ログインMiranda didn’t even have time to answer the call.Clutching her phone, she hurried downstairs, pushed open the door to Felix’s side of the house, and rushed up to his second-floor master bedroom.She was moving too fast.The moment she stepped into the bedroom, she crashed straight into a solid chest.Felix was clearly startled too. He quickly wrapped an arm around her waist, stopping her from stumbling backward.Miranda looked up in shock and met his eyes.Felix was dressed in a charcoal-gray suit, his hair neatly styled. Aside from the slight pallor of his face, he had regained his usual cold, polished image as a businessman.But now, as he looked down at the woman in his arms, breathless and anxious, a faint smile flickered in his eyes.No matter how heartless her words sounded, her actions couldn’t lie.She still cared about him.Miranda stepped back.Felix calmly adjusted his cuff links. Clearly, he was getting ready to go out.“You’re still sick. Where are you going?”
Miranda had no choice but to help Felix into his bedroom.He sat down on the bed, then lay on his side facing her.“Can you stay?” he asked quietly.Miranda nodded.“Okay. I’ll stay. Go to sleep.”Only then did Felix close his eyes.After the past few days of handling the funeral, plus an entire night of fever, he was truly exhausted. Before long, his breathing grew deep and even.But even in sleep, his brows remained faintly furrowed, as if he was still worried about something.Miranda sat down in the armchair by the window. Resting her chin in one hand, she looked at the man on the bed, her emotions tangled.Outside, the rain was still falling.Soft. Steady. Restless.Just like her heart.Mrs. Gibson Sr.’s final words and Melanie’s remarks only made Miranda more certain of her decision.Some feelings were only temporary obsessions.Felix cared about her. Maybe there was still affection from their past between them, but she didn’t believe he truly couldn’t live without h
Miranda froze for several seconds.She didn’t even check right away.But she knew that even if Felix really was crying from grief, it could be because of Mrs. Gibson Sr.’s death.For the past few days, he had looked indestructible in front of everyone. Maybe that had only trapped all his grief inside, leaving him with nowhere to let it out.No matter what the reason was, Miranda’s heart was thrown into chaos.“Felix, don’t do this.”She slowly lifted her head and saw that his eyes were closed. Beneath his thick lashes, there was a clear trace of tears on his face. Even now, the corners of his eyes were still damp.Miranda hesitated, then raised her hand and gently wiped the corner of his eye with her thumb.“I’m sorry for your loss,” she said softly.Felix opened his dark, deep-set eyes and looked at her.A sharp flicker of resentment passed through his gaze.Clearly, that wasn’t what had hurt him.He pulled her tightly into his arms again and buried his face even deeper ag
Miranda pulled her hand back.She looked at him without looking away.“Yes,” she said. “I meant it.”Felix’s throat moved.Pain flashed through his eyes.His body was burning with fever, but his heart felt cold and heavy, as if every beat dragged pain through him.“Let’s get your fever down first,” Miranda said as she wrapped the cord around the hair dryer and walked toward the bathroom. “We can talk after you’re feeling better.”When she came back, Felix was still sitting there.He hadn’t moved at all.Clearly, he was brooding.“Why?” Felix looked up at her, refusing to let it go. “There has to be a reason you said all that to me, right?”Miranda frowned slightly, but her voice softened.“Felix, not now. Let’s wait until your fever goes down and you’ve had some rest, okay?”Felix suddenly stood.His tall frame moved toward her, bringing a quiet pressure with it. His voice was bitter and self-mocking.“You think I care about a fever right now?”Miranda thought about how
If Felix hadn’t used every trick and every calculated move he had, perhaps the man standing beside Miranda now would have been Mike, Leo, or James.Any one of them would have been a good choice.They were all outstanding men who respected her, and none of them made any secret of their feelings for her. Miranda could have chosen any of them and been happy.Only Felix had become the one who held her back.He didn’t deny that over the past three years, he had fought and schemed for a place beside her.Without all those calculations and all that effort, how else could he have stood beside her again?How else could he have had the chance to pursue her all over again?Warm water poured down over him.Felix braced one hand against the tile wall and let the water run over his head, as if trying to cool down a mind that had long since stopped being rational.It took Mrs. Young only about fifteen minutes to make the soup.Miranda carried them over to the sitting area on the second floo
Guilt rushed through Miranda at once.It looked like he had already been running a fever last night.Which meant he had spent the entire night burning up.“You have a fever,” Miranda said. “I’m taking you to the hospital. Or I’ll call Gavin and have him take you.”Felix pushed himself up from the couch.The next second, Miranda was pulled into a burning-hot embrace.He held her tightly and said in a low, breathless voice, almost like a stubborn child, “I’m not going anywhere.”Miranda was trapped in his arms, worried and anxious. She patted the back of his hand.“Let go of me first. You need to go to the hospital like this.”Felix didn’t let go.Instead, he tightened his arms and buried his face deep against her shoulder. His breath, hot from the fever, brushed against the side of her neck.His voice was hoarse.“I’m not going. As long as you’re here with me, I’m not going anywhere.”Miranda was filled with guilt and regret.She had chosen the wrong time to say those thin
Miranda never liked attending routine department meetings, so while everyone else was focused, her mind was already on the technical handover she needed to handle with Jacob later.She did not react when Ben called her name. The department heads all turned to look at her. She was still jotting note
Gavin watched Felix silently staring after the SUV as it drove away. He stepped forward and lowered his voice. “Mr. Gibson, should we head back too?”Felix pulled his gaze away. Without a word, he got into the car. Even though the air conditioning was set low, he still loosened his tie. His voice
But Mike also knew that no matter how much he liked her, he could never force Miranda to feel the same. Everything he did for her was something he chose willingly, without expecting anything in return.Still, he was looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. Lately, he felt like the days were passing
Felix narrowed his eyes, a hint of self-awareness stirring deep in his gaze.Mia stepped into the yard, then paused and turned. In the next moment, she ran right back to the gate. She stood under the glow of the streetlamp and called out, “Daddy, why aren’t you coming in?”Miranda’s gaze turned







