My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 81

Chapter 81 Unspoken Alliances

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The new gown clung to Fiona like dawn mist to a spring blossom, every thread coaxing the light to dance across her skin. Her complexion, already porcelain–sheer, now glowed with liquid radiance. Framing that luminosity were gently arched brows and rivers of midnight hair, a simplicity so vivid it stole the breath.

“I dare say this gown was stitched with you alone in mind,” the butler breathed, admiration softening every wrinkle in his weathered face.

“Fiona, you never fail to dazzle us,” Harriet chimed, dimples deepening. “The months Luna spent over her frame were clearly worth every stolen midnight.”

“Who is Luna?” Fiona tilted her head, curiosity flickering like a candle flame.

“A seamstress Lord Soren rescued from Broadmoor the very season he turned of age,” Harriet began, her voice a hush spun with embers of memory. “Her parents were butchered by the Steppe Nomads. She lay dying on the roadside until Soren passed, lifted her up, and offered a life sewn from new cloth–and these days her needle is legend.”

Harriet tactfully left out what happened next–the moment Penelope, after one look at Luna’s graceful eyes, suggested that Soren keep the girl as a private companion within the estate walls.

In truth, Harriet herself possessed only hearsay. All she knew was that Luna, three years Soren’s senior, remained gentle, thoughtful, and strikingly beautiful beyond the usual courtly praise.

When the final ribbon was chosen, Fiona and Harriet climbed into the carriage bound for the Thankerton compound, unaware Soren had arrived ahead of them.

Now, in a lakeside pavilion not far from the main hall, Soren sat opposite Alastair, the estate’s eldest son. Laughter drifted between them like clinking porcelain.

“Fiona, there you are at last!” Serena greeted her with arms open and eyes sparkling. “This gown is exquisite. When I visited Scarlet Boutique, I never laid eyes on such a stunning outfit. Do you have friends behind their counters?”

From the pavilion, Soren’s gaze lifted at the question. His eyes traced Fiona from head to hem in one, quiet beat, then he returned to his conversation with Alastair as though nothing had disturbed the air.

“Harriet brought me there,” Fiona answered, letting the words deny any hidden connection.

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Chapter 81 Unspoken Alliances

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Serena’s painted smile faltered. She normally dismissed Harriet as merchant stock and lacked the gall to beg favors now, so the subject dried up between her parted lips.

Nearby, Mindy pursed her lips, ready to whisper a barb to Roxanne. Yet the memory of an earlier misstep burned her cheeks, and she swallowed the remark whole.

Fiona noticed the lightness in Serena’s shoulders–a brightness that had been absent when she left the estate earlier that morning.

Serena guided Fiona into a shadowed nook between flowering pots, urgency fluttering behind her smile. “Serena, what exactly do you need from me?” Fiona asked, her voice gentle yet wary.

“Just moments ago, Lord Soren arrived,” Serena whispered, leaning closer so only petals and Fiona could hear. “Mindy teased Roxanne about their supposed engagement, but Roxanne replied that nothing is settled and Mindy should hold her tongue.”

Fiona’s brows arched in surprise. Yet she quickly reasoned that Roxanne still weighed the promises of the Fourth Prince; without a display of genuine intent from the Zonfrillo family, negotiation would remain slow.

Fiona knew Roxanne’s heart favored Soren over the prince, yet the woman was far too shrewd to set her family’s interests ablaze for mere affection.

“Even if Roxanne chooses against the Zonfrillo Estate, she will still land well,” Fiona said, conviction steady in her tone.

“The Thankerton family keeps pushing Julian into the Broadmoor Army,” Serena murmured, frustration tightening her fingers around her fan. “They want him to snatch a battlefield merit, return home, and slip into office, smoothing every future promotion. Soren’s camp dislikes shortcuts, so the match has stalled.”

Every victory Soren claimed had been carved with his own blood. He despised anyone who sought glory by the back door, and Fiona doubted Serena’s rumor was baseless, though she offered no comment.

“I need a word with Lord Soren,” Serena admitted. “Would you come with me?”

The moment Soren and Alastair rose to depart, Serena seized Fiona’s wrist, determination shining through her polished composure, and steered her toward the pavilion’s stone steps.

Halfway down the shadow–draped gallery, two young women stepped from a side arcade and barred the path of Soren and Alastair. The late–afternoon sun spilled in hard, golden slats between the pillars, yet the pair’s sudden appearance felt like a wall of stone rising out of polished marble.

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Chapter 81 Unspoken Alliances

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“Lord Soren, we have something we wish to discuss with you.” As she spoke, Serena hooked an anxious arm through Fiona’s sleeve, drawing the quieter girl forward like a living shield.

With Fiona beside her, meeting a man alone was no longer a social transgression–at least, that was the hope fluttering in her chest.

“I’ll head on ahead,” Alastair said with an easy nod. He trusted Soren implicitly and felt certain nothing untoward would occur.

“What is it you wish to say, Serena, Fiona?” His voice remained courteous yet remote, but his gaze–sharp as a honed blade–drifted past Serena and fastened on Fiona alone.

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