30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 74: The Beachside Surprise

Lily raised her eyes and saw Alex walk to a glass locker, take out a box of fine chocolates, and hand it to her. "You said you’ve changed everything. How about the chocolates? Do you still like them?"

This brand of chocolate was costly, a luxury for ordinary people to even look at. Alex didn’t like eating this sweet. But there was only one reason why he kept this kind of chocolate in the car at all times, and it was because of another woman.

"Your fiancée likes chocolate a lot?" Lily smiled with great difficulty and didn’t reach out to pick up the chocolate.

Alex’s eyes vaguely floated with something, and he was silent for a long time before he jawed and squeezed a word out of his throat, "Uh-huh."

Lily nodded and didn’t say anything else. Alex’s hand holding the chocolate froze mid-air, with no intention of retracting it—persistent to a fault. Lily secretly sighed, reached out, and took one of the chocolates, peeling it off and putting it in her mouth. An astringent flavor was immediately left on her teeth and cheeks. Although expensive, with its reasons for being pricey, it did taste sweet, and the aroma spread instantly in her mouth.

"Is it delicious?" Alex saw her eat the chocolate, and a light smile floated on his face as he sat on the sofa opposite her. The dining table separated the two.

"Uh-huh." Lily nodded vigorously. Alice Johnson also had good taste in food.

Upon hearing this, Alex smiled happily; even the corners of his eyes brought up the arc of a curved moon as he peeled another one for her, casually asking with his mouth, "How long have you been dating your boyfriend?"

Lily’s gaze stalled. She did not expect Alex to suddenly ask this question. Lily subconsciously bit her lip. From the day she and Ethan met until now, how long had it been?

"Less than a month." It turned out that it hadn’t even been a month, but why did she feel it had been an agonizingly long time? So long that she could barely hold it together.

Only less than a month? That was no more than they had been acquainted. Alex handed her the peeled chocolate in his hand, smiled, and continued to ask, "Is he good to you?"

Is Ethan treating her well? The temperamental, vicious, and violent character had given her help and the deadliest injury in her life. Plundering her innocence, brutally imprisoning her to be his forbidden property. But also, when locked up in the kindergarten, she drove more than three hours to rescue her. Ethan was the one who sped to the police station to save her when Alex’s car hit her. Is this considered good? Or bad?

"He... treats me well sometimes." Lily took the chocolate in Alex’s hand and put it in her mouth; this one had another bitter-sweet flavor, completely covering the sweetness of the previous one, so bitter that it made her frown.

"Sometimes?" Alex instantly caught the crux of her words and asked with concern, "He usually mistreats you?"

She was the little princess of the Anderson family, and he had spoiled her growing up. No one had ever said half a harsh word to her. The boyfriend she chose was only sometimes good to her. What kind of man is so unaware of the blessings?

Lily let out a bitter smile, "Not every couple can be as happy as you and your fiancée; I see... that your good things are near."

Alex’s eyes dimmed at those words, and then he nodded, "My father wants us to get married before the end of the year."

Before the end of the year? So soon. He’s getting married so soon.

"Yes, how nice—you’re getting married." Lily could barely maintain her smile, and every word was squeezed hard out of her mouth.

"Lily, what about you?" Alex asked rhetorically. Would she and her current boyfriend consider getting married? When would they get married, and in the future, when she became someone else’s wife, would he still be able to be so stubborn as to abduct her into the car and take her away?

Her? Could she even have a marriage in her life? Not wanting to continue this topic, Lily shifted the conversation, "Is Uncle Bill’s health okay? I saw on the news that he has passed the danger stage."

Alex paused before saying, "He’s faking it."

"What?" Lily froze.

"A few days ago, Carter Group’s crisis reached a severe period, and when a gossip weekly broke the news about a photo of my fiancée hugging her ex-boyfriend, my father used it as a way to show his weakness by pretending to be sick."

Uncle Bill actually thought the same as her: that showing weakness in front of the public was the best way to gain favor. Luckily, Uncle Bill didn’t have a heart attack.

"But Uncle Bill is the chairman of Carter Group. Isn’t this illness afraid of affecting Carter Group’s stock price?"

Alex mildly said, "Someone is maliciously suppressing Carter Group’s stock price. Our internal team at Carter Group has been trying to protect the market, but we’ve incurred significant losses. Even Father seems unable to help with this." His eyes darkened slightly as he spoke.

Lily didn’t understand the various ways of suppression in business wars. Still, she also understood that Uncle Bill was using the trick of putting his life in danger to win the public’s sympathy and divert everyone’s attention from the "tax evasion door."

"Uncle Bill made you lie in front of the media." Lily looked at him and said, somewhat dissatisfied, on his behalf. In Lily’s eyes, Alex was an immaculate man who had never lied since childhood. This time, he lied in front of the media public that his father was sick.

Alex looked at Lily with some surprise. Was her tone holding out for him? She still cares about him, doesn’t she?

"Father told me that sooner or later, I will have to take over the power of the Alex Clan, and I have to adapt to the true and false, the treacherous clouds of business." Alex’s voice was tinged with bitterness. This could not be helped. Alex was the only son of the Carter family; only he could carry the beam.

