When fate plays its hand

In the end, Paul reluctantly let go of Miranda’s hand. He took the keys from her and opened the door. “Goodnight, Mimi,” he said.

The way he called her name caught her off guard. It sounded so smooth, as if he had said it a thousand times before.

“Goodnight, Dr. Jefferson. Don’t stay up too late.” she replied.

They wished each other a good night and entered their respective homes. 1

After her shower that night, Miranda didn’t pick up her research papers as usual. Instead, she took out her mobile phone and scrolled through Paul’s social media account.

He hadn’t set up any “three–day view” or “six–month view” options, so she could scroll through everything from the past eight years. It didn’t take long to go through since she roughly counted that he had posted only about 30 updates in total.

90% of them were about industry trends or the latest research findings. The only post related to Miranda was a recent one–the official Bedford College account had shared a congratulatory message for their lab after their work was published in Nature Biotechnology.

Paul posted a simple “Congrats” in the caption. As she scrolled down, she noticed Silas and Sandy liked the post.

Just as Miranda put her phone down and was about to sleep, she noticed Paul had posted something new. She clicked on it and saw “r = a(1- sine)“. It was just a formula.

Suddenly, her gaze paused on the formula.

Silas was the first to like and comment. “Descartes‘ function formula? What are you doing up so late?”

Sandy and Bryan liked the post without commenting. They wondered if their upcoming research might be related to optics.

No one expected this post to be Paul’s official announcement. Of course, no one dared to imagine it either.

Miranda lightly tapped the formula on her screen, and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Ra(1 sine) was the heart–shaped function formula by Descartes. It was also known as the ” Descartes love curve.”

In the 17th century, Farisian mathematician and physicist Descartes wandered to Svenland and lived as a street dweller. He met the Svenian princess, Christina, on the street by chance.

When the 18–year–old princess learned his true identity, she invited him to the palace to become her math tutor. Over time, their student–teacher relationship began to evolve into something more.

When the king learned of their romance, he was furious and ordered Descartes‘ execution. Thanks to Christina’s pleading, he was spared death but was exiled back to Farisi. Not long after, he contracted the plague and lay on his deathbed.

During his illness, he continued to write letters to Christina in Svenland, but the king intercepted them. Just before he died, Descartes sent his 13th and final letter, containing only one line–r = a(1 – sine).

This formula formed a perfectly symmetrical heart shape when graphed. The curve would later be called the “Descartes Love Curve” by future generations.

Miranda liked the post. She put her phone down and fell into a slumber.

On the other side, Pàul held his phone and finally saw the like he had been waiting for. He was pleased she understood the formula, and a smile curved at the corner of his mouth. He turned off the light, lay down, and quickly slept.

In the comment section, $ilas, who had been waiting for a response, was left confused.

The following morning, Miranda packed her things and took a taxi. At 8:00 am, she met Sawyer at the airport since their flight was at 9:00 am. novelbin

Once airborne and the flight had settled, she took out her laptop to finish some work. During the flight, the passenger beside her got up, but when they returned, Sawyer was the one who

sat down next to her.

“Miranda.” He looked at her and smiled.

“How did you end up over here?” she asked.

They had each bought their tickets on their own–Sawyer had purchased a business class seat, while Miranda had opted for the economy. So, once they boarded the plane, they were seated separately.