Independence

Hansel had had quite a lot to drink the night before. Somewhere in the middle of the night, Calvin had suddenly made a huge fuss about continuing their drinking session at a second bar.

By the time Hansel’s driver, Dan Rover, brought him back to the mansion, the sun was already starting to rise.

Hansel managed to flop onto his bed. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly forced himself to get up and take a quick shower. “Maybe Mimi won’t get mad at me anymore like this,” Hansel thought groggily.

The next time he opened his eyes, it was because of extreme pain.

Hansel hissed as he pressed against his stomach and crawled up from the bed. “My stomach hurts! Mi-

Η

He stopped himself just as he thought of calling out to Miranda.

He frowned. Miranda seemed to be playing the game far too well now. She was holding out a lot longer than the last time this had happened.

Fine. He’d see just how long Miranda would be able to hold out without him

this time around.

Still, where were his pills?

Hansel went into the living room and pulled out all of his drawers, going through all the cabinets that his first–aid kit could possibly be hiding in, but to no avail. He then called Martha.

“Your gastric pills? They’re in the first–aid kit.”

Hansel felt the veins on his forehead throbbing wildly. He inhaled deeply and asked, “Where is the first–aid kit?”

“In the drawer of your walk–in closet. There are many bottles of your pills in there. Ms. Sutton said that you often get gastric pain if you go out drinking the night before. So, she put them closer to your bed where you’d be able to find them more easily-

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“Hello? Mr. Johnson? Are you still there? Why did you suddenly hang up…”

Hansel went into the walk–in closet and found the first–aid kit in the drawer, as Martha had mentioned. All five of his bottles of pills were neatly arranged in the bottom row of the kit.

After taking his pills and finally feeling the pain subside, Hansel gradually began to relax. He pushed the drawer back to leave, but all of a sudden, he froze.in his spot.

Nothing had gone missing from Miranda’s jewelry and designer handbag collection. However, all of Miranda’s documents, including her ID, driver’s license, diploma certificates, and the like, were all gone.

Hansel then looked in the corner, where he usually stored his travel suitcases. As expected, one of them had gone missing.

He stood in place and felt his rage starting to boil.

“Brilliant… Brilliant… Just fucking brilliant…” He kept nodding as he repeated the word over and over.

Just as he’d thought, women should never be indulged. Otherwise, they’d kick up a huge fuss and then walk all over him.

At that moment, he suddenly heard the sound of the front door opening. He dashed downstairs immediately.

“Wait, why are you here?”

Tina was just changing into indoor slippers. When she heard Hansel’s question, she asked in surprise, “What? Were you expecting someone else?”

Hansel walked over to the couch gloomily and took a seat. “What are you doing here? What do you want?”

“We heard from Martha that your gastric was acting up again. I’m just visiting you on Mom’s orders to make sure you’re still alive.”

Tina then walked into the kitchen as she continued, “I haven’t had any lunch, and I’m starving. I thought of joining you for a meal.”

One of the other reasons Tina was fond of Miranda was because of her

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cooking. Miranda’s home–cooked meals were just to die for.

Less than a minute later, however, Tina shrieked, “Hans! Why is there no food in your kitchen? Where’s Miranda? Is she not home today? But that shouldn’t be…”

Usually, Miranda would’ve been done preparing lunch for Hansel by this time. of the day. Tina had purposely timed her visit so that she’d be able to join them for lunch if she was lucky.

Hansel massaged his temples with his fingers. Miranda again!

Tina walked out of the kitchen with a disappointed look on her face. “Is she not feeling well? I bumped into her at the hospital entrance a while ago and thought she looked a little pale…”

“You bumped into her at the hospital?” Hansel asked, suddenly sitting up straight.

“I did. I was visiting Dr. Young at Westerton Hospital when I met Miranda at the entrance. Oh, by the way, Hans, Dr. Young agreed to let me join the combined Master’s and Doctorate program under her wing!”

Hansel frowned. “What was she doing at the hospital?”

“You’re asking me?” Tina shot back. “How would I know if you don’t even know the reason yourself?”

Hansel said nothing.

“There’s also a probability that she wasn’t sick and was just visiting someone there. But then again, I don’t think I’ve heard of her having any friends. Her world only has you in it…”

“Are you done yapping?”

“Huh?”

“If you’re done, then get out of here. I’m still half–asleep,” Hansel said, getting up from the couch.

