Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right



I couldn't believe I'd gone so far as to quote the law to defend Aaron's single status.

"I don't care about your laws or whatever," Edison retorted, waving me off. "What I do care about is how unnatural it is for a man to be over thirty and still not married-or even dating! Mark my words, if he shows up one day with a husband instead of a wife, I won't know where to hide my face." Aaron, as unflappable as ever, smirked. "Don't worry, Dad, I promise I won't bring home a husband."

Edison's face turned crimson, and Lena jumped in, trying to calm him down. “Grandpa, please stop pressuring Uncle Aaron. If he doesn't like someone, forcing him won't make him happy."

"And now you're taking his side?" Edison snapped, glaring at Lena.

I decided to jump in before things escalated. “Because Lena and I scoped out all the ladies here, and honestly, none of them are good enough for Uncle Aaron. '

I didn't even realize I'd started calling him "Uncle Aaron" too until the words were out of my mouth.

"I don't buy that for a second," Edison grumbled.

Lena nodded quickly. "It's true, Grandpa. Those women? Total drama queens. Just now, they were trash-talking Uncle Aaron behind his back." Aaron's sharp eyes flicked toward her, while Edison's curiosity visibly piqued. "Oh? What were they saying? Complaining about him being single in his thirties?"

"No," Lena said, feigning exasperation "They were plotting how to snag him and become the future Mrs. Ace. Their intentions were far from pure Not even an exaggeration, though those worden were clearly just there for Aaron's status.

Edison looked oddly pleased. "And what's so bad about that?"

“Grandpa, are you saying you like women who use sneaky tactics?" Lena.shot back, hitting his weak spot dead-on.

Edison went quiet, clearly remembering a past experience he'd rather forget.

Lena threw me a look, and I stepped in with the assist. “Grandpa Edison, why not let Lena and me handle finding a girlfriend for Uncle Aaron? We've got this."

Lena's glare practically screamed 'traitor, but before Edison could agree, Aaron cut in smoothly. "No need. I'll take care of it myself.

With that, he stood and walked out.

"Well, you'd better hurry," Edison called after him. "I want to hold a great-grandchild before I kick the bucket!"

When Aaron was gone, Edison let out a long sigh. "I'm only doing this for his own good. When your grandma and I are gone, who's going to look after him?"

"That won't happen, Grandpa," Lena said softly. "He has Mom, and he has me. Besides, you and Grandma will live to be a hundred, so don't stress about it."

Edison shook his head. "A hundred? That's wishful thinking... Ah, I'm just old. None of you listen to me anymore."This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.

For a moment, his usual commanding aura cracked, and all I saw was a tired, vulnerable man. It hit me harder than I expected.

"Grandpa Edison, everyone's got their own path," I said gently. "You can't force these things."

"She's right," Lena added. "You've done enough. It's time to let it go."

Edison waved us off with a sigh. “Fine, fine, go. I'm tired.”

As Lena and I left, we saw Aaron standing just outside. His normally calm expression. carried a faint shadow of sadness, like he'd overheard everything Edison had said.

Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. At least now he'd understand the concern behind all the nagging.

Lena and I gave him a quick nod and walked away in silence.

The next morning, I wasn't expecting to wake up to Aaron trending.

[Aaron Ace Spotted with Mystery Woman at Private Residence-Romance Rumors Spark!]

The headline practically screamed at me from my phone screen.

Last night, Edison was grilling him over not having a girlfriend. Now there was a rumor? No way this wasn't intentional.

Before I could process it, another alert flashed on my screen.

[Historic Monastery Engulfed in Flames-Two Dead, Six Injured.]

The image accompanying the story was unmistakable.

Cloudscape Monastery.