Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 282

Chapter 282 Preparing A Surprise 

‘Huh, he’s actually being kind, Aurelia mused to herself. 

She played along, putting on a polite smile. “Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Locke. I’ll keep that in mind.” 

As soon as Cassian left, Jessica couldn’t help but clap for Aurelia. 

“See? Don’t take men too seriously, and life gets a whole lot easier.” 

Her words might’ve been a bit blunt, but there was definitely some truth to them. 

Jessica lit up a menthol cigarette, blowing out a cloud of smoke. “Life advice. You’ve got to date a younger guy at least once. There’s nothing like the thrill of having a hot, young body come running straight for you.” Upstairs, in the private lounge, Cassian said he needed to step out for a bit. 

As soon as Cassian left, Karlie nudged Tessa with her elbow. “Is Cassian off to prepare a surprise for you?” 

Tessa took a sip of her juice, the sweetness instantly lifting her mood. “How would I know?” 

“For sure!” Karlie declared. “I’m so hyped. I’m totally recording this on my phone later.” 

Tessa immediately asked, “How’s my makeup? Is my hair all over the place?” 

“Trust me, you look stunning,” Karlie reassured her. 

When Kyler walked in, both of them looked over expectantly. 

He was carrying a massive bouquet of lilies of the valley, so big it hid his face. 

Karlie, practically buzzing with excitement, whipped out her phone and opened the camera, ready to capture the moment. 

But then she realized it was Kyler. 

Even Tessa was caught off guard for a moment. 

“Tessa, these are for you,” Kyler said, completely oblivious to the change in her expression as he handed her the bouquet with genuine sincerity. 

By now, Tessa had composed herself. She took the flowers from him and thanked him. 

Kyler had thought she’d be over the moon. After all, he’d picked these flowers with care, and they meant a lot to both of them. 

But after Tessa took the flowers, she just placed them off to the side, almost absentmindedly. 

“Hello, Professor Dempsey,” Tessa said, her attention clearly on Henry standing behind Kyler. She greeted Henry and even reached out to shake his hand. 

Ever since Henry read Tessa’s thesis, he’d been a huge fan, always singing her praises to anyone who would listen. 

Now that he was finally meeting her in person, he couldn’t hide his admiration. “It’s so great to finally meet you. Lately, everyone’s been talking about your black–box investment strategy. It’s truly brilliant.” 

“Thank you, Professor Dempsey,” Tessa replied. 

While Tessa kept things low–key, Karlie was the total opposite. 

She blurted out to Henry, “So, Professor Dempsey, does this mean Tessa got accepted to Professor Horton’s graduate program?” 

Henry chuckled. “Unless something unexpected happens, yeah, she’s in.” 

“Tessa, you’re about to score triple good news!” Karlie squealed, practically bouncing in her seat. 

Tessa shot her a look, signaling her to chill. “It’s not official yet. Let’s wait for the announcement.” 

Kyler looked curious. “Triple good news? What are they?” 

Karlie was about to blurt it out, but Tessa shushed her again. 

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Chapter 282 Preparing A Surprise 

Kyler wasn’t slow. With a quick thought, he pretty much figured it out and couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. 

Since Cassian and Tessa were already engaged, tying the knot was only a matter of time. 

He just hadn’t expected their wedding day to come around this fast. 

At that moment, Kyler felt as dim and overlooked as the bouquet of lilies of the valley Tessa had set aside without a second thought. 

They hadn’t chatted for long when the door to the private room swung open again, and Jasper rolled in a drinks cart. 

On top were two bottles of red wine, which were his gift for Tessa. 

“Jasper, you really didn’t have to go out of your way. Cassian already got it covered,” Tessa said, trying to be polite. 

“Cassian’s gift is his, while mine’s from me. It’s a whole different thing,” Jasper replied. 

Jasper walked in and realized Cassian was missing, so he asked Tessa, “Where’s Cassian? Why isn’t he here on such a big day?” 

