Se connecterMiranda glanced at the time and saw that they still had some room before the meeting. “Let’s eat somewhere near the lab.”Felix nodded, set the iPad aside, and stood up easily. “I’ll drive.”Miranda had pushed herself too hard the night before, and her head still felt slightly heavy. She needed whatever rest she could get before the afternoon meeting.On the way there, she sat in the back seat with her eyes closed, resting. Felix didn’t disturb her. He only glanced at her from time to time in the rearview mirror.By the time they pulled up outside a restaurant across from the lab, Miranda had fallen into a light doze. She woke when the car came to a stop, rubbed her temple, and looked up, only to meet Felix’s eyes in the rearview mirror.Their gazes collided there for a brief second.Miranda looked away first.“We’re here?” She lifted a hand and smoothed her hair.Felix nodded. “Yeah.”He unbuckled, got out first, and came around to open the door for her.The two of them walk
For once, the two of them were able to sit down to a quiet breakfast together.“I heard the test last night brought good news.” Felix looked up at her. Somehow, he always seemed to know the moment anything changed in the lab.A little light came into Miranda’s eyes. “It did. The results were even better than we expected. We successfully established a stable neural signal pathway—”She stopped there.Across from her, Felix had clearly been waiting for her to continue, only to realize she had cut herself off. Did she think he wouldn’t understand any of it?Miranda pressed her lips together. “It counts as a real medical breakthrough.”A trace of approval flickered in Felix’s eyes.Then Miranda’s expression turned more serious. “But the next step carries a lot of risk too. We need to implant microelectrodes in his brain, and that in itself is an extremely delicate procedure.”“With Dr. Zeller’s team involved, they should be able to pull it off,” Felix said, trying to reassure her.
Miranda shot to her feet, yanked open the office door, and hurried toward the lab. She stopped beside Raymond, her heart pounding, while he said with barely contained excitement, “We just completed the thirty-second simulation test. The target neurons showed a consistent response rate of ninety-three percent, well above the threshold we were hoping for.”Miranda stayed calm and asked, “What’s the margin of error?”“Completely within the safe range.” Raymond pointed to the screen. “More importantly, the neural wave pattern you built has formed a stable connection with the surrounding functional regions. As long as Major General Lloyd still has the basic capacity to receive external signals, we have a real chance of waking him.”Miranda felt her heartbeat kick hard in her chest. For the first time in three months, hope no longer felt distant. It felt real.“Miranda, we need to run the next round of testing right away,” Raymond said urgently.Miranda nodded. It looked like she would
Miranda gave a soft acknowledgment and stepped forward. “Let me take her.”Felix shook his head lightly. “I’ve got her.”Then, careful not to wake Mia, he rose and carried her into the master bedroom.Miranda followed behind him and watched as he gently laid Mia on the bed. The moment he set her down, Mia started rubbing at her eyes and shifting her legs restlessly, a faint sign of irritation in her sleep. Felix crouched beside the bed and ran his hand gently over her hair, letting her stay wrapped in the warmth and reassurance of his presence.Only after Mia had settled back into a deep sleep did he carefully pull the blanket up over her.Once Mia was tucked in, Felix turned to Miranda. “Get some rest.”Miranda walked him downstairs. When they reached the door, Felix turned back to look at her. In the dim light, his gaze was deep and unreadable.“How confident are you that you can wake him up?”Miranda paused, slightly caught off guard. After a few seconds, she answered hone
Just then, a woman’s voice behind him said, “Thank you.”Felix turned in surprise and met Miranda’s clear gaze. There was sincere gratitude in her eyes. It was obvious she had heard everything he and Dr. Zeller had just said.“You don’t need to thank me,” Felix replied softly.“That machine is important for Mike’s treatment. I’m thanking you for him.”Felix lowered his eyes. His lashes cast a shadow beneath them, and Miranda’s words made one thing painfully clear. Mike already held a place in her heart that no one else could claim. In a way that mattered, she already saw him as her own.At just the right moment, Dr. Zeller spoke up. “With Felix helping, Mike’s treatment should go much more smoothly.”Miranda nodded and looked at Felix again. A machine like that was not easy to get, and she knew he had gone to a great deal of trouble for it.Dr. Zeller checked the time on his watch. “I have to get to a meeting.”Both of them nodded and watched him go. Once he was gone, Miranda s
When the elevator reached the twenty-seventh floor, the cool-toned decor made the space feel even colder. Felix loosened his tie, went straight to the dressing room, changed into workout pants, and headed for the gym. The restless heat of the night and the emptiness inside him were twisting together, and he needed some kind of outlet.To the steady rhythm of the treadmill, sweat quickly soaked through the back of his shirt. In the two years since the divorce, nights like this had become routine.By day, he was the composed strategist at the head of a business empire. By night, the only way he could wear himself out was through exercise.Especially on summer nights like this, when the air itself seemed full of a restless tension that stirred the most sensitive corners of his mind.All he could see was Miranda as she had looked a little while ago, soft and quietly alluring. And with that came memory after memory of the nights they had once shared.After finishing a brutal round of
Miranda stared at her phone for a few seconds, genuinely surprised. She hadn’t expected Mike to move so quickly. He had already secured the VIP suite.Samantha had already booked a flight for early the morning after next, intending to head to Hamilton for early admission, and VIP suites there truly
“I just got here,” Leo said.Miranda slipped her phone back into her bag and stepped out of the car to stand beside him under the row of trees. A sharp gust of cold wind swept through. She had only worn a light trench coat and instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.“Next time, bring someth
Hayden’s eyes darkened. He was always a step behind. If he had been the one by her side from the start, would he hold a more significant place in her heart?“He really cares about you,” Hayden said quietly.He had seen it time and again. Any minor injury or ailment Xena suffered triggered an immed
Miranda took the menu, her fingers tightening slightly around the edge. She lowered her gaze and flipped through the pages, deliberately avoiding the presence of Felix beside her.She ordered two light dishes, then slid the menu across the table to Felix.He added four more, all similarly mild and







