Billionaire Defiant Wife

Leonie hesitates by the door. Two red spots quickly appear on her soft cheeks.

"That night…" she says, "Well, thank you."

The last thing she remembers is smelling the candle in Evan's room. When she woke to find her neck covered in blue and purple spots, she assumed Evan had put them there. She's waited for Evan to come to her, but he never did. She has finally mustered the courage to approach him.

Evan leans back in his chair and stares at his tablet screen. Without looking up he calmly asks, "Did I do something? I think there's been a misunderstanding."

"Come on, Evan," she pouts, "Are you still mad at me? I was nervous and one of the maids told me to use some borrachero to soothe my nerves. I didn't mean to cause any harm."

Large tears begin to drip down her cheeks. Evan frowns. He's heard people say that women are as gentle as water and prone to shedding tears, and in his experience, it seems to be true. Their fragility and weepiness annoy him.

Unbidden, Avery's face crosses his mind. If most women are water, she is ice. Instead of crying, she likes to glare at him with her attractive, cat-like eyes. What would it be like if she cried in front of him? He begins to imagine her tear-streaked face. If he pushed her over the edge, would she break and cry? Would she cry for him as Leonie does now? He is sinking deep into his thoughts.

With a great effort, he refocuses on the situation at hand. Casually, he tosses his tablet onto his desk. The noise startles Leonie and she stops weeping.

"I didn't touch you that night," he says, "According to David, the marks on your neck are from an allergic reaction."

Leonie inadvertently steps backward. She can't believe what she's hearing.

"What? But I—" she mumbles, confused.

"I'm not interested in you," Evan speaks slowly and deliberately to avoid any possible misunderstanding.

"That's impossible!" Leonie gasps, "Why would you invite me to stay here if you weren't interested?"

Evan pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. He knows that Avery invited Leonie—he allowed it because he wanted to know what his wife was playing at. Personally, he doesn't like having women around; even the maids' presence bothers him, and he tries to stay away from them as much as possible. He relies on Robert whenever possible. If some task requires physical contact, he insists that Robert perform it.

"Don't you enjoy our hospitality?" he asks.

"Of course. It's just—I thought—."

"My grandmother likes you a lot. You should spend more time with her," Evan advises.

His meaning is clear: if it were up to him, he would ask Leonie to leave. She's only been allowed to stay this long because Mrs. Florence Howel has developed an affection for her. Leonie twists the fabric of her dress in her hands. Tears still linger in her eyelashes, and her face is prettily flushed.

"Is there something wrong with me?" she asks sadly.

"I'm just not interested in you," Evan answers coolly.

Though his answer is vague, he means that he's not interested sensually.

"And what about Avery?" Leonie challenges.

"Don't speak to me about Avery," he says, his voice becoming dangerous.

"Why shouldn't I? There's a persistent rumor that were childhood sweethearts," Leonie says, "You never made any effort to correct it so I thought maybe—"

"I don't have time to correct every single silly rumor, do I?" Evan asks.

Wounded, Leonie decides to play her final card.

"Are you using me to protect Diana?" she asks.

She has seen Evan interact with her sister Diana, and he seems like a different man. He's not impatient as he is with her or cold and angry as he is with Avery; with Diana, he's gentle and patient. She knows all too well what it means when a man acts so differently around a woman, and she can't help but succumb to jealousy.

Evan turns livid at Diana's name and points to the door.

"Get out," he says, his voice dangerously flat.

"Did you ask her to wait four years? You know, it's six months to that deadline," Leonie taunts, "If she comes back, are you going to give her everything—your heart and your name?"

"What else do you know?" he asks warily.

"Well, I know that Avery will be forced to divorce you if she doesn't bear an heir within the first four years of marriage. That's why you asked Diana to wait four years. Am I right?"

"Think whatever you want to think," Evan says, "You can always go back to your family's house if you don't like it here."

