Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 40

Chapter 28: Confirmation

(Victoria’s POV)

Aurora left without looking back. She didn’t give me a single second to argue.

I sat alone in the café for a long time. The coffee in front of me turned cold, an oily film forming on the surface. Her words about the study echoed in my mind like a curse.

I stood up, smoothing my skirt with trembling hands. I walked out and signaled my driver.

“Home. Now.”

The car tore through the streets of Los Angeles. When we arrived at the estate, the house was quiet. Jasper hadn’t returned.

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I marched

up the stairs, bypassing my own room, and went straight to my son’s study. The door creaked as I pushed it open. The room smelled of old paper and the sandalwood cologne Jasper wore.

I walked behind the heavy mahogany desk. There, hidden behind a false panel in the bookshelf, was the safe.

I stared at the keypad. Aurora said the combination was Sienna’s birthday.

I remembered that date well. Every year, Sienna’s birthday was a grand affair, an event that eclipsed even family holidays. Jasper always orchestrated them personally. I had always dismissed it as familial affection, a brother–in–law caring for his widowed sister–in–law.

Now, the memory tasted like bile in my throat.

I punched in the four digits.

*Beep.*

The lock clicked. The heavy steel door swung open.

I took a sharp breath. Inside, there were no stacks of cash, no corporate secrets. Just photos. Stacks and stacks of them.

I pulled them out. Sienna laughing at a gala. Sienna crying at a funeral. Sienna walking in the garden, unaware she was being watched.

It was a shrine. A pathological, twisted obsession.

My heart slammed against my ribs. If anyone saw this–if the press got hold of the fact that

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Chapter 28. Confirmation

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the CEO of Aether Life Sciences was stalking his brother’s widow–the Everett name would be dragged through the mud. It was incestuous. It was disgusting.

I shoved the photos back inside and slammed the safe shut. My hands were shaking so hard I could barely lock it.

I leaned against the bookshelf, gasping for air.

Jasper could divorce Aurora. He could ruin his marriage. But I would die before I let him marry Sienna. I would not let that woman destroy this family.

(Author’s POV)

Aurora walked straight from the café to the high–rise building housing Gavin Sterling’s law

firm.

Gavin was waiting. He slid a document across the polished glass table.

“A

“Aether Life Sciences sent over a settlement offer,” Gavin said, tapping the paper. twenty–year exclusive license for your patent, plus a one–time payment of five million dollars.”

Aurora picked up the document. She scanned the bold text. Her lips curled into a cold smile.

“Five million?” she asked, her voice dripping with disdain. “That is an insulting offer.”

She remembered the nights spent in the lab, the failed tests, the breakthrough. A competitor had once offered twenty million for the rights. She had turned it down without hesitation, wanting to give it to Jasper as a surprise gift to boost his standing in the family.

She remembered the ‘celebration‘ trip to Switzerland after he found out. He claimed it was a romantic getaway. But Sienna had come along.

While Aurora sat in the hotel room running data models for the patent application, Jasper was on the slopes with Sienna. He bought Sienna diamonds while Aurora worked.

“Refuse it,” Aurora said, sliding the paper back. “I don’t want their money. I want them to hurt. I wouldn’t license this to Jasper if he offered me half the company.”

Gavin grinned, pushing up his rimless glasses. “I was hoping you’d say that. We have a solid case. We’ll bleed them dry.”

He stood up. “I’ll go draft the rejection. Make yourself comfortable.”

Aurora walked to the floor–to–ceiling window. The Los Angeles skyline glittered below, a sea

of electric stars.

The heavy oak door creaked open.

Chapter 28 Confirmation

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Aurora turned, expecting Gavin. Instead, Phineas Everett walked in. He wore a charcoal suit that fit his broad shoulders perfectly, his presence instantly filling the room.

He paused, feigning surprise. “Wrong room,” he said smoothly.

He didn’t leave. He walked closer, his grey eyes scanning her face. “You look tired. Are you eating?”

“I’m fine,” Aurora said politely. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Everett.”

Phineas raised an eyebrow. “I prefer a more substantial thank you than words.”

Aurora blinked. “I… I could buy you dinner?”

“Done,” Phineas said immediately. He pulled out his phone. “Number.”

Aurora hesitated, then recited her digits. He dialed it, waited for her phone to buzz, and hung

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“Let’s go,” he said.

He turned and walked out. Aurora stared at his retreating back, bewildered.

She signed the papers quickly when Gavin returned.

“I have to go,” she told the lawyer. “I’m meeting a friend.”

Gavin walked her to the door. He spotted Phineas at the end of the corridor, adjusting his cufflinks. The man looked like a predator preening before a hunt.

Gavin looked at Aurora, then back at Phineas. He shook his head. *The ink isn’t even dry on the divorce papers, and the uncle is already circling,* he thought. *Shameless.*

Aurora met Phineas at the elevator. They stepped in together. She stood close to the wall, maintaining a respectful distance.

Phineas glanced at the gap between them. His eyes cooled slightly.

“There’s a French place nearby,” Aurora suggested.

“No,” Phineas said. “Too noisy.”

He led her to his car. He drove them away from the business district, navigating toward the historic quarter. They stopped in front of a secluded private club hidden behind high ivy–covered walls.

Inside, it was quiet. A stone courtyard opened up under the moonlight, centered around an

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Chapter 28 Confirmation

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