Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 44

Chapter 32: Deviance–1

(Aurora’s POV)

The fountain in the restaurant’s courtyard stopped me cold.

Claim

I stood there staring at the coins scattered across the bottom, catching the afternoon light. I’d tossed two coins in here earlier this week. Made two wishes.

The first: win the patent case against Jasper.

Done.

The second: cut that rotten marriage out of my life completely and never look back.

I thought about Victoria’s pinched face every time she looked at me. About watching Jasper and Sienna circle each other at family dinners, all loaded glances and accidental touches. About Rosalind screaming at me in front of Sienna, calling me names, and Sienna standing there with that small, satisfied smile.

*Let them have each other.* They deserved every miserable moment they’d spend together. I wasn’t losing a family. I was shedding dead weight.

“Making another wish?”

Phineas’s voice came from just behind me, low and unhurried.

I turned. He was closer than I’d expected, watching me with those grey eyes that always seemed to see more than they should.

“No,” I said, and shook my head. “Just thinking.”

He held my gaze a beat longer, then gestured toward the entrance. “Our table’s ready.”

I followed him inside.

(Author’s POV)

The private dining room was quiet, insulated from the noise of the main floor. Gavin had already settled into his chair and was refilling his water glass when they arrived.

“So,” Gavin said, setting the pitcher down, “what were you two talking about out there? Something about wishes?”

Chapter 32: Deviance–1

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Phineas pulled out Aurora’s chair before she could reach it, then sat down across from Gavin.

“Look at the menu,” Phineas said flatly.

Gavin blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“The menu.” Phineas picked up his own. “Order something.”

Gavin stared at him for a second, then looked at Aurora. She hadn’t noticed anything off. She was already reaching for her wine glass, turning to face him with a genuine smile.

“Gavin, thank you. Seriously. Today wouldn’t have gone that way without you.”

Gavin softened despite himself. “You did the hard part. I just showed up with the paperwork.”

“You showed up with the right paperwork at the right time,” she said. “That’s everything in a courtroom.”

She raised her glass. Gavin raised his. Phineas raised his without a word, his eyes staying on Aurora.

“What exactly was the case?” Phineas asked her.

“Patent dispute,” Aurora said, relaxed now, her shoulders dropping. “Small, really. Just something that was mine and needed to be returned.”

“Small,” Gavin repeated, amused.

Phineas watched her. The tension she’d been carrying all week had finally left her face. Her mouth curved slightly as she described it, and he found his gaze dropping to that curve before he caught himself.

He cleared his throat, quiet and controlled. “Congratulations, then.”

His voice came out rougher than intended. Aurora glanced at him, then looked back at her

glass.

Gavin noticed where Phineas’s eyes had been. He set his fork down.

“Speaking of family matters,” Gavin said, keeping his tone casual, “Patriarch William’s eightieth birthday is coming up. Big event for the Everetts, I’d imagine. Lots of planning involved-”

“The duck confit looks good,” Phineas said, not looking up from his menu.

Gavin opened his mouth.

Chapter 32: Deviance. 1

“Or the lamb,” Phineas added.

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Gavin closed his mouth. He picked up his own menu and stared at it without reading a single word.

Dinner moved on. The food was good, the wine was better, and by the time dessert arrived Aurora was laughing at something Gavin had said about a deposition gone sideways. Phineas said very little but watched her the entire time.

When Aurora excused herself to use the restroom, she slipped quietly to the host stand on her way back and handed over her card. Gavin discovered this when the server came to the table and confirmed the bill had been settled.

He looked at Phineas. “She paid.”

“I know.”

“You let her.”

“She wanted to.” Phineas folded his napkin. “Don’t make it a thing.”

Gavin leaned back in his chair. “I’ll drive her home.”

“No.”

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