Zach tapped Hanselâs shoulder from behind enthusiastically. âWhen did you get here? Why didnât you tell us? We have a room upstairs. Come, join us for a drink!â
Hansel rubbed his temples and said, âIâm not drinking. You guys go ahead.â
Zach felt a little puzzled as he watched Hansel leave. The latter had never missed these drinking parties before. Could it be that heâd made up with Miranda?
That made sense. If theyâd just reconciled, he wouldnât be able to party with them.
âMr. Graham, what are you looking at? Weâre waiting for you,â someone called from the stairs nearby.
Zach shook his head and rejoined the group, dismissing the thought.
It was 10:00 pm when Hansel arrived at the mansion. Martha had tidied up his bedroom and the walkâin closet. All of Mirandaâs belongings had been neatly put back in their places.
Hansel turned and walked to the study. The bookshelves were filled with books related to the field of biology from floor to ceiling.
Although Miranda hadnât gone on to do her Masterâs degree, sheâd never allowed herself to fall behind in her studies. Sheâd often spent the whole day reading in the study. All these books belonged to her.
Miranda would sometimes boast to him about which books were already out of print, which ones sheâd managed to get original copies of, and how much effort sheâd put into categorizing them.
Her face had always lit up with joy when sheâd spoken about her
achievements.
Hansel stared intensely at the wall of books, lost in thought. A sudden. realization struck him, and a smirk appeared on his face.
Hansel went downstairs and found Martha, whoâd just taken out the trash and was about to leave. âLet me borrow your phone.â
Martha became defensive instantly. âWell, Mr. Johnson, you smashed my phone and broke it last timeâ¦â
âDidnât you buy a new one?â
Martha hesitated and didnât reply.
âGive it to me,â he insisted.
âBut I just bought itâ¦â Martha felt distressed at the thought of it getting damaged again.
Hansel said, âIâll get someone to send two iPhone 16s over to you later.â
âAlright!â Martha immediately handed over her phone in joy.
Taking the phone, Hansel turned around and dialed Mirandaâs number.
This time, he spoke before she could say anything, âSince you said you wanted a clean break, please come and take away the trash you left in the study. You have one day to clear it out. If you donât move it by tomorrow, Iâll have them thrown away.â
Miranda was momentarily taken aback, but she quickly realized he was referring to the technical books sheâd left in the study.
âFine.â With that, Miranda hung up.
Hansel held the phone to his ear and pursed his lips tightly when he heard the silence on the other end of the line.
Meanwhile, Miranda realized that the books might be too heavy for her to move them on her own.
She decided to call Winter. âAre you free tomorrow? I left some books at Hanselâs mansion. Can you drive me there to help me move them?â
Naturally, Winter agreed. âSure, you put so much effort into those books. Leaving them with that jerk would be a waste. Iâll drive over to pick you up in the morning.â
âOkay,â Miranda replied.
Winter didnât show up at her door the next day. Instead, Paul was the one who turned up.
He usually dressed in a shirt and pants, looking very scholarly.
However, he wore a simple white Tâshirt and blue jeans today. His soft black hair covered his forehead, making him look like a youthful college. student.
âWhy are you here? Whereâs Winter?â Miranda couldnât help but be surprised.Content is property of .
âShe overslept and asked me to come and help you instead,â he replied.
Miranda was at a loss for words. If she wasnât mistaken, Winter must have had too much fun last night. That was why she couldnât get up today.
Oh well, having some help was better than having none. So, she said, âIn that case, thank you for helping out.â