Miranda thought her heart had already gone numb but that scene had still felt like a slap across the face. In that moment, she wished she could go the rest of her life without ever seeing Felix again.
Unfortunately, life didn’t give her the chance to choose differently All she had now was a failed marriage and an approaching storm of divorce.
She brought the soup to James’s bedside. He glanced at the time and said gently, “You should head back. It’s the last weekend of the year. You should be with your daughter and your husband.”
“Sure. Call me if you need anything,” Miranda replied calmly.
She did want to see her daughter. As for her husband, he was already with someone else.
She avoided passing through the outpatient wing and took a longer route to the car. It was already eight–thirty. She planned to bring her daughter home for a few days.
When she arrived at the Gibson estate, the dinner was already over. Mrs. Gibson Sr. asked if she had eaten, and Miranda lied and said yes. She then asked Mia if she wanted to come home with her..
Mia nodded eagerly. She wanted to be with her mom and Gigi.
Just then, Sienna came downstairs. “So, Miranda,” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “what have you been busy with lately?”
“Not much,” Miranda replied politely.
Sienna tilted her head. “It must get pretty boring staying home all day while Mia’s at school, huh?” Her tone dripped with condescension.
Miranda thought back to when Sienna had once called her clingy and pathetic right in front of her daughter. It was obvious she had never liked her.
“It’s not too bad,” Miranda replied calmly. “I usually spend the time reading and studying.”
Sienna raised a brow. “Oh? What kind of books? Don’t tell me cheesy romance novels?”
Miranda smiled faintly. “No. I prefer reading medical research.”
Sienna clearly didn’t believe that. A woman who once gave up everything for a man, she thought, couldn’t possibly be ambitious
now.
Bored and running out of things to mock, Sienna eventually went back upstairs.
Miranda turned to Mia. “Ready to go, sweetheart? Gigi’s gotten a little bigger since you saw her last.”
Mia nodded eagerly. Miranda took her hand and walked over to let Susan know they were leaving. Though clearly displeased, Susan saw how much her granddaughter wanted to go, so she reluctantly agreed. “Fine. But bring her back for the New Year’s
Eve dinner.”
Miranda nodded and led Mia outside. As they were getting into the car, Mia asked curiously, “Mommy, will Daddy come home tonight?”
“He’s working. He probably won’t,” Miranda said softly.
Mia let out a quiet “oh,” her little head drooping in disappointment.
But once they got home and she saw Gigi, her face lit up again.
Miranda turned to the housekeeper. “Mrs. Young, could you make some ravioli for us?”
“Ma’am, you haven’t eaten yet?” Mrs. Young blinked. “Didn’t you just come back from the Gibsons‘ dinner?”
Chapter 24
+25 BONUS
“No, I haven’t eaten. Make a little extra–Mia and I will eat together.”
Fifteen minutes later, Miranda sat at the table with her daughter. Under the soft kitchen light, Mia looked especially sweet and thoughtful.
She even pushed a few ravioli over. “Mommy, I already had dinner You have more.”
Miranda’s heart ached with tenderness.
Later that night, she read picture books to Mia, choosing ones with thoughtful stories and meaningful lessons. They eventually drifted off to sleep together.
In the early hours of the morning, the bedroom door creaked open Miranda stirred and instinctively opened her eyes. Standing in the hallway light was Felix.
Mia was still in her arms when Felix stepped in. He reached over and gently tousled Mia’s hair.
As his fingers brushed past, Miranda caught a faint trace of perfume–sweet, feminine, and unmistakably intimate. It wasn’t
her scent.
Women often dab perfume behind the ears, on their wrists, and neck.
For that scent to linger on his fingers, he must have touched all those parts of Xena’s body.
Only when he pulled his hand back and left the room did Miranda quietly exhale.
The next morning, Miranda’s phone buzzed with a few new messages.
“Miss Stone, I’m sending you a few photos.”
A moment later, three images came through from the private investigator.
In the first, inside a doctor’s office, Xena sat demurely next to Felix while he leaned forward, personally asking the doctor about her condition.
T
+25 BON