Tessa explained, “He just stepped out for a bit and will be back soon.” 

Karlie grinned from the side. “He went to get a surprise ready for Tessa.” 

“What kind of surprise?” Jasper chimed in, just as nosy as Karlie. 

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it? You’ll find out soon enough,” Karlie said. 

Jasper’s curiosity was really piqued now. 

Just then, Cassian walked back in, and everyone turned to look at him. 

Cassian noticed everyone staring and asked, puzzled, “What’s going on? Why is everyone looking at me like that?” 

Jasper was about to say something, but Karlie yanked him back by the arm. 

She didn’t want Jasper to ruin the surprise, or it wouldn’t be any fun. 

Tessa deftly changed the topic. “Liam’s not here yet, is he?” 

Right as she said that, Liam and Gideon walked through the door. 

Liam quipped, “We didn’t show up late, did we?” 

“Nope, not at all!” Karlie chirped, quickly moving her bag off the chair next to her. “Liam, have a seat.” 

But Liam didn’t take the seat next to her. Instead, he plopped down beside Henry, making sure there was plenty of space between him and Karlie. 

Gideon was even more distant than Liam. He walked in without even saying hello to Tessa. 

And as for gifts… there wasn’t a single one. 

Liam was the same. He was just there to hang out, not really to congratulate Tessa. 

Tessa minded it, but she didn’t let it show and stayed graceful as ever. 

That was just how people were. When one was rich, even distant relatives would come out of the woodwork, but when one was broke, not even one’s neighbors would care. 

Tessa thought, ‘Once HelixTech goes public, once I get into Professor Horton’s graduate program, and once I marry Cassian, all these problems will be solved in no time.‘ 

She had all the patience in the world to wait for that day. 

More people came in, and Tessa made sure to greet everyone personally. 

Throughout the meal, Henry was totally engrossed in talking with Tessa about her black–box investment strategy. 

Chapter 282 Preparing A Surprise 

Jasper had zero idea what they were going on about, but it all sounded super impressive anyway. 

Not long after dinner started, Gideon kept ducking out. The last time he left, he just ghosted and never came 

back. 

Tessa noticed, but she kept it to herself. 

Jasper was the one who caught on and gave Gideon a call. 

Gideon said something came up and he had to leave early. 

“Seriously, what’s up with Gideon?” Jasper muttered, annoyed. “He didn’t even say bye or anything.” 

Tessa just gave a mocking little smirk and shrugged it off. “Whatever, it’s not even a real party. If he wants to leave, let him.” 

Honestly, Gideon was the least of her concerns today. 

Cassian was acting totally normal today. 

The more he acted like nothing was going on, the more Tessa suspected he was planning something. 

But as the dinner drew to a close, Cassian still hadn’t shown any sign of preparing a surprise. 

Karlie was getting impatient, whispering in Tessa’s ear, “What’s Cassian doing? Why hasn’t anything happened yet? I’m freaking out over here.” 

Tessa gave her a look that said, “Shh, not so loud.” 

The dinner wasn’t over yet. Anything could still happen. 

But even when the dinner wrapped up, Cassian was still cool as a cucumber, not giving anything away. 

Tessa was so lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t even hear Henry saying goodbye. 

It took Kyler giving her a heads–up for Tessa to finally snap out of it and personally walk Henry out. 

Before leaving, Henry told Tessa, “You can check your results at nine in the morning on Monday. Make sure you get to campus early. Professor Horton wants to see you.” 

“Okay,” Tessa nodded. 

Jasper finally got it and was totally blown away. “Wait, Professor Horton wants to see you? Tessa, you’re impressive. I’m coming too. I got to witness the genius herself.” 

“Liam, are you coming?” Tessa asked. 

Tessa thought he’d just turn her down. 

But to her surprise, he agreed right away, “Yeah, I’ll go.” 

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