Chapter 265: To Be A Good Husband

"Yes, I'm sure about this," Evan says. He looks deep into Avery's eyes and asks, "Will you do it too?"

"No, I won't," Avery answers, looking down at her feet.

"Don't refuse me, Avery," Evan says, tilting her face up toward him. "You need to prove your loyalty somehow. If you don't want to get a tattoo, you need to marry me. If you don't want to marry me, you should get the tattoo."

Avery chews her lip and says, "I can't."

"Why not?" Evan asks.

"I'm just worried that the tattoo is too dangerous," Avery says.

"So marry me," he says, his eyes full of hope.

"No, I'd rather get the tattoo," she whispers.

Evan's eyes dim, and he looks away from her. She feels tears fill her eyes, and she's glad he can't see them. I'll never love anyone else, she thinks. I don't mind getting the tattoo. I don't believe that the ink will actually kill me if I cheat, but I wouldn't mind if it did. I'd rather die than make love with Andrew. I just don't want him to get the tattoo. It hurts to imagine him with another woman, but I don't want him to be alone for the rest of his life. But I can't marry him right before I leave him for Andrew.

"Are you sure about this?" Evan asks. "Once you get the tattoo, you have to be loyal to me, Avery. If you cheat, you'll die."

Avery nods slowly and says, "Yes, I'm sure."

Evan nods and whispers something to Robert. Robert runs out of the room and returns with a pad of paper and a pen. Evan sits down on the sofa and quickly writes something on the paper. Avery tries to look, but he covers the paper with his hand.

There's a knock on the door, and a short man with colorfully tattooed arms enters the room. His muscles bulge as he moves, and the lifelike tattoos seem to ripple and dance. He must be the tattoo artist, Avery thinks. He opens a leather bag and pulls out several bottles of ink and some needles. Robert passes him a glass jar full of turquoise powder, and the artist carefully mixes it with the ink.

"What design do you want, sir?" the artist asks Evan.

Evan passes him the piece of paper, and Avery looks over his shoulder. The design is simple: Evan's initials for her and her initials for Evan. The tattoo artist nods and dips his needle into the ink. Evan goes first. Avery watches as the artist pokes the needle into Evan's arm. Though she's sure it must hurt, Evan's face is perfectly calm.

The artist wipes the blood from Evan's arms and puts a healing cream on top. Then he gestures for her to sit on the sofa. He wipes her arm with a sterilizing cloth and begins to tattoo her. The pain is excruciating; she digs her nails into her palm, and her eyes fill with tears. Evan gently strokes her hair, his eyes wide with concern.

"Are you in pain?" he asks her.

Stubbornly, she shakes her head. If Evan could get the tattoo without complaining, I can do the same, she thinks. I don't want to look weak. Evan squints as if he doesn't believe her, and continues to play with her hair. It only takes a few minutes for the artist to tattoo Evan's initials, but it feels like hours. When he finishes, he wipes the cream onto Avery's arm and leaves the room with a brief nod at Evan.

Evan sits next to Avery and gently kisses her arm above the tattoo. She looks at the tattoo: it's bright turquoise, but it's surprisingly delicate and pretty. She touches the initials on her arm and then gently touches Evan's arm. His eyes burn with desire, and she quickly pulls her hand away.

Avery steps through the front door of the mansion. After the flight and the long drive back, she's almost too tired to stand. She wants to go upstairs and lie down, but she quickly realizes she's not going to get a lot of rest. Florence Howel is screaming at the servants from the front sitting room.

"I want the video immediately," Florence shouts. "I'm telling you, there was a thief on Howel land. If he gets past the bodyguards, he must be dangerous. We need to know who he is so we can protect ourselves."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't give it to you," a bodyguard says. "Mr. Howel is the only one allowed to look at the surveillance footage."

"That's ridiculous," Florence shouts. "Let me see it immediately. I'm his grandmother, and I have every right to know if my grandson and I are in danger."

"I'm sorry, but I have to wait for Mr. Howel's orders," the bodyguard says. "I can't show it to you."

"What about my orders?" Florence yells.

Evan crosses the hallway and opens the door to the sitting room. Avery follows behind him, curious to see what's going on in the sitting room. The bodyguard looks relieved to see Evan; he quickly walks toward the door as if he's hoping Evan will let him leave.

"Oh, Evan, I'm so glad you're here," Florence says from the sofa. "This man won't let me review the security footage."

"Why do you need it?" Evan asks. "You said there was a thief?" 

