30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 194: Lily’s Dream

Lily spoke in a somewhat placating tone as she gently pulled Ethan’s arm and guided him to sit down. "How’s your wound? Did it get wet?" She asked as she lightly massaged the area below his injured left arm.

"Lily, you’re being way too obvious with your flattery," Ethan replied, not fooled for a second. He wasn’t stupid; he could see right through her intentions.

She was hiding something from him, like planning to enroll in a directing course without saying a word.

"I’m not flattering you," Lily denied.

"You are! You feel guilty!" Ethan insisted. Did she think he was blind and couldn’t see through her?

"I’m not!" Lily stuck to her denial, but as she massaged his arm, she applied more pressure on purpose. Ethan, however, didn’t feel a thing and continued to wear a displeased expression, his eyes filled with muted anger.

"You are!"

"I’m not!"

"You are!"

Lily felt exasperated. Why was she having such a pointless argument with this arrogant man? Did she have nothing better to do?

Just then, a maid handed her a hairdryer. "Miss Anderson."

"Thank you."

Taking the hairdryer, Lily glanced at Ethan’s expression and softly said, "I asked Sophia Bennett to find me some information. I want to study directing. You’re not going to object, right?"

She had spent most of the past few days caring for him in the hospital, so she had asked Sophia to help her gather the information.

She also wanted to look for a place to live. Once she started directing studies, she needed various equipment and a quiet space to work on scripts. She needed a place of her own.

The Blackwood estate was large, but she could never truly focus with Ethan around.

And even if she could, Ethan would eventually disturb her.

"So now you’re making decisions before consulting me?" Ethan snorted, his face dark and stormy. "You’re pregnant now. Why aren’t you at home resting instead of running off to study directing?"

What’s so great about that exhausting line of work? Did she really need to overwork herself?

Why was she interested in something like that?

"I may be pregnant, but I’m not paralyzed. I need a certain amount of activity, and most of the early stages of a directing course involve theory, so there isn’t much physical exertion," Lily explained, trying to convince him, knowing he was upset.

"No! You’re pregnant and have already shown signs of a miscarriage. You’re not allowed to go," Ethan said firmly.

"Ethan, can you stop being so domineering?"

"I’m not being domineering!" Ethan didn’t feel he was being domineering at all. If he were, he wouldn’t even bother discussing this with her.

"I’m not one of your pets."

"Even pets behave better than you!" He snapped back. She was always disobedient, always going against him.

Lily was so mad that she stopped talking, her lips pressed tightly together.

Turning on the hairdryer, she began blow-drying his hair, her fingers running through his wet, short hair with more force than necessary. Her mood was sinking.

She didn’t want to be a woman who just stayed home, waiting for her man to return. However, Ethan’s views were the complete opposite of hers.

"If you want to get involved in the entertainment industry, there are plenty of ways to do it."

After a long silence, Ethan finally spoke again. He was aware that she was upset, and his chest tightened in frustration.

He couldn’t stand seeing her angry!

Glancing at the director’s course materials lying nearby, Ethan muttered awkwardly, "After the baby’s born, I’ll give you Empire Entertainment to run. But until then, stop thinking about stuff like this."

He knew she had no experience managing a company, so he used the word "play." Giving her such a prominent entertainment company to "play with" didn’t make him bat an eye.

But that wasn’t what she wanted.

He never truly understood her.

"I’m not playing," Lily said, pausing her movements as she combed through his short hair. She spoke with particular seriousness. "Ethan, did I ever tell you that becoming a director is my dream?"

Being a director was never a game to her.

She just now had the opportunity to pursue it.

"A dream?"

Ethan was taken aback. It seemed he had never heard her mention her dreams before...

"Yes, since I was a child, I’ve dreamed of becoming an outstanding director," Lily said solemnly, nodding.

Telling stories from different perspectives through her camera... was her dream.

In the past, she had been forced to give it up.

But now, she at least had the chance to slowly make it a reality.

Right now, she was barely touching the edges of the directing world, but with her hard work, she would one day succeed.

But she would never get close to her dream if she couldn’t even take the first step.

"That kind of exhausting work can be a dream?" Ethan scoffed, but deep down, he was deeply shaken.

A dream...

Such a beautiful word.

Lily had dreams, but what about him? It seemed... he had never had a dream.

Every step of his journey had been forced: forcing himself to return to the Blackwood family, forcing himself to accept his family’s twisted nature.

All because of the shadow Lily had cast on him years ago, completely reshaping his values.

From then on, he had fought tooth and nail to rise to the top, become powerful, and be above others...

That was the only thing he had ever worked hard for—becoming someone powerful. A student from a terrible school like him had worked tirelessly to learn management, finance, and more.

Lily had no idea what Ethan was thinking. When she heard him dismissively scoff, she immediately stopped blow-drying his hair and tossed the dryer aside. "I’m not doing this anymore."

Ethan glanced at her in surprise.

She wasn’t angry; she sat quietly, her face pale and downcast.

