30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 196: Ethan’s Insecurities

Ethan’s words clearly showed that he cared for her, but there was always a hint of his stubborn and domineering nature.

Suddenly, Lily didn’t feel like her smile was so forced anymore. She opened the sushi box and asked, "Didn’t you say the meeting would last another hour? Why did it end so early?"

And what kind of meeting could the B.E. Group and the Carter Group be?

"Your father, Henry Anderson, tried to take out a massive loan from B.E.’s bank under the Carter Group’s name, but Alex stopped him. Alex has been appointed Vice Chairman of Carter Group by his father and is now temporarily overseeing the company’s operations," Ethan explained as he picked up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks.

Alex had become Vice Chairman of Carter Group?

So now, it was a battle between Alex, his father, and her own father?

Alex had never shown any interest in business conflicts before...

For some reason, when Lily had seen Alex’s smile at the conference room door earlier, it had felt strange... unnerving.

She had never seen Alex smile like that.

It was as if he had become a different person.

"What are you thinking about?" Ethan frowned, clearly displeased as he noticed her zoning out.

"Nothing."

Lily snapped out of her thoughts, smiling softly.

"Really, nothing?" Ethan didn’t believe her, and he threatened, "Lily, if you’re thinking about Alex Carter, I’ll kill him right now!"

Lily was used to Ethan’s arrogant and domineering attitude by now. After a brief pause, she couldn’t help but say, "Ethan, can B.E. just stay out of Carter Group’s affairs from now on?"

Ethan’s eyes flickered with coldness.

He wasn’t actively targeting the Carter Group, but hearing Lily’s words irritated him.

"I’m not trying to interfere with your business; I just hope Carter Group stays as far away from me as possible," Lily explained.

Every time she heard about Carter Group, she was reminded of her parents’ scandalous affair from the previous generation...

She couldn’t accept that part of the past.

She just wanted to forget it.

"You’re worried I’ll cause trouble for Alex?" Ethan’s thoughts clearly needed to be on the same page as hers. His eyes were filled with displeasure. "Lily Anderson, are you still not over him?! He’s your brother!"

If she still had feelings for Alex, he’d kill him right now and be done with it!

At his words, Lily’s expression darkened as well. "Ethan, are you doubting my love for you? Or are you just insecure?"

Her sharp words immediately silenced Ethan.

"What do I have to be insecure about?!" he retorted, though his tone was stiff. He was the third son of the Blackwood family, the president of the B.E. Group in the Asia-Pacific region, and he was better-looking than Alex. What did he have to be insecure about?!

But as he said the words, his eyes flickered with unease.

She had loved Alex for so long and had only been with him briefly. How could he be sure that he was more important to her than Alex?

Seeing his lack of confidence, Lily’s anger quickly dissipated, and she couldn’t help but laugh. "Ethan, what are you so insecure about?"

The fact that he, of all people, could feel insecure... It was completely unexpected.

He was overflowing with confidence in her eyes—almost too much of it.

"I’m not insecure!" Ethan’s voice suddenly rose by several octaves, and his loud outburst was an apparent attempt to hide his discomfort.

"Is that so?"

Lily walked over to the filing cabinet and opened a drawer Ethan had set aside for her things. "I bought a new camera recently. It’s got great features. Let’s see if I can capture your insecure expression."

She was also taking photography courses, and having worked as a paparazzo before, she was particularly good at capturing expressions. Her teachers always praised her assignments.

Holding the somewhat heavy camera, Lily turned to find Ethan blocking her lens. "No photos!"

If anyone was going to take pictures, it would be him taking pictures of her!

What was so great about taking photos of him?

"Mr. Blackwood, are you really that insecure?" Lily teased, staring at his tense face.

"I’m very confident!"

"Then let me take a picture."

"No pictures!"

"So you really are insecure?" Lily deliberately steered the conversation back to confidence, her bright eyes fixed on him. "I thought I was in love with a confident man. Guess I was wrong."

"When did I ever say I wasn’t—" Ethan began but stopped mid-sentence, realizing she was indirectly telling him she loved him.

This woman. Why couldn’t she just say it straight up?

A straightforward sentence—you don’t need to doubt my love for you—and she had to beat around the bush.

In her heart, he must already mean more to her than Alex... Alex was in the past.

With that realization, Ethan’s eyes flashed with a smug look. He stared at her momentarily deeply and slowly lowered the hand blocking the lens.

Click—

The flash went off instantly.

Lily quickly snapped the photo and laughed happily.

Ethan liked taking pictures with her, but he was always resistant to taking solo photos, his personality stubborn and strange.

She never understood why he hated being photographed alone.

"Lily! Who said you could take that?!" Ethan growled immediately. What kind of expression had he just made?

"Ethan! It’s just a picture—what’s the harm?" Lily asked, genuinely confused. It wasn’t like she was going to publish it anywhere. Did he still think she was a paparazzo?

"Delete it!" His expression must have been terrible! No way was she keeping it!

"I won’t."

"Delete it!" Ethan stretched out his hand, demanding her compliance.

