30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 205: The Director’s Offer

"Madam, you must look stunning in a wedding dress. Did you try on many different gowns during your wedding photoshoot? Is that why you don’t feel like wearing one now?" the makeup artist teased lightly as she loosened and styled Lily Anderson’s long hair.

Tried on many wedding dresses?

She hadn’t even worn a wedding dress once...

Lily’s gaze dimmed slightly as she lowered her eyes to look at the gemstone ring on her finger—the Tears of Airlie. The ring was supposed to be a wedding ring, a prince’s gift to his princess.

But for her, it wasn’t a wedding ring...

Forget it. Don’t think about it.

Pregnant women needed to stay happy. She should just go with the flow. As long as she was the only one by Ethan’s side, there was no need to overthink anything...

As long as the two of them were happy together, nothing else mattered. Their baby would soon be born, and she dreamed of becoming a director...

She lacked nothing. Yes, absolutely nothing...

Since the photos required little to no retouching, they were quickly printed.

Not a single photo was deleted. The photographer printed all of them and even gifted them a beautifully crafted photo album. "We’ll also create life-sized cardboard cutouts of the two of you and enlarge a few photos to send to your home."

"Thank you."

It had started raining heavily outside when they left the baby store.

The sky was dark and heavy, as though night had already fallen. The oppressive clouds had finally burst into a torrential downpour.

"Mr. Blackwood, Miss Anderson."

The driver and a few bodyguards held umbrellas as they escorted the couple into the car.

Ethan’s deep voice broke the silence as he stared at Lily’s seemingly calm face. "Why didn’t you want to take wedding photos?"

Lily’s gaze dimmed slightly at his question.

Because wedding photos, like wedding rings...

One shouldn’t take them lightly, nor give them lightly.

Both represented the promise of marriage.

Lily quickly discarded the sadness in her eyes and looked up at Ethan with a smile. Opening the photo album, she said, "We already took so many pictures in this outfit. There’s no need for more."

They were already together. If she kept showing how much she cared about marriage, it would seem like she was pressuring him, and she didn’t want to push him...

Besides, marriage was something the man should initiate.

That was one of her principles.

Ethan’s gaze fell to the ring on her finger. When the makeup artist had mentioned the wedding dress earlier, he had caught the subtle sadness she couldn’t hide.

Was she upset that it wasn’t a wedding ring?

His marriage wasn’t something he could decide for himself. Apart from delaying it as much as possible and giving her his promise to stay by her side for life, he couldn’t give her the formal commitment of marriage...

The Blackwood family—especially that old man—was not someone even he dared to anger.

Everything he had today was thanks to that old man.

Bang!

A sudden wave of frustration surged in Ethan’s chest, and he slammed his fist against the car window.

Lily was startled and looked up at him. "What’s wrong?"

Why was he suddenly angry?

"Nothing," Ethan said in a low voice, grabbing the photo album from her hands and snapping it shut. "These photos are hideous! Stop looking at them!"

"They’re not bad at all. I think they’re great."

Lily quickly snatched the album back from him, afraid he might destroy the rare photos they had taken.

The photographer had a real knack for capturing moments and had guided them well in posing.

In many of the photos, Ethan is made to kneel on one knee, with Lily either perched on his back or standing with her foot on his knee, striking a dismissive, queen-like pose...

She looked every bit the queen.

Meanwhile, Ethan’s role is to submit to the queen. While he followed the poses, his expression was anything but cooperative. From start to finish, his face was stiff, his eyes filled with defiance, making it clear he was being forced into the shoot...

His handsome features and perfect bone structure made up for his sour expression.

Looking at the photos of Ethan with his stern face, still being stepped on by her, Lily couldn’t help but laugh. Nestling into Ethan’s arms, she said, "This might be the only time I get to play the queen."

Lily felt a little smug.

In one of the photos, she holds a silver whip, pretending to crack it against the ground. Ethan, supposed to look frightened, wears his usual sour expression, completely unimpressed.

His gaze in the photo resembled someone watching a child playing—utterly dismissive.

"You like whips?" Ethan asked, glaring at the photos of himself in various "humiliating" poses. He felt an overwhelming urge to throw the album out of the window.

This was, without a doubt, the most embarrassing and least dignified set of photos he had ever taken.

He had knelt on one knee more times than he could count... All for Lily Anderson. He had done the stupidest things imaginable for her!

"Do you enjoy using a whip on me?" Lily flipped through the photos, her eyes sparkling with laughter. "I have to say, I really enjoyed playing the queen."

The feeling of stepping on Ethan Blackwood... wasn’t bad at all.

It was such a rare opportunity.

"Then you can keep enjoying it at home," Ethan replied with a snort from his nose.

She dared to say she enjoyed it? Just because she stepped on him, she thought it was fun? What did she take him for?

"Does that mean I can use a whip on you at home too?" Lily asked with genuine curiosity.

"If you wear a uniform," Ethan replied.

If she could give him some... uniform temptation, he wouldn’t mind letting her continue her queen act.

"...Forget I said anything." Lily immediately cut herself off. Wearing something like that in front of this man, who could unleash his primal side at any moment... she wouldn’t even have her bones left.

Closing the album, Lily yawned.

