30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 277: We Broke Up

Lily Anderson sat slumped by the roadside. She tried to stand but found her entire body weak, as though all her strength had drained away. She couldn’t even get up...

A flashy orange sports car pulled up in front of her. It was a branded car under Blackwood Enterprise.

Tommy Blackwood sat in the driver’s seat, removing his sunglasses. His mixed-race features were adorned with a cocky smile as he whistled at her with carefree arrogance. "Hey, Rabbit, why do you look so pitiful? Who dumped you?"

Tommy.

Ethan Blackwood’s second brother.

Lily turned her gaze toward him. The secluded area was desolate, with no one else around. Tommy’s sudden appearance only confirmed her suspicions.

Lily struggled to push herself off the ground, walking to his car and touching the door. "Did your father pressure Ethan?"

"Hmm?" Tommy put on an exaggerated expression of surprise, overacting as usual.

"It’s been so long—the legal troubles, Aiko Nakamura’s death—no matter how much you try to suppress it, your father must know by now, doesn’t he? He pressured Ethan to break up with me, didn’t he?!" This was the only possibility she could think of...

Among the Blackwood brothers, their father, Victor Blackwood, was more formidable than the devil himself...

Even his sons had to tread carefully around him.

Aside from Victor Blackwood, Lily couldn’t think of anyone else who could force Ethan to make such a decision.

Ethan wouldn’t just abandon her.

That’s why, after the breakup, Ethan would have sent Tommy to check on her. That had to be it. Yes, it must be.

Ethan was still worried about her, afraid something might happen to her...

Clinging to this belief, Lily desperately tried to convince herself.

"You two broke up?!" Tommy’s exaggerated expression grew even more dramatic.

He was acting.

Lily was sure of it. She opened the car door and got in. "Take me to see Ethan."

She needed answers. How could he hurt her like that? How could he break up with her just because of his father’s interference?

He could protect her, couldn’t he? Didn’t they agree to leave this place together?

Tommy didn’t start the car. Instead, he waved his hands dramatically, saying, "Rabbit, breakups are normal between men and women. If Ethan’s gone, there are plenty of other men out there—"

"Take me to see him!" Lily interrupted, her voice cold.

"These days, relationships are like fast food—easy to start and end. Don’t take it so seriously—"

"Take me to see him!" Lily repeated, her voice firmer.

"Listen, Rabbit, let me—"

"Take me to see him!" Lily shouted, her tone so intense it startled Tommy.

Was this temper of hers influenced by Ethan?

Tommy, caught off guard by her outburst, finally relented. "Fine, fine. Let’s go."

The car started and left the outskirts. The barbed wire fence along the roadside quickly receded from view. Lily instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.

The cold seeped into her bones like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over her.

Tommy spent the drive trying to comfort her, but Lily barely listened. She didn’t want to hear anything about "easy come, easy go."

She couldn’t leave Ethan. If she could, she would have done so long ago...

Since they were together, why should they separate so easily?

"We’re here," Tommy said.

Lily looked up and realized they weren’t at Shallow Bay but another neighborhood in the city. "Why did you bring me here?"

"To buy a house!" Tommy replied matter-of-factly. "Now that Ethan’s dumped you—no, I mean, now that you’ve broken up, you’re going to need a place to live."

Lily stared at Tommy. "Did he send you to handle the aftermath?"

After giving her a ridiculous reason for the breakup, Ethan sent his brother to buy her a house.

"Does it matter who sent me? You need a place to stay, don’t you?" Tommy patted her shoulder. "Come on, pick a house and move you in immediately. Do you like standalone villas or apartments?"

"I don’t like any of it."

"I want to see Ethan," Lily said, refusing to continue the conversation. She opened the car door and exited, standing by the roadside to flag down a taxi.

Tommy sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he casually approached her. "Now that you’ve broken up, the best way to show respect is not to cling on."

"He wouldn’t break up with me."

"But he already has."

"Then tell me—was it your father who forced him?" Lily demanded, her wide eyes dull into him.

She didn’t even seem angry with Ethan...

This woman... How had Ethan made her so devoted and unwavering in her loyalty to him?

No wonder they were both so deeply in love to such an extent...

"Rabbit—"

Tommy started to say something, but Lily stopped a taxi and was about to get in.

Suddenly, Tommy’s tone turned serious. "Rabbit, you’re a carrier of the AuroraVirus. You’ll spend the rest of your days confined to a bed without an antidote. What do you want—love or a caretaker who can manage your daily life?"

Lily froze in place, unable to take another step.

Ethan had said so many cruel things, yet she hadn’t believed him. She told herself she needed to find the truth. She didn’t want to break up with Ethan over some nonsensical reason...

She wanted to tell Ethan that the child was his, that there was no one else..., and that now and forever, he was the only man she loved. There would never be another...

But Tommy’s simple words shattered everything.

It was as if he had driven a knife straight into her heart, leaving her utterly defeated.

Yes, what was the point of seeking him out?

How could she forget she was a carrier of the AuroraVirus—a highly contagious disease?

Even if they stayed together, what then? She couldn’t give Ethan happiness or a normal relationship. All she could bring him was endless hardship...

Now that their child was gone, the only bond between them was gone as well...

