When fate plays its hand

The next day, Miranda arrived at the lab to find Sebastian and Madison already there.

“Miranda!” the two of them excitedly called out to her

“How’s Mr. Hill doing? Is everything sorted out now?” she asked.

Madison nodded. “Yes, it’s all taken care of! Thanks to Seb-”

Miranda glanced at the two of them and smiled. “I almost forgot. Congratulations to you both for finding your happily ever after.”

Madison’s cheeks flushed red.

Sebastian’s lips curled up, and he replied meaningfully, “Same to you, Miranda.”

She raised an eyebrow.

Madison chimed in, “Exactly! Miranda, how could you not tell us you’re with Dr. Jefferson now?”

She had expected this and said, “Even if I didn’t tell you, you two already knew about it, right?”

“That’s different!”

Miranda retorted, “I did say I was going on a date. Wasn’t that obvious enough?”

Madison was at a loss for words. How was she supposed to get that? Was she at fault now?

That afternoon, Miranda returned to campus and dropped off some materials for Paul. noveldrama

“Miranda, you’re here!” Silas immediately paused what he was doing immediately and greeted her with a warm smile.

“Dr. Quinton, long time no see. How have you been?”

“Alright, just a bit swamped with overtime.” He deliberately lowered his voice during the latter part of his sentence, clearly worried that someone might overhear him.

“I see, then I should suggest Dr. Jefferson to ease up on the workload. One has to take one bite at a time, after all.”

Silas clapped his hands in approval, as if he had found a kindred spirit. “See, Miranda knows me the best!

11

“I brought some desserts for everyone. They are in the lounge. Dr. Quinton, can you inform Sandy and Mr. Sundale? The weather’s getting hotter, and I’m worried that the cream might melt.”

“Miranda, you’re too thoughtful! Just coming here is enough, there’s no need to bring afternoon tea as well. I’ll go tell them right away!”

“Alright.” Miranda nodded. “Where’s Dr. Jefferson?”

“Paul’s in his break room. The faculty office called earlier. There’s probably something urgent, so he’s on the phone,” Silas replied.

“Got it.”

Miranda walked through the lab area and found Paul’s break room. Back when she borrowed his lab, she had also used half of his area.

Once, she ran into Paul while he came in to change his clothes. Miranda had pretended to be asleep that time to avoid any awkwardness.

The door wasn’t locked, so she pushed it open tentatively.

Paul had his back turned toward her. He was holding a phone and arguing with someone on the other end. He looked over immediately when he heard the door open.

His expression softened inexplicably the moment his gaze landed on her.

Paul gestured to the couch, signaling for Miranda to come in and sit. He continued speaking into the phone, “I understand what you’re saying, but relationships should be mutual.

“While I sympathize with the school’s challenges, I ask for the same consideration regarding my position. Let’s discuss any further questions later. Goodbye.”

With that, he hung up and ended the conversation.

Miranda got up and walked toward him. “What’s wrong? It didn’t sound like a pleasant conversation.”

“It’s nothing, just a small issue.”

She didn’t press further. Instead, Miranda placed some documents on his desk. “I went to the dean’s office to submit some documents and ran into Dr. Yarwood. He asked me to pass this along to you.”

“Sonny?” Paul was a little surprised. He flipped through the documents and skimmed through a few pages. “I just casually mentioned it, but I didn’t think he’d actually find it.”

Miranda glanced at the content. It was all in Danglish and filled with technical jargon regarding physics. The sight made her dizzy.

Paul closed the file and set it aside, then he took her hand and led her to the couch.

“What do you want to drink?” he asked.

Miranda shook her head. “I’m not thirsty. I don’t feel like drinking anything.”

Despite that, Paul still placed a bottle of mineral water on the glass coffee table in front of her.

“Huh?”

“Just in case,” he explained. “You’ll feel thirsty later.”

Under her puzzled gaze, he suddenly leaned closer. The next second, his lips pressed against hers.

Miranda was stunned as she was caught off guard and unprepared. While she was frozen in shock, Paul skillfully deepened the kiss.

“Mmph…” She pushed against his shoulders.

Paul finally released her slightly, but he didn’t pull away completely. Their noses brushed against each other, their breaths intertwining.