My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 160

Chapter 160 Morning Market Encounters

77

+5 Free Coins

Victoria lifted the hem of her traveling cloak to avoid a puddle, then smiled over her shoulder at the younger woman beside her. “My grandfather was a constable in a tiny county town,” she said, her tone both proud and self–deprecating. “I grew up in places like this, so I feel perfectly at home. If you find the atmosphere uncomfortable, Ms. Fiona, you can wait for me by the carriage.”

Fiona’s answering smile was quick, bright, and free of restraint. “I would much rather stay with you, Mrs. Luthor.” Her tone carried an eagerness that warmed the older woman’s heart.

The seed vendors keep the bulbs packed in damp earth, Victoria warned, glancing at Fiona’s skirts. “It can get messy.”

“I wore old clothes on purpose this morning, so please don’t worry,” Fiona replied. She had left her hair unbraided, fastening it only with the simple wooden pin Xavier had carved for her. Without elaborate cosmetics or embroidery, she felt wonderfully at ease.

The simplicity pleased Victoria even more. Fiona looked delicate enough to bruise, yet there was nothing fragile about her manner.

They bartered for packets of peony and marigold seed. When the bargaining was done, Victoria bought an extra skewer of sugar–glazed hawthorn berries and handed it to Fiona with the same tenderness she would show her own daughter.

Soon after, the two women settled into the Luthor Estate’s lacquered carriage, parcels of seeds stacked at their feet and the lingering sweetness of candied fruit on their tongues.

As the coach drew up to the estate’s gates, Victoria touched Fiona’s sleeve and said in a low, hopeful voice, “You and I understand each other so well. Nothing would delight me more than for us to become family.”

Penelope dismounted from her own conveyance, overheard the remark. She turned, one perfectly arched brow lifting when she recognized the young woman seated inside.

“Mrs. Luthor, Ms. Fiona and Mr. Xavier do make a striking pair,” Penelope said. She cared little for Fiona, but Xavier was currently handling sensitive matters for the Zonfrillo Estate, and Penelope could not afford to slight his mother.

In Penelope’s view, the match was harmless–as long as Fiona kept her eyes off her son, Soren. If the girl married swiftly into another household, so much the better. Still, Penelope decided she would mention the possibility to Soren later; Xavier often rendered assistance to the estate, and a change in Fiona’s loyalties could alter future alliances.

1/3

11:32 Thu, Oct 16

Chapter 160 Morning Market Encounters

Fiona dipped her head in a graceful curtsy, cheeks tinted with a modest blush. “Please, Duchess Zonfrillo, do not tease me so.”

+5 Free Coins

The business in Yondale is not yet settled. If I even hint at a formal engagement now, I will have to reveal everything–and I am not ready for that.

Penelope let out the faintest laugh, a sound as cool as frost on porcelain. “Then I must have misunderstood, it seems.”

Her beauty was of the sculpted, distant sort; even her smile felt like a closed door.

Victoria knew Penelope’s favor rested solely on Xavier’s usefulness to the estate, and she treated the duchess with meticulous courtesy.

“Simplicity becomes you, Ms. Fiona,” Penelope observed, her gaze sweeping over Fiona’s unpainted face and wooden hairpin.

Fiona bowed again. “You are too kind, Duchess Zonfrillo”

Penelope found no pleasure in further conversation with the girl and soon turned to lighter chatter with Victoria about garden parties and court news.

Fiona sat quietly, hands folded in her lap, content to let their words drift past like distant birdsong.

During a brief lull, Victoria asked, “Did Lord Soren not accompany Mr. Xavier today?”

Penelope leaned toward Victoria, her silk sleeves whispering across the brocade cushions. “Soren has taken Isabella down to the lake for a boat ride,” she murmured, the words floating like petals on still water. Victoria answered with a knowing smile, keeping the conversation rolling over shared memories while her glance drifted back to Fiona again and again, making sure the young woman never felt the slightest edge of neglect.

Callum stepped out of Xavier’s study and froze as though the hallway had turned to stone; he had not expected to meet Fiona inside the Luthor Estate. Remembering Xavier’s interest, he masked his surprise, offered a steady bow, and said, “Ms. Fiona.”

Fiona answered with equal courtesy, her voice light yet distant. “Mr. Callum.”

He caught sight of Xavier watching from a nearby colonnade. A warning flickered through his mind–keep your distance, do nothing that might stir Xavier’s jealousy. With a final nod to Fiona, Callum fell in beside Penelope and let the corridor swallow them both.

While Fiona knelt among the flowerbeds beside Victoria, Xavier strolled up, took the pruning shears from her hands as naturally as breathing, and murmured, “Sit and rest, Ms. Fiona. Let

2/3

11:32 Thu Oct 16 **

Chapter 160 Morning Market Encounters

+ Free Coins

me handle this.” Victoria’s smile widened; she excused herself and drifted away, the rustle of her skirts granting the two young people a quiet world of their own.

Watching him labor while she sat felt indulgent. She lowered her gaze and said, “Mr. Xavier, you really don’t need to keep minding me like this.”

Navier straightened, sunlight glinting on a stray petal caught in his hair. “Please don’t worry. I know you have no wish to marry for now. More than a wedding, I want your life to flow safely and smoothly.”

An untraceable ache bloomed beneath her ribs. No one gives without wanting something in return. She met his eyes. “Then what is it you hope to gain from me?”

His voice softened. “I once loved a woman–she resembled you. The first moment I saw you, her shadow slipped back into my mind.” He fell silent, the past settling over him like evening fog.

Memories stirred inside her, too. “Was she the childhood friend your mother spoke of when we first met?”

Xavier’s lashes trembled, but he offered no denial.

Fiona’s voice lowered. “Where is she now?”

Emotion stormed behind his calm facade. At last, he managed, “She is gone. She died.”

If I hadn’t known him in my last life, I might suspect he, too, had been born twice and was mourning me. But we were strangers then; such fierce feeling could never have been for me.

3/3