ANMELDENXena made it all the way to Hayden’s office without being stopped.His assistant stepped forward as soon as he saw her. “Ms. Spencer, you’re here. Please, go in.”Xena gave him a slight smile. But the moment he pushed open the door to the CEO’s office for her, the smile froze on her face.The person sitting in Hayden’s chair was not Hayden.It was Sera.When she saw Xena walk in, Sera lifted a brow and smiled. “Ms. Spencer. Long time no see.”Xena’s expression shifted. She glanced around the office, but Hayden was nowhere in sight. Forcing herself to stay calm, she said, “Sorry, I’m here to see Hayden.”“He’s in a meeting.” Sera rose gracefully to her feet and walked toward her at an unhurried pace. “Whatever it is, you can say it to me.”“I’m sorry, but this is between Hayden and me.” Xena kept her composure.“Oh?” Sera let out a soft laugh. “But his business is my business now.”Xena caught the edge of provocation in her tone. She took a breath, reached into her bag, and pu
Just then, Lily’s voice came from downstairs. “Xena, are you almost ready? We need to go.”As soon as Lily came upstairs, she saw Xena sitting on the couch with her arms folded, her face dark and stormy. She quickly lowered her voice and asked, “Xena, what happened?”“My performance was canceled.” Xena bit down on her lip.“What?” Lily blurted out in shock. “Why?”“Sienna filed a signed complaint against me. She’s trying to make sure I never perform onstage again.” Xena clenched her fists in anger.“Then call Mr. Gibson right now,” Lily said anxiously. “Playing piano is your career. You can’t just let his sister destroy your livelihood like this.”A cold look flashed through Xena’s eyes. “Call Felix? All he sees now is that bitch Miranda.”“Then what are we supposed to do? We can’t just let Sienna bully us like this.” Lily was panicking too. She was counting on Xena to make serious money.Xena clenched her fists again. Who else could she ask for help? In the past, Hayden would
Inside her villa, Xena stood in front of her jewelry cabinet, arms folded as she looked through her collection. She was choosing what to wear for her upcoming performance in Hamilton. She had always been picky about things like this. Any jewelry she wore to a public event, she refused to wear a second time. To her, repeating a piece made her seem less exclusive, and it also gave the media a chance to make a fuss if she showed up onstage in old jewelry.As she held a diamond necklace up in front of the mirror, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw it was the event organizer. She answered in her usual elegant tone. “Hello, Mr. Wilson. Are you calling to confirm the performance schedule?”“Ms. Spencer...” His voice sounded hesitant. “I’m sorry to inform you that after a new review by the organizing committee, we’ve decided to cancel your performance.”The smile vanished from Xena’s face. “What did you say?”“It was a collective decision by the committee,” Mr. Wilson
After setting down her phone, Miranda tried to remind herself that this was part of Mike’s job. But his sudden departure had still caught her off guard.She got up and walked to the window, looking out at the sky. For some reason, her chest felt tight.He was still injured.Meanwhile, on a military aircraft leaving Atlantis City and heading into the distance, Mike took one last look at the photo on his phone. Then he shut the screen off, even as he flew toward a battlefield whose outcome no one could predict.At four-thirty, Miranda shut down her computer and left to pick up Mia from school. The moment she arrived at the entrance, she saw that a black Maybach was already waiting there.Felix saw her too. He stepped out of the car, dressed in a dark gray suit that made the gray-white in his hair stand out even more.“You’re here,” Felix said as he walked over to her, his eyes settling on her face. Some truths, perhaps, were a kind of protection when left unknown.“I’m taking Mia
Felix’s fingers tightened slightly around his phone. His gaze stayed steady as he looked off at a fixed point. “Time and place.”“I’ll be waiting for you in my hospital room.” Mike’s voice carried a note of firm insistence. “Please come.”Felix opened the car door and got in. The afternoon sun spilled across the window as he closed his eyes and rested for a while.When Zac informed him they had arrived, Felix shook off his exhaustion instantly. He stepped out and strode toward the VIP wing of the hospital.Mike was staying in a top-tier VIP room. As soon as Felix appeared, a man stepped forward and said, “Mr. Gibson, Mr. Lloyd is waiting for you.”Then he led the way to the door of the room.Inside, Mike was still dressed in a green camouflage uniform. He stood by the window with his hands behind his back, his expression graver than Felix had almost ever seen.“Mr. Gibson, you came.” Mike looked up at him and gestured for him to sit.Felix looked at him. “If you have something
Miranda had just started to reach for the shrimp when Felix picked one up first. “I’ll peel it for you,” he said to Mia.Mia nodded happily. “Daddy, you should peel one for Mommy too. Mommy used to peel shrimp for both of us.”Miranda froze for a second, then said to Mia, “Mia, just eat.”Felix skillfully peeled one and placed it in Mia’s bowl. Then he kept going. By the time he finished the fourth one, Mia picked up two from her own bowl and placed them in Miranda’s.“Mommy, you said shrimp is really good for you, so you need to eat some too.”Sienna watched from the side, and Mrs. Gibson Sr. was clearly hoping for something too.Miranda looked at the two pieces of shrimp in her bowl and paused.“Mommy, eat,” Mia urged, holding one in her hand while still keeping an eye on Miranda with her big round eyes.Miranda picked up one piece and took a small bite.Across the table, Felix paused for a few seconds. Mrs. Gibson Sr. looked quietly relieved. Only Sienna felt her heart grow
Miranda returned to her study and opened her laptop to review the latest lab data. Though she still felt weak, focusing on work helped her forget everything that weighed on her mind.Not long after, Sophie messaged her, asking about Celine. She had seen the obituary online.Miranda confirmed it wa
The scandal surrounding Xena continued to explode online, quickly dominating the number one spot on social media. Even a major celebrity divorce couldn’t compete with the attention she was getting.Xena’s move was downright ruthless. Fabricating a charity scandal, something that struck directly at
Miranda glanced at Coco, who immediately froze.Coco was silently relieved that she hadn’t said anything bad about her behind her back.Once Miranda left, Fiona’s expression darkened. It seemed true that Miranda had latched onto Leo, a powerful backer. No wonder she had started speaking so arrogan
Dinner ended on a warm, pleasant note.Leo politely pulled out Miranda’s chair as Mia and Vivian skipped ahead, hand in hand. Under the restaurant’s warm, gentle lights, the four of them looked like the picture of a happy family.“Thank you for your advice tonight, Mr. Lincoln,” Miranda said since







