Chapter 3

Miranda was taken aback. Why did Yovanna text her out of the blue? She looked at her profile picture, which depicted a cutesy drawing. For some reason, it felt rather familiar to her. It wasn't until she recalled Xavier's profile picture that she realized their photos matched. Miranda was never one to do things as subtle as this. As an adult, she'd been accustomed to a world of deceit and manipulation, leaving little room for anything as innocent as pure love. The same applied to Xavier. Soon, Yovanna sent her another message. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late at night, Ms. Jennings." Miranda was at a loss for what to reply. The next second, Yovanna added, "I don't mean harm, and I know you and Xavier are no longer entangled. It's just that… "There's a friend at our dinner who's quite into you. Would you like to know more about him?" Miranda found her message interesting. Regardless of Yovanna's intention of matchmaking her with a new man, Miranda had always disliked people getting involved in her private life. "Sorry. I'm not interested in men who don't view marriage as the relationship's end goal." All of those men Yovanna met tonight were wealthy and noble, and they would never marry Miranda after her seven years of history with Xavier. As expected, Yovanna no longer persisted and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry for disrupting your night." Miranda left her message on read. It was getting late, and she returned home after dropping Naomi off safely at her place. Perhaps it was Yovanna's young and vibrant nature that she posted a few stories in a row within an hour. One of the posts was a picture of her and Xavier. In the photo, she smiled gently while he looked down at her with the utmost tenderness. The caption said, "Boyfriend." That was the first time Miranda saw Xavier in a photo with someone else, and it was also the first time she understood how he behaved when he was truly in love. It wasn't anything sad to her. Once she left Fellix City, their relationship would only become history. The next day, Miranda returned to the company. Replacing her as Xavier's secretary was Wendy Jones, someone she had never quite gotten along with. It was rare for Wendy to come over and ask for advice. Miranda sent Wendy all the recorded details about Xavier and his lifestyle. After flipping through the pages, Wendy looked at Miranda, intrigued. "I thought you and Mr. Schneider were the end game. Who would've thought—" Miranda chuckled. "I thought you'd be celebrating my departure." Wendy laughed in response and didn't deny it. "I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, Miranda." It was a simple yet sincere blessing. "Well, I wish you success in this company, too." Miranda smiled. Wendy couldn't contain her laugh. Yet, when she recalled Yovanna's presence in the CEO's office, her eyes flickered and blinked mischievously at Miranda. "But… before you go on your endeavors, would you please remind Mr. Schneider that he has a meeting in five? "I wouldn't want to disrupt their lovey-dovey time and have a target on my back." Miranda didn't refuse her and subsequently knocked on the door to the CEO's office. After a momentary silence came Xavier's cold voice. "Come in." Once she entered, she realized Yovanna was lying on the bed in the lounge with a pale complexion. A heating pad rested atop her tummy, and a cup of cinnamon tea sat on the table beside her. Miranda withdrew her gaze and reminded Xavier, "Mr. Schneider, you have five minutes before the meeting." Then, she saw Yovanna tugging at Xavier's sleeve with teary eyes and pale lips. Despite not uttering a word, she appeared sympathetic yet adorable. Xavier frowned and continued massaging her tummy. "Postpone the meeting by an hour." His words seemingly made Yovanna uneasy. "I'm fine. Proceed with your meeting. I can handle the cramp." "I'll go once you fall asleep." Xavier's soft voice rang. It was then that Miranda realized he would postpone a meeting for a woman's sake. He had always been a perfectionist and disliked unexpected changes. One time, she ran a fever of 102ºF on a night when she and Xavier were supposed to attend a dinner party. After finding out she was sick, he simply told the chauffeur to send her to the hospital while he showed up to the dinner alone. Now, he had postponed a meeting simply because he didn't want to leave his girlfriend with period cramps alone. As if realizing something, Yovanna gazed somewhat embarrassingly at Miranda. "I'm sorry, Ms. Jennings. You guys are delaying the meeting because of me…" "Don't worry about it. Nobody will ever question Mr. Schneider's decision," Miranda politely replied. She returned to the secretarial office and handed over some work and documents, some of which required Xavier's signature. Since Yovanna was sleeping inside the office, she kept her volume down. "Would you sign this, please, Mr. Schneider?" Xavier glanced at the document without further remarks. After a momentary pause, he uttered, "Since you managed the project planning for the Shanridge Group proposal, come with me to the meeting next week to secure the collaboration. "You can leave after finalizing the deal. Meanwhile, I'll give Evergreen a heads-up." The project with Shanridge Group was something Miranda personally decided to take on. Many of the details, no matter how much they were delegated, couldn't be fully explained. However, she hesitated. "Why don't you pick someone else to follow up, Mr. Schneider? Andy or Lucas can easily take on this project. Besides, I'd like to return to Evergreen sooner." She added upon contemplation, "With our history, it's not a great idea for us to frequently interact as your girlfriend might get upset." Her last words were overly formal and came off somewhat insincere. However, that was the truth. Yovanna would definitely mind the relationship they previously shared, and it was only the right thing to do to interact less. To her surprise, Xavier looked up at her with a hint of mockery. "Our history…" He stared at her and continued coldly, "What history? Or did you mean to say you're still holding onto me?"