30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 242: Awaiting Ethan’s Awakening

"That’s my duty," Helen said hurriedly. "Although Mr. Blackwood has a bad temper sometimes... he’s never mistreated us."

An additional ten soldiers were stationed outside the intensive care unit (ICU) to guard the area. The entire military hospital was now heavily fortified.

George Johnson knew very well that if Ethan was taken out, it would be impossible to bring him back again. For now, the only option was to keep him detained under close watch.

Lily thought she would burst into tears the moment she saw Ethan again. But when she finally entered the ICU, dressed in the required protective hospital attire, the first thing she did was lay her head down on Ethan’s bedside and fall asleep.

She had no energy left for anything else.

The entire day’s exhausting schedule had drained her mentally and physically.

Outside the glass window, soldiers stood guard. Inside the room, Ethan remained unconscious, still in a coma.

The hospital room, filled with the sharp smell of disinfectant, was eerily quiet except for the faint beeping of medical devices. Ethan lay on the bed, his leg suspended in a cast, his face marked with multiple scars. His long eyelashes rested against his closed eyes, and he still relied on an oxygen tank to breathe.

An IV line was attached to his hand, delivering fluids.

He was nothing like the carefree, confident man he had always been. Now, he could only lie there, unaware of the tumultuous events outside the hospital walls.

A doctor on duty and two nurses sat quietly on a sofa in the corner. They didn’t speak or disturb Lily when she entered. They simply observed her in silence.

Lily walked step by step to Ethan’s bedside. She could see his face clearly for the first time—not through a glass window or from behind a wall, anxiously waiting for him to pass the critical stage.

She wanted to reach out and touch his face, but she let her hand drop.

Without saying a word or shedding a tear, Lily leaned down and rested her head on the edge of his bed, instantly falling asleep.

The doctor and nurses exchanged puzzled glances. They found it strange that someone would come to the ICU of a military hospital just to sleep.

Helen arrived after handling some matters, carrying two bags of food. The soldiers stopped her at the door to inspect the contents.

Peering through the glass, Helen saw Lily sleeping soundly at Ethan’s bedside. Her arms were folded beneath her head, and she slept neat and composed.

Ethan remained motionless on the bed. The scene was oddly peaceful, almost beautiful.

Helen sighed. Miss Anderson had worked tirelessly all day. What she needed now wasn’t a late-night snack but a good rest.

The soldiers finished inspecting the food and stared at Helen with blank expressions.

"I won’t go in. Please, take these snacks for yourselves," Helen said, offering the bags to the soldiers.

They looked at her without emotion.

"I wouldn’t dare poison anyone here. If you don’t want them, I’ll take them back," Helen muttered, retrieving the bags and glancing one last time through the glass before leaving.

Inside the ICU, the room remained quiet.

Ethan showed no signs of waking. The specialist doctors Helen had consulted advised patience, assuring them that Ethan’s strong will to live meant he wouldn’t remain in a coma for too long.

"Miss Anderson, I’ve brought one of the house models you requested. There were too many pieces to bring them all at once, and those guards outside nearly tore the model apart during their inspection," Helen said as she entered the room.

Lily was sitting quietly at Ethan’s bedside. When she saw Helen come in with the model, she stood up and said, "Thank you."

"There’s no need to thank me," Helen replied, handing her the model and setting down a large bag she had been carrying on her arm. "I also brought the books you asked Nanny to organize."

"You’ve worked hard," Lily said as she placed the model on a chair. "Sit down for a bit."

"No, I need to get back to the office. There’s still a mountain of paperwork piling up in the CEO’s office," Helen said with a sigh, glancing at the unconscious Ethan. "If you and Mr. Blackwood were married, you could officially handle Blackwood Enterprise’s affairs right now."

"I wouldn’t know how to manage the company," Lily replied softly. "Even if it were handed to me, I’d probably destroy everything Ethan built with his hands."

The hospital room was quiet. The doctor and nurses stayed in their corner, leaving only the faint, hushed voices of Lily and Helen.

"How’s Mr. Blackwood today?" Helen asked.

"The same as before. His hand moves occasionally," Lily said quietly.

Helen looked at her and said, "Miss Anderson, you must take care of yourself. If you collapse, Mr. Blackwood will lash out at us when he wakes up."

Helen’s attempt to lighten the mood made Lily smile faintly, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

Helen thought about the explosive news circulating in the media all morning but decided not to mention it. She leaned over Ethan’s bed and whispered, "Mr. Blackwood, I hope you wake up soon and retake charge of Blackwood Enterprise."

With that, Helen said her goodbyes and left the room.

Lily remained in the hospital room, sitting and picking up the house model. It was a replica of a villa from the Shanghai Bund era. Every piece of furniture had been meticulously crafted and placed perfectly, without a single mistake in its arrangement.

Ethan had assembled it overnight without needing any instructions...

It was part of Lily’s dream for her film studio.

A dream she refused to give up.

