Step aside, Uncle Pride：Your Nephew is My Next Man - Chapter 61: Chapter 61
You are reading Step aside, Uncle Pride：Your Nephew is My Next Man, Chapter 61: Chapter 61. Read more chapters of Step aside, Uncle Pride：Your Nephew is My Next Man.
Aurelia and Luigi's secret relationship had been known to almost no one.
Besides Luigi's inner circle on the hockey team, probably only this shabu-shabu restaurant owner had pieced together their situation.
They'd been coming here for two years, and the owner had gradually picked up on their young love dynamic.
Back then, she'd even blessed their relationship and given them free appetizers.
Now the memory felt like a knife twisting in Aurelia's chest.
"Oh goodness, I'm so embarrassed about the mix-up!" The owner looked mortified as she bowed apologetically to Isaac.
Isaac handled it with perfect grace: "Please don't worry about it."
Secretly, he wished her assumption could become reality.
To make amends, the owner sent over complimentary wagyu beef and handmade udon noodles.
After more awkward small talk, she was mercifully called away to handle other customers.
Aurelia wanted to disappear into the floor. "Isaac, I'm so sorry you got caught in that awkward situation. You didn't deserve to be dragged into my messy past."
Isaac's expression was nothing but warmth and understanding: "Hey, it's not your fault. Don't apologize for existing."
The gentle way he said it made Aurelia's chest tighten with emotions she wasn't ready to examine.
She was about to respond when a familiar shadow fell across their intimate table.
Looking up, she saw Luigi standing there like an avenging angel, his face gaunt with exhaustion but blazing with determination.
Aurelia's stomach dropped. "How the hell did you find me?"
Shouldn't he be back at school getting oriented with his new program?
Luigi's eyes swept over their cozy dinner setup—the shared sauces, Isaac's obvious attentiveness, the easy intimacy between them—and his jaw clenched with barely suppressed jealousy.
"I got emergency clearance to follow you here. I couldn't let you face your toxic family alone—I know how they operate."
Aurelia said nothing, her walls slamming back up. Isaac continued eating his perfectly prepared beef, pointedly ignoring Luigi's dramatic entrance.
Luigi just stood there like an unwelcome ghost from her past.
The tension was suffocating. With a resigned sigh that came from her bones, Aurelia gestured to an empty chair: "Fine. Sit down and eat something."
He was already here—she couldn't exactly call security to have him dragged out.
Luigi's entire face transformed with desperate hope as he immediately flagged down their server for extra chopsticks and a bowl.
The moment he sat down, he slipped back into old patterns, trying to serve her food like they were still together: "Jesus, we haven't been here in years. I remember you used to go crazy for the thinly sliced pork belly and those little mushroom dumplings."
He started loading her bowl with everything he remembered—pork, tofu, enoki mushrooms, and shiitake dumplings.
Aurelia jerked her bowl away, her voice completely flat: "I'm allergic to shiitake mushrooms now. I don't eat those dumplings anymore."
Luigi froze mid-motion, his face going red with shame and confusion: "What? Since when? You never told me—"
"There's a lot you don't know about me." Aurelia's words were ice-cold. "After we finish eating, you need to go back to school. I don't need your protection, and you just started a graduate program in a completely different field. You can't afford to tank your grades playing hero."
Watching her try to dismiss him so casually, Luigi felt panic claw at his throat.
Isaac ate in strategic silence, his protective instincts on high alert as he observed the toxic push-and-pull between them.
Despite Aurelia's clear rejection, Luigi refused to be pushed away. He desperately insisted he could help resolve Rosalia's crisis, practically begging to be useful somehow.
So the three of them ended up in this fucked-up triangle, staying in the city while Luigi and Isaac worked together to dismantle the predatory lending operation.
Within a week, they'd traced the loan sharks, gathered evidence, and had the ringleaders arrested. The Cooper family was finally free from financial terrorism.
When it was all over, Isaac asked carefully: "Should I arrange for someone to brief your parents on how everything was resolved?"
Aurelia stared out the hotel window for a long moment, her reflection looking hollow and exhausted.
"No. I need to tell them myself."
Some conversations required looking people in the eye. Some bridges needed to be burned with absolute finality.
Standing outside Rosalia's hospital room, Aurelia watched through the glass as her parents fussed over their precious daughter, their faces radiating love and concern.
The sight made her feel pathetic and small—how had she wasted twenty-two years chasing affection that was never meant for her?
But that desperate, needy little girl inside her was finally dead.
Aurelia pushed open the door and delivered her news without ceremony or emotion.
"The loan situation is completely resolved. The people responsible are in federal custody. You won't be losing the house or dealing with any more threats."
Her parents' faces immediately brightened with profound relief.
Her mother's voice was tentative but hopeful: "And what about you, sweetheart? Are you staying?"
