Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 202

Chapter 202 

165 youcher 

Tessa was hosting her pre–engagement party when she heard the news that Regal Investment was about to take control of EverMass Group. 

Jasper, who was usually the life of the party, sat quietly in the corner, drinking alone. 

Tessa just couldn’t figure out why Steven would put so much faith in Aurelia. 

Seeing Jasper like that, it looked like he’d already made peace with the decision. 

“You don’t even like Aurelia, right? Now that she owns part of EverMass Group, you’ll have to see her all the time. Doesn’t that bother you? And from what you said, she’ll be making the big decisions while you barely get a say, Tessa said, frowning with real concern for Jasper.” 

Jasper hesitated, wanting to speak, but stopped himself. 

Truth be told, all of that was just small stuff to him. 

He was hiding a much bigger secret in his heart. 

But he didn’t dare breathe a word, so he could only stay silent. 

From time to time, he kept glancing at Cassian, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind. 

Too bad, Cassian gave nothing away. 

Cassian even commented earnestly, “Aurelia’s got real talent. That’s exactly why Uncle Steven trusted her with EverMass Group. Honestly, listening to her more is only going to help you.” 

Tessa’s heart sank a little at the way Cassian praised Aurelia. 

She instinctively glanced at him, not looking too pleased that he was complimenting another woman, especially right in front of her. 

Especially since that woman was Aurelia. 

Cassian picked up an orange from the fruit platter and started peeling it, looking completely at ease, his expression unchanged. 

He seemed like just an outsider, stating things objectively, with no other intention behind his words. 

After peeling the orange, Cassian handed it to Tessa. “It’s really sweet. Have a taste.” 

His laid–back attitude made Tessa trust him again, her worries quietly fading away. 

As she ate the orange, she felt a gentle sweetness blooming in her heart. 

She realized she really shouldn’t have doubted Cassian. 

He’d handed her a multi–billion dollar company like it was nothing, no strings attached. 

He’d shouldered all the pressure from the shareholders on his own, just for her. 

He didn’t hesitate to clash with Benjamin and still insisted on getting engaged to her. 

All of this showed just how important she was to Cassian. 

So it didn’t matter if Aurelia took the port redevelopment project away from her. 

In Cassian’s heart, Aurelia could never hope to measure up to Tessa, not in this lifetime. 

Jasper grumbled, “Cassian, seriously, how can you praise another woman right in front of your fiancée?” 

Tessa grinned, “Cassian was just being objective. I’m not that petty. I’ve always had faith in him.” 

Jasper had witnessed so much of their lovey–dovey stuff, he’d built up a total immunity by now. 

She let out a sigh, “It’s partly my fault. I’ve been busy with the engagement and didn’t pay attention to what was happening on your side. And with my own misjudgment dragging me into a public mess, I couldn’t look out for you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let certain people swoop in and take advantage.” 

She couldn’t help but look down on Aurelia for grabbing the chance like that. 

After all, they’d known each other for a while. There was no need to be so ruthless and ask for such a huge share. 

She had no humanity at all. She only cared about profit 

Jasper tried to comfort her. “Hey, everyone makes mistakes. Who would’ve guessed a fireworks show would turn into a disaster? If we’d done it anywhere else, people would’ve loved it, especially since we spent so much hiring a fireworks expert.” 

Dreamscape was based in Weston, so the fireworks were held there. 

They were just unlucky. 

Tessa said, not backing down, “This really is my fault. I’ll take it as a lesson learned. You live and you learn. Next time, I’ll be more careful and handle things better.” 

“Tessa, you’re way too humble,” Jasper said, honestly admiring how she carried herself. 

“I just want to be stronger, you know? I can’t always stand behind Cassian and let him take all the hits for me. I want to fight side by side with him, join forces as equals, and make Honoria Capital and the Locke Group even bigger and better,” Tessa said. 

Jasper was about to say something nice, but as soon as he heard “Locke Group,” his face twisted awkwardly. 