Lily didn’t speak again, turning her eyes to look out the car window at the scenery whizzing by.

*************************

After a long journey, the caravan slowed, having long since lost the car that was chasing them.

"Here we are," Alex said as he assisted her from the couch to the wheelchair and pushed her out of the car. As soon as she exited the car, a warm sea breeze hit her face, and the warm sun hung in the sky, reflecting the endless sea in the same color as the sky.

Lily’s eyes widened in shock, gazing stupidly at the beach and sea in the distance.

"In the future, when I grow up, I’ll build a big villa on the beach and put my prettiest princess dresses inside and lots and lots of dolls..." One year in elementary school, she sat in the piano room to listen to Alex play the piano; Alex played a "sea" song, and she immediately began to talk about their dreams.

"I’m going to raise a snow-white Samoyed. When I’m not making movies, I’m going to take a walk on the beach every day, and at night, I’m going to sleep in my princess bed and listen to the sound of the waves. Alex, isn’t my future dream especially perfect?"

"Uh-huh." Alex played the piano and smiled. At that time, I always felt that my dreams would all come true, all without any difficulty.

Just as Lily believed she could become an internationally renowned director, she thought she could build a large villa by the sea and sleep to the sound of the waves every night.

In retrospect, when I was a child, I didn’t understand where the confidence came from. A lot of things can be done when she grows up. But a flash of so many years has passed, and she can accomplish none of her dreams. She still needs to take a course in directing. Not to mention building a big villa on the beach. All these years, she didn’t even come to the beach a few times.

In the distance, seawater surged up the beach, splashing a burst of water, and the sound was so pleasant that it was refreshing.

"How come you thought of bringing me to the beach?" Lily couldn’t help but ask. He still remembered that she liked the sea, right?

Alex laughed lowly and pushed her along the beach, "I didn’t come to bring you to see the sea today."

What was that to see? Lily looked towards the still, calm sea. The sea breeze brought a refreshing scent, and the seagulls in the air were spreading their wings and soaring while occasionally making sharp noises. Lily inhaled the air a little tricky, and Alex suddenly stopped.

"How to stop..." Lily turned around and just wanted to ask, but the line of sight in front of the large white villa stuck, and she could not turn away from the gaze, her voice mute in her throat.

The white villa in front of her covered a vast area. The white guard and beautifully trimmed green plants added a touch of romance to the villa. Alex walked towards the front and pulled open the milky white fence door, the sunlight-dyed points of light on his face, gentle and elegant temperament, one hand raised to point towards the villa, the smile on his face as if it were a light wind, his light-colored lips gently opened.

"Welcome to Lily’s dream house!" Alex’s gentle voice rose in the wind.

Lily stared blankly at his happy appearance, at the white villa behind him, without any reaction. A wave of warmth flowed over her cheeks, and Lily raised her hand to touch it, only to realize that she had cried without realizing it.

The smile on Alex’s face tightened the moment her tears fell. She looked at her worriedly, "Lily, are you not feeling well? What’s wrong?"

"No, nothing." Lily choked and shook her head, panicked, looked down to wipe her tears, looked at the villa, and asked suspiciously, "This is?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"I’ve been thinking about building a dreamhouse for you since a long time ago," Alex came over and pushed her wheelchair inside the villa, "I thought you should have had your seaside villa a long time ago, but I still wanted to bring you here to see it."

How could she possibly own her seaside villa? She didn’t have that ability. Alex pressed the doorbell, and not long after, the door was opened.

A white-haired old man in a black butler’s uniform smiled as he bowed and bent ninety degrees at them, "Mr. Carter. You haven’t come back for a long time."

"Well, there’s something going on at the company," Alex said mildly, then introduced Lily. "This is Henry. He’s the one who takes care of the villa when I’m not around."

"How are you? Henry." Lily smiled politely and nodded.

"Good day, Miss." Henry looked like a very professional housekeeper. He was polite and considerate with his hands and feet. Alex stopped him from taking the wheelchair and pushing it.

"I’ll do it. Please prepare some food for us." Alex pushed Lily into the house and suddenly added, "Her stomach isn’t very good. Don’t do irritating and raw cold food."

"Okay, Mr. Carter." Henry, the housekeeper, answered and left their sight.

As soon as they entered, Lily realized that the arrangement of this villa resembled an American country style: idyllic and warm, clean and straightforward. It was almost exactly the same as the seaside villa she had imagined. A white villa by the sea, with the windows open, breathing in the flavor of the wind, and listening to the seabirds singing, is a delightful life.

Lily was looking around, suddenly, only to see a big furry white dog rushing towards them, a Samoyed, clean and pure color. I’m going to get a snow-white Samoyed, and when I’m not making movies, I’ll take it for a walk on the beach every day. Lily looked on in amazement. How could Alex remember her every word so clearly? How could she have never imagined that he built the dream she couldn’t realize for her?

The Samoyed rushed over and jumped directly into Alex’s arms. He smiled and half squatted down to stroke its head. "Bobi, come greet the mistress." The larger-bodied Samoyed obediently sat on the ground, raised his right paw, and bent it at her. His cute face had a bit of naivety.