When fate plays its hand

Paul and Miranda quickly pulled away, their breathing rough and uneven. The sight was no less than another provocation for Lionel.

Miranda murmured, “Dad, why did you suddenly come out…‘

11

Lionel pointed at her, his finger trembling. “You… you… Were you hoping I wouldn’t come out? And then what? Then you two could do what?”

Miranda fell silent. What could they possibly do in broad daylight? That question…

Paul quickly composed himself and greeted Lionel, “Hi, Mr. Sutton…”

“Don’t! Don’t call me that!” Lionel snapped. “I treated you like a brother, and here you are calling me ‘Mr. Sutton

? So this was your real intention all along, huh?”

Paul tried to reason with him, “Please, let me explain. I-”

“Explain what?” Lionel demanded. “That I treated you like a brother, while you were out here kissing my daughter? Or that you befriended me with ulterior motives?”

Paul was at a loss for words. A moment later, he finally said “I’m sorry, Mr. Sutton. I’ve always respected you as an elder. I never saw us as brothers…”

Lionel’s anger erupted like a volcano. “So what you’re saying is that I was being too enthusiastic and tried to force a brotherly bond on you? Deep down, you couldn’t care less about me?”

Paul was puzzled. How did he even come to that conclusion?

Lionel’s interpretation made him question himself.

At that moment, Lionel stormed forward and grabbed Miranda’s arm. “Why are you just standing there? Come home with me!”

With that, he pulled her inside the apartment and slammed the door shut.

Paul stared at the door that was vibrating from the impact. He could only rub his nose and smile wryly.

“You stand right there!” Lionel barked as he dragged Miranda into the middle of the living room.

Mindy had woken up long ago from all the commotion. She sat on the couch and glanced at her furious husband, who looked like he was ready to murder someone. Then, she shifted her gaze to her awkward daughter, who was trying to mask her guilt by keeping her head down.

Mindy said calmly, “Explain. What’s going on?”

Lionel seemed to have found an outlet to vent his anger. He started ranting loudly, his words tumbling out like beans spilling from a bag, “I just went downstairs to take out the trash, but do you know what I saw?

“She and Paul… No, Dr. Jefferson. The two of them were… They were actually… I can’t even say it! They were out there in the hallway, by the stairs…”

Lionel still couldn’t bring himself to say the word. Instead, he curled his fingers together, forming a mouth–like shape, and pressed them against each other. “Just like this in broad daylight! Out in the open! What do you call that?”

Mindy remained silent.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” he asked.

“I was asking our daughter,” she finally said. “Tell me, what’s the situation? How long have you two been together?”

Lionel was taken aback. What did Mindy mean by that?

“You… you already knew?” His eyes widened in disbelief.

Her lips twitched. “You’re the only one who didn’t figure it out. Did you forget how Paul came in yesterday? As for the flowers he brought… Did you not notice who he handed them to first? And later, when he went to wash the dishes… Did he look like someone doing it for the first time?”

Lionel retorted, “How did he come in? Obviously, through the door… Wait a minute! He used a key to open the door!”

The flowers… He had handed them straight to Miranda!

“So, those dishwashing gloves in the kitchen weren’t too big. They were Paul’s!” Lionel exclaimed.

Mindy nodded. “Good, you finally figured it out.‘

Lionel clutched his chest in frustration. “You… you two! Everyone kept this from me!”

Mindy scoffed. “Kept it from you? They weren’t even trying to hide it with the way they were acting. Am I right?” She turned to Miranda.

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