30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 310: Obsession’s Cold Kiss

"Who else? Ethan?" Alex Carter asked as he crouched before her, his shirt buttons undone to reveal a broad, sculpted chest. A soft smile played on his lips as his slender, pale hand gently wiped away the tears and sweat from her face. Looking down at her pallid expression, he said, "Lily, don’t be so afraid."

Lily’s face was filled with terror; even the briefest brush of his fingertips made her tremble. "Don’t do that... You’re becoming so frightening," she managed to say, her voice quivering. How had Alex become like this?

"When Ethan treated you that way back then, did you ever feel fear?" Alex asked, his tone measured and almost admiring—as if he were observing an exquisite work of art—as his fingertips lovingly traced her cheek.

Lily tried to turn her head away, but he gently caught her chin, forcing her to look back at him. "I searched for you for nine years. I waited right where we began, hoping you’d glance back at me one day. But you kept drifting further away from my world..." His thumb caressed her jaw as his face inched closer. "Is it that you prefer a man who dominates you?"

"No... no, it’s not like that," Lily protested, shaking her head.

"Then why did you choose Ethan over me?" Alex’s voice turned warm and velvety as his lips neared hers, his eyes alight with a burning hatred. "I held you in the palm of my hand. I respected every decision you made—even when we were dating and you didn’t want a kiss, I never forced you. And yet, what did my respect earn me in the end?"

It was met only with her resolute, chilling rejection...

It led to you walking into Ethan’s arms...

"Alex, Alice loves you—don’t you see? You can’t even accept her, can you?" Lily’s head recoiled as he leaned closer, his warm breath flooding her face.

"Remember, Ethan and Uncle Henry staged that whole scene—not only to force you and me together but also to plot our eventual separation..." Alex lowered his head and pressed a delicate kiss at the corner of her lips, his warm tongue teasing them ever so slightly.

Lily desperately turned her head, trying to avoid his kiss. She couldn’t stay here any longer—she felt trapped and powerless.

Alex had lost his mind.

But what choice did she have? At that moment, she felt like a bird trapped in a cage—wingless, unable to fly away.

"I thought that after you left that one time, I could devote all my thoughts to taking down Ethan... but then I saw what happened. You became his woman." Alex said bitterly, his tone rich with sarcasm. "A man who once forced himself on you—a man who played his devious games with you—and yet you went off whispering sweet nothings with him!"

As his agitation grew, Alex’s hand tightened around her chin. "What do I have that pales in comparison? Even if I’m flawed, I’m thousands of times better than Ethan!"

Lily’s chin stung painfully from his grip. Beads of sweat sprang on her forehead as her heart pounded furiously with dread.

"He wouldn’t kill my father..." Lily whispered hoarsely.

"That’s because you forced me!" Alex’s eyes turned vicious as he growled, "If you hadn’t chosen Ethan, I wouldn’t have been pushed to this point! All I wanted wasn’t fame or power—it was simply you. And yet, I couldn’t have you!"

A cold, sinister glint set in Alex’s eyes—one that Lily had never seen before—and it only deepened her terror, making her lips tremble uncontrollably. "Does Ethan even know what you’re now facing? Does he understand just how scared you are?"

"He wasn’t at all the Alex you once knew; he’s just a stranger wearing his mask..."

Alex pressed his face close to hers, his breath grazing over her skin. Lily couldn’t escape or hide; she pushed herself onto the ground while his lips met hers.

"Why is it that what I can’t have, Ethan can possess?" Alex whispered as he continued kissing her, devouring her scent. "Lily, we were meant to belong to each other."

Alex breathed deeply, savoring every trace of her fragrance. With her chin held by his grip, Lily felt lost, unsure where to find refuge. "You’re utterly obsessed..." she murmured.

She knew he was a possessive man, but she had never imagined that as Alex grew older, he’d become so relentlessly fixated—so stubbornly unyielding.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

Lily’s eyes widened in anxious hope as she lifted her weak hand to answer. Alex cast a cold glance and, one step ahead, yanked the phone cord from the handset. "You really went ahead and dialed? You did?" he said, surprised that he hadn’t severed her call.

Lily stared blankly at the disconnected line, despair welling in her eyes. Ethan... where are you...

She didn’t want to be here; she refused to remain in this nightmare any longer.

"Settle down now; stop fussing," Alex said indulgently, cradling her as he carefully lifted her from the floor and laid her on the bed.

