From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 185

Adolphus stood up, still holding Laurinda’s hand, and together they left the care center, fingers laced and steps in sync.

Earl lingered by the window, watching them walk away. His emotions tangled together, bittersweet and heavy. Only now did he admit to himself that Adolphus had been right all along. Laurinda saw him as a friend, just a friend. Nothing more.

Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. Their friendship was something genuine, something that could last a lifetime if he let it. He took comfort in that thought.

“Earl, you missed lunch in the cafeteria, so I brought you something.” The head nurse stood in the doorway, her cheeks rosy, a shy smile lighting up her round face as she looked at him with hopeful eyes. “Are you hungry?”

“Thanks, but I had a late breakfast. I’m not hungry yet.” Earl kept his tone gentle as he turned her down. He couldn’t lead someone on when he knew he couldn’t offer anything real in return.

That realization made him laugh softly. Funny how everything suddenly made sense. Wasn’t this the same reason he’d never confessed his feelings to Laurinda? Even if she had been interested, he couldn’t promise her a future where his family wouldn’t cause her pain.

But Adolphus could. He had complete control in the Lane family. No one would dare give Laurinda a hard time while he was around.

In a way, Earl felt relieved. The Austin family was gone, but Laurinda had someone who could look out for her now. That was a good thing.

***

Laurinda sat in the car, scrolling through her phone and chatting with Adolphus about what movies were playing after dinner. Their laughter filled the quiet car, and everything felt easy for a moment.

Meanwhile, back at the Gates Group, chaos had taken over the tech department. Finn’s sudden appearance had everyone on edge, especially the engineers who’d watched the FarrVector launch.

“Finn, Bagot wants a divorce. He took the kids for a paternity test…”

Her voice, all shaky and miserable, made Finn’s frustration boil over. He wanted to shout, “Then just get divorced,” but he bit his tongue, thinking about the partnership between the Gates and Charles families.

“Don’t make a scene. What matters right now is keeping Bagot calm. The kids are his, right?”

Finn couldn’t believe Aileen had gotten herself into this mess. He’d barely managed to bury the scandal with Aiken years ago. Now she was making the same mistakes all over again.

“They should be… I think they’re his…” Aileen sounded scared, her words trailing off. Even she didn’t seem sure anymore, and her excuses were falling flat.