"I do like here, as a matter of fact," Leonie says, "And I'll try to make you like me no matter who you like now."

She straightens her dress and gives Evan a conspiratorial smile. "And, I'll keep your little secret," she adds.

Confident again, she turns and leaves the room.

In the bedroom, Avery wakes from a fitful sleep. The door is open to allow fresh air to circulate, and she vaguely hears the conversation between Leonie and Evan in the study next door.

The words swirl in her feverish mind.

"I didn't touch you that night. According to David, the marks on your neck are from an allergic reaction."

"I'm just not interested in you."

"Are you using me to protect Diana?"

"If she comes back, are you going to give her everything?"

"I know that Avery will be forced to divorce you if she doesn't bear an heir within the first four years of marriage. That's why you asked Diana to wait four years. Am I right?"

Their voices grate on her, and she frowns annoyed that they've disrupted her sleep. But slowly, her mind begins to work. So Leonie's sister Diana is Evan's true childhood sweetheart. That's surprising. Evan has guarded his secret with incredible care—no one would suspect a thing.

She vaguely recalls meeting Diana once. Unlike Leonie who uses her beauty in a petty and flirtatious way, Diana seemed to be a true beauty. She was generous, and humble, and carried herself with quiet and gentle grace.

"She seemed to like my polar opposite," Avery thinks wryly.

She can imagine how deep Evan's feelings for Diana must be if he's willing to use Leonie as a distraction. She shakes herself mentally—it's none of her business what Evan thinks about Diana. According to Leonie, Evan has to divorce her if she doesn't produce an heir. All she has to do is avoid getting pregnant for the next six months, and she can finally leave the Howel family.

Satisfied with her imminent divorce, she relaxes into the pillows. But then thought begins to bother her. If Evan loves Diana so much, why is he trying to thwart her divorce plans? He's such a strange man.

She tries to put the thought out of her mind. The medication has made her feel better and she wants to get out of bed. She doesn't realize she's in Evan's room until the maid appears to help her dress.

"Go get my clothes from my room, will you?"

"Mr. Howel asked us to move all of your clothing into his room," the maid informs her.

She opens the closet door and shows Avery her outfits hanging across from Evan's. Avery is puzzled. After over three years of marriage, Evan wants her to share his room? Isn't he concerned about hurting Diana's feelings?

Avery shrugs to herself. Maybe Diana is the type of woman who's willing to forgive a powerful man like Evan for loving other women. And anyway, Evan doesn't love her; he's only interested in using her body while he waits for Diana.

Avery looks through her clothing and decides on a relaxed blue ensemble. Wearing clothing that looks like pajamas are in style, and her outfit looks like it's been taken off the cover of a magazine. With her messy hair and casual outfit, she looks effortlessly chic and sexy.

"Is dinner ready?" she asks.

"Not yet. Mr. Howel said that you could ask the chef to make whatever you like since you're ill."

"There's no need. I'll cook for myself."

The servant looks at Avery in amazement but doesn't dare to object. Avery always used to complain that the kitchen smelled like smoke and grease. Now she says she wants to cook her own dinner. The maid can't figure out what's going on with her.

Avery stretches lazily, and the casual move reveals a lithe beauty. She yawns and then heads downstairs to the kitchen.

Charles did her a huge favor by making her the morning-after pills, and she wants to do something to repay him. All he's ever asked is that she cooks him spaghetti, and she's determined to grant this one small wish.

No one ever taught Avery how to cook or do chores. The Peters family always had maids and cooks to do things for them, and Avery's education was dedicated to making her a suitable wife for a rich and powerful man. She's never made pasta before and she opens a recipe app on her phone to help. She searches the kitchen for the ingredients.

"I'll do it, Mrs. Howel," the cook says hurriedly upon realizing that Avery intends to cook. She'd lose her job if Evan found out his wife was cooking for herself.

"It's fine," Avery insists, "I want to do it."