Chapter 171
The very next second, a loud slap rang out in the room.
Aurelia scrambled away from Cassian with a look of disgust, not caring to be gentle.
In her struggle, she seemed to have kicked him right in the most sensitive spot.
Cassian let out a muffled groan, doubling over, his face twisted in pain.
But Aurelia didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty.
‘Serves him right for getting handsy first,’ she thought.
“Are you sober now? Open your eyes and take a good look at who I am!” Aurelia snapped.
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Aurelia snatched a tissue and wiped her mouth in disgust, muttering, “You can’t even tell who you’re with? Makes me wonder if you actually love Tessa at all.”
Aurelia was wearing the same dress as Tessa tonight.
She figured Cassian must’ve been so drunk he mistook her for Tessa, which was why he’d pulled her onto the couch and kissed her.
Aurelia’d never seen him lose control like this before, even when he was drunk.
‘Truth is, only Tessa ever had that kind of effect on him,‘ Aurelia thought.
The more Aurelia thought about it, the more pissed off she got. She gave Cassian another kick as he tried to sit up on the couch.
“You, get out of this room. Now! If you don’t leave, I’m calling the cops and reporting you for sexual harassment!” she snapped.
Clearly not wanting to make a scene, Cassian kept his mouth shut and didn’t argue.
He just took the kicks and didn’t say a word.
As he was leaving, he mumbled a quick apology. Whether out of guilt or just trying to save face, Aurelia couldn’t be sure.
Aurelia figured it was probably the latter.
He was probably just worried Aurelia’d make a scene and Tessa would get the wrong idea.
After all, women could be pretty hard to please.
Too bad she’d never actually seen Cassian try to sweet–talk anyone.
Aurelia quickly tidied herself up and headed out of the lounge.
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Chapter 171
She rushed out so fast, she didn’t even notice Kyler nearby.
Ayler had come looking for Cassian on Tessa’s behalf.
He’d been waiting all night for a chance to catch Tessa alone, and finally, the moment came,
He hurried over to talk to Tessa.
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After chatting for a bit, it finally dawned on Tessa that Cassian had been gone for a long time and still hadn’t returned.
She tried calling him, but he didn’t pick up, and she started to get anxious.
Seeing Tessa getting anxious, Kyler quickly offered to go look for Cassian himself.
After circling for a while, he finally found Cassian.
But all he caught was Cassian’s back as he hurried out of one of the rooms.
Kyler quickly called Tessa to tell her he’d spotted Cassian.
Before Tessa could even answer the call, she spotted Cassian coming back into the party. Her eyes lit up, and she waved excitedly, calling out, “Cassian, over here!”
Kyler saw Tessa was completely focused on Cassian now, so he quietly ended the call, not wanting to interrupt her moment.
Feeling pretty down, he happened to spot Aurelia coming out of the very same room Cassian had just left.
Kyler’s face instantly went cold, his sharp brows drawing together in a fierce frown.
After a moment, he let out a dismissive scoff.
Kyler sneered at himself, ‘Figures. She’s got no class at all.
‘She actually had the nerve to brazenly go after someone else’s fiancé!
‘Seriously, where did Aurelia get the nerve to talk about me like that?
Women like her aren’t even worth a second glance.‘
Still, Kyler figured he’d better give Tessa a heads–up later. He didn’t want her to get disgusted by someone as manipulative as Aurelia.
Cassian came back to the party sporting a glaring red welt on his cheek.
Tessa rushed over, concern written all over her face. “What happened to you?”
Cassian played it cool, brushing it off with a casual excuse. “Had a bit too much to drink and walked straight into a wall.”
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Chapter 171
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Tessa’s heart twisted with worry. “Next time, don’t be my drinking shield. I can handle a few drinks myself
“It’s nothing,” Cassian replied.
As Aurelia walked out, she overheard their conversation and couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic snort.
The next moment, Cassian shot her a look, icy and detached.
