‘Go sleep in the bed,” Felix said coolly.
Miranda glanced at her phone. It was just after midnight. Without hesitation, she made a decision.
She was going home.
Grabbing her coat and draping it over her shoulders, she picked up her phone. “No need. I’ll sleep at home.”
Felix paused mid–motion, halfway through hanging his jacket. Then, without a word, he slipped it back on and said coldly, “I’m leaving.”
He picked up his phone from the bed, pulled open the door, and walked out.
Miranda sat frozen for a moment. The chill he left behind still seemed to linger in the air. She closed her eyes, forcing herself not to let it affect her.
Felix didn’t come back for the rest of the night. And as for where he ended up sleeping, Miranda didn’t care.
The next morning, Miranda came downstairs to the sound of Mia’s cheerful voice echoing through the house…
After breakfast, she was planning to take Mia home with her, but Susan was quick to shut it down. “Let her stay here for a few days. We don’t get to see her often, and your grandmother enjoys the company.”
Miranda had no choice but to let it go. Ever since getting married, she had always been the one to back down and compromise.
Unless the time truly came to fight for custody, she couldn’t afford to offend her mother–in–law–not yet.
After leaving the Gibson estate, Miranda drove around the city for a while before heading home.
When she walked through the front door, Mrs. Young greeted her with a smile. “Welcome home, ma’am.”
Miranda nodded. After barely sleeping the night before, she felt drained. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she said, “I’m going to rest for a bit. Please don’t disturb me.”
“Ma’am,” Mrs. Young added quickly, “Mr. Gibson is home.”
Miranda tensed. “When did he get back?”
“I’m not sure. When I woke up, I saw his shoes and suit jacket downstairs.”
Miranda gave a small nod and headed up to her room. Once inside, she quietly closed the door and turned the lock.
She didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone.
Around ten, Felix came downstairs, looking sharp and well–rested Mrs. Young looked up from the kitchen and asked, “Will you be having lunch at home, sir?”
“No,” Felix replied.
“But ma’am is home,” she added.
He paused for a moment, adjusting the sapphire cufflinks on his shirt with his usual grace. “Tell her I’ve gone out.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mrs. Young watched him leave, then looked upstairs at the closed bedroom door. She let out a quiet sigh. The house had always been a little cold, but at least in the past, Mrs. Gibson would show concern for her husband. Now, she was just as distant as he
was.
Mrs. Young had worked in this household for five years. For the first time, she truly worried this family might fall apart.
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Chapter 23
+25 BONUS
Miranda slept until nearly 3 p.m. After she woke up, Mrs. Young brought her a bowl of pasta. She ate quietly, then sat down at her computer to work. There was a mountain of theoretical material to sort through for the lab, including her father’s research
notes.
With winter break underway and New Year approaching, the days were slipping by quickly.
One afternoon, Miranda received a call directly from Mrs, Gibson St., inviting her to the estate for a pre–New Year’s dinner the weekend before New Year’s. Miranda missed her daughter so she agreed.
Just as she pulled out of the driveway, her phone rang. She reached over to answer it
“Hello?”
“Miss Spencer?” a young woman said on the other end. “This is Mandy, Dr. Moore’s assistant. Dr. Moore was hospitalized last night with a high fever. He’s still running a temperature now, but my mother’s sick too. Would you be able to come and take care of him for a bit?”
Miranda froze. “James is sick?” she murmured.
His family Hived far up north, thousands of miles away. Even if they rushed over, they wouldn’t make it in time to take care of
him.
She nodded and said, “Which hospital? I’ll be there.”
She drove straight to the hospital and found James’s room. To her surprise, he was sitting upright with a book in his hands, an IV drip hooked to his arm. When he saw her, his expression shifted to surprise.
“Mira? What are you doing here?”
She gave a simple reply. “I heard you were sick, so I came to check on you.”
“It’s nothing. You really didn’t have to come all this way,” he said with a relaxed smile.
But before he could say more, Miranda reached out and gently pressed the back of her hand to his forehead.
James froze, as if stunned into stillness. He didn’t move, just let her take his temperature, and the warmth in his eyes darkened with something more complicated.
Miranda glanced down to check the medication listed on the IV bag Then she sat down beside him and said, “It looks like a viral fever. Two days on the drip and it should go down.”
James suddenly remembered something and looked a little concerned. “It’s the last weekend of the year. You should be with your family.”
Only then did Miranda realize she had rushed over so quickly that she hadn’t told anyone at the Gibson estate. She glanced at the time–7 p.m.–then quickly picked up her phone.
Stepping into the hallway, she thought for a moment, then dialed Felix’s number.
“Hello?” his voice came through.
“Can you let Grandma know I won’t be coming tonight?” Miranda said calmly.
“Okay.” Then the line went dead.
They had been married for six years, but Miranda still couldn’t read Felix.
She truly couldn’t tell if he had been angry just now or simply displeased.
After all, this was a man who had worked as a financial analyst on Wall Street at just eighteen. He had trained himself to
suppress emotion, to stay perfectly composed no matter what. His words were always calm, his tone unreadable. He never gave anyone the chance to figure him out.
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Chapter 23
+25 BONUS
Later, when Miranda learned James hadn’t eaten anything, she ordered him some food through a delivery app. There was a nearby place that made excellent chicken soup, and they delivered to the hospital.
Twenty minutes later, the delivery driver called. The hospital wouldn’t allow food deliveries into the patient ward, so she had to go pick it up herself.
Miranda headed downstairs. After another quick call with the driver, she realized he had dropped it off at the outpatient infusion center. She asked him to wait there while she made her way over.
She walked through the infusion area and finally picked up the soup he had brought. As she headed back, she passed by the brightly lit infusion room and happened to glance inside. Her footsteps halted.
The evening infusion room wasn’t crowded and felt quite spacious. At that moment, however, there was a couple sitting together.
The woman was receiving an IV and appeared to be sleeping, covered by the man’s oversized suit jacket. The man sat beside her on the couch, like her solid support.
Miranda stood frozen.
It was Felix and Xena.
She never expected to run into them at the hospital.
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