Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 299

Chapter 299 

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No matter how unwilling Tessa felt inside, she never lost sight of why she’d come here today. 

Forcing down her jealousy, she strode straight toward Aurelia. As she drew closer, Tessa was just about to call. 

out to her. 

Suddenly, a group of people rushed out from the other side. They were carrying cameras and tripods, all swarming toward Aurelia. 

Tessa was caught off guard and got knocked down by the crowd. 

After a moment of chaos, something smacked her hard across the face, making her eyes sting with pain. 

Someone was apologizing to her. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to.” 

The cameraman, tripod slung over his shoulder, was the one speaking. 

It was his tripod that had caught her right across the face, so he apologized sincerely and reached out to help her up. 

“Have we met before? You look kind of familiar.” The cameraman squinted at her. 

Tessa quickly turned her face away. “I’m good.” 

Hearing she was fine, the cameraman didn’t bother her anymore. He was too busy scrambling to interview Aurelia. 

Once the cameraman left, Tessa finally let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God he didn’t recognize me!‘ 

She’d caught a glimpse of his press badge earlier. He was from the financial news channel. 

If he’d recognized her, she’d be in real trouble. 

The whole academic fraud mess was still hanging over her head, so Tessa had been laying low and avoiding reporters, just hoping the whole thing would die down. 

Her face was still throbbing from where the tripod smacked her, but she didn’t have time to worry about it. She just looked over at Aurelia. 

The reporters had already swarmed Aurelia, throwing questions at her one after another, but she was dealing with it like it was no big deal. 

Before long, Stephen and his team came out. Seeing Aurelia being interviewed, they all came over to back her up. 

Stephen almost never did interviews, but this time, he was willing to go out of his way for Aurelia. 

It just showed how much she meant to him. 

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And all the reporters crowding around were from mainstream media. Just by looking around, one could count at least dozens of them. 

Even Northvale’s press showed up. 

The day they went to Ashmont University to check the scores, Alina had managed to get a financial news channel reporter for Aurelia. 

She’d had to pull a lot of strings just to make that happen, but Aurelia got all this without even lifting a finger. 

Tessa just stood there, watching as Aurelia became the center of attention, surrounded by industry VIPs and a whole entourage of people fawning over her. 

She was really on another level. All of it just made Tessa feel even more like a nobody. 

Stephen couldn’t help but feel for Aurelia as she’d been mingling and handling interviews all night. 

He just exchanged a few words with the reporters before calling it a night and wrapping up the interview. 

Once the reporters left, Aurelia finally managed to slip away and was about to head out. 

Tessa took her chance and called out, “Aurelia, let’s talk.” 

Aurelia glanced over, and when she saw it was Tessa, her eyes instantly lost their warmth. “I don’t think we have anything to talk about.” 

Ascend Group didn’t hold much value for her anymore. Back when Tessa tried to steal her sponsor, Cassian had already made a compromise and handed over Ascend Group’s resources. 

After getting rejected over and over, Tessa’s frustration with Aurelia finally boiled over. 

She was so used to calling the shots that she forgot she was the one asking for help now, and her words came out a bit harsh and combative. 

“Aurelia, I hope you can learn to separate business from personal matters. Mixing personal issues with work isn’t professional,” Tessa said. 

Even now, Tessa was convinced Aurelia was freezing her out just because she thought Aurelia was bitter about Cassian choosing her over anyone else. 

Aurelia paused mid–step, her gaze turning icy as she looked at Tessa. Her stunning face was now cold as ice. 

“Personal issues?” Aurelia said with a mocking laugh. 

“What personal grudges could I possibly have with you, Ms. Rowe?” she shot back, her tone full of scorn. 

“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly why,” Tessa replied. 

Aurelia looked at her, a cool, detached smile on her lips. Her voice was icy, with a hint of sarcasm. “Honestly, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

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“Cut the act. Isn’t it obvious? You’re just bitter Cassian chose me and dumped you, Tessa sneered, trying to put Aurelia down with her own twisted logic. 

Her laughter grew even more unrestrained, as if she’d just heard the funniest joke. “Ms. Rowe, your logic is about as ridiculous as your academic credentials.” 

Tessa’s degree had always been a thorn in her side, and Aurelia’s offhand remark hit her right where it hurt, snapping the tension she’d been holding onto for days. 

Her face flushed with humiliation and sharpness as she retorted, “Did I say anything wrong? You’re still Ingle because you haven’t gotten over Cassian, right? You haven’t even bothered to meet anyone new or start a fresh romance.” 

She gave Aurelia a look that screamed, “I’ve got you all figured out.” 

Aurelia’s smile stayed perfectly in place, her voice steady but carrying a quiet authority. “That’s even funnier. Why would I need to date some guy just to prove I’m over Cassian? Is he that important?” 

Tessa’s angry look faltered, surprise flashing across her face. 

Aurelia looked right past her, fixing her gaze on someone standing behind Tessa. 

It was Cassian. He was watching her, his thoughts impossible to read. 

Aurelia was certain he’d caught every word she’d just said, but she honestly didn’t give a damn what he thought. 

She just wanted Cassian and Tessa to get one thing straight; neither of them was worth her time. 

Honestly, they didn’t even register on her radar. 

She didn’t need their drama dragging her down. It was a total mood killer. 

It was supposed to be a good day, and they just had to show up and mess with her vibe. 

Tessa noticed the look in Aurelia’s eyes and spun around, only to see Cassian standing there. 

Karlie was right next to him. It looked like they’d come together to pick her up. 

Her expression softened a little as she asked, “Cassian, did you come to get me?” 

Karlie chimed in, “I was worried you might get into trouble, so I grabbed Cassian. Good thing he came.” 

Cassian walked over, his gaze settling on Tessa’s face. “Did you get hurt?” 

“Just a scratch. It’s nothing serious,” Tessa replied. 

With Cassian showing concern, Tessa seemed to regain a bit of her confidence, and her composure returned. 

“I just came over to talk business with Aurelia. Karlie’s just blowing things out of proportion,” she said. 

14:56 Mon, Jan 5 

Chapter 299 

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Her voice softened, sounding almost affectionate, as if shutting everyone else out. “And you, why are you fussing over me? You’re always so busy, but you still made time to come all the way here for me.” 

With that, she shot a glance at Aurelia, trying to save face after that embarrassing moment. 

But by then, Aurelia had already walked off, clearly couldn’t care less about their little display of affection. 

As Aurelia got into Gideon’s car, he had seen the whole scene go down. 

Aurelia buckled her seatbelt, and Gideon joked with a smirk, “So you’re finally done foraging for wild grass. That calls for a celebration.” 

“Even you’re making fun of me?” Aurelia said, rolling her eyes. 

If she’d known her whole thing with Cassian would end up as her most embarrassing chapter, she never would’ve let herself get so obsessed. 

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t dare. You’re Professor Horton’s golden girl now,” Gideon joked. 

He had been drinking, so the driver was behind the wheel. 

With both of them in the back seat, they could just kick back and talk. And today, he had something he needed to talk to her about.