登入Lily’s words did reassure Xena, at least a little, but the ache in her chest still wouldn’t go away. She knew Felix too well. A man as proud as he was would never lower himself to do something as small as airport pickup or carrying someone’s bag unless he truly cared.In all those years, she had only ever gotten him to carry her bag once.That time, Hayden had brought her to a private dinner with several wealthy couples. Xena had wanted badly to work her way into the wives’ circle, so after engineering a chance encounter with Felix in the parking lot, she asked him to hold her bag before they went into the private room. She said she needed both hands free to fix her hair.Felix took the bag, and she pretended to fuss with her hair but never asked for it back. She waited until they stepped inside, making sure those wealthy wives saw Felix walk in carrying her handbag.Sure enough, that night, both women went out of their way to befriend her, and that opened the door to valuable new
To get Hayden to take her to the medical summits Felix was interested in, Xena would stay up half the night acting spoiled and sweet until he gave in.Back then, whenever Hayden, Felix, and Leo went somewhere together, they often brought her along. It wasn’t because she had actually been invited. It was because she had privately begged Hayden to take her so she could see more of that world, and in those days, Hayden rarely said no to her.After playing that role for so long, Xena sometimes really started to believe she was the only princess in the orbit of those three men. Being around Felix, Hayden, and Leo, three of the most powerful and desirable men in their world, gave her a thrill she couldn’t resist. It was intoxicating, and she became addicted to it.Of course, she knew the truth. Felix had always kept his distance. Leo mostly put up with her for Hayden’s sake. And Hayden himself was nothing more than a backup she kept on the line.Even so, the envy in other people’s eyes a
Lily usually kept up with media coverage almost as soon as it broke, but she had been hesitating all day over whether to show this one to Xena. Xena had been in a terrible mood lately, and her temper had been even worse.Still, now that she had thoroughly offended Felix, it felt necessary for her to know what he had been up to.In the end, Lily took the tablet upstairs to her on the second floor.“Xena, this is today’s media coverage. You should take a look.”With that, she held out the screen, the headline glaring brightly in front of her.Xena had been lounging lazily against the sofa, absently flipping through the latest fashion magazine. But the moment her eyes landed on the headline, her fingers tightened hard around the page.Lily watched her expression carefully from the side.Xena tossed the magazine aside, picked up the tablet, and looked through the article herself. She gave a cold, biting laugh.“Rekindled romance?”But her fingers kept swiping through the photos un
Sophie didn’t dare ask about anything else. Miranda’s work involved highly confidential matters, and Sophie knew better than to press. Instead, she asked, “If you don’t hate him anymore, then are you still in love with him?”The question caught Miranda off guard for a few seconds, but just as quickly, her eyes turned calm and clear again.“You want the truth?” Miranda asked with a faint smile.“Of course I do. I want to hear what you really feel, because as far as I’m concerned, all the terrible things Felix did in the past don’t just disappear.” Sophie let out a scornful little huff.There was still a lot Sophie didn’t know about what had happened in Miranda’s life over the past year. So in her mind, Felix was still the same cheating jerk he had always been. The kind of image that didn’t wash off.Miranda’s voice stayed level, without the slightest hesitation. “Right now, my head is full of lab schedules and data analysis. I’m very clear about what I want for my future.”“So w
Miranda went upstairs first to put down her laptop. Once she was there, she sat down and checked her email. Raymond and Adrian had sent over a new batch of data from that day’s work, and she opened it right away.Fifteen minutes later, Felix appeared in the doorway to the study. “Dinner’s ready. Come downstairs and eat.”Miranda looked up from the screen. “I’ll be right there.”She followed him downstairs a moment later. Mrs. Young was just bringing out a few small side dishes to go with the meal.Each bowl was topped with two sunny-side-up eggs, and the broth was rich and fragrant. It looked warm and comforting.Both Felix and Miranda had eaten Mrs. Young’s cooking for six years, and both of them had always loved it. In the past, whenever Felix came home from a business trip, she would often make him a simple late dinner too, usually something warm and easy.After Miranda sat down, she quietly began to eat. Across from her, Felix did the same. Neither of them tried to make conve
Miranda slowed instinctively, her eyes searching the crowd for Keith. But Felix was already walking toward her.“No need to look for Keith,” he said in a low voice. “I’m the one picking you up.”Miranda frowned slightly. “What are you doing here? Where’s Mia?”“Sienna took her to my place for dinner,” Felix said. Then, as naturally as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world, he reached for the laptop bag in her hand. Before Miranda could object, he had already taken it from her, gentle but firm.“Did you see him?” Felix asked, his voice calm and steady.Miranda nodded. “I did.”There was fatigue in her face, but there was also something settled in her eyes now, a hard-won steadiness, as though something inside her had finally come to rest.Not far away, a paparazzo had locked onto them the moment Miranda appeared. He had come hoping to catch a celebrity, but instead he had gotten lucky enough to spot the city’s richest man showing up quietly to pick up his ex-wife.An
Later that night, the research team sent Miranda the profiles for the first group of trial participants. As she looked down the list of names, one stood out immediately. Melody Zimmer, the woman Miranda had met before. She was the devastated mother with two sick children.Miranda remembered the d
Miranda frowned slightly. “Mrs. Gibson, I would rather not discuss my personal life.”Susan paused, realizing only then that she no longer had any right to pry into Miranda’s private affairs. She let out a quiet sigh.“You are right. I should not have asked.” She gave a small nod toward the house.
It was said that Haley was hosting a grand birthday party for Vivian this year.Knowing that, Sienna stopped worrying. She was certain Miranda would not be there tonight.She headed to the boutique to meet Susan, determined to look stunning this evening.After returning home, Miranda helped Mia g
Later that afternoon, once Miranda and Samantha finished the report, her phone buzzed. She expected another work message, but when she looked at the screen, she paused.Mike had texted her.“Miranda, I’m having a package delivered today. Please make sure you receive it.”Miranda blinked, surprise







