When fate plays its hand
When fate plays its hand 1016

Chapter 1016

Paul said, “No one ever mentioned it in front of me.”

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Christine said, “Well, no wonder. Back then, you were juggling biology and teaching yourself physics. You were basically doing the work of two people. And on top of that, you were working on projects with both your mentors after class. Who had the time or energy to deal with all this extra stuff?”

Besides, Paul had always kept to himself. He seemed to be distant from his classmates. There was respect, but little personal connection. Who would dare to bring up these things in front of him?

“You didn’t… tell Miranda this, did you?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, I did.”

He was speechless.

“Paul, did I mess up?” Christine, who had never been nervous in academic meetings, was now anxious.

She quickly added, “But I think Miranda seems perfectly fine, so I don’t think it’ll bother her. Who doesn’t have a past, right?”

Despite her words, Paul still felt uneasy. After leaving the study, he kept an eye on Miranda’s mood. As Christine had said, Miranda seemed fine. Even when he invited her to join him to open the gifts, she refused.

He had planned to use the opportunity to bring up “Emilia” and to make sure no misunderstandings lingered in Miranda’s mind. But she didn’t seem to be bothered by it.

In fact, she didn’t seem to care at all about the past rumors about him and another woman. She wasn’t even curious about the box or the gift Emilia had given him.

Paul wondered if this was a normal reaction from a girlfriend. Or perhaps… Was she upset, but he just hadn’t picked up on it?

Even after his shower and lying down in bed, that question kept nagging at him. He couldn’t come to a clear answer. Suddenly, he threw off the covers and sat up.

Paul rushed into the living room and grabbed the gift from Emilia. He tore open the box and noticed it was just a plain candle holder with a candle on top.

He inspected it but found no note or card inside–just a simple candle. He let out a relieved sigh. He went back to his room, lay down, and finally fell asleep.

The following day, the sun was shining brightly, and the sky was clear,

Miranda got up, washed up, and headed into the kitchen. She checked her phone for the time, only to find an unread Whatsapp message.

She clicked on the message–it was from Paul, which was sent half an hour ago.

“I’ll make breakfast today.”

That was it..

Miranda raised an eyebrow, got dressed, and went to knock on the door across the hall.

The door opened quickly. Paul had his sleeves rolled up, with droplets of water still on the back of his hands.

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Chapter 1016

“Making breakfast?” She smiled and peeked around him.

“Yes.” He nodded and motioned for her to come in.

As soon as Miranda stepped inside, she smelled the aroma of fresh pastry. “Smells great… What are you making?” “Croissants.”

“No wonder it smells so good,” she said as she headed toward the kitchen.

Soon, the fresh croissants were ready. They were a beautiful golden color, perfectly baked, and the crescent shape looked professional. They were just as good as anything from a bakery.

Miranda took a bite. “It’s delicious. You could sell these.”

Paul handed her a glass of warmed milk. “If you like it, have a couple more.”

“You can bake?”

“I learned from short videos.” He gestured toward his phone.

Miranda gave him a thumbs–up.

After they finished eating, they were about to leave. As they passed the coffee table in the living room, there was an unpacked box and a pile of crumpled wrapping paper.

Normally, she wouldn’t have missed something so obvious. However, she walked right past it and headed straight for the hallway.

Just as Miranda was about to leave, Paul suddenly spoke from behind her. “I opened the gift from Emilia last night.

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