Irritated, I rubbed the center of my brows. Kiara stood at the door with teary eyes and softly said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Jones…”

Seeing how pitiful she looked, I could not help but grumble in my heart that Miranda’s temper was worsening. “She’s just acting spoiled. Don’t take it to heart. Go back to work,” I comforted her.

When it was time to clock off, I stayed behind in the office until Miranda called me. I picked up and sounded troubled. “I’m sorry, Miranda. A new task suddenly popped up, and I have to work overtime again.”

Miranda started whining and grumbling about my work. It got to the point where I lost my patience. “If you have nothing else to say, I’m hanging up. I’ll finish up as soon as possible and go home to keep you company.”

Miranda sighed and grunted in disappointment.

After that, I went to my friend’s bar just as I had promised. I also ran into Kiara, who went there with her friend after work.

Kiara was really shocked to see me, but she was smart enough to not say much about it. She only smiled and gave me a nod. After that, she maintained the perfect distance colleagues should have after work.

I was satisfied with this and paid her bill for the night.

I was worried about smelling like alcohol and making Miranda suspicious after I went back. So, I stayed in a hotel that night.

The next day, Kiara sent a clean suit to the hotel for me. She gave me a mischievous wink, and we decided to keep the whole thing a secret.

I thought that Miranda would not know. After all, she never read much into such things.

However, I finally understood why Miranda’s temper got increasingly strange ever since that day.

She would start dropping by my office regardless of the time. I would even have to make sure that my story tallied with my friends if I wanted to go out for a drink.

When we first got to know each other, I loved Miranda’s optimism. It was as if nothing could trouble her. My family drained me, but she healed me with her wonderful personality.

She had always been a free soul, like a bird who would take flight at any moment.

I tried winning her over for a long time, and it felt like I was chasing after the sun. During this time, I noticed she also had her own mental scars that never healed. After her parents got divorced, she lived her entire childhood shuffled around between relatives. She never got to settle down with a family.

Since we both longed for a family, it was only par for the course that we ended up together.

Later on, we bought a top-floor apartment in the central business district. After that, we moved out of a basement that cost us a few hundred dollars a month in rent. She was my sun and home, so I felt the most at ease with her around.

However, after years, that warmth and consideration turned into nagging. Her optimistic personality sometimes felt like a burden.

Even so, I still loved Miranda.

I always thought that our relationship remained the same. This thing between us was just the seven-year itch, and it was bound to happen in a relationship. Miranda had been spoiled over the years, hence she kept kicking up a fuss over nothing.

I believed that the scoring sheet was evidence of this.

With that in mind, I continued looking through the scoring sheet. Right then, I saw a new demerit that Miranda had jotted down.

[Henry stood me up during our anniversary: -30]

However, she wrote something else in the next line. [Henry said that he’d free up his holiday and go on a trip with me: +20!]

When I saw this, I suddenly felt a tinge of regret. Not only did I stand her up during our anniversary, but I also did not go on that trip as promised.

I had been incredibly busy during our anniversary. My employees and I had worked overnight for a major project. When I got home, Miranda naturally saw how tired I was, but her concern only increased my fatigue. I could not be bothered to explain just how complicated my work was, so I just said everything was alright to comfort her.

I wanted to tell Miranda to postpone our date as well. But when I saw how excited she was, I could not find it within my heart to do it. In the end, I went out with her to relive our first date.

Honestly, I had almost forgotten how we met seven years ago.

While we were on our way to the date, I was called back to the company. The project was at its most crucial state. By the time I remembered that I had stood Miranda up, it was dark outside. I also had numerous missed calls and messages.

At that time, I just found myself feeling irritated. After our lives got better, Miranda resigned from her job and worked as an illustrator instead. So, all she could think about were romantic fantasies.

I could not talk to her about the issues I encountered at work. After all, it had been a long time since she had left the fast-paced work environment. She could no longer relate to my problems.

Nevertheless, I rushed over to the location of our date and saw Miranda sitting on the bench.

