Mag-log inMiranda nodded.The memory came back to her too.It had been shortly after they got married. Felix had been worried she would feel too cooped up, so he had bought a private suite at the resort, just so she could come here and rest whenever she wanted.The first time they came, Miranda had worn a long white dress and run barefoot across the beach. Felix had followed behind her, carrying her shoes.That night, the two of them had sat on the sand, leaning against each other as they looked up at a sky full of stars.It had been impossibly romantic.“I remember,” Miranda said, turning to look at him with a smile. “We were so much younger then.”Felix smiled.“We’re not old now.”Miranda laughed despite herself.“Why are you so sensitive about age?”Felix tightened his hold on her hand. His gaze rested on her face, gentle and helpless all at once.“I’m not sensitive about age. I’m afraid you’ll decide you don’t want me again.”Miranda froze for a second, then laughed softly and
Miranda couldn’t help laughing.“We’re at this age, and we’re still going on dates?”Felix took her hand and answered in a low voice, “Early thirties is the prime of life. And you’re only getting more beautiful.”Miranda was amused despite herself and tried to pull her hand back.“Stop sweet-talking me.”But Felix tightened his hold, brought her hand to his lips, and kissed it.“Please do me the honor, Dr. Stone.”Miranda thought about it for a moment, but she couldn’t think of anywhere in particular she wanted to go.“Where do you want to go?”“If you don’t have somewhere specific in mind, I’ll choose,” Felix said.Miranda looked at him, then nodded.“Okay. You choose.”After Felix’s car left the congested downtown streets, it merged onto the highway leading toward the coast.Miranda watched the beautiful sunset in the distance, and old memories slowly rose in her mind.She could guess where he was taking her.It was the bay resort just over sixty miles outside the city
“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
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Samantha said, “Come in,” and Miranda walked in with a stack of files in her arms.Fiona’s gaze snapped toward her, jealousy sparking visibly in her eyes.Miranda froze for a moment when she saw her. “Dr. Liam, I’ll come back later.”“No, Miranda, come in.”
Miranda slipped her phone back into her bag and walked over to Felix and Mia building sandcastles.“Mama, look. Daddy made this castle for me,” Mia said, pointing proudly at a small mound of sand.Miranda smiled at her. Since it was rare for her to take Mia out on a holiday like this, she tried he
Miranda gave a small, apologetic smile. “Sorry, James. The decision came together pretty suddenly. I just haven’t had the chance to tell you yet.”James let out a quiet sigh. He knew how stifling it must have been for her to work under Felix’s lab, so he could not blame her.“I get it. I really do
Felix slid into the back seat, his fingers tapping twice against his knee. He checked his watch. “Go to the city museum.”Gavin pressed down on the accelerator and headed straight in that direction.About half an hour later, Mike’s car arrived first. He and Mia walked with Miranda across the wide







