After a little while, James threw on his jacket and came downstairs, heading straight for Mirabe. "Ready to roll?" he asked.


    Mirabe shot him a sideways nce, "I can get to school by myself, you know."


    But James just took her hand naturally, their fingers interlocking snugly. "I''ve got some business at the school too. It''s on the way," he said.


    Mirabe raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it.


    James gave her hand a gentle squeeze, leaving no room for argument, and started leading her out the door. "I''m meeting someone at the Physics Department," he added, finally offering an exnation.


    Hearing this, Mirabe remembered the project at the Science and Technology Department and decided to drop the subject.


    Half an hourter, they pulled up to the school. James didn''t bother parking outside; he drove right in and dropped Mirabe off at the Biology Department before heading off to the Physics Department himself.


    Mirabe made her way straight to her ssroom.


    Lisa had been looking much better over the past couple of days. When she saw Mirabe walk in, she asked with concern, "You rushed out this morning, everything okay?"


    "Yeah, all good," Mirabe replied with a smile.


    Lisa nodded, relieved. "That''s great. I almost called to check on you, but I didn''t want to bug you."


    Lisa muttered a few more words before diving back into her books. But as her gaze wandered over Mirabe''s neck, she froze, blinking rapidly as if she''d just stumbled upon something unbelievable. "Mira, your neck..."


    She gestured at Mirabe''s neck.


    "Hmm?" Mirabe turned to Lisa, reaching up to touch her neck. "What is it?"


    Lisa covered her face, pulling out her phone and turning on the camera. She handed it to Mirabe, "Take a look."


    Mirabe nced at the screen, noticing the mark on her neck. Her cheeks twitched slightly before she casually handed the phone back to Lisa. "Oh, I adopted a cat," she said nonchntly, pulling her cor up a bit.


    Lisa''s lips twitched in disbelief. Could a cat really do that? She felt like she was being fed a tale as unlikely as being handed a bag of cat treats.


    Mirabe cleared her throat as her phone buzzed in her pocket. Without looking back at Lisa, she pulled it out.


    It was a voice message from Niki, who hadn''t been in touch for a while. Nearly sixty seconds long, it yed through her earphones as she listened intently.


    Once she finished listening, the earlier apology from Niki finally made sense.


    **


    Meanwhile, just after sending the voice message, Niki was startled when Dane, who had been standing outside, suddenly barged into the room.


    The door banged loudly against the wall, making Niki jump. He looked up at his eldest son, frowning, "Ever heard of knocking?"


    Dane eyed his father''s pocket and extended his hand, "Dad, I heard what you said. Hand over the phone."


    Niki stayed seated, "I''ve told you


    before, even if the Reeves family falls apart, we won''t stoop to underhanded tactics. If you''re hoping to use me to get the form from Mirabe, forget it."


    In just two days, Niki seemed to have aged years, burdened by a struggle


    between his conscience and guilt.


    "Dad, why are you so stubborn? I''m your son. Are you trying to drive me crazy?" Dane asked, rubbing his face in frustration. He couldn''t wrap his head around why a few simple forms were causing such a fuss.