Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 107

Chapter 107 

Alina felt utterly humiliated. She’d totally lost her dignity. 

Daniel was used to big scenes. Even now, he looked way calmer than Alina. 

“Let’s go,” Daniel said, helping her up. 

Alina had been itching to leave for a while now. 

As soon as Daniel said the word, she grabbed her coat and hurried out with him. 

Vouchera 

There were only a handful of guests at the main table. When the couple left, it was just Jasper and Cassian sitting there. 

Jasper was completely stunned, his mind totally blank. 

He had no idea what was going on. 

Cassian strode up to the stage, unfazed by all the murmurs and side–eyes. He took the mic from Tessa, positioning himself in front of her to block anyone trying to snap unauthorized pictures. 

“Sorry, everyone,” Cassian said. “Ms. Rowe’s been working nonstop lately, and she’s a bit under the weather. I’ll be handling the rest of the program for her.” 

As soon as Cassian spoke, people’s opinions and moods instantly shifted. 

Word had long gotten around that Cassian and Tessa were known to be very close, with a bond deeper than most. 

There was plenty of talk that the Locke and Rowe families were eyeing a marriage alliance. 

That was the biggest deal in Ashmont’s high society. 

Because of the connection, the Rowe family was the talk of the town in Ashmont, 

And when Cassian took the stage and looked after Tessa with such care, it only fueled the marriage rumors even more. 

Sure, Tessa might’ve been humiliated today, but with Cassian backing her up, all that embarrassment was nothing. 

Even though everyone was itching to head over to the other hall to check out the business moguls or maybe hunt for some new opportunities, they had to give up on that for now. 

After all, nobody wanted to risk offending Cassian. 

So the celebration hall wasn’t empty. 

But the ones who stayed behind were just physically present. Their minds were somewhere else entirely. 

Some made up excuses to slip away, calling their teams to hurry over and check things out, terrified they’d miss the big opportunity. 

Others were watching the InquireMind stream on the sly, right there at the celebration. 

Jasper was watching, too, trying not to get caught. 

Honestly, he was dying to know what was happening. 

When Jasper saw that the InquireMind press conference stream had over ten million viewers, he couldn’t believe his eyes. 

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Chapter 107 

Jasper was so stunned because he’d once partnered with some friends to run a content creator agency. 

They’d even poached a few top influencers with fat paychecks. 

Even after dumping a ton of cash into promotion, they’d never seen numbers anywhere close to this. 

And Aurelia didn’t even have the money to buy fake views. 

These were real numbers, and no tricks were involved. 

But that wasn’t all. Jasper spotted some familiar faces on the split screen of the livestream. 

It was Gideon and Liam! 

They were sitting side by side in the second row, totally absorbed in the speaker on stage. 

Jasper thought, ‘No wonder neither of them picked up my calls! 

‘So that’s it. They ditched me for the InquireMind press conference!‘ 

‘Unbelievable, Jasper thought. 

But what really blew Jasper’s mind was yet to come. 

960 

Up front at the press conference, every single person sitting there was a big shot. Each one was more influential than the last. 

The entire Ashmont Chamber of Commerce was there, and Benjamin himself was in the house.. 

Even representatives from the government had shown up. 

And there, right in the middle of all these heavyweights, was Aurelia, the very person Jasper had always looked down on. 

And there she was, firmly holding the center stage. Aurelia, the undisputed focus of the entire room. 

Jasper was so shocked that he didn’t even realize Tessa had stepped off the stage 

He forgot to turn off his screen, and Tessa spotted it right away. 

Her face, already embarrassed, went even paler. 

Tessa felt like she couldn’t breathe. The humiliation was suffocating. 

Jasper scrambled to turn off his screen, but in his rush, he knocked over the pricey champagne in front of him. 

That pricey champagne. He never even got a sip. 

It all ended up spilled. 

“Let me see,” Tessa said, her voice trembling. 

Jasper didn’t dare show her. He fumbled for words, stammering, “I… I was just watching something a little inappropriate… Trust me, you don’t want to see it.” 

Tessa didn’t insist. She simply took out her phone and started searching for the InquireMind press conference stream. 

Jasper hesitated, worried. “Tessa… Are you sure you’re okay?” 

Tessa forced a small smile. “It’s nothing. I just want to take a look.” 

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Chapter 107 

But despite her words, her complexion was visibly pale and strained. 

