30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 145: Unsettling Presence

The Blackwood family is an empire of wealth, wealth, and wealth. A legend.

"Anyone who doubts it is going against me," Lynn declared in her usual confident, queen-like manner. "You all know how low-key Ethan is. So, if anything happens and the paparazzi catch on, handle it before it becomes a scandal. Don’t get him caught up in any of our mess."

In truth, when Lynn had received the call from the Blackwood Enterprise CEO’s office that morning, she’d been more than skeptical. She thought it was a prank.

But when a driver from Blackwood Enterprise picked her up and drove her directly to the company’s headquarters, she had no choice but to believe it.

The only message the secretary had given her was that Mr. Blackwood would be your date for the reunion tonight.

Is this what they call a blessing falling from the sky?!

After Lynn’s statement, the room fell silent once again.

Then came a few hesitant claps of welcome. But no one seemed entirely convinced.

"Okay, boys and girls, let’s split up for a while. Dinner is at nine," Lynn announced energetically, taking charge of the activities.

"Do you need me to stay with you?" Alex asked, turning to Lily with a gentle smile as they stood by the bar.

Lily smiled in return. "This is a girls-only activity; if you stick around, the guys will mock you."

"I don’t mind," Alex teased, his eyes filled with warmth.

"But I do." Lily chuckled. She didn’t want Alex to become a target for teasing. She wasn’t a fragile glass doll needing to be protected at every turn.

"If anything comes up, just call me," Alex said, handing her a pink rose.

"Will do," Lily replied with a smile as she accepted the rose.

Just then, Lynn came over, linking her arm with Lily’s. "Come on, we’re heading to the spa."

As they walked away, Lily couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She glanced back and saw Ethan standing amidst a group of people, his cold eyes locked on her.

A wave of unease swept through her. Why is he here? Is he planning to cause trouble?

"Mr. Blackwood, how about a game of darts?"

"Mr. Blackwood?"

"What’s Mr. Blackwood doing?"

"Wow, Mr. Blackwood is head over heels for Lynn, huh? They’ve got more time together later; come on, stop staring. Let’s go, let’s go..."

"Yeah, let’s move on."

The guys around Ethan were playfully teasing him, but he didn’t hear them. His gaze remained fixed on Lily, dark and unreadable, revealing no hint of his thoughts.

With a playful grin, Lynn noticed and blew Ethan a kiss from across the room.

Only then did Ethan break his gaze, turning away.

The girls’ activity was a spa session. The Royal Club had top-notch facilities and highly professional staff.

In the serene, fragrant room, with soft music playing in the background, about ten girls lay down to enjoy their massages, the soothing scent of essential oils filling the air.

Soon, the gossip began.

"Lynn, is he really Ethan Blackwood?" one girl asked.

Lying beside Lily, Lynn immediately answered loudly, "Of course."

"I don’t believe it."

"You girls just don’t know how to handle the big leagues." Lynn suddenly looked serious, clearly annoyed.

"We don’t know how to handle the big leagues?" The other girls, all from wealthy or prominent families, were understandably offended by Lynn’s comment.

The peaceful, relaxing atmosphere quickly became tense, with the sound of bickering replacing the calming music.

Lily lay quietly, not saying a word, letting them argue.

"If you’ve seen the big leagues, why are you questioning everything? Or maybe you’re all just jealous?" Lynn’s voice was sharp.

"Are you two dating?"

"There’s a possibility..." Lynn grinned as though she had just won the lottery. Then, suddenly, she turned to Lily. "Lily, they don’t believe me. Tell them, isn’t he the CEO of Blackwood Enterprise’s Asia-Pacific division?"

The conversation’s focus abruptly shifted to Lily. Why am I being dragged into this?

Lily turned her head, only to find Lynn looking at her with an expectant expression, clearly hoping for backup.

"Uh..."

"Why are you asking Lily? She’s never even seen the real Ethan Blackwood," one girl said.

"Exactly. You say we’ve never seen the big leagues, but she hasn’t even seen the world," another girl added.

Lily took a deep breath.

Stay calm. Stay calm.

Yes, I’m just a nobody...

Lily had come prepared for this kind of pressure.

"Why are you all sucking up to Alex Carter like this? Lily’s basically his fiancée," Lynn retorted, glancing at Lily before scolding the other girls.

"Well, it’s not set in stone yet. Alex was engaged to Alice Johnson, and that fell apart, didn’t it?"

Lynn immediately shot back, "This is different. Alex went out of his way to move Lily’s reunion to the city and even planned a surprise for her. He never did anything like that for Alice."

The conversation quickly shifted from Ethan Blackwood to Lily and Alex, with the girls gossiping non-stop.

Ugh...

Let’s face it, this reunion turns out to be a bore.

Especially since she had somehow become the center of attention.

Lily buried her face in the pillow, wishing she could disappear.

But the girls weren’t done with her yet. Their incessant questions quickly turned into thinly veiled insults.

"Hey, Lily, where did you go to school after you dropped out?"

"I heard your family fell apart, and your mom jumped off a building? What happened? Was it really that bad?"

"Your life must have been tough these past few years, huh?"

