30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 318: A Debt Unpaid

The image of her wearing Alex Carter’s clothes on the yacht—

The way Ethan had turned away, his expression cold, his departure absolute—

It had all been too much.

Too many things had happened.

Too many wounds had been carved into them.

Standing before him now, Lily felt unworthy.

She had no right to chase after love anymore.

"You’re telling me if I don’t see you, you can’t survive?!"

Ethan’s voice was sharp, laced with irritation.

His gaze was dark, unreadable.

"Lily Anderson, you don’t need me. You can live just fine without me."

Could she?

Was that even possible?

Lily tightened her grip around the cup, taking another sip.

The warmth settled in her stomach, but her hands still trembled.

Her eyes—red and swollen—lifted slightly.

"Will you try to kill yourself again?"

Ethan’s words came hard and fast, his tone demanding.

"Will you?"

Lily hesitated.

Her voice was hoarse when she finally whispered, "I... I don’t know."

She didn’t know how to move forward.

How long would she have to live with this crushing guilt? How long would she feel like she was drowning in debts she could never repay?

It felt so impossibly heavy.

She wasn’t sure she could do it.

"Enough."

Ethan snatched the cup from her hands, setting it aside.

Before she could react, his fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her to her feet.

"We’re leaving."

His palm was hot, his grip firm.

Her hand felt small in his.

His fingers—long, strong, unwavering—burned against her skin.

She lifted her gaze, looking at his face.

Sharp. Perfect.

But there was a faint scar by his brow, a thin mark disrupting the smoothness of his features.

He had always been untouchable to her.

Now, she wasn’t even worthy of reaching for him.

She had wronged too many people.

She had done too much damage.

Ethan pulled her into a treatment room.

Lily sat quietly as the doctor cleaned the wound on her forehead.

She didn’t flinch.

She barely even blinked.

Ethan never took his eyes off her.

His gaze was piercing, relentless, watching her as if she might disappear the second he looked away.

"Hello, hello—"

A lazy, teasing voice cut through the room.

Lily didn’t even need to turn her head.

She knew who it was.

Ethan’s older brother, Tommy Blackwood.

The only person who could make arrogance sound charming.

"What’s this, Lily? Got yourself hurt?"

His face appeared suddenly, leaning in far too close.

A mix of European and Asian features, striking and effortlessly attractive—

And far too large in her vision.

Startled, Lily instinctively leaned back, her eyes widening.

Tommy grinned.

"What, did I scare you?"

"Do you have a death wish?!"

Ethan’s sharp voice cut through the tension.

"Get out of her face!"

Tommy leaned back, smirking.

His gaze flickered between the two of them.

"How you act, Third Brother, are you planning to let her go?"

His voice was light, teasing—

But his eyes darkened just slightly.

"Because from where I’m standing, it sure doesn’t look like it."

Ethan shot him a glare.

"Leave. Now."

Tommy sighed.

"Fine, fine. But I need to borrow you for a second."

He glanced at Lily, then back at Ethan.

"Unless, of course, you’d rather have this conversation in front of Lily here?"

Ethan clenched his jaw.

For a moment, he didn’t move.

Then, with one last glance at Lily, he stood.

He followed Tommy out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Lily stared at the closed door.

A bitter taste filled her mouth.

There were things she wasn’t meant to hear.

And with the way Ethan had left just now—

It was clear she had no right to know them.

Outside the treatment room—

The second the door clicked shut, Tommy’s relaxed demeanor vanished.

He spun toward Ethan, his voice dropping into a sharp.

"Why the hell are you still tangled up with her?!"

His expression was tense, his tone barely restrained.

"Do you think our father has just conveniently forgotten about you? That he’s suddenly less dangerous? If you want to test his ruthlessness, that’s fine. But don’t do it at a time like this!"

"Have you said enough?!"

Ethan’s voice was ice-cold as he fixed his brother with a sharp glare.

"No, I haven’t!"

Tommy’s frustration exploded, and his tone became urgent, desperate.

"You know what our father did to me back then! Are you really so eager to follow in my footsteps?!"

Their father wasn’t a man to be fooled.

He played a game of masks and shadows, saying one thing while orchestrating another.

He wouldn’t let them off so quickly.

Tommy kept ranting, his voice rising.

Ethan’s fingers curled into a tight fist at his side.

His knuckles turned white.

His jaw locked.

His eyes burned with an icy, unshakable resolve.

"Come back to Europe with me."

Tommy’s voice dropped, the urgency in it raw.

"You can’t keep doing this. You can’t keep chasing after Lily. It’s not good for either of you."

Ethan stilled.

Tommy knew him better than anyone.

He had always been decisive, quick to sever ties when necessary.

But when it came to Lily—He had failed repeatedly.

He had left her but then turned back to watch her from afar.

He had let her go but then returned to heal her wounds.

Even now—He was still here.

"It doesn’t matter."

Ethan’s voice was calm, but the weight behind it was suffocating.

"If Lily can’t survive, we might die together."

Tommy froze.

His expression shattered.

"What the hell did you just say?!"

Ethan didn’t repeat himself.

He just stared at his brother, silent, unrelenting.

If Lily wasn’t in this world—

Then why the hell should he or their son be?

"No matter what happens in this world, survival matters most!"

Tommy’s temper flared, his voice shaking with anger.

"Dying together isn’t love, Ethan—it’s cowardice!"

Ethan didn’t react.

He didn’t even blink.

