Billionaire Defiant Wife

Chapter 68: Warm Feelings

Evan cradles Avery in his arms, unable to control the warm feeling in his chest. She pulls away and looks around the patio. She was so focused on arguing with Leonie, she didn't fully appreciate the romantic dcor on the patio. Now she's overwhelmed by the soft pink light and the smell of the cherry blossoms.

"It's so romantic," she says, "You're not going to"

"What?" Evan interrupts her, his eyes suddenly darkening.

"You're not going to kneel and propose to me, are you?"

"Propose to you?" Evan absently pats the pocket with the velvet box, "That's a good idea."

Avery's expression becomes difficult to read.

"What a sick joke," she thinks, "He knows I want a divorce."

A waiter interrupts her thoughts, offering her a warm towel on a tray. Avery takes the towel and slowly wipes her hands as Robert reappears on the patio. He glances at Evan and Avery; he wants to say something to Evan but he doesn't want to interrupt their moment and anger his boss.

Evan wraps his fingers on the table and addresses Robert, "From now on, I want the nanny's medical expenses to be drawn directly from the family account."

Avery is absently plucking cherry blossoms from the tablecloth, but she freezes when she hears Evan's instructions. When Nanny fell out of the window, two years ago, the Howel's refused to cover her medical expenses because the woman should have been more careful. Avery interest. Even before Evan froze her account, she had trouble covering Nanny's medical expenses: the woman was placed in a state-of-the-art ward and received the best care possible.

When Avery fell into the sea, Evan considered the accident a disgusting and crude attempt to get his attention. Angered that her scheme attracted press attention to his family, He cut off her monthly living expenses. Since then, Avery has been unable to pay for her nanny's treatment. Only through Charles' kindness and the charity has the woman been able to stay at the hospital.

Avery absently crushes the petals in her hand. She's only pulled back to reality when Robert hands her a black credit card.

"Mrs. Howel, Mr. Howel said this is for you," Robert says.

Avery blankly examines the card.

"It doesn't have any limits," Robert tells her. 

Avery hesitates but accepts it. She knows that Evan can track her use of the card, but now that the hotel sale has fallen though she may have no choice but to use the card. Evan looks surprised. He expected her to reject the gift, but she accepted it quietly.

He gestures to the waiter, and the man begins to serve them. Robert stands behind Evan and explains, "Mr. Howel asked to have these dishes specially prepared for you."

The waiter presents the dishes one by one and Robert explains, "Every dish here is designed to help you become strong and ready for pregnancy."

"That's enough," Avery hisses.

She's already frustrated that Evan found out about the hotel, and Robert's reference to the pregnancy only furthers her exasperation.

"Are the dishes not to your taste?" Robert asks.

Evan personally fills Avery's plate and gestures to the waiter to offer her a menu. Avery refuses the menu and turns on Evan.

"You should improve your body as well," she says, "I've heard that the quality of a man's sperm can determine the child's intelligence."

"I had an examination last week," Evan says, "I'm in perfect health."

"Well I have a bad temper, and I'm afraid that I would bear a baby like me," Avery snaps.

"Don't worry. My good genes will make up for any of your shortcomings!" Evan boasts.

Avery sighs. Evan takes her hand in his and begins to feed her, but she's not in the mood to eat. 

"You're right," she says, "But I've heard that radiation can also affect the development of the baby. Cell phones often put off radiation, and the larger the phone screen, the stronger the radiation. I think we should be as careful as possible. I'd like to start using my old phone again as the screen is a lot smaller."

"You should eat now," Evan tells her, "We can discuss this matter when you've taken all 72 photos."

Evan has already seen the photo she took when they bathed together. She mischievously piled his hair into a poop shape, but he wasn't upset by it. He wants to be different in her eyesthe kind of man who can make her laugh.

"I'm full," Avery says, pushing his hand away.

Evan looks at Robert and the butler pulls a bottle of medicine from his pocket. The waiter brings a small glass of sweetened water on a tray.

"Dean Meyer prescribed a special medicine to help make you more fertile," Evan explains, "Since you're planning on becoming pregnant, I want you to take this every day."

Avery stares unhappily at the bottle. She hates that she's gotten herself into this situation. She takes the bottle, removes the top, and sniffs it cautiously. The smell makes her nose burn.

"Take it away," she orders. 

Avery frowns. Just one whiff of the foul liquid has made her stomach start to churn and her eyes watered up. She has to admit to herself that she's not sure if it's just the medicine or the thought of having a baby with Evan that's making her feel ill.

"Are you afraid of the taste?" Evan asks condescendingly.

"No!" Avery snaps.

Evan takes the bottle and holds it in front of her face. Instinctively, Avery blanches and flinches away from the bottle.

"What a liar you are!" Evan says with amusement, "Your expression betrays you. But you'll be stronger after taking this, and finally, we can have a baby"

Evan's voice becomes soft and seductive when he talks about the baby.

"Please, take that away from me," Avery says.

She pushes his hand away with panic and the medicine splashes out of the bottle and onto Evan's face. The thick brown liquid coats his mouth, and Evan's expression becomes thoughtful.

Suddenly, he kisses her, and she tastes the bitterness of the medicine. She tries to pull away from the taste, but Evan grabs the back of her head and pulls her toward him. He kisses her deeply, forcing her to consume the medicine bit by bit. Even after she's swallowed the medicine he continues to pull her towards him, kissing her soulfully. Eventually, the bitter taste of the medicine fades, and she tastes only him.

"Was that so bad?" he asks devilishly.

Avery curls her lip; her eyes are full of mute protest. Afraid that he'll kiss her again she snatches the bottle of medicine from his hand and takes a large swig. As soon as the taste coats her tongue she regrets her choice, her mouth feels numb and her stomach churns. She puts down the bottle and reaches for a glass of water, but she finds that it is empty.

She looks up and sees Evan gazing at her intently. Slowly he points at his lips. The sweetened water is in his mouth; if she wants relief from the bitterness, she'll have to kiss him again. He swallows and smirks at her.

"What a pervert!" she thinks, "But at least he seems to be in a good mood."