Chapter 157 - 157: He took an Aphrodisiac

Bodyguards rush in to knock Evan out, but he's flexible and agile. He shows no mercy while fighting them off. He looks like a wild animal fighting rivals, mad with desire. He quickly leaves them incapacitated on the floor. He turns to Avery and stares at her. Avery sees the blood in his eyes. He has completely lost control of himself—his only thought is to take her.

"No," Avery whispers, shaking her head and slowly backing away.

Evan stalks toward her slowly with brutal intent.

"What do I do?" Avery wonders, biting her lip, "What kind of drug can make him lose his mind so completely?"

"Evan, what's going on?" Leonie asks, suddenly standing in front of Avery, "Avery is pregnant. You're frightening her."

Avery can't believe what she's seeing. It looks like Leonie is trying to help her. Avery wonders what sort of ulterior motive her rival may have.

"Get away!" Evan snarls, viciously pushing Leonie.

"Sir, calm down!" Robert shouts, and rallies the bodyguards, "Subdue him, but don't hurt him."

One again, bodyguards are no match for Evan. Avery has never seen him fight like this before, and she's surprised by how fierce and agile he is. Though the bodyguards are highly trained in combat, Evan takes them down with apparent ease.

Avery stands in front of the stained glass window. The sun shines through the glass Evan and casts colorful spots on his skin. There is a cut on his shoulder from the fight and blood mixes with the sweat and drips down his chest. Avery bites her lip. She feels as if her feet have turned to lead. She knows she should run, but she can't make her body move.

In a move of desperation, Robert limps across the room toward Evan and tries to restrain him. Even without the leg injury, he's no match for his boss. Evan throws him to the ground with one swift motion.

"Mrs. Howel, you need to run," Robert shouts, "Evan might hurt you."

"What the hell is going on?" Avery asks, "I know he took an aphrodisiac, but why is he's angry?"

Robert glances reluctantly between Evan and Avery.

"He saw the video of you and Mr. Clifford in the toilet at the hotel in Pleasure City," Robert explains, "He heard the noises."

Robert's words have an immediate effect on Avery—she suddenly feels as if the room had gone silent. Her body feels as if it's been struck by lightning. She wants to explain everything. She wants to tell Evan that she didn't have a choice, that Andrew held her hostage and threatened her. She loses her eyes slowly and makes an important decision.

"Robert, you should go," she whispers, "In fact, you all should go."

The pain from the wound on Evan's shoulder tugs on his consciousness and pulls him back from his madness. He suddenly stops and looks at Avery with a spooky and vicious look. In his head, the sounds Avery and Andrew made in the toilet echo like a horrible nightmare.

"Avery has tried numerous ways to get away from me," Evan thinks, "I never expected her to love me back, but I can't live with the pain of her cheating on me. How dare she!"

Evan throws his head back and laughs, desperately up at the ceiling. Robert and Avery's exchange worried glances. When Evan composes himself, there is poison in his expression.

"A man's affection is like his life force—they both have limits," he says, "If you exhaust one prematurely, there's nothing left. Avery, it's you who should leave."  

Avery abruptly clenches her fists. She hopes that three years of his neglect and indifference would harden her heart, but his words pierce her easily.

"Evan, there is nothing between Andrew and me," she says, "You're the father."

"Avery, do you think I'm a fool?" Evan snarls, "I believed you when you said you weren't pregnant, but where did that lead me?"

His eyes are bloodshot and half-mad. His body seems to shake with the effort of self-control.

He suddenly roars, "Get her out of my sight."

"No, I won't go," Avery shouts, desperately grabbing the windowsill.

"What? Do you want to stay as my antidote?" Evan asks mockingly, "Or are you trying to lose the child? You can't honestly believe I'd touch you after what you did with Andrew."

Evan can't think of anything but the ways she and Andrew must have embraced in the cubicle. When he thinks about touching her, he sees Andrew's hands on her body. The physical pain the desire causes him is nothing compared to the suffering of thinking about her with another man.

"Evan, a woman's patience has limits too," Avery says, "I'll say this for the last time: there's nothing between Andrew and me, and there never has been and never will be."

"Why did you lie about pregnancy?" Evan asks.

Avery stares at him helplessly. She still doesn't know how to explain it to him.

"Did you want to get rid of it without my knowledge?" Evan asks.

"I'm sorry," she whispers.

She's sorry she can't tell him the truth, but the apology sounds like an admission of guilt. She doesn't know what else to say. She considers making up another excuse, but she knows she can't lie to him anymore. She can't use a new lie to cover for an older lie.

"Avery, I really want to gauge your heart to see what it's made of," Evan whispers.

He closes his eyes heavily. Her apology killed his last hope. He was hoping Avery would tell him she lied to surprise him, but her apology cuts him to the core.

"Why is she sorry?" he wonders, "For not wanting the baby? Or is she afraid I'll find out the child is not mine?"

Evan feels like he's choking, like the pain in his chest is constricted his lungs and making it impossible to breathe. Apart from him wanted to choke her, make her feel the same pain he's suffering. He briefly imagines her death as an end to his pain, but quickly recoils from the thought. He suddenly approaches her and grabs her with a beastly roar.

Avery looks deep into his bloodshot eyes and can see the madness lurking just below the surface. As she returns his gaze, she feels like she's being pulled into an unfathomable abyss with no hope of ever emerging.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" Evan asks, tilting his head with a cruel smile.

He suddenly lets go of Avery and turns to the bed. With a swift motion, he grabs Leonie and throws her onto the bed.

"Evan?" Leonie asks, with barely concealed hope.

Avery realizes what he's doing and feels as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. Her eyes burn with tears.

"Evan," Avery begs.

Her voice sounds choked. She used to send props and fragrances to encourage Evan and Leonie's lovemaking. She used to fantasize about bringing Evan and Leonie together so she could escape from him, but now that it's actually happening, the pain is unbearable. She feels as if her heart is being crushed inside her body.

Already shirtless, Evan stalks toward the bed. His tanned skin gleams with sweat, and his muscles are tense with need.

"No!" Avery screams.

She feels as if she's descending into an abyss. She clasps her hands over her ears and shakes with violent sobs.

"Mrs. Howel, you should leave now," Robert advises, "This is best for both of you."

Robert quickly finds his worry calming. Evan making love with Leonie seems to be the best possible outcome now—he'll relieve his urges without hurting Avery.

Outside the window, a fierce wind begins to blow. Dark rain clouds suddenly cover the blue sky. Thunder roars, and a storm is imminent. Avery takes a deep breath and tries to stop sobbing.

"This is the best thing that can happen," she thinks, trying to convince herself, "Now I'll be able to leave him. This is what I wanted all along."