Borrow Her Responsibilities.

Setting down the now empty whiskey bottle, a puff of air escaped Avery's pursed lips.

''Yeah, that was exactly what I needed!'' she muttered, earning a raised brow from the man sitting before her.

''A drink or an escape?'' he asked.

''Both,'' Avery replied. She was starting to feel the pain biting at her from the insides of her belly, and though it made her uncomfortable, she was also happy that it was enough to distract her from the much more painful hole in her chest.

"Even if it's to escape your pain, that was too much. You can't drink,'' Archie pointed out. Rising to his feet, he picked up the empty bottle and glass, before turning to walk away from the bar.

"How would you know I can't drink? And where are you going?'' she called after him, her words sounding more like a drunken slur.

''Go sleep, Ava. You will know which is your room the moment you set eyes on it," was the reply she got.

"But—" she tried to argue, when he cut her off with a colder voice,

"Neil kept the dogs away for a while now. Want to wait until they break free before finding your way to the room?"

Shaking her head as hard as she could, Avery shot to her feet and followed in the direction that he went. She stopped only when she got to the entrance of a dimly lit hallway, spotting his silhouette further away. She could not risk being alone when those large dogs could escape from whatever room they had been kept in, any moment from now.

"I–I will go to sleep now," she stated. "But I just have one question before that."

"Fire off."

Licking her lips nervously, she took her time preparing herself before asking, "You said you will help and protect me as long as I do whatever you want in return. What…might that be?"

Silence accompanied her question and after a whole thirty seconds had passed, Avery almost concluded that he had left the hallway when he finally talked,

"That's simple. Since you are borrowing my wife's name, you will also borrow her responsibilities."

"And by responsibilities…you mean?" Avery asked, as carefully as she could bring herself to.

"I mean exactly those dirty thoughts going through your mind right now, Ava."

★★★

Archibald's eyes wandered around the room, taking in every single detail from the obscure ones to the most evident, before finally settling on the billow of black hair that contrasted heavily against the white duvet on the bed. Her face wasn't visible from where he stood, causing him to take large strides to close the distance to the bed.

He needed no one to tell him he had done a good job with the room, as her words from years ago resounded in his mind,

'I would love a room that has everything in it in the color white. White makes me feel like an angel.'

He pulled the sheets down to examine her face and a smile started to form on his lips at the peaceful expression she had on.

"She sure looks like she's enjoying her sleep," he noted, rubbing his thumb against her plump lips. A few more seconds passed with him simply watching her before he straightened, slipping his hands into his pockets.

He was not a good man, and neither was he a kind man. But he last person who needed to be told that was Avery, for she already hated him even before seeing the full extent of his monstrous acts. It was the reason why he had been shocked when she asked to marry him back at the garage that midnight; knowing it would not come at an easy price. He had arrived at only one explanation for that, and it was…'she must really be that thirsty for revenge'.

Still, he would wait for her to recover before demanding for her final answer. It would be his last act of friendship to Arthur, for he owed none of them nothing.

"Take your time, Ava. The moment you are well enough to start your revenge, then it means I don't have to wait any longer," he whispered.

He turned to walk out of the room but on getting to the door, decided against that and turned back to perch himself on the only sofa in the bedroom, prepared to wait until she woke up.

At that same moment, as if knew she was being watched, Avery's eyelids fluttered open to reveal disoriented eyes that flickered around, trying to make out where this strange place was. She took in the white ceilings and moving her head slightly to the side, was also able to catch sight of the massage chair in the corner.

'This…' she drawled, memories of the previous day rushing into her head. Realization dawning on her, she sat up with a start only to meet the piercing blue eyes fixated on her.

Combing her disheveled hair in an attempt to keep them away from her face, she asked, "What are you doing in here?"

"Waiting for you to open your eyes," Archie deadpanned.

"Why? Did something happen?" as the questions fell out of her mouth, she was already climbing out of bed and slipping her leg into the slippers beside it.

"To conclude the conversation we were having last night."

Trying to remember what had happened the previous night, Avery cradled her head in her hands and winced, a flitting ache passing through her head. She had drunk straight from the bottle then Archie threatened her with the dogs, then she followed him to that dimly lit hallway before she asked what he would like her to do in return for his wife's identities and he had said…

"Would you like to sleep more, Ava? You don't seem fully awake," Archie's voice jolted her from her reverie.

She shook her head, blinking rapidly.

"No, no..I am. It's just…I can't remember what happened after I asked what I would have to do I'm return for your protection and your wife's identity."

"I do believe you remember, Ava, and that you just want me to repeat my words," Archie taunted.

"I really do not—"

Archibald cut her off, "It's alright. That's exactly the reason why I waited here seeing as you might have forgotten what happened while you were drunk last night." He paused, taking in her anxious expression before continuing, "You might want to see the contract I drew up so you can understand better."

"Maybe," she replied, her voice still slightly shaky. She slowly rose up from the bed and approached him, only realizing belatedly that she was still wearing her previous day's clothing. She padded across the room to stand before him, "Where is the contract?"

As she was expecting a piece of paper, Avery could not hide her surprise when Archie brought out his phone instead.

"Sit," he ordered, and she complied, settling herself beside him where she was close enough to view the screen of the phone without straining her eyes.

Turned out she need not worry for he passed the phone to her the next second,

"There. Check that out," he ordered.