Lily’s head swam again, so disoriented she could barely recognize Alex’s features.

He reached out and unbuttoned and tossed aside her coat onto the floor. His long fingers traced her face, then slowly slid along the curve of her neck, pausing at her collarbone. His eyes, dark and deep, now shimmered with a lustful gleam.

Lily found herself utterly powerless to resist; the sensation of Alex taking whatever he wanted filled her with dread and terror.

She could acutely feel his fingers on her skin, but her body offered no rebellion.

Lily mustered the last strand of her will as his hand continued its descent. "You promised you wouldn’t hurt me..." she pleaded.

Didn’t he say he would never hurt her, not even if he harmed the whole world?

Then why—why is he doing this to me now?

"Do you consider this hurting you?" Alex managed a bitter laugh as he lay beside her, one hand propping his cheek while the other caressed her face. "For me, it’s not hurt. Lily, moments like this—I’ve only ever dreamed of them. I’ve dared to dream until I had nothing to wait for."

Waiting for a ship at the airport is the most impractical of fantasies.

Only by taking action can I have you lying beside me like this.

His voice, low and edged with the same once-gentle tenderness, had now taken on an obsessive quality. Alex bowed his head and kissed her face.

"Who said I wouldn’t believe? Who said I wouldn’t believe you could change..." Lily suddenly managed, her voice trembling as she stared dully at the ceiling, tears streaming down in silent rivulets. "Ethan calls me a traitor, a murderer of my own father... Regardless of what he says, I’m sure—Alex, you’re not the man he describes."

Not that I don’t believe you...

No matter what he says, I’m so specific... her voice ached, and Alex’s kiss faltered for an instant.

A strange shadow flickered across his eyes. After a long moment, he replied in a cold, mocking tone, "Lily, even if I spoke nothing but kind words right now, I wouldn’t let you go."

"Every time I fell as a child... as long as you were there, you’d anxiously carry me off to find an adult; every time we played... with you around, not a speck of dust could settle on my dress... because you always took care of me." Lily struggled to speak, each word laborious as she poured her recollections.

"I told myself that you wouldn’t change—that even if the whole world changed, Alex would remain the same... because, because..."

Because you are Alex, the one person in this world I could never doubt.

"I don’t want you to start praising my goodness just when you’re about to break me," Alex snapped coldly, cutting her off.

To prevent him from touching her, she had only begun to reminisce about their childhood—a time she thought she’d long forgotten.

To him, she was his entire world, and to her, Ethan had become her whole world...

"Do you need me to hate you completely to be satisfied?" Lily challenged quietly.

Hate?

"Perhaps hate is better—anything is better than being just an ordinary friend." With that, Alex leaned down and kissed her lips—more strongly than ever. His kiss was relentless, his lips ravaging hers, one hand roaming over her body.

Lily wanted to struggle, but her strength was gone; her brows furrowed in desperate resistance.

"Don’t resist me, Lily," Alex growled, his teeth biting into her lip as he tried to open her closed mouth.

Lily pressed her lips tightly together. This act only infuriated him; his garments were instantly torn away, leaving an incredible emptiness across his chest.

Despair overtook Lily as she stared blankly at the ceiling. All her strength had drained away, her head felt heavy, and slowly, her eyes closed, though her mouth continued to twitch.

...

Alex lowered his head, pressing his ear close to her lips, only to hear not his words anymore.

"Ethan... save me..."

It was the very last thing Lily uttered before she slipped into unconsciousness.

Ethan...

Alex lowered his gaze, watching her sleeping form with furrowed brows. She had never feared him, just how scared she must be of him.

Every time he once hid away, she was the first to find him, chasing after him with a smile...

But when did it start? When did she stop seeking him out out of desire?

When did her yearning become solely reserved for Ethan?

"Did you ever love me?"

Alex asked silently, cradling her face as he gently kissed her forehead. His hazel eyes glistened with tears that rolled from his gaze, falling onto her hair...

The scent of roses lingered in the room, mingling with the occasional cries of seabirds overhead.

Lily lay on the disheveled bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, her eyes empty and expression numb. Her body lay limp and utterly defeated.

The room was quiet—so empty...

Only her breathing filled the space...

She raised her hand, and its wide sleeve covered her hand—it was Alex’s shirt; she was wearing his shirt.

She dared not think of what had happened last night. As Lily stared at the white fabric of the cuff, her lips trembled as if she were on the brink of tears—tears that would not fall—only broken, husky sounds escaping softly.