Chapter 1

The day Miranda Jennings returned to Fellix City, she ran into Xavier Schneider's rumored new girlfriend. After packing up all her old belongings at Hillcrest Residence, she left the room and saw Xavier and his friends playing cards in the second-floor entryway. A young girl in her early 20s sat in his embrace, her beauty and clear skin shining through even without makeup. In fact, the girl slightly resembled Miranda. The only difference was that the former appeared more innocent and easy-going. As the players at the card table started to tease, the girl began to look flustered. She held her cards and glanced at Xavier for help. In response, he gladly gave her some pointers. Their interaction was intimate, rendering his friends somewhat speechless. A person chuckled and teased as Xavier tried to guide her on playing her second card. "Hey, Vee. That's against the rules. Anna is supposed to play by herself. You can't help her out." Anna, huh? Miranda was rather stunned. During all the years she spent hiding her relationship with Xavier, his friends had only ever called her "Ms. Jennings" with the utmost formality. Yet, as soon as she broke up with him, his friends were on a nickname basis with his new girlfriend. Miranda glanced over and saw Yovanna Yates looking helpless while biting her lip as though ready to face the game alone. However, Xavier raised his brows, grabbed one of the cards from Yovanna's hands, and played it confidently, coaxing, "Ignore them. Play it however you want, and you'll get the money if you win." His rare, tender tone put Miranda in a trance. At last, someone noticed her presence. "Ms. Jennings?" A shocked voice came from the card table, and the person was none other than Yves Simpson, Xavier's childhood friend. "Why are you here?" Miranda greeted them politely and explained, "I left some of my belongings here, and I thought I'd pick them up while I'm back in Fellix City." Everyone at the scene looked somewhat intrigued. Almost all of them sitting there were Xavier's fair-weather friends, who were well aware of Miranda and Xavier's relationship of seven years. On the surface, she served as his secretary; in the last seven years, she was the only woman involved in his life. Despite her mere identity as a secretary, everyone knew the nature of their relationship. It wasn't until three months ago that things took a turn. After Miranda's car accident, she was reassigned from her secretarial position to a project manager role at the branch company. Then, Xavier introduced his new girlfriend, Yovanna, to everyone, as though announcing to the world that he was sick of his capable ex-secretary. However, no one had expected to see Miranda here. Their gazes landed on Xavier with a hint of scrutiny. He casually fed Yovanna a piece of fruit, gentle and indulgent, sparing no glance at Miranda. Meanwhile, Yovanna bit her lip and greeted Miranda uneasily. "Are you leaving already, Ms. Jennings? Do you wanna have a go—" "Thanks," Miranda interrupted with a smile and continued, "but I gotta get going. Enjoy yourselves." After some thought, she placed the keys before Xavier. "These are keys to Hillcrest Residence, Mr. Schneider. Thought I should give them back to you as I suppose I won't need them anymore." Since Miranda had been assigned as the project manager at the branch company, she wouldn't overstay her period in Fellix City. Instead, she would leave once she handled her private matters. Besides, she was no longer Xavier's secretary and naturally wouldn't need the keys anymore. Without batting an eye at her, Xavier simply replied, "How many days off did Evergreen give you?" Evergreen Ventures was the branch company of Schneider Corporation to which Miranda was assigned. She was taken aback. "A week." "Sure." Xavier uttered lightly, "Enough time for you to complete the handovers." Miranda had been with him for seven years. He was always driven by desire and had a somewhat reckless personality. They often found themselves taking their work discussions to bed. However, this was the first time they had a serious, no-nonsense conversation about business without any underlying emotions. She showed a faint smile. "Alright, Mr. Schneider. I'll get going." She had just turned around when Xavier suddenly added, "Oh, right. You left your stockings in my office. Remember to take them with you." His voice was slow and deliberate, with an ambiguous tone, yet Miranda could sense the indifference and coldness in his tone. She lifted her head and gazed at the group, who was all stunned and silenced by Xavier's out-of-pocket comment. Yovanna's expression, on the other hand, shifted slightly. Everyone knew how passionate Miranda and Xavier were in private, yet this was the first time he openly mentioned their entanglement. Were there still lingering feelings? Yovanna couldn't help but steal a glance at Xavier. As if sensing her uneasiness, he gently squeezed her hand to reassure her. That little movement was noticed by Miranda. "That won't be necessary," Miranda concluded. "You can keep them if you like them." They owed each other nothing in their relationship. Now that it had ended, she didn't hold back, knowing he hadn't spared her any dignity. Following that, Miranda brought her stuff back home. The belongings she left behind at Hillcrest Residence were a bunch of random items—some spare clothes, daily necessities, and presents Xavier bought her. Neither of them was overly sentimental, so they didn't dwell on minor things like this. Once Miranda returned home and unpacked everything, her aunt, Sharon Snowe, entered the room with her brows furrowed and asked, "Have you and Xavier called it off completely?" "Yeah," Miranda remembered her dinner with Naomi Collins tonight and returned to her bedroom to change her clothes. Sharon's next words unmoved her. "Finally, you guys broke up. You're no longer at the age to be fooling around. Xavier was never suitable for you." Sharon kept her gaze on Miranda, heaved a breath of relief, and continued with heartfelt seriousness, "Don't forget about the trust fund, Mira. You wouldn't want the Jenningses to stay fallen, would you?" The Jennings family had fallen from grace seven years ago from bankruptcy, illnesses, and a series of misfortunes. What Miranda possessed was a trust fund, initially intended as her dowry from her mother. The condition for accessing it was that she had to get married. "You can never rely on men. You know how you are. Just settle down and revive your family. That's the only right thing to do…" Miranda stayed silent. These were the words she had heard for most of her life. She wasn't a university graduate, and without her looks, she had nothing else. However, since she met Xavier, she had a goal in life to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Everyone saw her as the ruthless, capable, and tenacious member of Schneider Corporation; concepts like grace, elegance, and charm had little to do with her. Yet, she stubbornly held on for seven years, only to be met with his cold indifference in the end. When she brazenly brought up marriage to him, he shot her a cold glance. "Get married? What do you think we are? Be mindful of your position, Miranda." Indeed, after seven long years with Xavier, Miranda was nothing more than a secretary and a lover. She was never his partner, to begin with. After a prolonged silence, Miranda piped up. "I understand, Aunt Sharon." Sharon was finally satisfied with her response. She passed Miranda a business card and said, "Make time to meet him. I don't want to urge you, but you should give him a chance." Miranda no longer refused. She had never been one to give up easily, but now, in her bruised and pathetic state, she had no choice but to accept reality. At night, Naomi called her a few times, saying she had planned a welcome dinner for her. During their meal, she looked in a direction and hesitatingly asked, "Miranda, isn't that Xavier? Why is that scumbag alone?"