My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 223

Chapter 223 Longing for Mastery

Chapter 223 Longing for Mastery

、,(82)

+5 Free Coins

Hillary visited the Zonfrillo Estate every single day, clinging to Soren like a strip of stubborn ivy.

She tugged at his sleeve, eyes watery. “Lord Soren, everyone says you’re unmatched. Please teach me. I’ll toil for you like an ox or horse if you wish.”

Soren let out a low laugh. “If your father heard that the lady of Havenford offered to be livestock, he might cough blood.”

“He won’t,” she insisted. “If I take first in archery and earn next year’s Lady Laureate, he’ll only boast about me.”

Soren responded with a polite smile and another firm refusal.

“Lord Soren, even Naomi says you’re the best brother in the world.” She clung to his sleeve again, the way a little sister might.

He slipped free without fuss. “I’m busy these days.” Truth was, if not for respect toward her father Daniel, he might have offered a tip or two.

“Then whenever you have time-just a moment’s guidance-that will be enough. I’ll practice alone afterward and never bother you again.” Her voice trembled with raw hunger for excellence. Soren issued a few noncommittal words, clearly ending the plea.

“Oh, and this.” Hillary raised a tiny silk pouch. “I prayed for your safety at Frostenden Temple. Keep it, and may you be as safe as my father.”

Soren halted mid-step and looked back at her.

In her eyes the night sky blazed-whole constellations of sincerity and heat.

That very day Fiona learned that Soren had returned to Jexburgh, yet because he had not summoned her to Clearsky Pavilion she chose to remain still and watch.

At the academy the next morning, Hillary rushed toward Fiona the moment she entered the courtyard.

“Soren refuses to teach me,” she complained, sounding heartbreakingly aggrieved.

Fiona only smiled, her silence gentle.

“I’m determined to become the Lady Laureate, so I have to make Soren teach me,” Hillary

1/3

11:12 Wed, Oct 22

Chapter 223 Longing for Mastery

declared, bolstering her own courage.

:

82

+5 Free Coins

Fiona wanted that title as well, but she welcomed fair competition; whoever triumphed would prove the better scholar.

When classes ended, Hillary walked with two other girls and relayed the complaint yet again.

One dimpled classmate laughed. “Soren treats you well-he even cut bamboo for you in the woods. Wait two years. When you’re breathtaking, you’ll wed him, and he’ll teach you everything.”

Hillary froze. “I only think of Soren as an elder brother,” she answered.

The girl lowered her voice, teasing. “You’re still too young to grasp romance. Give it time.”

Hillary’s brows gathered; uncertainty clouded her bright gaze.

Fiona happened to be a few steps behind. She watched them but offered no comment.

At present Hillary was merely endearing; give her two more years and she would be radiant. Fiona had never encountered a lady with such fierce vitality-always forward-leaning, always willing to suffer for the sake of learning.

She whirled around, sunlight spilling over her modest blue cloak, and when her gaze landed on Fiona her whole face burst into unguarded delight.

“Fiona,” Hillary chirped, “My mother is hosting a banquet in a few days to celebrate my taking first place in the mathematics exam-will you come and make merry with us?”

The warmth in Hillary’s invitation was impossible to resist. Remembering that such courtesies kept the great houses neatly stitched together, Fiona gave a gentle, obliging nod instead of the polite refusal that had flickered through her mind.

Only after several frenetic days did Soren finally return to the letter and notice, in Fiona’s graceful yet unmistakably firm hand, two tiny characters that meant, simply, “Read.”

He pictured her at a carved desk, candlelight catching the slope of her cheek as she finished the last line, dipped her brush, and signed those brisk strokes with quiet finality.

The image lifted the edge of his mouth into an unguarded smile,

Beside the letter lay a safety charm, no larger than a thumbnail-intricate knots of scarlet thread and gold beads not unlike the one Hillary had given him. Its presence warmed the room far more than any brazier.

2/3

11:12 Wed, Oct 22

Chapter 223 Longing for Mastery

82

+5 Free Coins

Rolling the tiny charm between forefinger and thumb, Soren asked without looking up, “How many times has Ms. Fiona visited?”

The steward bowed. “Only once, my lord. She stayed roughly an hour-read your letter, lingered over a book or two, never wandered, never laid eyes on anything she should not.”

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify