30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 309: Twisted Love

"You don’t know either?"

Alex’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, yet he laughed—a bitter, hollow sound.

He raised his glass and downed the rest of the wine in one gulp.

"How did we end up like this? Why don’t we have an answer? Why can I only watch as you drift further and further away?"

Lily listened in silence, her heart aching, her nose stinging with the threat of tears.

"I bought so many sparklers," Alex murmured. "So many times, I wanted to call you out to play. But every time, you seemed distracted—lost in thought. I knew... I knew you were thinking about Ethan."

He stood up and walked below deck.

Lily closed her eyes.

Tears slipped down her cheeks, silent and unrelenting.

For a long time now, Ethan had consumed her entire world.

A few moments later, Alex returned, carrying a bag filled with sparklers.

He knelt, carefully arranging them around the yacht’s perimeter.

They were electronic sparklers.

With the flick of a switch, he turned them on and shut off the yacht’s leading lights.

Darkness enveloped them—except for the soft glow of the sparklers, crackling and shimmering in the night.

They were beautiful.

Breathtaking.

Alex lit a few handheld sparklers and handed two to Lily.

"Do you remember playing with these as kids?" he asked, his voice gentle.

"Every year, you lit them with me on my birthday."

Lily froze.

Once, sparklers and fireworks had been their thing.

But at some point...

They had become Ethan’s memory instead.

Maybe—maybe it wasn’t Alex who had changed.

Maybe she had.

She reached out with slightly stiff fingers and took the sparklers from him, watching the golden sparks burn toward their end.

"I keep wondering..." Alex whispered, standing beside her. "Why can’t we go back to the beginning?"

Lily blinked rapidly, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"If my father and your mother had never had an affair... would we have grown up together, naturally gotten married, and lived the life we were supposed to?"

His voice was quiet, almost lost in the sound of the waves.

"Why did my father have to do that?"

He stared at the sparkler in his hand, watching its brilliance fade to gray ash.

Lily hesitated, then slowly looked up at him.

"Do you... hate your father?"

Was that what he meant?

Alex didn’t answer.

Instead, he lit two more sparklers, staring at them as if lost in thought.

"Why did so many things get in our way?" he murmured. "Why did so many people have to come between us? Why couldn’t you stay by my side, like you did when we were kids?"

Like before—

When her world had revolved around him.

When she had followed him everywhere, without hesitation.

When there had been no one else in her eyes.

Lily’s breath caught.

"So that’s why..." she whispered, realization dawning.

"That’s why you didn’t care about your father’s life or death?"

Her voice trembled.

"The exposure of the base... my father’s death..."

Alex let out a low, bitter chuckle.

"He’s my father. How could I not care?" His voice was laced with quiet anguish.

"I don’t even know if he’s alive or dead."

His lips twisted into a self-deprecating smile.

"But Ethan is far more ruthless than me."

He let out a shaky breath.

"I fought all this time... and the only thing I’ve managed to do is get you to stand on the same yacht as me."

His voice turned pleading.

"I just wanted to take you away. I wanted to build a life—our life."

Lily’s hands shook.

She couldn’t hold back anymore.

Her sparkler slipped from her grasp, falling to the deck.

Her voice broke.

"...Did you kill my father?"

Alex didn’t speak.

He didn’t deny it.

His silence was an answer in itself.

Lily’s heart clenched.

She stared at him, her face pale, her entire body trembling.

"You did it," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"You killed my father."

Her breathing turned erratic.

"All because you wanted full control of the Carter Group?"

Her voice rose.

"He was my father—my real father, Alex! How could you?!"

He had told her—so many times—

That he would never hurt her.

And yet...

He had killed the person she loved most.

Lily’s hands curled into fists.

She couldn’t believe it.

She didn’t want to believe it.

How had Alex—her Alex—become this kind of person?

How could he do something so cruel?

How could he take her father away from her?

"Am I someone who worships material things?" Alex Carter asked with a bitter smile, his gaze fixed on her, tinged with obsession. "Lily, it was him and Ethan who conspired to tear us apart. Why should we bear the grudges of the past generation? Why should we be separated?"

...

Lily’s eyes locked onto him, wide with disbelief. He felt like a stranger, his words cold and unfamiliar.

Was that it? Because he believed they’d been forced apart, he thought he could justify anything—even hurting the people closest to them?

A chill ran down her spine. She’d never seen Alex this way before—never felt this kind of fear toward him.

"I’m the one who doesn’t want to be with you! Why don’t you just come at me?!" Lily’s voice broke as she screamed, the soft glow of the yacht’s string lights casting shadows over her tear-streaked face, her body trembling on the edge of collapse.

Why did he have to harm her father? For this twisted reason?

How could he—Alex, her warmest ray of sunshine—let his paranoia strip her of the person she loved most? How could he do this?

What had turned him into this?

Her screams echoed off the yacht’s walls as tears spilled from Alex’s eyes. "You’re the love of my life," he choked out. "How could I ever hurt you? If I stop the ones trying to keep us apart, won’t you return to me?"

...

Stop them?!

What did he mean? His father? Her father? Ethan too?

"It’s me who doesn’t want you!" Lily sobbed, her voice raw with pain. "No one forced me—no one held a knife to my throat. Don’t you get it?"

She couldn’t accept it. The man before her, spouting this warped logic—how could it be Alex? No one had made her leave him. It was her choice to end things.

"But you’re here with me now, aren’t you?" Alex’s eyes darkened with longing. "This moment—it’s enough. Better than a lifetime of never having you."

...

Lily froze, a horrifying thought piercing her mind. "Did you do something to Ethan too? Is that why he broke up with me? What did you threaten him with?"

The cure? Was that it?

Did he have the AuroraVirus treatment? Was that why Ethan had to obey him?

"Even now, all you think about is Ethan?" Alex wiped the tears from his face, his voice sharp and hurt. "I’m the one standing here, Lily. Me."

Who was he?

Not Alex.

The man before her was her father’s killer.

How could she process this? Alex—the man she’d never even suspected—had taken her father’s life.

"You—"

Her words faltered as dizziness crashed over her. Her vision blurred, and she crumpled to the floor.

Alex caught her, his touch gentle as he brushed away her tears. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

Her head spun wildly—not the symptoms of the AuroraVirus, but something else. Alex’s face doubled before her eyes. "You... you drugged me?" she gasped.

He didn’t deny it. He lifted her into his arms, carrying her away as the yacht’s twinkling lights glowed like mocking fireworks.

She tried to fight, but her body betrayed her, limp and weak. He carried her into a cabin, her desperate struggles useless against his strength.

Rose petals littered the floor, the air thick with jasmine—a soft glow bathed the room. A grotesque mockery of romance.

It was all planned.

Realizing his intent, Lily thrashed harder, but her movements were feeble. Alex didn’t flinch.

He laid her on the white sheets and sat beside her, peeling off his jacket with deliberate calm.

Summoning every ounce of strength, she dragged herself away, pressing against the headboard. "Alex, are you insane? Let me go..."

What did he want?!

"I told you," he murmured, "this moment is all I need. I could die happy right now." He leaned down, hands framing her shoulders, and pressed his lips to hers.

"Mmph—"

Her eyes flew open in shock. She tried to push him away, but her limbs refused to obey.

He’d lost his mind.

He had to be insane.

His lips were cool against hers, insistent. His hands cupped her face, teeth grazing her lip as he kissed her with desperate hunger.

"No—mmph—"

She closed her mouth, refusing him, but he didn’t rush. He kissed her lips, nose, and eyes—each touch reverent like she was a priceless treasure. A satisfied sigh escaped him.

Tears slipped from her eyes.

He caught them with his lips, tasting her despair. How long had he waited for this? He couldn’t even remember.

Her lips—something he’d only tasted in dreams.

Humiliation burned through her. She looked at him, pleading. "Let me go... you can’t do this to me—mmph."

Her words were cut off as he kissed her again, slow and deliberate. Mint and wine filled her senses, overwhelming her.

Not Ethan’s scent. Not his warmth.

Ethan... where are you?

She wanted to run—to escape this nightmare.

Finally, he pulled back, his eyes dark with desire. Slowly, he began unbuttoning his shirt.

Gritting her teeth, Lily threw herself off the bed, crashing to the floor. Pain flared, but she lunged for the phone on the nightstand.

Alex frowned, unbuttoning his shirt as he watched her struggle with cold amusement. He knew she didn’t want this.

Who was she calling? Ethan?

As her trembling fingers pressed the last digit, Alex reached over and hung up the call. "Even if he answers," he said softly, "he won’t get here in time."

They were at sea. Ethan wouldn’t find them soon enough.

By then, she’d be his.

The deadline mocked her. She curled into a ball on the floor, trembling. "Alex, you can’t do this to me... you can’t."

"Then who can? Ethan?" He crouched before her, shirt open, revealing his chest. A smile played on his lips as he wiped her tears and sweat away, looking down at her pale face. "Lily, don’t be so afraid."