"What are you thinking? Hurry and eat!" "Don’t you eat mushrooms?" Ava saw Jace staring at the mushrooms without moving, wondering what he was thinking, feeling quite puzzled. Jace’s gaze shifted slightly, his eyes returned to normal, and he looked up at her, with gentleness in his eyes, "Of course I eat." "I like mushrooms too." Ava frowned, looking into Jace’s eyes, which were slightly red, as if touched to tears. He’s that moved just because she picked some food for him? "You... you’ve never had anyone pick food for you, have you?" Ava asked cautiously and nervously. Jace paused, saw her expression, understood what she meant, and then laughed, "People have." "I’m just very touched. Ava treats me as a true friend, and that makes me happy." Ava was speechless for a moment, "It’s nothing. I think you must have too few friends. You look approachable, but honestly, I don’t think you are." "You’re keeping a distance from people. If you don’t open up, it’s hard for others to get into your heart." "But nowadays, it seems everyone’s ; it’s tough for people to open up." "Sigh, as society and technology advance, everything changes." Ava sighed as she spoke and continued picking food for Jace, "Hurry up and eat, it’ll taste bad if it cools down." Her topics always seemed to veer off suddenly, ending without conclusion, yet extremely endearing. He ate all the food she picked for him, not leaving a bit, even the dishes Ava brought were eaten by him. At the end, they nearly finished everything. Ava was surprised looking at the empty plates, "Did we finish everything?" "If not, I’ll order more." She was full, just not sure if Jace was. Gathering the dishes, he heard her caring words and smiled, "I’m full." "If not, we can go for a late night snack later." It seemed like a casual remark, yet as if he had planned it ahead, Ava suddenly felt tense and immediately said, "Not tonight, I have something to do." Jace’s gaze shifted slightly, pausing in tidying. He seemed unaware of the reason, looked up at her, "What’s wrong? Is there something? Ava dared not make eye contact with Jace; his gaze was too clear and trusting, making her feel guilty. She hadn’t told anyone about her marriage to Poe Vaughn, partly fulfilling the promise in the marriage agreement, partly because she truly didn’t want to tell anyone. It’s fake, and it might be dissolved soon, for others it’s as if nothing happened, no need to make a fuss. Even for Jace, he’s too nice, and she had promised him from the start. Facing him now, she indeed felt some guilt. "It’s not that important, and you’re so busy, don’t always hang out with me, lest you get delayed." After speaking, Ava hastily checked the time on her phone, quickly surprised, "Oh no, it’s already seven, I must go." "You’re busy, let’s contact tomorrow." After that, Ava quickly packed things up, stuffed them into a bag in a few moves, grabbed the bag and her purse, waved goodbye to Jace without waiting for his response, and hurried off. As if a second delay was unacceptable. Jace stood there, watching the office door slam shut, her slender figure disappearing from sight, the smile in his eyes vanished, even his demeanor changed. She feared he’d find out. Ava soon entered the elevator, swiftly exited the office building, finally sitting in the car, allowing herself to breathe a little more easily. But even so, she dared not be careless. Started the car immediately, turned the wheel quickly, joining the flow of cars, allowing herself to fully relax. Jace was too good, good enough that she felt she shouldn’t hide anything from him. Ava drove while furrowing her brow. She felt she must still keep a distance from Jace, even as friends, the friendship shouldn’t be too close. Especially since she still desired to have a child, which made it even less feasible. Realizing this, Ava’s frown deepened. If there were no thoughts of having a child, it’d be okay, but she wanted a child, which made it tricky. Ava tightly gripped the steering wheel, contemplating deeply. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel⁂fire.net She felt she should gradually pull away from Jace. To prevent him from heartbreak eventually. Although her marriage with Poe is fake, such things would likely be considered real by ordinary people. She deemed it fake, others saw it as real, which created issues. She disliked troubles, didn’t want to stir up too much, so the direct approach was to not think too much and avoid wanting to have it all. Just having one of the two is enough. Thus, what needs to be cut off should be, without dragging. At this moment, Ava made a precise decision, looking ahead, with determination in her eyes. Pressing the gas pedal quickly, the car shot forward like an arrow. Poe Vaughn didn’t eat much dinner, Mrs. Wei was surprised while cleaning up, as Poe had never had such a poor appetite before. The dishes on the table were nearly untouched. So Mrs. Wei asked Poe if the dishes tonight were unappetizing, otherwise how could he eat so little. Poe said no, he just wasn’t hungry. Mrs. Wei didn’t quite believe that. Poe never said he wasn’t hungry when eating, this situation never occurred before. Even after dining, Poe didn’t go upstairs or to the study, rather he picked up the remote and turned on the TV, sitting on the sofa watching. This unprecedented behavior left Mrs. Wei baffled. However, she soon understood. Because the Mrs. wasn’t home. Even Poe had no appetite for dining, yet he waited while watching TV. There’s no doubt why Mrs. Wei would think so and so confidently, it’s because she had served Poe for years, understanding him somewhat. Especially the changes Poe went through the past two months were clear to her. Apart from the Mrs., no one else made Poe act so atypically. Mrs. Wei said no more, cleared the dishes into the kitchen, washed the bowls. But while washing, a thought suddenly crossed her mind. Then quickly, Mrs. Wei halted, her mind began turning. After a while, she wiped her hands dry with a towel, carefully looked outside, seeing Poe still on the sofa watching TV, she quietly closed the kitchen door, moved away from it with her phone, and called Ava. Indeed, she had to call Ava. And she felt it was very necessary! Quickly, the call connected. Mrs. Wei patiently waited, simultaneously watching the outside, hoping the Mr. wouldn’t suddenly come in. Ava drove towards the Green Hill Villa, checked the time, about forty minutes left. Returning would be around eight, enough time, wouldn’t affect watering the plants. Ava felt assured, yet pushed the pedal harder. Eager to be early, rather than late, for safety. But then, her phone rang.