From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 143

Harden couldn’t take his eyes off Laurinda. He watched, stunned, as she tossed aside the bracelet he’d carefully picked out for her. His hands curled tightly, knuckles white. He never thought she’d actually do it.

The homeroom teacher, completely unaware of Harden’s mood, gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Harden, are we ready to go?”

Harden forced down the anger simmering inside him and nodded. “Yeah, let’s get in the car.”

Irvin collapsed into the passenger seat, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Laurinda didn’t even look up. She was glued to her phone, scrolling through the tour schedule that Lea had sent her. She needed to make sure Jasper had protection lined up. There was no way she’d let anything happen to him.

“Laurinda, did you see Harden’s face? He looked like he just ate something disgusting. And our teacher... he’s honestly clueless. Can’t he see Harden doesn’t want to give him a ride?”

Laurinda smirked. “He’s always been like that. Back in sophomore year, a parent complained that their kid’s bad grades were his fault. So what did he do? He started showing up at their house every weekend to tutor the kid. The student ended up transferring schools. I heard the whole family moved just to get away from him.”

Their homeroom teacher really was dedicated, maybe too much so. He just had zero social awareness.

With Adolphus out of town for a few days, Laurinda felt totally free. Every day after class, she made a straight line for the cafeteria, finally eating everything she’d been craving for weeks.

One afternoon, while Laurinda was enjoying her meal, a security guard came up to her. He told her there was a woman at the main gate who wanted to see her.

Laurinda couldn’t guess who this might be. She wasn’t curious enough to care, so she just asked the guard to tell the woman she wasn’t coming out.

But Bella wasn’t giving up. She waited at the gate and, by chance, flagged down the homeroom teacher as he was coming back to campus.

“Excuse me, do you know Laurinda? I really need to talk to her. It’s urgent.”

Laurinda watched Irvin work, eyes bright with admiration. He moved with such confidence and skill, like he’d been doing this his whole life.

“All done. Should we grab a couple of lab mice to test it out?” Irvin waved a test tube in front of her, the yellow liquid catching the light.

Laurinda’s eyes lit up. “No need. York will be here soon to take it back to the institute. They’ll do all the testing there. Irvin, you’re amazing. No wonder Adolphus calls you a little genius.”

She gave him an excited pat on the shoulder, already making a silent promise to herself. She had to bring Irvin into her research team. There was no way she’d let such a talented guy slip away.

Irvin just smiled at her praise, thinking she was like a clever little fox, always plotting something in that sharp mind of hers.