Chapter 107: Weak

After a traffic accident, the man couldn't remember a single thing. Feeling guilty, Gabrielle decided to help care for him. She was terrified of creating a scandal and managed to hide the accident from everyone she knew. She was especially afraid that her father would find out and punish her. Unfortunately for her, Katherine managed to find out, and she used the information to blackmail Gabrielle into giving her an internship to her niece, Bonnie Gates.

When Katherine asked her, Gabrielle didn't know how to refuse. She was too meek and shy to protest. Instead, she consoled herself with the knowledge that she might not have enjoyed the internship—she didn't get along very well with her classmates and she disliked the other students chosen to work in the same hospital.

Gabrielle sits on the floor of her bedroom and reflects on the accident. Avery knocks on the door, but Gabrielle is too distracted to hear her. Becoming concerned that something bad has happened to her sister, Avery asks a maid to unlock the door and let her in. Avery sees her sister lost in a daze and drops the key on a table.

"What's wrong?" Avery asks.

Gabrielle is startled to discover she's no longer alone. She jumps to her feet in a hurry.

"It's nothing. I'm fine," she whispers. 

Avery frowns at her sister. She saw Katherine enter Gabrielle's room and shut the door behind her. She was afraid that Katherine would try to bully Gabrielle so she waited outside the door, listening to their conversation. She heard them talking about a man and began to worry that her little sister had gotten involved with a bad man.

"No, you're not fine," Avery says gently, "Please, tell me what's going on."

"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asks, trying to feign innocence.

She's a bad actress: she can't meet Avery's eyes and she tugs on her dress guiltily.

"Who is the strange man Katherine was talking about?" Avery asks, "And what happened with your internship?"

Gabrielle's face pales immediately. She doesn't want to tell Avery the truth. If Avery knows what happened, everything will spiral out of control. Gabrielle wants to keep the accident a secret, even if it means Katherine will continue to blackmail her. She bites her lower lip and looks down at the floor.

"Please, don't ask me about it, sister," she whispers, "Believe me, he's not a bad man, and I'm not in any kind of danger."

Avery purses her lips and gives her sister a quizzical look.

"Is the man Mr. Clifford?" Avery asks.

Gabrielle presses her lips together, refusing to answer. Avery sighs heavily.

"What about the internship?" Avery asks, "You know I can call the hospital and find out what happened for myself, but you're my little sister, and I want to hear it from you."

Gabrielle glanced uncertainly at her sister and took a deep breath.

"Our stepmother asked me to give the opportunity to Bonnie. So I did," she says.

Avery stares wordlessly at her sister.

"How is Gabrielle so weak and easily controlled?" she wonders, "I suppose I can't blame her, though—I used to be the same. When Evan's grandmother tormented me or when Leonie Summers trapped me, I was too weak to fight back. I never stood up for myself, and I suffered for over three years. I have to help Gabrielle avoid the same fate."

"I want you to take the internship back," Avery says firmly, "Whether you like it or not, it belongs to you and you must get it back."

"But sister—" Gabrielle objects.

"As soon as you get it back, I'll leave," Avery says, interrupting Gabrielle's objection.

She wants to help Gabrielle, but she knows she has to let her sister do this for herself.

"Soon, I'll have to leave again, and I won't be able to help her every time Katherine tries to bully her," Avery thinks, "Gabrielle has to learn how to stand up for herself, or she'll always be bullied and scapegoated by the rest of the family."

"I'll do it," Gabrielle says as tears begin to well in her eyes.

"I haven't seen Avery in a while, but she's changed so much," Gabrielle thinks, "I actually really like this new Avery."

Suddenly, the door flies open and a maid enters the room.

"Oh, here you're here, Mrs. Howel," she says, "Mr. Howel thought you had left, and we've been searching the whole villa."

"I'll go see him," Avery says with a sigh.

