Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 170

Chapter 170 

‘Does she know me?‘ Aurelia wondered, just about to ask. 

But the woman’s phone rang again. She quickly answered, “I’ll be right there.” 

She was in such a hurry that she only had time to give Aurelia a quick gesture before rushing off. 

Aurelia tidied herself up and left the restroom. 

Before she could make it back to the hall, she ran into Kyler in the hallway. 

Honestly, Kyler would’ve much rather bumped into Tessa than Aurelia. 

But as luck would have it, things never went his way. 

Kyler’s face was cold. 

 

Aurelia didn’t even spare him a glance, completely ignoring his presence as she headed straight for the hall. 

But just as she brushed past him, Kyler suddenly sneered, his voice thick with mockery. “Trying to imitate someone way out of your league, huh?” 

Aurelia had planned to ignore him, but since he was right there provoking her, she wasn’t about to let him get away with it. 

“What the hell are you barking about?” Aurelia snapped, turning to face him, her eyes locking onto his. 

Her eyes flashed with cold steel, sharp and unyielding. 

Kyler was caught off guard by her comeback. 

But then, he sneered even colder, “Am I wrong? You’ve been copying Tessa, whether it’s your projects or your clothes. Too bad all you can copy are the surface things. Her education and achievements? That’s something you’ll never be able to imitate, no matter how hard you try.” 

“So, you’re Tessa’s lapdog, huh?” Aurelia shot back. 

Now it all made sense to Aurelia. No wonder Kyler was always coming after her. 

Honestly, she barely knew Kyler. He’d even stood her up more than once during their business meetings. 

But she could always feel the hostility radiating off him. 

She hadn’t understood it before, but now she got it. 

Kyler hated being called a lapdog, and his dislike for Aurelia only deepened. “I’m not as low as you think.” 

“Low? I never said that,” Aurelia chuckled, laughing at how he just exposed himself. 

 

That laugh made Kyler feel uneasy, and his face darkened. 

 

But Aurelia wasn’t about to let him off the hook. She looked him up and down, her smile growing even wider. 

“Your outfit… Why do you look so much like Cassian? Trying to be his knockoff, Mr. Kyler?” Aurelia shot back. 

Kyler’s face went even darker, clearly stung by the jab. 

He hadn’t expected Aurelia to be so quick with the comebacks. 

With just a few lines, she’d totally roasted him and left him looking pathetic. 

Seeing Kyler speechless, Aurelia just lost interest. 

‘He’s got the nerve to come at me with that weak game?‘ Aurelia thought. 

Honestly, Aurelia figured he was a total loser compared to Jasper. 

Aurelia thought, ‘He is just a kid, really. 

‘He’s supposed to be the pride of tomorrow, so no need to stomp him onto the ground. 

Aurelia looked away, about to head back to the hall, when she unexpectedly caught Cassian’s gaze nearby. 

His expression was all aloof, but there was a glimmer of amusement in Cassian’s eyes. 

‘Was I just seeing things?‘ Aurelia wondered. 

Before Aurelia could get a closer look, Cassian turned away and vanished at the end of the corridor. 

Aurelia thought this hallway was just full of bad vibes, nothing but lapdogs everywhere. 

When Aurelia got back to the party, she finally noticed Darren up on stage, giving a speech. 

Standing next to him was the woman she’d just bumped into in the restroom. 

Aurelia paused for a moment and realized that the woman was actually Darren’s wife. 

She definitely had that classy aura, and she and Darren looked like they were made for each other. 

As the hosts of the event and the most prestigious family in Grendel City, Darren and Zofia Keith, the couple, were naturally the ones everyone wanted a piece of. 

Zofia finally managed to slip away from the crowd, about to go find Aurelia, when someone stepped right in 

her way. 

It was Kyler. 

“Mrs. Keith, hello. I’m Kyler from Evergreen Group. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Kyler said, putting on his polite smile. 

 

As the host, Zofia greeted him graciously, shaking his hand and exchanging a few polite words. 

 

But Kyler clearly wanted to get into something more serious. “Mrs. Keith, would you mind if we talked about the merger deal with MegaTech?” 

Zofia realized Kyler was here about the MegaTech merger. 

