Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

People love to echo what they hear, and after a while, no one even questions whether it's true or not.

"Hey, Jackson. That girl from earlier was really something, wasn't she? What was her name again? Fiona, right?"

"Not your concern." Jackson jerked his hand away, his gaze frostier than a winter's night. "You'd better stay in your lane and quit thinking about messing with Fiona."

Fiona. He said her name like it was the sweetest thing.

Had he forgotten who his fiancée was?

"Jackson, you and I are the ones engaged. Our engagement party is just around the corner."

"And what if we are? What if I decide to call it off?"

Jackson's icy stare slid off Zoe as he hopped into his car. The engine roared, and the car bolted away like a shot from a bow. Zoe stood there, fists clenched, replaying those words in her head.

Call it off!noveldrama

Alright then. Just peachy!

Fiona, huh? Zoe was set on finding out just what kind of spell this woman had cast on Jackson.

After leaving the bar, Jackson was back to trying to track Fiona down, but as usual, she was like a ghost. His showing up at the bar was a fluke this time.

He drove over to the Woods family estate, where Nash's mom had been waiting. As soon as Jackson arrived, she had the second floor locked down, letting no one else in.

In the study, they exchanged a glance and shut the door. Nash's mom laid out the documents she'd gathered on the desk.

"These old vultures have been circling the Woods family forever. Now they're getting bold, even the Larkin family wants a slice," she snapped, her neck flushed with anger.

"Is this info legit?" Jackson flipped through a few pages, rubbing his temples. "If we can't pin anything down, we'll have to keep stalling with Zoe."

"Jackson, are you out of your mind? I can't stand Zoe. If you marry her, the Woods family won't have a moment's peace. This place will be chaos! I much prefer Fiona. Besides, there's no guarantee Zoe's evidence is the real deal." Jackson took a deep breath and pulled an SD card from his pocket, sliding it into the computer. Photos popped up on the screen.

Nash's mom gasped and sank into a chair at the sight of the first image.

"The States! How does Zoe know about our ties to the States? Does she really have proof that your parents didn't defect?"

In that moment, she seemed to age ten years.

She remembered when she and Jackson were just kids. Their parents fled the States, hunted down, and left the siblings at a Woods family branch while they led the pursuers away. Decades had passed without a word, their fate a mystery. If not for Grandpa Woods from that branch, they wouldn't have made it.

When Grandpa Woods passed away a few years back, the Woods family's internal battles came to the forefront. The siblings had faced countless life-and- death trials, assassination attempts included.

Even a branch of the Woods family could stir up such a storm. If it were the main branch, their power would be off the charts, capable of causing chaos with a flick of the wrist.