Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 204

Chapter 169: An Open Door

(Author’s POV)

Jasper seemed to sense it. He looked up from the board, and for a moment the two of them held each other’s gaze across the courtyard.

Phineas let the corner of his mouth lift. It wasn’t a warm expression.

William noticed his younger son and made a sound of mild displeasure. “When are you going to bring your

wife home for a proper introduction? You’ve been married long enough.”

“Anytime works for me,” Phineas said pleasantly. “I just want to make sure you have your heart medication

on hand. In case the news comes as too much of a pleasant shock.”

William’s expression darkened. “Stop being flippant.”

Phineas ignored this. He turned to Jasper, his tone easy and unhurried.

“You’ve been coming around quite a lot lately. I always assumed your talents were fairly limited, but apparently you have a real gift for making yourself agreeable to the older generation.”

Jasper started to respond.

Phineas had already moved on. He turned back to his father.

“Since you’re so fond of the company, we might as well make it official. Formally welcome him into the extended family. Recognize him publicly as one of our own. Save everyone the trouble of pretending these

visits are purely social.”

William stared at his son. A familiar stubbornness rose in his chest.

He was not going to be managed.

He turned to Jasper. “We’ll find a suitable date to make it formal. Your place in this family will be openly acknowledged.” He squared his shoulders. “Anyone who thinks the head of this family needs his son’s approval to make decisions about his own household is badly mistaken.”

Jasper could barely keep the shock off his face. He steadied himself and said, quietly, “Thank you, Uncle

William.”

It was the first time he’d used the name. William gave a short nod, looking, for once, genuinely satisfied.

Phineas’s expression didn’t change.

“That’s your call to make,” he said. “I hope you won’t come to regret it.”

William squared his shoulders. “I won’t.”

Phineas made a sound of mild acknowledgment. Then he turned and walked into the house, leaving the two of them to their game.

William Everett’s decision to formally welcome Jasper into the extended family had not come from

nowhere.

The idea had been forming for weeks. The first time Jasper had intervened when William stumbled in the

garden, William had been watching him – testing him, quietly, the way he tested everyone. What came after had only confirmed his initial read. Steady. Respectful. The kind of young man who didn’t fidget or talk too

much, who knew when to speak and when to sit still.

As for the rumors of infidelity that had drifted through certain circles, William dismissed them without much deliberation. Gossip was gossip. And besides, Jasper was divorced now. Old business.

There was also the matter of the chessboard. William had played the game his whole life and had almost no one left to play it with properly. Arthur had never had the patience for it. Phineas played too fast, always somewhere else in his head. Having a decent opponent across the table from him was worth more than people might think.

He had calculated it clearly. Welcoming Jasper into the wider family meant lending the young man a

measure of the Everett name. Nothing more. Not a single share of the holdings would change hands.

When he announced it in the sitting room, a brief silence fell.

Eleanor wanted to object. The words were already at the back of her throat. But her husband had said it in

front of everyone, and she could not bring herself to contradict him openly. She pressed the unease down and said nothing.

Arthur glanced at Phineas. The look carried its full weight – everyone in the room felt the undercurrent. Everyone except William, who remained entirely unbothered.

Phineas had not expected his father to open that door so willingly. But watching him do it stirred something close to quiet satisfaction.

Because this was exactly what he had planned for.

Later, Arthur pulled Phineas into the garden and lowered his voice.

“When are you going to tell him the truth?”

“After the welcome dinner,” Phineas said.

Arthur’s frown deepened. “That’s only going to make it blow up worse.”

“That’s the point.” Phineas kept his voice easy. “Let a man climb to the top first. Then watch him fall from it

with his own eyes. That kind of lesson tends to stick. And Father will finally have to sit with the fact that

his famous judgment isn’t quite as infallible as he thinks.”

Arthur stared at him for a long moment.

“You’re playing with fire.”

“Probably.”

Chapter 163 An Open Door

“Don’t give him a heart attack.”

Phineas smiled. “I’ll have the emergency kit on hand.”

Arthur shook his head and walked back inside.

Claim

That evening, Phineas arrived home to find Aurora had just come in. She was still in her coat, setting her

bag down on the entryway table.

“The welcome dinner is the day after tomorrow,” he said. “Jasper will be formally received. The day after

that, I want to bring you to meet my father.”

Aurora looked up. Her expression shifted.

“He doesn’t know about us,” she said. “You’re telling him right after a dinner where he just publicly

welcomed Jasper into the family?”

“Yes.”

Comments

LUCK DRAW >

M

Vote

320

Chapter 170 Stop The Car