Independence

“I need to apologize to her for my foolishness and rash decision–making in the past. I owe her that at the very least,” Miranda said.

Winter nearly choked on her wine. She coughed twice, reluctance written all over her face. “Spare me, please. It’s not like you don’t know her elective class. was the only one I failed and had to resit for in my entire college life. I used to feel a chill run down my spine whenever saw her.

“Also, she’s probably already forgotten who I am. I’m nobody to her. So, I don’t think there’s anything much that I can help you with.”

Miranda could see that Winter really didn’t want to face Christine, so she didn’t push her any further.

“However,” Winter suddenly said, her sly eyes glinting softly as she swiftly changed the topic, “I know someone who could be of help to you.”

“Huh?”NôvelDrama.Org content.

“Remember my cousin, Paul?”

Miranda took a sip of her water and nodded. “I remember him, of course.”

Paul Jefferson was the youngest youth leader in the country in the physics field. Last year, he’d even made it to Nature Magazine’s list of the top ten youngest and most influential scientists of the year.

He’d studied applied biological science under Christine when he’d been an undergraduate student and published five papers within two years. He was a genius who had a bright future ahead of him in the biological sciences.

However, for some reason, Paul had then decided to switch courses and gone into physics instead. It had caused quite a huge stir back then.

Still, that was proof enough that anyone was capable of anything as long as they put their hearts and minds to it.

As of now, Paul was a huge figure in the international physics scene.

Since Miranda hadn’t been in the same year as Paul, she could be considered his junior. She’d heard about him when she’d first joined the college. It wasn’t

until she’d befriended Winter that she’d learned that Paul was her cousin.

For the past few years, Paul had been working as a researcher at a physics. institute abroad. He’d only just returned to his home country three months

ago.

“Paul actually asked about Dr. Young’s condition two days ago. It’s just that he hasn’t had the time to visit her yet. I think you can go and visit her with him.”

The more Winter thought about it, the more she realized that it was a good idea. She then picked up her phone and called Paul.

The phone rang twice before the call was answered.

Miranda heard a low voice; Paul sounded cool and solemn. “What is it?”

Winter briefly explained things to him. There was some sort of rustling sound in the background, as if Paul was busy with something else. The call didn’t even last for a minute before it ended.

“All done. He’ll be seeing you at Cielo Gourmet at 2:00 pm tomorrow. You guys can discuss things more then.”

Winter then held Miranda’s hand and said, “Have a good night’s rest tonight. You can discuss further with him tomorrow.”

Miranda nodded. “Thanks. I know what to do next.”

—

The next day, Miranda left half an hour earlier than the agreed–upon time. When she reached the restaurant, she looked at her watch and saw that she had about two more minutes to spare.

Great. She wasn’t too early, nor was she late. It was the perfect timing.

Miranda pushed the door open and walked into the restaurant. The waiter then led her to a table where a young man was sitting right next to the

window.

His head was slightly tilted, and he was sipping on his coffee with a faint expression on his face.

Paul wore a simple white collared shirt with a pair of black trousers. There were a pair of gold–rimmed glasses on his face as well. The sun shone gently on his side profile, making him look like a beautiful oil painting

Miranda then looked at her outfit. She was wearing a white T–shirt and a pair of jeans, and she had her hair tied up in a ponytail. She also didn’t have any makeup on her face.

She coughed lightly, wondering if she was a little too underdressed to meet

him now.

Paul seemed to feel Miranda’s eyes on him. So, he turned around to face her. Have a seat. What would you like to drink?”

Paul’s low, magnetic, and attractive voice made Miranda’s ears tickle. She quickly snapped out of it and pulled out a chair before sitting down opposite

him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said, an apologetic look evident in her dark

eyes.

Paul pushed his glasses up a little higher and said softly, “I didn’t wait long, and it was because I arrived five minutes early anyway. I still have some work to do on my research, so I only have 30 minutes to meet you today. Would that be enough?”

“That’s enough.”

