"So, what's the matter?" Evan asks again.

"Nothing. I'm just hungry," Avery says, desperately trying to change the topic.

Evan gives her a questioning look but nods and rings for the nurse. When the woman arrives, he asks her to bring the bowl of porridge immediately. While they wait, he strokes her hair. The room is quiet and peaceful, and her heart monitor beeps steadily.

When the nurse returns with the porridge, Evan immediately takes a small spoonful. "It's a bit too hot still," he tells Avery before blowing fresh air on the hot oats.

Avery watches with wonder. She's never seen him so helpful and humble before. In the past, he would have called for a servant to do it. Avery tries to prop herself up so she can eat, but she's too weak. Her arms wobble beneath her, and her elbows collapse; she falls back onto the pillows.

Evan puts the bowl down with a clang and leaps to his feet. Gently, he takes her by the shoulders and helps her up into a sitting position. He supports her with one hand and rearranges the pillows behind her with another. Then he helps her lean back against the fluffy white pillows.

"I can do it myself," Avery says.

Evan smiles but doesn't reply. Instead, he sits down and continues stirring and blowing on the porridge. He takes another taste and then refills the spoon. Carefully, he lifts it to her lips, but she refuses to eat any. She stares at him completely baffled.

"What's the matter?" Evan asks. "I thought you were hungry. Have you lost your appetite again?"

"No, it's not that," Avery says, "It's just that you seem so strange to me."

"You just need time to get used to me," he says. "Luckily, we have a lot of time. The entire future, in fact."

Avery flinches, but he doesn't seem to notice. She turns her attention to the porridge, forcing herself to chew and swallow even though the oats taste gluey. Evan watches her intensely as she eats, and she finds herself growing self-conscious. When she finishes, a single oat clings to her bottom lip. She doesn't notice until she realizes Evan is staring at it.

"It looks delicious," Evan says, his voice hoarse with desire.

Avery tries to wipe the oat from her lip, but Evan catches her hand in his own. He leans in and lightly licks the oat away. His tongue tickles, and she squirms. "Evan Howel, that's enough," she protests.

"It's never enough," Evan says. "I could kiss you every day for the rest of my life and never grow tired of it."

Her heart hammers embarrassingly in her chest. Evan smiles and caresses her face, slowly tracing a line from her hairline to her ear to her jaw. He rests his forehead against hers, and she starts to tilt her face upwards for a kiss. And then she remembers Leonie, and jerks her head away. "Why don't you kiss Leonie instead?" she asks sourly.

"Leonie?" Evan asks, and his forehead wrinkles. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

A cough interrupts them. Robert Tinder stands awkwardly in the open door, looking into the room. Avery blushes and tries to scoot away from Evan, but Evan holds her in place.

"What is it?" Evan snaps.

"Mr. Howel, we've located Michelle," Robert says. "How would you like us to deal with her?"

"What're your thoughts on the matter?" Evan asks Avery as casually as if he's asking her what she wants to have for dinner.

Avery bites her lip. She loathes Michelle, and a part of her would love to see the woman suffer. But another, louder part of her hesitates. Why am I so reluctant? Avery thinks. Michelle tries to kill my child and me. I should want to punish her for everything she's ever done to me, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Besides, there are some questions I'd like to ask her in person.

"I want to see her," Avery says.

"Fine," Evan says, sounding disappointed, "We'll imprison her for now, and when you've fully recovered, I'll take you to go see her."

Something about the way he says the word "imprison" makes Avery shudder. She's been on the receiving end of Howel family punishments before, and she knows just how horrible they can be. She watches Evan carefully and sees him exchange a meaningful look with Robert.

"What about Mr. Clifford?" Robert asks.

"You know what to do with him," Evan said, his eyes flashing with sudden violence.

"What do you want to do with him?" Avery asked worriedly.

"The details don't matter," Evan growls.

Avery feels her stomach turn over. "No! You can't touch him!" she blurts out.

"He kidnapped you, imprisoned you, and threatened your life," Evan hisses in outrage. "What do you mean I can't touch him? The man deserves every second of suffering he'll get and then some."

"He has heart disease," Avery says. "If your punishment is too severe, you might kill him, Evan. I can't let you commit murder."

Evan's eyes narrow with suspicion, "Are you trying to protect him?"

"No, I just don't want you to hurt anyone," Avery says. She thinks of Charles' heart in Andrew's chest and fights the tears rising in her eyes.

"He's a bad man, Avery," Evan says. "Even if you forgive him for everything he did to you, just think about what he did to Gabrielle. Why are you protecting a man like that?"

"Believe it or not, I'm not protecting him," Avery says.

Evan sighs heavily. "Let him be for now," he says with a pained expression.

Avery tries to hide her relief, she can feel Evan's eyes on her face, and she doesn't want to provoke him. His phone rings, and for a split second, his expression changes when he sees the caller ID. He answers the call without a word and crosses the room to stand by the window and whisper into the phone. His shoulders seem slightly tense, and she wonders if she's paranoid or if he's acting secretive on purpose.

"Speaking of my sister, have you heard any news about her?" she asks Robert.

"Miss Gabrielle is actually at the Howel's mansion," Robert says. "Dr. Walter checked her, and he says she's in perfect health. I'm actually surprised that you haven't heard from her yet—I already gave her phone back to her."

Avery hurriedly looks around the room for her phone and finds it lying on the nightstand next to a vase of tulips. Gabrielle answers on the first ring, but her voice sounds hushed and distant. Avery has to press the phone close to her ear to hear.

"Sister," Gabrielle whispers.

"Gabrielle?"Avery asks, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, of course, I'm just looking for something right now," Gabrielle said slightly louder, "Everything is fine with me. But what about you? Did you escape from Andrew? Did that bastard hurt you because I swear to God Avery, I'll—"

"I'm fine," Avery quickly assures her. "But Gabrielle, you sound so strange. Are you sure everything is okay? Where are you? Are you at the Howels' house?"

There's a long silence on the line before Gabrielle answers. "Not exactly," she whispers guiltily.

"A rented apartment, then?" Avery asks, feeling anger and worry fight for control.

"How do you know?" Gabrielle asks.

"Who's the man?" Avery asks, "Gabrielle, how could you do something like this?" There's a long silence and then a click. Avery asks, "Gabrielle? Gabrielle?" When she pulls the phone away from her ear, she sees that Gabrielle has ended the call.