He was like a total stranger compared to the guy she’d just dealt with in the lounge.
Aurelia wondered, ‘What’s that supposed to mean?
‘Is he giving me a warning or something?”
Before Aurelia could figure out what that look was about, Cassian had turned away, acting like nothing ever happened.
He leaned in toward Tessa, who was holding onto his arm affectionately, and his usually cool tone softened. “Standing in those heels must be rough. Let’s go sit down for a bit.”
“Alright,” Aurelia murmured.
The two of them left, looking inseparable.
Aurelia glanced down at her high heels and smiled at herself, a little wryly.
She remembered how, back in school, she’d always rant to Mia about that.
High heels totally deserved a spot on the top ten torture devices list.
Once Aurelia entered the working world, she had to play the part of an adult and squeeze her feet into those dreaded high heels.
That first year, her feet were always battered and bruised.
Her medicine cabinet was overflowing with every kind of pain relief patch and band–aid imaginable.
Twisted ankles and raw blisters just became her new normal.
The worst part? She’d actually broken her toe and had no clue. She just blamed it on her shoes being uncomfortable.
She toughed it out the whole day, sticking with Cassian for a project inspection.
It wasn’t until the pain got unbearable and she finally went to the hospital that she found out her toe had been broken the whole time.
The doctor scolded her for being so oblivious. How could she not even notice she’d busted her toe?
Mia had scolded her for not taking care of herself, and even said Cassian didn’t know how to treat a lady right.
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Mia even said she was going to give Cassian a piece of her mind, but Aurelia managed to hold her back.
Back then, Cassian was juggling two major projects and barely had time to breathe. He was practically living on airplanes.
Aurelia just couldn’t bring herself to add to his stress, so to this day, Cassian still had no idea she once thought she’d broken her toe from those damn heels.
Just like that time she honestly thought she’d given herself a stomach bleed from all those endless business. dinners and drinking…
In that relationship, she just kept her head down and gave and gave, never once stopping to think about what she might get back.
To her, love meant giving with her whole heart, never expecting anything in return.
That was exactly how she was when it came to Cassian.
It turned out that she was right all along.
Love really is about giving everything one has. But the one Cassian was willing to go all in for was Tessa.
Deep down, everyone’s last dream is to be loved.
But once one lets that go, one is finally free.
Like right now, she actually found herself thinking her shoes looked kinda cute.
And they actually fit perfectly.
“What’s got you so happy?” Darren suddenly appeared beside Aurelia.
Seeing the bright smile on her face, he couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.
“Oh, nothing. Are you done with your work, Mr. Keith?” Aurelia greeted him with a smile.
“Hey, you got a sec? I need to talk to you about something,” Darren said, clearly looking for Aurelia on
purpose.
“Yeah, sure,” Aurelia replied.
“It’s pretty loud here. Let’s go somewhere quieter,” Darren suggested.
“Alright,” Aurelia murmured.
Darren brought Aurelia up to the lounge on the second floor.
He mentioned he had someone he wanted her to meet.
Aurelia was still trying to figure out who Darren wanted her to meet when, before she knew it, she stepped on her dress and nearly went sprawling forward.
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Chapter 171
Darren reacted fast, catching her just in time before she could hit the floor.
“Thanks,” Aurelia said, a bit embarrassed.
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Once she was steady, Darren let go of her waist and said with a polite smile, “Good thing you didn’t take a spill.”
“We’re almost there,” he added.
Aurelia hurried to catch up, and the two of them stepped into one of the rooms together.
Kyler was right behind them.
He’d come looking for Darren and Zofia, but ended up witnessing Aurelia stumble and nearly fall into Kieran’s arms.
Kyler thought, ‘Seriously, this woman is just shameless.
‘First she’s hitting on Cassian, and now she’s making moves on Darren, too?‘
‘She looks all innocent, but she’s got all these dirty tricks up her sleeve!
‘Now it all made sense why Tessa kept losing to Aurelia on those projects.‘
