Masuk“Felix…”Miranda reached up and pushed lightly at him.“Mm?”His lips had already moved to her collarbone, his answer muffled against her skin.“I’m meeting people tomorrow.”Felix lifted his head.In the darkness, she couldn’t make out his expression, but she could feel him smiling.“Okay,” he said. “I’ll try to avoid anywhere obvious.”Before Miranda could argue, he kissed her again.Outside the window, the night deepened. Inside the room, everything slowly fell into darkness. All that remained were their breathing and their heartbeats.And his back, rising and falling like waves in the dim light.Much later, Miranda lay weakly in Felix’s arms.His kisses had turned gentle, soothing, and reluctant.“Sleep,” he murmured. “It’s Saturday tomorrow. You can sleep in.”Miranda was too tired to even open her eyes.She only answered with a faint, muffled sound.Felix let out a soft sigh and pulled her into his arms, holding her as they fell asleep together.The next mornin
Miranda stood at the vanity, applying face cream. Curious, she glanced at Felix through the mirror.“Which specialists?”Felix walked over and named a few people.Miranda’s eyes widened slightly.Any one of those names would have been enough to make waves in the medical field. One was a pioneer in neuroscience. Another was a leader in gene therapy. There was even a National Academy member who almost never made public appearances anymore.“How did you get them to agree?” Miranda couldn’t help asking.Felix smiled.He came up behind her, braced both hands on either side of the vanity, and leaned close around her.“I have my ways,” he said, looking at her through the mirror.His lips brushed her earlobe.“I’m not chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for nothing.”Miranda didn’t move away.She looked at him in the mirror and suddenly didn’t know what to say.He knew that what she needed was not just money.Money could buy equipment. It could hire talent. It could keep her lab
They had only been on the road for a short while when they hit a red light.Felix reached over and took Miranda’s hand.“Why are your hands so cold? Did you skip dinner?”“I ate in the cafeteria,” Miranda said.Then she rubbed her hands together and realized that late fall had really arrived.“Next time you work late, I’ll have someone send dinner to your office,” Felix said.He was worried she hadn’t eaten enough at the cafeteria.Miranda shook her head.“Don’t worry. I don’t eat much at night anyway.”Felix glanced at her but didn’t say anything else. He simply held her hand a little tighter.Miranda leaned against the window, her thoughts still on the work from earlier.The data from today was too important. She needed time to process it.Then something occurred to her, and she turned to look at Felix beside her.If he hadn’t gotten her such an important piece of equipment, her experiment might have been delayed by a year, maybe two, or even longer.In this era, scient
Miranda glanced at her phone, then pulled her thoughts back to work.Thanks to the analyzer Felix had purchased, the parameters had already been calibrated. She urgently needed to move into the next stage of research.She put on her lab coat, walked into the lab, pulled on a pair of gloves, and went straight to the new equipment.For the next two hours, she and Adrian threw themselves completely into the experiment.The analyzer was even more precise than expected, and the data it captured was extremely accurate.At four in the afternoon, Miranda was analyzing a set of data when her fingers suddenly froze.On the screen, one of the curves showed an unusual fluctuation.Miranda quickly typed on the keyboard and pulled up more data for comparison. Her eyes stayed fixed on the screen, unblinking, and for a moment, she almost forgot to breathe.Ten minutes later, she suddenly stood up.Her chair rolled back behind her.“Adrian,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “Come look
In the dim light, Felix’s back flexed with quiet strength above Miranda, every movement controlled and powerful.Outside the window, it was already late fall, but inside the room, it felt as hot as summer. The air was thick with heat, mingling with the clean, intoxicating scent of cedar on him.The next day, Felix got up on time to take Mia to school.Miranda slept until ten in the morning.Mrs. Young had prepared breakfast for her. When Miranda came downstairs, there was still a languid softness about her. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders, and a few faint marks were visible along her neck.After Felix came back, he drove Miranda to the lab himself.He had tried very hard to convince her to stay home and rest, but Miranda insisted on going in.He took the wheel of her car.Before they reached the lab, Adrian called. The call connected through the car’s Bluetooth, and Miranda answered.“Hi, Adrian.”“Miranda, you have a visitor.”“Who is it?” Miranda asked in surprise
Miranda came out after taking a shower, and Felix’s gaze naturally shifted to her.Mia looked up at her and said, “Mommy, I’ve decided I’m going to sleep by myself tonight.”Miranda paused in the middle of applying hand cream.Almost instinctively, she looked at Felix.Felix gave her an innocent smile.“She decided that on her own.”Mia nodded her head seriously.“Yes. I decided all by myself. I’m going to be brave and sleep alone.”Mia’s room was right next door. It had been ready for a long time, just waiting for the day she felt brave enough to sleep on her own.“Daddy, can you carry me over and read me a story until I fall asleep?” Mia asked, holding out her arms to him.Felix picked her up, grabbed the picture book, and carried her to her room.Miranda was speechless.Where had this sudden determination come from?Was Mia really moving into her own room just because she had decided to?After sleeping beside Mia for so long, Miranda had grown used to having her there.
A little while later, Felix sent a text. “I’m taking Mia to the restaurant for dinner. Do you want to join us?”Miranda replied with a simple “No.”Felix didn’t message again. It wasn’t until around five in the afternoon that he returned with Mia.“Mommy, Daddy took me to the zoo!” Mia said excit
In business, the deadliest moves were always made quietly.Just then, Miranda’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen. It was an unfamiliar number. She paused for a moment before picking up.“Hello? Who is this?”“Dr. Stone, this is Melvin Jones. You may not remember me.”Miranda certainly remem
Felix walked over with Ben to greet the guests. Zion stepped out first with four members of his team. Felix extended his hand. “Welcome, Dr. Declan.”Zion’s attitude was noticeably different from the last time they met. He smiled as he shook Felix’s hand. “Hi, Mr. Gibson.” Then his eyes moved to Mi
The meeting continued, and Felix forced himself to stay focused as the team presented the project updates. Every now and then, his suppressed cough would slip out.Miranda kept her head down, taking notes. Suddenly, Felix spoke up, his voice slightly hoarse. “Miranda, what are your recommendations







