Old relative seen in romance story (8)
I believe the answer is:
ancestor
'old relative' is the definition.
(relative from past generations)
'in romance story' is the wordplay.
'in' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'ANCESTOR' is hidden within 'romance story'.
'seen' is the link.
(Other definitions for ancestor that I've seen before include "Predecessor" , "Person from whom one is descended" , "Enactors (anag)" , "One of one's forebears" , "not being of the modern generation" .)