My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 54

Chapter 54 Shifting Household Lines

Chapter 54 Shifting Household Lines

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Love, however, outweighed calculation. Despite every worry, Meryl preferred to keep her daughter close for another couple of years. A girl too young inside someone else’s household. could be ground to powder, and childbirth, she knew, was a mountain not casily climbed.

“Everything will con

into place. No need to hurry,” Joanna offered with a placid laugh. She is only measuring her own daughter against mine again. The main branch must never appear to lag behind.

“Once Ully marries, we’ll have to grant him a fresh courtyard,” Joanna went on. “There will be endless chores. Meryl, lend me your hand for a season. I have carried the estate alone because it is my duty, but lately my health refuses to keep pace.” Her sigh drifted over the tea like rising

steam.

At the ink–stone, Fiona paused mid–grind and lifted her head, dark eyes narrowing with delicate curiosity.

Joanna, it seemed, could no longer shoulder the weight and had finally suggested sharing the household keys. Yet even now, she positioned herself as the benevolent martyr, reluctant to surrender more than crumbs of power.

Praise yourself all you like, but must you tread on my mother to stand taller? Fiona thought. Calling her idle while you beg her help–what lofty airs.

“If

your strength truly fails you,” Meryl answered gently, “then rest. Place the entire stewardship with me for a while. I know you’re concerned about the Zonfrillo Estate’s affairs, but your health is irreplaceable. Please, do not work yourself into illness.”

“I was born to toil,” Joanna replied, color draining from her cheeks. “I could never sit idle. Let me consider other remedies.”

Mother and daughter exchanged a swift look. Fiona’s lips twitched; inside she laughed. Her mother’s poise was a lesson written in living ink.

“My priority is Fiona’s progress in the Six Arts,” Meryl added, voice mild. “Perhaps, you might ask Isabel to assist you instead.”

The words slid from her tongue like silk, yet struck with needlepoint precision.

Joanna could barely conceal her distaste. Her loathing for Isabel ran deep, forged years ago when she had tried–and failed–to banish the alluring concubine. Joanna still remembered the half–year her husband denied her presence after she raised a hand against that seemingly fragile woman.

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Chapter 54 Shifting Household Lines

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“Isabel is vain and forever chasing status,” Joanna snapped. “Put her in charge, and she will strut around with her head held high.”

“You may have a point,” Meryl conceded, entirely unruffled.

Fiona silently agreed. Handing the keys to Isabel would invite chaos–and open scorn toward her mother.

Beyond Lily Garden, Joanna’s face collapsed into hard lines. The second branch covets my little slice of authority,” she muttered, cold laughter cracking in her throat. “They drape themselves in virtue, but after twenty years I know precisely how lofty their airs truly are.”

Agnes adjusted Joanna’s cloak. “Madam, the second branch’s arrogance has never softened. Their manner grows less and less humane with each season.”

“She still imagines herself the daughter of a princess’s household,” Joanna hissed. “Mark me- His Majesty now regards that family as a thorn. One day, the thorn will be pulled.”

“Please, do not let anger harm your health,” Agnes coaxed. “We must coax the second branch into helping. Shift every account onto their ledgers; if they cannot settle the sums, the blame will never rest on the main branch.”

Joanna allowed a long breath to slip past her lips, the sound soft yet heavy with worry. She had known for months that the Niven family’s ledgers no longer balanced, but love for her husband pushed her to pour handful after handful of her own silver into his endless rounds of social calls.

The simplest cure, she now told herself, was to ask the second branch to part with some of its considerable dowry. They, too, benefited from the manor’s daily luxuries. If they possessed money when the family bled, why should they not share the pain?

Still, every discussion–and every demand–would have to wait until Ulrich walked down the aisle and the wedding candles burned themselves out.

In the final days before Ulrich’s wedding, Fiona hitched a carriage with Lilith and rolled across town to the Wagner manor.

Yolanda, the bride–to–be, had longed most to see Fiona before the ceremony. When the door swung open, she nearly glowed with relief, seized Fiona’s hand, and tugged her straight toward the dressing room.

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