Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 104

Chapter 70: Probing–1

(Aurora’s POV)

Phineas pulled up to the curb outside my mother’s apartment building and cut the engine.

Martha had barely waited for the car to stop before she was already turning to him, beaming. “You simply must come up. I’ve got some scones and shortbread I made this morning – you’ve done so much for us today, the least we can do is offer you a proper sit–down.”

I opened my mouth. “Mom, he probably has things to –”

“I’d love to,” Phineas said.

Martha looked like she’d won something. “Wonderful. Leo, come on, help me get the door. Aurora, you wait down here and walk up with our guest.”

Leo shot me a look I couldn’t quite read, then let Martha steer him toward the entrance. The door swung shut behind them.

I stood on the sidewalk and looked at Phineas.

His car was parked directly under a streetlamp, black and sleek and completely out of place on this block of worn–down brick buildings and patched asphalt. Two women walking past had already slowed down to look at it.

“You could pull forward a little,” I said. “Park closer to the corner. Less conspicuous.”

He glanced at the car, then at me. “You don’t actually want me to come up, do you.”

“That’s not – no, that’s not what I said. I just don’t want you to feel obligated. You’ve already driven us here. That’s more than enough.”

He eased the car forward to the spot I’d indicated, then stepped out and locked it. “I skipped breakfast this morning. We left early, remember?” He looked at me with a perfectly level expression. “I was promised food.”

I hadn’t promised him anything of the sort. But I also didn’t have a good argument against it, so I just said, “Fine,” and led him inside.

(Author’s POV)

Upstairs, Martha was already moving around the kitchen with the energy of someone who had been waiting for exactly this kind of occasion. She’d pulled out her good plates – the ones she never used for ordinary meals – and was arranging scones on a tray when her

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s Chapter 70 Probing

neighbor from across the hall appeared in the doorway.

The woman’s eyes had been sharp ever since she’d watched the car pull up from her window.

“Martha,” she said, leaning against the doorframe. “Was that car your daughter’s? The man driving it – is that her husband?”

Martha straightened up, looking pleased. “Her boss, actually. Very important man. He was kind enough to drive us back from the hospital.”

Leo, lowering himself carefully onto the couch with his braced wrist, looked up. “Mom.”

“He’s a very distinguished person,” Martha continued. “Aurora works for his company. A wonderful company.”

“Mom.” Leo’s voice was flat. “Can you not.”

The neighbor left eventually, satisfied enough with the information to take it elsewhere. Leo said nothing more, but the line of his jaw was tight.

When Aurora and Phineas came through the door a few minutes later, Aurora went straight to the kitchen. She came back out with a plate of sliced fruit and the scones Martha had arranged, set them on the coffee table, and told Phineas to help himself. Then she turned and went back to help with lunch.

The living room was quiet.

Leo sat at one end of the couch, phone in hand, thumb scrolling without actually reading anything. Phineas sat in the armchair across from him, relaxed, one arm resting along the

side.

Leo wasn’t looking at him directly. But he was watching.

He’d noticed it in the car – the way Phineas’s eyes moved to the rearview mirror at specific intervals. Not checking traffic. Checking the front seat. Checking Aurora. There was nothing obvious about it. No staring, no lingering. Just a kind of quiet, consistent attention that Leo didn’t know what to do with.

He set his phone down.

“Can I ask you something?”

Phineas looked at him. “Go ahead.”

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