Chapter 197: Kiss Me

Evan gently puts Avery on the bed and pulls the sheets up to her waist. He sits beside her and takes her hand in his, lightly playing with her fingers. She sighs and closes her eyes, but a cough from the doorway quickly makes her open them again. A nurse stands awkwardly at the door, waiting for someone to notice her. Avery immediately pulls her hand away from Evan and nods at the blushing nurse.

"I'm just here to take your temperature, Mrs. Howel," the nurse says.

With professional speed, the nurse prepares a thermometer and takes Avery's temperature. Evan shifts impatiently as the nurse waits for the results. As soon as the thermometer beeps, the nurse makes a note on Avery's chart and rushes out of the room.

"So, what was that long phone call about?" Avery asks Evan.

"Nothing important," Evan said, kissing her hair. "I don't want you to worry yourself with anything besides getting better."

"Evan, you've been at my bedside for so long, aren't you worried about the Howel Group?" Avery says. "If you need to return to work, I won't mind."

Evan squints suspiciously at her. "Are you trying to get rid of me?" he asks.

Avery bites her lip—he seems to see through her. "I'm feeling much better now, so it's unnecessary for you to spend all your time here. There are nurses everywhere, and I can press the call button if I need any help."

Evan glares at her fiercely. He asks, "Do you want to escape again?"

Avery shakes her head, guiltily. He has every right to be suspicious. She's tried to leave him multiple times, and he just caught her trying to walk out of the hospital. Still, she craves privacy, and she wants some time to herself.

"Don't be ridiculous," she says. "How am I going to escape in my condition? Just look at me!"

Evan smirks and takes her words literally. He slowly looks up and down her body—from the long lines of her legs under the sheets, to her small waist, up to the swell of her breasts under the hospital gown and the soft, pale skin on her neck. Finally, he gazes deeply into her eyes. She shivers.

"If you try to run away again, I'll handcuff you to me," Evan says huskily. 

"Do all men have this weird handcuff kink?" Avery asks with a roll of her eyes.

Evan seems to flinch at the reference to Andrew, but he recovers quickly. He leans in, so his lips brush her ear and whispers, "It's especially fun in the bedroom."

"Are you hungry?" Avery asks, trying to change the topic. 

Evan pulls away and looks concernedly at her. "Why? Are you hungry again?" he asks.

"Yeah, I think I'm having some sort of pregnancy craving," Avery says without meeting his eyes. "There's pastry shop in North Town that makes the best red velvet cupcakes."

"Okay, I'll send Robert at once," Evan says.

"Can't you go?" Avery asks. "You almost never bring me anything yourself—you always just ask someone else to do it."

Evan seems to consider her words, she rubs her stomach over the sheet. "Won't you do this one little thing for us?" she asks.

Evan nods and points at his lips. "Kiss me, and I'll be on my way," he says.

Avery tilts her head back and waits for him to lower his to meet her. She pecks him quickly on the lips and turns her head away before he can deepen the kiss. Evan kisses her cheek, stands, and strides out of the room. She can hear him in the doorway instructing the nurse to check on her every ten minutes.

Avery clears her throat and glances meaningfully at Robert, and he rushes out of the room after Evan. She walks to the window and gazes down at the street far below. Within a few minutes, she sees one of Evan's Ferraris tearing out of the parking lot. She waits until the car disappears and walks out of her room. A nurse stops her immediately.

"Mrs. Howel, where are you going?" the nurse asks. "You know, it's really not safe for you to be up and about so soon after the operation."

"I'm just so worried about the baby," Avery lies. "I'd feel a lot better if I could talk with a specialist about the pregnancy, and I'd like to have a few tests done."

The young nurse nods. "Of course you're worried," she says sympathetically. "The maternity ward is down a floor and to the left. But let me call for a wheelchair—I can take you down there myself."

"Thanks, but that's not necessary," Avery says with a friendly smile. "The doctors said I need to build my strength up again, and it's not a long walk." 

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Avery walks away as quickly as she can, hoping she'll make it to the elevators before the nurse thinks better of letting her go. She exhales with relief as soon as the elevator doors are closed. She makes her way to the maternity ward and stops outside one of the labs.

