Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 200

Chapter 165: All Of It Or None

(Aurora’s POV)

“Aurora-”

“A private apology in a room with no witnesses doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t undo what happened in front

of my brother’s school. It doesn’t undo the video, or the scene outside Everett Group’s building. A quiet

conversation behind closed doors isn’t an apology. It’s damage control.”

Her voice went tight. “Then what exactly do you want?”

“Zachary records a video apology. On camera. Holding his driver’s license or passport so there’s no

question who it is. He posts it publicly on his personal accounts.” I kept my voice level. “The Rathbone

Group’s official account reposts it. That’s the condition. All of it, or none of it.”

“You’re being completely unreason-”

The line shifted. A different voice came on. Older. Quieter. Richard.

“Ms. Caldwell.” He cleared his throat. “We accept your terms. All of them. When would you like this done?”

“Tomorrow morning. Eight–thirty.”

“Agreed.”

I was about to hang up. Then I said it – the thing I’d been turning over since the call began.

“Mr. Rathbone. One more thing.” I paused. “When you get off this call, I’d suggest you ask Sienna about the person who’s been advising her lately. Whether that person is actually helping her, or using her.” I kept my tone neutral. “I’m saying this because I could hear it in this conversation. That’s all.”

I ended the call.

I sat with the silence for a moment. Somewhere in that house, Sienna had just gone very still.

I was still on the couch when I heard the front door.

Phineas came in, jacket over one arm, loosening his cuff as he crossed the room. He looked at me. “You

look like you just finished something.”

“Zachary Rathbone is posting a public video apology tomorrow morning at eight–thirty. The Rathbone

Group account reposts it. It’s done.”

He stopped.

“You handled that yourself.”

“I told you I wasn’t just waiting around.”

He set his jacket down slowly. Something moved in his expression – not surprise exactly, but something

quieter than that.

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“Phineas.” I looked at him directly. “This ends here. Not because I’m letting them off the hook. But because

I got what I wanted, and it was my fight to finish. I don’t need you running a sustained campaign on my

behalf. I don’t need a war. I needed one clear outcome, and I have it.”

He was quiet for a moment. Then the corner of his mouth moved.

“You think I was going to bankrupt myself over this?”

“I think you’re capable of it.”

He let out a low sound, somewhere between a laugh and an exhale. “Aurora. Those people aren’t even a warm–up. I didn’t break a sweat.”

“That’s not the point.”

“I know it’s not.” He crossed the room toward me, and his voice dropped. “The point is you were worried

about me.”

I didn’t answer that.

He was close now. Close enough that I had to tilt my chin up slightly to hold his gaze.

“You handled half the statement,” he said. “You took the call. You set the terms and closed it out before I

even walked through the door.” His voice was low. “You saved me about three hours of my evening.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I think I owe you for that.”

His hand settled at my waist, and then his other hand came up, two fingers lifting my chin. He kissed me – not a question, not a test. Something certain and warm and unhurried, with a weight to it that made my pulse kick hard.

I didn’t pull back.

He walked me backward, and I let him, until the backs of my knees found the edge of the bed and I sat down, and then he was leaning over me, one hand braced beside my shoulder, the other still at my jaw. He reached up and pulled his tie loose with one hand, and the tension in the room pulled taut.

I thought he was going to stay.

Then he shifted. Pulled back. Sat up beside me, and the air rushed back in.

“I’m going to shower.” His voice had gone rough at the edges. “Get some rest.”

He started to stand.

I reached out and caught his wrist.

“Phineas.”

He stopped.

Chapter 165 All of it Or None

“I didn’t say I wanted you to go.”

He looked down at me. His throat moved. Something crossed his eyes – fast, controlled, pulled back

before it could settle.

Glam

He exhaled slowly. Then he leaned down, and his lips brushed mine – barely there, soft in a way that felt

deliberate, like a door held open just a crack.

“There’s no rush,” he murmured, his voice low and rough at the edges. “After the wedding. I’ll come collect everything I’m owed.”

I lay back against the pillows after he left and listened to the water running in the next room. My pulse was

still kicking. I pressed the back of my hand against my mouth and stared at the ceiling and let myself feel

it – all of it. The exhaustion. The leftover adrenaline from the morning. The strange, settled warmth of knowing someone had walked into my fight without being asked, and then walked out again the second I

told him I had it handled.

I had spent years not knowing what that felt like.

I reached over and set my alarm for six.

Tomorrow morning, I had something to finish.

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