When fate plays its hand

Chapter 0332

“Crap!” Winter slapped away the hand resting on her shoulder and stood upright. She was secretly relieved that she had tossed the cigarette butt earlier.

After much effort, Miranda finally managed to close her mouth. “Uh… Winter, you forgot your bag

She merely came over to return the bag, but what on earth did she stumble upon?

Winter, of all people, was draped over a man with arms around each other in an incredibly close manner Not to mention, why did the man’s back look so familiar?

When they both turned toward her, the mystery was solved–it was Zach!

So this was the “business partner” Winter was talking about?

Winter walked forward and took the bag from Miranda’s hand. “Thanks, Mimi, for coming all this way to return my bag at this late hour! You should head back; it’s very late now, and it’s not safe.

“Til stay here and watch you until you’re safely upstairs. Once you’re on the balcony, give me a wave, and then Пl leave.”

“Alright,” Miranda agreed, turning to go back home.

She knew the kind of person Winter was. Though Winter might appear carefree, she always had a plan in place. So Miranda didn’t feel the need to ask any questions

Between friends, sometimes silence was the best form of respect.

True to her word, Winter stood in place, watching until she saw Miranda wave to her from the balcony Only then did she feel comfortable leaving.

“Wait a minute. You took my car! Aren’t you giving me a lift?” Zach caught up to her, slightly breathless

“We’re going in opposite directions, how would that work? Winter replied casually,

Zach was at a loss for words.

“Just get a taxi! It wo

cost you much,” she suggested sincerely.

As she spoke, she revved the engine, counted down silently, then released the handbrake. The car then shot forward like an arrow.

Zach’s voice trailed off behind her, completely drowned out by the speed of the car-

“Winter, isn’t your car fixed already! Why are you borrowing mine! Be careful with it, it’s brand new! It took me a while to even dare to drive it myself!”

However, Zach’s sacrifice was met with a shocking sight the next day. While walking down Wells Street, be personally witnessed Winter driving his beloved Maserati, speeding by with the top down.

To add insult to injury, a young man was sitting in the passenger seat!

Damn it!” Zach cursed under his breath while clenching his teeth.

Why did it feel like he was getting cuckolded?

+25 BONUS

By the end of July, Miranda had finally completed her three theses.

After gathering all the necessary data, she spent a full week revising them over and over again–six times in total–with Paul’s help. Once she was confident everything was in order, she submitted the papers to three different scientific journals.

Now, all that was left to do was wait for a response.

She no longer had to rush to the lab early in the morning, worry about prepping lunch to take with her or fret about fitting everything in her day. Her fear that she wouldn’t finish her data collection if she took too long a nap at noon had now disappeared.

With more free time, it felt as though the days slowed down.

She could leisurely browse the local market, tend to her plants without hurry, and occasionally experiment with new recipes when the mood struck.

She even found time to video chat with her parents often, sometimes chatting for a good half hour.

“You’ve finished all three papers?” Lionel asked.

“Yeah. Thanks to Dr. Jefferson for letting me use his lab. Without that, who knows how long it would’ve taken to gather all the data.”

Of course, without solid data, her papers wouldn’t have been possible to write.

Lionel teased, “Well, considering how many people would kill to have access to that lab, and how Dr. Jefferson gave it to you for free, shouldn’t you thank him properly?”

Miranda had only recently realized how in–demand Paul’s lab truly was.

Before her, many had tried to borrow or even rent the space. They even offered money, only to be turned

down flat.

But for her, Paul made an exception. No wonder her four labmates, Sandy, Silas, Bryan, and Elizabeth, had given her such strange looks in the beginning.

Chapter 0333