Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 238

Chapter 238 

Tessa only noticed Kyler’s reply after she got out of the shower. 

That was quite a while, a full eight hours, longer than ever before. 

A full eight hours. 

But she didn’t think much of it. She just assumed he was busy. 

After all, she knew better than anyone just how obsessed Kyler was with her. 

Tessa didn’t reply right away. She took her time drying her hair before finally messaging him back. 

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When it came to handling a guy like him, almost clueless about relationships, born with a silver spoon, and always keeping people at arm’s length, she had to play her cards right. 

She couldn’t be too enthusiastic, but she couldn’t be too cold either. 

She had to keep him guessing, playing hard to get. 

Tessa shot him a message: [Busy these days?] 

She wasn’t in a rush to get to the real reason; better to open with a casual check–in and keep things light. 

Kyler texted back right away. [I’m good. Something up?] 

Tessa said: [I was thinking we should finally get that dinner I keep talking about. I’ve been meaning to take you out, but just never found the time.] 

Kyle said: [How about we grab a meal next time I’m in Ashmont?] 

This time, Tessa agreed without hesitation, then brought up bumping into Wade at city hall earlier, smoothly shifting the topic to what she really wanted to ask. 

Tessa said: [You and Wade go way back, don’t you? Didn’t you grow up together?] 

Kyler said: [Yeah, we were neighbors back then.] 

‘Guess I really did ask the right person, Tessa thought. 

She went ahead and asked: [Wade’s family background must be pretty solid, huh? He’s only in his thirties and already landed a top spot. Without some family help, no way he’d get there so fast.] 

Kyler thought for a few seconds before replying: [He didn’t lean on his family at all. Everything he’s got, he earned himself.] 

Wade’s family background wasn’t something you talked about, so Kyler only shared what he could. 

Tessa was smart enough to know she was on the money. Hearing Kyler’s answer, she was almost certain her guess was right. 

She couldn’t help but feel a little sorry about it. 

Looking back, she really shouldn’t have ended things with Wade so bluntly. Now things were all tense between them, and he was keeping his distance. 

Guys could be pretty sensitive about this kind of thing. Once things got weird, fixing it was no easy task. 

But what really got under her skin now was that Aurelia was making a move on Wade too. 

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Most likely, Aurelia already knew about Wade’s background and was cozying up to him on purpose. 

Otherwise, why else would she be hanging around city hall all the time? 

‘Looks like I really underestimated Aurelia, Tessa thought. 

She wasn’t too worried about it. 

Wade’s interest in Aurelia was probably just a passing phase. 

With a family like his, there was no way he’d ever go for someone with Aurelia’s background. 

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But while chatting with Kyler, she dropped some hints, almost like she didn’t mean to, but every word was carefully chosen. 

Tessa said: [I was at city hall for a meeting today, and Wade and Aurelia looked pretty chummy. Are they a thing now or what?] 

To really sell it, she even sent a surprised reaction meme. 

Kyler couldn’t help but frown. 

He thought, ‘I have already given Wade a heads–up about Aurelia, so why was Wade still getting so close to her?‘ 

But this was Wade’s own business, so Kyler kept it brief: [Not really sure.] 

After a pause, he added: [Probably not.] 

Wade had confided in Kyler that Aurelia was still hurting from her last relationship, so she wasn’t open to anything new and had turned him down. 

But Tessa totally misunderstood, thinking Kyler meant Wade and Aurelia were just in completely different leagues. There was no way those two would ever work out. 

She smirked lightly. [Yeah, I don’t think that’s happening either.] 

Maybe it was because Tessa mentioned Aurelia, but Kyler’s mind instantly drifted to all that drama at Ashmont University. 

That whole mess had been weighing on him for ages. After mulling it over for so long, he finally decided he needed some real answers. 

He asked: [Tessa, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while. Were you really the one who came between Cassian and Aurelia?] 

He had to steel himself before finally hitting send. 