"But it’s all good now, right? You’re Alex Carter’s girlfriend, so you can walk around with your head held high again."

At first, the questions were polite enough, but by the time the last girl spoke, the room fell silent.

The girl quickly added, "Am I wrong? Back in middle school, the Carter and Anderson families were the wealthiest. Lily was always so arrogant, acting like a peacock. If it weren’t for Alex, would anyone here be pandering to her?"

The room was dead silent, with only the soft background music playing...

Lily wanted to pretend she hadn’t heard a thing.

Was she really that arrogant back in middle school? She remembered always smiling, even at people she didn’t care for...

"It seems like I’m ruining the mood here."

Lily smiled apologeticly at the masseuse as she sat up, wrapping a towel around her body. Then, she turned coldly to the group of gossiping girls.

I knew it.

I remember a few middle school girls being bitter and mean-spirited. When everyone was so kind earlier, I thought I’d misjudged them.

But no... They’re only being polite because they’re afraid of Alex, but they’ve been waiting for a chance to tear me down.

If I stay here any longer, I’ll only be humiliating myself.

"I’m leaving," Lily said, standing up and walking toward the door.

"Lily, wait," Lynn called out from her massage bed, sounding apologetic. "They’re just a bunch of gossip."

Lily forced a smile.

"Can I borrow your phone? I left mine in the locker," Lynn asked, smiling sweetly. "I just need to make a quick call."

Lily handed her the phone. "I’ll change and come back for it."

Just as Lily was about to leave, Lynn called her again. "Lily, do you know Ethan Blackwood?"

Her heart skipped a beat.

Lily’s face stiffened slightly as she looked down at Lynn. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh... It’s just that earlier, when Ethan was looking over here, I thought he was looking at you," Lynn said with a laugh, then quickly added, "But that’s impossible, right? There’s no way you’d know someone like Ethan Blackwood."

Lily didn’t respond and walked out of the room.

In the quiet hallway, Ethan stood leaning against the wall, his head slightly bowed, lost in thought.

Seeing him there, Lily froze, staring at him in shock. Ethan raised his head and looked at her, his eyes taking every inch of her.

She was only wrapped in a towel, her bare skin exposed from the chest up. The heat from the spa had left her pale skin covered in a light sheen of sweat, making her glow in a beautiful and alluring way.

Ethan’s gaze was filled with unrestrained desire as he stared at her.

His eyes held a look that made it seem as if he had already stripped the towel from her body.

Lily instinctively covered her chest with her hands, her heart skipping several beats.

Seeing her reaction, Ethan let out a low, mocking laugh, his eyes filled with disdain as if to say, What’s left for you to cover? There’s nothing on your body I haven’t already seen.

Ethan was usually the type to yell and cause a scene, but now, simply standing there in silence, he unsettled her even more.

Given his personality, if he had come here to chase after her and Alex, he would have already caused a scene, humiliating them both in front of their classmates.

Revealing her past as his mistress would not only ruin her but also leave Alex humiliated in front of everyone.

But Ethan hadn’t done anything.

It didn’t make sense.

"This is the women’s area," Lily said, trying to steady her breathing as she coldly walked past him.

"Your towel is about to fall."

As she walked by, Ethan remained leaning against the wall, not moving an inch, but suddenly spoke, his voice low and seductive, dripping with dark intent.

Lily instinctively clutched her towel tighter, her heart racing. When she realized that the towel wasn’t even close to falling, she turned to glare at Ethan.

Ethan’s lips curled into a wicked smile, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Gotcha."

Lily was speechless with frustration.

She shot him a furious glare before storming off toward the changing room.

That insufferable man! He deserves to rot in hell!

Watching her retreating figure, Ethan checked his watch. She had been in the spa for less than fifteen minutes.

Did someone bully her?

In the changing room, Lily slammed the door shut, collapsed into a chair, and took a deep breath.

School reunions are the absolute worst.

Dealing with the reunion was terrible enough, but now Ethan was here too...

She was terrified that he might decide, on a whim, to reveal that she had been his mistress. He wouldn’t hesitate—this wouldn’t be the first time he’d pulled something like that.

Opening her locker, Lily reached for her clothes, only to find the empty space.

Her clothes were gone.

A wave of dread washed over her. Rushing to the door, she tried to open it, but the handle wouldn’t budge. Someone had tampered with the lock.

Who would do this to me?!

Her first instinct was to call for help, but then she remembered—she had given her phone to Lynn.

Was this Lynn’s doing? Or those girls from earlier?

Fine. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

So I’ll miss dinner. It’s not the end of the world. I’m not going to die in this changing room.

Do they really think locking me in here is going to give them some kind of sick satisfaction?

What did I ever do to deserve this?

This is ridiculous.

Lily sighed in frustration as she walked over to the window, pulling back the curtain to look outside. The streets below were packed with people, moving like ants.

Right. Twenty floors up. If I jump, I’ll be a splatter on the pavement.

Lily scanned the room, searching for anything she could use to break the door open. But whoever had locked her in had done a thorough job of cleaning out the room. Aside from a chair and a couple of lockers, there was nothing.

Even the chair was bolted to the floor, serving no purpose other than sitting.

Fine. When dinner starts, Alex will come looking for me.