Page 85 of Stuck with my Mechanic Daddies

What?

I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. My focus was on her, her hands shaking as she clutched the phone.

Her breath quickened, her chest rising and falling sharply.

“What?” she murmured. “How? I thought everything was settled.”

Her voice faltered, the words trailing off. Her face was a mixture of confusion and dread.

I didn’t need to hear more to know how serious this was. Whoever had filed that claim wasn’t just messing around.

When she hung up, I couldn’t keep quiet anymore.

“What the hell is going on, Aurora?”

I stepped closer, my voice low, furious even though I had no idea who to be angry at yet.

She blinked, her own expression lost. “I don’t know. I thought it was all behind me. The paperwork, the inheritance. Everything. But now someone’s challenging it. I thought I was in thesaleprocess, but now…”

Her eyes shifted to the papers still scattered around her, as though they might somehow explain it all.

I knew she was overwhelmed, but damn it, this wasn’t something she could handle alone.

“Who would do this?” I asked, my voice quiet but sharp.

She shook her head, clearly at a loss.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. No one’s supposed to have a claim.” Her voice cracked. “I need to figure out who’s behind it.”

I couldn’t just stand by.

“Fuck. Well, you know we'll help you.”

She looked at me, uncertainty in her eyes. “I don’t know what to do next, Owen.”

I didn’t think. I acted.

I reached for her then, pulling her into me, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

Her body was stiff at first, unsure, but I held on, feeling her breath quicken against my chest.

Her hands rested on my shoulders, trembling. I could feel the weight of everything pressing down on her.

“Hey,” I whispered, my voice softer than I expected. “It’s going to be okay. We'll figure this out, Aurora. Don’t worry.”

She let out a shaky breath, her shoulders sagging as she leaned into me.

Slowly, she relaxed, her head resting against my chest.

I felt the heat of her tears against my shirt before she even made a sound.

“I’m scared, Owen,” she whispered, her voice muffled by the fabric. “This is all so hard, and I’m already under pressure from my boss. I don’t knowwhatto do. Should I just give Page Turners to whoever wants it? Go back to my life and forget about all of this?”

I felt a knot tighten in my chest at her words.

The weight of her fear was sinking into me, and I couldn’t stand it.

She was torn, pulled in so many directions, and all I wanted to do was make it stop.

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