30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 236: Ethan’s Fight for Survival

Ethan’s fate was still uncertain, and Lily suddenly felt like she had no hope left.

"Lily." Alex frowned at her, pulling her into his arms and resting her head on his shoulder. "I’ll always be here. I won’t let you face this alone."

I won’t let you face this alone...

Lily froze for a moment, then lifted her head from his shoulder. Her eyes grew heavy with exhaustion, and Alex’s figure blurred before her. She fought the drowsiness and said, "You should leave if you have things to do. I’ll be fine on my own."

She didn’t want to keep troubling others.

"I added a sleeping pill to the milk. You should rest," Alex said as he noticed her growing fatigue. "You’ve been through too much today. I’ll stay here with you."

A sleeping pill?

She didn’t need sleep right now—she needed to wait for updates on Ethan’s condition.

"No, I..." Lily tried to protest, but her head spun, and she instinctively raised her hand to her forehead to steady herself. Her eyelids grew heavier, and it became impossible to keep them open.

"Just sleep for a bit," Alex said as he gently laid her on the sofa.

Lily’s blurry vision lingered on his face as she struggled to stay awake, blinking repeatedly. But her mind felt hazy as if she were suffocating from lack of oxygen.

Alex placed a pillow under her head, and as soon as it touched her, Lily drifted into a deep sleep. Her eyes closed, and her breathing became slow and even.

Alex stared at her intently, his gaze deep and unreadable. After a moment, he removed his suit jacket and draped it over her. Then, he crouched beside the sofa, his pale, elegant fingers gently brushing against her soft face.

This face... I’ve dreamed about it for so many years...

Lowering his head, Alex pressed a light kiss to her forehead. His fingers lingered tenderly on her skin, and a glimmer of satisfaction flashed across his eyes. His voice was soft yet filled with subtle triumph. "When you’re asleep, you’re not in a hurry to push me away."

Alex stood up, walked to the side, and poured himself a glass of water. Sitting beside her, he sipped the water gracefully, his gaze fixed on her peaceful, sleeping face.

"Step by step," he murmured, his voice low and deliberate.

A faint smile appeared on his lips as he spoke.

Knock, knock.

Two soft knocks sounded on the door. Alex took another sip of water, placed the glass down, and walked over to open the door. A soldier stood outside.

"Mr. Carter, two more people have died despite resuscitation. Only twenty-five individuals are still being treated, and most of their conditions remain critical."

"Still twenty-five?" Alex asked calmly.

"Yes," the soldier confirmed.

"Alright. Take me to see them."

Alex’s tone was polite and composed. He turned back to glance at the sleeping Lily before quietly closing the door behind him, a faint smile lingering.

When Lily woke up, it was already nighttime. The rest area was pitch black and silent, except for the faint smell of disinfectant lingering in the air.

She lay alone on the sofa, staring into the darkness. The silence around her was deafening.

It reminded her of the white sheet over her father’s body, of the warmth fading from his skin...

Reminded her of the explosion at the villa. These massive flames rose into the sky, and everyone had fallen to the ground instantly.

She had waited for so long, but no one had stood up. Not a single person.

Her father was gone.

But what about Ethan? What had happened to him?!

Lily suddenly sat up on the sofa, her movements abrupt. The lights in the rest area flicked on, and Alex stood by the door with a faint smile.

"You’re awake? I ordered dinner at the cafeteria. If you didn’t wake up soon, I would call you. You need to eat," he said as he walked toward her with a tray.

"What about Ethan? How is he?" Lily asked anxiously.

Alex set the tray on the coffee table and picked up his jacket from the floor, brushing it off.

He had draped it over her to keep her warm.

Her first question upon waking was about Ethan, and she hadn’t even noticed his jacket.

Alex sat down beside her, sinking into the soft sofa. His eyes were warm as he said, "Eat first. I’ll tell you after you’ve eaten."

"Alex, stop messing around. Don’t keep me in suspense about something like this," Lily said, her voice rising with agitation.

Alex gazed at her calmly, picking up a spoonful of food from the tray and holding it to her lips. His gaze carried a hint of obsession, though his smile remained gentle. "Eat."

Reluctantly, Lily took a bite from the spoon, then grabbed it from his hand along with the tray. She began shoveling rice into her mouth anxiously, ignoring the rest of the food.