Tessa didn’t notice his reaction. She just checked the time and asked, “Where are Liam and Gideon? Why aren’t they here yet?” 

Jasper said he’d give them a call.. 

Liam texted back, saying he had something come up and couldn’t make it, but he’d already sent someone to drop off a gift. 

Gideon was even more of a mystery. He didn’t even pick up the phone. No one had a clue what he was up to. 

Tessa looked visibly annoyed when she got the answer. 

‘Do they not even care about basic dignity anymore?‘ she thought. 

She figured those two had probably been brainwashed by Aurelia. That was why they were avoiding her these days. 

Aurelia always seemed to love poaching people from her side, twisting their minds and spreading rumors, just to make her friends drift away. 

‘Is she targeting everyone else just because Cassian’s out of her reach?‘ ‘Tessa wondered. 

‘She’s really going out of her way just to stir things up,‘ Tessa thought, a little exasperated. 

“If they don’t want to show up, so be it. We’ll have a good time on our own,” Tessa said, acting like she couldn’t care less. 

Just then, Kyler texted her, saying he’d just landed in Ashmont and asked if she was free for dinner. 

Tessa sent him her location and replied, “Talk about perfect timing! I’m throwing a pre–engagement party, but there aren’t many people here yet. Come keep me company and help me out.” 

Hearing that she needed him, Kyler instinctively wanted to say yes. 

But then he remembered that Cassian would definitely be there too. 

After thinking it over, he politely declined. 

He told her to have fun. 

Tessa just shot back a quick “Alright then.” Then the conversation over. 

Kyler felt a hollow ache in his chest. 

Truth was, Kyler hadn’t come to Ashmont for work. 

He’d only come because he wanted to see Tessa, especially with her engagement just around the corner. 

He knew it was pointless, but he still showed up anyway. 

After a while, Kyler called Wade. “Hey, got time for a drink?” 

Wade said, “Yeah, I’m free.” 

Chapter 202 

65 voucher 

Not long after, Kyler sent over the location. 

When Wade saw the name of the club, images from the past flickered in his mind. Suddenly feeling hot, he loosened his tie. 

Wade asked Kyler, “Why’d you pick this spot?” 

Kyler shrugged, “Just picked randomly, why?” 

“Nothing. I’ll be there in a bit,” Wade said. 

But it wasn’t just some random choice. Kyler had picked this club because Tessa was hosting her pre- engagement party here. 

He figured, if he couldn’t actually show up to support her, at least being nearby was better than nothing. 

Wade arrived in no time, and Kyler asked with a grin, “Didn’t you say you like someone? Why not bring her along and introduce us?” 

“I haven’t won her over yet.” Wade replied. 

Kyler was genuinely taken aback by that. 

Wade was the kind of guy everyone thought was a catch. 

He had family background or personal charm–basically, the whole package. 

If someone this outstanding still couldn’t win them over, the girl’s standards must be sky–high. 

He was dying of curiosity. “So, who is she? What does she do? Do I know her?” 

Wade didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled out his phone and started scrolling through Instagram, checking to see if Aurelia had posted anything new. 

Aurelia wasn’t big on posting, but whenever she did, Wade was always the first one to smash that like button. 

She hadn’t posted anything today, and Wade felt a bit hollow inside. 

After a moment’s thought, he shot Aurelia a message, checking in to see how the safety checks were coming along. 

He added that if she needed anything, she could just hit him up. 

Aurelia replied that everything was going smoothly. 

Wade thought for a second, then texted, [You’ve been eating on time, right? Your friend told me your stomach’s been acting up.] 

After ages with no reply from Aurelia, Wade just stared at his phone, waiting. 

Realizing he wasn’t going to get an answer, he had no choice but to put his phone away and focus on drinking 

with Kyler. 

Kyler shot him a knowing look. “She’s ghosting you, huh?” 

“Yeah.” Wade admitted. 

“And you still like her? How did you fall for her?” Kyler asked, genuinely curious. 

“I love her at first sight,” Wade said, not even trying to hide it.