30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 216: The Cruel Reality

"So you kidnapped my father and Lily’s father?" Alex’s tone grew agitated. "I’m sure, with your resources, you could clear out this entire base in a single night. You don’t need to worry about us saying anything."

Because Ethan would destroy all the evidence...

"Flattening the entire Carter family overnight wouldn’t be a challenge for me, Ethan Blackwood," Ethan replied, his tone dripping with mockery and disdain.

"Lily’s poisoning has nothing to do with us!" Alex said, his voice cold and filled with anger.

Poison?

She’s poisoned?

Lily Anderson’s hand trembled violently as she clutched her glass of milk. When was I poisoned? She had just had a medical check-up, and the report showed she was perfectly healthy...

What were they talking about?

"That Johnson woman has always wanted to see my woman dead, hasn’t she?!" Ethan’s laugh was cold and sinister. "And you, Carter—can you honestly say you’re not jealous that Lily chose me?"

"I’m not!" Alice Johnson’s voice rang out, full of agitation, from the recording. "If I truly wanted Lily dead, I wouldn’t have tried to kill myself."

"If it weren’t for the grudges of the previous generation, would Lily even be with you? Ethan Blackwood, you’re just taking advantage of the situation. What’s there to be jealous about?" Alex’s cold voice followed Alice’s.

Crash—

The sound of glass shattering against the floor echoed through the recording.

Lily bit her lip hard, a chill running down her spine.

Then came Ethan’s furious, unhinged roar: "The both of you, stop your damn acting in front of me! I’ve had enough of watching people feign innocence these past few days! Or should I inject you both with AuroraVirus? That way, I’ll find out who’s behind the poisoning!"

"Ethan Blackwood, are you insane?! Do you even care if this blows up?!" Alex’s voice shouted.

Smack—

A long, elegant hand slammed down on the keyboard before Lily, abruptly cutting off the recording.

"You were secretly recording?!" Ethan stood in front of her, his fury barely contained. He had gone to great lengths to keep the truth from her, yet she had stubbornly insisted on uncovering it, no matter what.

Knowing the truth wouldn’t help her at all... Why was she determined to dig into matters that would do her no good?

Ethan had just finished showering. He was dressed in a loose bathrobe, his face dark and stormy. He leaned over, one hand braced on the keyboard, his short, damp hair dripping water. Droplets fell one by one onto Lily, soaking her slightly.

Lily gripped her milk glass tightly, staring at the computer screen. Her voice was hoarse as she asked, "Ethan Blackwood, what is AuroraVirus?"

Hearing her question, Ethan’s heart sank like a stone. The anger in his chest coalesced further. With a sweeping motion, he knocked everything off the table.

Crash, crash, crash—

Items clattered to the ground.

"Is this what you’ve been hiding from me these past few days?" Lily slowly lifted her head, her gaze fixed on his handsome face. Her voice was dazed as she said, "I thought... I thought you were seeing another woman."

So it wasn’t that.

It wasn’t another woman—she was poisoned. That was what Ethan had been hiding from her.

Ethan bent down and pulled her into his arms. Her body was rigid, stiff as stone. "Lily Anderson, listen to me. No matter what it takes, I won’t let anything happen to you."

Crash—

The milk glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.

She really was poisoned... How could this happen?

"I’m sorry..." she whispered, her voice trembling. She had doubted him and lost trust in him over the smallest misunderstandings.

What had she been thinking these past few days?

"Don’t say that."

This woman... Why was she apologizing to him? Did he care about her apology?

Ethan scooped her up from the chair and carried her to the bed, sitting beside her. He cupped her face, his dark eyes glaring at her. "Lily Anderson, don’t you dare cry. Do you hear me?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

His eyes were impossibly deep. Lily stared at him blankly and nodded. "I won’t cry."

"Stubborn girl."

Her dazed expression only made his heart ache further. Ethan pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. One hand gently stroked the back of her head in a soothing motion. "I promise you’ll be okay."

"Okay." Lily leaned against his shoulder, her voice soft and lost. After a pause, she muttered, "You switched my medical report at the hospital, didn’t you?"

"Yes," Ethan admitted without hesitation.

His shoulder felt safe and reliable.

If he said she would be fine, then she would be fine...

But what exactly was AuroraVirus? Why was she poisoned? Who had done this to her? Why couldn’t they just let her live an everyday life?

That night, Ethan held her in his arms as they slept. He clung to her tightly as if afraid she might disappear at any moment.

