Chapter 198: He Dotes Her

Avery leans against the wall and closes her eyes, trying to fight another dizzy spell. The two nurses are following her, and every time she stops, and their shoes stop squeaking on the linoleum floors. They seem to know better than to offer her a wheelchair.

When Avery looks up, she realizes she's outside the waiting room. A large flat-screen TV hangs on the wall, and a crowd of patients and nurses have gathered below it. A news broadcast is playing a grainy cell phone video over and over again. Red words flash across the bottom of the screen: "Daring helicopter rescue."

The clip begins again, and Avery watches as two specks appear on the screen. The image zooms in, and the specks become helicopters. One looks like it's crashing—it shakes and shudders and tilts from side to side. The other helicopter flies above it and shines a bright light through the fog. Then a rope drops down from the helicopter on top, and a man begins to climb down. The rope sways violently in the wind. At one point, the man seems to lose his grip, and his legs swing wildly through the empty air — the crowd below the TV gasps.

"Oh my god, that's so dangerous!" the young nurse says.

"Do they know where the video was taken yet?" asks a loud patient. "I want to know who that brave man is."

Avery stares at the screen, and tears begin to form in her eyes. She knows exactly who the man is: Evan. She watches Evan tighten his grip on the ladder. When the wind blows again, the rope ladder comes dangerously close to the helicopter's propeller. For a moment, it looks as if he'll be sliced into pieces.

Just before the blade reaches his leg, he lets go of the ladder and falls through the air. He grabs a handle on the side of the helicopter and pulls himself through the open door. Within moments, the helicopter steadies, rises in the air, and flies away. The waiting room audience applauds and cheers. Then the footage goes black, and the news channel begins to play it again.

The tears spill down Avery's cheeks, and she rubs her stomach protectively. I haven't even thought about what he went through to rescue me; she thinks guiltily. I can't believe he did all that for the baby and me. He risked his life for us. She sniffles and wipes her eyes.

Slowly, she continues her journey down the hallway. A sweet, floral scent wafts in from an open window, and she pauses to inhale it. A dogwood tree blooms outside the hospital. Carefully, Avery leans out the window and plucks a pink and white blossom from the top branch. She tucks it behind her ear and smiles at the nurses. "How does it look?" she asks.

"It's beautiful," the young nurse says. "I'm sure your husband will love it."

Avery smiles softly to herself. She hopes that Evan will realize that the little gesture is for him. It's nothing compared to his daring rescue, but it's a start.

When she returns to her room, she lies down on a sofa near the window and patiently allows the nurses to tuck her in. Instead of a scratchy hospital blankets, they use a soft blue cashmere quilt brought directly from the Howels' home. She dozes in the dappled sunlight and waits for Evan to return.

Evan drives dangerously, careening around corners and swerving between lanes. Robert sits in the passenger seat, carefully holding a brown paper bag containing the red velvet cupcake. "Be careful with that," Evan says for the fifth time.

The dashboard screen flickers with a familiar number as Evan's phone begins to ring. Robert immediately reaches to accept the call on the car's Bluetooth system, but Evan shakes his head. "Ignore it," he says.

The phone continues to ring over the car's speakers, and Evan makes an illegal left turn, almost crashing into an oncoming van. Eventually, the ringing stops, and he can hear Robert's quiet sigh of relief. Before Evan can say anything, the phone starts to ring again. With his right hand, he rejects the call on the touch screen.

Robert clears his throat, nervously. "Uh, sir, don't you think you should answer your grandfather's call?" Robert asks.

Evan glares at Robert. Robert's arms are cradled protectively around the bag on his lap, and his face is stiff with concern. The phone begins to ring again, and Evan fights the urge to put his fist through the touchscreen. He pushes the gas pedal a little harder, and the car shoots forward.

"Mr. Howel, I'm not sure it's my place, but I think—" Robert says.

"If it's not your place, keep your mouth shut," Evan says, interrupting the butler.

Evan can only assume that his grandfather saw the news. The video seems to be everywhere: it's on every news channel, at the top of every Twitter feed, and in everyone's inbox. Though the media doesn't know it's Evan, it seems Francis Howel has figured it out.

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Evan grits his teeth violently, enjoying the ache in his jaw. After the snake incident, his grandfather was furious. The old man ranted and raved for hours, forcing Evan to swear that he'd never risk his life again. Now, he's been caught on camera doing a dangerous special ops stunt, and he's given away the Howel Group—all for Avery.

"Fine, just tell me what you want to say," Evan says.

Though he hates to admit it to himself, the butler's advice is often helpful.

"I think it would be wise for you to distance yourself from Avery," Robert says nervously.

"Distance me from my wife?" Evan shouts.

"It's for her own good, sir," Robert says. "Your grandfather is clearly furious about the rescue stunt, and if he knows about the Howel Group, he'll be even more enraged. The company is his legacy—he loves it as much as a child. If he thinks Avery is a threat to it, he may try to eliminate the threat."

"Well, it's too late now, isn't it," Evan says bitterly.

"Maybe not," Robert says. "You know your grandfather cares about two things more than anything else: the Howel Group and having an heir. If you can make him believe that everything you do is for the child and not for her, he might see things differently."

Evan runs a red light. He knows that Robert has a point, but the thought of distancing himself from Avery is physically painful. Every time he sees her, he wants to touch her. Every time he touches her, he wants to kiss her. Every time he kisses her, he wants to make love to her. He doesn't know how he can resist.

"Besides, you and Avery have already signed the divorce agreement," Robert continues. "Sir, you know the terms, as well as I do—once the divorce goes into effect, Avery will be completely cut off. If you want to remarry, you're going to need your grandfather's favor."

Evan scowls. He wants Avery to trust him more than anything. Though she acts tough, he knows she has a tender side, and he wants her to let him in. If he suddenly becomes cold and distant, he risks losing her forever. No matter what, he feels screwed. To regain his grandfather's favor, he might drive Avery away. But without his grandfather's favor, Avery will be taken away from him.

"I know you're conflicted, but it's the best plan for now," Robert says. "She'll have the baby soon enough, and you'll have a lifetime to make things right and earn her love."

A long silence follows Robert's speech, and he clears his throat again.

"Do you have any other advice to make me miserable?" Evan asks.

"Well, sir, I think it would be wise if you were a little bit less cold to Miss Summers," Robert says. "It won't do just to ignore Avery. You'll have to show interest in other women too."

"Oh, so you want me to be a playboy now?" Evan snaps.

"No, no, no," Robert assures him. "A little friendliness will go a long way. Let your grandfather see you with other women, and he might calm down. Once the baby is born, his focus will shift, and you can be with Avery again."

An oncoming car swerves out of its lane. Though everything seems to happen in slow motion, Evan is driving too fast to stop. He slams the brakes and jerks the steering wheel, and his Ferrari jolts onto the sidewalk and crashes into a concrete wall.

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