30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 183: Love and Betrayal

"Maybe I’m just foolish! I’ve warned myself thousands, no, millions of times, but when you stood up for me at the Carter family’s event, I fell in love with you." For the first time, Lily confessed her feelings to Ethan. Still, her tone was eerily calm, devoid of emotion, as if she were stating something that had nothing to do with her.

Ethan froze, "Lily Anderson..."

Did she have to say that she loved him under these circumstances?

Something felt off... It was as though she was summarizing everything as if this wasn’t a confession but the closing of a Chapter. The atmosphere didn’t feel like the emotional moment one would expect when a woman confessed her love to a man.

This feeling left him with an inexplicable sense of dread.

"I knew from the start that I shouldn’t love a man like you, that there wasn’t a single good reason for me to love you, but I just couldn’t help myself." Lily continued, clenching her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, causing a sharp pain.

She had tried hard to suppress her feelings. She had even selfishly used Alex as her haven, thinking she wouldn’t feel anything for Ethan after marrying him and moving abroad.

But fate played a cruel joke on her, not allowing her to proceed with the wedding.

She couldn’t control her feelings for him.

When she finds out she is pregnant, she thinks this child is the best reason for her to love Ethan wholeheartedly. But even after she allowed herself to love him, Ethan remained the same, doing whatever he pleased.

He still didn’t understand what their relationship was truly missing...

It wasn’t just about Aiko Nakamura.

"So what? You love me, and I love you. Have I ever told you not to love me?"

Ethan grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, his eyes locking onto hers with an intense, domineering gaze. "You love me, and I love you! Isn’t that enough? Why do you have to make a fuss? Lily, have I spoiled you too much? Is that why you’re being so temperamental now?"

The more anxious Ethan became, the more reckless his words were.

Upon hearing this, a flicker of pain flashed through Lily’s eyes, instantly piercing Ethan’s heart.

"You love me, and I love you... Is that enough? Ethan, tell me, have you ever slept with Aiko Nakamura?" Lily restrained her pain and despair, asking him seriously.

"No!" Ethan denied impatiently.

"Are you telling the truth?" Lily pressed on, her eyes full of seriousness. "Ethan, I just need you to tell me the truth. If you say no, I’ll believe you."

Her intense gaze and the sincerity in her voice made Ethan falter for a moment. He couldn’t bring himself to answer.

Her eyes made it impossible for him to lie.

He couldn’t convince her, not even with a single word.

"So, you did, didn’t you?" Seeing his hesitation, Lily let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Ethan, I’ve given myself so many reasons to love you, but time and time again... you’ve only made my heart grow cold."

Her heart had turned completely cold.

He had said before that he couldn’t always come back to chase after her, cling to her, or make her happy...

But what about her? Did he know how much courage it took for her to love him?

Loving a man like him required immense courage... and his actions could extinguish every bit of it instantly.

Their relationship was like walking a tightrope, suspended high above. One misstep, and they would fall into the abyss, shattered beyond repair.

Ethan stared at her in silence.

Her self-mocking tone made him feel deeply uncomfortable. It hurt worse than if she had slapped him. He would rather she punch him.

He didn’t want to see her give up like this... Everything had been fine just moments ago...

That damned Aiko! He wouldn’t let her off the hook! She ruined everything!

"Let go, Ethan," Lily said coldly, her expression indifferent as she tried again to free her hand.

Ethan tightened his grip on her hand, unwilling to let go. For some reason, he had a gut feeling that if he let go now, she would never return to him...

He didn’t want to let her go.

Even though she had betrayed him, even though she had secretly met with Alex, and even though she had chosen to leave with Alex after losing the bet on the gambling ship, he had never thought about letting her go because he couldn’t.

He couldn’t let go of her hand, not even if it killed him.

"Let go. Ethan, let go." Lily insisted, her gaze cold and relentless.

Every time something happened, she would always say "let go"—let go!

Didn’t she understand that their hands would have separated long ago if he hadn’t held on for so long? How could they have made it this far if he hadn’t been the one holding on?

From the beginning until now, he had been the only one fighting for their relationship. What had she ever given him in return?

Now, after seeing Aiko, she was suddenly doubting him again!

As Ethan watched Lily struggle to free her hand, anger surged inside him. She was always thinking about leaving him. Did she love him, as she claimed?

Who loves someone with such a cold and distant attitude?

"You betrayed me! You’ve been involved with Alex for so long, and I’ve let that go. Why can’t you just let this go?!" Ethan yelled in frustration.

"I never slept with Alex!" Lily interrupted coldly, her gaze unwavering, showing no sign of deceit.

"Lie!" Ethan shouted without thinking. "Lily, you’re lying!"

