Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 212

Chapter 177: Meeting His Father

(Aurora’s POV)

I stood in front of the full–length mirror and smoothed the front of my jacket.

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White boucle wool, fitted at the waist, paired with a knee–length cream skirt. Eleanor’s heirloom bracelet

on my wrist. My hair down, dark chestnut against the white fabric. I looked exactly like what I was trying to

be: composed, appropriate, and absolutely not nervous.

I was very nervous.

Phineas was leaning against the doorframe when I stepped out of the dressing room. He looked at me the

way he sometimes did – like he’d already decided something and was simply waiting for everyone else to

catch up.

“You put real thought into this,” he said, pushing off the frame and walking toward me.

“I’m meeting your father for the first time officially.” I lifted an eyebrow. “Of course I put thought into it.”

He settled his hands on my waist, turned me slightly toward the mirror, and studied my reflection.

“The jacket is right. The skirt is right. The bracelet is right.” His eyes moved to my neckline. “That necklace

isn’t.”

I looked down. The silver chain was delicate, simple. I’d always liked it.

“It’s fine,” I said.

“It’s fine,” he agreed, “but it’s not right.”

He stepped away, opened the top drawer of the dresser, and produced a velvet case. Inside was an emerald pendant on a gold chain – deep green stones set in an old–fashioned clasp that I recognized

immediately as vintage.

“Phineas-”

“Turn around.”

I turned. He lifted my hair and fastened the clasp himself, his fingers unhurried against the back of my

neck.

I looked in the mirror again. The emerald sat just below my collarbone, and he was right – it wasn’t a perfect match to the white jacket, but it picked up the green undertones in the bracelet stones exactly.

“It’s too much,” I said. “I’ll look like I’m trying to show off.”

“The people who actually show off,” he said, “don’t spend money on things like this. They spend it on things people can see from across the room.”

I pressed my lips together and looked at my reflection one more time.

S: Chapter 177 Meeting His Father

I left the necklace on.

(Author’s POV)

William and Eleanor arrived at the restaurant a full hour early.

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This was William’s doing. He’d insisted on leaving at half past ten, citing traffic, roadworks, and general

principle. Eleanor had not argued. She’d simply brought her reading glasses and a calm expression.

Now they sat in the private dining room, and Eleanor was slowly turning the pages of the menu while

William sat with his back perfectly straight and his tie knotted to within a millimeter of regulation.

“You look like you’re attending a summit,” Eleanor said, without looking up.

“This is an important occasion.”

“It’s lunch.” She turned another page. “With your son and daughter–in–law.”

“Which is an important occasion.” He adjusted his cufflink. “Don’t make it sound trivial.”

Eleanor set the menu down and looked at him. “I’m not making it sound trivial. I’m pointing out that you’ve

been sitting like that for forty minutes and your neck is going to be stiff for a week.” She paused. “Also, when they arrive, please don’t say anything about Phineas’s previous relationships. Or Aurora’s. Or the age

difference. Or the timeline.”

William frowned. “I wasn’t going to.”

“You were absolutely going to.”

He opened his mouth. Closed it.

“And whatever you do,” Eleanor continued, picking the menu back up, “try not to look at her like you’re conducting an interview.”

“I don’t do that.”

She didn’t answer. She turned another page.

The door opened.

Phineas came in first, and Aurora was beside him white jacket, cream skirt, the emerald pendant

catching the light. Eleanor set the menu down immediately and stood.

“You look wonderful,” she said, taking Aurora’s hands. “Your color is so good today.”

“Thank you, Mom.” Aurora smiled. It reached her eyes.

Eleanor’s own eyes creased at the corners.

Aurora turned toward William. There was a brief pause a half–second of recalibration, the kind that happened when someone wasn’t sure which version of a person they were about to meet.

Phineas glanced at his father with the mild, unhurried expression of a man watching a situation he’d

<Chapter 177 Meeting His Father

already mapped out.

“Since Dad hasn’t officially said anything yet,” he remarked, “calling him Mr. Everett is technically still

accurate.”

Glam

William’s jaw tightened. He reached into his inside jacket pocket and produced a cream envelope, which

he slid across the table toward Aurora without ceremony.

“Property documents,” he said. “A villa on the hillside. Consider it a welcome gift.”

Aurora picked it up and opened it. Her expression stayed composed, but she read it carefully.

Phineas leaned over slightly and glanced at the papers. “Smaller than mine,” he observed.

Aurora’s elbow connected with his ribs.

She looked up at William with a clean, direct smile.

“Thank you, Dad.”

The word landed quietly. William’s posture, which had been holding itself at a particular angle of

controlled tension for the past hour, shifted almost imperceptibly.

He cleared his throat. “There’s also a country estate. I’ll have it transferred to your name separately.”

Aurora’s smile didn’t waver. “That’s very generous.”

Phineas reached for his water glass.

William looked at his son with the expression of a man who had survived a great deal and was beginning to suspect he was about to survive something else.

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