Chapter 257 - 257: Francis Call

Avery feels her head spinning. She wants to hate Andrew, but she can't bring herself to feel hatred or even anger. Instead, she feels sad for him. Maybe it's because he sounds so broken or because he's willing to die to save Charles. She sighs heavily as she thinks about her options. If it wasn't for the toxin in her body, it'd be easier to go with Andrew. But she knows she'll probably die before she has a chance to go back to Evan.

Suddenly the doors swing open, and a team of nurses slowly wheels a bed away from the operating room. Evan is lying on the bed with his eyes closed. He's pale as if he's lost a lot of blood, but he seems to be alive. Robert and three bodyguards rush to the bed and take it from the nurses.

A tall doctor pulls off his surgical mask and wipes the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. His blue scrubs are stained with blood, but he smiles kindly at Avery.

"He's out of danger for now," the doctor says. "He suffered from a terrible wound on his back, and it took us a long time to remove all the fragments of glass and metal from his back, but he'll be okay. He might be unconscious for a while, though."

Robert and the guards begin pushing the bed towards the VIP ward. Avery wants to follow them, but she has to deal with Andrew. She turns to look at Andrew and makes up her mind.

"I can only give you six months," she says.

I'll probably die in six months when I give birth, she thinks. I need Andrew to promise to give the heart back no matter what. If I promise to stay with him for a year and then die, he may decide to keep the heart.

Andrew smiles bitterly, but he says, "Okay, six months it is."

"So you promise to give Charles the heart in six months?" she asks.

"No problem," Andrew says casually. 

"Promise me that there will be no more fighting, and I'll make sure that Evan won't come after you," Avery says.

"Okay, I promise," Andrew says.

"I need some time to prepare it all," Avery says. "I'll come to you as soon as Evan is in full recovery."

"You're just trying to delay it," Andrew complains.

"No, I'm not," Avery says irritably. "Any delay is bad for Charles. I promised you six months, and you're going to get six months, but we have to do this right."

"You know, I've never been so patient with anyone else," Andrew mutters.

"I know," Avery says gently.

"If I find out that Evan has woken up, but you haven't come to meet me, the deal is off," Andrew says.

"I see," Avery says. "How do you want me to meet you?"

"I'll send someone to pick you up."

"Don't forget what you promised me," Avery says. "Six months, and you'll give it back."

"I'm a man of my word," Andrew says with a wink.

Avery nods and heads toward Evan's private room. She jogs down the hallways until she gets to his room. There are several nurses waiting by the door in case of emergency, and a doctor stands nearby. Though the room is huge, it seems crowded with bodyguards.

Evan is lying in bed, and his eyes are closed. Most of his body is covered in white gauze, and his face looks almost as pale as the gauze. Avery feels tears fill her eyes. She can't bear to see him suffering so badly. Robert places a comforting hand on her arm and tries to lead her out of the room.

"Mr. Howel is fine, but you need to rest," Robert says. "You're probably still in shock. Should I call a doctor to look at you?"

"No, I want to stay here," Avery says. "I'm fine, but I need to be here when he wakes up."

"It might be a while before he wakes up," Robert says. "He lost a lot of blood and they gave him a lot of anesthetics. You need to go home and rest. You're pregnant and you need to think about the baby, too. Just think how angry Mr. Howel will be if something happened to you or the child after he risked his life to save you from that bomb."

Robert's words fill her with guilt, but she shakes her head stubbornly. Even if Evan is unconscious, she wants every second she can get with him. Robert shrugs and pulls up a chair for her to sit in. Avery sits down, gratefully, and Robert's phone begins to ring. He crosses the room and answers it. As he speaks, he shoots worried looks at Avery. Finally, he crosses the room and offers her the phone.

"Mrs. Howel, Mr. Francis Howel wants to speak to you," Robert says.

Avery feels her blood run cold. If Francis Howel has already heard about the bomb, he'll be furious. She knows he warned Evan to stop risking his life for her. Avery wipes the sweat from her palm on the skirt of her ruined dress and takes the phone. She presses it to her ear and walks into the hall for some privacy.

She walks all the way to the end of the hallway before saying, "I'm sorry for the wait, Mr. Howel."

"I heard that Evan risked his life for you again," Francis says.

"It's true," Avery says.

She can feel his anger even through the telephone. The rage in his voice is barely controlled, and she half expects him to start screaming curses at her. Avery takes a deep breath to calm herself.

"What do you think I should do about it?" Francis asks. "I can't have you around him anymore. It's too dangerous."

"You can do whatever you like," Avery says quietly.

There's a long pause, and then Francis says, "You know, Andrew called me earlier. You were right to choose to leave Evan, but you must leave the child to our family. The child is a Howel, whether you like it or not."

Avery can't believe that Andrew was bold enough to call Francis. She looks out the window at the distant sky. The stars twinkle brightly, but she feels trapped and gloomy.

"Of course, I'll leave the child to Evan," Avery says. "I have one request for you, though. I'd like you to keep this matter a secret. I don't want Evan to know anything."

When I die, Evan is the only person I trust to raise our child, Avery thinks. But he can't know why I'm leaving him or that I worked with this grandfather to do it. If he knew the truth, he'd do everything in his power to stop it and get me back.

"I'll keep your secret," Francis says. "And I'll even help you leave."

"There's no need for that," Avery says cooly. "I can take care of that on my own."

Avery doesn't want to deal with Francis; she wants to leave on her own terms, and she wants to do it as painlessly as possible. She knows that Evan will suffer, but she doesn't want to break his heart completely.

"You better be able to handle it yourself, or you'll be hearing from me," Francis says.

Before Avery can answer, Francis, ends the call. Avery stares angrily out the window, only turning when she hears rushed footsteps behind her.

"Mrs. Howel, Mrs. Howel," Robert shouts, "Mr. Howel is awake!"