Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Just Play Along–1

(Author’s POV)

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The black sedan sliced through the busy Los Angeles night. Inside, the air pressure dropped to freezing point.

Jasper sat like a stone statue, his face frosty. He hadn’t said a word since they left the boutique.

Sienna sat beside him, her nerves frayed. She watched his profile, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. The chemistry that usually filled the car was dead, replaced by a suffocating silence.

She glanced down at Rosalind, who had exhausted herself crying and was now asleep in her lap. Sienna stroked the child’s hair absently, her mind racing.

*The divorce papers.*

They were still sitting in the nightstand drawer in the master bedroom. Should she remind him to sign them tonight?

She bit her lip. No. It was too risky. If Jasper realized Aurora was serious about leaving, his pride might make him refuse just to spite her. Or worse, he might try to keep her.

She didn’t dare make a move.

Jasper wasn’t thinking about divorce papers. He closed his eyes, trying to force his heart rate down, but the image burned behind his eyelids.

Aurora in the fitting room.

The dress clinging to her waist. The skin that looked like creamy silk under the harsh boutique lights.

A wave of irritability washed over him, mixed with a sharp, confusing spike of lust.

In three years of marriage, he realized with a jolt, he had always turned the lights off. He had never actually looked at her. He had treated her body like a utility, something to use and discard in the dark.

Now, that indifference was biting back.

He shifted uncomfortably in the leather seat. He needed a cold shower the second they got

home.

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Chapter 17. Just Play Along–1

A ridiculous thought bubbled up from the depths of his mind.

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*Maybe I should just buy her a gift. Coax her back. She’s just acting out for attention, isn’t she?*

(Aurora’s POV)

Back in my apartment, I patted toner onto my face and scrolled through my iPad with my free hand.

“Phineas Everett.”

The search results were frustratingly vague. No clear photos, just articles from financial journals.

*Everett Global’s new CEO reshapes Asian markets.*

*The Wall Street Wolf returns to LA.*

The text described a man who ate competitors for breakfast. A ruthless tactician.

I set the iPad down. He had helped me twice, and I hadn’t even properly thanked him. But looking at his resume, the gap between us was a canyon. He was a titan of industry; I was a researcher about to be divorced.

“We won’t cross paths again,” I whispered to the empty room.

The next evening, a horn blared outside.

I looked out to see a cherry–red convertible idling at the curb. Olivia waved from the driver’s seat, her sunglasses perched on her head.

I grabbed my clutch. I had chosen a deep emerald evening gown, but I wore a classic beige Burberry trench coat over it to keep warm.

I slid into the passenger seat.

“Ready to crash the party?” Olivia grinned.

I unbuttoned the top of the trench coat, revealing the neckline of the gown.

Olivia’s jaw dropped. She rolled her eyes theatrically.

“God, Jasper is blind,” she groaned, putting the car in gear. “He has a diamond at home and goes chasing after a piece of glass. How could he not touch you?”

I checked my lipstick in the rearview mirror. My reflection looked back, sharp and determined.

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< Chapter 17: Just Play Along–1

“He didn’t just lose a wife, Liv,” I said, my voice steady. “He lost the best thing that ever happened to his boring, miserable life. Tonight, we make him regret it.”

Olivia let out a low whistle. “Damn straight.”

Then her face fell. “Just… do me a favor? Lay low once we get inside. My mother, Mrs. Redmond, has turned this Charity Gala into a hunting ground. She has a list of ‘eligible bachelors‘ she wants me to meet. I need to run interference.”

“Understood,” I laughed. “I’ll be invisible.”

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The ballroom was a sea of black tuxedos and shimmering silk. Crystal chandeliers dripped light onto the crowd. The air smelled of expensive perfume and old money.

I walked in with my arm linked through Olivia’s, but a chill settled in my stomach.

This was Jasper’s world.

I thought about our wedding. It had been small, private, almost secretive. He told me he hated crowds. He told me he wanted to protect our privacy.

“I never take my work home,” he had said when I asked why I couldn’t come to these galas.

I gripped my clutch tighter. He hadn’t been protecting our privacy. He was ashamed of me. He was saving the spotlight for someone who “fit the part.”

“Olivia! There you are!”

Mrs. Redmond materialized from the crowd, looking predatory in pearls. She grabbed Olivia’s

arm.

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<Chapter 17, Just Play Along–2

Chapter 17: Just Play Along–2

“Come, darling. The Vice President of Chase Bank is dying to meet you.”

Olivia shot me a desperate look as she was dragged away.

I retreated to the edge of the room, grabbing a glass of sparkling water from a passing waiter. I leaned against a marble pillar, watching the show.

A ripple went through the crowd near the entrance.

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Jasper walked in. He looked dashing in a bespoke tuxedo, but it was the woman on his arm that drew the eyes.

Sienna wore white. A bridal white. She clung to him, smiling shyly as they approached an elderly couple.

“Look at that,” a voice whispered nearby.

I froze. A group of socialites stood behind a large fern, unaware I was there.

“Jasper finally stopped pretending,” one woman said, swirling her champagne.

“It’s an open secret, isn’t it?” another replied with a cruel giggle. “He only married that common girl to cover up the affair. Sienna was his brother’s wife. He couldn’t touch her while the brother was alive.”

“Exactly. The poor wife was just a shield. A placeholder.”

“Now the brother is dead, the shield is useless. He’ll kick her to the curb.”

“What about the kid?”

“Oh, please. The Everett lawyers will eat that woman alive. She won’t keep the kid. She’ll be lucky if she stays in the country.”

The glass in my hand shook. The water sloshed over the rim, cold against my fingers.

A shield.

A placeholder for a forbidden love.

The air in the ballroom suddenly felt thin, unbreathable. All those years. The coldness. The late nights. It wasn’t just neglect. It was a lie. A massive, orchestrated lie.

My stomach churned violently. I slammed the glass down on a nearby table.

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< Chapter 17: Just Play Along 2

I couldn’t breathe in here.

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I turned and walked fast, weaving through the laughing bodies, pushing open the heavy glass doors to the terrace.

The night air hit my face, cool and clean. I took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to steady the spinning world.

“Excuse me.”

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