“No, wait… Why are you trying so hard to get rid of me? Fine, I’ll leave,” Tina said with an angry huff. She put her shoes back on and said, “By the way, I

came here on a mission.”

Hansel didn’t want to continue listening to her and kept walking up the stairs..

“Mom arranged a blind date for you at Cielo Gourmet tomorrow at 2:00 pm.

Don’t be lateConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“You’re only good at spouting nonsense.

Tina made an ugly face at Hansel before finally leaving the mansion.

It wasn’t like she was surprised at this arrangement anyway. After all, nobody said Hansel couldn’t be with Miranda while still looking for a suitable marriage partner he was compatible with. Those were two separate things altogether.

Hansel had been on plenty of blind dates, too. Though, most of the time, he’d just show up and do the bare minimum, just enough to satisfy Evelyn.

After getting rid of Tina, Hansel went into his study to settle some of his work

matters.

A few years ago, he’d insisted on starting his own business to break free from his parents‘ control. The first three years had been hard on him. He’d also refused help from his family, resorting to only seeking support from Miranda.

He’d finally had his break and made a name for himself by founding his own company about two years ago. People had also stopped labeling him as a playboy and a good–for–nothing born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Only then had his family’s attitude toward him softened. They’d also begun approaching him more actively.

The change in their attitude could be clearly seen in how they treated Miranda. They used to oppose Hansel and Miranda dating, but now they turned a blind eye to their relationship.

By the time Hansel was done with his work, the sun had already set. The last rays of sunshine were still visible outside his window, but the city lights were starting to turn on.

Hansel then realized that he was hungry.

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He took out his phone and called his girlfriend. “What are you doing?”

He heard the sound of bells ringing on the other end of the line. Then, a soft voice said, “Dear, I’m sorry, but I’m in the middle of class. I’ll come and look. for you after it’s over.”

Hansel felt queasy when she called him “dear“. He just hummed and said, Okay. Go ahead with your class.”

He then hung up and tossed the phone aside.

His phone started ringing just half a minute later, but he didn’t even look at it as he buried himself in more work.

It wasn’t until his stomach started growling loudly in protest that he finally left the study reluctantly.

He called up Calvin and the gang to meet up for dinner. Then, he got changed and prepared to leave.

A young woman had been sitting outside his door. When she heard him turning the knob, she hurriedly got up and turned around, smiling at Hansel brightly yet shyly.

“Ingy?”

“Sorry. I knocked, but you probably didn’t hear me, so I could only wait outside for you,” Ingrid said, looking at the jacket Hansel had draped over his arm. “Are you going out?”

Hansel didn’t answer her. Instead, he just frowned and asked, “How did you find my address?”

Ingrid admitted guiltily, “I asked your friend.”

“Calvin?”

“No, not him. Zach.”

“Come in,” Hansel then said.

Ingrid’s face lit up again as she skipped through the door. She took a good look inside the mansion while complaining to Hansel. “You didn’t pick up my

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calls after you hung up on me. I was so worried for a long time!”

“Weren’t you in class?” Hansel asked.

“I skipped it. My boyfriend is far more important.”

Miranda would never have done that.

When Hansel had started pursuing Miranda back then, she’d still been a freshman in college. Her days had been filled to the brim with classes, yet she’d never skip a class for him.

After that, they’d started seeing each other. Since Miranda had fewer classes in her senior year, only then had she started freeing up her time to be with Hansel.

“Dear, you haven’t eaten anything, have you? I-”

“Do you know how to make cream of vegetable soup?” Hansel suddenly blurted.

“Cream of… vegetable soup?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t, but I guess I can learn.”

Hansel firmly turned down Ingrid’s blatant hints to spend the night at his place. After eating the takeout she brought for him, he then drove her back to her college dorm before going to look for Calvin.

While waiting at a traffic light, Hansel glanced briefly at his phone. He

suddenly remembered Tina telling him earlier today that she’d seen Miranda at the hospital.

Although they’d already broken up, he still cared for her because they’d been together for such a long time. He figured that he should show some concern to Miranda, even if they were now just platonic friends.

He tapped on the WhatsApp icon and texted Miranda. “Are you not feeling well?”

However, only a single gray tick could be seen on the text message bubble instead of the usual two, meaning that his message had been sent but Miranda hadn’t received it.

In other words, Miranda had blocked his number.