Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 109

Chapter 109 

Jasper opened the link and was left speechless. 

He thought, ‘Wait, wasn’t Tessa supposed to be the cover story for this issue of the business magazine? 

‘How did it end up being Aurelia all of a sudden?‘ 

Jasper could only pray that Tessa hadn’t seen it. 

Thankfully, it hadn’t been out for long. He could still pull it back. 

At the end, Jasper @ Liam to clue him in. 

Liam got the hint right away and deleted his message, too. 

But their clumsy attempt to sweep things under the rug didn’t help at all. 

Tessa had already seen it. She just kept quiet. 

Or maybe she didn’t know what to say. 

But behind the scenes, Tessa called up the editor–in–chief of the business magazine and confronted him about it. 

The editor–in–chief told her it was an order from the top. They needed the hype and the sales, and hoped Tessa would understand where they were coming from. 

Tessa slammed the phone down, her face stormy with anger. 

Karlie quickly tried to soothe her. “Tessa, have some coffee and take a breather. You know how these people are. They treat everyone based on who’s hot right now. Aurelia shot to stardom with InquireMind, and she’s getting all the attention. For now, we can’t compete. 

“But trust me, she won’t be feeling smug for long! You have a PhD from Whitvale School of Management. You are the pride of both the Rowe and Pelosi families. Aurelia could never reach your level, not even if she tried her whole life! 

“Cassian practically courted you to bring you over from Strive Bank because he saw your talent. Don’t let a temporary setback get you down.” 

www 

Tessa did feel a bit better after hearing that. 

“Alright, go fix your makeup. Cassian’s coming to take you out to the resort soon, right? Come on, cheer up!” Karlie urged. 

“Okay,” Tessa replied softly. 

Just thinking about how thoughtful Cassian was, worried she’d be feeling down after AeroMind lost to InquireMind, so he’d set aside time to take her out to the resort and help her unwind, made her feel a lot better. 

Seeing Tessa in a better mood, Karlie took the opportunity to bring it up again. “Tessa, any update on the thing I asked you 

about?” 

“Let me check with Liam right now and see if he wants to join us at the resort,” Tessa replied. 

Tessa quickly texted Liam to see if he wanted to come along to the resort. 

After a while, Liam replied, [Sorry, I’ve been super busy lately. Can’t make it. You guys go ahead and have fun.] 

When Karlie found out Liam wasn’t coming, her mood dropped. 

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Chapter 109 

Tessa reassured her. “We’ll find another time. Don’t stress. I’ll handle it for you.” 

“Alright!” Karlie said, feeling a little better. 

Meanwhile, Jasper was still scratching his head over the whole thing. He ended up returning all ten thousand copies of the magazine. 

After that, he hopped in his car and headed over to EverMass Group. 

EverMass Group was a subsidiary of Gold Gauntlet, and the big boss there was Steven, his dad. 

As usual, Jasper walked in and greeted the pretty receptionist. “Morning, gorgeous.” 

“Morning, Mr. Quinn,” she replied with a smile. 

Just as Jasper was about to head inside, the receptionist called out to him. “Mr. Quinn, here’s something for you.” 

“What’s this?” Jasper asked, taking it. He realized it was the February issue of the business magazine. 

And there was Aurelia on the cover. 

His hand trembled as he tossed it right back to her. “Why’d you give me this? I’m not reading it!” 

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The receptionist looked helpless. “Boss’s orders. Everyone in the company has to read Ms. Corin’s interview. So, everyone gets a copy, even you, Mr. Quinn.” 

‘Dad’s 

gone off the deep end,‘ Jasper thought. 

He’d just sent back all those magazines, and now his dad had turned around and ordered a truckload to hand out to every single employee. 

‘Unbelievable,‘ Jasper thought. 

“I’m not reading it!” Jasper was practically radiating defiance. 

“But Mr. Quinn said you have to. If you don’t, he’ll cut off all your cards,” the receptionist replied. 

Jasper was at a total loss for words. 

‘Man, this is way harsher than shipping me off abroad,‘ he thought. 

He snatched the magazine back and huffed, “Do me a favor and tell my dad I read it! I read it till my eyeballs nearly fell out!” 

