Chapter 161: Playing the Game

Leonie props herself up against a pile of pillows. She's wearing a transparent white satin nightgown; her hair is messy, and her cheeks are flushed. Fresh hickeys cover her neck. Avery wishes she could look at Leonie with indifference, but the sight of the hickeys makes her feel awful. She takes a deep breath and reminds herself to keep her calm.

"Miss Summers, Mr. Howel is coming," a panting maid runs into the room as she announced the news.

She's running so fast she almost knocks Avery over. Instead of apologizing, she swears under her breath.

"Didn't you see me?" the maid snaps, "Don't you know that a good dog never gets in the way?"

Avery stays standing by the door. She looks cooly at the maid and recognizes the woman as Leonie's servant.

"I'm sorry I got in your way," Avery says softly, "What's your name? Next time I see you, I'll give way."

Avery's smile is spookily lovely, and the maid stares transfixed. She has the horrible feeling that she's just made a colossal mistake.

"Who said you should apologize?" asks Evan's cold voice.

Avery's smile instantly vanishes, but she remains silent.

"I'm asking you a question," Evan repeats, "Who said you should apologize."

"I was standing by the door and accidentally got in the maid's way. She bumped into me as she entered the room," Avery explains coldly, "An apology is the least I could do."

Though she's playing the game, her mind is preoccupied with other matters. She can't stop thinking about Evan making love to Leonie so violently and passionately she was injured. She thinks about Leonie's claim that Evan will allow her to have his child. She wants to scream when she remembers that Evan won't believe her explanation or accept the child she's carrying as his own, but she knows she can't make Evan changed his mind. Her head feels like it's going to explode.

"Mrs. Howel, it was my fault," the maid stammers, "I was careless."

"Are you sure?" Avery responds, "Just a minute ago; you said a good dog should never get in the way. I think it makes perfect sense."

Avery imbues the words "good dog" with deep significance. Before the maid has a chance to respond, Evan gives the signal, and bodyguards barge in and begin to slap her.

"It's a bit noisy in here for my taste," Avery says lightly, "Mr. Howel, I'll leave you alone with Miss Summers."

Avery smiles insidiously and gives Evan a meaningful look. Then she turns on her feel and strides out of the room. As she walks, she can feel Evan's eyes burning into her slender back; even after she's out of his sight, she can still feel his look.

"She's determined to draw boundaries," Evan thinks bitterly, "The way she calls me Mr. Howel proves that. Is she that desperate to distance herself? She only has three days left with me."

"Evan," Leonie's whispers.

Her voice is cloyingly sweet, and it draws Evan's attention away from Avery. Leonie's legs hang from the bedside. She puts her hands on her knees, uneasily. Evan gazes down at her expressionlessly. Although he doesn't do or say anything, he gives off a menacing vibe.

Robert clears his throat and enters the room. He approaches Leonie, and a bodyguard follows, carrying a silver tray with a glass of water and a bottle of pills.

"Miss Summers, Mr. Howel would like you to take this," Robert explains.

"What is it?" Leonie asks suspiciously.

"They're contraceptive pills," Robert explains.

"No. I won't take them!" Leonie shouts.

She pushes the tray away, and the water spills in the bodyguard's face. She stumbles out of bed and falls to her knees in front of Evan.

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"Evan, I don't want to take contraceptives," she begs, "Let me have this child."

"Are you sure you want to have it?" Evan asks coldly, "I guarantee you will regret that decision."

Evan knows there's no way she could be pregnant with his child—he didn't even touch her. He watched her Leonie climb onto Avery's bed, but also with the aphrodisiac pumping through his veins, and he couldn't bring himself to touch her. He was agitated by Avery's departure and disgusted by Leonie's willingness to sleep with him. Instead, he allowed one of his bodyguards to have her.

"I won't regret it," Leonie whispers, looking up at him through her long eyelashes, "I dream of having your child. I don't even need to be your wife. I only want to have a child."

Evan mulls over her words. Many women want to have their children, and many have even knelt and begged for it like Leonie. But Avery acts like it would be a cruel punishment to bear his child.

He glances at the bodyguards, and three of them spring forward. Two of them held her down, and the other takes two pills. He squeezes her cheeks to force her to open her mouth and tosses the pills in. Then he splashes water into her mouth. He's careless, and the water dribbles off her chin and onto her chest. He holds her nose until she's forced to swallow the water and the pills. Then the guards release her. She lay sprawled on the floor, coughing and crying.

"Evan, I didn't want to take them," she wails.

By the time she lifts her head to look at him, he's long gone. She leaps to her feet and rushes barefoot into the bathroom. She bent over the toilet and shoved her fingers deep into her throat. Within seconds she's gagging and vomiting into the toilet. When she finishes retching, she looks into the toilet and sees the two pills floating in the water. She sits weakly on the cold floor and smiles viciously.

The house seems to glow as if the wild storm has washed in clean. A pot of tea releases steam and a pleasant aroma in the study. Evan frowns and plays absently with his lighter. Dr. Walters looks at Evan and wonders what he's thinking.

"Do you mean she wanted to take the DNA test early?" Evan finally asks.

Dr. Walters has been explaining his check-up with Avery, and Evan is puzzled by her behavior.

"Yes, I told Mrs. Howel that we'd need to extract amniotic fluid to compare against hair or cheek swabs from the parents," Dr. Walters says, "It's usually impossible to do before the eleventh week of pregnancy. Still, it has occasionally been successfully done as early as eight weeks."

Evan snaps the lighter open and ignites the flame.

"Why is she so eager?" Evan wonders, "Is it because she doesn't know who the father is either or because she wants to prove it's mine?"

Evan lazily lifts his eyes and frowns sharply.

"Anything else?" he asks.

"She asked if there are any methods or devices to test the number of sexual partners a woman has had," Dr. Walters responds.

Evan's look sharpens, and he seems to straighten in his chair.

"Is Avery trying to prove her innocence?" he wonders, "Or is this just another little trick she's concocted knowing that Dr. Walters will report back to me?"

"Are there any?" Evan asks, leaning back in the chair.

"I believe it can be tested through sperm antigens," Dr. Walters responds, "But I'm not very familiar with the methods. I gave her the business card for this clinic."

He hands Evan another business card. Evan takes it and seems to study it intently.

"Maybe Mrs. Howel doesn't expect—" Dr. Walters begins.

Before he can finish his sentence, Evan glares at him with such ferocity he falls silent. The two men face each other, staring across Evan's desk. The loud, rapid sound of gunfire interrupts them. Someone is shooting a gun right outside the window.

Evan leaps up from his chair and looks curiously out the window. Wearing bullet-proof vests and earplugs, Avery stands on the green lawn. She holds a pistol in one hand and aims at a target that is shaped like a man. There are already several holes in the paper target. She seems to be aiming for the heart. 

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