My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 179

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Naomi led Fiona through a side gate and along a shaded corridor until they reached a modest courtyard reserved for players‘ respite.

“This lodge belongs to the Zonfrillo Estate,” Naomi assured her, closing the carved door behind them. “No one will stumble in and discover us here, so you needn’t fret.”

Moments later, Soren limped inside, and Naomi slipped out, leaving the two of them alone amid the stillness of cooling tea and rustling bamboo.

Fiona spoke first, her tone gentle yet firm. “Lord Soren, if you’re hurt, why chase victory so fiercely? It’s only a match. Losing costs nothing compared with your health.”

Soren’s eyes flicked toward her, dark with stubborn heat. “I wouldn’t mind losing to your brother,” he said, voice low. The unspoken remainder hung thick in the air. He refused to bow to Xavier Luthor.

Fiona studied the pallor beneath his bravado. “Was this injury from that recent mission outside Jexburgh?”

A flicker crossed his gaze–part caution, part challenge. “Does it matter to you whether I’m hurt or whole?”

Fiona gave him a look. “If you insist on wearing your body down, Lord Soren, there is nothing I can do. I have no right to meddle in your private affairs, so follow your own wishes.”

To Soren, the seemingly detached words rang with an almost tender concern.

He drifted forward–two deliberate steps–and let his fingertips skim the velvet curve of her cheek. After studying her, like a painter hunting for the final stroke, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed his mouth to hers

A clever man, he mastered the art of kissing with alarming speed.

Still, without the scarlet rush flooding his ears, she might never have sensed the shy awkwardness beneath his boldness.

What stirred him was not her beauty alone but the quiet worry softening that perfect face.

She tensed and tried to twist away. He only grew gentler, movements as careful as silk sliding across skin. “Fiona,” he whispered, the single syllable trembling between plea and temptation.

The name left his lips like an offering–part supplication, part sin–laced lure.

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13:00 Sun, Oct 19

Chapter 179 Quiet Concerns

He left her no space to refuse.

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Patient as a man handling the thinnest porcelain, he spent long moments coaxing her calm, each feather–light kiss an unspoken apology, a promise that her comfort still mattered.

Yet those soft entreaties dragged Fiona backward through time.

Homegrown blossoms never smell as sweet as wild ones. Back then, when I wore his ring, he never showed intimacy like this.

Her mind wandered, eyes wide open, fixed on the faint tremble of his lashes.

A sudden tread echoed in the corridor, and she brought her heel down on his boot.

He loosened his hold for a heartbeat yet kept her within the circle of his arm. When the footsteps faded, he returned, planting small, insistent pecks along her lips.

“You promised me, Lord Soren, that you would not make things difficult for me,” she said.

“I will be more careful,” Soren murmured after a weighted pause, baffled by his own loss of control.

“How is the Sixth Prince?” she asked abruptly.

“He failed to seize the criminal he pursued at Pearl Terrace–the man held evidence against him. News reached His Majesty, who already despised his excess with women, so the prince lost a year’s stipend and is now dismissing the women in his residence.”

“Does it involve the Fourth Prince?”

“Partly–and your brother plays a small role as well,” he admitted.

Fiona had guessed as much. Her brother’s return and sudden friendship with Cornelius could only mean errands done on the prince’s behalf. Anxiety fluttered beneath her ribs, yet her face remained composed.

Soren searched her eyes. “Your brother merely acts at the Fourth Prince’s request, and the Sixth Prince knows nothing of his involvement. Do not worry; I gave you my word that I would not hold him accountable.”

It was reassurance laced with warning–the promised safety resting entirely in his hands. Fiona lowered her gaze and answered with silence.

“Aside from gardenia, what other rouge do you favor? If your scent keeps lingering on me, the more astute among us will start to suspect,” Soren said. If only one fragrance clung to him, it

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13:00 Sun, Oct 19

Chapter 179 Quiet Concerns

would be too dangerous.

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Fiona tipped her chin, voice pitched just above a murmur, the flicker of rebellion still dancing in her eyes. “Naturally, I favor the most extravagant rouge,” she said. “But I have no intention of changing shades for no reason at all.”

Soren answered with surprising earnestness, every word unhurried, steady. “You deserve only the finest. You needn’t search for it yourself. One of these days, I’ll pick out a few and have them delivered to you.”

She had meant to needle him, to watch him bristle. Instead, his calm generosity disarmed her completely, leaving her without a single comeback.

After a heartbeat of silence, she tried a different angle. “When the polo match begins, don’t play so recklessly. There’s no sense in courting injury for sport.”

Soren offered no reply. For a soldier, bruises were an everyday tax, and in a friendly match, he always measured his strength. To him, the warning posed no real concern.

“Did you hear me, Lord Soren?” She pressed the point only because any mishap might circle

back to her later. If he ends up hurt, I’m the one they’ll blame.

“I heard,” he said at last, the single syllable soft but unmistakable.

Why did he leave Jexburgh in the first place–and is he traveling with Xavier? The questions prickled at her, yet mentioning Xavier felt unwise, so she swallowed her curiosity.

They could not linger. Without a mirror, Fiona wiped away the smudged rouge altogether while Soren stood behind, fingers deftly smoothing the loose strands of her hair.

When they stepped out of the chamber, Naomi hurried over. Her gaze landed first on Fiona’s now–bare lips, then lifted, searching her brother’s face for clues.

Soren remained composed, expression unreadable, though his eyes never strayed far from Fiona,

Callum drifted in, timing unknown, glancing from one face to the next–yet even he caught sight of Fiona before anyone else. “Why is everyone gathered here?”

Naomi gave a playful shrug. “I ran into Soren, that’s all. Fiona and I were just about to head back.”

Soren asked, almost in passing, “Here to change your boots, Callum?”

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