She had stolen confidential documents for Alex, costing him billions.

She had snuck out of the hospital to meet Alex and left the gambling ship with him, spending the night at a seaside villa.

And now she was telling him they hadn’t slept together? Did she think he was an idiot?!

"Ethan, is this something you’ve always wanted to know?" Lily asked seriously, staring at his doubtful face.

"I don’t need to know because you’re lying!" Ethan gritted his teeth, still gripping her hand tightly.

With complete honesty, Lily said, "Ethan, I never slept with him. I’ve told you this before, but you’ve never believed me."

Ethan froze, his dark eyes momentarily filled with confusion.

She wasn’t lying.

After all this time, she and Alex hadn’t slept together?! It was true—he had never believed her.

She had loved Alex for so many years—how could they not have slept together?

It didn’t seem possible, didn’t seem real!

"Ethan, we’re the same," Lily said, lowering her gaze. "Neither of us trusts the other."

Ethan’s grip on her hand stiffened, but he didn’t tighten his hold.

Noticing the change, Lily coldly looked at him and pulled her hand free, turning to leave.

She walked to the elevator and pressed the button, lifting her eyes to wait.

Her slender, fragile figure stirred something profound inside Ethan as a powerful force struck him. He couldn’t let her leave.

Ding—

The elevator doors opened.

Without thinking, Ethan rushed forward and blocked her path with his arm, preventing her from stepping inside. His voice was strained but softer, "Lily Anderson, all of that is in the past. We can forget it."

Whether or not she had slept with Alex didn’t matter anymore. It was in the past—why did they need to dwell on it?

They had come so far... Did they have to throw everything away now?

"Ethan, some things can’t be fixed by simply forgetting them. You don’t trust me, and I don’t trust you either. That’s our biggest problem."

Lily looked at him coldly, walking around his arm and entering the elevator.

She didn’t believe he only had her, and he didn’t think she had ever slept with Alex.

She had given herself reasons to love Ethan, but she had forgotten that... they didn’t even have the most basic foundation of trust.

A relationship like this couldn’t last.

As the elevator doors closed, Ethan stood outside while Lily was inside.

At the last second, Ethan’s hand shot into the closing doors, trying to hold on to something.

Lily stared at his trapped hand, her heart pounding. She lifted her gaze to meet his eyes.

Ethan stood there, his body tense, his dark eyes fixed on her, his expression strained.

She thought he might say something...

But in the end, he didn’t say the one thing she needed to hear: I trust you.

"Let go, Ethan."

Lily’s lips curled into a self-deprecating smile. Why was she still hoping for something? She disappointedly lowered her gaze and gently pushed his hand out of the elevator.

The doors closed completely, and Ethan’s face disappeared from view...

Only then did Lily’s cold facade crumble. Her eyes sting with unshed tears, and her heart aches as if it were breaking apart. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

She had thought she was ready to embrace this relationship, but every time she took a step forward, something would push her right back...

In reality, Ethan had never trusted her.

He had always believed that she had betrayed him, that she had slept with Alex, even if he never said it aloud.

Today was supposed to be happy, but everything changed again in the blink of an eye.

Lily tilted her head back, trying to stop the tears from falling.

She couldn’t cry. Feeling sad wasn’t good for the baby.

She couldn’t cry, Lily. Don’t cry. She hadn’t shed a tear on the Carters’ centennial celebration, so this was nothing worth crying over...

Back at the hospital, Lily was greeted with a scolding from the doctor. "Are you planning to lose this baby? I told you to stay for observation! Do you even know what that means? I checked on you eight times today, and you were gone the whole time!"

"Sorry." Lily, despite being scolded so harshly, could only apologize.

"You should be apologizing to yourself!" The doctor jabbed a finger at her head. "Do you even realize you’re at risk of a miscarriage? If you’re not careful, you’ll lose the baby, and your health will suffer."

"I won’t run off again," Lily promised, sounding like a chastised schoolgirl.

"You’d better not! From now on, you’re on strict bed rest. Unless necessary, stay in bed!" The doctor finally let her sit down to perform a routine checkup. "Where’s your boyfriend?"

Lily’s gaze darkened, and she replied quietly, "We broke up."

"What?!" The doctor was shocked, glancing at Lily’s belly. "Then what about the baby?"

"I want to keep the baby," Lily said firmly, though her face was filled with sadness.

She feared she wouldn’t be able to give the child the best upbringing nor provide a father’s love. But staying with Ethan for the child’s sake would only mean living with an unhealed wound between them.

Even if they had moments of happiness, that wound would always be there, waiting to resurface and hurt them both.

That wound was called trust and betrayal.

Neither of them could remove it.