My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 189

Chapter 189 The Passage Begins

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Fiona and Roxanne shared a cushioned bench while attendants paraded the gleaming horses. When her own selections were logged, Fiona feigned a recently twisted wrist, declining to ride. She drifted instead to a seat just beyond Marcus‘ shadow.

Marcus did not grant her so much as a flicker of acknowledgment. He stared ahead, every detail of the pageant reflected in eyes that refused to see her.

“Your Highness, I notice you placed, no wager,” Fiona ventured, her tone light yet quietly insistent.

“Such pastimes hold no interest for me,” Marcus replied, the words clipped, his distance almost palpable.

“I know of a remarkable physician from outside the capital“, Fiona said, layering courtesy over concern. “Should you ever wish an introduction, I would be honored to arrange it.”

“Ms. Fiona, you surely understand,” he answered, voice soft but unbending, “my leg will never mend. That is the quiet verdict of every doctor in this city.”

“Perhaps your leg is wounded, but your heart remains strong,” she replied, gaze steady. “Anything that captures Your Highness‘ interest, you can accomplish. If ever you need a willing hand, I will offer mine without hesitation.”

At first blush, Fiona’s words sounded harmless–an ordinary dose of encouragement telling him to keep his chin up and not drown in self–pity.

Yet Marcus, if he truly intended to fight for that vacant throne, would have heard the deeper current beneath her courtesy–an overture of surrender, an offer to stand at his side.

He finally lifted his gaze to her, dark eyes calm yet probing. “If you are already lending your skills elsewhere, Ms. Fiona, can you truly spare the focus to help me as well?”

Fiona’s stomach tightened. In that unblinking look she read knowledge–he must have uncovered fragments of her history with Soren, whispers that traced from Junbert to distant Yondale.

Marcus spoke again, his tone so even it might have been carved from stone. “You and I are barely acquainted, Ms. Fiona. You speak of helping me, yet how am I to place my trust in a stranger?”

Fiona held his gaze without speaking.

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12:08 Mon, Oct 20

Chapter 189 The Passage Begins

81

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With every silent heartbeat her certainty grew. Marcus had already pieced together her tangled past with Soren–Junbert, Yondale, and all the hidden threads–hence his pointed talk of

mistrust.

In court politics, the ones tied too tightly to other powers were always the most difficult to employ.

The Third Prince presented no visible edge.

He drifted through palace life as though nothing, no person, no title, held the power to move him. Ambition, flattery, even trust itself appeared beneath his notice.

Among the palace’s constellation of princes and princesses, so dim a star was a rarity.

Fiona let the tension melt into a wry smile. “Since we are both idle, Your Highness, shall we pass the time over a game of chess?”

Marcus did not refuse.

Chess demanded stillness, so they chose the shaded pavilion by the lake. Attendants hurried to steady Marcus, but he leaned only lightly on an ebony–black cane ringed with gold. His progress was slow yet flawlessly controlled.

For Fiona, the moment he stood was revelation. He was tall, perfectly balanced; each measured stride whispered that everything around him lay beneath his quiet command.

She imagined the vigor he would display when the masks fell away, understood at last why Cecilia had been so enthralled.

Yet those adept at hiding themselves rarely spared true affection. Ladies of rank were drawn to such men of lofty vision, but for them romance was recreation; their hearts hitched only to their grand designs.

Marcus gestured to the board with open palm. “Your move, Ms. Fiona.”

Fiona pulled her wandering thoughts back to the present and took the seat opposite him.

She brushed her sleeve aside, lifted a white piece, and studied the lattice three separate times before setting it down. If she could not play well, her first impression would shatter before it even formed.

Marcus tilted his head, voice casual yet pointed. “Your play carries a strangely familiar rhythm, Ms. Fiona.”

She answered with an easy smile that masked the thrum in her pulse. “You know as well as I,

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12:08 Mon, Oct 20

Chapter 189 The Passage Begins

81

+5 Free Coins

Your Highness, that resemblance in chess is no trick one acquires after a few superficial chats. Lord Soren and I barely spent time together this life, and yet—here I am.”

Trust, she knew, would hinge not on affection but on utility; if her value shone brightly enough, even suspicion might be worth the gamble.

Their eyes met. Silence pooled between them, both minds turning behind composed expressions.

Fiona searched his face for cues, but Marcus had already retreated into the battlefield of the board, no longer testing her words.

The game stretched on, balance teetering at every turn; in the end she edged him by a single

stone.

Fiona sensed he had hidden his skill, yet she let a light laugh ripple out. “It seems my play is passable, after all. If possible, Your Highness, I would not mind becoming your chess partner.”

Emperor Aldric arrived just then, catching sight of the board before the pair.

“So, the two of you ignore the fine steeds to steal a quiet match instead,” he laughed. “Fiona, your play is aggressive—fearless. I’d never guessed you carried such fire.”

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