Chapter 1213
[ 585 words ]
“Have you eaten?” Juniper asked instead.
“What?” Shanley blinked, taking a second to process. “Oh, I’m not hungry. I was waiting for you.”
Juniper stared at him silently, her intense gaze making his scalp prickle.
What was wrong? Did he say the wrong thing?
Just as he was rapidly reviewing his recent life choices, she suddenly grabbed his collar and pulled him down. The next second, her beautiful face filled his vision, and her warm lips pressed firmly against his.
Shanley’s breath hitched.
A moment later, his arms wrapped securely around her waist, easily turning the tables and deepening the kiss until it was consuming.
Minutes passed before Juniper pushed him away, her breathing ragged, her voice incredibly husky. “Harold is going to be here any second.”
She had texted him the moment she finished her analysis.
Right on cue, the doors swung open and Harold hurried in.
“Juniper, did you figure out the formula?” Harold asked, stopping dead when he saw her. “Why is your face so red?”
Shanley stood silently off to the side, a supremely satisfied smirk on his lips.
“Oh,” Juniper rubbed her nose, suddenly fascinated by the floor. “It’s just a little warm in here.”
“Warm?” Harold glanced at the thermostat. It read 37 degrees Fahrenheit. To preserve the active compounds, the lab was kept near freezing. “You feel warm in here? Are you getting sick?” He reached out to check her forehead.
“No, I’m fine,” Juniper dodged his hand, swiftly changing the subject. “I found alternative compounds for most of the missing ingredients. But there’s one last component I’m still trying to crack.”
“Really?” Harold was instantly distracted. He practically sprinted into the lab to check the data, then bounded back out. “You really are a miracle worker! If we only have one component left, we can definitely do this.”
Half a month. Suddenly, the timeline didn’t seem so impossible.
“Yeah,” Juniper agreed softly. Seeing Harold so happy, she didn’t have the heart to crush his hopes.
The missing component was not going to be easily solved.
On the ride home, Juniper leaned heavily against Shanley’s chest.
“The antidote is harder than you let
on, isn’t it?” Shanley asked. He knet o well; if it were easy, she??
her
wouldn’t look so defeated
“Yeah,” she murmured lethargically. “Don’t tell my parents. I don’t want them to worry.”
“I understand.” He rubbed her shoulder soothingly. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“You can’t help with this.” A faint, teasing smile touched her lips. “Just focus on recovering, Mr. Schwartz.”
“Recovering?” Shanley frowned, his pride slightly bruised. “I’m in pretty good shape.”
“Oh, really? She blinked up at him,
her tone dripping with lazy sarcasm. “Then why couldn’t you keep your
balance after kissing me for just
kissing
few minutes back there?”
Shanley’s jaw snapped shut. His face flushed with pure, indignant embarrassment.
Back at the Sigma Network base.
Juniper returned to Theia’s side, delivering the good news about the antidote’s progress.
“Really?” Theia’s face lit up, the crushing tension of the past few days finally lifting. “So we’ll have the cure soon?”
“Yeah.” Juniper nodded, lying with practiced ease. “Just relax and let me handle it.”
Her mother had been so anxious she couldn’t eat or sleep. If this kept up, her health would collapse.
“Thank goodness.” Theia patted her daughter’s hand, beaming. “Knowing that, I can finally breathe again.”
She watched Juniper leave.
The moment the door clicked shut, the smile vanished from Theia’s face.
Her sweet daughter was lying to her.
Theia knew exactly what that
missing component was. It was a proprietary compound Corvus had spent decades developing with
dozens of top scientists. There was no substitute on earth.
The only person who possessed the original formula was Corvus Thorne himself.
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