Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20: There is No Baby Anymore

(Aurora’s POV)

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Phineas Everett was supposed to be a cold, untouchable titan of industry. A quick Google search would tell you he was a man devoid of emotion, a machine in a bespoke suit. But the man sitting next to me tonight didn’t fit the algorithm. He had stepped in when I was cornered, his presence commanding yet strangely protective. There was a dangerous tension in the way he spoke, a magnetic pull that made my heart race despite my exhaustion.

I wasn’t delusional, though. I knew men like him didn’t fall for women like me at first sight.

The ride back to my apartment was quiet. Smooth jazz drifted from the speakers, filling the silence so I didn’t have to. I leaned my head against the cool window, watching the city blur by. Phineas didn’t speak, sparing me the effort of polite conversation.

When the Bentley glided to a stop outside my building, I turned to him. “Thank you, Mr. Everett.”

He gave a curt nod, his face in shadow. “Goodnight.”

I stepped out onto the curb. I watched the red taillights fade into the darkness before I finally exhaled. The air in my lungs felt thin.

Back in the sanctuary of my apartment, I saw my phone screen light up. *Jasper*. Five missed calls. I tossed the phone onto the sofa and opened my laptop.

I pulled up the audio file from the gala. With a few clicks, I trimmed the silence. Then, I logged into a newly created X account. I set the post to go live at 3:00 AM–the witching hour for gossip, when the internet was hungriest. I shut the laptop and turned off my phone. Sleep was the only defense I had left.

(Author’s POV)

The gala had been a catastrophe.

Jasper loosened his tie as he paced the floor of his mother’s drawing room. He had failed to make a connection with Phineas, and the room had looked at him like he was a contagion. Sienna had fled early, unable to withstand the whispers.

“Did you speak to him?” Victoria asked, clutching her pearls. “Will the main family invite us to Adam’s memorial service this year?”

“Not a chance,” Jasper snapped, pouring himself a stiff drink. “We are the branch of the bastard son, Mother. Grandfather was born out of wedlock. We will always be the poor

Chapter 20: There is No Baby Anymore

relations at the Family Trust Meeting.”

Victoria sank onto the sofa, looking defeated. “It’s not fair.”

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Jasper downed the whiskey and stormed up to his room. The humiliation burned in his gut. He grabbed his phone and dialed Aurora again. Where was she? He hadn’t seen her leave. The image of her in that backless dress, skin glowing under the chandeliers, gnawed at him. Was she with someone?

The call went to voicemail. Again.

“Dammit,” he hissed, throwing the phone onto the bed. “She’s using the pregnancy to throw a tantrum. She thinks carrying an Everett gives her leverage.”

He would find her tomorrow. She couldn’t hide forever.

By the time the sun rose over Los Angeles, the damage was done. #EverettScandal was the number one trend on X.

Jasper kicked open the door to the guest room. Sienna was buried under the covers, nursing a hangover. He threw his tablet onto the bed. “Wake up.”

Sienna groaned, squinting at the screen. She pressed play. Her own voice, shrill and cruel, filled the room. *“You were just a pathetic placeholder…“*

Her face drained of color. “Jasper, I…”

“The ‘Perfect Socialite‘ mask is gone, Sienna,” Jasper said, his voice cold. “Everyone knows.”

Sienna began to tremble, realizing her victim narrative had just been obliterated.

Jasper ran a hand through his hair. “I have PR drafting a statement. We’re calling it an Al deepfake. It’s our only play.”

He snatched his phone and dialed Aurora frantically.

(Aurora’s POV)

I didn’t turn my phone on until I was in the elevator at the hospital.

The device vibrated violently as a flood of notifications hit. A text from Sebastian Rathbone: *You’ll pay for this.* A string of messages from Sienna, shifting from rage to pathetic

begging. And twelve missed calls from Jasper.

I swiped them all away.

In Leo’s VIP room, the morning sun was bright. I sat in the chair, peeling an apple, the skin

< Chapter 20: There is No Baby Anymore

curling away in a long, unbroken ribbon.

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The door banged open. My mother, Martha, marched in, looking frantic. Jasper followed her, his face like thunder.

Leo sat up, wincing. “Jasper.”

“Leo!” Martha rushed to the bed, fussing with his blanket. “Say hello to your brother–in–law properly. You need to thank him. If it weren’t for Jasper’s generosity, we wouldn’t have this room or the doctors.”

I let out a short, cold laugh. It sounded sharp in the quiet room. I reached into my bag and pulled out a stack of receipts. I slammed them onto the bedside table.

“Mom, stop kissing his ass.”

Martha froze, her mouth open.

“Your ‘generous‘ son–in–law cut off Leo’s medical funding last week,” I said, my voice steady. “I paid for this room. I paid for the surgery. So unless Jasper is here to reimburse me, he can get out.”

Jasper flinched as if I’d slapped him. His eyes darted to the receipts.

Martha stared at the papers, her face reddening. “Aurora, how can you speak to him like that? He’s family! You’re being ungrateful-”

“Mom, stop,” Leo cut in, his voice weak but firm. He glared at Jasper, then looked at our mother. “I need some air. Take me for a walk.”

“But-”

“Now,” Leo insisted. He grabbed her arm and practically dragged her out of the room, casting a worried look back at me before closing the door.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

“Are you insane?” Jasper stepped forward, his blue eyes icy. “Releasing that recording? I should sue you. Sienna is distraught. The mental damage you’ve caused her-”

“Mental damage?” I interrupted, standing up to face him. “She cornered me in a bathroom. She attacked me.”

“She’s innocent!” Jasper shouted. “You’re paranoid and jealous.”

“I’m the one who is paranoid?” I shook my head, looking at him with genuine pity. “You are a fool, Jasper. You’re blinded by a pretty face and a sob story.”

< Chapter 20: There is No Baby Anymore

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Jasper took a deep breath, visibly reigning in his temper. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded document.

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