Through a small window in the door, she can see a woman in a white lab coat preparing a blood sample. The woman holds a vial of blood to the light and then inserts it in a machine. Avery enters the lab, and the door shuts noisily behind her. The Doctor and the lab technicians look up immediately.

"Who are you?" the Doctor asks, frowning. "Didn't you see the sign on the door? Unauthorized people are forbidden to enter—now get out!"

Avery ignores her and leans against one of the tables, taking care to avoid bumping any of the complicated machinery. "Do you know who I am?" she asks the Doctor.

The Doctor glared at her. "I don't care who you are," she snaps. "Do you want me to call security? Get out!"

"I want to see the results of a pregnancy test," Avery says, thinking about the piece of paper Leonie dropped outside the elevators. 

"Absolutely not," the doctor fumes. "That's a violation of doctor-patient confidentiality. Look, I don't know who you think you are, but I'll give you one last chance to get out of here before I call security."

Suddenly the young nurse bursts into the lab followed closely by the nurse Evan ordered to check on Avery. "What are you doing out of bed, Mrs. Howel?" Avery's nurse asks. "You know you're not supposed to leave your room."

The Doctor looks flustered. "Oh, are you, Mrs. Howel?" she asks. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you I—"

Though Avery feels weak and slightly dizzy, she tries to muster the famous Howel arrogance. "Just check the results of the test for me, will you?" she snaps.

The Doctor seems to hesitate, weighing the risks of violating doctor-patient confidentiality against the danger of refusing a Howel. Finally, she nods and walks to a computer. "Do you have the patient's name?" she asks.

"Leonie Summers," Avery says.

One of the lab techs gasps and elbows her coworker, and Avery mentally curses the tabloids for publishing so many rumors about Evan and Leonie. The Doctor quickly enters the information into the computer and scans the information in Leonie's patient file. Avery tries to read over the Doctor's shoulder, but the blue glow of light from the computer screen pierces her eyes like needles. She squints and looks away.

"Well, is she pregnant or not?" Avery asks.

"Err, yes," the Doctor says, "It appears that Miss Summers is indeed pregnant. She's early in the first trimester."

Avery feels her blood run cold, and an uncontrollable shiver shakes her body. She leans more heavily against the table, closes her eyes, and counts to ten. She doesn't want to fuel more rumors by breaking down in front of so many people.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Howel?" the Doctor asks, "Would you like me to print out the results?"

Avery nodded weakly. In her head, she can see Evan on top of Leonie, and she can hear his satisfied moans. She thinks It's not Evan's fault. He was drugged. I was pregnant, and I couldn't help him get released, so really he had no choice but to use Leonie. Besides, there's no guarantee that the baby is even Evan's. Who knows how many other men she's been with? Avery touches her abdomen and breathes deeply, trying to stay calm for the sake of her unborn baby.

"All you all right, Mrs. Howel?" the Doctor asks.

Avery shakes her head and staggers out of the room. As she leaves, she can hear the lab techs whispering behind her.

"Do you think Evan is Leonie's baby daddy?" asks one of the techs. "What a man! He has two women pregnant at the same time."

"I read that it's common in wealthy families," says another. "They want to make sure there's an heir, so they get several women pregnant just to be safe. Besides, I've heard that Avery isn't very healthy—she might not be able to carry the baby to term."

"That's ridiculous. I read that Evan dotes on Avery, has even risked his life for her," says the third lab tech. "There's no way he'd get another woman pregnant."

"Men are so fickle," says the first. "One day they love you, the next day they're screwing another woman. I wouldn't be surprised if both children are his."

Avery can't bear their gossip. She walks down the hall, pausing to catch her breath every few steps. There's nothing she can do now. She's already signed the divorce agreement, and all she can do is hope that Leonie's child won't upstage her own.

She wonders what Evan will do when he hears the news. It would be so easy for him to just forget about our baby and me, she thinks. But no matter what happens, I need to make sure that he'll care for our child. If I don't survive the pregnancy, I need to know that the baby will be properly cared for.

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