MasukMiranda 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
Miranda had just finished writing her experiment report for the day and was getting ready to leave. She took off her lab coat and hung it on the rack when she heard a voice outside her office.“Miss, can I help you?” her assistant asked.“I’m looking for Miranda Stone,” came a familiar, melodic vo
Felix crouched down, his hand reaching toward Miranda’s shoe, but she quickly drew her foot back. Cold resentment flashed in her eyes.“Don’t touch me,” she said through clenched teeth, her voice sharp with disgust.Felix’s hand froze midair. He looked up at her. “Do you need to go to the hospital
Just then, Felix’s phone rang. Taking the chance, Miranda turned and walked away quickly, asking a waiter to send a small cake up to the lounge.By the time she returned, Felix was gone.When Miranda opened the door, Sophie pressed a hand to her chest in relief. “You scared me. I thought he came b
After Ben left, Miranda stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the glittering skyline outside. Her thoughts drifted back six years.Felix had always been the same, even after they married. He was cold, detached, and unwilling to let anyone close. She used to believe that if she loved him e







