Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 130

< Chapter 94: First Encounter

Chapter 94: First Encounter

(Aurora’s POV)

Something crossed his face – not quite surprise, but close.

Claim

“I’m not dropping anything,” I said. “Not the lawsuit, not the asset claim, none of it. And instead of sitting here threatening me, you might want to spend your energy reminding your sister that she owes five hundred million dollars back into the marital estate. Because the next time we’re in the same room, I won’t be handing her a coffee.” I picked up my bag. “I’ll be handing her a subpoena.”

Stefan leaned back in his chair and looked at me with something cold behind his eyes.

“You found yourself a rich old man to hide behind,” he said. “Enjoy it while it lasts.”

He stood, buttoned his jacket, and walked out.

I watched him go.

Then I sat back down.

The hardness drained out of me the moment he cleared the door. I pressed my back against the chair and stared at the table. My hands were not entirely steady. The threats were real – Stefan Rathbone did not make empty gestures – and I knew it.

Leo. My mother. My career.

I sat there and let the fear move through me, and then I made myself think past it.

Phineas’s voice came back to me, low and unhurried. *I want you. I want that person to be

you.*

I had told myself I needed more time. That I wasn’t thinking clearly. That the champagne had made everything feel more certain than it was.

But sitting here now, with Stefan Rathbone’s ultimatums still hanging in the air, I thought: maybe the calculation was simpler than I was making it. Maybe what Phineas needed was a stable, uncomplicated arrangement. And maybe what I needed was exactly what he was offering.

My phone buzzed on the table.

Professor Walsh’s name lit up the screen.

I picked it up.

Chapter 94: First Encounter

Claim

“Aurora.” His voice was half-grumbling, half-fond, which was his default register. “Mrs. Walsh has invited you three times in the past two weeks. Three times. You’ve said no to all of them.”

“Professor, I’ve been-”

“I know what you’ve been. Busy. Everyone is busy. This Saturday. Dinner. No excuses.”

I closed my eyes briefly. “I have the Leo transfer paperwork, and the deposition prep, and the lab timeline-”

“Saturday,” he said again, and hung up.

I looked at the phone for a second, then put it back in my bag.

Saturday it was.

I stopped at a wine shop on the way and picked up a good bottle of red, then added a box of handmade chocolates from the confectioner next door. When I arrived at the Walsh house and held them out, Professor Walsh made a show of shaking his head.

“You didn’t need to do this.”

But he was already reaching for the chocolates.

Mrs. Walsh took my coat and steered me toward the dining room with the warm efficiency of someone who had been feeding people for decades. The table was set for four.

I registered the fourth place setting just as Professor Walsh said, “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

I looked up.

The woman across the table was perhaps in her mid-sixties, though she carried herself in a way that made the number feel irrelevant. Silver hair, perfectly set. A strand of pearls at her throat. The kind of posture that came from a lifetime of knowing exactly who she was in every room she entered.

Mrs. Walsh was already reaching toward her. “Eleanor, this is Aurora – the student Henry never stops talking about.”

Eleanor smiled, and it was a genuinely warm smile, the kind that reached the eyes without

effort.

“Aurora.” She extended her hand. “Henry’s told me so much. It’s wonderful to finally meet

you.”

I shook her hand. Something tugged at the edge of my memory – a familiarity I couldn’t quite

Chapter 94 First Encounter

locate.

Claim

“Aurora works at Everett Bio-Tech,” Professor Walsh said, settling into his chair. “Research division. Exceptionally talented.”

Eleanor’s expression shifted – a small brightening, a new interest.

“Everett Bio-Tech,” she repeated. “How wonderful. I have a connection to that company, as it happens.”

Professor Walsh added, almost as an afterthought: “Eleanor is my older sister. Eleanor

Everett.”

The name landed like a stone dropping into still water.

I kept my face perfectly still. I was very glad I was already sitting down.

Eleanor Everett. Phineas’s mother.

She was looking at me with the open warmth of someone who had no idea, and I was looking back at her with a smile I was holding together through sheer will.

“It’s a wonderful company to work for,” I said. My voice came out steady. I was mildly impressed with myself.

Dinner was excellent. Mrs. Walsh had made roast lamb with rosemary potatoes, and the conversation moved easily through the meal. Eleanor was sharp and funny in equal measure, and under any other circumstances I would have enjoyed her company without reservation.

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