The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella)

Mirabella nodded slightly, greeting politely, "Hey, Nikolai."

Nikolai waved his hand, quickly inviting her to sit and filling her cup with more

coffee as he nostalgically chatted about the past.

Back then, because of an issue with his second son, Asher, he felt too

embarrassed to discuss anything about medicine with her.

"So, did you come to Riverdale because of a patient?" Mirabella asked, still

holding Nikolai in high regard and brushing off past events.

Nikolai nodded, being upfront, "Yeah, there's someone at the city hospital with a rare condition. They asked me to come by and take a look."

Mirabella cradled her coffee cup, lightly tracing the rim with her fingertips, and smiled, "Well, you're a trailblazer in alternative medicine."

Nikolai chuckled, shaking his head, "Compared to your skills, mine don't even come close."

Such a talented young woman, he thought. It was a shame the Reeves family didn't get the chance to learn more from her.

Mirabella glanced at Nikolai and humbly said, "You're too kind."

Nikolai just smiled, but then his phone rang. It was Dane calling.

He answered briefly and hung up quickly. Nikolai's expression hardened a bit as he put his phone away, then continued talking with Mirabella, "By the way, how's James doing these days?"

Mentioning James made Mirabella recall she hadn't gotten a reply to her message from earlier. She paused before nodding, "He's doing well."

She wondered what on earth was keeping him so busy. As she thought about it, she pulled out her phone. No missed calls, no new messages.

Lately, everyone seemed tied up with something, either not getting back to her or not reaching out at all.

After their

Nikola Mirabella noticed

taking a call during dinner, so they didn't linger long before settling the bill.

Stepping out of the restaurant, Mirabella was about to call a cab when she ran into Dane, who had come to pick up Nikolai.

Nikolai hesitated for a moment, then turned to Mirabella, "Where are you staying? Dane can give you a lift."

Dane, glancing at her, chimed in politely, "Yeah, I can drop you off."

Mirabella, with her hands tucked in her coat pockets, felt the chilly wind tousle her hair. She gave Dane a

bglance and declined, "Thanks,

but I'll just grab a cab."

With that, she nodded at Nikolai and headed towards the street, her figure solitary and composed.

Dane squinted, thinking how she was as distant as ever.

Nikolai looked away, not paying much attention to his son's expression, and said, "Let's head home."

Soon, they were in the car. As Dane started the engine and drove off, he glanced in the rearview mirror, "Dad, you seem to have a good rapport with her?"

Nikolai thought for a moment, replying nonchalantly, "Not particularly. We just hadn't caught up in a while."

Dane, eyes focused on the road,noveldrama

noted his father's casual tone, then added, heard from Emmitt that

you used to sell her herbs at a

discount and asked her to teach him some pharmacology."

Nikolai frowned, surprised that his son had the guts to bring that up with Emmitt.