"Tired?" Ethan pinched her nose lightly, a glint of something unreadable flashing in his deep, dark eyes.

"Mm." Lily nodded, leaning against him and closing her eyes to sleep.

Ever since she became pregnant, she often felt tired. During her classes, she had to fight to stay awake.

But when she wasn’t in class, she didn’t hold back. If she wanted to sleep, she would sleep.

She loved sleeping in his arms. They were warm and made her feel comfortable.

As she lay across his lap, Ethan gazed at her intently. His thin lips pressed together, his long fingers gently brushing the hair from her cheeks...

Her face was clean and delicate, with a faint blush. She slept peacefully, making no sound. She looked no different from anyone else...

She was just a normal person.

"Do you really want this baby?"

"The baby is fine now, isn’t it? Don’t you want it? This is our first child."

When she said those words, her expression was so natural. This was their child—there was no reason not to want it.

Ethan’s fingers paused on her face, and a flicker of suppressed emotion passed through his dark eyes. Taking out his phone, he sent a text:

"Contact an expert on AuroraVirus research."

When they returned to the Blackwood estate, Ethan carefully and gently carried Lily out of the car as though afraid of hurting her.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

Lily stirred awake from the sound, groggily opening her eyes. She answered the call without getting down from Ethan’s arms, "Hello? This is Lily Anderson."

The voice from the other end said, "Hello. This is Matthew Williams, the director of <Kill>. "

"A director?" Lily was still half-asleep, her voice groggy.

"I saw the sports drink ad you directed. You have a great sense of control on set. I understand you’re still a student, but would you like to join our crew as my on-set assistant director?" Matthew introduced himself and stated the purpose of his call.

Lily was still in a daze, letting Ethan carry her into the house.

Matthew Williams? The director of <Kill>? Wasn’t he the famous director who once scolded Emily Prescott for her poor acting?

And now he wanted her to be his assistant director?

Such a primary film production, with such a renowned director... asking for her? A student from a non-prestigious school who hadn’t even completed her courses? Was this a joke?

"But that ad hasn’t even aired yet," Lily said, still bewildered. How did he know about it?

"I saw it during post-production," Matthew explained.

Lily thought back to the ad she had directed for Aiko Nakamura. It was technically her directorial debut, but the focus of the ad had shifted entirely away from the drink.

"Sorry, but the highlights of that ad weren’t my idea," Lily said flatly. Aiko’s provocative display wasn’t her decision.

If that was the reason he was calling, she wasn’t interested.

Ethan carried her upstairs, occasionally glancing at her.

"I’m aware of that. What caught my attention was your ability to manage the set. I’m looking for someone with your talent to assist me," Matthew said over the phone. "I hope you’ll consider it."

"Alright, I’ll think about it," Lily replied, still skeptical.

She didn’t believe him. The ad’s attention-grabbing moments were all about Aiko Nakamura’s appearance. Even if the ad became popular, it would be because of Aiko’s figure...

It had nothing to do with her, the temporary director.

Entering the master bedroom, Ethan gently placed her on the bed. Then, with his knees on either side of her, he loomed over her. His short hair fell slightly forward as deep, ink-black eyes locked onto hers. His perfect, chiseled features were flawless as he stared straight at her while she continued her phone call.

Ethan loomed over Lily, kneeling on the bed with his knees on either side of her. His dark, deep gaze bore into her as she finished her phone call.

Lily hung up, her drowsiness fading. Twirling the phone in her hand, she looked at Ethan and licked her dry lips. "I don’t need these kinds of opportunities. I want to succeed on my own."

"What opportunities?" Ethan asked, his tone indifferent as he continued to stare at her.

"Director Williams from <Kill> called me and offered me a position as his assistant director. Wasn’t that your doing?" Lily lay beneath him, her eyes fixed on his. "You don’t need to do this for me."

<Kill> was funded by Ethan’s company, Empire Entertainment. By now, the production was already halfway through. Why would they need another assistant director?

"You think I’d give you that kind of opportunity?" Ethan scoffed coldly.

"You expect me to believe that a renowned director personally reached out to me?!" Lily retorted. She was a complete rookie, after all.

"Lily Anderson, do you think I’d let you go out and expose yourself in public?"

Had this woman lost her mind from sleepiness? Did she really think he’d send her out to do something as exhausting as that?

Lily stared at him blankly, her mind struggling to process his words.

Was it really not Ethan who had arranged this for her?

That made sense. Ethan would probably prefer to lock her at home and have her live the life of a pampered socialite.

For him, letting his woman work in public wasn’t something to be proud of.

So... did this mean the famous director really saw potential in her?

"Ah!" Lily suddenly exclaimed with excitement, sitting up on the bed. "Ethan! I get to learn from a top director!"

This was better than any film school course!

She could learn so much from this. It was like winning the lottery!

"Ugh..." Ethan groaned, his eyes narrowing at her. "Lily—Anderson!"

"What’s wrong?" Lily asked, startled by his reaction.

"You’re asking me what’s wrong?!" Ethan’s expression turned awkward as he knelt on the bed, glaring at her. "Do you want me to be celibate for the rest of my life?!"

Lily froze, suddenly realizing what had happened. Excitedly, she had jumped up, and her knee had accidentally hit him...