Chapter 104: Gift

Although Avery has been married to Evan for more than three years, Evan has never been to the Peters' home. Though Anthony frequently refers to Evan as his son-in-law, the Howel family has cooly refused to recognize their relationship with the Peter family—no one from the Howel family has ever referred to Anthony Peters as Evan's father-in-law.

The Peters family has four daughters. The eldest daughter is Vanessa Peters, the second daughter is Janetta Peters, the third daughter is Avery Peters, and the fourth and youngest daughter is Gabrielle Peters. Anthony's wife, Katherine Peters, is pregnant, and Anthony hopes it will finally be a boy. He has been looking forward to having a son for many years.

"Dad, why would Mr. Howel suddenly come to our home? Are you sure his butler didn't explain why he's coming?" Vanessa asks as she descends the stairs.

If it weren't for Evan Howel's sudden visit, Vanessa would still be in bed at this hour. Though she is excited to see Evan, she resents being forced to wake up so early.

Katherine Peters caresses her slightly bulging belly, "What a silly question! The Howel family didn't announce the divorce in public last time. Mr. Howel is coming to our home to announce the divorce privately, of course."

The Peters family is complicated: Katherine Peters is Vanessa and Janetta's biological mother and Avery and Gabrielle's stepmother. She hoped that Vanessa or Janetta would marry Mr. Howel, and she was severely disappointed when the honor was given to Avery.

Vanessa smiles sarcastically, "With her temper, Avery is bound to get divorced sooner or later."

"Stop talking nonsense," snaps Anthony, "Go check and make sure we have enough servants and maids. If we don't, hire more immediately. They should clean the house again and replace all the sofas and chairs. Hurry—we're running out of time."

"Dad, the house has been cleaned at least five times, and all the noise made it impossible for me to sleep this morning," Vanessa complains.

Katherine glares at Vanessa, her eyes full of regret. "You only know how to sleep and eat. Do you know that Mr. Rupert made it clear that he never wants to see you again after your blind date?" she scolds, "You're 26 and you shouldn't be relying on this family anymore. Now go dress up and make yourself presentable before Mr. Howel arrives."

"What's the rush?" Vanessa asks, sinking into the sofa, "Janetta hasn't even come home yet. I'll wait for her to come back and then I'll comb my hair and get ready."

"Where did she go so early in the morning?" Katherine asks.

"She went to the hospital."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing but lovesickness," Vanessa answers with a smirk, "The only cure is seeing Dr. Peters."

"You can't compare Dr. Peters with Mr. Howel," Katherine says, "Call her and tell her to come home at once. Mr. Howel is going to announce the divorce and you girls need to be ready to seize the opportunity."

Vanessa yawns, takes her phone out and starts to dial Janetta, but a loud sound outside startles her and she drops the phone.

"Mr. Howel's helicopter is preparing to land!" a servant shouts as he enters the room.

Vanessa promptly stands up and runs upstairs. She is still in her pajamas and she doesn't have any make-up on. She mentally kicked herself for being so lazy. Anthony hastily stands up and walks out to the front lawn, and Katherine follows him.

"Come on! Line up in two rows, and greet Mr. Howel with your most resonant, enthusiastic voices," Anthony orders the servants.

Four servants carrying a carved wooden chair don't know if they should finish moving the chair or rush into line with the other servants to greet the guest.

Anthony hurriedly points at them, "Finish moving the chair first and be careful not to hit it on anything. I hope it's comfortable enough for Mr. Howel."

The four servants carry the chair into the dining room. Anthony orders another group of servants to unroll a red carpet. Once the helicopter lands, the carpet will spread from the helicopter's ladder to the front door of the villa.

The trees and flowers in the yard blow strongly and bend severely as the helicopter's propeller cuts through the air. Servants dressed in freshly-pressed uniforms line up in two neat rows. Two bodyguards open the helicopter's doors and the servants promptly bow as they rehearse.

"Welcome, Mr. Howel," they say in unison.

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A pair of shiny leather shoes step onto the red carpet, and Evan descends from the helicopter's ladder as if he were a god coming down from heaven. The servants keep their heads down; though they are curious, they don't dare to look directly at him.

Anthony and Katherine also incline their heads slightly. As they raise their heads, they are shocked to see Evan carrying Avery bridal-style in his arms. The noble and proud man holds her protectively and possessively as he walks down the red carpet. Gabrielle follows them, but everyone's attention is focused on Evan. No woman can resist his majestic stature and a handsome face, and the Peters women feel incredibly attracted to him already. Katherine wears a dazed expression, and then she pulls on her husband's sleeve.

"Is Avery a victim of domestic violence?" she whispers, "Did she suffer a beating so bad she can't even walk?"

Anthony glares at her until she stops talking. Avery is different from her sisters—she was not nearly as spoiled as the other Peters girls, and she was never the favorite. Ever since Avery married Evan, scandals and rumors have sprung up around her, humiliating the rest of the Peters family.

Every time a scandal breaks out, Anthony announces that he has already broken off all relations with Avery. For over three years, Avery has begged to be allowed to return home to her family, but Anthony always refuses her requests. She hasn't been home once since she married Evan.

Avery fell asleep on the plane, and she wakes to find herself held against Evan's strong chest. She groggily opens her eyes upon hearing the grand welcome. Sleepily she looks around and realizes that she has finally returned home.

"Are you awake?" Evan asks quietly.

Avery's cheeks were rosy and soft with sleep, but she fiercely pushed against the man's chest.

"Put me down!" she insists.

"Don't move!" Evan whispers.

He tightens his grasp on her and strides straight down the red carpet and into the house.

"Mr. Howel, this way, please," Anthony says, leading Evan into the villa.

Evan sits down on the sofa, keeping Avery firmly in his arms. Robert orders the Peters' servants to fetch a wet towel, and the servants present it to Evan on a silver tray. Evan takes the warm towel and carefully wipes Avery's face, tenderly wiping the sleep from the corners of her eyes.

Avery pushes his hand away impatiently, "My eyes aren't dirty."

"What happened to this man?" she wonders, "Suddenly he's become the most attentive husband—he helped me dress this morning and now he's cleaning my face. It's so unusual!"

Everyone is astonished that Evan is being so tender with Avery. They expected him to announce a divorce but his behavior seems to say otherwise.

"Hello, Mr. Howel," a sweet voice calls from the staircase.

Evan is absorbed in caring for Avery and ignores the voice. Attracted by the voice, Avery forgets to push the towel off her face and turns to stare at Vanessa.

Vanessa wears a short, tight, red dress and has heavy make-up plastered across her face. Her breasts almost pop out of the dress as she slinks downstairs. Avery laughs mockingly.

"She looks like an escort," Avery thinks.

Vanessa descends the stairs, wearing ridiculously high heels. Suddenly she seems to trip at Evan Howel's feet.

"Ouch," she complains.

She raises her hand slightly, reaching for Evan in the hopes that he'll help her up, but Evan doesn't even glance at her. A maid rushes over to help, but Vanessa stops her with a fierce look. Avery looks at her sister, leaning seductively against Evan's legs.

"Vanessa, long time no see," Avery says cooly, looking down at her sister's exposed cleavage, "Though I must admit, I didn't expect to see quite so much of you."

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