Her stomach had been pampered by Ethan in such a short time.

And in just three days, Ethan ruined it again.

Lily didn’t say anything, quietly picking up her chopsticks to eat.

"Hey, Lily," Sophia said, sitting across from her, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Who was that guy who barged into the restaurant and punched the doctor you were on a blind date with? Is he your boyfriend? Is he? Is he?"

Doctor on a blind date?

She really summed that up pretty well...

"Uh..."

"It must be, right?!" Sophia exclaimed excitedly. "He was so hot! So manly! Where did you find such a perfect guy?!"

Lily stared at Sophia’s lovestruck face in silence.

Perfect.

He was perfect, but not in the way Sophia thought. He was ruthless.

She had just been thrown out of a hotel by that perfect man after being tossed off the bed.

"Sophia, do you have any alcohol? I want to drink."

Sophia blinked in surprise, her eyes wide. "Something’s not right here, Lily. Don’t tell me that perfect guy dumped you?!"

Her behavior... her mood... it all screamed heartbreak.

"Yeah, let’s celebrate my newfound freedom."

Lily forced a bitter smile.

From today on, she was utterly free, with nothing to fear.

She was no longer a mistress and no longer had to worry about being exposed.

She no longer had to live in constant fear of Ethan’s violent outbursts of being used and discarded at his whim.

What a perfect ending!

Perfect!

"Lily, you’re crying." Sophia said, staring at her in shock.

Lily had never been in a relationship before, and this was the first time Sophia had seen her cry over a man.

Crying?

Why would I be crying? I’m free now; I’m liberated. How could I be crying?

Lily raised a hand to her eyes, feeling the wetness on her fingertips.

She was crying.

"Alright, let’s drink until we’re wasted. Then we’ll go find some male escorts!" Sophia said, slamming her hand on the table before grabbing a bottle of wine and some glasses.

"Male escorts?!"

"Yeah! If those men don’t appreciate us, we’ll pay to have men treat us like queens!"

"..."

Sophia’s righteous indignation made Lily chuckle, and suddenly... the weight on her chest no longer felt so heavy.

They drank one glass after another.

A silly variety show played on the TV, with the host cracking awful jokes. The two women sat on the floor by the sofa, laughing drunkenly...

"Why do so many people die every year, but those scumbags never do?!" Sophia shouted, downing another glass of wine.

Lily, her face flushed from the alcohol, nodded in agreement, barely coherent. "Yeah, let them all die! Every last one of them!"

"Hey, Lily... Your ring is so shiny, so huge!" Sophia said, setting down her glass and leaning in to examine the ring on Lily’s hand. "It’s gorgeous..."

Lily chuckled foolishly.

"Yeah, it’s called the Tears of Airlie. I think it was a gift from some prince to a princess... from Britain or somewhere."

Staring at the soft glow of the ring on her finger, tears welled up in Lily’s eyes.

Why am I still wearing this ring?

I should throw it away, sell it... Anything would be better than keeping it in my hand.

But why... why can’t I bring myself to take it off?

"A princess wore this? It must be worth a fortune, huh?" Sophia asked excitedly. "That guy must be loaded. He looked young too—a rich boy?"

Rich boy?

Sophia always had a way of getting straight to the point.

Yeah, a rich boy... Ethan was now a part of her past.

"His dad’s even richer than he is." Lily smiled faintly, her eyes distant, her head resting against the sofa’s edge. "You know the European financial market? His dad could ruin any company with just a wave of his hand.

"Come on, you’re exaggerating."

"I’m serious."

"If his dad’s that powerful, then it makes sense he dumped you. Guys like that don’t do real relationships. They just mess around."

"Is that so?"

Lily stared at the wine in her glass, her vision blurring.

With someone like Ethan, who would ever believe he truly loved her?

For a moment, she had believed it. She had honestly thought it...

But now, she didn’t believe in anything anymore.

This was just a game between adults—whoever caught feelings first lost.

Lily drained her glass, her head spinning with dizziness.

"Lily..."

"Yeah?"

"I think something’s wrong."

"Hmm?"

"My whole body itches... I think I’m having an allergic reaction to the alcohol.

"What?!"

Lily jolted awake, her mind clearing slightly. She looked over at Sophia, who was scratching her arms furiously. Red welts were already forming on her skin.