When fate plays its hand

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“Really? Miranda asked.

Paul nodded. “Yes”

Miranda took a deep breath. “Thank you. I feel much better.”

Paul watched her collect her emotions and felt slightly more relieved. “Are you hungry?” he asked. “I remember that there’s a decent Dolorian restaurant nearby.”

After giving it some thought, Miranda didn’t reject his offer.

The Dolorian restaurant’s signature dish was spicy wings. However, Paul couldn’t really take spice, so they ordered a mix of honey–glazed and spicy wings.

The spicy wings were steaming from the heat. They looked appetizing.

Miranda was still feeling pretty down, but the gloominess lifted slightly in the lively atmosphere of the restaurant.

Besides the wings, the fries were perfectly crisp, and the coleslaw was fresh and crunchy. They reawakened her diminished appetite.

Despite the raging storm outside, the restaurant was extremely warm.

As she listened to the conversations happening in the background, her emotions. slowly returned to normal.

She looked up and noticed that Paul wasn’t eating much. Based on his slow movements, he didn’t look hungry. It seemed like he had only brought her here to cheer her up.

Thinking about that dark, rainy night in the past, he had also kept her company in a similarly gentle and subtle fashion. She felt immensely grateful to him.

“Thanks… for today.” She never thought she would get pulled into such a difficult situation. If Paul hadn’t appeared, she was afraid that she would never have been able to get out of that predicament. “To me, what happened just now was like a nightmare.”

Even though she’d tried to convince herself that she didn’t care anymore, how could she really not be affected by that?

At that thought, she snapped out of her reverie. Meeting Paul’s clear gaze, she

suddenly smiled. “Thankfully, you showed up like you fell from the sky. You were just like… my savior.”

“That’s not how you use ‘savior.” Paul burst into laughter.

Miranda looked at Paul’s eyes behind his glasses as his laughter filled her ears.

“You’re much stronger and tougher than you think.”

Paul wasn’t trying to comfort her because she was feeling down. Instead, he wanted to make it clear to her that she was already very tenacious.

Miranda was stunned for a few seconds. Suddenly, she laughed out loud. “Your glasses are all steamed up. Can you even see anything?”

Paul’s glasses were already covered in condensation from the steam of the food, making him look comical.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Paul took them off in exasperation. He grabbed a tissue and began to wipe them. This is why I rarely come to barbecue restaurants.”

Miranda smiled, cupping her cheek with one hand. “So you don’t like barbecue

restaurants.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it. I just find it a bit tnconvenient.”

After wiping his glasses, he put them back on.

Miranda nodded. She thought back to the time he ate at her house. It was true that he hadn’t really expressed his likes or dislikes.

Seeing her in a daze, Paul said, “The ribs are not bad. Try it.”

“Thanks. I’ll help myself.”

Paul still had to go back to the lab, so he just dropped her off at the duplex lobby.

The rain had stopped, but the roads were still wet. A chilly breeze blew, making Miranda shiver. She automatically wrapped the jacket more tightly around herself when a woody scent reached her nose.

Looking down at the dark coat on her body, she couldn’t help but laugh. She remembered that Paul only had his turtleneck sweater. Was he… going to be okay?

However, the next day, she heard him sneezing non–stop. Thus, she concluded that men were no more resistant to the cold than women.

Tve sent your jacket to the dry cleaner. It should come back in a few days.”