Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 183

(Author’s POV)

Mr. Zimmer came back ten minutes later. He was holding a phone.

“One of the students in the class recorded the incident,” he said. “Audio and video.” He looked at the girl’s

name on his notepad, then back up. “She had her phone out during class, which is against school policy.

Under the circumstances, I’m waiving that violation.” He glanced at Leo. “I can have you step out if-”

“No.” Leo’s voice was flat. “I’m staying.”

Mr. Zimmer set the phone on the desk and pressed play.

Quentin’s voice came through clearly. Every word. The specific language he’d used about Aurora, the way

he’d delivered it for the room’s benefit, the laughter that had followed. Nothing was missing. The recording

was a full two minutes long and it left no room for interpretation.

When it ended, the office was very quiet.

Zachary sat straight in his chair. His jaw was tight. After a moment he said, “Kids say stupid things. That’s

what teenagers do. I don’t think we need to-”

“Does the school have a policy on verbal harassment and the deliberate spread of false information?”

Aurora asked Mr. Zimmer directly. “Or is that something that gets handled informally?”

“It does not get handled informally,” Mr. Zimmer said. His voice had taken on a different quality – the

firmness of someone who had been waiting for permission to use it. “This will go to the principal’s office.

Formal proceedings.”

He looked at both families in turn.

“For now: Quentin will submit a written apology and reflection, minimum one thousand words. Leo,

because you did throw the first punch, five hundred words, written reflection. Medical costs are covered

by each party for their own child.” He closed his notepad. “That’s where we are today. The rest gets

handled through the school’s formal process.”

Zachary opened his mouth.

Mr. Zimmer looked at him. “That’s where we are,” he repeated.

Neither family had anything left to say. They collected their children and filed out.

(Aurora’s POV)

The afternoon air outside was cooler than I expected.

I walked beside Leo through the school gates and looked at the bruise spreading across his cheekbone. It had darkened in the last hour. It was going to look worse tomorrow.

“I’m not going to pretend you were wrong about him,” I said. “But next time – and there will be a next time

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with someone like that, somewhere – you use evidence. You use the rules. You let the system do the work.”

I kept my voice steady. “You’re smarter than Quentin Rathbone. Don’t fight him on his level.”

Leo stared at the pavement. “He was saying things about you,”

“I know.”

“I couldn’t just-”

“I know,” I said again. “But you’re worth more than a fight you didn’t need to win with your fists.”

He didn’t answer. But his shoulders dropped slightly, which was something.

“Aurora.”

I turned. Zachary was standing a few feet behind us, car keys in hand. He’d come out a different door.

Leo stepped forward immediately, putting himself between us. I put my hand on his shoulder and moved

him aside. I glanced up at the camera mounted above the school gate – clearly visible, angled toward the

sidewalk – and walked over.

Zachary waited until Leo was out of earshot. Then he said, “I’ll be direct. I’m willing to make things very

comfortable for you. And for your brother.” He said it like he was offering a reasonable business

proposition. “No more trouble at school. Financial security. All I’d need from you is-”

“Are you divorced?” I asked.

He blinked. “What?”

“Are you currently divorced?”

“No, but that’s not-”

I looked at him. Not with anger. Just with complete indifference. “Then I’m not interested. Does your wife

know you’re having this conversation with me right now?”

His expression shifted. Something cold moved into it. “My wife believes what I tell her. She’s not your

concern.”

“She should be yours,” I said.

He stared at me for another second. Then he pulled his car door open and got in. The engine started. He

pulled out without looking back.

I watched until his car turned the corner.

Then I looked down at my phone. I’d started the recording the moment I stepped into Mr. Zimmer’s office. Quentin’s words from the classroom footage, Zachary’s offer in the parking lot – all of it was sitting in the

audio file, clean and complete.

I looked up at Leo.

“Come on,” I said. “We’re going back to find Mr. Zimmer.”

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(Author’s POV)

Zachary pulled out of the school parking lot without a word.

Quentin sat in the passenger seat with his arms crossed, staring out the window. The bruise on his cheekbone had spread during the last hour, dark purple bleeding into red at the edges. His lip was split. He

looked like exactly what he was a boy who had started something and come out worse.

Zachary glanced at him once. Then he made a sound in the back of his throat, short and contemptuous.

“Look at you.” He kept his eyes on the road. “Couldn’t even hold your own?”

Quentin pressed his lips together and said nothing.

“A Rathbone getting beaten up at school.” Zachary’s voice was flat. “Do you have any idea what that looks

like?”

“I didn’t-”

“When we get home, you tell your mother you got hit in the face on the court. Accident. Someone’s elbow, whatever. You figure it out.” He signaled a turn. “This doesn’t leave the family. You understand me?”

Quentin stared at his reflection in the window. “Yeah.”

“I’m not asking if you heard me. I’m asking if you understand.”

“I understand.”

The rest of the drive was silent.

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