Avery feels as if her body is broken—she can't control anything it does. When she comes to, she feels a heavyweight pressing against her and imagines she's being crushed beneath a mountain. As her consciousness returns, she realizes it's a man.

She gasps for breath, but she can't seem to get enough air. Everything goes dark. When she wakes up again, she realizes that the handcuffs and blindfold have been removed. She opens her eyes and looks around the room, but she can't see anything—it's all dark. She stretches her hand out and feels a warm body next to hers.

In a second, it all comes back to her. She suspects the man next to her is the same man who raped her and she wants to cry. Carefully she reaches for the bedside table, wrapping her hand around the lamp. She has every intention to bludgeon him to death. As she raises the lamp in the air the man turns his head, and a shaft of moonlight illuminates his face. Avery's head spins.

"It can't be," she thinks, "I must be delusional."

She drops the lamp, and the thud wakes Evan. He takes one look at her shocked expression and scowls.

"Surprised? It must be disappointing to find out the strange man who fucked you is your husband," he says sarcastically.

"How many people would she have fucked if I hadn't found her?" he wonders.

"It was you," she says.

She pinches her arm to ensure she's not still dreaming or delusional.

"Why are you here?" she asks him quietly.

She struggles to put words to the way she feels. She's surprised and humiliated. She wanted to kill the strange man, but finding it's Evan confuses her. She's not sure what she wants to do to him.

"How do you feel?" Evan asks.

He rolls over and pushes her onto her back in a fluid motion. He hovers over her, holding his weight on his hands which are propped on either side of her body. He glances at the fallen lamp.

"Do you want to murder your husband?" he asks, with an edge in his voice, "Are you that disappointed that I fucked you?"

"Let me go," she hisses.

"Let you go? I don't think so," Evan growls, "You tried your best to escape from me and then shamelessly seduced another man, a man you believed was a criminal."

Avery stares at Evan with surprise and confusion.

"I wasn't delusional," she thinks, "My body recognized him. Though I thought I was going crazy, my body knew his touch."

"Why are you so sexual for other men and so cold for me?" Evan asks her aggressively.

Avery has nothing to say. She doesn't know how to answer his question.

"I can't tell him how badly I want him. I can't ever admit that!" she thinks, "My body cooperated with him last night. Some part of my subconscious knew it was him, and my body responded with desire."

She looks at his perfect lips, and feels the heat radiating off his body. She starts to feel desire flooding her veins again, but she shakes her head determinedly.

"You refuse me, but you seem to forget how to say no to other men," Evan growls, "Will you let anyone fuck you?"

Evan slowly lowers his body to hers, and she can feel his weight pressing into her. She can feel his arousal and desire.

"No, I wouldn't," she whispers.

"So, what about earlier in the night?" he asks.

"I wanted to get the key to unlock the handcuffs," she says huffily, "You always interpret things the wrong way."

"You're an idiot," Evan says, imagining another man taking advantage of her the way he did.

"Yes, I am," Avery says bitterly, pushing him away, "Leave me alone."

"Where were you trying to go?" he asks.

He remains hovering above her. He stares into her face and examines her perfect features. His expression becomes pained.

"Away," Avery answers vaguely.

"Why do you want to get away from me so badly?"

Avery sees that Evan is frowning, and she presses her lips together. She refuses to explain herself to him.

"Do you still want to divorce me?" he asks gravely.

Avery wants to roll her eyes.

"I've just tried to run away from him and the man asks if I still want a divorce," she thinks, "How dense can he be?"

"Speak," Evan says, shifting his weight to one hand so he can grab her chin.

Avery hesitates, but she isn't sure why. A part of her is scared of hurting his feelings.

"Don't be stupid," she tells herself, "I can't care about his feelings. I'm just scared to irritate him again after what happened before. I have to remember that he doesn't give a damn about me. He just wants me to pop out a baby so he can be reunited with Diana."

"Yes, you're right," she says coldly.

Evan Howel's expression becomes darker and he holds her chin harder.

"I tried to charm her—I gave her gifts, I took her side, I was gentle—and still she wants to get away from me," he thinks sadly.

She regards him with a cold, unfeeling stare, and he suddenly understands how she must have suffered during the first three and a half years of their marriage. He has no idea how she could bear to be near him as he scorned her love day after day. He knows he's not strong enough to do that.

"Avery, you won," he whispers.

He releases his grip on her chin and rolls away from her. Avery turns over and lies next to him.

Evan reaches for a cigarette and lights it, deeply inhaling the smoke into his lungs. His expression seems thoughtful. Suddenly, he stubs out the cigarette with a violent twist of his wrist.

"You can leave in six months," he says quietly, feeling a wrenching pain in his chest.

Avery slowly struggles to her feet, trying to assess Evan's words.

"Is he serious?" she wonders, "Or is he playing with me again?"

She wants to ask him why he's finally agreeing to the divorce. She wants to ask why he's willing to give up his chance to free Diana, but she knows it's pointless. Even if she wanted to, she can't help him rescue Diana. A pregnancy will probably kill her, and she's not going to sacrifice her life for the unknown woman.

"You'll stay with me for the next six months and then you're free to go," Evan says flatly.

Avery says nothing. She knows she should be happy, but she feels deflated. She looks at the debris on the floor: her torn clothes, ropes, handcuffs and blindfold and she tries to pick it all up. Her hands tremble as she gathers the torn fabric.

"Get a suit for Mrs. Howel," Evan calls to Robert, "And prepare a divorce agreement."

Though he feels dazed, Robert rushes to give the orders and Evan leaves the room. Within half an hour, Avery is dressed and the divorce agreement sits on the credenza. Avery looks at the papers and sees that Evan has already signed them.

"Mrs. Howel, as soon as you sign the agreement, you can go downstairs," Roberts says, "Mr. Howel is waiting for you in the plane to take you back to the Howel manor."

Avery lifts the pen—the heavy metal is still warm from Evan's grip. She recalls all she's been through to get to this point, but she doesn't feel happy or relieved.

"What's wrong with me?" she thinks, "This has been my dream for a long time. He's a cruel man and he doesn't care for me—only Diana. I need to move on."

She opens the pen cover and signs her name.

"That's it. In six months the agreement will take effect," she thinks, "In six months we can be strangers."