Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 297

(Author’s POV)

Jasper studied her. She was sitting across from him with her coffee cup held in both hands, her gaze fixed on nothing. She looked composed on the surface. She always looked composed on the surface.

But something underneath it wasn’t right.

He thought about the project. He thought about the scope of it, the complexity, the number of moving parts that would need to be managed simultaneously. He thought about whether Sienna, in this state, was actually capable of holding any of it together.

A quiet unease settled in his chest.

He didn’t say anything more about it.

In the Everett Global offices the following morning, Arthur stopped Phineas in the corridor.

“The Henderson project,” Arthur said. “You gave that to Jasper deliberately.”

Phineas glanced at him.

“You’re setting him up to fail.”

“I’m giving him an opportunity.” Phineas straightened his cuff. “Whether he fails is entirely up to him.”

“Phineas.”

“There are people in this family who have been coasting on the Everett name for fifteen years without contributing anything of substance.” His voice was mild. “Sooner or later that becomes a liability. Better to find out now, under controlled conditions, than later when the stakes are higher.” Arthur looked at him for a long moment. Then he exhaled and shook his head.

“I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I.”

“No.”

Arthur walked away. Phineas watched him go, and his expression didn’t change.

(Aurora’s POV)

Leo was waiting near the school gate when I pulled up. He saw me through the windshield and his whole posture shifted – shoulders drawing in, eyes going to the ground, like he was trying to calculate whether he could disappear before I got out of the car.

I didn’t mention Martha. I didn’t mention the kidnapping.

“I heard you want to skip directly to senior year,” I said.

He looked up. “I already passed the placement tests. All of them. The school confirmed it.”

“When did you have time to study for all of that?”

“I’ve been working through it since last year.” There was a stubborn set to his jaw. “I’m not behind. I just need the school to recognize it.”

I looked at him. He was thinner than I remembered, and there were shadows under his eyes that hadn’t been there before. But the defiance in his expression was entirely his own.

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