ログインMiranda’s beauty was never the kind that demanded attention, yet it still had the power to move people deeply.Resting her chin in one hand, she suddenly found herself thinking of her father, that stubborn, relentless man. If he were still alive, if he could see her now, would he feel even a little proud?As far back as she could remember, Eugene had always been strict. But to her, he had also seemed capable of anything. Her mother used to say that when Miranda was three, he would sit her on his lap and read medical books to her, determined to fill that tiny head of hers with knowledge.Miranda could almost picture it. She must have looked at him with wide, uncomprehending eyes, far too young to understand any of it, while he sat there completely serious, already carrying such high hopes for her future.What would her life have been like if she had never met Felix?She probably would have followed the path laid out for her, finished college, gone on to graduate school, earned her
James kept a polite smile on his face. “It was nothing. It was the least I could do.”From the other end of the call, Felix’s voice came through, calm and unreadable. “Since someone’s driving you home, then I can stop worrying. Mia, say goodbye to Mommy.”Mia obediently said goodbye, and the video call ended.As James pressed down on the gas again, he still couldn’t resist asking, “Was Mr. Gibson jealous just now?”Miranda turned and looked at him. “Why would he be jealous?”James paused.Right. They were already divorced. Felix really had no standing to be jealous anymore.And yet James had clearly heard the displeasure in Felix’s tone. What had bothered him was obviously the fact that James was driving Miranda home this late.Still, James knew exactly where he stood. To Miranda, he was a colleague, a close friend, and perhaps even the truest confidant he would ever have in this life.He would never cross a line.He would never overstep.After dropping Miranda off at the en
“All right. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t push,” James said, steering the conversation elsewhere. “It’s getting late. Let me drive you home. I actually need to head your way anyway.”Miranda knew perfectly well that the errand was just an excuse. What he really meant was that he was worried about her.“James, I can drive myself.”“You collapsed at the hospital today, you’ve been up for three nights straight, and it’s almost ten o’clock,” James said. “Do you really expect me to feel okay letting you drive home alone?”He was serious. He meant to make sure she got home safely.“All right. Thank you.” Miranda accepted the kindness.As they walked toward the parking lot, the early summer night felt cool and clean, with a bright moon overhead stretching their shadows long across the ground.Once they got into the car, James started the engine and drove smoothly out of the lab complex.Miranda really did feel lighter now. Love, work, family. It seemed as though none of
The guilt in James’s chest deepened. “I’m sorry, Miranda. I never thought it would turn into this. Back then, I just felt like I got a lot out of discussing things with you. I never stopped to think it might affect your marriage.”“It wasn’t your fault, James.” Miranda shook her head. “We already had problems between us. The communication was bad. The trust wasn’t there. It’s all in the past now.”Even without James, Xena would still have existed. Back then, Felix had never been willing to lay everything out plainly when it came to Xena, and Miranda still would have ended up becoming a bitter, unhappy wife.Of course, looking back now, Miranda could remember a few times when Felix had seemed as though he wanted to explain. But by then, she had already reached the point where she didn’t want to hear any explanation from him at all. And she believed that even if he had explained things then, it would not have changed anything.With who she was at the time, if she had known Mia might
With the urgent pressure finally gone, Miranda and Raymond were able to wrap things up at the lab at a more manageable pace, sorting through the data and organizing the final reports.Later on, James came by to help as well. Most of what he did was the physical work, moving files and handling the heavier tasks. He had heard from Adrian that Miranda had suddenly collapsed, and that Felix had been the one taking care of her. He wanted to ask after her, but in the end, he held himself back.The last thing James wanted was to create more unnecessary misunderstandings.In truth, he had been carrying guilt over that very issue these past few days. He was not usually the sensitive type, but when he looked back now on Felix’s attitude toward him in the beginning, it really had felt like the displeasure of a man dealing with a rival.That realization had sent him back to the messages he and Miranda had exchanged four years ago. Miranda had deleted hers long ago, but James had kept his.He
His gaze still lingered on her from behind. In that moment, whatever faint possibility Felix had let himself believe in, whatever hope he had kept buried in silence, came to an end.Felix drew a slow breath, tugged lightly at the corner of his mouth, and said to Miranda, “You should get back to work. I’ll go.”Miranda seemed to realize only then that he was still standing there. With Raymond still talking in her ear, she had no room to say anything more to him.Felix turned and walked away. His back was as straight as ever, but there was a loneliness in it that was impossible to miss.One thought kept repeating in his mind.She belonged to someone else now.Whatever hopes he still had should end here.Almost without thinking, Miranda turned and glanced once more at the figure walking toward the elevator lobby. Her brows drew together slightly, but only for a moment. Then Raymond’s words pulled her attention away again.After she finished the call, Dr. Zimmer was still inside sp
At eight that evening, Miranda asked Mrs. Young to stay downstairs with Mia while she took the video call in her study. Eugene’s old notebook sat open beside her.“Dr. Stone, thank you for taking the time to speak with me,” Dr. Smith said, adjusting his glasses as he flipped through a report on his
The meeting wrapped up at four. Miranda spent another ten minutes speaking with a few of the experts.Felix was standing a short distance away near the flowerbeds outside the conference hall. She had no idea what he was doing there. It was only when she walked out with her bag and her coat over her
“James, what happened to your hand?” Miranda asked with concern.“When I was holding the pig down earlier, its hoof scraped me. It’s nothing,” he replied.“Let me clean it and bandage it.” Miranda grabbed the first-aid kit and returned to the lab bench.James sat quietly while she disinfected and
The text message came from an unknown number, but the tone made it obvious to Miranda who had sent it. It was Xena.Miranda stared at the message for a few seconds before replying, “Then keep your dog on a leash.”A response came almost immediately. “Miranda, aren’t you scared I’ll forward this to







