30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 210: Why Did He Lie to Her

Ethan forcibly turned Lily around to face him, his voice low and commanding. "What’s wrong with you now? Why are you acting so moody? Did the crew keep you late?"

He was already considering calling Matthew William, the director, to warn him. Was he treating his woman like a workhorse? How dare he keep her there until this hour!

"Let go," Lily said quietly, not wanting to argue with him. She struggled to pull her hand free.

"I won’t!" Ethan’s tone was domineering and overbearing. What on earth was wrong with her tonight?

Lily struggled a few more times but couldn’t free herself, so she gave up, turning her face away to avoid looking at him.

"What’s your problem now?" Ethan asked coldly.

Her problem?

She had worried about him all afternoon... yet he couldn’t even leave his phone on.

And now, he was accusing her of being difficult?

What kind of expression was she supposed to have? Should she smile happily as if nothing was wrong as if she didn’t care?

"I waited for you all afternoon at the rehab center," Lily said softly, her gaze falling to his leather shoes. A wave of grievance washed over her heart.

Ethan’s eyes flickered with a trace of guilt. Damn it—he had promised her he would go to rehab.

"You forgot, didn’t you?" Lily asked quietly, her head still lowered, unwilling to see whatever expression he might have—whether it was guilt or indifference.

Ethan stood silently before her, his lips parting slightly, but he said nothing.

Suddenly, a drop of blood fell to the floor, blooming into a small crimson flower.

Lily’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at his left hand hanging by his side. She hadn’t noticed it before—hidden under his coat sleeve, his fist was tightly clenched, and blood was slowly dripping through his fingers.

It was a horrifying sight.

"How did you get hurt?!" Lily asked in alarm, her gaze darting up to his face.

He had gotten injured and didn’t even mention it? He had driven himself home like this? Was he insane?

"It’s nothing," Ethan said instinctively, pulling his hand back into his sleeve.

"Come here and let me see!"

Lily, momentarily forgetting her anger and frustration, grabbed his arm and tried to pull him into the house. Hadn’t he said he was at the club for business? Did that "business" involve getting into a fight?

Who would dare fight him? Were they suicidal? Or was it an old gunshot wound flaring up?

"There’s no need!" Ethan said sharply, pushing her away with enough force that she stumbled, barely managing to stay upright.

Ethan’s expression flashed with panic as he immediately reached out to steady her. Still, Lily instinctively stepped back, avoiding his touch.

Had he just... pushed her?

Who was really the one being moody here?

Things had been fine earlier—when her finger was injured, he had held her close and told her he loved her...

And now, after making her wait all afternoon, he was pushing her away? What was wrong with him?

Lily stared at him in stunned silence, her heart aching as she looked at his cold, distant face. Ethan’s gaze darkened, and he seemed uneasy under her stare. He said coldly, "Have Nanny come and bandage my wound."

He wasn’t even going to tell her how he got hurt?!

"Understood," Lily replied, her voice tinged with bitterness as she turned and walked away to call Nanny.

Ethan sat on the couch in the living room, his face grim. His coat and shirt were half-removed, exposing his left arm, which was covered in blood.

Lily bit her lip, shocked at the sight. What had he been doing to end up like this?

"Mr. Blackwood, injuries to muscles and bones take 100 days to heal. Your last gunshot wound hasn’t even fully recovered, and now you’ve gone and hurt yourself again," Nanny said worriedly as she approached with the first aid kit, her voice complete of concern.

"Stop nagging and just bandage it!" Ethan snapped, casting a glance at Lily before barking at Nanny.

"I’ll accompany you to the hospital," Lily offered, standing before him. She was deeply worried.

She had tried everything to get him to go to rehab, and now he had gone and injured his hand again.

"There’s no need," Ethan refused flatly.

Nanny bent over to treat his wound, tossing blood-soaked cotton pads into the trash. The sight of all that red was jarring.

Her movements were a bit rough, causing Ethan to grunt in pain and clench his teeth.

Seeing this, Lily grabbed a clean piece of cotton and stepped forward to help. But Ethan blocked her with his right hand, his tone commanding and irrefutable. "Stay back!"

"I just want to help," Lily said quietly, frozen. Would he instead let Nanny handle it rather than let her help?

Did he find her that detestable?

"There’s no need. Go to bed," Ethan said, his gaze deep as he looked at her, his tone leaving no room for argument.

How could she possibly sleep right now?

Lily bit her lip as she stared at his rejecting demeanor. Her nose stung, and her heart ached as if being pricked by countless needles. The pain was unbearable, yet she couldn’t cry.

"Go to sleep!" Ethan ordered again when she didn’t move.

"I won’t," Lily replied stubbornly, still standing there.

"Listen to me!" Ethan glared at her, his brows furrowed.

But Lily didn’t budge. She stood there, unmoving, her stubbornness on full display.

Sensing the tension between the two, Nanny quickly defused the situation. "Yes, Miss Anderson, you’ve had a busy day. You should go to bed. Oh, and I left some new band-aids in the nightstand drawer in the master bedroom. Don’t forget to change yours."

Lily glanced down at the band-aid on her finger but still didn’t leave.

Ethan stared directly at her, his gaze unwavering. He didn’t say a word.

Stubborn girl.

