Chapter 124: The snake

A silver-gray Aston Martin drives into a dense jungle and stops in front of a group villa, called the Tropical Rainforest. The buildings are designed in the unique Southeast Asian architectural style with sharp, pointed roofs made of black tiles and white stones. The high iron gate in front of the buildings is decorated with mysterious and magnificent patterns.

A butler in a white uniform waits outside to open the car doors for the distinguished guests. When the car door opens, the butler sees a man wearing sunglasses sitting in the driver's seat. The man stands lazily and exits the car.

"Welcome, Mr. Clifford," says the butler.

Gabrielle nervously gets up from the passenger seat. Though Gabrielle has known Andrew for six months, they have always met in hotels and other public places—this is the first time she's ever been to his home. She swings one leg out of the car but immediately recoils in fear. A snake slithers toward the car, sticking its long tongue out as it moves. Gabrielle screams. She pulls her leg back into the car and wraps her arms around herself.

"Why are you so timid?" Andrew mocks, "Are you really Felicity Winter's sister? Your sister is so bold and wise, but you are so timid."

"Mr. Clifford, there's a snake," Gabrielle whispers fearfully.

Andrew turns to look in the direction Gabrielle points, and his eyes widen. He sees a snake with a black pattern on its back slithering across the ground after descending from a palm tree. The snake suddenly changes directions and moves toward Andrew, but Andrew reacts calmly. He leans down and grabs the snake by its head. Then he whispers something to the animal and places it back in the palm tree. Gabrielle is so scared that her face has turned pale and her whole body is shaking.

"Get out of the car," Andrew orders impatiently.

Gabrielle shakes her head stubbornly. She was afraid of the snake, and now she's scared that there may be a snake nest in the yard so she's even more terrified that others might appear.

"If you don't get out of the car now, you'll have to walk to the house all by yourself," Andrew threatens.

Gabrielle knows that Andrew is her best protection against snakes. Reluctantly, she swings one leg and then the other out of the car. Anxiously, she follows Andrew down the path and toward the villa.

As soon as they near the front door, the strong smell of perfume overpowers them. Several women in bikinis swarm out of the front door, smiling and exclaiming.

"Mr. Clifford, you've come back!" they say delightedly.

Gabrielle is shocked to see the women fawn over him so blatantly, and she feels a fit of small but powerful jealousy forming in her heart. Though he's thin and tall, Gabrielle thinks he's a beautiful man, and she hates watching other women flirt with him.

It takes the women several minutes to notice Gabrielle, who is unintentionally still cowering behind Andrew. When they do, they nudge each other and make sour expressions.

"Oh my God!" they exclaim, "Mr. Clifford, you've changed. You never like this kind of woman before. You used to be so selective about the type of woman who could be seen with you."

Gabrielle knows that women are talking about her, and she can feel their eyes boring into her. She steps forward and tries to square her shoulders. Her face turned red and she tries to force a smile.

"He-hello, I'm Mr. Clifford's special nurse," Gabrielle says quietly.

"Oh, you're the special nurse," one woman says coldly, "But why are you wearing that type of dress? Have you just been to a grand party?"

"You just like a naughty child who dresses up in her mother's finery," says another, "You must be a virgin."

Gabrielle has nothing to say in response. Fortunately for her, none of the women are particularly interested in her. Instead, the cluster around Andrew, stroking his arm and striking seductive poses.

"Mr. Clifford, have you missed us since you left?" they ask, "I've heard that you had an important operation, does it hurt? I can help you care for it."

Gabrielle lowers her head and follows Andrew. She wants to scream. Black snakes slither across the garden paths. The women seem used to them, and barely notice the patterned animals near their feet. One of the snakes comes near Gabrielle and sticks its tongue out to smell the air. Gabrielle cringes and walks quickly to enter the villa.

Inside, the villa is decorated in the tropical, jungle style favored by Andrew. Gabrielle knows that he likes to be free. He left the hospital only three days after having a serious operation because he didn't want to feel confined.

The women who are still trying to seduce Andrew Clifford arch their backs to better display their breasts. Gabrielle feels shocked at this display; she's always lived a sheltered life and she lacks social experience. She looks down at her feet with embarrassment and sees that she's standing on a lion-skin rug. 

Andrew Clifford squeezes one of the women's butts and gives orders to a maid, "Take her to take a shower and see that she cleans that stuff off her face."

Gabrielle continues to look at her feet as she follows the maid upstairs. The stairs are made from natural-hewn pieces of a tree trunk—each step is a segment of the trunk. Though it is meticulously designed, Gabrielle still feels afraid of the snakes. The maid takes her to a small room on the second floor.

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"Miss Peters, you can stay here," the maid says.

The maid is from the Philippines. She has dark skin and curly hair and no accent.

"How long do I have to live here?" Gabrielle asks.

"I'm sorry," the maid says, "I'm just in charge of overseeing your daily life. I don't know anything else."

"Well—are there any snakes in here?" Gabrielle asks nervously.

"You need to get used to them," the maid advises.

Gabrielle enters the room cautiously. The room has a wooden screen and a Southeast Asia style mosquito net, but she couldn't care less about the décor. She stamps the floor and looks around the room. She checks behind the door, under the desk, beneath the bed, and in the bathroom. At last, she takes a deep breath. Fortunately, there are no snakes.

The door closes. The maid passes through the hall and Gabrielle hears one of the women ask her a question.

"Who is this lady, Mr. Clifford has brought here? She looks very young."

"Since she's so young, she must be the virgin," another woman says, "Do you think she's the virgin Mr. Clifford was talking about?"

"Who knows," a male voice says, "Anyway, all rich men like virgins."

"Do all rich men really like virgins?" the maid asks.

"Of course, and if she is indeed a virgin, I'm sure she'll suit Mr. Clifford just fine," the man says in a low voice, "I heard that he likes to make love with virgins in public."

"Oh my god— that's so exciting," one of the women exclaims, "Rich men sure know how to play!"

"Of course, it's very popular among rich men," the man says, "It's said that making love with a virgin can cure all kinds of diseases. Their blood can make magic happen."

The maid gradually walks away and the women and men seem to follow—their voices gradually becoming weaker and weaker. Gabrielle presses her ear to the door, but their conversation fades away. She stands still with shock. She suspected that Andrew loved virgins, but she doesn't understand what she's heard about the blood or doing it in public.

Gabrielle is majoring in nursing. Although she lacks social experience, she knows anatomy well. She knows that virgin blood is the blood that appears when a woman first makes love with a man. She takes a deep breath to steady herself.

She promised to allow Andrew to tattoo her and Andrew promised not to touch her for six months. Now that the six months are almost up, she can't help but shrink with fear.

At Peter's house, a maid knocks on Avery's door.

"Lady Avery, dinner is ready for you," the maid announces, "The master asked me to invite you to have dinner with him."

"No, I'm not hungry," Avery says, rolling over in her bed.

She doesn't want to eat anything; she feels too sick with worry. Her mother died young, and Gabrielle was the only member of the Peter household who cared about her. She would do anything to protect her little sister, but Evan allowed her to be taken in front of everyone. Avery would rather Andrew take her instead. She knows she could escape, and she worries that Gabrielle is too timid to resist or run away.

After a while, the maid knocks on the door again.

"Mrs. Howel, you haven't eaten anything all day," she wheedles, "Mr. Howel had already sent people to find Gabrielle. Please calm down."

"I said I don't want to eat anything," Avery hisses.

Hearing Evan's name only makes her angrier. 

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