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.