As I stood in front of her, I was prepared for her grumbling and accusations. Surprisingly, Miranda was calm, and she asked, “Your assistant sent me a picture of you at your meeting. Was it important?”

I nodded and squatted down in front of her to hold her hand. “I’m sorry, Miranda. It was a sudden and urgent matter. Once my work is done, why don’t I take you on a trip?”

The storm that I had predicted disappeared just like that. I thanked Kiara for reporting to Miranda and treated her to a cup of coffee later.

Kiara smiled and said, “I was worried that Miranda would not understand our hardships as office workers. She’s a full-time housewife after all, so I thought about explaining things on your behalf. It looks like she’s quite the considerate person.”

However, I never expected that Kiara’s thoughtfulness would become the greatest hurdle to our trip.

At that time, I felt that Kiara was attentive and good at her job. So, I asked her to set up a travel itinerary for me and Miranda.

Kiara stated excitedly that her hobby was traveling, and she recommended a few places that were suitable for couples to visit. She even explained the stories behind those places.

I did not study up on those places, though. I just told Miranda about them and asked her to choose.

Miranda was ecstatic. Since she was a romantic at heart, she knew about those places as well. She grabbed my arm and said that I had finally figured out how to be romantic. Meanwhile, I shamelessly accepted the praise.

In the end, Miranda chose to go to Santorini. I promised that I would come up with the perfect travel itinerary.

The next day I went to the company, I asked Kiara to help me in exchange for a hefty bonus.

Kiara and I had become much closer at this point. While she insulted me for being a blockhead, she helped me with the itinerary. “I’ve just joined the company, but I already have quite a number of secrets with my boss,” she said jokingly.

I thought that the sentence sounded a little odd. But I decided not to point it out since I was asking her for help.

I was on leave the day that she finished the travel itinerary. So, she brought the printed version to our apartment, and Miranda saw her.

Miranda chased Kiara out with a long face, and we had a massive argument.

In the end, Miranda was heartbroken, and she said, “You could’ve told me that it was hard and you didn’t know how to come up with an itinerary! Why did you ask her to do it?! Do you trust her that much?!”

“What should I have done, then?!” I was mad, and I spoke without thinking. “If I had told you that, you would’ve looked at me as if I had wronged you! How was I supposed to say it?!

“I’m busy. I seriously can’t cater to your mood all the time. I asked Kiara to do it to save time and avoid mistakes! Besides, she did a great job! Why are you still dissatisfied?! Are you jealous that Kiara and I are getting closer?!

“We’re just colleagues. Could you stop thinking about relationships that don’t exist?! You can’t ask me to never have any female colleagues or friends, right?!”

She fell silent for a moment and stared at me in disbelief. “Is that what you think of me? You think I’m targeting her for no reason?”

I did not answer. Instead, I told her that I needed some time to calm down and left.

Miranda did not chase after me or ask where I was going. When I came back, I found that the stuff we had packed for our trip had been returned to their original places. Miranda sat on the couch while she calmly watched the television. It was as if the fight never happened.

“I’ve canceled our flight,” she said. “I suddenly found that I don’t like Santorini anymore.”

When I went to the study, I found the travel itinerary in the shredder.

I thought that we would end up giving each other the cold shoulder for a while. Yet, Miranda continued life as usual around me. I found her even scarier for keeping everything hidden in her heart.

I wanted to talk to her, but Kiara told me that Miranda needed time to process things and put the matter behind her. If I spoke to her about it, we would just bring up old wounds and end up arguing.

I did not want to argue with Miranda. The thought of it alone was tiring, so the entire situation was left unresolved.

My instincts told me that Miranda would mention this in the scoring sheet. After turning the page, I saw it just as I had expected.

[Henry treated me as a jealous wife: -5]

The black words were clearly smeared by her tears. I felt like someone had just stomped on my heart, and it left me frustrated. Why had I not been a little calmer that time?

In hindsight, I was the one in the wrong. Yet, I had stubbornly believed that Miranda was in the wrong too.

I took a deep breath. Just as I was about to continue reading, I heard a knock on the door.