Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 218

Chapter 218 

Chapter 218 

Hearing her words, Alina could finally breathe a little easier. 

“I know you’ll earn back all your honors,” Alina said. 

But the next day, when Tessa went to meet with a partner about a new project, she got shut down. 

They’d already gotten halfway through the negotiations a month ago, and both sides had agreed to wrap thing up today. 

But when she showed up, the secretary told her the person in charge was supposedly on a business trip. 

The excuse was so bad, they didn’t even bother to make it believable. 

This was the first time she’d gotten the cold shoulder since coming back to the country. 

On the surface, she acted like nothing had happened and reminded the secretary to let her know as soon as Louis Hoover, the manager was back. 

The secretary nodded and said, “Sure thing.” 

As soon as Tessa left, the secretary dialed Louis’s office. “Mr. Hoover, I’ve sent her away just like you wanted.” 

The receptionist came over to spill some tea with the secretary. “Honestly, Tessa’s really holding it together. After all that drama, she still shows up calm as ever to talk business. Does she seriously not know what the rumor mill’s saying about her?” 

The secretary agreed. “Exactly. Mr. Hoover’s just worried he’ll get jinxed if he deals with her, but he’s too scared to piss off Cassian, so he’s stuck dodging her with lame excuses. Who knows how long he can keep dodging her?” 

“For real, she started out with everything, top education, great connections, and Cassian backing her all the way. And she still managed to blow it all. Makes you wonder if her degree’s even legit,” the receptionist said. 

“Alright, enough tea, I gotta get back to work,” the secretary replied. 

Outside the door, Tessa overheard every single word they said. 

Her face fell, bit by bit, with each sentence she heard. 

As soon as she stepped out of the building, Alina called, asking about the rumors. 

“What rumors?” Tessa asked. 

“You seriously don’t know?” Alina frowned, relaying what she’d just heard. “I was having tea with Mrs. Malan, and she said everyone’s saying you’re bad luck.” 

Tessa was already in a foul mood after getting turned away, and hearing this rumor just made her feel even worse. 

“Who the hell is spreading this crap?” Tessa wondered. 

“Wish I knew who started it. Everyone’s saying teaming up with you is a curse, that you’re a walking jinx, and every project you’ve touched at Honoria Capital has ended up a mess,” Alina said, her voice tight. 

“That’s seriously not good. You know how obsessed those high society types are with this kind of stuff,” Alina added. 

That was exactly why Alina had called Tessa the moment she heard. 

“I spent a fortune making sure your reputation was spotless. I can’t let these stupid rumors trash all my hard work,” Alina said, sounding anxious. 

10:32 Tue, Dec 30 

Chapter 218 

RD 

“I get it,” Tessa replied, her heart sinking with the weight of it all. 

After hanging up, she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. 

‘Stay calm. Don’t lose your cool,‘ she reminded herself, forcing her nerves to settle. 

She’d prove herself and make them see her in a whole new light. 

Her phone buzzed. It was Cassian calling, asking where she was. 

Tessa gave him the address. 

Cassian told her to hang tight. He’d come pick her up and take her to the course. 

Tessa’s eyes sparkled. “Are we playing with Mr. Walker from Honoria?” 

“Yeah,” Cassian replied. 

“Alright, I’ll wait for you,” Tessa said. 

As soon as Tessa hung up, she called Alina to fill her in. 

“Mr. Walker is a major player in the chip industry, pretty much an industry leader. I’m hoping his reputation can help boost Ascend Group’s image,” Tessa explained. 

Alina thought it was a solid plan. “And while we’re at it, let’s flip the script on those nasty rumors too.” 

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Tessa replied. 

“I know what to do. Send me the address and I’ll get the media over there for some coverage,” Alina said, sounding confident. 

Alina was a pro at this by now. 

*** 

Aurelia cleared her schedule for half a day just to take Stephen to see a traditional doctor. 

Stephen kept grumbling the whole way, but in the end, he had no choice but to give in to Aurelia’s stubborn insistence. 

When it was time for the acupuncture, Aurelia purposely kept her distance. 

