Chapter 331: I'm Not Bowing To Any Of You

Avery can't believe her ears: there's no way they expect her to get down on the floor and bow to everyone. It has to be a joke. She laughs, but Bella Clifford shoots her a strange look. Are they serious?

"Mrs. Clifford, this is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing," she says. "Is this a universal rule? Or is it only for the people dating your children?"

Bella Clifford purses her thick lips. She has a mole in the corner of her eye just like Andrew, but it looks menacing instead of flirtatious. She sits down and glares at Avery.

"Who do you think you are?" Bella asks. "It's not easy to become a Clifford. You have to earn my son."

"You have no idea just how difficult it is," Avery mutters under her breath.

Only Andrew hears her, and his fingers dig into her ribs. She winces and tries to pull away, but he keeps her close to his side. Bella's sharp eyes flash, and she smirks at Avery. 

"If you want my son, you'll get on your knees," Bella says. "If you actually love him, that won't be a problem for you."

Avery rolls her eyes and says, "Do you know that this will be my second marriage, Mrs. Clifford?"

Bella's mouth falls open, and Andrew's sisters snicker behind their hands. Clearly, no one was expecting her to be so open about her divorce. She looks around the room, locking eyes with each woman.

"I'm not some naïve little girl," Avery says. "I've been married before, and I know what I should expect from my in-laws. I'm not bowing to any of you."

"I will not be spoken to this way in my own home," Bella hisses. "I've told you our family rules, and I expect you to respect them. If not, you can leave."

"Really?" Avery asks. She points at Mamai and says, "Did you bow when you first came here?"

Mamai looks away, and Avery nods. She takes out her phone and snaps a picture of the mats on the floor and then points the camera at Bella, Caitan, and Jessica. She puts the pictures into a photo album and starts writing a caption on Facebook.

"What are you doing?" Bella asks.

"I'm posting this on Facebook," Avery says. "I'm sure all my followers will be interested to hear about the strange rules in the Clifford home."

Bella jumps to her feet and lunges toward Avery, "Don't post them!"

Avery raises the phone above her head, but it's snatched out of her hand all the same. She turns and sees Andrew looking down at the screen. A small smile plays around the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, thank God," Bella says. "Andrew, delete those photos at once."

Andrew shakes his head and says, "Avery, my mother is playing a trick on you. My family doesn't have any rules about bowing."

He tosses the phone back to Avery and kicks the mats toward Mamai. Mamai catches the mat with one hand and tosses it over his shoulder. He steps behind Caitan and looks Avery up and down, undressing her with his eyes. She scowls, and he winks at her.

"Come on now, mom," Andrew says. He lets go of Avery and crosses the room to hug Bella. He lowers his voice to a whisper, but Avery can hear every word, "Mom, what do you think you're doing? You can't treat my fiancé like this—I had a hard time bringing her here already. If you scare her away, I swear I'll have another heart attack." 

Bella glares at Avery over Andrew's shoulder, and Avery shrugs and smiles innocently back. Andrew lets go of his mom and pulls Avery close to his side. A sharp knock on the door breaks the heavy silence.

"Come in," Bella calls.

The butler rushes in and says, "Mrs. Clifford, Mr. Clifford just called and said that he's having dinner with the president and his family. He wants you and Andrew to join him—he says it's a very important banquet."

"Really?" Bella asks. "This is terribly last minute; I'm going to have to start getting ready now."

"Wait, mom, I wanna go too," Caitan whines.

"Of course you can come, dear," Bella says. "You, too, Jessica. I don't know what your father thought when he just invited Andrew and me—the whole family should be there." She pauses and glares at Avery, "Andrew, have the drivers take her back home."

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"If she's going back home, so am I," Andrew says. "But if you want me at that dinner, she comes too."

"Please be reasonable, Andrew," Bella says. "You can't invite more people to the president's dinner."

"Well, you just did, Mom," Andrew says.

"It's okay," Avery says. "I'm not a big fan of banquets, and I don't have anything appropriate to wear. The driver can take me back."

"No," Andrew says. "I wanted to introduce you to my family, but now I can introduce you to everyone else."

"No, Andrew, please," Avery whispers.

He whispers back, "Don't you want to save Gabrielle?"

Avery grinds her teeth and glares at him. Andrew is her only chance at saving Gabrielle from the brothel. If she doesn't listen to him, Gabrielle will be stuck serving rich men for the rest of her life.

"Mom, just let Avery come," Caitan says. "I have a new dress up in my wardrobe—Avery can borrow it." 

Avery freezes. She's not sure why Caitan is so nice—surely the girl must have some secret motive. She watches as Caitan darts out of the room and rushes upstairs. She comes back a few minutes later, carrying a white garment bag and a pair of low black heels.

Avery takes the garment bag, and one of the servants rushes forward to grab the heels. Caitan smiles and glances down at Avery's purse. Avery follows her gaze and looks at the black leather bag. It's only slightly bigger than a clutch, with a silver chain strap and crocodile leather. Andrew gave her the bag when she moved into his house—it's a limited edition and from Hermes' next collection. No one else in the world has it yet.

Avery takes the garment bag into the dressing room and strips out of her own outfit. The dress is stunning, and it fits her quite well, despite the slight baby bump. She zips it up to the side and spins in front of the mirror. A soft ripping sound makes her freeze.

She unzips the dress and pulls it off, terrified she's burst a seam. She holds the gown up under the light and checks each seam, but they're all fine. Then she checks the straps. The fabric is frayed where it meets the bodice of the dress as if someone has hacked at it with a pair of scissors.

So that's why Caitan was so eager to lend me her dress, she thinks. She wanted it to rip in public and humiliate me. We'll see who has the last laugh, though.

She calls for a servant and asks the woman to bring her a shawl, a pair of scissors, and a needle and thread. The servant comes back with the items, and Avery cuts the broken straps and slips a few stitches into the top of the dress to make it snug around her bust.

She puts the dress back on, slips her feet into the sparkling black shoes, and sweeps her hair into an elegant updo. Jessica ruined all of her makeup, so she splashes water on her face and pinches her cheeks. She studies her reflection in the mirror. Hopefully, pregnant women indeed have a natural glow, she thinks.

When she leaves the dressing room, the entire family is waiting outside. Avery wraps the shawl around her shoulders to hide the modified dress and steps out. Caitan frowns and nudges Jessica.

"Don't you like the dress?" Caitan asks.

"Of course I do," Avery says.

"Then why are you wearing the shawl?" Caitan asks. "Wait, Mom, isn't that Grandma's shawl? It's so old fashioned."

Avery smooths the shawl and says, "Ever since I got pregnant, I get cold really easily. I asked the servant to get a shawl from Andrew, and he gave this to me. Perhaps I'll take it off when I feel warmer."

"It's hideous," Jessica says, flipping the long hair of her wig over her shoulder.

"Hmm, what do you think, Andrew?" Avery asks. "Do you think it's too ugly?"

"Well, a bit," Andrew says. He winks and adds, "But you need something to distract from your beauty." 

Caitan rolls her eyes and says, "You're so funny, Andrew."

She looks down at Avery's handbag, smiles, and heads out the front door. Avery slings the bag over her shoulder and follows Caitan out.

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