"You think I didn’t want to die back then?!"

Tommy’s voice cracked as he pressed on.

"I had a gun to my head, my finger on the trigger. I almost pulled it. But I didn’t—because she didn’t want me to die! She would rather sacrifice herself than let me suffer!"

Ethan’s eyes flickered.

His breath hitched—just slightly.

Lily stood on the rooftop, remembering the moment he had stepped onto the ledge—she had surrendered.

She hadn’t been afraid of her own death.

But she had been afraid of his.

Without another word, Ethan turned on his heel and strode toward the treatment room.

Tommy cursed under his breath, quickly reaching for his shoulder.

"Ethan, don’t be a fool! You can still turn back! You can both still live!"

Ethan shrugged him off.

His gaze was cutting as he turned to face his brother.

"I don’t need you to tell me what to do."

Inside the Treatment Room—

Lily’s forehead wound was minor.

A simple bandage, a few minutes of treatment—

It was nothing compared to the scars she carried inside.

She stood, walking toward the door.

But the moment she pulled it open—

Tommy’s furious voice rang out—

"I’m your brother! I’m trying to protect you, not destroy you!"

Lily froze.

Ethan and Tommy turned simultaneously, both dark eyes locked onto her.

Tommy’s was stormy, frustration written all over his face.

Lily glanced between them, her lips parting slightly.

They had been arguing.

But whatever they had been fighting about—

She wasn’t meant to hear it.

Ethan suddenly moved and pulled her forward.

"We’re leaving."

His voice left no room for argument.

"Ethan!"

Tommy’s voice rang out, sharp with frustration.

But Ethan didn’t stop.

Didn’t look back.

Didn’t hesitate.

He just kept walking, his grip on Lily’s wrist tight, his pace urgent.

Tommy cursed under his breath, kicking the nearest wall in frustration.

"You’re throwing your life away for a moment of sweetness—are you insane?!"

Ethan ignored him.

His steps were fast and forceful.

Lily didn’t resist.

She couldn’t.

There was no point.

She let him drag her forward, stumbling slightly to keep up.

As they rounded the hospital’s entrance, an all-too-familiar figure stood waiting.

Butler Aston- His posture was straight as ever, and his expression was calm.

But when his gaze landed on Lily, he bowed at ninety degrees.

"Miss Anderson."

Ethan’s eyes flickered with something unreadable.

For a moment, he hesitated.

Lily spoke first.

"Where’s Alice?"

Her voice was quiet, hesitant.

Hadn’t Butler Aston been looking after her?

"She’s gone."

His answer was simple.

"Gone?!"

Lily’s breath hitched.

Alice had just suffered a miscarriage.

How could she have just left?

Panic surged through her veins.

She yanked her wrist free from Ethan’s grasp and turned, rushing back toward Alice’s hospital room.

The door was open.

The room was... empty.

Sheets neatly tucked.

The chaos from before is gone.

As if she had never been there, to begin with.

"I went to take out the trash," Butler Aston explained, stepping into the room behind her.

"By the time I returned, she was already gone."

Lily’s hands clenched.

Her heart pounded.

Butler Aston held out a folded piece of paper.

"She left this."

Lily hesitated before taking it.

It wasn’t even a proper note.

Just a hospital document, the back covered in hastily scrawled words.

Deep, forceful strokes.

So angry that the ink had bled through the paper.

"Lily Anderson, the one who should have died was you. I won’t let you go."

Her breath caught.

Her grip on the paper tightened.

Alice had written this with pure hatred.

She had wanted to carve these words into her very soul.

Lily closed her eyes.

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

The note was ripped from her hands.

Before she could react, Ethan tore it to shreds.

The pieces fluttered to the ground, scattering at their feet.

His gaze—Dark. Cold. Lethal.

"Ethan—"

Her voice barely made it past her lips.

"You are not to go near Alice Mitchell again."

His tone was final, unyielding.

Lily’s stomach twisted.

"Don’t, Ethan. Don’t touch her."

Her voice wavered—

Not out of fear for herself but for Alice.

She didn’t want any more blood on her hands.

She couldn’t bear it.

"She just lost her child. She won’t have the strength to hurt me."

Ethan’s fists clenched.

His jaw tightened.

"And what if she does?"

He snapped, stepping closer to her.

"What if she tries to kill you? You’re just going to let her?!"

Lily didn’t answer.

She couldn’t.

Because deep down—

That thought had already crossed her mind.

Wouldn’t it be better?

Wouldn’t it be fair?

If she died at Alice’s hands, wouldn’t that be justice?

Ethan saw it.

He saw the flicker of resignation in her eyes.

And something inside him snapped.

"Enough."

His voice was low, dangerous.

"You are not allowed to die. Not by your own hands and not by anyone else’s."

Lily swallowed hard.

The weight of his words pressed against her chest, suffocating.

"And stop looking for Alex Carter."

Ethan’s voice was quieter this time, more controlled.

Lily stilled.

Her lips parted—But she didn’t know what to say.

Alex Carter.

A man who had loved her too much.

A man who had destroyed everything in his desperation to keep her.

A man who had killed her father.

Lily lowered her gaze.

She had nothing left to say.

Because deep down, she already knew—

There was no fixing this.

Nothing could be undone.

Nothing could be made right again.

The debts were too heavy.

The guilt is too deep.

Ethan oversaw her.

If she knew the truth—

If she found out that he had already killed Alex Carter—

Would she blame herself for that, too?