My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 3

Eleanor had tried to harm her because Fiona had stumbled upon her secret affair.
Zachary realized this almost at once. The thought settled in his chest like a stone, his expression darkening until his face looked as if it had been carved from iron. 
An affair was disgraceful enough, but to go so far as to plot the death of the daughter he treasured most was beyond forgiveness.
Meryl was sharp and bitter. "The people you choose to keep at your side are truly remarkable."
Zachary had no defense. Eleanor had not been his choice to begin with. She had been forced into his household by his mother years ago. Still, whether out of duty or weakness, he had allowed it. Now he could only endure his wife's sarcasm, shoulders heavy under the weight of her words. At last, he softened, his voice low with contrition: "Do not worry, Meryl. I will make certain Fiona receives justice."
That single promise was enough to open the floodgates. With a clear suspicion guiding them, the investigation proceeded swiftly.

Zachary's most loyal retainer traveled south to Eleanor's native village. There, the story emerged. Eleanor and the man in question had grown up together, childhood sweethearts tied by years of familiarity. Later, when poverty pressed hard, her parents had sold her. Hannah had purchased her freedom, raised her in comfort, and kept her near. When Eleanor's wit and pleasing manner impressed, Hannah had decided she was fit to be given to Zachary as a concubine.
When he learned that Eleanor was being held hostage, the man cracked under Zachary's pressure. Believing the truth was already known, he confessed without further struggle.

And so the truth was confirmed. Just as Fiona had said, Eleanor had feared her indiscretions would be exposed and had sought to silence her before the scandal could spread.
Zachary's heart was leaden. That such a venomous woman had lingered by his side for so long left him shaken to his core.
Though Fiona was still weak in body, Meryl wasted no time. As lady of the estate, she had Eleanor dealt with swiftly and without ceremony. Even though Eleanor had long enjoyed Hannah's favoritism, this time the matriarch did not raise a hand to protect her.

Meryl never spoke of the matter in front of Fiona, but the girl was perceptive. Watching her mother's calm composure, the way she never once mentioned Eleanor again, Fiona understood what must have become of her. Her mother was not a woman who would ever quietly swallow such humiliation.
Having caught a severe chill, Fiona was ordered to rest. Her brother was still stationed at the borders, and visitors were few—aside from members of the main branch and Meryl's kin, who came several times to look in on her. In truth, Fiona did not mind the solitude; it gave her body and spirit time to recover.
Two weeks passed before she was well enough to rise from bed.
"In only a few more days, the banquet will be held in your honor," Meryl reminded her with a sigh. "I only wonder if your face will have rounded out again by then."
"Mother, are you saying I no longer look presentable?" Fiona teased, lifting her brows.
"How could you not?" Meryl replied quickly, though her concern was plain.
Fiona was nearing the age of adulthood, yet her body had always been slow to mature. Illness had left her thinner still, making her appear almost fragile. Meryl fretted constantly. Several families she had considered for her daughter's match had already secured their sons elsewhere, and time was slipping away.
The Zonfrillo brothers, Soren and Callum, were the most sought-after in all of Jexburgh, courted by countless households. The Thankerton family also had their eye on them. Meryl, proud and pragmatic, had no desire to join that fray.
The young son of the Wagner family was a respectable option. But his mother's domineering temperament was well known, and Meryl could not bear to imagine her daughter living under such a shadow.
The Luthor family was of lesser standing, and Meryl had nearly dismissed them outright. Yet when she recalled the second son, Xavier, the young man who had helped rescue Fiona from the river, she hesitated.
Reports spoke of his sharp mind, his decent looks, and above all, his lack of arrogance. Unlike many born into prestigious families, he carried himself with modesty and courtesy.

Meryl began to consider him with growing seriousness. She told no one of these thoughts, not even Fiona. First, she would watch, inquire, and weigh carefully. If he proved unworthy, she would let the idea vanish as though it had never been.
The day of the banquet came quickly. To mark Fiona's survival, Hannah ordered the event to be lively, filling the Niven Estate with laughter and music, hoping to banish lingering shadows and bring fortune back into the household.
It was Fiona's first time stepping into society since her accident.
Though still slimmer than before, her pale skin glowed, her tall figure lent her grace, and her delicate features seemed all the more striking. When she smiled, her eyes sparkled like fresh spring water—pure, bright, untouched by guile. She wore a gown of soft green embroidered with intricate emerald patterns, the fabric catching the light so that she seemed to glow.
The moment she appeared, countless eyes followed her.

Accompanying Hannah and Meryl, Fiona greeted the guests, bowing, exchanging pleasantries with practiced ease. Only afterward did she glance toward the table where the young ladies sat. Daughters of the great houses of Jexburgh gathered together, each beautiful in her own style. It was as though a garden of a hundred blossoms had bloomed at once.
"You've grown so much since last season," Yolanda Wagner teased as Fiona took her place. "It won't be long before suitors are hammering down the doors of the Niven Estate."

She was the third daughter of the Wagner family and engaged to Fiona's eldest cousin, Ulrich Niven.
"Why spend your breath teasing me?" Fiona answered, her smile playful.
"That day when Lord Soren pulled you from the water," Yolanda whispered, leaning close, "how did it feel? Did your heart not flutter?"
Fiona froze, her lashes lowering as silence stretched.
Her affection for Soren had always been a secret. Only Yolanda had sensed it. In her past life, being rescued by him had filled her with secret joy for weeks. But now, the memory felt far more complicated.

Across the table, she saw Roxanne Thankerton, the second daughter of the Thankerton family. The young woman's gentle smile and graceful poise were beyond compare. Famed for her intellect, admired for her beauty, and gifted in every discipline of the Six Arts, she was everything Fiona aspired to be, and she was also the woman who held Soren's heart.

Though Duflana was not the strictest of kingdoms, tradition still held firm. Men and women sat apart.
Still, Fiona could not resist. She let her gaze wander across the hall until it found him. Three years of marriage in her past life had etched Soren's image deep into her memory. Even now, though he was only newly come of age, she spotted him at once among the crowd.