Aurelia's voice was completely emotionless: "I'm going back to New Mexico. I won't be coming home again. Ever."
Besides Luigi's inner circle on the hockey team, probably only this shabu-shabu restaurant owner had pieced together their situation.
They'd been coming here for two years, and the owner had gradually picked up on their young love dynamic.
Back then, she'd even blessed their relationship and given them free appetizers.
Now the memory felt like a knife twisting in Aurelia's chest.
"Oh goodness, I'm so embarrassed about the mix-up!" The owner looked mortified as she bowed apologetically to Isaac.
Isaac handled it with perfect grace: "Please don't worry about it."
Secretly, he wished her assumption could become reality.
To make amends, the owner sent over complimentary wagyu beef and handmade udon noodles.
After more awkward small talk, she was mercifully called away to handle other customers.
Aurelia wanted to disappear into the floor. "Isaac, I'm so sorry you got caught in that awkward situation. You didn't deserve to be dragged into my messy past."
Isaac's expression was nothing but warmth and understanding: "Hey, it's not your fault. Don't apologize for existing."
The gentle way he said it made Aurelia's chest tighten with emotions she wasn't ready to examine.
She was about to respond when a familiar shadow fell across their intimate table.
Looking up, she saw Luigi standing there like an avenging angel, his face gaunt with exhaustion but blazing with determination.
Aurelia's stomach dropped. "How the hell did you find me?"
Shouldn't he be back at school getting oriented with his new program?
Luigi's eyes swept over their cozy dinner setup—the shared sauces, Isaac's obvious attentiveness, the easy intimacy between them—and his jaw clenched with barely suppressed jealousy.
"I got emergency clearance to follow you here. I couldn't let you face your toxic family alone—I know how they operate."
Aurelia said nothing, her walls slamming back up. Isaac continued eating his perfectly prepared beef, pointedly ignoring Luigi's dramatic entrance.
Luigi just stood there like an unwelcome ghost from her past.
The tension was suffocating. With a resigned sigh that came from her bones, Aurelia gestured to an empty chair: "Fine. Sit down and eat something."
He was already here—she couldn't exactly call security to have him dragged out.
Luigi's entire face transformed with desperate hope as he immediately flagged down their server for extra chopsticks and a bowl.
The moment he sat down, he slipped back into old patterns, trying to serve her food like they were still together: "Jesus, we haven't been here in years. I remember you used to go crazy for the thinly sliced pork belly and those little mushroom dumplings."
He started loading her bowl with everything he remembered—pork, tofu, enoki mushrooms, and shiitake dumplings.
Aurelia jerked her bowl away, her voice completely flat: "I'm allergic to shiitake mushrooms now. I don't eat those dumplings anymore."
Luigi froze mid-motion, his face going red with shame and confusion: "What? Since when? You never told me—"
"There's a lot you don't know about me." Aurelia's words were ice-cold. "After we finish eating, you need to go back to school. I don't need your protection, and you just started a graduate program in a completely different field. You can't afford to tank your grades playing hero."
Watching her try to dismiss him so casually, Luigi felt panic claw at his throat.
Isaac ate in strategic silence, his protective instincts on high alert as he observed the toxic push-and-pull between them.
Despite Aurelia's clear rejection, Luigi refused to be pushed away. He desperately insisted he could help resolve Rosalia's crisis, practically begging to be useful somehow.
So the three of them ended up in this fucked-up triangle, staying in the city while Luigi and Isaac worked together to dismantle the predatory lending operation.
Within a week, they'd traced the loan sharks, gathered evidence, and had the ringleaders arrested. The Cooper family was finally free from financial terrorism.
When it was all over, Isaac asked carefully: "Should I arrange for someone to brief your parents on how everything was resolved?"
Aurelia stared out the hotel window for a long moment, her reflection looking hollow and exhausted.
"No. I need to tell them myself."
Some conversations required looking people in the eye. Some bridges needed to be burned with absolute finality.
Standing outside Rosalia's hospital room, Aurelia watched through the glass as her parents fussed over their precious daughter, their faces radiating love and concern.
The sight made her feel pathetic and small—how had she wasted twenty-two years chasing affection that was never meant for her?
But that desperate, needy little girl inside her was finally dead.
Aurelia pushed open the door and delivered her news without ceremony or emotion.
"The loan situation is completely resolved. The people responsible are in federal custody. You won't be losing the house or dealing with any more threats."
Her parents' faces immediately brightened with profound relief.
Her mother's voice was tentative but hopeful: "And what about you, sweetheart? Are you staying?"
Aurelia's voice was completely emotionless: "I'm going back to New Mexico. I won't be coming home again. Ever."
End of Step aside, Uncle Pride：Your Nephew is My Next Man Chapter 61. Continue reading Chapter 62 or return to Step aside, Uncle Pride：Your Nephew is My Next Man book page.