When fate plays its hand

After some time, Miranda and Paul’s academic discussion finally came to an end, and Winter couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief. This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

“Don’t invite me to these academic meetups again. They’re so dull…” she muttered, then raised her hand to signal the waiter to bring out the food. As expected, it was all of Miranda’s favorites!

After dinner, Winter had planned to go shopping, but she got a work call the moment they stepped out of the restaurant. “Yeah, yeah! Will an extra day really kill you?”

Despite her complaints, she quickly ended the call and hurried back to the office. Before leaving, Winter turned to Paul and said, “Hey, it’s Miranda’s birthday, so make sure you keep her company! Give her whatever she wants!”

Paul nodded. “Alright.”

“Where would you like to go?” he asked Miranda with a smile once Winter had left.

“Anywhere?” Her eyes lit up.

Paul considered it briefly. “If it’s within my capabilities.

“Then could we go see where you make those multi–colored diamonds?”

“Are you sure that’s where you want to go?”

“Absolutely!”

“Alright.”

Miranda expected him to take her to a lab or a workshop, but to her surprise, he led her to a… factory? “Hey, Paul! Here again?” the friendly guard called out warmly as Paul walked into the factory grounds.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Ladley. Did you have lunch?”

“Sure did! The cafeteria served stew today, and it was amazing! What brings you here? Didn’t you already finish making those diamonds? Your girlfriend liked them, didn’t she?”

Paul coughed awkwardly while raising a fist to his mouth.

Meanwhile, Miranda bit her lip.

Griffin Ladley then noticed Miranda beside Paul. “Oh! So this is the lady you’re giving the diamonds to-” “Mr. Ladley! Could I get the keys to Workshop No. 7?” Paul interrupted quickly.

“Sure thing!” Griffin turned to get the keys.

Paul then glanced at Miranda, looking a bit embarrassed. “Mr. Ladley loves to joke around. He’s cheerful all the time…”

Miranda nodded. “I can tell.“.

Once they had the keys, Paul led her to Workshop No. 7. It wasn’t very large, with no workers around, and just equipment and a workbench.

Standing at the workbench, Paul explained, “I originally planned to synthesize the diamonds in a lab, but managing the wastewater was tricky, so I rented this workshop instead and used the factory’s wastewater system”

Miranda moved closer and noticed the workbench was meticulously organized. It was so very Paul.

Her gaze suddenly landed on a ceramic jar in the top left comer of the workbench. She pointed, “What’s in there? May I see?

A flash of hesitation crossed Paul’s face, but he quickly responded, “Of course.” He then handed the jar over to her. When she opened it, her eyes widened.

Inside, she saw it was filled with small diamond fragments, some with colors that didn’t turn out right, others with imperfect cuts. Some were too large and uneven, while others were too small, affecting their beauty… Altogether, there were well over a hundred fragments.

Paul looked slightly embarrassed. “It was my first time making them, so… I had a lot of failed attempts.”

Miranda lowered her gaze to the fragments. For a moment, she could almost picture him sitting here at the workbench, wearing a mask with his figure slightly hunched under the light as he carefully focused on cutting each piece.

“Why?” she suddenly asked, her eyes shining with an intensity that caught him off guard.

Paul was stunned.

“Why did you give me this necklace?”

“B–Because it’s your birthday…

Hearing his answer, Miranda couldn’t quite describe her feelings. It was what she expected, yet somehow, she felt a twinge of disappointment.

Paul was a man as distant and brilliant as the moon–so pure, so dazzling. Not to mention, moonlight would shine down on everyone equally.

Who was she to think she could be anyone special?