LOGIN“Exactly. Felix moves fast when he wants to,” Hayden said with a click of his tongue. Then, in a more tentative tone, he added, “But honestly, if the two of them really can find their way back to each other, that would be a good thing for Mia.”“Yeah.” Leo answered quietly, his eyes shifting to the scenery sliding past outside the window, his expression hard to read.He and Felix had grown up together. The changes in Felix were obvious, and Leo understood better than most what those changes meant.Miranda also deserved to be treated well. Whether as her friend or as one of the men who had once hoped for more, Leo wanted her to be happy. If Felix was truly capable of giving her that happiness, and if Miranda was willing to accept it, then all he could do was wish them well.Even if part of him still felt a little hollow.“All right, I get it. I’ll be there early for your wedding and help you greet the guests.”“Thanks,” Hayden said, and hung up.The car fell quiet.Vivian looked
Now he was going to marry someone else.Xena had raised him into the perfect loyal hound, and now that loyalty belonged to another woman. That was something she couldn’t stomach.Hayden had once been nothing more than a carefree rich boy. She was the one who had shaped him into someone devoted and steadfast. She was the one who had turned him into the kind of warm, attentive man women dreamed of.And now Sera was the one benefiting from it.If she hadn’t been so obsessed back then with becoming Mrs. Gibson, the title of Mrs. Hayden would have been hers long ago.And all of it was Felix’s fault.He had been like some distant, untouchable iceberg, always just close enough to keep her hoping, never close enough to let her have him. He had kept her hanging there, letting her believe she had a chance while making sure she never truly could.For him, she had forced her way into higher circles. She had learned how to be elegant, how to be refined, how to become everything she thought a
What Xena had just said landed squarely on the resentment he already carried toward Felix. This might be an opportunity. A way to stir up trouble inside Gibson Corporation’s board and turn the shareholders against Felix’s future decisions. If it disrupted his plans and slowed his growth, that alone would make it worth using.Peter reached out and patted Xena once. “Xena, you were right to bring this up. I’ll keep an eye on it.”Xena lowered her head, and a flash of satisfaction passed through her eyes. She knew Peter would create trouble for Felix and Miranda on her behalf.When the pressure from the board and shareholders came down on him, what would Felix choose? Would he keep protecting Miranda’s research, or would he side with the board to preserve his own authority inside the company?Later that evening, Peter went out again on business. Xena sat on the couch scrolling through the news when she suddenly came across a financial article announcing that the marriage alliance betw
The collapse of trust usually began with tiny cracks. In Miranda’s eyes, Felix’s silence and refusal to explain had looked like indifference, even a kind of admission. It had made her question him, then doubt him, and finally begin reexamining everything between them. The sweetness and certainty they once shared had slowly been worn away by suspicion and disappointment.When it came to reading people, Xena was frighteningly accurate. She had taken advantage of Felix’s silence and Miranda’s deep emotional investment, patiently layering lie upon lie, misunderstanding upon misunderstanding, until she had finally killed off Miranda’s love for him.“Xena, what are you thinking about?” Lily asked from beside her, curious about what was going through her mind now.Xena came back to herself and looked out the window, her eyes turning colder. Mia, the child she had once used as a tool, had grown up. And every weapon Xena had once relied on had lost its power.Did that mean she no longer had
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
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
Miranda never liked attending routine department meetings, so while everyone else was focused, her mind was already on the technical handover she needed to handle with Jacob later.She did not react when Ben called her name. The department heads all turned to look at her. She was still jotting note
Gavin watched Felix silently staring after the SUV as it drove away. He stepped forward and lowered his voice. “Mr. Gibson, should we head back too?”Felix pulled his gaze away. Without a word, he got into the car. Even though the air conditioning was set low, he still loosened his tie. His voice
But Mike also knew that no matter how much he liked her, he could never force Miranda to feel the same. Everything he did for her was something he chose willingly, without expecting anything in return.Still, he was looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. Lately, he felt like the days were passing