The receptionist hesitated, then added, “Oh, Mr. Quinn said you have to write a ten–thousand–word essay and hand it over so he can read it himself.” 

Jasper was at a total loss for words. 

‘Kill me now,‘ Jasper groaned inwardly. 

Wednesday was Benjamin’s birthday. 

Aurelia had cleared her schedule just to celebrate with Benjamin. 

She hadn’t replied when Cassian mentioned it before. She just didn’t feel like dealing with him. 

And she wasn’t here for Cassian. She came on her own. 

14:26 Mon, Dec 22 M. 

Chapter 109 

Aurelia hadn’t been to the Locke family estate in ages, but everything was just as she remembered. 

The gate was ajar. All she had to do was give it a push and step inside. 

Benjamin was sitting in the living room, and he spotted Aurelia through the floor–to–ceiling windows. 

He leaned over and said something to Abigail. 

Abigail came out to greet her warmly. “Ms. Corin, you’re here! Come on in, we’ve been waiting for you!” 

‘So I’m the last one? Cassian’s here too?‘ Aurelia thought. 

Aurelia hesitated for just a second, then it clicked. 

After all, they were father and son. Of course, Cassian would be here. 

‘But is Tessa here?‘ Aurelia wondered. 

But honestly, whether Tessa was here or not, it made no difference to Aurelia. 

She was only here for Benjamin. Everyone else was irrelevant. 

So Aurelia walked in with her usual poise and confidence. 

Benjamin was the only one in the living room. Cassian was nowhere to be seen. 

And there was no one else around. 

Benjamin was sipping his coffee. 

El 05 Mouchers 

Aurelia handed over the gift she’d brought. “I had someone pick up some nice coffee. Mr. Locke, give it a try and see if it’s authentic.” 

“Of course,” Benjamin replied with a smile. He brewed the coffee himself and poured Aurelia a cup. 

Aurelia took it with both hands, polite and respectful. 

Benjamin took a sip and was genuinely impressed. “This kind of coffee is rare. You really put a lot of thought into this.” 

“It wasn’t a big deal. I have a friend who helped me get it,” Aurelia explained. 

Abigail chuckled from the side. “Cassian brought the same coffee, too. You two are really on the same wavelength. Did you plan this together or something?” 

Aurelia thought for a moment and said, “If we were on the same wavelength, we wouldn’t have both brought the same thing.” 

Just then, Cassian walked out of the kitchen carrying a pot of soup and caught her words. 

Her voice was steady, as if she were talking about something trivial. 

For some reason, he suddenly missed how, not so long ago, Aurelia curled up in his arms, her voice tender and full of longing as she whispered about forever. 

It had only been three months. 

But it felt like a lifetime had passed. 

For Cassian, even thinking back on it now, those memories felt so hazy and unreal, like something out of a dream he could barely remember. 

Chapter 109 

Abigail caught herself and quickly tried to smooth things over, forcing a cheerful smile. “Hey, we’re in for a treat today. Cassian whipped up a few dishes himself!” 

Aurelia never knew Cassian could cook. 

Back on New Year’s Day, she’d figured it was Cassian’s mom who made everything, and he was just passing it off as his own. 

In all their seven years together, not once had Aurelia seen him actually cook, let alone taste anything he’d made. 

‘Maybe he just learned how. Who else would he bother learning for?‘ Aurelia wondered. 

Aurelia didn’t need to guess. She knew, plain as day. 

It didn’t even faze her. 

He’d already learned to handle booze and schmooze for the other party’s sake. 

So, picking up some cooking skills? Totally normal. 

After all, if one wants to get to a woman’s heart, one has to go through her stomach first. 

Abigail brought over two bowls of soup and set them down in front of the pair. “Enough coffee for now. Try some soup and see how Cassian’s cooking turned out.” 

Benjamin took a sip and said, “Not bad.” 

Coming from Benjamin, “not bad” was about as high as his praise ever got. 

Aurelia took a sip as well. She went along with the flow. 

No way she was going to disrespect Benjamin of honor. 

But as soon as the soup touched her lips, she was momentarily taken aback.