‘What else can I do?‘ Benjamin thought to himself.
‘Of course I’m worried. It’s about Tessa, after all,‘ he couldn’t help but think.
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Aurelia’s mind was elsewhere; she had a few more things to ask Benjamin, and by the time she finally left, night had already fallen.
Since she had an important meeting in the morning, Aurelia went back to Ella’s room and told her she’d be heading out carly.
Then she checked in with the nurse at the front desk, asking when the rest of the test results would be ready so she’d know when to come back for them.
Meanwhile, Tessa and Cassian were walking over.
Tessa was talking to Cassian, her voice soft. “Cassian, I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you with my mom.”
Cassian’s tone was unusually gentle. “It’s not trouble at all. Your problems are mine. You should’ve told me sooner. Your mom wouldn’t have had to suffer like that.”
Tessa felt a warm feeling in her chest and instinctively slipped her arm through Cassian’s. “I didn’t want to bother you at work, so I stopped calling.”
“Don’t worry about that next time. If something comes up, just tell me,” Cassian said.
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The VIP ward was so quiet that Aurelia could hear every word Tessa and Cassian said.
She was completely unfazed, just calmly jotting down the time the nurse gave her in her notes.
The nurse smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Ms. Corin, we’ll collect the test results for you. If you’re busy with work, you can come by later. No need to rush.”
The nurse’s words caught Tessa and Cassian’s attention, and they both glanced over.
When Tessa saw it was Aurelia, she gave her a nonchalant look and then subtly leaned in closer to Cassian.
Cassian looked at Aurelia too, his gaze distant and unreadable.
They left soon after.
Another nurse came back from her rounds and complained to her coworker, “Weren’t we out of beds? How did someone manage to get in anyway?”
“I heard Mr. Locke pulled some strings to make it happen,” the other nurse replied.
Since Aurelia was around, the two nurses didn’t say much more, but you could tell they weren’t pleased.
Aurelia finally put the pieces together.
Turns out Cassian had hurried off just to get Tessa’s mom a VIP room.
‘Wow, he’s really pulling out all the stops for his soon–to–be mother–in–law, Aurelia mused.
The next day, Aurelia was buried in meetings, barely catching her breath,
She’d planned to swing by the hospital to see Ella after work, but right before clocking out, her phone rang. A minor
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accident had happened at the port site.
She dropped everything and hurried over to deal with it.
By the time she finally wrapped things up, it was already dark out.
She was just about to head to the hospital when her phone buzzed. It was Ella calling.
“No need to come by,” Ella said. “The tests all came back clear.”
Aurelia breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, I’ll drop by after I finish up.”
“What’s the point? I’m getting discharged tomorrow. Just go home when you’re done,” Ella replied.
“Okay,” Aurelia said.
But for Aurelia right now, there was never really an end to her work.
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She was so busy that when Mia flew out to Northvale to deal with the contract termination, she didn’t even have time to see him off at the airport.
It wasn’t until Friday that Aurelia finally made it to the hospital to pick up Benjamin and grab dinner with the boss of Coreson.
Benjamin knew Aurelia was coming, so he was already waiting out front at the hospital, way ahead of time.
Not long after, Tessa and Alina stepped out from inside.
“The doctor said everything’s fine. I can finally breathe easy,” Tessa said.
“We really have Cassian to thank for this,” Alina said, her mood much lighter. “Once your dad’s back, let’s all sit down for a proper family dinner.”
“Sure, I’ll let him know,” Tessa replied.
Right in the middle of their conversation, they noticed Benjamin waiting by the entrance.
Both Tessa and Alina paused in their steps.
After a moment’s hesitation, Alina decided to go over and strike up a conversation with Benjamin. “Mr. Locke, are you being discharged today too?”
Alina had been looking for a chance to strike up a conversation with Benjamin ever since she got to the hospital.
But every time, the timing just wasn’t right.
