From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 25

She could tell he was angry, but she honestly had no clue what had set him off.

He opened the passenger door and waited for her to get in, then leaned over to buckle her seatbelt. After that, he slid into the driver’s seat and pulled away from the curb.

Sam and York stood in front of the police station, watching the black car vanish into the night. They glanced at each other, neither saying a word, then walked off in different directions, both deep in thought.

Adolphus parked right in front of the infirmary. He unbuckled Laurinda’s seatbelt, hopped out, and came around to open her door. Once she got out, he took her hand and led her inside.

The way he took charge left her with no room to argue.

He had her sit on the couch, grabbed a first-aid kit from the cabinet, and crouched down in front of her to clean up the cuts on her hand.

Laurinda watched him, noticing how gentle he was. She let out a quiet sigh. “Why are you so upset? You’re kind of scaring me.”

Adolphus didn’t answer right away. He finished tending to her last scrape, then finally looked up at her with eyes so dark they almost seemed to glow.

“I don’t have a fiancée.”

Laurinda had been expecting some explanation for his anger, so his response totally threw her off.

She nodded, stiff and awkward, but then things started to click in her head.

“So what if you don’t have a fiancée? That childhood friend of yours might not be your fiancée now, but she probably will be one day, right? Isn’t it basically the same thing?”

“It’s not the same. I don’t have a childhood sweetheart, and there’s definitely no fiancée, not now, not ever.”

His gaze was intense, like he wanted her to really get what he was saying.

Laurinda looked away, avoiding his eyes. She clearly didn’t want to pick up on his meaning.

Adolphus let out a breathy laugh, half frustrated, half amused. What was he supposed to do with someone as sharp as her?

“Right, I’m on it.”

He grabbed his jacket and took off.

As he walked out of the infirmary, Foley pulled out his phone and fired off a message in their group chat.

Huge news. Adolphus is actually interested in a girl.

Foley, you’re brave to gossip about Adolphus. Aren’t you afraid he’ll make you dig ditches somewhere?

Sam saw the message pop up and grinned to himself. He’d seen Adolphus’s little moment earlier, but he wasn’t about to spill the details. He liked being alive.

Laurinda didn’t bother going back to her classroom. She headed straight to her dorm. After she showered, Shirley and the rest of the girls came back.

“I wonder how Laurinda’s doing. Shirley, did she text you? Did she say if she’s coming back tonight? My phone’s busted thanks to that jerk. If it wasn’t, I’d just ask her where she is and get my dad to check on her.”