30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 151: Lily! I love you!

\For some reason, Lily felt increasingly uneasy whenever she was with Ethan Blackwood. It was as if something was constantly scratching at her heart, making her nervous and restless yet somehow excited.

This feeling... she had never experienced it before.

"Don’t move!"

Ethan commanded sternly, stopping her from taking off her shoes. He knelt before her, tying her laces with his long, deft fingers. The clean, white laces looped smoothly around his fingers, forming a neat knot.

Lily stared at him in a daze, his short black hair clean and neat, his hands focused as they tied her shoes...

Her heart suddenly began to race.

Lily couldn’t believe the change in her feelings—she felt something for Ethan...

Was she crazy?

She must be crazy...

Lily was so startled by her reaction that her face turned pale, and she hurriedly pulled her foot away. Ethan looked up, clearly displeased, and glared at her. "Lily!"

"I’ve already eaten, I need to go." In a fluster, Lily took off the shoes he had just tied, put on her own, and stood up to leave this suffocating store.

Before she could even reach the glass door, Ethan grabbed her arm.

Lily tried to pull away, but she couldn’t break free from his grip.

"You promised you wouldn’t touch me," Lily said nervously, struggling against his hold.

Ethan glared at her, his face dark and cold. After a long pause, he spat out through gritted teeth, "We’ve eaten, so of course, I can touch you!"

Lily stared at him in shock, suddenly wanting to run.

Was she stupid? Had she let her guard down just because Ethan was acting differently today?

He was still a wolf, no matter how much he tried to hide it under sheep’s clothing...

"Let go of me!" Lily’s voice trembled with fear.

Seeing her so frightened, Ethan let out a self-mocking laugh. "Ha."

Was fear and hatred the only feelings she had for him?

Why was he acting like an idiot, trying to get close to her? Just to see her scared?

Under the astonished gazes of the store staff, Ethan dragged Lily outside. The street was bustling with people and traffic, but beyond the noise of the cars, there was an odd sense of quiet...

"Ethan, this is a public street," Lily said, planting her feet firmly on the ground, refusing to be pulled further. Her brows furrowed anxiously, but Ethan’s grip on her arm was unyielding.

Suddenly, Ethan turned around and pinned her against the wall, his hands resting on either side of her shoulders. He leaned in close, his eyes dark and dominating. "Lily Anderson!"

Lily gasped, her eyes widening in fear as she stared at his cold, chiseled face. Her pupils constricted with terror.

They were in public; indeed, he wouldn’t do anything to her here, would he?

"Lily Anderson!" Ethan shouted her name again, staring intensely into her eyes, his voice filled with rage. "I love you!"

Lily froze, staring at him in disbelief.

Did she hear that right?

Did he just say... he loved her?

"Lily! I love you! Did you hear me?!" Ethan shouted again, his deep eyes glaring at her with fierce intensity.

His authoritative voice was intimidating. Lily’s mind went blank, and she nodded mechanically. "I heard you."

"That’s it?!" Ethan raised his fist in frustration, ready to strike, his eyes burning with a fire that seemed ready to explode.

Looking into Ethan’s dark, stormy eyes, Lily felt her heart had stopped. After a few moments, she glanced at his raised fist, and the shock jolted her back to her senses.

"Yes, that’s it," Lily said softly, lowering her gaze.

What more could there be?

What could happen between them?

"Lily Anderson!" Ethan was so furious he wanted to hit her. He lowered his fist and instead cupped her face with both hands, leaning down to kiss her.

His hands weren’t holding her forcefully; they were just cradling her face gently, his fingertips warm against her skin.

His face came closer.

Lily quickly turned her head, and his hot lips brushed against her cheek instead.

His lips lingered on her face, and Lily could feel his heavy breath, thick with frustration as if he was barely holding back his anger... barely restraining himself from hitting her.

His lips were warm. Was it these lips that had kissed her when she had been rescued from the freezing changing room?

She had been so cold and hopeless that time, but his kiss had saved her.

That warmth had been the only thing she could feel before she lost consciousness, driving away the chill that had consumed her entire body.

But so what?

There was no future for them... no possibility of a future. Even though he had saved her life, she couldn’t betray Alex. She absolutely couldn’t...

"Lily!" Ethan’s hands suddenly gripped the collar of her shirt tightly, pulling her closer to him. "Come back to me! I’ll forgive everything and won’t cause the Carter family more trouble!"

Lily looked up at him. His hands were gripping her collar so tightly that it was hard for her to breathe.

The afternoon sunlight was warm, but it cast a shadow over him...

A shadow that wouldn’t go away.

He looked down at her, his jaw clenched tightly.

"Ethan, don’t always use threats to keep women by your side." After a moment, Lily spoke, trying to keep her voice calm and detached.

"Lily Anderson!" Ethan was furious, but he leaned in to kiss her again instead of hitting her.

Lily quickly turned her head, avoiding his kiss again, and his lips landed on her soft hair instead...

His grip on her collar loosened.

Heh.

So she was determined not to let him kiss her, was that it?

