Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life novel Chapter 1977

After breakfast, Jackson didn’t drive Fiona to school.

To everyone else, they were still officially broken up. Whenever Jackson came over to Fiona’s apartment, he always made sure to stay under the radar. Fiona wasn’t ready for anyone to find out their breakup was all an act, and Jackson just went along with whatever she wanted.

Leaving the apartment complex that morning, Jackson was the first to take off, holding a stack of files like he had somewhere important to be. Fiona, meanwhile, hopped on her dirt bike and sped out of the parking lot, making a point to gun it and blow a cloud of exhaust right at Jackson’s car as she passed. Of course, someone caught the whole scene on camera, and before long, it was blowing up online.

When Fiona got to school, she spotted Amy’s parents driving up with Amy in the backseat. The three of them headed straight for Mr. Garcia’s office, drawing plenty of stares from curious students hanging around outside.

The Gregory family already had a reputation, especially after that whole fiasco with the two identical girls showing up. Add Amy’s embarrassing performance at the design competition, and everyone just assumed the Gregorys were pulling another publicity stunt. Rich families always had some new drama—no one would be surprised if they started something even crazier next.

Only Fiona’s own class stayed out of the gossip. For one thing, it was still early—most people hadn’t even shown up yet. The few who were there were buried in their notebooks, trying to get a head start on the day.

Fiona walked in and spotted Nash hunched over a book. When he saw her, his eyes lit up for just a second, but by the time she got closer, he looked away, expression falling. Ever since Jackson and Fiona’s “breakup,” Nash—being from the Woods family—had been extra careful to keep his distance. He didn’t want to make things awkward for Fiona, so he really didn’t have much of a choice.

“Fiona,” Tyler called out.

She answered with a quiet “yeah” and took the seat next to him, immediately noticing the breakfast he’d brought. There was a whole spread—different pastries, and even sweet tofu pudding just like she’d already eaten at home.

“What’s up? Not hungry?” Tyler frowned.

Fiona definitely didn’t look uninterested; if anything, she kept eyeing the food, but her hand kept resting on her stomach.

As more students started to trickle in, the classroom vibe felt different—tense, kind of weird. Maybe it was because it was Fiona’s first day, and everyone knew she was talented. Nobody wanted to get on her bad side. Still, that didn’t stop the gossip about Amy; people couldn’t seem to get enough.

Jane slid over to Fiona and quietly slipped a USB drive into her hand, then pointed at her own phone, giving Fiona a look.

Fiona glanced at her phone. Right at the top was a new message from Jane:

Jane: I could only find out which families have been in contact with people from Country M in the last ten years.

Fiona grabbed Tyler’s laptop, plugged in the USB, and pulled up a list—every company that had worked with Country M, all laid out in detail.