Lily pulled the camera close to her chest and backed away. "Ethan, I’m warning you, if you come any closer, I’ll yell harassment!"

"The soundproofing in this office is better than you think!" Ethan smirked mischievously, raising an eyebrow at her as if daring her to go ahead and shout.

"Ethan!"

Lily continued backing up. The last time her teacher assigned a portrait photography task, she wanted to use him as her subject, but he wouldn’t let her. What was the harm in letting her take just one picture?

It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen solo pictures of him before... What was he so concerned about?

Ethan strode toward her, his dark eyes glaring. "Give me the camera, now!"

"I’m serious! I’ll scream harassment!" Lily said with a straight face, clutching the camera protectively.

"Do I need to make that accusation a reality?" Ethan smirked coldly, his eyes glinting with mischief as he took deliberate steps toward her.

Lily backed up until she was against the floor-to-ceiling window, cornered with nowhere to go. She tried to dart to the side, but it was too late—Ethan had already trapped her between himself and the window.

With some effort, Ethan raised his injured left hand, pressing both of his hands on either side of her head, surrounding her in an intimate position.

"Lily, what are you running for? Don’t you know you’re pregnant?!" Ethan scolded her, his intense gaze fixed on her face and his tone sharp.

"If you weren’t chasing me, I wouldn’t have run! You know I’m pregnant, and you still chased me?" Lily retorted, using his own tone against him while tightly holding onto the camera.

"Lily! You’re getting more and more sharp-tongued!" Ethan growled, frowning at her.

She was learning from him.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a soft glow over them and illuminating their faces with a gentle light.

"Do you enjoy going against me this much?" Ethan asked, displeased, glancing out the window. "If you keep this up, I’ll throw you out of the window! Now give me the camera!"

They were on the top floor of B.E. Group’s headquarters...

"Then throw me out," Lily replied without hesitation, her eyes full of defiance as she protected the camera.

"You—" Ethan nearly exploded in frustration, glaring at her for a long moment before finally muttering, "I can’t bear to."

He practically shouted the words.

Seeing him so flustered, Lily couldn’t help but laugh. "I know you can’t."

"You’re getting a little too confident!" Ethan snapped, though a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He leaned down and kissed her hard on the lips, growling playfully, "Lily, don’t get too cocky!"

Lily blinked and said, "You’re rubbing off on me."

"Who are you calling ’dark’?" Ethan’s brow furrowed again. This woman was becoming bolder and bolder with her words, and she was less afraid of him!

The more he spoiled her, the more defiant she became.

"’He who stays near ink gets stained.’ Or would you rather I say you’re the ’red’ influence?" Lily teased with an innocent smile, her clean face full of life.

This woman...

Ethan decided to stop letting her talk, leaning down to capture her lips in a kiss. His hot tongue slipped into her mouth, swirling and teasing, his chest pressing against hers.

"Mmm..."

Ethan reached for the camera in her arms, but even as she grew dizzy from the kiss, Lily still refused to let go.

"Lily, I hate taking solo photos," Ethan suddenly said, his voice low and husky, his dark eyes staring intensely into hers.

Lily froze. "Why?"

Had something happened? Why was he so against taking solo photos?

The discomfort in Ethan’s eyes flickered for a moment, but he didn’t answer her question. Instead, he arrogantly and forcefully warned her, "If you keep that picture, you’re taking a bath with me tonight!"

When it came to these matters, Lily was no match for Ethan.

He always meant what he said. If he dragged her into the bathroom with him, there was no way he’d be able to hold back.

Lily could only watch helplessly as Ethan snatched the camera away and tossed it aside.

"Ethan, can you stop being such a brute?! You always use these things to blackmail me!" Lily complained. The baby was his, too—he was responsible for protecting it.

"I love using this to blackmail you. So what?" Ethan replied without a trace of shame. He didn’t care about using the same old tricks as long as they worked.

The truth was that Lily had become less afraid of him after they had officially gotten together. She no longer felt intimidated. When he scolded her ten times, she ignored him nine times, and the one time she listened, she still talked back.

Except when it came to these intimate matters, she wouldn’t back down for anything else...

She had left him no choice.

This was the only card he had left to play.

"Brute!" Lily scowled.

Ethan kissed her brow, smoothing out her frown before threatening her again. "Repeat it, and I’ll throw you on the desk!"

Lily immediately fell silent.

Ethan smirked in satisfaction. That trick always succeeded.

He leaned in again, capturing her lips in a heated kiss. Lily gradually forgot about their banter, raising her arms to wrap around his neck, returning the kiss...

The kiss was passionate and lingering.

Outside, the sunlight was warm and bright.

Ever since Lily had gotten pregnant, Ethan would touch her every night, working himself into a frenzy but never finding relief.

Ultimately, he had developed the habit of taking cold showers every night.

Late one night, Lily was sound asleep in Ethan’s arms when she groggily heard his voice, lowered in frustration, from above her. "Don’t bother me with this again!"

Who was calling him at this hour?

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Lily lifted her head from his chest to look up. The light from his phone illuminated Ethan’s extremely irritated face in the darkness.