LOGINA little while later, Felix’s phone rang. He stepped outside to take the call. Miranda looked up at him, and Felix met her eyes calmly.“Nothing important,” he said.What he meant was clear enough.Nothing mattered more right now than staying with her while she finished the IV.Miranda’s mind felt strangely blank. She had been overworking herself for too long, and now that she had a fever, her head felt even foggier than usual. At least she had made it through the meeting. Dr. Zeller and the others could now move forward with a clearer plan for Mike’s treatment.Half an hour later, the nurse came in to remove the IV. Miranda pressed the cotton to the back of her hand, but maybe because she had been sitting too long, the moment she stood up, a wave of dizziness hit her. She closed her eyes on instinct, and Felix was already there, steadying her by the arm.“Can you walk?” he asked quietly.Miranda nodded and gently pulled her arm free. Felix watched as she moved ahead of him, h
“I can.” Miranda answered softly and got up to leave the conference room.When they got back to the hospital, the doctor told her she needed to stay and finish an IV and then run some bloodwork. Fortunately, it was not a viral fever. Her body was simply protesting the strain she had been putting it under lately.Miranda sat in the quiet infusion room with the IV running into her hand. A little while later, Felix came over and handed her a cup of warm water.The air-conditioning in the hospital was cold. Even with a fever, Miranda felt chilled. She wrapped her arms around herself as discreetly as she could, trying to fight off the cold.Felix noticed without saying anything. He got up and stepped out for a moment. When he came back, his suit jacket was draped over one arm. He settled it over her shoulders.The warmth of the jacket immediately blocked out the chill from the air-conditioning. Miranda paused. This time, she didn’t refuse it. She only said softly, “Thank you.”Felix s
After hanging up, Miranda said to Felix in the front seat, “The meeting’s been pushed back an hour.”Felix’s eyes met hers briefly in the rearview mirror. “Then you can get some sleep first.”“All right. I’ll rest for a bit.” Miranda lowered the center armrest, adjusted herself into a more comfortable position, and rested her head against it. Under the effects of the medicine, sleep came quickly.While waiting at a red light, Felix glanced back at Miranda in the rear seat and adjusted the temperature to something more comfortable.The car drove on smoothly for a little over ten minutes before finally pulling up beside a quiet lakeside park, far from the noise of the city.Felix got out, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over Miranda. He didn’t wake her. Then he got back into the driver’s seat and quietly handled work on his phone.Time slipped by. Forty minutes passed quickly, and then Felix drove toward the lab.Miranda, however, had set an alarm before falling asleep. Th
She thought back to the last time she had called him brother, to the cold, cutting look Felix had given her then. And now, looking at the way he gazed at Miranda, so gentle it was almost unreal, Fiona felt something twist inside her.“Fiona, shouldn’t we head back? We still have a pile of materials to sort through this afternoon,” one of her female coworkers said, pulling her out of her thoughts.“Right.” Fiona looked away. The memory of calling Felix brother sent a chill through her. She grabbed her bag and hurried out first.At Miranda’s table, Felix was listening as Miranda explained the latest breakthrough and what it could mean for the future of the brain-computer project.“I think the three-year plan I backed at the board meeting is actually going to happen,” Miranda told him. “At least that means you won’t be under quite so much pressure.”Something flickered across Felix’s face. His deep-set eyes narrowed slightly, and for a brief second, he looked caught off guard. Back
Miranda 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.
Felix stared at the photos for a few seconds. He remembered that on Wednesday he had asked Miranda whether she planned to attend the parent-child outing, and she had explicitly told him she wouldn't be attending.So why was she there with Mia?Did she say that just to keep him away, making it easi
Miranda turned to Coco and said, “A gift is never measured by the price. It is measured by the thought behind it. And to me, your thoughtfulness is priceless.”Coco felt a rush of relief. She had given the gift both to show her appreciation for Miranda’s mentorship and as a silent apology for their
Gavin was clearly someone who knew how to get things done, and he worked fast. Half an hour later, he sent over a complete list of available units in Cloudcrest Residence.“Mr. Gibson, there are two listings in Building Twelve. One is 2701 on the twenty-seventh floor, right below Ms. Stone’s new ho
Xena turned to Hayden and said, “I’m going to say hello to Mrs. Lincoln.”Hayden nodded. Xena walked gracefully toward the VIP area, her diamond bracelet catching the light as she moved.“Mrs. Lincoln, it’s been a long time,” Xena greeted her politely.“Ms. Spencer, you’re here,” Haley replied wi