Now that the perfect opportunity was finally here, she wasn’t about to let it slip through her fingers.
Benjamin was still in his wheelchair. After Alina finished speaking,/he barely glanced at her, his eyes cool and uninterested.
He didn’t show any emotion at all, but for some reason, Alina suddenly wanted to turn around and leave.
Tessa put on her best well–behaved act and called out sweetly, “Mr. Locke.”
Benjamin didn’t spare her a glance, his face cool and detached.
But Tessa didn’t flinch, just kept going, “Cassian will be here soon. Maybe he can drive you home?”
Abigail gave her a cold look. “No need. Mr. Locke already has someone coming for him.”
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Right on cue, Aurelia showed up.
She pulled up right in front of Benjamin, hopped out, and walked over to him.
Benjamin got to his feet with Abigail’s help.
His frosty look melted as soon as he spotted Aurelia. “You made it.”
“I’ve got you,” Aurelia said, steadying Benjamin as they headed for the car.
Abigail hurried after them.
That left Tessa and Alina standing there, their expressions freezing over bit by bit.
Tessa was trembling with anger.
Alina was just as pissed, but she kept it together a bit more than Tessa.
“Cassian will be here any minute. Get it together,” Alina said quietly.
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At the same time, Alina shot an icy glare toward the direction Aurelia’s car had just driven off. “Let her feel smug for now. She won’t be on top for long.”
Thanks to Benjamin’s introduction, Aurelia’s meeting with Coreson’s boss, Raphael Marshall, went super smoothly.
Raphael was all in on InquireMind and couldn’t stop singing Aurelia’s praises.
He even guaranteed with full confidence that he’d make sure InquireMind went public.
With that promise, Aurelia felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders.
She didn’t get a single break all weekend. Aurelia was stuck at the office, working overtime nonstop to pull together all the materials Coreson needed.
When Aurelia came by on Monday to deliver the materials to Raphael, she found Cassian and Tessa already waiting there.
Raphael, not realizing they all knew each other, beamed and said, “Ms. Corin, over here. Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Locke from Ascend Group, and this is Ms. Rowe from HelixTech.”
‘HelixTech?‘ Aurelia paused, recognizing the name.
Then it clicked.
It was the new name Cassian had just rebranded for Tessa’s shell company, the one set up for the high–temp superconductivity project.
Even though Aurelia had been swamped lately, she still kept tabs on what was happening in the industry.
Right now, HelixTech was the one making the biggest waves.
Cassian was throwing every resource Honoria Capital had at HelixTech, pulling out all the stops to make sure it succeeded.
Back then, Aurelia had wondered why Cassian chose to buy a shell company instead of just starting a new one from scratch.
But now, it all made sense.
Cassian was planning to take HelixTech public through a reverse takeover.
The beauty of a reverse takeover was that it skipped all the red tape of a traditional IPO, letting them get listed on the stock
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market in no time.
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‘He really is pulling out all the stops to pave the way for Tessa, Aurelia thought.
“We know each other,” Aurelia said, skipping the whole handshake thing.
Not that the other two were exactly dying to shake her hand anyway.
Honestly, this was for the best. At least they could all just keep things civil and avoid any drama.
Raphael turned to Cassian and explained, “Mr. Locke, this is Ms. Corin, the one I told you about. I already promised her I’d take on her project, so you’re a bit late to the party.”
Tessa spoke up, her voice steady and full of confidence. “Mr. Marshall, no need to rush your decision. As long as nothing’s signed yet, everything’s still on the table. Just the fact that you’re willing to meet with us means you see the value in what we’re doing.”
Raphael didn’t disagree. “The high–temp superconductivity project is packed with potential and has a really bright future. It’s got strategic importance and is showing strong growth potential across the board, plus the government is really backing this sector.”
But then he added, “But I’ve already promised Ms. Corin…”
Cassian, who’d been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. “Ms. Corin, can we talk?”
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