Chapter 0210

Miranda was startled awake by the sound of knocking. She sat up abruptly, realizing someone was knocking on her door.

“Who is it?” she asked cautiously through the door.

Paul was working late at the lab that night, so if it was an intruder, she had no one to rely on.

The knocking paused for a moment, but whoever was outside didn’t respond. When Miranda didn’t open the door, the knocking resumed.

“If you don’t tell me who you are, I won’t open the door.”

“Mimi,” Hansel said with a bitter smile. She was still as stubborn as ever.

“What do you want?” Miranda’s eyebrows furrowed the moment she heard his voice.

“Let me in. We need to talk. I promise I won’t do anything to you. If you’re not comfortable, you can leave the door partially open.”

“There’s nothing for us to talk about,” Miranda cut him off, clearly not intending to open the door.

No matter how much he knocked or pleaded afterward, she acted as if she couldn’t hear him. Even so, Hansel seemed unusually patient that night; when she didn’t open the door, he just kept knocking.

Even after Miranda finished her shower, she could still hear the knocking. Frustrated, she picked up her phone. “Hello, police? Someone’s been knocking on my door nonstop…”

So, in the end, Hansel was half-coaxed and half-dragged away by the police.

Finally, there was peace.

Miranda then lay down on her bed, ready for sleep.

The next morning, after she got up, she prepared breakfast, packed her clothes, and headed to the lab. She planned to stay there for the next couple of days to avoid her apartment.

It was partly to keep Hansel from knocking on her door again, but also because she needed to speed up her work. She had to finish her paper before her graduate program started in September.

So, this was a practical solution to both problems.

But just as she stepped out of her building, the person she was trying to avoid suddenly emerged from a nearby alley and blocked her path.

Miranda froze.

“Having fun?” Hansel asked. His face was dark as he glared at her.

He hadn’t slept all night. After spending time at the police station, the once dashing man now had a light stubble, making him look weary and disheveled.

His eyes were full of conflicting emotions as they gazed at Miranda. It was love mixed with resentment, and anger with pity.

“You got me lectured all night. Are you satisfied now?” His words sounded accusatory, but his tone was so soft that it almost seemed like he was whining.

Miranda looked at him calmly, her eyes betraying no emotion. “First, I wasn’t playing games. You really disturbed me.”

“Second, you were lectured because you were causing a disturbance in the middle of the night—you deserved it.”

“Why didn’t you open the door?”

Miranda replied, “I never open the door for strangers.”

Those words struck a nerve in Hansel. “What do you mean by strangers? Are you saying you don’t know me, or I don’t know you? What about the lives we shared the past six years?”

“You said it yourself—it’s the past. Since it’s already in the past, don’t let it affect the present!”

“So you hate me that much?” Hansel asked.

Hate him enough to deny everything they once had?

“No,” Miranda shook her head as she met his eyes. She then spoke each word clearly, “Hate is rooted in love. There can only be hate if there’s love, but I don’t love you anymore.”

Right after their breakup, no matter how composed Miranda appeared, she had been filled with hate.

She hated his easy betrayal and resented his heartless decision to end things. She had already mourned their six years together, which were now gone.

She endured the toughest times and gradually healed her inner wounds. When she looked back now, it felt like she had been through so much and was moving on.

Miranda continued, “I’ve already let go. You should accept reality and focus on living your own life.”

“Let go? How can you let go?” How could she be willing to? Hansel suddenly became agitated.

Seeing him so irrational and stubborn, Miranda couldn’t help but find it…