30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 146: Saved from the Cold

When dinner starts, Alex will come looking for her.

There was no point in struggling further. Lily could only sit down and wait for time to pass.

"Pssh—"

Suddenly, there was a faint sound at the door, and a stream of cold white mist began seeping in from under the door.

Lily’s eyes widened in shock, and she quickly covered her nose and mouth.

After a moment, when she didn’t smell anything strange, she cautiously approached the mist and reached out to touch it...

It was ice-cold, like frost.

Cold air?

Only then did Lily realize that the temperature in the small changing room had dropped significantly, making her shiver.

Is this just a prank? Or is someone actually trying to freeze me to death in here?

"Is anyone there?" Lily shouted, her voice echoing in the room. "Help! Can anyone hear me? I’m locked in room 235, the changing room!"

Many individual changing rooms were connected to a larger communal one. If someone was nearby, they should be able to hear her.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Lily called out again, walking over to the window, hoping to open it and let the cold air out. But the window wouldn’t budge—it seemed to be sealed with some adhesive, making it impossible to open.

Panic set in. The cold air pouring from the door was so frigid she couldn’t even get close to it.

Even with the air conditioner turned to maximum heat, it wouldn’t be enough to counter the cold for long...

Suddenly, the air conditioner’s control panel lights blinked out, and the overhead lights went dark. The room was plunged into pitch-blackness, with only a faint glow filtering in from outside the window.

Did they cut the power, too?

Lily was terrified. Who did I offend so severely that they’d go this far, trying to kill me?

Ethan Blackwood? Lynn?

It couldn’t be Ethan—if he wanted me dead, he wouldn’t need to go through this much trouble...

Then it must be Lynn?

But the setup seemed too elaborate for Lynn to have thrown together after seeing Ethan’s gaze. There needed to have been more time.

Was this premeditated?

Her mind raced with wild possibilities, but Lily knew that her only option was to keep yelling for help, praying someone would hear her.

The cold air continued to seep in, filling the small changing room.

"Help! Is anyone there? Help! Help!"

Lily shouted until her voice grew hoarse.

The room, now dimly lit and freezing, was growing colder by the second. She was only wearing a bathrobe, and the chill was seeping into her bones. If she didn’t do something soon, she would freeze to death.

Feeling her way through the darkness, Lily reached the bolted-down chair near the door and began kicking it with all her strength.

The chair was close to the door, with the most intense cold air.

Lily’s body began to shake uncontrollably from the cold, but she kept kicking the chair, using her hands to pry it loose. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

After an eternity, she finally managed to break the chair accessible from the floor.

Exhausted and out of breath, Lily dragged the chair toward the window. The floor was slick with condensation, and she slipped, falling hard. The water on the floor felt as cold as ice.

The fall left her bruised and in pain, but the cold was worse.

"Help! Is anyone out there? Can anyone hear me?" she cried out again, but there was still no answer.

Determined, Lily used the chair to pull herself up, then raised it with trembling hands and swung it toward the window. It took three tries, but she finally managed to shatter the glass.

Lily immediately stuck her head out the broken window, seeing shards of glass tumble onto the awning below. Far below, the street was bustling with people, but no one seemed to notice what was happening.

"Help! Help!"

She screamed as loudly as she could, but from twenty stories up, the noise of traffic below drowned out her voice.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

I can’t die here.

My father is waiting for me at home. I can’t die.

Taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, Lily turned back toward the door, using her strength to swing the chair at it.

"Bang!"

The door didn’t budge.

But the chair broke to pieces.

Tears finally began to fall.

Lily collapsed, kneeling as she gathered the broken chair pieces. The cold air blasted through the door, freezing her hands until they were numb.

Shivering violently, she tried to stand again, her knees feeling frozen solid.

Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to her feet, each step to the window more labored than the last. She leaned out of the broken window once more, her arms cut and bleeding from the shards of glass, but she didn’t even feel the pain.

Holding the remnants of the chair, she threw them out the window, one by one.

The streetlights below illuminated the road, and she watched as the pieces of wood landed on the sidewalk. Finally, a passerby looked up, noticing something strange.

Please...

"Help! Help!"

Lily tried to shout, but her voice had gone hoarse from the cold. She could barely hear herself, let alone expect anyone far below to listen to her.

Her body was growing colder by the second.

Even if someone comes to check, I won’t last that long...

The cold air was relentless, and the small changing room was like a freezer. Even with the window open, she wouldn’t survive much longer.

Lily pulled herself away from the window and collapsed against the wall. Her arms and legs were numb with cold.

Her consciousness was slipping away, her thoughts freezing as her body shut down.

Her long hair had begun to frost over. Lily suddenly felt incredibly tired, her head drooping as her eyes began to close.

I just reunited with my father after he got out of prison.

Why is this happening to me?

I don’t want my father to be alone after serving nine years...

Dad...

Dad...

"Bang!"

The sound of a door being kicked open.

Is someone here to save me?

