Orphan To Unbreakable Queen - Chapter 150: Chapter 150

Bowen rested his chin on her shoulder, his warm breath caressing her skin like a breeze fanning embers, setting her whole body ablaze with delicious, tingling, scorching heat.
Aubree stiffened, not daring to move. She stammered, "Un..."
"Hmm?" Bowen huffed, his voice laced with displeasure.
"Bowen," Aubree stammered.
Now satisfied, he murmured, "Good girl. Will you say yes? Be my girlfriend?"
Bowen grinned and added, "You don't hate me, so you must like me. If you like me, why hesitate? If you ever stop liking me, you can just kick me, the old bachelor, to the curb. Fair enough?"
Aubree felt a shameful flutter in her chest. What she feared most was investing her heart only to have it broken.
She thought, 'In my last life, I died because of that pathetic excuse for family. This time, there's no way I'm throwing myself away for love again.'
However, Aubree forgot. In her past life, she was always forced to go along with things. Now, even if she said yes to Bowen, she might actually be the one calling the shots.
Bowen said softly, "You don't need to carry any burdens when you're with me.
"All you need to know is that I'm in love with you. That's enough."
Bowen's voice, languid and enticing, yet imbued with an unwavering firmness, slowly chiseled its way into her heart, burrowing deep within.
"Then... How about we give it a try?" Aubree tentatively raised her head, and her eyes locked with his.
That one look was all it took to reignite Bowen's barely banked desire. "Absolutely!"
A closer listen would reveal the tremor in Bowen's voice as he spoke that single word. Even he himself had no idea how much restraint it took not to pull Aubree, who barely noticed him, into his arms and make her a part of him, body and soul.
Bowen held her in a carefully restrained embrace, then gently kissed Aubree's forehead. "Good night, my little girlfriend," he whispered.
Aubree watched Bowen's retreating figure, a smile playing at the corners of her lips as she silently thought, 'Good night, my brand-new boyfriend.'
Bowen left Aubree's room. His good mood written all over his face, completely oblivious to Alvin, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, waiting for him.
Alvin suddenly spoke up, his tone teasing, "Last I checked, it's summer, not spring fever season." Bowen, caught off guard, nearly jumped. He hadn't even noticed Alvin standing there.
Bowen grinned, too elated to take offense at Alvin's teasing. "With enough effort," he quipped, "any season can feel like spring."
Bowen patted Alvin, his nephew, on the shoulder with a grin. "Time to start practicing now. You'll need to get used to calling her Auntie Bree."
"Auntie... Auntie Bree?" Alvin's icy expression cracked, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Just now...?"
"Guess what, Alvin? I, your uncle, just got myself a girlfriend, literally just now!"
Watching Bowen's face light up with barely-contained delight, Alvin's conviction only deepened. Bowen was a shameless old rogue without an ounce of dignity.
Then, recalling something, Alvin's expression suddenly turned serious, his usual cold demeanor returning. "I went to your room earlier to look for you."
Finding the room empty, he'd come to ambush Bowen outside Aubree's door.
Bowen's expression turned serious. "What is it?"
"Originally, I just wanted to ask about Mark's investigation. He told me he'd found some promising leads, but it's been ages with no updates from him. At first, he said he was swamped with year-end business and my case would have to wait. But how long is this supposed to take? Uncle Bowen, I need you to give him a nudge."
Alvin had waited over a decade, and now, with a glimmer of hope finally in sight, any pretense of patience was just a pretense. He ached to wake up one morning and see his parents' killers.
'As for the matter... Alvin would never get the full truth if all went according to plan. At most, he might hear that those who murdered Bryan and his wife had finally been brought to justice,' thought Alvin.
Bowen's gaze grew somber as he looked at Alvin, unable to help but feel a pang of guilt. Alvin was just clever. If given too many details about the matter, he would surely trace it back to Bree. All Bowen could do was keep the truth from him and only share the outcome.
"Alvin, I'll handle this for you and let you know the outcome. For now, just focus on your studies and pursue what makes you happy."
"No, that's not enough," Alvin insisted, his gaze locked on Bowen. "I want the whole truth about what happened that year, and I want every single person involved to answer to what they did to my parents!"
Bowen's heart clenched. Before he could respond, Alvin, reining in his anger, pulled a stack of photos from his pocket and thrust them at Bowen. "I wasn't snooping on purpose. Your drawer was ajar, and the photos were right there. I just saw them."
Bowen looked over to see Alvin holding about five or six photos, all featuring the same girl, from when she was eight or nine with twin braids, to fifteen or sixteen in a school uniform with her hair in a high ponytail.
"This is Aubree," Alvin stated, his gaze fixed on him.
"I remember when you were sixteen, something got into you and you told Grandpa you wanted to sponsor a child from an orphanage. You were precocious and intelligent, having skipped grades to study in Odionland. You had Grandpa send a few hundred dollars to the orphanage every month, and the orphanage would send a letter back every year.
"There are so many orphans in the world, and there are a lot of orphanages in Rithol City. I never connected the dots before, but now it's clear. Mary Quinn's surname is Quinn, so Mr. Quinn must be you, right?"
Every year on Aubree's birthday, the orphanage would ask her to write a letter and enclose a photo to send to Bowen. When Bowen was abroad, the butler at the family residence would carefully collect the letters and photos and place them in Bowen's room.
Bowen had just taken the photos out to look at them again, lost in thought and unaware that he'd left the drawer open.
Mary, whom Alvin mentioned, was Bowen's birth mother. He'd taken her surname back then, not out of any special attachment to his mother, but simply because it was handy.
"Don't tell her," Bowen said, rubbing his temples.
So it was true!' Alvin thought. With Bowen's confirmation, he finally pieced it all together. No wonder Bowen had been so taken with Aubree from their first meeting.
"I'm not that idle," Alvin said coolly. He was here to confirm things. He had no intention of blindly meddling in their relationship. But since he considered Aubree a friend, if she and Bowen truly felt the same way about each other, he'd be happy for them.
Alvin said coolly, "Keep me posted if there's any news."
Bowen didn't give a second thought to Alvin discovering he was Mr. Quinn. With his dream finally coming true, he was too exhilarated to sleep that night. The first thing he did was grab his phone and call Mark.
It was so late. Mark, roused from a deep sleep, assumed it must be urgent. He quickly answered, his voice thick with sleep, "What's wrong?"
"Oh, I've got a girlfriend now," said Bowen.
Mark processed it slowly, a silent question mark forming in his mind. "Bowen Turner, go and see a doctor if you're crazy!"
The call was hung up on him, but Bowen simply chalked it up to Mark's jealousy. With a smirk, he thought, 'Guess he's just envious.' Then he wasted no time dialing Ollie's number.
At that hour, the night was just getting started for Ollie.
"Well, well, look who's calling! Mr. Big Shot gracing me with a call this late. Don't tell me you got your heart broken and need a drinking buddy to drown your sorrows?"
"I haven't even said anything yet. How did you know Bree said yes?"
Ollie said, "Wait, what?"
Ollie was stunned. "No way, Aubree said yes?"
'Damn, that was fast! Bowen's got game!' thought Ollie.
Bowen got exactly the reaction he wanted. "Sounds like you're at a bar?" he teased. "Too bad I can't join you for a drink. I'm officially off the market now."
Ollie snorted, "Get lost!"
Bowen felt great.
Over the moon, Bowen sent a generous cash bonus to Ethan and the guys' group chat, then called finance to announce a company-wide bonus of one month's salary for everyone.