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"When you were in the hospital, Leonie Summer's car was stolen," Florence says, shaking her head with disbelief. "It was parked right in front of the house, near the gates. The bodyguards on duty that night say they were all at their posts, but somehow none of them saw the thief."

"It's just a car," Evan says with a shrug. "Buy Leonie, another one." He turns to Avery, puts his hands around her waist, and says, "You look tired. Do you want to go to bed?"

Avery looks over Evan's shoulder at Florence. The older woman scowls at her and Avery looks away. She hates Florence, but she doesn't want to get involved in a fight with the older woman.

"Yes, I'm really tired," she says. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go upstairs now."

Evan nods and kisses her forehead, and she climbs the stairs. About halfway up the staircase, she pauses and leans over the banister to listen to the conversation below.

"Our house is heavily guarded, and it would've been very risky for someone to steal Leonie's car," Florence says. "They must have had a good reason to do it. It's not like her car is even worth that much—it's just a BMW. I think they were testing our security, looking for weaknesses. Who knows what they'll do next time?"

"It's just a stolen car," Evan repeats. "If you're so concerned about it, call the police. I'm sure they can track it down on the black market. I don't know why you need the video surveillance—it's not like you're going to recognize the thief yourself, Grandma."

"It's not about the car, Evan," Florence says. "The thief did this while you were in the hospital. I think he plotted for a long time. Now that he knows how to get past our security, he might try to steal something more valuable. Or maybe he'll try to kill us. Do you know how often I'm all alone in this big house? It's dangerous." 

"I'll increase security, but you're never all alone Grandma," Evan says. "We have dozens of bodyguards to protect you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm tired, and I'd like to go to bed."

Avery straightens up and starts to climb the stairs again. She doesn't want Evan to catch her eavesdropping. She's only climbed three stairs when she hears Florence shout, "Wait!"

Avery freezes, thinking the woman is shouting at her. But she quickly realizes that Florence is shouting at Evan. Avery pauses, waiting to see what Evan will do. She hears him sigh loudly.

"Evan, you don't know what the bodyguard's gossip about when you're away from home," Florence says.

"What do they gossip about?" Evan asks, sounding annoyed.

"They say there was a suspicious car parked in front of the mansion gates," Florence says. "They say it was a Bugatti or some sort of luxury brand like that. And they say it was there all night."

Avery feels her blood run cold. She suddenly understands why Florence is so pushy about the surveillance footage: the Bugatti is Andrew's car, and Florence wants to make Evan jealous. I bet Leonie's car wasn't even stolen, Avery thinks. Florence just wants Evan to watch the security footage, so he'll get suspicious. She's trying to drive a wedge into our relationship again.

"A suspicious car?" Evan asks. "Why didn't the bodyguards check to see who was inside?"

"I don't know," Florence says. "I'm too old to get involved in these types of things. Besides, as you can see, the bodyguards never listen to me. I just mentioned it to you because Leonie's car was stolen, and I was worried." 

"Robert, get me the tapes," Evan shouts.

Avery runs the rest of the way up the stairs and into Evan's bedroom. She takes off the tight red dress and changes into a silk nightgown. Then she washes her face and takes her hair down. She pulls the blankets back on the bed and slides into the soft cotton sheets.

A pile of books on the nightstand catches her eyes—they're the same books that Robert and Evan hid from her. She leans against the headboard and grabs the books. She's expecting to see books about history, wars, and the economy; instead, they're all self-help books.

The first one is called "How To Be A Good Husband." The next is called "What To Expect When Your Wife Is Expecting." The third is called "Fatherhood: A Guide To Being A Great Dad." Avery can't believe her eyes. She opens the first book and flips through its pages. One page is wrinkled and covered in red pen marks. It looks like Evan has underlined and circled different sentences.

She reads the first: "A good husband treats his wife as a family member. He makes an effort to show that her family is his family too." She immediately thinks about Evan promising to visit Nanny every week in the hospital.

Then she reads: "A good husband can prepare a delicious and romantic meal for his wife all by himself." She remembers the meals he has tried to cook for her and his serious determination in the kitchen.

Next, she reads: "It goes without saying that a good husband is always loyal to his wife." Avery looks down at the new tattoo on her arm and thinks about Evan's determination to prove his loyalty to her.

Finally, she reads: "A good husband surprises his wife." She thinks about all of the gifts he's given her and the romantic proposal he planned, and she begins to cry.

He's trying so hard to be a good husband, but I'm planning on leaving him, she thinks. I love him so much, but I don't deserve him.

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