The waiter arrived at their table to take Miranda’s order of lemonade.

Paul then went straight to the point. “What do you want me to do when we meet Dr. Young?”

He was unexpectedly blunt. However, Miranda liked that he didn’t bother wasting time beating around the bush. So, she also made her objective clear.

“Dr. Young has already been discharged from the hospital. I don’t know where she lives, so I was hoping that I could tag along when you go to see her. If possible…”

Miranda’s eyes glinted briefly. “If she gets mad at me, could you perhaps try to calm her down? After all, it’s not good for her health.”

+15 BONUS

It seemed like Paul wanted to grin when he heard this.

Miranda continued, “I know that you’re a very busy person, so you can pick the time and date to visit her.”

Paul nodded. “Alright, then we’ll go visit her in two days.”

Miranda thanked him. She held the glass of lemonade in her hands and suddenly asked, “Why… why are you so willing to help me?”

Paul’s dark eyes fixated on Miranda. A few moments later, just when she thought he wasn’t going to answer her, he said, “Because you’re Miranda Sutton.”

Miranda was confused. “What do you mean?”

Paul took another sip of his coffee and said, “Dr. Young once told me that there were three things she thought of as a great pity in her life.

“The first one was that life is too short and insufficient for all the research she wanted to do. The second one was that she had no children of her own. The third one was you, Miranda Sutton.”

Miranda was stunned. She felt a sharp, piercing pain in her heart.

Paul looked at her with his hawk–like eyes. It seemed like he was observing and scrutinizing her. However, his gaze quickly became distant once more.

Although this was the first time he’d seen Miranda in person, it wasn’t the first time he’d heard of her.

There had to be something special about her if Christine were to lump her as one of her greatest pities, apart from life, research, and her nonexistent family.

Miranda’s throat ran dry. She lowered her eyes, thinking about how disappointed Christine must’ve been when she’d brought her name up.

Paul took out a piece of paper and wrote down a series of numbers on it. “This is my phone number.”

Miranda looked at the piece of paper. Paul’s handwriting was very neat and attractive.

“This is the tiramisu you ordered

The waiter set down the cake on the table as he started silently judging the couple before him

Hansel seemed bored out of his mind and even a little irritated, whereas the young woman seated opposite him, Quin Foster, was dressed in a fitted blon outfit, complete with an Hermes bag in her hand. Anyone could tell that she came from an affluent family.

she didn’t seem to notice the irritation on Hansel’s face and continued talking

his care off.

“Hansel, I heard from Mrs. Johnson that you have some gastric problems. We’ve got a doctor at home who specializes in stomach and gastric problems like yours. Maybe next time…”

Hansel just toyed with his lighter, occasionally humming in response to Quinn’s questions,

This blind date had been arranged by none other than Evelyn. Since he was already here, he didn’t want to make things too ugly. However, he just wasn’t interested in anything Quinn said.

His gaze drifted off elsewhere. Suddenly, he caught sight of something and sat up straight.

About four or five tables away, Miranda was sitting right opposite a man. Hansel couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he could see the faint smile on her face.

His own date’s barely manageable voice suddenly sounded extremely annoying to him, making him feel all the more irritated. He smiled coldly as he averted his eyes and said, “I’m leaving.”

Paul’s schedule was very tightly packed. The 30 minutes he’d spared Miranda today was all the free time he had, and it was the absolute maximum.

Miranda was understanding of the situation. So, they got up and left at the same time.

When they exited the restaurant, Paul took one step ahead of her and held the door open, gesturing for her to walk first. It was very gentlemanly of him.

Miranda smiled and said, “Thank you.”

They walked to the side of the road. Paul then said, “My ride’s here.”

Miranda looked up at him and said, “See you in two days.”

She stood rooted to her spot as she watched him leave. Then, she withdrew her gaze and turned around, suddenly finding herself face–to–face with a pair of eyes.

They seemed cold and disdainful, as if they were mocking her for even breathing.

“I see you’ve found your next target.”