vasher
Around March. Aurelia finished her MBA program at Ashmont University and graduated successfully. She officially accepted the offer from Whitvale School of Management and got ready to study abroad in late July.
During this time, she had to arrange Regal Investment’s new structure, promote capable managers, and recruit people with leadership potential.
But even with her packed schedule, she still caught wind of what was happening in Northvale. Northvale was in a huge upheaval, and many people were caught up in it. The internal announcement had already come out, and Zane sent it to Aurelia.
The notice stated that the top official wasn’t just guilty of major negligence. He’d accepted bribes, and the amount was especially huge. Zane specifically highlighted the words “especially huge.”
“If you ask me, ‘especially huge‘ means we’re talking over hundreds of billions. Not long ago, they charged an official who took ten billion in bribes, and they even announced that number publicly. So ‘especially huge‘ has got to be way, way more than that,” Zane said.
Aurelia couldn’t believe her ears. Ten billion? Seriously? Ordinary folks scrape by, earning every dollar the hard way. And these crooks snatch up billions like it’s nothing? They’re absolutely heartless!‘
Zane added, “No way he’s escaping the death penalty. And everyone tangled up in this mess is looking at serious time!”
Aurelia’s mind instantly went to Cassian. In the end, she could only sigh inwardly. If even Benjamin was at a loss, there was no way Aurelia could do anything about it.
At the same time, Liam and Jasper caught wind of the whole mess too. The two decided to check on Cassian in Northvale.
Jasper turned to Liam, “Should we ask Aurelia to come along? Maybe Cassian would want to see her.”
“Things got pretty ugly between them. It might not be the best idea,” Liam said, hesitating.
Jasper let out a sigh. “Yeah, they’re totally done with each other now. Asking her would just be awkward, and honestly, she doesn’t owe Cassian anything.”
The two of them fell silent for a moment, and Jasper let out a long sigh. “Still, it’s a real shame.”
Liam shot him a look. “Weren’t you the one who never thought they’d work out? What’s with all the sighing now?”
Jasper gave a self–deprecating chuckle. “Come on, you know how clueless I used to be.”
Every time he remembered how he used to idolize Tessa, he just wanted to smack himself. He thought, ‘Guess you never really learn from others, but when life hits you, you get it fast.
Liam fell silent. Because, honestly, he hadn’t been much better at seeing things clearly himself. He lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and behind the swirling smoke, his gaze turned deep and shadowed. “Not long ago, I looked into something and finally solved a mystery that’s been haunting me for years.”
He paused. When Jasper glanced over, Liam went on, “Turns out, it wasn’t Aurelia who drugged Cassian back then.”
When Liam heard the news, he felt frozen to the core. Suddenly, he understood why Aurelia had been so cold toward him. If it had been him, he probably wouldn’t have even bothered with politeness. He would’ve just ghosted them for good. Aurelia was already way more forgiving than he ever could be.
Jasper’s heart clenched, like someone had jabbed a needle right into it. Meanwhile, Liam’s expression was serious, his lips pressed into a hard line, and his jaw tense. “Cassian was drugged by a college girl he’d been helping out. She was the one trying to latch onto him, and it was Aurelia who showed up and got Cassian out of trouble.
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Bouchers
“But that college girl called a bunch of reporters to camp outside the hotel, hoping to blow things up and force her way in. It was right when Ascend Group was about to go public. If a scandal had broken out, it would’ve wrecked everything for the company. Aurelia kept Cassian at the hotel and let us know so we could come help,” Liam explained.
That day, they were out drinking with the guys and didn’t even open Aurelia’s texts. Most of the time, they couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to her, just assumed it was nothing urgent. And that was how they got the wrong idea about Aurelia. They even started looking down on her after that.
When Liam finally learned the truth, he slapped himself hard across the face. Meanwhile, Mandy just sneered, “That’s way too light. You could slap yourself ten times and still wouldn’t make up for what you did.”
Meanwhile, Jasper was the one wishing he could smack himself.
“We all owe Aurelia an apology,” Liam said.
*****
In mid–June, the verdict from the second trial for Alina and Vanessa’s murder case was announced. Vanessa, as an accomplice, was sentenced to seven years in prison. As for Alina, the main perpetrator, she committed a serious crime with a terrible impact and showed no remorse throughout the process. Combined with other charges, the court imposed a harsher sentence: a life sentence.
The lawyers had told Aurelia what to expect, and the outcome was no surprise, but the lawyer had something else for her. Tessa had gone completely off the deep end. Word was, her health and sanity had both taken a nosedive. It was hard not to feel sorry for her.
Her charges weren’t as serious as Alina and Vanessa’s, but she was still facing at least five years in prison. No one thought she’d actually go crazy.
Aurelia thought back to the scene she’d witnessed at the hospital and asked the lawyer, “Wasn’t she supposed to be in detention? How did she end up losing a kidney?”
“Apparently, she kept trying to off herself. After they sent her to the hospital, she somehow got her hands on a bunch of illegal meds and took them all at once. It wrecked her kidneys. She even went into kidney failure, got a nasty abscess, and in the end, they had to take one out,” the lawyer said.
The lawyer shrugged, “Honestly, nobody really knows what went down. That’s just the word on the street.” Everyone else was just left guessing.
Some things, only God, the people involved, and maybe fate know the truth.
Early in July, Aurelia headed to Northvale for a visit. She was there to work on a joint project. Zane and Cruz welcomed her with open arms. And of course, they brought Kyler along too.
It had been ages since they’d all hung out together, and Zane was practically overflowing with stories. Cruz was glued to his phone the whole time, clearly texting someone. Zane tried to peek, but Cruz shoved him away.
“What are you hiding? Afraid I’ll steal your girl?” Zane teased.
Cruz actually answered seriously, “Yeah.”
Zane blinked. “Am I really that much of a player?”
Cruz, Kyler, and Aurelia all chimed in at once, “Yeah, bro.”
Zane was speechless. ‘Can we even be friends anymore?‘ he thought.
Zane turned to Kyler. “So what have you been up to these past few months? Every time we call you out, you ghost us. Don’t tell me you’ve been sneaking around and dating someone? Seriously, weren’t we supposed to be single bros together? Now
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you guys are coupling up behind our backs!”
Aurelia quickly raised her hand. “Hey, not me!” she said, sounding defensive.
Kyler replied, deadpan, “Me neither.”
“Then what’s keeping you so busy?” Zane pressed.
Kyler answered, cool as ever, “Just busy, that’s all.”
Zane rolled his eyes. “Bro, you’re the king of saying nothing. You’ve really mastered the art of empty talk.”
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When they finally called it a night, Kyler and Aurelia happened to be going the same way. So, Zane asked Kyler to walk Aurelia back to her hotel. Kyler was more than happy to do it.
On the way back to the hotel, Kyler asked Aurelia, “When are you going back to Ashmont?”
Aurelia answered, “Tomorrow.”
Kyler hesitated for a second, then asked, “Are you planning to go see Cassian?”
