The lights were dazzling, layers of shadows overlapped, and that man stood in front of the railing on the second floor in a sleek dark black suit, exuding an air of nobility, coldness, and a regal aura. He looked at her with eyes that were deep and icy. Ava Sterling’s heart skipped a beat, as if something had suddenly become unbalanced and dropped, making her instantly flustered. Facing those terrifyingly deep eyes, she inexplicably felt as if she had done something wrong, giving rise to a fear that made her involuntarily avert her gaze, not daring to look at him. Damn, is he really here? Is it really like calling someone and they show up? At that moment, she really wanted to curse! Poe Vaughn looked at the person who immediately lowered her head, at the evasive glance, the flustered and at a loss expression, he withdrew his gaze and stepped forward. But at the moment he withdrew his gaze, the atmosphere around him suddenly became silent, like falling into an eternal glacier, terrifyingly cold, terrifyingly quiet... The oppressive aura that had fallen on her suddenly disappeared, allowing Ava Sterling to breathe easily again. Yet, in the blink of an eye, clarity returned to her thoughts, and at that moment, she realized a problem. What was she hiding from? What was she afraid of? What was she flustered about? She hadn’t done anything to wrong him, so why was she feeling these emotions? Most importantly, what was that look he just gave her? It was as if he thought she was cheating on him... He couldn’t possibly think she was two-timing him, could he? Ava Sterling immediately looked up towards the railing, but the person was already gone. It seemed like everything she just saw was her illusion. Ava Sterling’s face darkened. She knew very well that what she had just seen wasn’t an illusion, it was real, that person had indeed come to this charity gala. His presence here wasn’t surprising, nothing unusual about it, but! What was with that look he gave her? The way he looked at her really made her feel furious! Yes! They are in a marriage, but it’s fake! Even though it wasn’t real, she had adhered to her duties as a wife and hadn’t done anything to wrong him, so why did he look at her like that? Ava Sterling absolutely hated being slandered, and that person’s gaze just now was blatant slander! No, she needed to have a good talk with him, she couldn’t just let this slide! Thinking so, she was about to act, to find him and clarify things, when Jace Kingsley’s voice reached her ears: "Ava, what’s wrong?" "Did something happen?" Ava Sterling was just about to set aside what was in her hands to go upstairs when she heard Jace Kingsley’s voice. She paused, her rationality coming back at once. What was she doing? She had come here as Jace’s companion, if she did anything inappropriate, it would be his face she’d be losing. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novelFirｅ.net She couldn’t do that. Ava Sterling took a deep breath, suppressing the flames of anger in her heart, and gave Jace a smile: "Nothing." Jace carefully observed her expression, then softly said: "Ava, we are friends, if you have anything on your mind, you can always tell me." Ava looked at this gentleman before her, genuinely sighing in her heart, all men, all handsome, yet the difference is so vast? Look at Jace, how wonderful! "Don’t worry, if I have anything I can’t handle, you’ll be the first one I turn to!" Jace laughed: "Really? You have to keep your word." "If you don’t believe me, I’ll set it up for you right now!" Ava said, immediately taking out her phone, setting Jace as her emergency contact, then holding it up for him to see: "Look, I’m not lying to you." Jace saw the first contact name on the phone screen was his, smiled as he said: "I believe you." Ava put her phone back in her bag and continued eating: "I’m always true to my word, and you’ll never have to worry about me being two-faced, rest assured in making friends with me." She was very confident, her brows and eyes danced, not at all matching the elegant and gentle qipao she wore, yet oddly charming. Jace picked up a piece of fruit and fed it to her lips, softly saying: "I trust you." Ava opened her mouth, taking the fruit in one bite, the sweetness made her smile at Jace. Jace also smiled at her, only that while Ava was engrossed in eating, his gaze fell to the railing on the second floor. The person was gone, but everything needed to be seen was seen. On the second floor, in the VIP room. Poe Vaughn entered holding his phone, the people inside saw him come in, one of them said: "It took you so long to take a phone call, were you really on the phone, or were you checking out beautiful women?" The person speaking had black hair, yet his eyes were amber. He had deep-set eyes typical of Westerners, a high nose bridge, and well-defined features, but also the yellow skin of Easterners, and spoke fluent Mandarin. Poe Vaughn didn’t respond, he walked in and sat down on the sofa. Vincent Donovan noticed something seemed off about him, so he told the person speaking: "Everyone we expected should more or less be here, right?" Ethan Ainsworth checked the time on his phone, then made a call, soon after he said: "Almost there, they’re about ready to set sail." Vincent Donovan laughed: "Aren’t you supposed to be greeting the guests as the host?" Indeed, the host of tonight’s charity gala was Ethan Ainsworth’s grandfather, Wilson, Ethan Ainsworth’s English name is Andre. Ethan Ainsworth was his Chinese name, his mother’s family name is Ainsworth, she is a well-known lady of the Ainsworth Family. Today he was here on behalf of his grandfather to host this charity auction, naturally, he should be downstairs, not holed up in the VIP room upstairs. "Aren’t I entertaining?" As he spoke, he spread his hands towards Vincent Donovan and Poe Vaughn, his gaze inexplicable. Vincent Donovan, seeing his exaggerated manner, gave a helpless smile and shook his head while taking a sip of his drink. Meanwhile, Poe Vaughn, after entering, was swirling his wine glass. He didn’t drink, just swirled it slightly, his eyes partially closed, thoughts unreadable. Ethan Ainsworth observed Poe Vaughn’s demeanor, blinked, suddenly thought of something, then chuckled, "Poe, why didn’t you bring that beautiful lady from the other night?" Vincent Donovan paused, looked at Ethan Ainsworth, then at Poe Vaughn, clearly confused. Poe Vaughn continued swirling his wine glass, as if he hadn’t heard what Ethan Ainsworth said, not even batting an eye. Ethan Ainsworth wasn’t surprised at all by Poe Vaughn’s attitude, continuing to laugh as he said: "You can hide it from others but not from me, a few days ago, at the RS event, I heard there was a particularly beautiful lady by your side, who even drank quite a bit for you, and you left together." "Come on, who is this lady?" As he said this, Ethan Ainsworth picked up his wine glass for a drink, yet even while drinking, his gaze remained fixed on Poe Vaughn’s face, not missing any flicker of expression. Vincent Donovan was rarely surprised, and then, very quickly, a plain yet beautiful face came to his mind. His eyes flickered slightly, and he looked at the person who since coming in had been enveloped in an inexplicable aura, saying: "If that’s true, you should formally introduce her to us." For once, Vincent Donovan chimed in, and Ethan Ainsworth noted the key word in his sentence: ’formally.’ His eyes suddenly lit up with interest, quickly asking: "Vincent, have you seen her?" Just after he asked, the lips of the previously silent person finally opened.