Hi Ex, Your Uncle Is My Hubby Now - Chapter 26: Chapter 26

It was obvious by now that the truth about Henry not being Gwen's biological son had made its way to Aiden and the rest of the household staff.
Along with it, rumors had spread about how Irene was abandoned by Henry and raised in the countryside by Ruth.
Clearly, Jeremy had heard too—why else would he have specifically asked the kitchen to add two Desmonian dishes?
That was, after all, where she was from—Draymont City.
The dining room was enormous. The dining table alone stretched nearly ten feet long.
Jeremy sat at the head of the table. Ivy had placed Irene's setting halfway down, right in the middle.
Irene stared at her plate, not moving. Noticing her silence, Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "Don't like the color of the dishes?"
He knew women could be picky about aesthetics.
Irene shook her head. "My apartment's small. So's my studio. Honestly, I've never eaten at a table this long before."
She looked across the massive table and said earnestly, "Sitting this far from the host, I can barely hear you."
Jeremy was speechless.
So that was her roundabout way of saying she wanted to sit closer.
"Come over here." He pointed to the seat directly to his right.
Without hesitation, Irene gathered her utensils and moved over.
Ivy happened to come in just then to bring a soup ladle. She froze when she saw the seat change.
Back in the kitchen, she nudged Aiden, who was eating quietly. "Hey, is that Mr. Tucker's girlfriend?"
"What?" Aiden nearly choked, then immediately lowered his voice. "Keep it down!"
Startled, Ivy whispered back, "So... she's not?"
Aiden glanced into the dining room. All he could see was Irene's profile.
She was smiling as she spoke, cheerful and relaxed. 'If only she were his girlfriend,' Aiden thought. But Jeremy had already made peace with his fate—he'd decided long ago not to date or marry, knowing he didn't have much time left.
When Dorian brought Irene to visit before Christmas, Ivy had been on leave, helping her daughter with postpartum recovery.
So this was her first time meeting Irene.
"She's just one of the younger generation," Aiden said vaguely.
'Younger generation?' Ivy thought to herself. 'So what? They're not related. If they like each other, doesn't that make them equals?'
But she kept that thought to herself.
During the meal, Irene noticed that Jeremy barely touched the food. He picked at most of the dishes, taking only a bite or two. The only thing he actually ate more of was the matsutake soup. It made her heart sink.
It wasn't that he was picky—he just didn't have the strength to eat much.
"Uncle Jeremy, your illness..." She started to ask what had caused it, but the moment she saw his eyelids droop slightly, she realized the question would only dampen his mood.
Her thoughts scrambled, and she blurted, "Is it hereditary?"
Jeremy looked up, caught off guard.
He didn't quite understand why she was asking something so random—and from someone in her position, it felt a little inappropriate.
Still, he answered politely, "It's not genetic."
In other words—no, it wouldn't be passed on to any children.
Irene hesitated, wanting to ask why he never married or had kids. Why not leave the family legacy to a child?
But even she knew that was a line she couldn't cross. One wrong word, and she'd be out the door.
To her surprise, Jeremy didn't shut her down.
He looked right at her, saw the question behind her eyes, and responded directly, "You're wondering why I never married? Why I never had children?"
"Yes," Irene said quickly, nodding.
His answer was quiet, thoughtful. "The kind of woman I'd fall for… would have to be extraordinary. And someone like that shouldn't have to spend her life alone."
Irene's chest tightened. A strange, electric numbness buzzed through her limbs.
'Grandma… I think I just found gold in a pile of mud,' she thought.
She lowered her head and drank her soup in silence, emotions tangled. She felt deeply for Jeremy—and, more than that, she felt sorry for him.
He had lived with honor, with integrity. 'How has someone like him been so wrong about a man like Dorian?' she wondered.