When fate plays its hand

Chapter 0780

+25 BONUS

Sam stayed by Miranda’s side while they were at Aren and Fiona’s home. It was fun, and she was genuinely happy. But eventually, the late hour started to take its toll, and fatigue set in.

Once she got home, she immediately took a shower. As she was drying her hair and getting ready to go to bed, she heard a knock at the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Paul.”

She quickly wrapped her damp hair in a towel and rushed to open the door. “Dr. Jefferson? “She was surprised to see him there, especially at this hour, since he rarely visited so late. To him, knocking on a woman’s door at night was considered pretty rude. So, it must have been important for him to come over now.

When Miranda opened the door, she saw Paul standing there. He looked slightly awkward as he glanced at her in her sleepwear, with her hair still wrapped in a towel. He seemed ‘momentarily frustrated.

“Sorry to disturb you,” he said.

“Dr. Jefferson.” Miranda smiled. “You’re not disturbing me. Come in.”

Paul hesitated for a moment before stepping inside. He took off his shoes and slipped on the slippers by the door. But when he saw a new pair next to him, his expression darkened. It didn’t take long to figure out whose slippers those were. They must have been Sam’s. “Please take a seat. Do you mind if I finish drying my hair? It’ll only take about ten minutes.

“Sure. Dry your hair first. I don’t want you catching a cold.”

Miranda had planned to dry her hair in the bathroom, but it was still damp from her shower, and everything was getting foggy.

Normally, she would’ve gone to the living room, but today, she decided to head into the bedroom. She unplugged the blow dryer and started to walk in when Paul called out to her.

“Stay in the living room. I’ll go check on the plants.”

She felt a warmth in her chest at his words. As she watched him walk toward the balcony, an unexpected sense of comfort washed over her, like someone was looking out for her. It was something she had only ever felt with her father, Lionel.

“The plants on the left haven’t been watered in a week. Could you water them for me?”

+25 BONUS

Chapter 0780

“Of course,” Paul said.

Ten minutes later, Miranda walked to the balcony. “Dr. Jefferson, are you done?”

He stood up. “All done.”

Not only had he watered the plants, but he had also pulled some weeds and tended to the pots on the right side.

“Thank you. Come inside. It’s cold out there. Don’t stay out too long,” she said.

“Alright.”

Paul went to wash his hands. When he came out, he found Miranda sitting on the couch, looking at him. Her face was slightly flushed, her hair still a little damp but falling perfectly around her face. Her eyes–dark and bright–shone in the light.

As she looked at him, Paul froze. His throat tightened. He cleared it before speaking, and his voice was a little rough. “What is it?”

“Dr. Jefferson, did you come here for something?”

Paul lowered his eyes and walked over to the couch. He pulled out a stack of papers from his bag.

Right, he had been carrying a bag when he came in.

“Your father asked me to help him find some papers on interdisciplinary studies between biology and physics. They’re kind of obscure, so it took a while, but I finished putting them together today. You can give these to him.”

Miranda was taken aback. “You’ve been so busy, and you still helped my dad with this? No, I’m calling him tomorrow. He should handle this himself or ask me if he needs help. You shouldn’t always be doing this for him.”

“It’s okay,” he replied with a shrug. “I have access to a lot of research papers, and your father is always eager to learn. If he could find them himself, he wouldn’t have asked me. Don’t worry about it. This is just between him and me, and we handle it separately.”

Miranda nodded and took the papers from him “Thank you so much.”

Paul hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Do you have anything to eat?”

She blinked in surprise.