It wasn’t until much later that Nanny finally finished dressing Ethan’s wound. "All done, Mr. Blackwood."

Lily took a clean shirt from a maid and stepped forward to help him put it on. But Ethan snatched it from her hands and put it on himself. "I’ll do it," he said.

Lily watched him, her lips pressed tightly together. She stepped forward again to button his shirt, and Ethan instinctively raised his hand to push her away.

Lily bit down on her lip hard enough to almost draw blood. But she stubbornly continued, fastening his buttons one by one, waiting for him to push her away again.

In the end, Ethan lowered his hand, letting her finish. His deep gaze locked on her as she worked, her delicate scent lingering in the air, soothing and captivating.

"I still have work to do tonight. You should go to bed," Ethan said suddenly.

Lily looked at his handsome but shadowed face, trying to discern something in his expression. But she saw nothing. She couldn’t figure him out at all.

"Understood," she said softly, not saying another word as she turned and walked upstairs.

Bang!

The sound of Ethan kicking over the coffee table echoed through the house.

In the middle of the night, Lily stirred awake, reaching out instinctively for the warmth beside her. Her hand only found the soft emptiness of the blanket.

It was empty.

It felt so empty that the entire world had been reduced to just her.

Suddenly wide awake, Lily sat in bed and turned on the bedside lamp, staring blankly at the empty master bedroom.

The door to the study was slightly ajar, with a faint light spilling out.

He was still working. She glanced at the clock—it was already 3 a.m. She frowned. He still wasn’t sleeping?

His arm was injured, and he was still working...

Lily went downstairs and made a cup of warm milk. Quietly, she approached the study door and pushed it open.

But the moment she opened the door, her blood ran cold.

Ethan was sitting at his desk, his back to her. A shooting game was on the screen before him, and a game controller was in his hands.

He was playing a video game.

His excuse about being busy with work had been a lie. He was sitting in the study playing games.

Lily stood frozen in the doorway, holding the cup of milk. Ethan paused briefly, tilting his head slightly as if sensing something, but then continued pressing the buttons, focused on shooting down enemies on the screen.

He hadn’t even turned on the sound, silently engrossed in the game, so much so that he hadn’t noticed her entering the room.

The study was deathly quiet.

The only sound was the clicking of the buttons on his controller.

"As long as you’re within two meters of me, I’ll always know."

He had once said that to her—that he could sense her presence.

Now, they were much closer than two meters, yet he hadn’t noticed her, wholly absorbed in his game.

So it had just been sweet talk to deceive her.

He was a man who could unleash his primal instincts at any given moment, yet now, he preferred focusing on a screen instead of her...

Lily wanted to storm in and demand why he had lied to her.

He had claimed he was busy with work, but he was playing games.

He had gotten injured and wouldn’t even tell her how.

She wanted to snatch the controller from his hands and throw it away, but she didn’t have the courage.

Women always have a strange, inexplicable intuition that asking specific questions would only shatter everything.

So she stood there foolishly... pretending she hadn’t seen anything.

Quietly, she turned and left, closing the study door softly behind her.

She didn’t know how long she had stood at the door, but when she finally walked away, she realized the milk in her hand had gone cold.

Back in the bedroom, she placed the cold milk on the nightstand and climbed back into bed, pulling the blanket over her knees. She hugged her legs tightly, trembling from the cold.

She didn’t know what Ethan’s behavior meant. Was he tired of her? Or...

Things had been so good between them before.

Maybe the time had worn them down. He had realized she was just an ordinary woman. Before conquering her, it had been a game; now that she was entirely his, he no longer cared.

There was nothing about her that stood out. She didn’t even have the kind of figure his previous women had...

Her thoughts spiraled further and further.

Lily shook her head, trying to stop herself from overthinking. She had summoned all her courage to be with him. She couldn’t let things fall apart so soon.

No, she couldn’t.

It couldn’t end like this... not so soon.

Ethan began staying away from home more frequently.

The rehab sessions he promised her? He didn’t attend a single one. She waited for him at the rehab center again and again...

At home, she waited for him to come back for dinner, time after time.

Sometimes, he didn’t come home at all. Other times, he locked himself in the study playing games. Whenever Lily stood outside the study, watching him play, she felt like a fool.

This endless waiting numbed her.

One day, she made a mistake on set.

Matthew William, the director, yelled at her furiously. "Are you kidding me?! I told you to oversee continuity! How could there still be a mistake?! Did you leave your brain at home?! Do you know how expensive this set is? How much did the actors cost? Now we have to reshoot the entire scene!"

"I’m sorry, Director William," Lily murmured, enduring his scolding without daring to talk back.

She had let her personal emotions bleed into her work.

She thought she had separated her dreams and love life. Still, Ethan’s recent attitude had disrupted every aspect of her life and work.

"If you mess up again, you’re fired! I must’ve been blind to think you had talent!" Matthew William snapped, throwing the script onto her shoulder.

"I’ll make it up to everyone by treating you to afternoon tea," Lily apologized to the crew and actors, ordering refreshments to compensate for her mistake.

"What’s wrong with you these days? You seem out of it," Aiko Nakamura said as she handed Lily a cup of tea. Her face was still painted with her scheming concubine makeup, but her smile was as innocent and radiant as ever.