Avery stares down at the ring. The stone shines and twinkles, but Evan's eyes are even brighter. He smiles softly and rolls the ring around his palm.

"Don't say no to me again," he whispers.

"This is where you're proposing to me?" Avery asks, stalling for time.

"What's wrong with that?" Evan asks.

"It's the hospital, Evan," she says. "No one proposes in the hospital. Least of all when they're too wounded to even get out of bed."

"The place doesn't matter—it's the thought that counts," Evan says with a smile.

"Stop joking about this," Avery says. "You just survived a bomb blast. And the doctor said your wounds need to be cleaned to avoid infection."

She reaches for the bottle of disinfectant, but Evan stops her and asks, "Why are you avoiding the question?"

"Why would I avoid the question?" Avery asks, feeling her palms start to sweat. "I'm just worried about your health."

"Last time you refused me because of Charles, but now he's going to get a heart," Evan says. "What's your reason for refusing me this time? The real reason?"

"It's because we're in a hospital," Avery lies. "Besides, why do we even need to get married? I'm fine with things the way they are."

Evan stares at her without blinking. For a moment, she thinks she sees the hurt flicker in his eyes, but it vanishes instantly. He raises his hand and gently strokes her cheek.

"What if I need to?" he asked, his voice low and hoarse.

Avery can't believe her ears. Everyone always says that women are the only ones who care about marriage, she thinks. They say that men would prefer just to keep a harem of mistresses. But Evan really wants to marry me. I can't believe it.

Evan runs his fingers through Avery's hair, gently working out the tangles. He slides his hand and cups the back of her head, forcing her to look at him. He stares deep into her eyes until she feels like she can't breathe.

"Without marriage, we're just lovers," he says quietly. "If we get married, we'll be a family. So marry me, Avery. I need you to be my wife."

"I can't," Avery whispers, feeling her voice break.

"Are you refusing me?" Evan asks. "What's the reason this time?"

He struggles to sit up and grabs Avery's shoulder. He glares at her angrily, and Avery knows she's hurt his pride. She's the only woman ever to reject him, and now she's done it twice. Avery opens her mouth and then snaps it shut. There's nothing she can say that will make it better. Marrying Andrew is the only way to save both Evan and Charles.

She shakes her head and tries to make her voice sound cold, "Just calm down, Evan."

"Why?" Evan asks, his voice sounding even hoarser. "I want a reason. You owe me an explanation, at least."

"You're not fully recovered," Avery says. "It's not the right time to talk about marriage."

"Fine, after I get better, I'll marry you," he says. "Like it or not."

Avery nods, knowing she'll be long gone by the time he has fully recovered. He leans forward and bites her bottom lip. His teeth dig into the sensitive skin, and her eyes widen with pain. Evan pulls away and gently kisses her lip, then he rings the call button.

A nurse runs into the room, closely followed by Robert and a doctor. They all look at Evan, worried that something has happened and seem surprised to see Avery perched on the bed. Avery jumps off the bed and smiled embarrassedly.

"I don't care what it takes, but I want to be out of here in three days," Evan says.

The doctor looks worriedly at Robert and says, "Mr. Howel, your wound is pretty bad. We've used every state of the art methods available to us, but the body can't recover overnight. Your wounds need time to heal."

"That's unacceptable," Evan says.

"I'll try my best, but I can't make any promises," the doctor says. "So much of the healing process depends on the patient. The healing time is up to your body, not to me."

"Evan, why are you pushing them?" Avery asks, annoyed at how stubborn Evan is being. "Give yourself time to heal properly. It's dangerous to push the process too quickly."

"Don't you want me to get better soon?" Evan snaps.

Avery bites her lip. Of course, I want him to get better, she thinks. But the sooner he gets better, the sooner I have to leave him. I know it's selfish, but I want to spend every minute I can with him.

"Are you really worried about me healing properly?" Evan asks. "I think you just want me to stay sick, so you don't have to marry me."

"I'm just worried that your body can't handle it," Avery whispers.

Evan reaches out and places his hand on her cheek and says, "This is nothing. If I'm not strong enough to recover from this, I'm not worthy of marrying you."

"Evan, your hand is burning," Avery says. "Has your fever gotten worse?"

The nurse grabs a thermometer and rushes toward Evan, but he glares at her. She stops and stares at him nervously. Robert coughs quietly and takes the nurse by the arm, leading her away from Evan's bed.

"I thought I made it clear that only male nurses can attend to Mr. Howel," Robert whispers to the doctor.

"It's okay," Avery says, quickly grabbing the thermometer. "I'll do it."

Avery knows that Evan is weird about letting strange women touch him. She wipes the thermometer with a sanitizing wipe and tucks it under Evan's armpit, making sure to move his arm as gently as possible. As soon as Avery's fingers brushed his skin, his look softened. She frowns—the skin on his arm feels burning hot too.

She pulled the thermometer out from under his arm and read the number: 39.2 degrees Celsius. She looks at the doctor and sees that he's twisting his hand nervously.

"I want a shot to reduce the fever," Evan says.

The doctor nods and calls for a male nurse. The man enters and calmly sticks the sharp needle into Evan's arm. The doctor watches, checking notes on his clipboard, and making little marks with a pen.

"Put a cold towel on his forehead, and make sure he stays hydrated," the doctor says. "I'll order an IV, but it's better if he can drink water. I know Mr. Howel likes natural remedies, so I'll also recommend adding pear and ginger to the water. It's important that he avoids physical activity or anything that could damage the torn and burnt skin on his body. We need to keep his temperature under control because any sweat could make the wounds get infected."

"I want water—cold water," Evan says.

Robert immediately pours Evan a glass and orders a bodyguard to get pear and ginger. Evan raises the glass to his lips and drains it in one gulp. He holds it out to Robert to refill and then drinks the second glass. He's about to get a third, but Avery takes the glass out of his hands.

"Evan, please slow down," she says. "Let's take this one step at a time, okay?"

Avery sits on the side of the bed and feels her heartache painfully in her chest. Evan shifts slowly and uses his good arm and pulls her onto the uninjured side of his body. He's burning hot, but she doesn't mind the warmth. She closes her eyes and feels a tear drop onto her cheeks.

"Oh, Avery," he whispers. "Why won't you accept my proposal?"