Even so, she could still hear Stephen wailing and carrying on like the world was ending. 

“Ms. Corin,” Jasper called out. 

Jasper had come to the medicine clinic to pick up Steven’s prescription, and was genuinely surprised to bump into Aurelia. “Are you sick?” he asked. 

“No, just here with a family member,” Aurelia replied. 

“Oh.” Jasper said, a little awkward. He was always pretty reserved around Aurelia. Just saying hi was already pushing his limits. 

Aurelia clearly wasn’t in the mood to chat either. 

After exchanging a quick hello, they each went back to doing their own thing. 

Jasper grabbed the meds and hurried back to Steven’s hospital room, telling him all about running into Aurelia. 

10:32 Tue, Dec 30 

Chapter 218 

“Why didn’t you just ask Ms. Corin out for dinner while you were there?” Steven asked. 

“Wasn’t she there with an elder?” Jasper replied. 

“Did you ask which elder she was with? Maybe we should go pay them a visit,” Steven pressed 

Jasper wasn’t really into it. “Dad, just focus on getting better, okay? Don’t worry about all this 

Steven glared at him, clearly annoyed. “Why can’t you ever learn? You’re hoping she’ll help you out in the future. Can’t you use your head for once?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Jasper said, barely paying attention. He sprawled out on the couch and started messing around on his phone. 

He was scrolling through Instagram when he clicked on Tessa’s latest post. It turned out, she and Cassian were out on the golf course together. 

Jasper dropped a message in the group chat, tagging Tessa and Cassian: [Why didn’t you two invite me? I’m stuck in this hospital, practically turning into a fossil over here!] 

Tessa replied, [Come over, we just got started.] 

[On my way!] Jasper replied. 

Jasper put his phone away and said to Steven, “Dad, I’m gonna go play golf with Tessa and Cassian. I’ll come back later and hang out with you.” 

He was already heading for the door when Steven called out to stop him. 

“You’re not going!” Steven snapped. 

“Come on, why not?” Jasper protested. 

“I said no, and that’s final! How many times do I have to tell you? Stay away from Tessa! Are you even listening?” Steven 

barked. 

Steven got so worked up that he started coughing, hacking so hard he could barely catch his breath. 

Jasper rushed over to help him catch his breath. “Come on, Dad, Tessa’s my friend. I’m just hanging our 

all.” 

“Have you even thought about how much money you’ve lost on those projects with her? And you sti Keep this up and you’ll be left with nothing but your underwear!” Steven snapped. 

“Dad…” Jasper groaned, his voice trailing off. 

“I said no! If you step out that door today, don’t bother calling me your son!” Steven snapped. 

ng out? 

Jasper couldn’t win against his dad, so he had no choice but to text Tessa, saying he couldn’t make it because he had something come up. 

Tessa didn’t take it to heart at all. She just said they could hang out another time when he was free. 

Once Stephen’s acupuncture session was over, Aurelia headed back to the office. She and Arturo then went to Alpite Group to discuss the acquisition. 

After all that went down, Ewan was totally out of it. He looked completely defeated, like he’d just given up on life. 

When he saw Arturo, he couldn’t help but look away. 

10:32 Tue, Dec 30 

RD 

Chapter 218 

He just felt too ashamed to face him. 

Seeing what had become of Alpite Group, Arturo couldn’t help but sigh at how things had turned out. 

But nobody had time to dwell on it. Aurelia kept it strictly business and went straight into th 

The price was more than reasonable, and Ewan signed the contract without a second thoug 

As he handed over the keys, Ewan’s eyes grew misty. 

Iks with Ewan. 

Just then, the school called to say his kid had gotten hurt in gym class. Ewan quickly grabbed a cab and rushed over. 

“Let me give you a ride. It’ll be faster than waiting for a cab,” Arturo offered. 

Ewan blinked, surprised. 

He just nodded, not saying a word. 

After wrapping up the acquisition, Aurelia had just gotten back to her office when her phone rang. 

Her brows furrowed instinctively as she saw the caller ID. 

AD