Nicholas Woods heard this unique voice and realized it was the female companion Chase Jennings brought tonight.
He instinctively frowned, looking at Ava Zimmerman in front of him,
Ava Zimmerman ignored him, turned around, and left after saying this.
Nicholas Woods watched as she quickly blended into the crowd of revelers on the other side, muttering under his breath, "Baffling."
What Nicholas Woods didn’t know was that after Ava shrugged him off, his facial features underwent a subtle change.
If Scarlett Jennings were here, she would notice a faint red hue mixed with black at the center of his brow.
This was a sign of an impending blood omen.
Chase Jennings watched Nicholas Woods leave before turning his gaze to Scarlett Jennings.
Even though he had stepped out unhesitatingly earlier, now that the people were gone, he couldn’t help but ask her,
"Scarlett Jennings, it wasn’t you who had someone make Azura Loomis disappear, right?"
It’s not that he had to suspect her, but since Nicholas Woods brought it up, he felt as though a new line of thought had opened up.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t groundless?
Considering the past grievances with Azura, and the sheer audacity to harm him, Chase felt this was something Scarlett could do.
Especially the latter incident.
For a moment, he thought Chase had finally developed some sense—his mistake.
Scarlett Jennings couldn’t be bothered to engage with him further.
As she lifted her leg to walk away, Chase unwillingly followed her,
"Was it you who had someone break my head? Be honest, and I promise I won’t hold it against you."
The reason he didn’t accuse her directly was that he knew she was in a different city that day.
But for something , it didn’t have to be her doing it personally.
Chase was simply after the truth, with no real intention to hold her accountable.
After all, she did release him from that doll, so consider it even.
He thought he was being quite generous.
But it didn’t stop Scarlett from looking at him like he was an idiot.
"If I wanted, I have a hundred other ways to turn you into a fool without hitting your head."
She said, then suddenly added seriously,
"But I can answer you responsibly, turning you into a fool was not my doing."
Seeing Scarlett respond so earnestly, Chase had to admit he felt relieved inside; he didn’t want his cousin to be so ruthless.
Just then, he vaguely sensed something was amiss.
"Wait a minute... Scarlett Jennings, you just called me an idiot!"
Adam Jennings watched with sympathy.
At least he realized it.
Can’t be completely stupid, right?
First it was Nicholas Woods, now his anger was riled up again by Scarlett, causing him to forget why he originally came to find someone in the first place.
As the three returned to the party, they found that Ava Zimmerman had already left early.
"The lady said she was feeling a bit unwell and left early,"
the server at the entrance relayed to Chase.
Adam Jennings thought, given how much Chase valued Ava, he would probably be worried and at least ask what happened or perhaps directly chase after her.
But Chase just responded calmly,
After growing up together over all these years, Adam couldn’t help but ask,
"You went through the trouble of dressing her up and bringing her to an event , and now that she left early, why aren’t you concerned?"
Chase, upon being asked, seemed to show a hint of complexity on his face and replied ambiguously,
"She’s not suited for this kind of event, leaving early is normal, and she genuinely wasn’t feeling well tonight."
What Chase didn’t say was he found Ava a bit strange.
Because she asked him to apologize to Scarlett Jennings.
Back then, when he targeted Scarlett for Azura Loomis, Azura also pretended to persuade him, suggesting he apologize to Scarlett and get along.
Even though he had different feelings for Azura at the time and was always willing to listen to her, he never truly followed her advice to make amends with Scarlett.
Before discovering Azura’s true nature, Chase always thought he was sincere towards her.
But something Azura couldn’t achieve, Ava managed with just a few words, leading him to obediently apologize.
Chase found his actions surprising, even to himself.
Yet at that moment, her words did genuinely align with his thoughts.
After all, Chase had experienced the bizarre event of his soul being trapped in a doll, which made him feel more vigilant and sensitive than the average person.
Currently, he would speculate about the possibility of strange arts when encountering something abnormal.
He originally intended to ask Scarlett.
But given Scarlett’s lousy attitude, even if she noticed something, she’d probably watch him suffer with the same cold indifference as Azura did.
After some thought, Chase chose the next best option, asking Adam in front of him,
"Adam, what do you think... of Ava Zimmerman?"
Adam looked at Chase in disbelief and couldn’t help but lower his voice, "You can’t be... truly interested in her, can you?"
Although Adam wasn’t against free love, there seemed to be quite a disparity between Chase and Ava Zimmerman, didn’t there?!
Sure, back when Dad married Mom, she was just an actress with a lower family background.
But his mom, Odessa, at least had looks.
Adam couldn’t understand what Chase saw in Ava Zimmerman.
The beauty of a pure heart?
Was his Brother Chase really someone who valued inner beauty this much?
Amidst Adam’s mental whirlwind, Chase’s face darkened after reacting to his words,
"Who asked you that? I’m asking as a friend, what do you think of her?"
Chase didn’t deny that he was attentive to Ava, but there were reasons, none of which was love.
He had standards when it came to romance.
Adam was relieved to hear this, as long as Chase wasn’t thinking of her as a girlfriend, then it was okay.
"Will you listen to the truth?" Adam asked.
Adam continued, "The truth is, whether in terms of appearance, family background, or personality, she doesn’t meet the standards to be your friend. Compared to the average girl, her conditions are even poorer."
Adam directly conveyed his impression of Ava Zimmerman.
Chase’s face darkened again, immediately snapping back,
"Since when did you start judging people with tinted glasses like Lucas?
Yes, her conditions are not great, and she’s a bit solitary, but she works hard at life and treats those around her sincerely, why can’t she be my friend?"
Chase instinctively defended her, like a body reflex, he couldn’t stand hearing anything bad about her.
Adam wasn’t without temper, and when Chase snapped at him, his own face darkened, and he retorted angrily,
"You asked me, I told you the truth, but you didn’t want to hear it, so why ask me? Go to your Ava Zimmerman!"
Saying so, he turned and left.
He went to find Scarlett!