When fate plays its hand (Miranda)

hapter 0721

Miranda’s lips curled into a self–mocking smile.

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Paul’s breath hitched from this. For some reason, the slight smile at the corner of her lips gave him an inexplicable pang of unease. It was as if… he had missed something important.

When they finally left the factory, the evening was setting in. The guard shift had changed; the cheerful, talkative older man was off duty, replaced by a quieter, younger guard. Perhaps due to his shy nature, the young man silently took the keys, put them away, and opened the gate for them.

The evening sky was a deepening shade of gray, casting a somber glow over the bare branches along the road. Miranda and Paul walked side by side, with silence stretching between them.

Paul opened his mouth as if to speak but hesitated. He sensed her shifting mood, yet he didn’t know its cause, so he stayed cautiously quiet.

Suddenly, Miranda looked up with a smile. “Thank you, Dr. Jefferson, for the thoughtful birthday gift. It’s meaningful, and I really like it. In return, let me treat you to dinner. What would you like?”

Paul watched as she went from quiet contemplation to a warm, radiant smile in the blink of an eye. mood had been carefully composed.

He was momentarily taken aback until Miranda asked again, “Well, have you decided?”

“Let’s go for Dolorianese. Can you handle spicy food?”

“Sure!”

Her

her hands and wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck. Seeing this, Paul started to

“Nor

Dr. Jefferson.

he could question it,

casting a faint mist under the streetlights. The

slipped her hands into her coat pockets and glanced back at Paul. “Dr.

“Yes,” Paul nodded.

“When was it?”

when I bought you ice

laugh. “Your memory

he only remembered the important things, anything unimportant didn’t stick. But before he could,

please,” she said while taking out some cash to

1.2

Chapter 0721

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with a smile. “Here–since you bought me ice cream in the summer, I’m treating you to baked

They were even now.