When fate plays its hand

Chapter 0689

In the perspective of the two men, what they saw was Miranda leaning against the pillar with her arms wrapped around herself, her cheeks flushed as she trembled uncontrollably.

“Miranda? Miranda! Are you okay?” Paul tried to wake her up, but her eyes remained closed despite her trembling eyelashes/She seemed to be on the edge of going unconscious and looked very unstable.

Paul’s heart sank as he touched her forehead…

“This won’t do! Miranda’s body temperature is getting higher. If this fever continues, something serious could happen before the doors even open,” he said.

Sam couldn’t hold back his irritation. “Do you think I don’t know that? But there’s nothing here. What can we even do?”

They didn’t have fever medicine, no heater, and not even a decent place they could shelter from the wind. Paul glanced at him briefly before he stretched out his hand. He had his palm open at a 90–degree angle to his body.

“What are you doing?”

Paul didn’t rush to answer. After a few seconds, he withdrew his hand and explained, “The wind is blowing from the northwest. It won’t stop the wind completely, but it won’t blow directly on her If we move her behind that pillar.”

“Alright.” Sam immediately got to work.

After that, he turned to Paul instinctively. “What next? I brought a lighter. I might be able to start a fire if I find some dry wood.”

“No, you shouldn’t. There are smoke detectors installed in the north and south directions. If we start a fire and trigger an alarm, the whole area in the park will be flooded with water.

Sam froze at the mention of the alarm.

“Then what do you suggest? What can I do?”

Paul raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Cooper, are you going to follow my instructions?”

Sam sneered, “Just look at the situation we’re in now. Although I don’t like you, I know when to set aside our differences.”

Paul stared at him for two seconds before he continued, “I have some fever medicine in my bag. Find it and mix it with warm water for her to drink.”

Sam exclaimed, “What? You had medicine this whole time? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“You didn’t ask.”

Sam didn’t respond and rummaged through the bag. “Is this it?”

“Yes, follow the dosage on the instructions.”

While Sam was feeding Miranda the medicine, Paul took out gauze and rubbing alcohol from his bag

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Then, he tore the gauze into strips.

Sam furrowed his brows. “What are you doing?”

“I’m using alcohol to wipe her palms, forehead, and behind her ears to see if we can lower her fever,” Paul said without pausing his actions.

After Sam finished giving Miranda her medicine, he joined in to help. One of them ripped the gauze, while the other soaked it in alcohol and wiped Miranda’s palms.

The rain and wind had stopped, and the world seemed to fall silent.

The two men, who used to never get along, worked together seamlessly at that moment, as if they had perfect coordination.

After half an hour, Paul measured Miranda’s temperature again with the thermometer.

“How is it?” Sam was drenched in sweat.

Paul answered, “It came down…”

“Thank goodness.”

But it hasn’t dropped much. She still has a fever,” Paul continued.

Sam was about to let out a sigh of relief, only for it to catch in his throat.

Paul asked, “How much alcohol is left?”

Sam answered, “Not much.”

1

“Let’s continue. We can only take it one step at a time.”

“Alright.”

Fortunately, Miranda’s temperature dropped from 107 degrees to 100 degrees after using up the last of the alcohol. She still had a low–grade fever.

By then, four of the five hours that Emery promised had passed.

Another hour went by, but the doors remained firmly shut. Even the phone signal was gone! They couldn’t call Emery to ask what was going on, let alone reach medical assistance. NôvelDrama.Org content.

Furious, Sam muttered curses, nearly kicking the door in anger.

Paul said calmly, “I suggest you hold back if you don’t want to trigger more emergency settings in the system.”

“Oh. Sam stepped back reluctantly. He had made one mistake already; he couldn’t afford to make

another.

Paul helped Miranda sit up and turned to Sam. “You, come over here.”

“What for?”

“Sit behind her.”

“Why?”

“We’ll surround her, one in the front and another behind her. The pillar will block the wind from her side. This will form a shelter from the wind and help keep her warm.”

“Alright.”

It turned out that body heat could really transfer between people. Even though the three of them weren’t in close contact, just sitting near each other generated some warmth in a short time.

Perhaps it was truly working, or maybe it was just a psychological effect, but the close proximity seemed to help.

At dawn, Miranda’s fever finally broke, and her breathing became steadier.

Paul and Sam both let out a sigh of relief. Fatigue washed over them, and both of them began to doze off.

Sunlight pierced through the thick clouds and casted a golden light on the snowy mountain peaks. It was another rare sunny day during the winter.

At this time, the dew still had not evaporated. The gentle breeze blew, creating a serene and tranquil

scene.

The exit doors were finally opened, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the area. The birds resting in the trees were startled and fluttered away in a flock.

Hansel had waited all night until morning. The moment the doors opened, he was the first to rush in. His footsteps were hurried and urgent. He couldn’t wait another moment to see the person he had worried about all night.

There were no surveillance cameras in the temperature–controlled zone, so he had no idea what Miranda’s condition was or how she had endured the night.

In addition, with Paul and Sam… He didn’t know what they had done to her…

Hansel knew he shouldn’t dwell on such thoughts. He should have been hoping that she was safe and well, but the conflicting emotions appeared in his mind involuntarily and out of his control.

That was why Hansel looked so anxious. After a sleepless night, there were dark circles under his eyes, and stubble covered his chin. He looked like a wreck.

The next second, he stopped in his tracks. Hansel stood frozen on the spot in shock.