30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 78: The Weight of the Key
"No, of course not." Lily interrupted him quickly, smiling unnecessarily. Her eyebrows arched as she said softly, "I just couldn’t sleep."
"Is that so?" Alex’s eyes dimmed, following her distant line of sight. The sea stretched before them, the sun slowly rising and occupying half the sky, large and spectacular.
"The sunrise is out." Alex smiled warmly. After nine years, he finally watched the sunrise with Lily again. How long had it been since they last stood together, not yet grown, watching the sunrise from the balcony early in the morning?
Watching the sunrise at home and watching it from the beach were completely different experiences.
"Well, the sunrise is out," Lily answered faintly, looking at Alex’s smiling and gentle face. "Alex, I should go."
I should go.
Alex’s smile froze on his face. He looked away from the sunrise, sitting silently and quietly for a long time without speaking. It was finally time to go. She couldn’t stay with him forever to watch the sunrise on the beach. She couldn’t stay by his side forever.
"Okay, I’ll send you back." Alex assisted her arm to pull her to her feet and carried her over his shoulder towards the wheelchair. His steps were slow, deliberately so. Lily didn’t say anything to break the silence, letting him take her on his back as he strolled.
"Is it cold?" Alex asked with concern.
"Not cold." Lily lingered and glanced at the sea. The sea breeze brushed her cheeks; it was enjoyable. "Alex, just send me to a place where I can take a cab."
"No." Alex refused. "Where does your family live? I’ll send you home or send you back to the hospital?" If he returned to the hospital, he could at least see her.
"No need; I still want to go somewhere else." Lily smiled and politely declined.
Alex seemed on the verge of speaking, yet he remained silent. The breakfast, meticulously prepared by Butler Henry, was as delicious as ever. Lily picked at her food sparingly but made sure to lavish Bobi with generous portions of dog food. The little pup ate with gusto, leaping around her in joy.
The blaring sound of a car horn echoed from outside. It was the vehicle Alex had arranged for her - specially designed for individuals with disabilities.
Alex watched Lily feed Bobi from where he leaned against the wall, his gaze shadowed and tinged with unease.
Lily registered the urgency of the honking horn and offered a dry chuckle while petting Bobi’s head. "Bobi," she said softly, "I have to go now."
Bobi whined as if understanding her words and nuzzled into her arms reluctantly.
The car outside sounded its horn once more, louder this time.
"I should go," Lily announced when Alex didn’t respond. She maneuvered her wheelchair towards the door.
At that moment, Alex stirred from his stillness. He moved to her side and wordlessly began to push her wheelchair out of the villa. Behind them, Bobi trotted along obediently.
Butler Henry followed behind Lily, his hand adorned with a white glove. On top of a silver plate, he offered a key as we approached my room and said, "Miss Anderson."
The key’s design was unique—a delicate and beautiful crown encrusted with a few diamonds, making the whole piece look glowing with light starbursts. It was so exquisite that it was beyond compare.
"This is?" Lily looked up at Henry in confusion.
"The key to the dreamhouse," Alex said, taking her slender hand, gently spreading her palm, and placing the key on it.
The crown key radiated in her palm. It was not heavy, but it made her feel heavy. This one tiny key represented the dream that Alex had built for her. It was cumbersome.
Lily subconsciously tried to retract her hand, but Alex pressed it down. Alex looked at her with stubborn eyes as if he knew what she would say. "If you don’t take it, I won’t let you leave."
"Alex..." Lily gazed at his face, not knowing how to refuse.
"Get in the car." Alex picked her up from the wheelchair and carefully placed her on the passenger seat. Looking at the driver’s name and phone number on the license plate inside the car, he turned his head to Henry and said, "Take down the phone number and driver’s number."
"Okay, Mr. Carter."
Alex’s gentle warning made Lily smile knowingly. After loading the wheelchair into the car, Lily closed the door and waved goodbye to Alex and Henry.
"Take care, Miss Anderson." Henry smiled and bent down to bow to her.
"Be careful." Alex’s brows were slightly locked as he gazed straight into her face. "Call me if anything happens."
"Good." Lily sat in the car and nodded with a smile as the driver drove it slowly.
Lily sat in the car and nodded with a smile as the driver drove slowly. Looking at Alex and the white villa getting farther and farther away in the rearview mirror, Lily’s fake smile collapsed, leaving only a powerless pallor.
"Miss, where are we going?" The driver asked as the car pulled out of the beach and headed for the highway.
