Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 101

Chapter 67: Uncle–2

I exhaled. “Thank you,” I said. “That’s very thoughtful.”

It came out more stiff than I intended. Leo mouthed *relax* at me from the bed.

I ignored him.

Claim

But even as I said it, I was aware of something accumulating – small gestures, one after another, each one reasonable on its own. The hospital visit. The basket. Now this. I was starting to feel the weight of it, the slow, steady way a debt builds before you realize you’re in

one.

Phineas didn’t stay long. He was considerate about it, which somehow made it worse – he glanced at Leo, said he needed his rest, and stood to leave within twenty minutes of arriving. Martha immediately nudged me toward the door.

“Walk him out,” she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I walked him to the elevator. He pressed the button and then turned to me.

“Go back,” he said. “Your brother needs you more than I need an escort.”

“I know. I just – “I stopped. “Thank you. For coming. You really didn’t have to.”

“I know I didn’t have to.” The elevator arrived. He stepped in and looked at me calmly. “Get some sleep tonight. You look like you haven’t in a while.”

The doors closed.

I stood there for a moment, then turned and walked back.

Martha was waiting approximately three steps inside the door. Leo was pretending to examine the wrist brace. Neither of them was fooling anyone.

“Is he single?” Martha asked, before I had even fully crossed the threshold.

“Mom.”

“It’s a simple question.”

“My divorce isn’t even finalized yet.”

“That’s a technicality.” She waved it off. “These things take time, but they happen. A man like that that kind of money, that kind of presence – you don’t just walk past someone like that,

Aurora. You hold on.”

Chapter 67: Uncle 2

I laughed, but there was nothing warm in it. “A man like that,” I said, “isn’t going to look twice at a woman who’s been divorced, has a daughter, and lost a pregnancy. That’s not how it works for men in his position. So please stop.”

Martha’s mouth opened, then closed.

The room was very quiet.

Leo shifted on the bed. “Hey, Mom,” he said, his voice easy and deliberate. “Can you grab me some water from the vending machine down the hall? The cold kind, not the room temperature stuff.”

Martha looked at him. Then she picked up her purse and walked out without another word.

Leo waited until her footsteps faded.

“She means well,” he said.

“She means something,” I said. “I’m not sure it’s the same thing.”

He smiled, tired but genuine. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” I sat down in the chair beside the bed. “Don’t worry about me.”

“I always worry about you.” He turned the wrist brace over in his hands. “Hey. When I’m out of here – I’ve been thinking. I want to go back and sit the exams. Properly. Apply to university.”

I looked at him.

The last time I’d seen that look in his eyes – that particular kind of forward momentum – he’d been fourteen and telling me he wanted to make the varsity track team. He’d made it. He’d always made it when he actually wanted something.

“Yeah?” I said.

“I’ve been lying here for a week thinking about it. I don’t want to just – drift. I want to do something.” He paused. “Is that stupid? After everything?”

“It’s not stupid.” My voice came out quieter than I meant it to. “It’s the opposite of stupid.”

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