Chapter 58
:
Aurelia was honestly speechless when she read the message.
It had been almost two weeks, and this news was already old. Now he finally remembered to ask.
(85),
65 vouchers
It showed that Cassian must have seen her message a long time ago and simply chose to pretend it never existed.
Maybe all those other messages that vanished into thin air were the same.
She’d just been too naive to notice it back then.
She gave the message a quick glance and then deleted Cassian from her chat list
‘Does he really expect me to still fawn all over him, reply in seconds, jump to answer every call, and be on standby for him around the clock?‘ Aurelia rolled her eyes at the very thought.
‘Not a chance,’ she told herself.
It was over. The page had turned.
She didn’t delete him from her contacts. After all, only a child or someone who couldn’t move on would do that.
The next day, Aurelia went by Tyson’s studio, only to find that there were fewer people in the studio.
At first, she thought maybe a few people just hadn’t started their shifts yet and didn’t give it a second thought.
But on her way out, she realized that those spots were completely vacant, and clearly, nobody was coming back to fill them.
She discreetly asked Tyson’s assistant what was up.
At first, the assistant refused to say anything. But Aurelia kept pressing him, and he couldn’t hold out any longer–only then did he confess.
Lately, Tyson dismissed many people in order to cut expenses and reduce the pressure on Aurelia’s shoulders.
As for the workload of those who were let go… Tyson basically took it all on himself.
Not only that, Tyson would also take on some private jobs in his spare time to help support the company.
As for that time, it mostly ate into Tyson’s rest.
Talking about all this, the assistant looked very worried.
“Ms. Corin, Mr. Morris is getting less than three hours of sleep every day. If he keeps pushing like this, his health will definitely suffer.”
12:33 Sun, Dec 21 M..
Chapter 58
So the matter of funding was urgent.
:
Aurelia left the studio with a troubled look on her face.
85
55 vouchers
For a new type of project like theirs, big companies wouldn’t pay attention, and small companies couldn’t afford to invest.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe it as an uphill struggle.
Aurelia had no choice but to call Mia.
But when Mia actually picked up, Aurelia didn’t know how to speak.
Mia didn’t waste time. “You’re calling because you need something, right?”
“It’s nothing, really…” Aurelia mumbled/
“Cut the crap! Just say it! I’m busy here!” Mia barked.
Aurelia couldn’t dodge it anymore, so she finally spoke up.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your startup plans earlier? Do you think I’m just some random stranger now? I swear I’ll stop talking to you if you keep this up!” Mia burst out–her tone was half serious, half joking.
“I just…” Aurelia started, a bit flustered.
“Oh, save it! Talking won’t cut it. I want a written apology–an essay that’s at least 10,000 words long. Send that to me, and maybe I’ll think about forgiving you,” Mia shot back, obviously just messing with her.
Aurelia could tell Mia wasn’t actually mad–she was just joking around.
Mia already had Aurelia’s bank details, and just moments after their call ended, Aurelia got a payment notification on her phone.
It was 495.469 dollars.
Not a neat round number, but rather, a strangely specific amount.
When she saw that figure, Aurelia felt her eyes grow hot and a wave of emotion hit her.
She knew, deep down, Mia had sent everything she had.
Mia had been in the modeling industry for five years, gradually working her way up from an unnoticed small- time model to her current position as a third–tier model.
Her income wasn’t actually high; she had saved this money little by little over the years by living frugally.
There was absolutely no way Aurelia was going to let Mia’s hard–earned cash just vanish into thin air.
After the money came in, Aurelia didn’t hesitate–she put every cent straight into the company account and firmly told Tyson, “Start hiring right now. You can’t keep trying to do everything yourself.”
12:33 Sun, Dec 21 M
Chapter 58
:.
If he fell from exhaustion, the whole project was finished.
35
255 vouchers
At that time, the losses she faced were much greater than the money she had saved, and the gains did not outweigh the losses.
At the same time, Aurelia swallowed her pride and started showing up at every networking party in the scene, never letting a single chance slip by.
It honestly felt like she’d been thrown right back to when she first started at Honoria Capital–scrambling for leads, clutching at straws, fighting for every glimmer of hope.
Back then, having Honoria Capital behind her did make things a little easier.
But only a little.
Back then, Cassian just watched from the sidelines, never once stepping in to help.
He wouldn’t get involved, wouldn’t check in, and definitely never lent her a hand.