Lily thought she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep that night, but resting on Ethan’s arm, she drifted off almost instantly.

The following day, Ethan took her to the city’s biological research institute. Throughout the journey, he kept a close eye on her.

She was much calmer than he had anticipated. Not a single tear fell. She even chatted with him about which of the household chefs made the best dishes.

When faced with significant challenges, her reaction was always oddly calm. She instinctively suppressed her emotions, pretending as if nothing was wrong.

Lily and Ethan sat on the couch in Professor Harris’s office, their fingers tightly interlocked.

"Miss Anderson, have you noticed any unusual symptoms recently?" Professor Harris asked kindly, pulling up a chair to sit across them.

"I want to know what AuroraVirus is and what its symptoms are. Please tell me that first," Lily said, her hands icy cold as she clutched Ethan’s tightly.

She didn’t want to be asked about her symptoms. She just wanted to understand what was happening to her.

"It’s a type of bacteria that can infect through the bloodstream or oral ingestion," Professor Harris explained seriously.

Bloodstream? Oral ingestion?

Lily turned to Ethan in shock. Was this why he had been avoiding her? She had thought it was because he had lost interest, that there was another woman...

Professor Harris continued, "AuroraVirus has a short incubation period in the human body. After that, the main symptoms include excessive sleepiness, hair loss, weakness, and an inability to live a normal life."

Lily’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Weakness and drowsiness—she had thought those were due to her pregnancy and work stress. But was it because of AuroraVirus?

This didn’t sound like poison. It sounded more like a terminal illness.

"Lily Anderson," Ethan said, pulling her closer. His handsome brows furrowed as he held her icy cold hand, trying vainly to warm it.

"Will... will it kill me?" Lily asked after a moment of silence, her voice trembling.

"AuroraVirus isn’t immediately fatal. Without an antidote, most people live about ten years before succumbing to organ failure," Professor Harris said, watching Lily’s face grow increasingly pale.

Ten years...

"Does that mean I won’t be able to live a normal life for those ten years?" Lily asked, her voice eerily calm.

"...Yes, without the antidote," Professor Harris replied with a sigh, sympathy filling his gaze.

Ten years of being unable to live normally, bedridden, waiting for death?

"Where’s the restroom?" Lily suddenly stood, releasing Ethan’s hand.

"Out the door, turn left," Professor Harris said, standing as well.

"Thank you." Lily glanced at Ethan’s dark eyes, forcing a faint smile. "I’ll be right back."

"Alright."

Ethan’s voice was low as he nodded, watching her leave. He pressed his hand to his forehead, frustration evident. He had told her not to cry, and she hadn’t shed a tear...

But her silence unnerved him even more.

Lily wandered into the restroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water onto her face.

The icy chill coursed through her body.

Looking up at her reflection in the mirror, she realized she didn’t even know when she had been poisoned. If there was no antidote...

In ten years, she would become a shell of herself, losing her hair and the ability to care for herself. What difference would there be between that and death?

She stared at her trembling hands.

These hands would slowly lose their strength, unable to hold a pair of chopsticks...

How would she hold a script, a camera, or her child? How could she care for her baby when she couldn’t even care for herself?

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she splashed more cold water on her face, trying to stop them. I can’t cry. I mustn’t cry...

Ethan had done so much for her these past few days. She couldn’t let him worry anymore.

"You can do this, Lily Anderson!" she whispered to her reflection. It’s not over yet. As long as there’s an antidote, there’s still hope.

Ethan would find the antidote. He had to.

Tears still slipped down her cheeks, bitter as they reached her lips. She bent over, trembling, and splashed more water on her face, trying to calm herself.

But she couldn’t accept it.

No matter how much she pretended to be okay, she couldn’t accept this reality...

The thought of losing her autonomy and her ability to live a normal life was unbearable. To lie in bed every day, weak and helpless, watching others live their lives—that was torture.

There was so much she hadn’t done yet. She had yet to give birth to her child, watched them grow up, or directed her own film. Most of all, she hadn’t spent enough time with Ethan.

She didn’t want to become a burden... She just didn’t.

Tears streamed down her face as she sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Why me? Why AuroraVirus? What did I do to deserve this?

She just wanted to live, work hard, and be happy. Was that too much to ask?

As she sat on the floor, clutching her knees and crying, the locked restroom door was suddenly pounded on.

"Lily Anderson! Come out!" Ethan’s voice thundered from the other side.