Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 16

< Chapter 16: You’re the Mistress?-1

Chapter 16: You’re the Mistress?-1

(Aurora’s POV)

Phineas’s low, magnetic voice echoed through the boutique, dripping with undisguised mockery.

“Little girl, where are your manners?”

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The air in the shop seemed to freeze. I stared at him in shock, my hand instinctively clutching the neckline of the dress. I never expected to see him here, of all places.

Jasper and Sienna looked at him, their expressions shifting from annoyance to wariness. The man standing before them exuded a suffocating pressure, an aura of abso

lute command that didn’t match his simple action of holding a suit jacket.

Because Phineas had been managing the overseas markets for years and only recently returned to Los Angeles to take the helm of Everett Global, very few people outside the core board of directors knew his face. To Jasper and Sienna, he was just an arrogant stranger interfering in their business. They had no idea they were glaring at the supreme ruler of their own family tree, the man whose name alone could make CEOs tremble.

Rosalind’s face turned red. She wasn’t used to being scolded by anyone, let alone a stranger with eyes like ice.

“You’re a bad man!” she shrieked.

She rushed forward, swinging her little leg to kick Phineas in the shin.

My heart seized.

1 lunged forward, placing myself between my daughter and Phineas. I caught her arm firmly before she could make contact.

“Rosalind! Stop it right now!” I snapped.

I wasn’t doing it to protect Phineas. I was doing it to save her. Phineas Everett was known for his ruthlessness. If she actually kicked him, I didn’t want to think about the consequences.

Rosalind stunned for a second, staring at me with wide eyes. Then, the wail erupted.

“You’re helping him! You’re bullying me!” she screamed, pointing a trembling finger at me. “You and the bad uncle are bullying me!”

Sienna immediately swooped in. She crouched down, gathering the screaming child into her

< Chapter 16: You’re the Mistress?-1

arms, her face a mask of exaggerated distress.

“Oh, my poor baby,” Sienna cooed, stroking Rosalind’s hair. “Don’t cry. Auntie is here.”

Jasper frowned, stepping forward to glare at me.

“Look at you,” he spat. “You’ve terrified her. Is this how you treat your own daughter?”

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Emboldened by her father and “Mama Sienna,” Rosalind threw herself onto the expensive Persian rug. She kicked her legs in the air, a full–blown tantrum on display for the entire store.

“Take it off!” she shrieked, her voice piercing. “I forbid you to wear it! It’s ugly on you! I want Mama Sienna to wear it! Only Mama Sienna looks like a princess!”

The sales assistants stood frozen, jaws dropped. They had seen spoiled children before, but never a child attacking her biological mother with such venom.

Jasper rubbed his temples. The noise was attracting attention from the street. He needed this to end.

He looked at me, his blue eyes cold and impatient.

“Aurora, don’t just stand there,” he ordered. “Go change. Stop making a scene and upsetting Rosalind.”

The sales assistant who had been serving me stepped forward nervously. She looked between the screaming child and Jasper’s expensive suit.

“Ma’am,” she said to me, her voice low. “Maybe… maybe it would be best if you just gave up the dress. To keep the peace.”

I felt a chill spread through my chest, suffocating me. My dignity was being ground into the dust by my ex–husband, my daughter, and even a stranger, all to please the woman who destroyed my marriage.

A cold, sharp laugh cut through the noise.

Phineas pulled out his phone. He didn’t look at Jasper or Sienna. He punched in a number with practiced ease.

Sienna straightened up, trying to salvage the situation with a polite, strained smile.

“Sir,” she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “This is a family matter. Please don’t involve yourself.”

Phineas arched a brow. He tapped the screen to end the call he hadn’t even started speaking on yet, just using it as a prop to show his disinterest.

< Chapter 16: You’re the Mistress?-1

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“Family matter?” Phineas asked, his grey eyes sliding over to her. “Since these two are the parents, what exactly are you? Are you his mistress?”

Sienna’s face flushed a deep, violent crimson. She opened her mouth, but no sound came

out.

“A mistress shouldn’t be dictating how parents educate their daughter, should she?” Phineas added dryly.

Rosalind scrambled up from the floor. She charged at Phineas, her face twisted with rage.

“Mama Sienna is not a mistress!” she screamed. “I don’t want my mommy! I want Mama Sienna to marry Daddy! She’s going to be my real mom!”

Silence crashed over the boutique. The customers whispering in the corner stopped. The truth was out, screamed from the mouth of a child. Everyone turned to look at Sienna with fresh eyes–the eyes reserved for a home–wrecker.

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Chapter 16: You’re the Mistress?.?

Chapter 16: You’re the Mistress?-2

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Phineas reached out and caught Rosalind by the back of her designer collar, holding her at arm’s length like a misbehaving puppy. She flailed, unable to reach him.

“Well,” Phineas smirked. “This is the first time I’ve seen such a feral child so desperate to find herself a stepmother.”

Jasper’s face went livid. He stepped forward, his fists clenched.

“Watch your mouth,” Jasper warned. “You don’t know who you’re talking to.”

I let out a short, bitter laugh. I moved to stand slightly behind Phineas, aligned with him against them.

“The truth is usually ugly, isn’t it, Jasper?” I said.

Before Jasper could respond, the heavy glass doors burst open. The Store Director ran in, breathless and sweating.

He scanned the room frantically. When his eyes landed on the tall man standing near the velvet sofa, all color drained from his face.

Phineas didn’t even look at him. He walked over to the sofa and sat down, crossing his long legs and adjusting his watch cuff, looking utterly bored.

The Director didn’t dare address him directly. Instead, he turned on the sales assistant, his

voice shaking with fury.

“What do you think you are doing?” the Director hissed. “Since when is it our policy to force a customer to undress because another customer demands it?”

The assistant stammered, pale as a sheet. “I… I thought…”

“She hasn’t even decided if she wants to buy it yet,” the Director continued, loud enough for everyone to hear. “And you try to strip it off her back?”

I smoothed the silk of the skirt.

“It seems in your store,” I said, my voice carrying clearly, “I have to make way for the ‘mistress‘ to be happy.”

The Director flinched. He turned to me and bowed deeply, a full ninety degrees.

“I am deeply sorry, Madam,” he said. “This employee is suspended immediately pending retraining. Please, accept a five–thousand–dollar voucher as a token of our apology.”

Chapter 16: You’re the Mistress?–?

The sales assistant looked like she was about to faint.

I nodded calmly. I reached into my purse and pulled out my card.

“I’ll take the dress,” I said. “Wrap it up. And I’ll wear it out.”

I paid quickly. The transaction beeped. The dress was mine.

I took the bag containing my old clothes. I walked straight up to Sienna. She was still standing there, red–faced and trembling with humiliation.

I looked her up and down, smiling sweetly.

“Don’t worry, honey,” I said softly. “It wouldn’t have zipped up on you anyway.”

I turned on my heel. I didn’t look at Jasper. I pulled out my phone and started typing a message, completely ignoring their existence.

When I finally turned back to thank the stranger who had saved me, the velvet sofa was empty. Phineas had vanished as quietly as he had arrived.

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