Before Avery can get a look, a great hand opens the stall door, and cool air rushes into the confined space. Within seconds Evan's distinct smell fills her nose and overwhelms her senses. A wave of relief floods over her, and she realizes just how much she's missed his smell. Though they're hiding in a bathroom stall, she feels calmer just being near him.

"Ahh, the bathroom again," Evan says dryly. "Miss Peters seems to enjoy meeting people in bathrooms." He emphasizes her maiden name.

Avery flinches. He hasn't called her Miss Peters in a long time, and the name deliberately calls their marriage into question. Before she can object, Evan takes a step forward and grabs her wrists. He presses her hands overhead and pushes her back against the wall. Then he slammed his body against hers.

Avery feels a sharp pain as he bites her lip, and she opened her mouth in shock. Evan takes the chance to give her punitive and retaliatory kisses. It's as violent as a storm. His domineering lips control hers, and his tongue overwhelms her. His breath sweeps the air out of her mouth.

She feels like she's running out of oxygen. Her mind buzzes, and she can't seem to think. The world starts to fall away—all that's left is Evan and his body. When Evan lifts her dress up, Avery suddenly feels herself sobering. She bites his tongue hard and tastes blood. Evan moans. "Evan," Avery gasps, trying to push him away.

"Why are you stopping me? The note you passed to Robert was asking me to come to do this in the bathroom, no?" Evan asks with a sneer. "Having affairs in bathroom stalls seems to be a specialty of yours, Miss Peters."

"You have to help me, Evan," she says, repeating the message she scrawled across the back of the receipt.

"What do you want me to help you with?" he asks. "With my hands? My mouth? Or this?" He presses his body into her and she can feel his dick against her hip. It's hard with an unstoppable need.

"No," she whispers with disappointment, "That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?" Evan asks.

She bites her lip. She wants to explain the situation to him and ask him to rescue her from Andrew, but she's too embarrassed to ask. I know that he's still hurt by my supposed betrayal in Pleasure City, she thinks. But how can I explain everything now? How can I tell him that I've decided to give birth to the baby, even if the pregnancy kills me? How do I make him believe it's his baby? How can I convince him to stay with me?

She takes a deep breath and swallows her pride, knowing that she may not find another chance. "That wasn't what I wanted help with," she says. "I wanted to help to escape. Can you take me away?"

He presses his body into hers more firmly and lifts her chin with a fierce gesture. "Take you away?" Evan asks as if the very idea is ridiculous to him. "You were just showing off your relationship with Andrew, and now you want me to take you away?"

"I have nothing to do with him," Avery whispers. "You misunderstood the situation."

"Misunderstood what?" Evan asks bitterly. "Are you going to try to tell me that everything I saw was an illusion? You must think I'm a gullible fool. You lied to me over and over again. Why do you expect me to believe you now?"

"I'm not lying to you," Avery says, "I'm telling the truth. Please trust me."

"You think I'll trust you again?" he shouts.

The sudden volume and intensity of his voice stun her. She wonders if the store has soundproofing and strains her ears to listen to the guards outside the door. When she looks back at Evan, he's staring at her in mute fury, waiting for her to speak.

"Don't you want to defend yourself?" he asks.

Avery searches for the words to explain herself, but her mind feels blank. She tries to speak, but her voice doesn't seem to work.

His anger erupts like an active volcano that has been dormant for too long. "Why don't you say something?" he roars. "Why don't you invent one of your little stories? You're usually so full of them."

It was a bad idea to turn to him for help, Avery thinks regretfully. He still doesn't believe me. I thought he would realize I was telling him the truth when he saw the results from the exams, but I guess even that wasn't enough to change his mind. She has no idea that the results have been delayed due to technical problems at the hospital. She also doesn't know that he still hasn't heard her recording or found her letter.

"Why don't you say he threatened you with Gabrielle and forced you to come to him to save her?" Evan asks.

Avery is dumbfounded—she has no idea how Evan has guessed the truth. "That's true," she whispers.

"So I suppose you're going to tell me that you're just acting with Andrew," Evan says.

Avery nods her head gently.

"You think I'll trust you just like that?" Evan asks.

She looks up at his face and sees disbelief etched across his expression. He doesn't seem to be persuaded at all. She shakes her head in despair. "Why don't you ever listen to my explanations?" she asks, "Why can't you just trust me?"

"Because you're always lying."

He's right. It's all my fault, she thinks. I slowly destroyed his trust by lying and deceiving him. Things are so bad now that he won't even believe the hospital report. I used to be so cold. I never cared if he believed me or not, but now I regret every lie I've ever told.

"What can I do to convince you to trust me again?" she asks.

"Trust you?" Evan asks with a sarcastic smile. He suddenly grabs her hand and tugs her forcefully from the stall.

Avery tries to pull her hand away, but his grip is too strong. His rage and determination terrify her, and she wants to escape. "What are you doing?" she asks.

He tugged her wrist and pulled her out of the bathroom and back to the VIP room. Andrew is sitting lazily on the sofa. As they enter the room, he lazily lifts his heavy eyelids and looks at Evan, holding Avery by the wrist. Andrew keeps his calm and smiles arrogantly at the duo.

Evan positions Avery in front of Andrew and hands her a pistol. "Shoot him in the heart in front of me, and I'll trust you," Evan says. "This is the last chance I'll ever give you."