30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 308: Too Late to Return

"Yes, I once thought you truly wanted to marry Alice," Lily murmured, trembling.

"Then I convinced myself—maybe it was loneliness. Maybe you just needed someone to fill the emptiness. And if being with her made you happy, I would have wished you both well."

Her lips quivered as she bit down on them.

"But how... how did it come to this?"

It wasn’t love.

It wasn’t loneliness.

Just as Ethan had said—Alex had only used Alice for her father’s influence.

This wasn’t the Alex she had known.

No, the Alex she remembered—he had been kind. Honest.

As a child, he would instead remain silent than tell a lie.

That was the Alex she had trusted.

But now?

How many lies had he told?

She couldn’t even tell anymore.

"Lily, can we not talk about this?" Alex’s voice was calm as he pressed the accelerator, speeding forward.

Lily’s breath hitched. "Then... my father—was it you?"

The words barely made it past her lips.

Alex didn’t answer.

Instead, he turned the question back on her. "Do you think it was me?"

She clenched her fists.

So he was throwing it back at her?

If she said no, would that make it untrue?

Lily shut her eyes, exhaling shakily. "I don’t know. I want the truth."

Alex didn’t respond.

The car only picked up speed.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, trying to steady her voice.

"Home."

—

Home?

Whose home?

Alex didn’t drive her back to the city.

Instead, he took her to the secluded seaside villa.

He grabbed her wrist when she exited the car and pulled her toward the shore.

She barely had time to protest.

Bobby, their golden retriever, came bounding out of the villa, circling their feet excitedly.

Alex barely spared the dog a glance.

Instead, he pushed Lily onto the yacht docked by the water.

Before Bobby could follow, Alex nudged him away and stepped onto the boat, his movements swift and precise.

Lily tried to climb off—

But Alex caught her wrist.

His face was calm, gentle even—

But something about his grip sent a shiver down her spine.

Fear.

It was an unfamiliar fear creeping up her throat.

He started the yacht, steering it toward the open sea.

The moment he let go of her wrist, Lily instinctively stepped back.

Her breaths came short and uneven.

She rubbed at her sore wrist, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Alex..."

He turned, raising an eyebrow. "Hm?"

She swallowed hard.

"... Are you really Alex?"

Because right now—

He felt like a stranger.

A stranger was wearing his face.

Alex let out a soft chuckle, his smile warm.

"That’s a childish question, Lily."

"Then let me ask something real," she said, her voice raw.

She forced herself to meet his gaze.

"Did you marry Alice for her father’s power?"

She tightened her grip on the yacht’s railing.

"Did you expose the hostage base?"

Her voice trembled.

"Did you plan it all—hoping to kill my father and Ethan in that villa?"

She inhaled sharply.

"And the first gunshot that night... was that you?"

Alex’s fingers stilled on the wheel.

His body tensed, just for a second.

Then, he turned to her with a soft, elegant smile.

"That’s quite the story," he mused. "So you’ve been suspecting me all along?"

Lily’s vision blurred.

Her hands were ice-cold.

"Was it you?" she rasped, her face pale.

"Did you kill my father?"

Alex’s smile didn’t fade.

Instead, he tilted his head slightly.

"Why would I do that?"

"You wanted full control of the Carter Group."

His chuckle was dry, almost mocking.

"You even prepared a motive for me."

He leaned back slightly, one hand still on the wheel.

"When did you start suspecting me?"

His brown eyes darkened.

"Was it when Ethan pointed a gun at me?"

Lily’s hands curled into fists.

"I don’t care when I started doubting you."

Her voice cracked.

"I just want to know—was it you?"

The yacht had already sailed far from the shore.

Alex stepped toward her, reaching out as if to take her hand.

Lily immediately shrank back, pressing herself against the railing, her eyes wary.

Alex’s hand froze midair.

He let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

His gaze held a deep sadness. "Lily, I could hurt the entire world, but I would never hurt you."

—

His voice was laced with sorrow—so much sorrow that it felt like a Chopin piano piece, each note striking her heart.

Lily’s eyes burned with unshed tears.

When he took her hand, she didn’t resist.

He led her to the deck, staring out at the endless sea. A soft, almost wistful smile played on his lips.

"Every time I brought you onto a yacht, your mind was always elsewhere," he murmured. "This time, why don’t you look at the view properly?"

The view...

Could either of them truly enjoy the view now?

The sky had darkened, the horizon painted in deep shades of twilight.

Alex poured two glasses of red wine, handing one to her.

Lily placed it back on the table.

"Tell me the truth," she said, voice hoarse. "I need to know."

Just one word—one denial—one explanation.

She wanted to believe him.

She would believe him.