"I want to make a movie about rare medical cases. Do you think it’s a good idea?" Lily spoke softly, her raspy voice filling the quiet room.

The doctor and nurses in the corner didn’t find it strange. Family members often talked to unconscious patients.

"Do you remember how you criticized one of my screenplays for being terrible? That script was about a child who accidentally contracted HIV and their journey growing up. Even though I did a lot of research for it, you said it lacked realism and emotional resonance."

Lily gazed at his sleeping face, her voice gentle yet wistful. "You were pretty good at analyzing scripts. I want to rewrite that one, and I’d like your feedback. Would you help me?"

The only response was silence.

"You also said you’d invest in my movie. I’m still waiting," Lily murmured softly.

Attached to the IV line, Ethan’s hand suddenly twitched slightly as if in response to her words. Lily’s eyes grew moist, and she picked up her script with one hand, a pen in the other, and continued speaking. "I still want to tell the story from a child’s perspective..."

She spoke intermittently, sharing her thoughts and ideas as if unaware of her exhaustion.

The doctor and nurses in the corner began to nod off as she kept talking.

Lily’s focus remained fixed on Ethan’s face. She kept hoping that in the next moment, he would open his eyes and yell at her, "Lily Anderson! You’re so annoying!"

But no matter how much she spoke, he didn’t wake up. He remained in his deep sleep, untouched by her words.

Ethan... don’t you think you’ve slept long enough? Even longer than me, and I’m the one infected with AuroraVirus...

It’s time to wake up. Stop sleeping.

Lily read scripts, novels, and ideas aloud to Ethan for three days. She grew tired, would nap briefly on the edge of his bed, and then continue. Ethan didn’t wake, but her constant talking had almost driven the doctors and nurses to madness.

Whenever Lily started reading a novel, the nurses would instinctively begin to nod off...

This had become a strange new routine in the ICU.

Her pregnancy began to show, and her posture was always upright when walking. Following Helen’s advice, she agreed to use a wheelchair.

Although she didn’t need to sit in it constantly, she kept it nearby in case she became too weak to stand.

"Lily."

A gentle voice broke the stillness of the hospital room.

Lily looked up from her novel and saw Alex standing gracefully at the door, smiling warmly. "Come outside for a moment."

Lily nodded, stood up, tucked Ethan in carefully, and stepped out of the room.

The two of them walked past the soldiers guarding the area. Alex’s eyes scanned her from head to toe, lingering on her growing belly. "You’ve only gained weight in your stomach. You need to take better care of yourself."

"Hmm," Lily replied, her hand resting on her belly. "How do you have time to visit? Your wedding is in three days. Shouldn’t you be busy?"

"There’s not much that truly requires my attention," Alex said with a smile. "You’re not coming to the wedding, are you?"

"I’m sorry," Lily apologized sincerely.

"I understand," Alex said with a forgiving nod. He glanced back at the hospital. "He hasn’t woken up yet?"

"No, but the doctors say he’s trying. It’s only a matter of time," Lily said.

"Is that so?" Alex smiled faintly, his expression unreadable. After a pause, he added, "The arrangements are complete. You can now retrieve... your father’s remains."

Lily froze in her tracks, a sharp pain spreading through her chest.

Her father... had been lying in the military hospital morgue for so long...

"I’ll help you," Alex offered gently, his voice soothing.

"No need," Lily replied, shaking her head. "You’re about to get married. Red and white events shouldn’t mix. Plenty of people in the Blackwood family can assist me."

She didn’t want to owe Alex any more than she already did.

She wanted him to be the happiest groom in the world.

"Then let me accompany you to the company to sort through your father’s belongings," Alex suggested, not pushing the matter further.

"Thank you."

Alex took her to Carter Group. It was Lily’s first time stepping into her father’s office. As a child, she had rarely seen her father working at home.

Back then, he had been a good man.

When he came home, he would play with her and spend time with her mother... Those days had been the most beautiful for their family.

Even if it had all been a façade, it had still been real in its own way.

Her father’s office was simple and orderly, containing only work documents and nothing superfluous.

Walking to the desk, Lily noticed a framed family photo. In it, her younger self was smiling brightly... so brightly...

Her nose tingled, and her fingers trembled as she picked up the photo. Those happy days were long gone, leaving her alone. Her father and mother... they were both gone.

"Lily, these are your father’s shares in Carter Group. He held the second-largest stake after my father. I’ll have the lawyers handle the paperwork to transfer them to your name," Alex said as he entered the office, placing two stacks of documents on the desk.

Lily stared at the papers, tears streaming down her face. Her father had spent nine years in prison, consumed by thoughts of revenge and rebuilding his empire...

But just as he was halfway there, he was gone.

"Lily, the dead are gone. Your father wouldn’t want to see you crying for him endlessly," Alex said gently, pulling a small box of throat lozenges from his pocket and handing it to her. "Mint-flavored."

Her eyes had been red and swollen, her throat hoarse from crying since the day of the explosion. Even now, her voice hadn’t fully recovered.