She would only drag him down if she stayed by Ethan’s side. What reason did she have to seek him out?

"I’m sorry. I won’t take the ride," Lily said, closing the taxi door. Her eyes instantly filled with tears.

Ethan had said such harsh words, and she hadn’t cried. She had only felt disbelief. Yet now, with just one sentence from Tommy, she felt an overwhelming urge to retreat, to give up...

"Alright, then I’ll take you to buy a house."

"No need. You can leave," Lily said, turning and walking along the roadside. After a few steps, her back bent as though weighed down by the world.

Tommy stared at her in shock and quickly ran to support her. Seeing the tears streaming down her face, the pain in her eyes was like a dagger to the heart. Her voice trembled as she said, "I can’t leave him..."

Even though she knew staying with him would only burden him, she couldn’t leave. From the moment Ethan had taken those bullets to keep her by his side, she knew she couldn’t live without him...

Why hadn’t anyone prepared her for this?

The days she spent in the hospital had been peaceful. Ethan had stayed with her every day, playing chess with her, cooking for her, waiting until she fell asleep before leaving...

Why did he suddenly break up with her? Why couldn’t she try to win him back? Why had she been cursed with the AuroraVirus?

Tommy looked at Lily, deeply moved by her despair. She looked like she had lost everything, teetering on the edge of collapse.

The scene brought back memories.

In his mind, he saw another beautiful girl from the past, crying as she said to him, "Tommy, I can’t live without you... Don’t leave me. We can be together, I promise."

Her tears had shaken him then, and he had believed her. They had eloped... But what had been the outcome?

For the Blackwood brothers, who could afford love?

"Even if you can’t live without him, you have to," Tommy said, holding her firmly. Gone was his usual carefree demeanor, replaced by a rare seriousness. "Rabbit, you need to find strength within yourself."

Wasn’t she strong enough already?

If she weren’t, she might as well have died by now... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Goodbye," Lily said, breaking free from Tommy’s hold and walking away.

"Do you have anywhere to go? Do you have any money?" Tommy asked, slipping a card into the pocket of her coat. "The PIN is 54857. Let me help you buy a place and hire a few maids."

She might lose the ability to care for herself at any moment...

Lily didn’t seem to hear him. She kept walking, seemingly deaf to everything around her.

Tommy watched her retreating figure and sighed.

Cars passed on the busy street, and the road stretched endlessly ahead. Lily had no idea where she could go.

For the first time, she truly understood what it meant to have nothing.

She had fought so hard to hold onto her relationship, keep her man, and protect her child... And in the end, all she had left was the AuroraVirus. How ironic, how ridiculous, how foolish...

Ethan... didn’t want her anymore.

He had spent an entire night with her, taking her to all the places they had been together, and then, at the place of her greatest humiliation, he had broken up with her—using the most nonsensical reason to end things.

From start to finish, she had been nothing but a fool, passively enduring everything, not daring to win him back...

Lily couldn’t take another step. She sat on a bench under a tree by the roadside, watching the endless traffic flow. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry...

Her uncle’s family and her best friend, Sophia Bennett, had already been sent abroad by Ethan. They were no longer in the city. He had promised to take her away, to marry her... And now, that promise had been broken.

She had no one left to turn to. Losing her child and Ethan left her utterly alone...

Leaning back on the bench, Lily closed her eyes in despair.

"Excuse me, are you Ms. Lily Anderson? The girlfriend—no, the mistress—of Ethan Blackwood, CEO of Blackwood Enterprise? Is that you?!"

An excited voice broke through her thoughts.

Lily opened her eyes to see a car parked in front of her. A man and a woman had gotten out.

The man carried a camera while the woman held a microphone, her excitement palpable as she rushed toward Lily. "Hello, hello! I didn’t expect to meet you here, Ms. Anderson! We’re reporters from Red Weekly. May I ask why you’re sitting here alone?"

The female reporter plopped down beside Lily.

The cameraman practically shoved the lens into her face.

Feeling uneasy, Lily stood up and tried to walk away, but the reporter quickly followed. "May I ask why you’re sitting here alone? Have you been crying? Why? Is it a relationship issue or something else?"

"We heard that the Blackwood Enterprise-backed film A Better Future is preparing for release. Is that true?"

"What’s your comment on the on-set death of one of the actors?"

"With Blackwood Enterprise and Ethan Blackwood embroiled in legal troubles, have you felt much pressure? Why are you sitting here crying alone? What happened? Can you share with us?"

Lily couldn’t hail a taxi, and the reporter wouldn’t stop pestering her. Every question revolved around Ethan, Ethan, Ethan...

Her head was pounding, the reporter’s incessant chatter ringing in her ears.

"Is it true that there’s a crisis in your relationship with Ethan Blackwood?!"

A crisis in their relationship?! Did her face have "breakup" written all over it?!

"That’s enough! I don’t want to answer! Leave me alone!" Lily shouted. Why did they have to bother her now? Why did they keep mentioning Ethan, Ethan, Ethan... poking at her most sensitive nerve...

The reporter immediately began shouting, turning to the cameraman. "Quick, record this! Ethan Blackwood’s mistress attacking a journalist in public!"