MasukA moment later, someone brought in the fruit.Miranda sat down and chatted with Mrs. Gibson Sr. for a while. Mrs. Gibson Sr. had been to a few auctions recently and had picked up several new pieces for her collection, all of them valuable antiques.By the time they finished the fruit, it was already nine.Sienna came home around then.When she heard that Mia wanted to stay at the Gibson estate for another night, she nodded happily.“Sure. Let Aunt Sienna take a shower first, and then I’ll come down and help you finish it.”Miranda saw that it was getting late. She still had several experiments to run tomorrow, so she stood up.“Grandma, I should head home too.”“Perfect. Take Felix with you,” Mrs. Gibson Sr. said casually.Felix seemed to have been waiting for those words.His dark eyes turned toward Miranda.“Would that be all right?”Before Miranda could answer, Mrs. Gibson Sr. gave Felix a look.“Miranda is tired. You can drive.”Could Miranda really say no?They live
The next morning, Miranda had a heavy workload.Sienna called and asked her to come to the Gibson estate for dinner, but Miranda had to stay late at the lab until eight, so she turned her down.She ended up eating in the cafeteria.James happened to be there too, so they talked about work for a while. The civilian side of James’s project was moving along smoothly, but Miranda could also tell that he had lost some weight lately.She felt bad for him.Ever since his mother passed away, there had been no one by his side to really look after him or check whether he was taking care of himself.“James, have you thought about dating lately?” Miranda asked, taking the chance to feel him out.James was turning thirty this year, after all.James pushed up his glasses with a light chuckle.“What’s this? Do you have someone in mind for me?”Miranda laughed softly and shook her head.“No. Almost everyone around me is already married, so I can’t really help there. I just mean, if you meet
The weekend passed quickly, and Monday arrived.Miranda hadn’t heard from Felix for two days in a row.She didn’t reach out to ask, and he didn’t message her either.That afternoon, the director from the renovation company personally came to the lab and walked her through the design plans for her house.Miranda wasn’t especially demanding when it came to renovation.She only specified a few brands for the couch and bathroom fixtures. After nearly two hours of discussion with the renovation team, she left the rest to them.They would try to have the house ready before September first.That evening, Miranda received a call from Sienna.Mia wanted to sleep over at the Gibson estate tonight, and Miranda agreed.While Miranda was working, Mrs. Young brought her a mug of warm milk.At ten thirty that night, Miranda finished her shower and got into bed.Normally, she would read academic journals for a while before sleeping, but tonight, she was distracted.In the end, she picked u
“Xena really is something else. She’s ruthless,” Sophie said. “She kept Felix tied to her for nearly ten years. Taking his money wasn’t enough. She had to destroy your marriage too. And in the end, she still ended up like this. What was she even chasing?”Miranda looked up at her.“Back then, she loved him just as much as I did.”Sophie immediately understood.Felix at nineteen must have been every woman’s dream.The kind of man one glance could ruin you for.“Meeting Felix, I honestly don’t know if that was Xena’s blessing or her curse,” Sophie said. “It’s like that saying, you shouldn’t meet someone too unforgettable when you’re too young.”Then she looked at Miranda.“So in those last two years, Felix really was jealous of you and James?”“He said he misunderstood,” Miranda said with a nod.“Well, from his point of view, after the divorce, you had Leo, Mike, and James around you. That was more than enough to make him jealous,” Sophie said.Miranda blinked.“But we were o
Miranda nodded.“Yes. It was him.”“Is everything okay on his end?” Worry flashed in Sienna’s eyes.“He’s handling it. Don’t worry,” Miranda said, comforting her.Warmth spread through Sienna’s heart.Ever since Miranda had come back from the overseas exchange conference, things between her and Felix had felt completely different. It was almost as if they had returned to the way they had been during their marriage.This time, Felix had suggested buying the adjoining houses, and Miranda had agreed without hesitation.That meant the two of them would be separated by only one wall.They would share a garden, share a garage, and raise Mia together.Maybe they would even eat together often.If Felix worked a little harder, maybe he really could win Miranda back and make her Sienna’s sister-in-law again.After dinner at the Gibson estate, Miranda brought Mia home. Tomorrow was the weekend, and she planned to stay home and spend time with Mia.*That weekend, Sophie came over wit
That night, Miranda stayed with Mia until she fell asleep.Mia was sleeping soundly in her arms, but Miranda couldn’t fall asleep right away.She took out her phone, put in her earbuds, and checked the latest updates online.There weren’t many posts, and no further news about the fire had come out.Miranda set her phone down, closed her eyes, and tried to rest.The next morning, Sienna arrived at eight to pick up Mia.Since Miranda had to work, and Mia was still on summer break, the Gibson family had taken the initiative to handle Mia’s vacation schedule.Seeing Mia happily holding Sienna’s hand and getting ready to leave, Miranda said, “Sienna, thank you.”Sienna froze for a second, then smiled.“Miranda, don’t be so polite with me. You don’t need to thank me.”With that, she left with Mia.At seven that evening, Miranda came straight from the lab to the Gibson estate for dinner.She was sitting on the couch when her phone chimed.She picked it up and saw a message from F
Miranda had long grown used to Felix’s behavior. His arrogance, his certainty that he was always right. Six years of marriage had shown her exactly who he was.She turned her attention back to Mia, who was still chasing fireflies. Later that night, Mia wriggled happily under the covers until she fi
Miranda’s expression cooled. “I’m busy. I don’t have time for this. Move.”Fiona gave a sharp laugh. “Are you really giving it up to me, or are you just scared you’ll mess it up? You know all the big names in the field will be there. Maybe you’re afraid to embarrass yourself.”Miranda rolled her e
Mia had a small, heart-shaped face that was growing prettier by the day. Her two little braids swung as she walked, revealing her smooth, bright forehead and her big, gem-like eyes that sparkled with every blink.Miranda bent down, kissed the top of Mia’s head, and walked her toward the door.At t
At the Gibson estate, Susan sat on the sofa playing with Mia while the kitchen prepared several of Mia’s favorite dishes. Felix was upstairs in his study handling work. Sienna had gone out to meet friends for dinner. Mrs. Gibson Sr. watched Mia with obvious delight. Mia was getting prettier by the







