Chapter 6

Avery woke up again to find herself in an unfamiliar room.

Her head throbbed, her eyelids so heavy she could barely lift them. After a long while, her blurred vision slowly came into focus.

It was an exceptionally spacious room. A massive oil painting hung above the headboard.

The ceiling was plain, with a ring of concealed lighting set into the molding, currently switched off.

A minimalist chandelier hung at the center, coldly reflecting the light spilling out from the bathroom.

Dark gray curtains were drawn tightly shut, cutting off all outside light and making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

Avery sat up in bed.

The moment the blanket slid down, she realized she wasn’t wearing any clothes. What she had been wearing earlier had been stripped off and tossed messily onto the floor.

Thankfully, the sheets were neat, and aside from the pounding in her head, she felt no other discomfort.

She leaned forward, about to reach for the clothes on the floor, when she heard a click by her ear.

The door had opened.

Someone had come in.

Avery’s heart jumped straight into her throat. She wrapped the blanket tightly around herself and looked toward the doorway.

The man stood backlit, tall and upright. As he stepped closer, his features gradually came into view—deep-set contours, cold, sharp eyes.

It was Lucien.

Was this Lucien’s room?

The person who drugged her had clearly been sent by Henry. How had she ended up here instead?

Avery was completely at a loss.

Lucien wore a well-tailored dark coat over a crisp suit.

As he entered, he took off his coat and tossed it onto the sofa. When his gaze flicked up, he suddenly noticed Avery on the bed.

There was someone extra in the room. His brow tightened instantly.

“Why are you here?”

His sharp gaze fixed on her.

Avery was wrapped in his blanket, her long hair in disarray, only her pale shoulders exposed.

On the carpet lay her knit sweater, her jeans, and a light-colored set of lingerie, like wilted petals, jarringly close to his polished shoes.

His throat bobbed. He looked away and took a step to the side.

“Avery.”

Lucien enunciated her name slowly, his voice cold, as if covered in layers of ice. “What kind of trick are you playing?”

“I don’t know how I got here either. I only remember being drugged.”

“Drugged?”

“Yes. Could you help me with something—”

“No.” Lucien cut her off without hesitation, refusing coldly. “Don’t even think about it. I don’t sleep with married women.”

Sleep?

It turned out that when someone was truly speechless, they really did laugh.

Even with her head splitting in pain, Avery couldn’t help letting out a short, mocking laugh.

“Mr. Holmes, don’t get the wrong idea. I was drugged with a sedative, not an aphrodisiac. And I have no intention of sleeping with you.”

Lucien was speechless.

“What I mean is—could you do me a favor and turn around first so I can get dressed?”

The atmosphere turned awkward.

Lucien pressed his lips into a thin line and quickly turned his back to her.

Avery hurriedly picked up the clothes from the floor and put them on.

In that brief stretch of silence, a sudden, violent pounding erupted from the neighboring room.

“Avery Walters! You bitch! I know you’re a slut to the core, sneaking here to sleep with another man! Open the door! Open it right now!”

It was Henry’s voice.

“You shameless adulterers, get out here! I want to see which bastard dares touch my wife! Open the door! You filthy pair, get out here!”

Shouts from a man and shrill screams from a woman quickly rang out next door.

Everything clicked into place for Avery.

From Linda slipping something into her tea to this public scene of catching her in the act, it was all a filthy setup arranged by Henry.

The only question was where the plan had gone wrong—how she ended up in Lucien’s room by mistake.

Lucien grasped the situation just as quickly.

He walked over to the wall adjoining the neighboring room and listened for a few seconds, a cold curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

“Your husband really went to great lengths just to make sure you leave the marriage with nothing,” Lucien said deliberately, stressing the words “your husband.”

Avery had been married to Henry for years and had never once felt that sense of shared fate of rising or falling together, but at this moment, his despicable scheming left her humiliated and shaken to the core.

If she hadn’t been sent to the wrong room, she would have been standing trial right now, judged from a moral high ground by that shameless man.

It didn’t take long for Henry next door to realize he had caught the wrong people.

“What’s going on? Where is she? Didn’t you say Avery was here cheating? Where is she? Where did she go?”

The noise outside paused for a few seconds.

“It’s this room.”

“Could they have sent her to the wrong one? Maybe it’s next door?”

Footsteps filled with resentment headed straight toward the room Lucien was staying in.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Henry began pounding on Lucien’s door.

The violent knocking sounded like a war drum, each blow slamming straight into Avery’s chest.

“Open up! Avery, get out here! You cheating slut, get out here!”

Panic set in.

Henry was domineering and relentless.

Once he set his mind on something, he would not stop.

If he wanted this door open, he would tear it off its hinges if necessary.

She could not be “caught” like this, absolutely not.

Avery lifted her head and looked at Lucien.

“Help me…” she said softly.

Lucien had been dragged into this mess against his will. A trace of impatience surfaced between his brows, but his expression remained calm, almost cold.

He didn’t respond right away. He made no move to open the door or take action, only watched her in silence.

“Why should I help you?”

“I’m in your room right now. That puts us in the same boat.”

“I didn’t touch you. I’m not your adulterer. Even if he breaks in, he can’t do anything to me.”

Lucien’s tone carried an indifferent ease, as if it had nothing to do with him.

“But you, on the other hand, entered my room without permission. That already constitutes a civil violation. It’s illegal.”

The words hit Avery like a bucket of ice water poured over her head.

“Avery, if you don’t come out right now, I’m breaking the door down! I’ll let everyone see how you sneak around behind my back!”

The door remained shut, and Henry seemed increasingly certain she was inside this room.

On one side was a rabid, abusive husband.

On the other, a former lover ready to push her further into the pit.

Avery felt cornered, with no way out.

Fine. If they were going to force her, then she’d drag everything down with her.

After a few seconds of thought, Avery suddenly strode up to Lucien.

She rose onto her toes, hooked her arms around his neck, and before he could react, pressed her lips hard against the bare skin at the side of his neck.

It wasn’t a fleeting touch, but a desperate, all-or-nothing mark, biting down without hesitation.

Lucien’s body stiffened instantly.

He could clearly feel the warm, faintly painful sensation at his neck, along with the light fragrance clinging to her. This move was completely beyond his expectations.

“Avery! Are you out of your mind?”

Lucien shoved her away, but it was already too late. A fresh crimson mark bloomed rapidly on his skin.

“You didn’t touch me, but I touched you. That makes you my adulterer now.”

Avery was slightly breathless from the force, an unnatural flush rising on her cheeks.

“Lucien, it’s either we get caught together, or you help me. Take your pick.”

She looked straight into his eyes, the corner of her lips curving into a bleak, defiant smile.

Lucien raised a hand, his fingertips brushing lightly over the spot she had kissed.

“Very well.” His voice dropped, roughened by something darker. “Avery Walters, you’ve got guts.”

------------------------

“Open the door! Open it now!”

Outside, Henry’s voice grew more impatient by the second.

Lucien shot Avery a look, signaling for her to hide in the bathroom.

Avery nodded and quickly slipped inside.

Lucien turned and walked with steady steps toward the door that was being pounded relentlessly, then pulled it open in one smooth motion.