When fate plays its hand

Miranda responded calmly, “It came with the laundry detergent I bought at the store. I didn’t pay attention to the size, but I can still use it.”

She was being honest.

“Paul, how about a quick game or two?” Lionel asked with a smile as he rubbed his hands in anticipation.

“Sure,” Paul agreed without hesitation.”

The two played from 8:30 pm until 11:00 pm.

Miranda sat nearby and read several research papers, but neither showed signs of stopping.

After watching them for about ten minutes, Mindy grabbed her laptop and headed to her bedroom. By the time she finished a 6,000–word draft, Lionel and Paul were still as engrossed in the game as they had been hours earlier.

She suspected they hadn’t even taken a bathroom break. What really surprised her, though, was Miranda.

“Mimi, what are you still doing here? You used to get bored watching this stuff.”

It was true that mothers always knew their kids best. Her daughter never had the patience for games like this before. Back at the Garrison estate, when Paul and Aren played chess, she couldn’t sit through it and would go upstairs to nap. But now, she had changed.

Back then, Paul wasn’t Miranda’s boyfriend. Now that he was… well, she couldn’t help but pay more attention to him.

“I’ve actually found this game pretty interesting lately,” Miranda replied.

“Really? Your dad’s been playing for years, and you’ve never shown any interest. What’s got you hooked all of a sudden?” Mindy didn’t push the issue any further. Instead, she turned to Lionel. “Once this game is over, you should get some rest. Paul has work early tomorrow.”

“Alright. I’ll just finish this one up,” he replied.

Half an hour later, the game ended, and the winner was decided.

Lionel said, “I had two knights. How did you still manage to sneak up on me?” He stared at the board for ten seconds, then slapped his leg in realization, “I was too careless. Let’s play another round. I won’t make the same mistake next time.”

Mindy cleared her throat, and he finally snapped out of it. Ah, look at me! I lost track of time with all this game. Paul, you better head home. We’ll play again another day.”

“Sure,” Paul said.

“Miranda, walk him out…”

“Okay.” She stood up and smirked. “Let’s go, Dr. Jefferson,

Paul obediently put on his shoes and stepped out. He grabbed his keys and walked toward his apartment across the hall, with Miranda following closely behind–clearly in the role of someone seeing him off.

Just as he inserted the key into the lock, he suddenly turned and pulled her into his arms in one smooth motion. Before she could let out a startled gasp, he leaned down and kissed her deeply.

As expected, her lips were soft and sweet. He couldn’t resist kissing her again and again. But still, it wasn’t enough.

He gently nibbled on her lip and was unable to stop himself The kiss grew more hungry, more urgent.

Miranda, initially caught off guard by the suddenness of his kiss, quickly responded. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss with a soft response. He was intense, but she matched his pace with ease.

Paul’s eyes darkened as he deepened the kiss. He wanted to pull her deeper into the moment, to make her lose herself, and to have her fall under his spell.

But he quickly realized the control wasn’t entirely his. With that same calm smile, she kept pace with him. When he kissed her harder, she matched him. When he slowed, she did the same.

Suddenly, he felt discouraged, but the next second she moaned. The dullness in his eyes lifted and was replaced by a renewed spark. noveldrama

“Mimi… Mimi…”

Just then, a voice called from a distance. “Mimi? Has Paul left yet?”

As the sound of footsteps grew louder, Paul and Miranda’s breaths quickened.

In the split second before the footsteps reached them, he quickly released her, turned to open the door, and swiftly handed her the keys.

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