In his eyes, Tessa was always the unattainable goddess. There was no way she could ever be the other woman in someone else’s relationship. 

So when Aurelia spilled the truth, it took him ages to wrap his head around it. 

But deep down, he still found himself siding with Tessa. 

It took a long time before Tessa finally replied. 

She said: [No.] 

She added: [She and Cassian did have some messy history, but honestly, she played some pretty shady games just to hook up with him. Hardly anyone knows what really went down. Only the people who are tight with Cassian know the truth.] 

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[You know, Cassian is the heir to the Locke Group. He’s basically the closest thing to a big shot Aurelia’s ever had in her life. So she chased after him for seven whole years, but Cassian never once made it official or claimed her. It was always just her clinging to him, never the other way around.] 

‘So that’s what really happened,‘ Kyler thought to himself. 

He read her message again and again, feeling the weight lift off his chest at last. 

‘Looks like I really misjudged her,’ he admitted to himself. 

***** 

Aurelia and Wade set up a meeting for the next day to talk about the MegaTech acquisition review. She told him straight up what she needed. 

She wanted to cut through the red tape and get the deal done as fast as possible. 

Wade said he’d put in a good word and try to hurry things up for her. 

By the time they finished talking, it was about time to grab a bite. 

Aurelia casually suggested they get something to eat together. 

Wade agreed, gave Charlie a quick heads–up, and headed out with Aurelia. 

As they walked out, they ran into Breon Youngkin, the boss of NaviTech, who was on his way to a dinner event. 

He was at city hall for some business too, and when he spotted Aurelia, he greeted her with a friendly smile. “Ms. Corin, it’s been ages! You here on business too?” 

“Yeah,” Aurelia replied. 

Since they bumped into each other, Aurelia called out to Breon, “Hey, Breon, Wade and I are about to grab some food. Want to come with us?” 

Breon quickly shook his head. “Nah, I can’t. I’ve got lunch plans with Mr. Locke and Ms. Rowe. We’re gonna talk about the high–temp superconductivity project.” 

He stopped for a second, then looked at Aurelia. “Wait, you’re not coming too, Ms. Corin?” 

Everyone in this crowd always gave each other a heads–up whenever a good project came along. 

Especially with something this massive, it takes a whole group of companies teaming up and backing each other up. 

That was the only way to pool resources, share the risks, and maximize the synergy for everyone involved. 

So Breon just figured Aurelia would be invited too. 

Aurelia just gave a faint smile. “No, I’m pretty busy right now.” 

Breon knew InquireMind was gearing up for its IPO, so he nodded in understanding, though he still felt a little disappointed. 

“I was really hoping we could work together again, Aurelia. Looks like we’ll have to wait for next time,” he said. 

All of them headed out together. 

One could tell Breon was really optimistic about the high–temp superconductivity project. He kept the conversation lively, even asking Wade about how the city hall was viewing it. 

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“Mr. Locke is really putting everything into this project. He’s basically pouring all of Honoria Capital’s resources into it,” Breon said. 

But Wade replied, “From what I hear, Ms. Rowe is actually the one calling the shots on this project.” 

Breon laughed, “Does it even matter who’s running the show between those two?” 

Honestly, he had a point. 

Everyone in their circle knew Cassian was totally into Tessa. 

Even Breon couldn’t help but sigh, “Mr. Locke’s got it bad for Ms. Rowe. That’s what real devotion looks like.” 

After they said their goodbyes, Breon headed off to the dinner event. 

He was pretty much the last one to show up, and everyone started teasing him, saying he owed them three shots for being late. 

Breon waved his hands, laughing. “My liver’s not doing so great lately, so I’ll owe you guys those drinks. I was late because I ran into Aurelia from Regal Investment at city hall and got caught up talking with her for a while.” 

Someone asked, “Yeah, why isn’t Aurelia here?” 

Tessa replied offhandedly, “She wasn’t on the guest list.” 

She didn’t bother to sugarcoat it. 

She never meant to let Aurelia join the fun.