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Gabrielle lives in the smallest room on the left side of the villa and Evan Howel is staying in the biggest room on the right side of the villa. As Avery exits Gabrielle's room she can see a group of bodyguards searching for her in the house and outside in the yard. She walks down the long hallway dreading her encounter with Evan.

When she enters Evan's room, she immediately feels the tension. Evan is sitting on the sofa; his legs are crossed and his arms are folded across his chest. He's staring at the coffee table as if it's his worst enemy. Robert Tinder stands nervously at Evan's side, but upon seeing Avery he rushes over to her.

"Mr. Howel is angry now," he whispers to her, "You should be careful."

Robert quickly rushes from the room leaving Avery alone with Evan. Avery knows that Evan has a terrible temper, and she's not in the mood to provoke him. She slowly crosses the room and looks down at the coffee table. Photos of numerous men are strewn carelessly across the tabletop.

"Have you been sorting through my private things?" Avery asks acidly.

She recognizes the photos, of course: she took them herself. In high school, Michelle Cindy and her friends bullied her and forced her to take photos of boys they thought were attractive. It was humiliating, but she was too afraid to stand up to them. For years, she did everything they asked, but as soon as high school ended, she put the photos in a box and stored them away. She never imagined that anyone would find them.

"If I hadn't found these photos, I never would have known that you like to take photos of men in secret," Evan says, his voice dangerously low.

Avery steps forward and picks up one of the photos. It shows one of the top students in her class, but she barely ever spoke to the boy.

"Michelle Cindy asked to take these photos," Avery says.

"Why didn't you throw them out?" Evan demands.

"I forgot about them," Avery answers with a shrug.

Evan grabs and she pulls her next top him on the sofa, pressing her firmly against his side. He glances disparagingly at the photo in her hands.

"Do you think that man is handsome?" Evan asks, "Is he worth photographing? I think he has big nostrils and too much acne on his face. Is that the kind of man you like?"

"I just said that Michelle Cindy asked me to take these photos," Avery says, trying to keep the anger from sounding in her voice.

"Cindy asked you to take them, so you took them?" Evan sneers, "Are you really such a coward?"

"I was."

Avery pushes him away unhappily. He jabs his finger into the photo with enough force to rip the shiny paper. He's enraged that she has been so reluctant to take photos of him when she used to take countless photos of other men.

"Why aren't you a coward anymore?" Evan asks furiously, "I think you liked it. I think you prefer these strange men."

"What pointless jealousy," Avery thinks.

Avery doesn't want to argue with him. She takes the photo, places it facedown on the table, and tries to stand up. Evan wraps his arms tightly around her waist, preventing her from moving. Robert returns to the room with the Peters' maids, Avery's sisters and some other women Avery doesn't recognize. Bodyguards follow Robert into the room, wheeling a metallic blackboard between them.

"What are you trying to do?" Avery asks confusedly.

"Why has he asked so many people to come to his room?" she wonders, "I hope Evan isn't going to do something dangerous or reckless again. I'm tired of his games."

Robert gathers the photos from the coffee table and attaches them to the board with magnets. Then he grabs an instant camera and points it at Evan. Evan flashes a dazzling smile at the camera, causing the women to giggle and whisper admiringly amongst themselves.

"Try to learn what's handsome," Evan says as he raises his chin.

Avery has nothing to say, and she fights the urge to roll her eyes as Robert puts the photo of Evan on the blackboard.

"Okay ladies, please look at these photos and tell me which man you think is the most handsome," Robert says, "I'd appreciate it if you explain the reasons for your choice as well."

"Why are you so childish?" Avery hisses, "They're just some old photos I forgot to throw out. What's wrong with you?"

"I want to know why you were so dedicated to taking photos of such ugly men," Evan responds, "And I want you to learn what features make a man truly handsome because you seem confused."

"So you're forcing all these people to say you're handsome?" Avery asks disgustedly, "Stop being so immature and just let them go."

"No way," Evan says.

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