From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 112

Elaine gave Shirley another gentle tap on the head. Shirley was still clueless when it came to romance, so who knew if she’d really get any of this.

“Ugh, Laurinda, you tricked me again!”

Shirley shoved past her friends, determined to hunt Laurinda down and get some answers. But Laurinda had already slipped out to the bathroom to wash up.

Watching Shirley stomp off, the others couldn’t help but crack up at how cute she was.

“Laurinda is so mean. I was actually worried someone was picking on her.”

Laurinda sat on her bed and pulled out the little gifts she’d prepared, handing them out to her roommates.

It wasn’t the first time she’d given them jewelry from Queen, but none of them really knew much about it. They just assumed they were some pretty little trinkets.

Laurinda always let them believe that. She didn’t want them to feel awkward about accepting anything expensive.

Shirley opened her box and caught sight of the indigo diamond bracelet inside. Her eyes lit up, completely dazzled by how beautiful it was. It made her think of the night sky.

“Wow, Laurinda, you’re amazing. This is so gorgeous!”

She bounced onto Laurinda’s bed and wrapped her up in a tight hug, snuggling her head against Laurinda’s shoulder like a spoiled kitten.

Laurinda just smiled and patted Shirley’s head gently.

“If you like it, wear it. It’s a little gift for the big exams. I hope you all ace them.”

The mention of exams wiped the smiles off their faces. Fannie pushed her glasses up, looking serious.

The room went quiet as the girls slipped back to their own beds. None of them doubted Laurinda for a second. Maybe they’d just been overthinking things.

The next morning, the standardized exams started. Everyone was shuffled into their assigned classrooms.

Laurinda ended up separated from her roommates. When she looked up, she spotted the same group of guys who used to trail after Fabian.

They avoided her eyes, clearly not looking for trouble. Even Fabian couldn’t take Laurinda down, so they definitely weren’t going to try.

Just as Laurinda was walking past a corner, a girl appeared with a cup of something suspicious in her hand.

Laurinda caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and sidestepped quickly. The liquid went flying, splashing all over one of Fabian’s lackeys instead.

“Hey, Felice, are you out of your mind? Why would you throw that at me?”