My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Hidden Snares

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After Yolanda heard the whole tale, her complexion drained to ash. “I must have blurted it while panicking in front of my maid. I’ll tell Lord Soren everything and set it right.”

Fiona caught her wrist and sighed. “Do you intend to hand him yet another weapon–proof the Wagner family cannot keep its own counsel?” she asked, reminding her that the Wagner family and the Zonfrillo family were anything but allied.

Realization jolted through Yolanda; she blanched. “I… What a fool I am,” she whispered, horror threading her voice.

Fiona then held Yolanda’s hand and uttered, “Yolanda, I’m telling you this not to demand a fix but to beg you—next time, guard your words a little better.”

She knew Yolanda would someday marry Ulrich, and that the Niven family, with its concubines and petty intrigues, could chew up the soft–hearted. The family needed a formidable matriarch, and Fiona refused to watch her friend repeat the tragedies of her previous life.

“But what about you? What will you do now?” Yolanda asked, anxiety clouding her gaze.

“For the moment, Lord Soren has no reason to press me. I’ll simply move one square at a time and see where the board leads.”

When Soren marched to war next spring, she would earn leverage through Callum’s affairs; until then, she must endure the bit in her mouth.

Fiona skipped the final drive of the autumn hunt. Instead, she met Xavier at dawn in a clearing, trading silken slippers for worn leather as she loosed arrow after arrow.

Memory from her previous life quickened her progress. The target soon bored her; rabbits fell next, then startled birds that never touched the sky again.

Only she knew the cost. Each night, she spent an hour kneading her swollen wrists before the ache loosened enough to let her sleep.

During a brief pause for water, she glanced at Xavier. “Mr. Xavier, why aren’t you out there with the others? Emperor Aldric is watching–this is a perfect moment for a marksman to shine,”

He strung another arrow with unhurried grace. “Didn’t you also stay behind, Ms. Fiona?” he replied, voice calm as a dawn–lit lake.

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Chapter 16 Hidden Snares

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She wanted to go, but she wanted to avoid Soren. “Your aim ranks among the finest. Show them, and you’ll eclipse everyone.”

Xavier paused, the bow lowering as though suddenly heavy. “These past days of riding practice, you avoided me. Do you truly dislike sharing a space with me, Ms. Fiona?” His voice was low, edged with something strangely fragile.

Heat flooded beneath her ears; the gentle reproach sounded uncannily like a husband neglected for far too long.

“I never said I was unwilling to spend time with you,” Fiona said, her voice softer than dusk settling over the field. She could not bring herself to bruise the hopes shining behind his eyes.

She had, in truth, kept their meetings few those last days—not from aversion, but because gossip would sprout like weeds when two young people were seen together too often.

When Fiona finally lifted her gaze again, she caught a flicker of laughter playing at the corner of Xavier’s dark eyes.

He wore a luminous smile, and all the more arresting because he so seldom let it surface.

For a heartbeat, she stared, utterly spellbound, and understood why legends spoke of fortunes squandered to coax a single smile from a beautiful face.

However, Fiona knew she had to keep a clear head. Focus, Fiona. Choosing a husband is business; swooning over a handsome man is weakness. Resist the lure of sheer appearance before it clouds your judgment.

Xavier lowered his tone, as though sharing a secret meant only for her. “A remarkable leap, Ms. Fiona. At the archery trial next month, your score will impress even the harshest judge.”

Fiona tucked a stray lock behind her ear. “Your style reminds me of Lord Soren’s–swift, economical, almost austere.”

Xavier nodded once. “We trained under the same master, Mr. Sunfield, who shaped our technique as though from a single mold.”

Fiona had heard of Gavin Sunfield, and she offered a respectful smile. “I have long admired Mr. Sunfield’s name. If fortune allows, I would love to pay my respects in person.”

Xavier held her gaze. “When the opportunity arises, I will escort you myself.”

The promise felt dangerously intimate, a thin silver thread tugging at the space between them. Fiona, aware of its shimmer, chose caution over impulse and let the moment pass unacknowledged.

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Chapter 16 Hidden Snares

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She enjoyed his company, yes, but her future husband had not yet been named, even in her

own heart.

On the surface, Xavier’s conduct pleased her–courteous, disciplined, restrained–but experience whispered that truly knowing a man required more than a handful of cordial meetings.

Nor did she forget that admiration for her family’s influence might tempt him toward hidden ambitions she would have to guard against.

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