His voice was noticeably less cold than when speaking to others, and the arms that gathered around her were full of protectiveness. Ava heard him speak, and tears immediately started to flow: "Poe Vaughn, it’s all you..." "It’s all your fault..." She started to cry, like a child who had been bullied, blaming him for not protecting her well. Poe Vaughn’s lips tightened slightly, and he said nothing more, but his brow furrowed deeply. What was his fault, where did he go wrong, to make her so heartbroken? At this moment, his large hand tightened. Ava herself didn’t know why she suddenly cried, didn’t know she’d react this way; she just felt really uncomfortable, terribly uncomfortable, she had to voice it out, otherwise she would feel even worse. Her fingers clutched his bathrobe tightly, crying, "I don’t have many friends, truly sincere friends are even fewer, people who are good to me are rare." "Jace Kingsley is a very good person, he’s genuinely good to me, he cares for me, is considerate to me, cherishes me, with him I feel like I’m the most precious thing, always carefully held and protected by him." Get full chapters from novel✦fire.net "Do you understand what that’s like?" "To be cherished and valued so cautiously, that kind of feeling is truly priceless." "I know Jace likes me, but I don’t want to get married, I don’t want to end up like my parents, constantly arguing about everything, blaming each other and then leaving me all alone, with no one to take care of."[p> "I don’t want to be abandoned." "So from the beginning, I rejected Jace; I don’t believe in feelings, don’t trust those fleeting things." "I can be friends with Jace, be lovers, but won’t get married." "That’s what I told him from the start, but you know what? He didn’t pressure me, didn’t make me accept him; he respected me, just said we could be friends, and if I felt it was right, we could be lovers, he was willing to wait." "Normally, I wouldn’t believe such words, but when Jace said them, I believed him, so I agreed that if it was suitable, I would date him." "All of this happened before signing the agreement with you; it’s what I promised him." "But why did you entice me with a hundred million?" "I love money so much, how could I possibly turn down a hundred million?" With that, Ava burst into tears wildly, as if she had lost billions. Poe Vaughn looked at her in such a state, tears pouring down, deeply sad, without uttering a sound, a word, a sentence. He tempted her with the hundred million, seizing the initiative, so that she could belong to him. In the business world, how could a businessman not resort to methods? Once he knew clearly what he wanted, he would surely devise a strategy. He wanted her, naturally, it was impossible to let her belong to someone else. Seeing her tears, her grief at this moment, his heart sank. Knowing Jace was so important to her, he had never imagined to be so much. Ava cried so sorrowfully as if she wanted to shed all her life’s tears. "If I hadn’t signed that agreement with you, I wouldn’t have gone back on my word; now I can’t even be friends with Jace." "You know what? He’s realized I’m distancing myself from him, yet humbly doesn’t allow himself to make any overstepping actions, just maintains a concerned friendship, always caring about my feelings." "All he asks for is to be friends with me, just that alone is enough." "But for you, now I can’t even be friends with him..." "Even though our marriage is fake, not real, once the agreement ends, we’ll have no relationship, I could be friends with Jace, could be good friends with him even after our divorce, perhaps we could even be lovers in the future." "But, it’s impossible now." "I can’t be friends with Jace, can’t let him be heartbroken, can’t let him know I married you for a hundred million, and even shared a bed with you." "He would definitely feel very sad once he knows, even though I had promised him previously." "Wuwu... Poe Vaughn, why did you tempt me?" "Why did you make me lose such a precious friend, wuwu..." Ava cried louder and louder, like a thunderclap, yet at this moment, Poe Vaughn’s gaze softened. He stared at her tear-filled face, her thoroughly wet lashes, like a dragonfly drenched by rain, so pitiful. Softened into a puddle. "My fault, it’s all my fault." What she said was right, it was because of him. It was his scheming that led to this result; she could blame him, resent him, even ignore him. But he didn’t regret it. Didn’t regret using such a tactic. Ava listened to him proactively admit fault, but she wasn’t happy, nor did she become more aggressive; instead, she shook her head, sobbing: "It’s not your fault, it’s my fault... wuwu..." "It’s me being greedy, it’s me shortsighted, it’s me not thinking it through, acting impulsively and agreeing." "It’s me who signed that agreement willingly, you didn’t force me, it’s voluntary on my part." "It’s not your fault, Poe Vaughn, it’s my fault, Ava Sterling’s fault, how could I be so stupid..."