After considering for a moment, she replied, “Sorry, I’m not discussing business today.” 

Kyler could only offer, “I’ll come by another time.” 

Zofia gave a slight nod and walked away. 

Kyler watched as she made a beeline for Aurelia. 

Seeing that, Kyler’s smile slowly faded. 

“Ms. Corin, thank you so much for earlier,” Zofia said, grabbing Aurelia’s hand warmly, not hiding how much she liked her at all. 

“It was nothing, Mrs. Keith. Really, don’t worry about it,” Aurelia replied, squeezing her hand back. Her brows furrowed a little. “Why are your hands so cold?” 

Zofia hesitated for a second before saying, “It’s that time of the month for me. It makes me feel cold all over.” 

Aurelia used to have the same problem, but after taking care of it, things got a lot better. 

Hearing that, Aurelia wanted to help. “I used to have the same issue. After taking a few courses on herbal remedies, it got a lot better. If you want, I can share the prescription with you.” 

“It’s an old problem, and I’m used to it. I’ve tried all sorts of remedies, but nothing really worked, so I just stopped worrying about it. Still, thank you,” Zofia replied, clearly fond of Aurelia. 

“My husband mentioned you before. He said you were outstanding, and I was always curious what kind of woman could impress him. Now that I’ve met you, I can see he was right. You’re clever and graceful,” Zofia added. 

Zofia liked Aurelia and held onto her for a good, long chat. 

Throughout their conversation, plenty of people came over to greet Zofia and toast her. 

Since Zofia wasn’t supposed to drink because of her condition, Aurelia started covering for her, taking the drinks herself whenever someone came over to toast. 

Zofia was hesitant at first, but Aurelia just grinned and told her she could handle her booze. She’d played the designated drinker plenty of times before, so Zofia didn’t need to worry about a thing. 

Zofia looked at Aurelia with even more approval in her eyes. 

After several rounds, Aurelia knocked back quite a few drinks. 

 

She wasn’t tipsy yet, but her cheeks were tinged with that telltale post–drink blush. 

 

Zofia couldn’t bear to see Aurelia like that, so she had someone escort her to a private room to rest for a while. 

Aurelia took a breather in the room, hit the restroom, and fixed up her makeup. 

Just as she was about to head back, someone knocked on the door. 

Thinking it was Zofia or someone she’d sent, Aurelia went over and opened it. 

But instead, she found Cassian standing right there. 

He’d clearly been drinking, too. 

He probably had more than a few. 

The moment Aurelia opened the door, the strong scent of alcohol hit her. 

Aurelia frowned instinctively, her voice icy. “You’ve got the wrong room.” 

Cassian acted like he hadn’t heard her at all and just walked right in. 

He was swaying as he walked in, found the couch, and just flopped down. He didn’t budge after that. 

Because Cassian was allergic to alcohol, he rarely drank. 

If he ever had a drink, Aurelia would personally give him his allergy meds. 

Once he took them, he’d just crash and sleep it off, never causing any trouble. 

Rumor had it, Cassian’d been getting desensitization treatments lately just so he could cover for Tessa at parties, and now he could actually drink. 

But even now, Cassian still passed out the moment he had a drink. 

‘Who does he think he is, crashing in my room?‘ Aurelia fumed. 

Frowning, Aurelia marched over and gave his face a few not–so–gentle slaps. 

She didn’t hold back. Each slap landed with a loud smack. 

“Hey, wake up! Don’t sleep here, Go crawl back to your master, lapdog,” Aurelia snapped. 

‘Who lets him like this? Talk about zero class,‘ Aurelia scoffed at herself. 

Cassian probably felt the slap, because he frowned and grabbed Aurelia’s wrist. 

His palm was burning hot. 

Aurelia instinctively tried to pull her hand back. 

 

But Cassian was faster. He pulled her right into his arms, holding her close. 

His arms were even hotter than his hands, the warmth washing over her senses all at once. 

For a moment, Aurelia’s mind just went blank. 

In that split second, Cassian reached up, cupped the back of her head, and pulled her closer. 

 

His lips claimed hers, and his voice, deep and burning with longing, whispered against her mouth, “Missed you…” 

AD