Lily’s mind was a blur, and she wanted to open her eyes but couldn’t. She didn’t even have the strength to lift her eyelids.

Footsteps echoed around her, fast and urgent.

The next moment, Lily felt herself being lifted into someone’s arms. A wave of heat quickly enveloped her frozen body.

Am I going to survive?

"Don’t sleep! Open your eyes! Lily Anderson! Open your eyes!"

A strong, commanding voice repeated the order like an echo in her ears.

Lily struggled to understand.

Is that... Ethan?

"Lily Anderson! If you fall asleep, I swear I’ll kill you!"

Lily wanted to obey, but her eyelids were too heavy. Exhaustion pulled at her, dragging her down, demanding that she sleep.

She wanted to respond, to say something, but she couldn’t move her mouth.

Her body was completely drained of strength.

Suddenly, a pair of warm lips pressed against her cold ones. Lily’s thoughts scattered as she finally slipped into unconsciousness in his arms.

You stubborn woman...

Don’t you dare die on me?

Lily had a long, long dream. She ran through a pitch-black tunnel, chasing a distant light at the end.

No matter how hard she ran, the light stayed far away, always out of reach.

She ran until exhausted, but the light never seemed to get closer.

She wanted to scream, but deep down, she knew no one would come to save her. She had to rely on herself.

"Lily? Lily?"

Suddenly, someone was calling her name.

Is someone coming to save me?

"Lily? Lily?"

The voice grew more apparent, and the dark tunnel began to fade. Slowly, Lily opened her eyes, her head pounding. Alex’s worried, handsome face came into view.

His brows were furrowed with concern, but his expression quickly brightened when he saw her. "Lily, you’re awake? Were you having a nightmare? You were sweating a lot."

"Alex..."

Reality came rushing back.

The changing room... the cold air... her body freezing...

Lily sat up in a panic, throwing herself into Alex’s arms. Her heart was still racing with fear. "I thought I was going to die."

"It’s okay. You’re safe now." Alex’s voice was gentle and full of affection as he held her close, his hand lightly patting her back.

"I was so scared." Lily’s voice trembled as she remembered the sensation of her body slowly freezing. Tears welled up in her eyes once more.

"I won’t let anything happen to you again."

Only then did Lily realize she was in a hospital room, dressed in a hospital gown. An IV line was attached to her arm, and the air in the room was warm and comforting.

There wasn’t a trace of the cold left.

Alex suddenly loosened his embrace and turned to look at something behind him.

Lily followed his gaze and froze.

Ethan stood in the doorway, watching them with cold, unreadable eyes. His handsome face was tense, and his expression was hard.

Lily’s heart skipped a beat.

Ethan’s eyes flicked over her, his gaze cold and distant. Without a word, he turned and walked away.

This isn’t like him...

He didn’t yell, didn’t lash out...

He just... left without saying a thing.

Lily’s head began to ache as she remembered that moment when she had been on the brink of death—someone had lifted her into their arms.

Someone had whispered in her ear, demanding that she stay awake... Someone had held her tightly, rubbing her frozen arms.

Even though she had been so cold that her hearing had become muffled, there was no mistaking the commanding, domineering tone.

It was Ethan.

"Was it Ethan who saved me?" Lily asked, looking toward the empty doorway.

"Yes." Alex nodded, though a trace of jealousy flickered in his eyes.

At the Royal Club, the guys had been playing darts and pool when someone had rushed in, shouting that something had happened in the women’s changing room.

Alex had followed the group, only to see Ethan carrying Lily out, her lengthy hair frosted over, her body wrapped in a bathrobe. Ethan’s lips were pressed against hers, trying to warm her...

Nothing could have shocked Alex more.

Everyone had stared at him, waiting for his reaction.

"Give her to me!" he had demanded. Knowing this wasn’t the time for jealousy, he had removed his jacket to cover Lily and reached out to take her from Ethan. But Ethan had stepped back.

"She would have died if I’d waited for you to save her."

Ethan’s gaze had been icy, laced with mockery. He had then turned to the group of onlookers and declared, "Whoever was involved in this, I won’t let any of you off the hook."

With that, Ethan had carried Lily into the warmth of the entertainment hall.

Alex watched as Ethan tried to lay Lily on a sofa, but her frozen hands clung tightly to his shirt, refusing to let go as if she were in a death grip.

So, Ethan had continued to hold her in his arms...

For the first time, Alex felt like he had lost to this man, and it had nothing to do with money or power.

So, it really was Ethan who saved me?

Lily’s mind was foggy as she reached for the IV in her arm. Alex’s slender hand gently covered hers, knowing precisely what she was about to do. "I already thanked him on your behalf."

Lily looked at Alex in surprise, seeing the tenderness in his eyes, mixed with a quiet, stubborn determination, as if he were telling her: There’s no need for you to go.

Lily was momentarily dazed.

That’s right. I’m Alex’s girlfriend now.

I need to take a stand.

Alex could thank Ethan for her. Besides, Ethan was her former benefactor. It was time to draw a clear line between them.