My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 204

Chapter 204 Shifting Alliances

Chapter 204 Shifting Alliances

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Stanley’s expression softened by a shade. “How fares your father in Junbert these days?”

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He wrote recently–says he’s quite well, Fiona replied, settling beside Joanna. “Everyone at the academy knows of Lili’s injury. The ladies there praise your kindness, Aunt Joanna, for allowing Mdm. Isabel to remain.”

Only then did Stanley spare Joanna a glance. Joanna exhaled, almost relieved. “I knew the task would win me no thanks,” she said, “but as Duchess, it had to be mine to shoulder.”

“And you

handled it correctly. Punishment must stand. If outsiders believe the Niven family blurs reward and retribution, how will they respect us?” Fiona added.

Stanley paused, the words striking home. The family’s honor was his own armor in court politics, already dented by whispered envy over his promotion. Another scandal could split that armor wide open.

Later that night Isabel again clamored for her stipend, insisting she needed silver to manage servants and to silence those who mocked her.

Stanley’s patience snapped. Neither Joanna nor Isabel granted him peace, unlike his brother’s sensible wife, Meryl. “I’ve indulged you too long,” he said coldly. “That is why you never learn to reflect.”

Startled, Isabel asked through fresh tears, “Are you tired of me?”

“Touch Lili again,” Stanley warned, “and you’ll be sent to the hillside manor.”

He left her courtyard without another word.

Remembering Fiona’s warning and fearing talk of blind indulgence, he ordered Isabel confined to her rooms for a full year.

Disbelief flooded Isabel. The man who once showered her with favors had condemned her to a year of stillness–no different from falling from grace. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks.

When Joanna heard the decree, delight bloomed within her. A punishment pronounced by her husband not only pierced Isabel’s pride but also soothed the ache that had gnawed at Joanna’s

heart.

For the first time in days, Joanna allowed herself to exhale. Because of this outcome, she felt an unexpected debt toward Fiona; had she followed her first impulse and pressed Isabel Zimmer until the woman was ruined, the household would have been torn apart. Lilith, too, seemed

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Chapter 204 Shifting Alliances

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appeased. Though the girl’s heart had chilled toward the concubine who betrayed her, she still could not bring herself to wish death on Isabel.

Remaining under the Niven roof, stripped of privilege yet alive, was the gentlest sentence she could stomach.

Fiona stood beside her younger cousin while servants draped fresh silk along the lattice windows of Bamboo Lodge’s side courtyard. From tonight on, that quiet wing would belong to Lilith.

As mistress of the main branch, Joanna knew she had to offer a public gesture. She spent freely, ordering new bedding, screens, and study tools for the displaced girl. The silver she laid out was nothing compared with the dowry she would one day prepare, but it signaled that the second branch’s child was still family.

All morning Fiona moved from corridor to corridor, directing maids, approving colors, smoothing wrinkles, never pausing long enough for the candle–smoke to settle around her.

Joanna’s feelings tangled the longer she watched. Fiona had not spared Isabel out of mercy; she had only guided the current so Joanna could finish the work without dirtying her own sleeves–and yet the girl emerged stainless. Joanna respected her, Lilith adored her, even Isabel could find no grievance.

The surface was polished charm, but the steel beneath was sharp. A chill slid down Joanna’s spine. Thank goodness, she thought, that the Wagner family had not taken this young woman as a daughter–in–law. Fiona and Rita might be friends now, but once a person fought for footing within the same walls, affection could sour into rivalry. Everyone protected her own stake first.

Fiona caught her aunt’s conflicted gaze and offered a mild, almost airy smile. She did not mind letting Joanna glimpse the contours of her nature; a cautious aunt would cause fewer future headaches.

And so, in the bustle of hangings, inventories, and hushed apologies, nearly a week slipped quietly past.

Only when the household finally stilled did Fiona hear the wider news–Matthias, patriarch of the Luthor family, had taken gravely ill. Xavier would soon ride home to bid his grandfather a final farewell.

What she did not expect was a hurried letter from Victoria herself, inviting Fiona to call at the Luthor Estate that very afternoon.

It would be the first time in more than half a month that Fiona stepped beyond the Niven Estate.

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Chapter 204 Shifting Alliances

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Yet when her carriage rolled beneath the Luthor Estate’s archway, it was not Victoria but Xavier who waited, hands clasped behind his back, eyes steady. Fiona met that gaze without surprise and said nothing.

“I drafted the letter and asked Mother to sign it,” Xavier said, keeping his voice low. “If I had sent the invitation myself, every busy tongue in Jexburgh would wag.”

“I understand,” Fiona answered, her tone calm as still water.

“I may be gone for some time,” he continued, studying her face. “While I’m away, tensions between the Fourth and Sixth Princes will only grow louder. Promise me you’ll keep your distance. Don’t let their feud pull you in.”

“Very well,” she said, the consent clear and uncluttered.

Her quick obedience coaxed a flicker of amusement across his eyes. “I had no idea Ms. Fiona could be so… amenable.”

“Good counsel prevents missteps,” Fiona replied. “You misjudge me, Mr. Xavier. I have always listened when the advice is sound.”

“You are anything but a meek lady,” he teased, disbelief warm in his voice.

“Then what sort of lady do you imagine I am?” she asked, one brow lifting with quiet challenge.

He searched for the right comparison. When they first met, she had seemed harmless- astonishingly beautiful, certainly, but as gentle as a doe. Proximity, however, made forgetting her impossible; beneath the soft veneer was something fierce and unforgettable.