Chapter 148: Do I deserve a Reward?

Evan unconsciously frowns. Something about her insistence on five days bothers him; he wonders why she keeps mentioning that number.

"I promise I'll give you a present in five days," Avery repeats.

She puts down the cake and tries to smile.

"I don't need to be so pessimistic," she thinks, "There's a possibility that Evan can save Gabrielle. Even if I have to meet Andrew, there's a chance I can escape from him and see Evan again."

She takes Evan by the hand and leads him to the living room. She asks him to sit on the sofa and instructs Robert to bring her some paints and an easel. Slowly, she begins to sketch Evan. As she works, Evan takes out his IPad and attends to some urgent business. 

"Remember you promised to save Gabrielle," she says.

"Yeah," he says absently.

"Andrew has so many snakes," Avery muses, "Maybe he likes damp and dark places like forests."

Evan looks up from his work.

"You know him well?" he asks jealousy.

"I'm just guessing," Avery says, "Maybe you can start with his hobbies and narrow down his whereabouts from there."

Although Evan's sphere of influence is beyond doubt, Andrew is a worthy opponent. When he spoke to Avery on the phone, he said that she would not find him easily, and she has no doubt that it's true. He has the resources and cunning to hide from almost anyone.

"Don't think about other men or what they live," Evan shouts.

Avery is shocked by his disgruntled response, and her hand slips. Instead of erasing the accidental line, she continued to add to it. As she works, she smirked to herself. Evan watches her expression and wonders if she's mocking him. Suddenly, he stands up, and Avery immediately shields the canvas from his view.

"What did you draw?" he demands.

He reaches to grab the canvas, but she tries to dodge him. He presses her onto the sofa and grabs the canvas from her hands. The portrait she has drawn is an accurate likeness of Evan, but she's added curly devil's horns and has started to shade the eyes a menacing red.

"You think I'm the devil?" he asks.

"Why do you always assume the worst of me?" she retorts.

"You may be a devil, but you're a devil who can conquer anything," she thinks to herself.

Evan stares at her. He doesn't want to assume the worst of her—if he did his imagination would run wild, torturing him with every kind of painful scenario. Ever since she asked for the divorce, her behavior has clearly shown how much she hates him. He doesn't want to imagine just how deep that hatred goes.

"Forget it, I won't draw it anymore," she says.

She drops off the brush, but he grabs her hand. Something tickles her finger.

"What are you doing?" Avery asks.

She raises her hand and examines her finger to find that he's painted a circle around the ring finger on her left hand.

"What is this supposed to be?" she asks mockingly, "A ring?"

Evan raises his eyebrows. Her expression of disapproval feels like an arrow to the heart. He grips her hand more firmly and adds a diamond to the ring. Avery stares at the small circle on her long finger.

"Do you know why a wedding ring should be worn on the fourth finger of the left hand?" Evan asks.

"No, I don't," she says.

"It's said that the fourth finger has a direct pathway to the heart," Evan explains seriously, "When someone puts a ring on your finger it means they'll always be close to your heart" 

Avery's heart pounds in her chest. The complicated rush of emotions scares her.

"It's ugly!" she complains.

"Well then, you have no taste," Evan replies, "It's the most unique ring in the world because I drew it."

Avery continues to stare at her hand.

"Why don't you say anything?" Evan asks.

"Because I'm speechless looking at it," Avery replies.

Robert coughs with embarrassment before approaching the sofa they're lying on. He quickly lowers his head to avoid intruding upon their intimate moment and hands Evan the Ipad. A map is displayed on the screen.

"The green part is the area we've searched and the red part is the area we suspect he may be in," Robert explains.

Evan sits up and examines the image intently. Avery's intuition tells her that it must be related to Andrew, and she also sits up to look at the screen.

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"We searched the tropical rainforest villa and it's empty," Robert continues.

Evan's finger touches the red part of the screen and he circles the area showing the Lost Forest.

"Search this place carefully," he orders.

Avery rests her chin on Evan's shoulder. Evan turns his handsome profile to her. He's unhappy that her intuition about Andrew was correct, but he realizes her reasoning was sound.

"Are you satisfied?" he asks.

Avery nods her head.

"Do I deserve a reward?" Evan asks with a mischievous smile.

Avery's eyes flash with shrewd intention. She picks up the brush and draws something on his wrist. He's already wearing a watch on his left wrist, so she draws it on his right wrist.

"Draw it with a darker color," Evan suggests.

"Aren't you afraid it'll be difficult to wash off?" she asks.

After finishing the band, she draws a dial. Then she carefully adds the hands of the watch. The hands indicate the time at which he confessed his love.

"I'm afraid of washing it off," he whispers.

Avery freezes, holding the brush to his wrist.

"Does this count as a present from me?" she asks.

Evan sighs.

"What else do you want me to draw?" she whispers, "Diamonds, sports cars, castles, beautiful women? I can draw everything you want."

Evan frowns, "You're being too stingy!"

"This is the only way for me to give you something, Evan," she said sadly, "I don't have money."

"You don't have money? You haven't used the credit card I gave to you?" Evan says disappointedly, "Can't you try to make something more meaningful for me? Why not a hand-woven scarf or a hand-knit sweater—even a handmade doll would be more meaningful than this."

Avery shakes the brush in her hand. His words wound her. The watch is more meaningful than anything she could buy. Besides, it seems unfair that he wants her to value the painted ring while he refuses to appreciate the watch.

"You said you like everything I personally make," she reminds him, "Why don't you like the watch I drew for you? Do you think I'm being cheap?"

"No, I could never think it's cheap," Evan said, placing his other hand on her leg, "It's just that I don't want a watch."

"What do you want?" she asks curiously.

"A ring," Evan says, wiggling the ring finger on his left hand, "I want a wedding ring."

"We must seem like the poorest couple in the world," Avery says with a laugh.

When they got married, Evan refused to exchange rings because he hated and resented her. Though they've been together for three and a half years, neither of them has ever worn a wedding band.

With a small smile, she draws a simple ring around his finger.

In the card room at the Misty Mansion, several heavily made-up women are playing card games. Under the dim light, the women flick ash from their cigarettes and shuffle their cards.

"Did Mr. Clifford asks you to serve him last night?" one of the women asks.

"We just had a chat in bed," replies another, "It seems like he's having some problems after the operation."

The woman glances obliquely at Gabrielle who is pouring them exquisitely scented white tea. Her face remains cool and expressionless.

"You mean sexual dysfunction?" says the first, "You can speak frankly; Gabrielle is too young and inexperienced to understand you."

"Have you served Mr. Clifford recently?" the woman called Ruby Miller asks, suddenly pushing Gabrielle.

The teapot falls down and hits Gabrielle's feet. The hot water spills out and burns her toes. Luckily, the thick ceramic doesn't break. Gabrielle hurriedly squats down to pick up the teapot. Immediately, a high-heeled foot presses her hand.

"I'm asking you a question," Ruby Miller snarls.

"Sorry," Gabrielle whispers, "I didn't hear you."

"Did you offer your virginity to Mr. Clifford?" Ruby asks. 

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