Because Alex wasn’t supposed to change.

He was the same boy who used to stand beside her, shielding her from the splashes of water when they played.

Right?

"...I have a question, too," Alex said instead, taking a slow sip of wine. His tone was gentle, unreadable.

"Can you answer it for me?"

Lily stared at him, silent.

He placed the wineglass back in her hand, his voice soft.

"Do you remember where we went the day our families arranged our childhood engagement?"

Lily frowned slightly.

Why was he bringing up their childhood now?

Why not just tell her the truth?

She let the sea breeze wash over her, trying to recall.

"We didn’t go anywhere," she said, voice distant. "We just played in the yard."

Alex’s lips curled into a small, satisfied smile.

"So you do remember."

Then, his gaze turned wistful.

"And do you remember what you said to me that day?"

Lily hesitated.

She shook her head.

She remembered the engagement itself, but what had been said afterward—those details had long blurred with time.

Alex chuckled softly.

"You told me, Alex! Wherever you go, I can follow. I don’t care if people laugh at me."

He turned his gaze to the waves, his expression distant.

"I still remember the way you said it," he murmured. "You were so serious, like it was the most important promise in the world."

Lily lowered her eyes, blinking rapidly against the sting of tears.

Back then, her world had been simple.

It had been just her family... and Alex.

She had followed him everywhere, doing whatever he did.

Even when their classmates teased them, she had never cared.

"Lily, why did things change?" Alex asked quietly.

"Why don’t you follow me anymore?"

—

Lily remained silent.

"I searched for you everywhere," he continued, his voice rough with emotion. "And when I finally found you... you weren’t mine."

His gaze locked onto hers, filled with quiet anguish.

"Tell me... why did it turn out like this?"

Lily had no answer.

She lifted her glass, drinking the wine in one gulp, her vision growing misty.

Alex’s voice softened.

"I always believed we could find our way back to each other," he whispered. "But you... you gave up on me because of an old family feud."

His voice cracked slightly.

"We were never siblings, Lily. Never."

His brown eyes darkened.

"Or maybe... it wasn’t about the past at all. Maybe you gave up on me—because of Ethan."

—

Lily lowered her gaze.

She reached for the wine bottle and poured another glass, drinking as if trying to numb herself.

She hadn’t realized how deeply this had been eating away at him.

She had always considered Alex gentle, someone who could let go with grace.

But she had been wrong.

He had never let go.

"Lily, you never loved me," Alex said, taking another drink.

His voice was filled with quiet agony.

"You would rather love a man who made you his mistress than love me."

—

The night deepened around them.

The ocean stretched endlessly into the darkness.

Alex’s voice was laced with heartbreak.

Lily’s tears finally fell, slipping silently down her cheeks.

"You call me cruel for how I treated Alice," Alex continued.

"But do you remember how many times you pushed me away?"

His slender fingers pressed against his forehead, his posture slightly hunched.

For the first time, he looked vulnerable.

Lily couldn’t speak.

This was the reality neither of them could escape—

Loving someone who didn’t love you back.

"I tried," Alex murmured. "Over and over, I tried to get close to you. I tried to stay by your side, no matter what."

His voice was laced with quiet desperation.

"But you only pushed me away."

His lips curled up in a bitter smile.

"I even had to pretend I had moved on—pretend I was just your friend—just so you would let me stay."

Lily gripped her wine glass tightly, her knuckles turning white.

She didn’t wipe her tears.

She let them fall.

She had never truly understood how much pain he was carrying.

She should have.

Because Alex had always been obsessive—he had never been the type to let things go.

"Lily."

His voice was hoarse, broken.

"The only thing separating us is nine years."

His empty gaze locked onto hers.

"So why... why can’t we go back?"

—

Why can’t we go back?

The question hung between them, heavy and suffocating.

Nine years.

Nine years, and they had become strangers.

In the past, this ocean had been a place of dreams for her.

Now, in the middle of it, she was questioning whether the man standing before her had killed her father—

And he was asking her why they couldn’t return to the past.

Who could answer that?

"Why aren’t you saying anything?" Alex asked, his voice quieter now.

"Is it because you don’t have an answer?"

Lily swallowed hard, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I don’t know."

Her vision blurred completely with tears.

She didn’t know.

She didn’t know how things had come to this.

She didn’t know why so much had happened—why so many things had fallen apart.

She didn’t know anything anymore.

Alex let out a breathless laugh, the sound hollow and bitter.

His eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

"We’re such fools, aren’t we?" he murmured, raising his glass and downing the wine.

His voice wavered.

"Why don’t we have an answer?"

His grip on the glass tightened.

"Why... do I have to watch you walk further and further away?"