When fate plays its hand

Chapter 0983

Madison explained, “My dad said I should come back after graduating from my master’s program…”

Sebastian froze. He had never really considered that Madison wasn’t from Jandersville. As the only child of her family, it was unlikely that her parents would allow her to continue staying in Jandersville after graduation.

Madison handed him her phone. “Help me choose a house. Which one looks good? Seb? Seb!”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking you to help me pick a house.”

Sebastian’s heart sank. “Are you planning to return to Gulsberg after graduation?”

Madison propped her chin on her hand. “I’m not sure yet. I don’t really want to go back, but I also don’t see any reason to stay here either…”

Sebastian blurted out, “But can you bear to leave me… Uh, I mean… Miranda and the rest of us?

Madison shook her head. “Of course I’ll miss you all! Let’s not think about it now. I’ll figure it out when the time comes.”

She seemed optimistic, but Sebastian spent the whole night tossing and turning.

Meanwhile, Paul walked Miranda home after picking her up from the restaurant.

“Joli got accepted into the doctoral program, so he treated us to a meal to celebrate,” Miranda said.

Paul asked, “Is Dr. Young still his supervisor?”

“Yeah.”

As they reached the entrance of the apartment building, Miranda suddenly asked, “Dr. Jefferson, why didn’t you

hold my

hand earlier?”

“Huh?”

“When you came to pick me up.‘

Now, he was holding her hand tightly.

Paul hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously, “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to make our relationship public in front of Madison and the others, so…‘

He was afraid of putting her in an uncomfortable position, so he hadn’t initiated contact.

Chapter Cepa

+26 BORIUS

“Well, you didn’t hold my hand either…” he muttered under his breath.

Miranda could detect a hint of disappointment in his tone if she listened closely. She was slightly taken aback at how quickly Paul was catching on.

“Dr. Jefferson, listen to me. I’m not afraid of going public with our relationship, and I don’t think there is anything to be concerned about from being with you. So next time-

“Okay, I’ll take the initiative and hold your hand, he finished her sentence.

Miranda laughed as he tightened his grip on her hand slightly. A smile spread across his face as well.

Hand in hand, they walked up to the seventh floor. Paul didn’t let go of her hand, nor did his smile falter.

Miranda asked, “Are you really that happy?”

“I’m very glad that you don’t mind going public.

“Are you happier than getting published in ‘Science?“”

Paul answered, “There’s no comparison. This is much harder than publishing in ‘Science.“” Miranda called him silly, but Paul just smiled happily, unfazed by her teasing.

She reached out and pinched his cheek. “How could you be this adorable?” noveldrama

Her fingers were soft and smooth despite feeling slightly cool to the touch. The moment her skin brushed against his, Paul froze as if he had been electrified. He stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

Miranda’s eyes lit up, as if she had discovered something interesting. She pinched his cheek again. “The more I look at you, the cuter you seem.”

Paul gave her a helpless look and allowed her to do as she pleased. His smile persisted on his face. “You really…”

Just as Miranda reached out to pinch his cheek again, he caught her wrist and gently enclosed her other hand in his. “Your hands are too cold. Let me warm them for you.”

Stunned, Miranda froze and a warm feefing welled up within her at that moment.

Paul finally let go of her hands with a reluctant look in his eyes. He struggled to pull his lingering gaze away from Miranda, as if he hadn’t had enough of looking at her.

She took out her keys to open the door. Turning back, she said, “Goodnight, Paul.”

Instead of saying goodnight like he usually did, Paul took the chance to glance into her apartment behind her.

.

Noticing his expression, Miranda asked half–jokingly, “Do you want to stay over tonight?”