Jasper just stood there, feeling helpless. He honestly didn’t know what to say to make Tessa feel any better. 

The pressure from the livestream weighed Tessa far more than it ever did on Jasper, like hundreds, thousands of times heavier. 

Jasper could clearly see her grip on the phone tightening, her fingers clenching so hard her knuckles stood out, bone–white. 

Even her fingernails were turning white from the strain. 

“So Gideon went to the InquireMind press conference,” Tessa whispered, her voice barely audible and trembling. 

Jasper fumbled for an explanation, awkwardly adding, “He’s one of InquireMind’s investors, so of course, he’d be there to show his support.” 

“And what about Liam?” Tessa pressed, her voice barely above a whisper. 

Jasper was sweating bullets. “His dad dragged him over there! Seriously, his heart’s here. He rushed over as soon as he got the 

chance.” 

Tessa just tuned out his excuses, her mind refusing to accept any of them. 

To her, the only thing that mattered was that they’d all chosen Aurelia over her. 

‘Even Mr. Locke is supporting Aurelia, Tessa thought, her voice trembling with disbelief. 

Jasper was at a total loss for words. 

There was no way he could talk his way out of this one. 

Jasper was about to suggest she stop watching, but his phone suddenly rang. 

It was Steven Quinn, his father. 

Jasper picked up, and Steven immediately went off on him, telling him to drop everything and get over to the InquireMind press conference as soon as possible. 

“I don’t want to go,” Jasper shot back, refusing outright. 

“Fine. Then I’ll book you a plane ticket out of the country right now,” Steven threatened, voice cold and decisive. 

Jasper instantly backed down, panicking. “Okay, okay! I’ll go, alright?” 

After hanging up, he blurted out the first excuse that popped into his head. “Tessa, my dad’s sick. I got to run to the hospital. I’ll take you out to dinner some other time to make it up to you.” 

Tessa didn’t even look at him, her voice icy and distant as she said, “Go ahead.” 

Tessa kept her eyes locked on the livestream, never once looking away. 

Jasper bolted next door, terrified that if he was even a second late, his dad would ship him off to some foreign country and leave him to fend for himself. 

He had no clue that as soon as he stepped into the press conference, the livestream zoomed right in on him. 

Tessa caught the whole thing live. She saw it all happen in real time. 

Her expression darkened in an instant, and she clutched her phone like it was the only thing keeping her together. 

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Chapter 107 

Right as she was on the verge of falling apart, the phone was suddenly snatched from her grip. 

Cassian’s calm, almost chilly voice came from right beside her. “Don’t watch it anymore.” 

CSS youchers 

Tessa’s eyes were red and watery. Her throat was so tight that it felt like she could barely breathe. She was suffocating on her own feelings. 

She called out softly, “Cassian,” her voice trembling with vulnerability. 

She pressed her face into his chest, clinging to him for comfort. 

Cassian didn’t move away. He just let her hold onto him, her arms steady around his waist. 

He tried to reassure her, “AeroMind might not be as big as InquireMind, but you’ve done well. Don’t beat yourself up. You gave it your all. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of luck.” 

Tessa was struggling, feeling pretty crushed inside. 

But hearing Cassian’s words lifted a weight off her chest. 

“You know me. I always push myself so hard. That’s why it’s tough for me to deal with losing like this,” Tessa admitted, her voice shaky. 

“It’s alright. We’ve got a long road ahead,” Cassian said, gentle and reassuring. 

“Mm…” she mumbled, barely audible. 

***** 

Aurelia had no idea what was happening over at the AeroMind party. 

Why would she waste her time worrying about people who had nothing to do with her? 

Her time was way too valuable for that kind of nonsense! 

Benjamin’s showing up was a game–changer for Aurelia. 

And Benjamin didn’t come solo. He rallied the entire Ashmont Chamber of Commerce to back her 

1. up. 

This kind of support was worth more than any amount of cash, even if someone threw millions or billions at her. 

When Steven brought Jasper over to find Aurelia, she’d just switched off her phone. 

She was getting swamped with calls from people wanting to partner up. Aurelia was so overwhelmed, she had to shut it off. 

Steven was all smiles as he introduced Jasper. “Ms. Corin, let me introduce you. This is Jasper Quinn, my son.” 

Then he turned to Jasper and barked, “Hurry up, greet Ms. Corin!”