My Unchosen Ex Chases Reborn Me (Soren and Fiona) novel Chapter 300

Chapter 300 Shifting Hearts

Undeniable–Elijah had fallen for his mistress.

Fiona’s gaze swept over the mistress once more. A single plain hairpin adorned her dark coils. -an artful choice, calculated to signal humility while drawing sympathy.

If that fragile child survived, the woman would inevitably secure a place within the Wagner family. The sweet promise to leave was nothing more than a strategic retreat.

Fiona paused, her lashes lowering as she weighed the situation. Then, with a gentle smile, she bent and helped the trembling woman back to her feet. “Life and death outweigh any other concern,” she said, turning toward Janice. “Rita is soft–hearted; she won’t begrudge this mishap. What truly matters is Elijah’s attitude. The child’s fever has shown no improvement for days. I fear the physicians here lack the necessary skill. I happen to know Dr. Murren’s apprentice. If you permit, I’m happy to have her and the boy escorted to Niven Country Manor for treatment and care.”

The suggestion, delivered with silken ease, served two purposes at once. It would move the troublesome mistress beyond the gates of the Wagner Estate. At the same time, Rita would wear the glowing reputation of a woman so generous she had opened the Niven family’s country manor to a stranger in need.

The woman’s thin body jerked, as though someone had yanked an invisible thread. “I am but an ordinary woman,” she whispered, shaking her head. “How can I inconvenience you, Ms. Fiona?”

Fiona’s smile brightened, but her eyes glittered like glass catching sunlight. “Is it that you do not trust the Niven family?”

Color rose in the mistress‘ cheeks as her words tangled. “You misunderstand, Ms. Fiona. It’s just that-”

Fiona let the protest drift away and focused on Janice instead. “Mdm. Janice, the boy’s life must come first. Delay is dangerous. If tragedy strikes, tongues will wag that Rita interfered. The Niven family has no wish to become the subject of such rumors.”

Janice could not help turning her gaze toward Fiona, alarm flickering beneath the folds of her dignified expression.

Every sentence from Fiona landed like a measured knock against the doors of the Wagner Estate. Should whispers spread, the powerful Niven family would surely lay the blame at their threshold–and Elijah’s budding career was tethered to their favor, now that Zachary’s star shone so brightly at court.

After a tight pause, Janice inclined her head. “Ms. Fiona is right. We’ll have to trouble you to make the arrangements.”

Elijah’s brow folded, yet the words that rose to his lips never left.

Tears slid down the mistress‘ checks as reality settled over her. Knowing refusal was impossible, she sank to her knees. “Thank you, Ms. Fiona.”

Fiona’s answer came laced with gentle laughter. “Rita is the one you be thanking.”

The mistress‘ voice was scarcely louder than falling snow. She cast one more pleading glance toward Elijah, her fragile beauty shimmering with helpless sorrow. “Of course, I am grateful to Mrs. Wagner as well.”

Fiona moved with storm–like efficiency. By mid–afternoon, servants had bundled the mistress and her son into a carriage bound for Niven Country Manor.

Sobbing at the threshold, the mistress clutched her son. “May Mr. Elijah at least bid Shane farewell? After today, we may never meet again.”

Thus, even if the Niven family chose to “deal with” the woman, it would not be a tragedy- provided the child remained unharmed.

Reluctant though he was, Elijah could only yield. A cold bead of relief rolled through him: thank heavens he had not married Fiona. Behind that bright smile was steel, sharper even than Rita’s.

To wed such a woman would mean a lifetime of shackles; beauty, however dazzling, could never justify that cost.

Outside, Fiona remained with Selina for half an hour, the afternoon sun inching across the tiles. Elijah never appeared.

A bitter cold seeped into Selina’s heart, eclipsing every tender lie Elijah had once whispered in the dark. He had sworn to shelter her, to lead her proudly through the great bronze gates of the Wagner Estate, a vow she clutched like a lifeline. She bartered her body and her future for that glittering promise, only to find the man both heartless and weak.

Now he wanted her to injure their own child, so the boy’s sudden “illness” might smuggle her past the guards. Otherwise, she’d never be allowed to enter the Wagner Estate.

The thought tightened Selina’s arms around the toddler. Rage and resentment simmered beneath her shaking skin.

She must step inside the Wagner Estate. Only within its walls could she twist fate into silk, jewels, and power.

A rustle of skirts broke the storm of her thoughts. Across the path, Fiona stood, smiling with unreadable courtesy. Heat flashed across Selina’s cheeks, and her gaze dropped at once.