"To..." Lily was just about to report the address when she looked in the rearview mirror and saw an RV following far behind.
Fool. Alex is a fool. Wouldn’t he change his car even if he was following her? No wonder he didn’t insist on sending her back just now; he wanted to see where she would go...
"Driver, please stop at the public restroom in front." The driver stopped to fetch a wheelchair for her, and Lily was busy saying, "No need. My foot is just a little sprained. You can just wait for me here."
It was too inconvenient to run around in a wheelchair.
"Okay." The driver readily obliged.
Lily opened the door and limped out of the car, her eyes glancing back as the caravan stopped far behind. Lily walked into the women’s restroom and out through another door, walking a long way before finally intercepting the cab.
"Miss, where to?" The driver began to calculate the time and slowly started the car.
"The small courtyard at No. 30 Lin Road in the City," Lily reported the address of her uncle’s house. For so long, Ethan had held her captive, and she had never visited her family.
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The cab drove long before arriving at her uncle’s house. When she tried to pay, Lily realized she didn’t have a penny. She had never had any money on her when Ethan brought her around.
"Please wait." Embarrassedly explaining to the cab driver, Lily limped out of the car and walked into the small courtyard house. Only an aunt and uncle were sitting in the big house playing mahjong with the three aunts and six grandmothers.
Seeing her go in, her aunt did not lift her eyes, but her shrill voice came out. "Hey, so we all talk about white-eyed wolves, white-eyed wolves; some of these dragons are just white-eyed wolves that can’t be bred, go out for so long and come back without a fart."
When the words fell, the people playing mahjong with their aunt and uncle turned around and looked towards her.
"Auntie," Lily called out faintly. She turned around and entered her house, withdrawing the money and giving it to the cab driver. Returning to the courtyard again, her aunt yelled at her while playing mahjong. "What are you looking at? Why don’t you go and cook? Waiting for me to serve you, do you still think you’re the eldest Miss Anderson?!"
Returning to the courtyard again, her aunt roared at her while rubbing mahjong. "What are you looking at? Why don’t you go and cook? Waiting for me to serve you, do you still think you’re the eldest Miss Anderson?"
Lily lazily ignored her aunt, who had a sharp tongue. She disliked her aunt, but she relied on her uncle to have a roof over her head, and she never argued with her aunt for her uncle’s sake. The only way to get the job done is to do the job of being a drag queen. If you’re a parasite, you have to be conscious of it.
Lily walked into the kitchen and got busy. Her aunt was in the big house with her poker buddies, chattering and counting down her faults, every sentence loud, all falling into her ears.
"Lily’s home! Lily’s home!" Uncle Robert, who had always been punctual for his dinner after a day at the office, greeted Lily with an excited snap of his briefcase. "Oh dear girl, why are you so quick to housework? Let your aunt handle it once you’re back."
Lily was about to object, to tell her uncle not to utter such words, but it was too late. The damage was done.
Her Aunt abandoned her mahjong game in a flurry and rushed over, gripping Uncle Robert’s ear with an iron clasp. "You good-for-nothing man! You want me to do the housework? This house hasn’t aged enough over the years that I’ve run myself ragged managing it inside out. Now you want me to take on more for the sake of this little missy? Absolutely not! This is intolerable! Divorce! Divorce!"
"Quit your endless harping about divorce," Uncle Robert implored. "Should I just leave then? Robert, you’re a heartless man to burden my poor mother with..." Her voice petered out into disgruntled murmurs as she noticed their mahjong partners making swift exits. In the quiet courtyard, Auntie’s biting reproaches were the only sounds that lingered. Lily offered her uncle a compassionate look. There was only one way to deal with Auntie: treat her like background noise and avoid engaging her directly. Any attempt to argue would merely invite days of relentless scolding.
By dinner time, the irate aunt finally fell silent. The three of them gathered around a small round table for their meal. Uncle Robert occasionally added vegetables to Lily’s bowl. "How did a simple trip to gather theater news reduce you to this state?" he asked.
"What do you mean reduce?"" Aunt retorted, reaching across the table to pinch Lily’s cheek in an almost conspiratorial manner. "Just look at how radiant her complexion is; perhaps she’s met someone exciting outdoors."
Lily dodged her aunt’s grasp and continued eating in silence.
"Eat your food and stop spouting nonsense in front of the girl!" Uncle Robert snapped, his face reddening with anger. He turned back towards Lily, his expression softening with concern. "How are you feeling? Is there anything wrong with your feet? Would you like me to accompany you to the hospital?"
