Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 116

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Chapter 81: Secret

(Aurora’s POV)

The admissions office at Pinecrest Academy was nothing like Westfield.

The woman who greeted us at the door introduced herself before we’d even fully stepped inside, offered us coffee, and walked us through the entire process herself. No waiting room. No clipboard shoved at us from across a counter. She’d clearly been expecting us.

Leo leaned toward me as we followed her down the hall. “Did you pull strings?”

“Gavin did,” I said quietly.

He nodded. That was enough for him.

The entrance exam took two hours. I sat in the corridor outside and scrolled through my phone without really reading anything, one ear always turned toward the door. When the proctor finally came out, she was smiling.

“Your brother is exceptional,” she said. “Combined scores across English, math, and written composition – he lost fewer than ten points total. We’d like to place him in the honors track and offer him a spot in the AP program starting his first semester.”

I stared at her for a second. Then something loosened in my chest that I hadn’t realized had been knotted tight all morning.

“That’s – yes. Thank you.”

The only thing left to negotiate was boarding. Pinecrest was residential by default, but given Leo’s medication schedule and the fact that he needed consistent monitoring, I requested day student status. The admissions officer approved it without much fuss. Half an hour each way wasn’t ideal, but it was manageable.

Leo came out of the exam room looking unbothered, like he’d just finished a crossword puzzle.

“How’d it go?” I asked.

“Fine.” He picked up his jacket from the chair. “The math section was easy.”

I looked at him. “They’re putting you in AP.”

He shrugged, but the corner of his mouth moved. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

< Chapter 81- Secret

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We walked out into the parking lot, and I didn’t say anything else about it. He didn’t need me to.

When we got back to Martha’s, I gave her the short version: enrollment complete, honors

track, AP program, day student approved. Leo would start at his current grade level, with the option to reassess for advancement after the first semester.

Martha listened with her arms crossed. For a moment, something almost like approval crossed her face.

“Well,” she said. “At least you did something useful.”

I didn’t respond to that.

“The school’s far, though.” She settled back into her chair. “I’ve been thinking – that area near Pinecrest is much nicer. Better air. I could find a place there, keep an eye on Leo, make sure he’s not overdoing it.”

I looked at her. “The tuition is already covered. Rent is separate.”

“Aurora.” Her voice shifted immediately. “You know I don’t have that kind of money. That neighborhood isn’t cheap. I can barely manage what I have now.”

“Then rent out this place,” I said. “Use the income to cover a new lease.”

She blinked. That wasn’t the answer she’d been waiting for.

“Rent it out? That takes time. And moving costs money. You know that.”

“You spend more at the casino in a month than any moving company is going to charge you.”

The approval on her face was gone. She looked at me the way she always did when I stopped being useful like I’d become an inconvenience.

“You’ve changed,” she said flatly. “Ever since the divorce, you’ve gotten so-”

“I have things to take care of.” I picked up my bag. “Leo, I’ll call you tonight.”

Leo was already standing up. He caught my eye and gave me the smallest nod. I winked at him once and walked out.

Behind me, I heard Martha start in on something. Leo’s footsteps went the other direction, toward his room. I didn’t hear him respond.

My next stop was the WASC regional office.

The complaint letter had been sitting in my bag since yesterday, already sealed. I handed it to

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Chapter 81: Secret

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the clerk at the front desk, asked for a receipt, and confirmed that a copy would be forwarded to the California Department of Education. The clerk stamped it without comment.

I didn’t expect it to move fast. These things rarely did. But the record would exist, and Sayer would know it existed, and that mattered.

By the time I got back to the apartment, it was late afternoon. I started dinner – roasted chicken thighs with herbs, something simple – and found myself moving around the kitchen without the usual tightness in my shoulders.

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