Chapter 189: Stay by my Side

Avery begins to tremble and hyperventilate. She feels like she might collapse at any moment. Her heart pounds as if it's about to jump out of her chest. "What do you mean?" she asks. "Is Charles alive? How?"

Instead of answering her, Andrew begins to wipe her hands with a clean cloth.

"Tell me, Andrew, is he alive?" Avery asks, "I don't understand."

"Come with me," Andrew says. 

Nervous, restless, and confused, Avery follows Andrew. She has no idea how Charles could be alive. She thinks, Has Andrew been lying this entire time? Is he keeping Charles prisoner in the mansion too? She knows she shouldn't get her hopes up, but she can't help but imagine being reunited with Charles. She can't wait to give him a big hug and tell him how worried she's been. She'll tell him about Andrew's lies, and the terrible nightmares she's suffered.

She follows close behind Andrew, eager to see Charles. Her mind is in turmoil, and she doesn't notice where they're going. When Andrew finally stops, she realizes they're standing outside of the mansion's medical suite. Is Charles inside? Avery wonders. Is he ill, or is he working as one of Andrew's doctors?" She impatiently grabs the door and pulls it open.

Avery looks around, but there is no one in the medical room. Except for the medical equipment, it's completely empty. "Charles?" Avery calls. Her voice echoes in the empty room. Avery turns back and glares at Andrew. "Where is he?" she asks, "Did you lie to me?"

"I didn't lie to you," Andrew insists.

From behind the door, Avery hears the sound of footsteps. Her entire body tensed, and she inhales sharply. She turns expectantly, but her hopeful expression immediately fades. Instead of Charles, she's face to face with Andrew's middle-aged doctor.

"Andrew, what's going on here?" Avery asks.

She wants nothing more than to slap him across the face until he tells her the truth. She's sick of his cruel, childish games. She raises her hand, but Andrew steps back and dodges her easily.

"You misunderstood me," Andrew says, walking to the examination table. "I asked if you wanted to see him, and I have every intention of showing as much of him as I can." Andrew unbuttons his shirt, and begins to apply a clear gel to his chest, "I can show you a cardiac ultrasound of his heart. Isn't that the essential part of a man?"

Avery balls her hands into tight fists. She wants to pummel Andrew, but a small part of her also wants to see the heart. The doctor turns on the ultrasound equipment, and an electronic hum fills the room. Then she watches him place a probe attached to a wire on Andrew's bare chest.

An image shaped like a water drop appears on the monitor. Avery stares at it, transfixed. The organ pulses irregularly. Avery puts her hand over her mouth and tries to stop the tears from flowing down her face, but it's impossible to avoid them. She's never seen a heart before, but she has the strangest sense that this blurry shape is familiar to her.

Avery thinks I need to get a grip on myself. This is just an image on a screen—it's not necessarily Charles' heart. I'm just exhausted and overwhelmed. She takes a deep breath and wipes her eyes, but the tears still come.

"Please don't cry," Andrew says. "I won't let you see it again if you keep crying!"

Though she's still shedding tears, she looked him in the eye. "I'm fine," she says shakily.

"If you don't cry, I'll show you my heart every day," Andrew promises.

"I don't need to see it every day," Avery says, "Though, actually, I'd like a picture printed out if that's possible."

If her escape is successful, she's determined to find out the truth about the heart. She'll scour every hospital and talk to every single surgeon in the country until she finds someone who recognizes the heart. If the heart in Andrew's chest is really Charles, she'll have the image to remember her friend.

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The doctor hesitates and looks questioningly at Andrew.

"Give it to her," Andrew says, "Take it as compensation for my failure to protect you from other women."

Avery sneers—she doesn't want Andrew's protection. He's the person I need to be protected from, she thinks.

"I swear, today's events will never happen again," Andrew says.

"I don't trust you or believe you," Avery says.

"Well, I promise to protect you as long as you stay with me," Andrew says. He smiles, devilishly, "Willing or not."

"I'll never be willing," Avery says.

The doctor hands her the picture of the heart. She touches it and traces the outlines with light fingers. She's as gentle as if she were holding a real beating heart in her hands.

"Everything is possible, maybe someday, you'll beg to stay by my side," Andrew says.

"Mr. Clifford, you must be thirsty after such a ridiculous speech," Avery says, trying to change the subject. "Can I get you some juice to drink?"

"Does every Peters woman love juice?" Andrew asks with a humorless smile, "When your sister was here, she gave me a cup of banana, taro, and watermelon juice. She claimed it was good for my heart, but it wrecked my bowels—I was on the toilet all night. You have some very strange remedies in your family."

Avery frowns. She knows that Gabrielle has extensively studied herbal remedies. If Gabrielle made Andrew a juice that gave him diarrhea, it must have been on purpose. Avery knows that Gabrielle is usually too timid to play such tricks. She anxiously wonders what kind of torture made her gentle sister so bold.

"What kind of juice are you going to offer me?" Andrew asks.

"I'm going to put your favorite snake in a blender and make it into a juice," Avery snaps.

"If it comes from you, I'm sure I'll like it," Andrew says, unperturbed, "I'd even drink poison if you gave it to me—though, of course, you won't." He glances meaningfully at the scar on his chest.

Avery scowls and stomps out of the room. She heads to the kitchen and prepares a glass of plain orange juice. She looks around the kitchen and realizes most of the servants have gone to bed. Quickly, she grabs some of the berries and squeezes them into a juice. She bottles the berry juice in a small, glass bottle and tucks it into a hidden corner of the fridge.

Andrew falls asleep quickly, but Avery can't stop worrying about her escape plans. She walks the dark halls of the mansion, looking for Michelle. Eventually, she finds her in a small parlor. Avery asks, "Can we go over the plan?"

"Sure," Michelle says. "It's really simple. I'll make sure the kitchen is empty, but it's your job to dose his food with sleeping pills. You'll also have to make sure he eats it. Once he falls asleep, you'll meet Jack at the North Wing door, and he'll drive you out of the woods and down the mountain. Once you get onto the main road, you're on your own. Will you have any problems getting him to eat the pills?"

Avery shakes her head. Though he's a scheming pervert, Andrew seems to trust me unconditionally, she thought sadly, But the one man I actually loved and trusted refused to believe me. Avery looks out the window as Michelle chatters on. The night is dark but surprisingly calm. Avery is scared that this peace is the prelude to a terrible and treacherous storm.

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