Gabrielle's eyes dim with hopeless panic.

"Mr. Clifford, what are you talking about?" she asks innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know what just happened to me," Andrew growls.

Though she looks innocent enough, Andrew is sure that Gabrielle has meddled with the juice.

"I don't know what you were doing just now," Gabrielle whispers, "Is your heart hurting you? You look pretty bad."

"Do you want me to be unwell?" he hissed, "You seem quite eager to find something wrong with me."

"No, no, of course not," Gabrielle replies, "Mr. Clifford, your heart isn't good and you're still recovering from the operation. Please calm down, anger is really bad for you."

Gabrielle looks innocent and her eyes are full of tears. Andrew can't help but feel a sudden, powerful attraction to her. He bows his head to kiss her—the odor of garlic has disappeared from her mouth after he ordered a maid to help her brush her teeth more than ten times—but she quickly turned her head to the side.

"Mr. Clifford, I don't think we should make love today," she said in a trembling voice.

"Are you worried it won't fit?" Andrew asks roughly as he begins to caress her, "We need to try."

The crowd laughs at the scene.

"It's not the right time," she said nervously, "It's my time of the month, that is I'm in the middle of my menstrual cycle, and I'm afraid that kind of blood might ruin your gemstone."

She glances up at Andrew through her tear-soaked eyelashes and sees he's making an unhappy expression. She forces a few more tears to fall her cheek.

"I've indeed been in love with you for a very long time," she continues, "And I'm looking forward to you fucking me but—"

Before Gabrielle can finish speaking, she feels a cool breeze on her most intimate parts. Andrew has roughly pulled her underwear down, revealing a bloody sanitary pad attached to the white lace. Gabrielle blushes with shame and embarrassment as Andrew holds the underwear up in front of the large crowd.

"It's a pity—" she tries to continue.

"You're right," Andrew interrupts her again, "It's a very bad omen to get menstrual blood on the stone, but I think it's rather suspicious that you know that."

"What the fuck?" a man in the crowd asks, "What is Mr. Clifford doing now?"

Avery was preparing to run onto the stage, but she stops when she sees the sanitary pad. She feels so disgusted she wants to vomit. Then she sees Andrew remove the pad from the underwear and sniff it. Her stomach turns.

"Tell me, why doesn't your blood have a smell?" Andrew asks, sniffing the pad again, "Is it lipstick? Or red ink?"

"It's menstrual blood," Gabrielle insists, "There's no special odor because I'm healthy."

"Do you think I'm going to believe you?" Andrew sneers.

"You should believe me," Gabrielle says sincerely, "I swear it's menstrual blood."

"Do you think I can't verify that?" Andrew asks with a cruel smile.

Gabrielle's face pales. If he's committed, it won't be difficult for him to prove that it's just red ink. Slowly, he drops the underwear and presses her back onto the sofa. He slides his hand up her thigh to her most intimate place. Gabrielle squirms and tries to escape his touch, but Andrew is strong and he firmly pushes down on her shoulder.

"Stop!" Avery shouts from the crowd.

Surprised, Andrew releases Gabrielle. The crowd turns and watches a beautiful woman walk through their midst.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Felicity Winter," Andrew says with a smirk.

"My sister!" Gabrielle shouts.

"Andrew Clifford, let her go," Avery says expressionlessly.

"Who are you to order me around in my own home?" Andrew sneers, "Why would I obey your orders?"

Though Andrew's voice is firm and condescending, he takes his hands off Gabrielle. His heart is hammering wildly in his chest upon seeing Avery. He wants to control it, but he recalls that it's not truly his own.

"You should obey me, because of this," Avery says, showing him the bullet clasped tightly between her fingertips.

"Do you think I'll let her go because of a bullet?" Andrew asks as if he thinks the situation is absurd.

"When you gave me the bullet, did you plan to cheat me?" Avery asks, "Everyone knows this means you owe me a debt. I wonder what would happen to your reputation if others knew you didn't honor your debts?"

"Do you think I'm afraid of your threats?" Andrew asks.

"If your reputation doesn't worry you, perhaps this will," Avery says cooly.

With a smooth motion, she lifts a bracelet made of thick, black rope. A piece of blood amber shines brightly in the center of the bracelet.

"Wow—look at the way the blood amber shines!" someone shouts.

"It's special stone," someone else says, "It shines like that when it's looking for its master."

Andrew's eyes widen with fear and surprise. He can't believe that Avery stole his blood amber. He nods at his bodyguards, and they rush toward Avery, pushing through the crowd as they go. Avery quickly puts the amber between her lips, surprising Andrew again.

Avery knows the bracelet is very dirty and soaked in blood. She doesn't want it anywhere near her body, but she knows that the thick carpet on the floor will prevent the stone from breaking if she throws it to the ground. She holds it between her lips and stares defiantly at Andrew and the guards.

"Call off your guards this instant or I'll swallow it," she says around the stone.

Andrew waves his hand impatiently and steps away from Gabrielle. The men in the room inhale deeply. They can't believe this woman would dare to steal one of Andrew's most prized possessions and then use it to threaten him. It's well-known that this stone is his favorite, and the woman threatens to swallow it as if it's nothing.

Though Andrew has a calm demeanor, the men can't help but imagine the danger Avery must be in. Boldly, she continues walking toward Andrew.

"Let Gabrielle go," Avery says, "I can substitute for her."

"Do you think you're better for my purposes than Gabrielle?" Andrew asks, a seductive tone creeping unintentionally into his voice, "She's a virgin. Are you?"

Avery frowns, "How useful will Gabrielle be to you if I swallow this stone right now? "

Surprisingly, Andrew laughs.

"I knew you wanted me," Andrew says cockily, "But I didn't realize you wanted me to fuck you this badly. Do you?"

Everyone laughs. Avery's blonde hair is curled, and it hangs loose to her waist. She has a beautiful figure and face, and everyone is waiting for her to reply. The men and women in the crowd all hope she'll say yes. Though she's wearing a black and white dress, they're already imagining how her body looks under it.

Though Avery wants to kick him, she smiles without anger. She forces herself to walk seductively, but her eyes are filled with a sly intent. She raises her chin boldly as she approaches him.

"If I participated in your activity, it wouldn't be so interesting," she says.

Though Andrew is a relatively tall man, he is shorter than Evan. Avery is wearing flat shoes, so she has to stare up at him. She seductively removes the bracelet from her lips, and waves her slim, white hand in the air. The bracelet sways back and forth.

"Mr. Clifford, do you want to try?" she asks, swaying in time with the bracelet.