Most of the time, he was quick to dismiss everything she did—always finding fault, never giving her any credit for her hard work.
Aurelia just wasn’t the type to ever admit defeat.
The more Cassian tried to shoot her down, the harder she worked to make him eat his words.
So, the difficulties she was facing in starting her business right now were nothing to her.
It was something expected.
There were a ton of familiar faces at tonight’s party.
Aurelia spotted Sean Parker from Synerda Group, Darren Keith from Pione Investments, Graham Vance from Novalen Capital, and some other investment company heads.
Michael was the one who revealed this party to Aurelia.
He was probably trying to make up for not keeping his word to her before.
Of course, these sharp people also guessed that Aurelia’s appearance was Michael Reed’s doing, and they blamed him for not being loyal.
Aurelia knocked back three drinks to show respect, then let everyone know it was her who’d turned to Michael for help.
Michael jumped in to back her up. “Starting a business ain’t easy for Aurelia, guys. Let’s help her out–there’s money in it for all of us, right?”
Sean grinned and said, “Starting a business isn’t easy. We all worked hard step by step. Even Mr. Locke at Honoria Capital did the same, staying up all night and sleeping on the office floor. You should know that well, Ms. Corin.”
12:33 Sun, Dec 21 M
Chapter 38
只今
65 vouchets
He lounged back, mockery in his tone. “If you can’t handle this hardship, Ms. Corin, maybe you should just head back to being Mr. Locke’s chief secretary.”
He was clearly being petty, just trying to settle the score because Aurelia had shot him down once before.
“Thanks for the advice, Mr. Parker. I’ll work on it,” Aurelia replied, flashing a confident, easy smile. She didn’t let his mockery faze her one bit.
Someone else piped up, “Hey, Ms. Corin, if you’re not planning on heading back to Honoria Capital, how about joining me instead? I’m in desperate need of a secretary who’s both sharp and beautiful.”
“Hold up, if we’re talking secretaries, you’ll have to wait your turn. I was the first one to throw an offer her way.”
“You know, I’ve never had the privilege of sharing a drink with Honoria’s chief secretary. Back in the day, our company was so tiny that we weren’t even on her radar.”
The person speaking was from a company Aurelia had once refused to partner with back when she managed projects at Honoria Capital.
Apparently, he’d been holding onto that snub ever since, so now he was taking the chance to throw some sly digs her way, barely bothering to hide his bitterness.
“So tell me, Ms. Corin, am I finally worthy of a toast from you tonight?”
Michael was about to speak up for her, but Aurelia stepped in first. She grabbed her glass with a humble gesture and gave him a respectful toast. “Mr. Cooper, you’re too kind–let me drink this as my apology.”
She downed her drink in one gulp, leaving him speechless, and said, “Being toasted by the former chief secretary of Honoria is quite an honor.”
“Is everyone already drinking? Did we come late?”
When Jasper walked in, Aurelia’s brows furrowed instinctively.
“Well, well, look who it is–Aurelia. Long time no see! Since when you become the one serving drinks?”
His words were still so sharp, even more cutting than before.
Aurelia’s brows knitted, her face turning steely–cold. With so many eyes on her, she couldn’t really say anything back–even if she was fuming inside, she had to hold it in and play it cool.
After all, Jasper was the guy with the Quinn family behind him. Everyone here just wanted to curry favor with
him.
“What’s the matter, Aurelia? Won’t drink with me? Am I not worthy of your company?” Jasper pressed on, deliberately trying to put her on the spot.
“Why are you just staring? Pour the damn drinks! Need me to show you how this works? Not doing your part tonight, huh?”
12:33 Sun, Dec 21 M
Chapter 58
AB
85
55 Vouchers
Jasper was openly out to embarrass Aurelia, and the rest just kept their heads down, nobody daring to speak up in front of the Quinn family’s heir.
Aurelia clenched her glass, fighting hard to keep her cool.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Just as Jasper was about to push things even further, two figures appeared at the doorway.
One of them called out, “Jasper, cut it out. She had too much to drink and she’s not feeling well.”
Aurelia’s blood ran cold the moment she heard that familiar voice.
Cassian didn’t spare her a single look, but Aurelia still felt herself tense up, uneasy as ever.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that his sudden appearance was meant to mock her overconfidence.
It was like he was saying, ‘See? Without me, this is all you’re ever going to amount to.’
田