Ethan let out a bitter laugh, his voice dripping with self-mockery. "Do you love that Carter guy that much?"

No matter what he did, did she really not care?

Was time the only thing that mattered in a relationship—just because she had known Alex for longer?

What about his feelings? Did his confession mean nothing?

Lily lowered her gaze, unable to meet his eyes, and nodded firmly. "Yes, I love him very much."

"Lily—"

Ethan gritted his teeth.

She dared to admit it?!

"Ethan, I don’t love you. Stop wasting your time on me." Lily said seriously.

She wasn’t sure whether she was trying to convince Ethan or herself.

All she knew was that this was the right thing to do...

The correct thing to do...

After saying that, Lily tried to walk away, but she had only taken two steps before Ethan grabbed her again, pressing her against the wall with his tall frame.

Passersby glanced curiously in their direction...

The street remained busy with cars and people rushing by...

Ethan breathed heavily, glaring at the woman before him, saying nothing. He just wanted to keep her in front of him, to keep looking at her...

As long as he could see her, he felt better, and the frustration in his chest eased.

It was better than returning to Blackwood Enterprise and staring at a cold computer screen...

Lily kept her head down, too afraid to meet his gaze.

She couldn’t go on like this with Ethan. She was going to marry Alex... She couldn’t betray him.

She loved Alex.

Yes, she loved Alex, not the man who had once forced himself on her...

"Ethan, let go of me." Lily raised her hand and pushed against his firm chest.

"No!" Ethan yelled angrily, "Come back with me!"

"Ethan, I don’t love you! What good is a woman whose heart isn’t with you?!" Lily shouted, using all her strength to push him away.

Ethan stumbled back a step, glaring at her with fury. "Lily! That’s not what I want to hear!"

"But that’s all I have to say!"

Lily clenched her fists tightly and took a deep breath before looking directly into his dark eyes. "I don’t love you! Not one bit! Ethan, do you understand? No man should cling on so desperately! It only makes people hate you!"

Cling on desperately?!

Ethan had never clung to a woman except for her, Lily!

He had never said those three words to anyone before, and now his confession only made her hate him?

It felt like a sharp knife had sliced through his chest.

This pain... It hurt far more than the time he had cut his own palm—it was suffocating, leaving him speechless.

He didn’t hit her, nor did he insult her. Ethan just stood there, his dark eyes locked on her, glaring furiously.

Lily didn’t look back at him. She turned and walked away...

She could see the shock, humiliation, and hurt in his eyes...

She had expected Ethan to beat her up on the street, but he didn’t.

Even as she walked away, he didn’t chase after her.

After a long pause, she heard him shout behind her, "Lily! You’ll regret this!"

Lily didn’t look back, continuing to stride forward.

Ethan glared at her retreating figure, feeling an overwhelming urge to punch himself. What had he come here for? Just to humiliate himself?

He had done things for her that he had never done for anyone before...

And this was the response he got?!

Lily! You’ll regret this! You’ll cry one day!

Lily trudged back home, her steps heavy. Within two minutes of arriving, someone delivered the court documents to her.

Given Ethan’s personality, she had expected him to tear up the documents and secretly sabotage her case...

But he actually sent the documents over.

She opened the court papers and saw that the trial was scheduled for the end of the month.

"Yes, yes, I’m available for interviews. Sure..." Henry Anderson walked out of his bedroom, phone in hand, smiling when he saw Lily.

Lily looked at him in surprise. After he hung up, she quickly asked, "What interview?"

"Oh... two T.V. stations and five newspapers have invited me for interviews, all about the attempted murder by Alice Johnson," Henry said casually as he took the court documents from her.

"You agreed to them?" Lily asked, shocked.

"Of course."

"But we might not win the case."

"That doesn’t matter. The important thing is to ruin the Johnson family’s reputation in the public eye." Henry shrugged, his middle-aged face still showing traces of his former handsomeness.

"But if we lose the case, your words could be considered slander."

"Daughter, I never do anything I’m not confident about." Henry pulled her into a comforting embrace. "I spent nine years in prison. Do you think I’d be stupid enough to walk right back in?"

"Dad..."

"Alright, alright. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, and you’re already nagging me so much." Henry walked over to a drawer and pulled out a document. "Here’s your medical report. I’m going to rest now."

"Okay."

Lily nodded, taking the report and heading to her room. She collapsed onto the bed.

The medical report showed that everything was fine; all her results were average...

She couldn’t understand why the doctor had insisted she come in for regular check-ups.

"Lily! I love you!"

"Lily! I love you! Did you hear me?!"

Ethan’s forceful confession replayed in her mind as she tossed the medical report aside and stared blankly at the ceiling...

Ethan... loved her...

Her head throbbed as if it were about to split open. Lily suddenly jumped out of bed, grabbed a brush, dipped it in ink, and furiously wrote the word "trouble" on a blank sheet of paper...

Her father had said, "Art is the best way to calm the mind. Write what’s on your mind repeatedly, and eventually, you’ll find peace."