"What’s wrong now?" Ethan asked, trying to soften his tone.

He had only told her not to study directing, so why did she look so hurt?

Without looking up, Lily replied flatly, "I’m not going to blow dry the hair of someone who disrespects my dreams."

He was her man, and while it hurt that he didn’t support her, what hurt more was the way he had mocked her.

What was so wrong with having a dream of becoming a director?

Was it really so bad?

Seeing her like that, Ethan felt guilt, and he compromised again. "Fine, fine, go ahead and study."

Damn it.

He was always the one people compromised for, but now... here he was, compromising for her, over and over again.

He had genuinely fallen for Lily.

Even though Ethan had given in, Lily didn’t seem particularly thrilled. She stood up and said, "I’m going to check if the food is ready."

As soon as she stood, Ethan grabbed her and pulled her into his lap. She fell onto his knees, and with one hand, he lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. His gaze was as deep as ink.

Ethan leaned in close, his hot breath brushing against her skin. "Are you mad?"

"No," Lily replied coldly. His agreement had felt forced, and it left her feeling unsettled.

Her friend was still at the house today, and she didn’t want to argue with Ethan and cause a scene.

"You’re clearly upset. I already said you could study, so give me a smile!" Ethan demanded, his hand gripping her chin, his tone domineering.

He had repeatedly bent backward for her, breaking his rules, and she wasn’t even slightly moved.

Lily raised her eyes and looked into his, the sadness in her gaze catching him off guard.

"Ethan," she said, her voice serious.

"Go ahead," he responded.

"I want your support," Lily said, her voice filled with emotion, each word deliberate.

Right now, he was the most important person in her life, and gaining his support meant more to her than anything else.

This was her lifelong dream.

She wanted his support, not confined to a life of luxury, waiting at home.

Ethan’s eyebrows knitted together. Was being a director, such a grueling job, really that important to her?

The idea of his woman needing to do such hard work was laughable.

But if she insisted on doing it, what could he do? 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

He had already promised to change for her, listen to her, and not control her life...

He had cornered himself with his own words.

"Got it, stop nagging," Ethan grumbled, awkwardly huffing as he squeezed her chin and demanded, "Now, smile for me!"

Lily forced out a weak smile.

Ethan frowned in disgust. "That smile is uglier than a frown!"

"You’re the one who asked me to smile," she retorted. She had obediently done what he asked, and now he criticized her? What did he want? Did he expect her to be some doll he could make laugh or cry on command?

"I didn’t ask for that kind of smile. Do it again!"

"No more smiling," she muttered, refusing to continue with this ridiculous game. She wasn’t some court jester.

"If you don’t smile, I’ll kiss you," Ethan threatened shamelessly.

"I’m not—mmph."

Before she could finish, her words were muffled by his lips.

Ethan’s left arm was still too weak to exert much force, but with her sitting on his lap, he managed to cup her face with one hand and press his lips firmly against hers.

It was a kiss full of dominance and intensity.

"Lunch is ready!" Sophia Bennett came rushing over excitedly, but as soon as she saw the intimate scene unfolding before her, she quickly backed away. "Lunch isn’t ready yet... You guys, carry on."

Lily gave Ethan a playful shove, her face flushed. "Stop it, let’s eat."

"I’d rather eat you," Ethan murmured into her ear, his voice low and seductive.

Ethan was compromising for her little by little. He wasn’t locking her in a gilded cage, and Lily could see how he was yielding to her.

Her feelings for him were growing stronger by the day. Staying with him had been the right decision.

Lily started attending her directing classes, and her schedule was packed daily.

For the first time, Lily felt like her life was finally complete.

If only Ethan hadn’t insisted on having a driver take her to and from school, with Cipher and a few bodyguards escorting her, she would have felt even more at ease.

Every day after class, a stretch limousine and a few sports cars would be parked at the school gate, with bodyguards standing stoically by the vehicles.

To her classmates, she was like an alien...

She had protested to Ethan several times, but he ignored her complaints. His even allowing her to take the directing course was already a huge concession.

She had no choice but to accept it.

Sitting in the car, Lily flipped through a book titled A History of Film, studying in earnest. She was just beginning to scratch the surface of the directing profession.

There was much to learn about directing—writing scripts, mastering photography, editing footage, and post-production...

"Mr. Blackwood is in a meeting at the company. It won’t end for another hour. Would you like to go shopping or have a spa treatment, Miss Anderson?" Cipher asked respectfully from the seat next to her.

Miss Anderson had now practically become their boss.

Mr. Blackwood doted on her endlessly, ensuring her schedule was handled when he wasn’t available.

If Miss Anderson was ever unhappy, Mr. Blackwood might seem calm on the surface, but behind closed doors, he would take it out on the bodyguards.

"No, just take me to his company," Lily replied without looking up from her book.

She was already rushing to keep up with her studies. Who had time for shopping or spa treatments?

Taking one step at a time toward her dream, she had never felt better.