"Slow down," Alex said with a frown, standing to pour her a glass of water. "Drink some water. You’ll choke if you eat like that."

Lily ignored him, stuffing her mouth full of rice. She swallowed hurriedly, then grabbed the glass of water and gulped it down to force the food down her throat. "I’m full."

Alex glanced at the tray, still mostly full of untouched food, and chuckled helplessly. "Come with me."

He led her to a heavily guarded intensive care unit, where soldiers with rifles stood watch outside the room.

The door to the ward was tightly closed.

Through the large glass window, Lily saw Ethan lying on a hospital bed, an oxygen mask covering his face. IV drips were attached to his hands, and he was surrounded by a cluster of medical equipment. Doctors and nurses stood nearby, monitoring him closely.

Ethan...

Lily couldn’t control herself. She rushed to the glass, pressing her hands against it as she stared at him. The soldiers around her tensed and glanced in her direction, their eyes sharp.

Ethan lay motionless on the bed, his head wrapped in thick bandages. His face was pale and expressionless, with visible scrapes near the corner of his eye. His right leg was suspended, and he looked nothing like the proud, domineering man he usually was. He was utterly battered and vulnerable.

He hated being restrained. How could he stand being in this condition, watched over by so many people?

"He’s still not out of danger. Tonight will be critical," Alex said softly, standing beside her and looking into the ward.

Still not out of danger?

How could he still be in critical condition?

"I want to go in and see him," Lily said quickly, her eyes red but devoid of tears.

"No. He’s under strict supervision. No one is allowed near him. I can only bring you here for a quick look—you can’t stay long," Alex said, patting her shoulder. "Let’s go, Lily."

She might try to break past the guards if they stayed longer and force her way into the ward.

"No..." Lily shook her head, her eyes fixed on Ethan’s still figure.

Was this all her fault?

If he hadn’t been trying to save her father, he wouldn’t have ended up like this...

Her father was gone, and Ethan hadn’t reached the critical stage yet.

Just this morning, everything had been fine. They had been joking about fifty or sixty years into the future. He had spent an entire night building a model to keep her from giving up on her dreams...

The man who had been so full of life that morning now lay there motionless, dependent on an oxygen tank to breathe.

Am I a curse? Lily thought bitterly. Everyone around me leaves, one by one. Mom, Dad...

Ethan, please don’t leave me too. Don’t do this to me.

You hate hospitals. So why are you lying there? Get up. Please, just get up...

"Lily, we really have to go. I’ll keep an eye on his condition. If you don’t want to leave the hospital, you can wait in the rest area, okay?" Alex said, gently pulling her hands from the glass and leading her away.

Lily instinctively reached out, trying to find something to hold onto, but her hands only touched the cold glass.

Alex held her hand as they left. She kept her eyes on Ethan through the glass until the very last moment. He remained unconscious, and just as she turned the corner, she noticed the monitor showing his heart rate beginning to slow.

Is he waiting for me to stay with him? Is that it...?

"I’ll stay here," Lily said as they exited the guarded area. She pulled her hand away from Alex. "You should go home. You’ve spent the entire day with me already, and I feel bad about that."

"Stay here?" Alex looked at her in surprise. "I’ve done all I can to help. They might suspect you’re trying to pass messages if you stay here too long."

"He’s unconscious. What messages could I possibly pass?" Lily’s voice was hoarse as she replied. "I won’t go inside. I’ll just wait out here."

"Lily, don’t be so stubborn. Your father’s funeral arrangements and Ethan’s recovery will need someone to handle them. If you collapse, who’s going to take care of everything?" Alex said firmly. "Go rest in the lounge, please."

"I’ve rested enough today." Lily shook her head, unwilling to leave. "You should go. I won’t cause any trouble."

Lily sat on a cold bench in the hallway, just outside the wall of Ethan’s ICU.

Sitting there quietly, she felt like she was closer to him.

The long, silent corridor and her solitary figure painted a picture of loneliness.

That night passed slower than any she had ever experienced. Sitting alone on the cold bench, Lily’s mind was too numb to think about anything else.

Her only focus was staying strong and being there for Ethan as he fought through this.

A group of doctors rushed into Ethan’s ward in the middle of the night. His condition had taken a turn for the worse.

Lily was stopped by soldiers outside the ward. For a moment, she thought Ethan might end up like her father—gone forever.