From Ashes of Scandals to His Embrace novel Chapter 403

Laurinda was glued to her phone again, completely lost in another short video. Adolphus let out a helpless sigh and said, “Since you’re not coming back to school anymore, I’ll talk to the principal about your diploma and student records. I’ll get everything sorted so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Alright, thanks for handling it,” Laurinda replied without even looking up.

Adolphus couldn’t help but laugh, half annoyed and half amused by how casually she brushed him off. Still, there wasn’t much he could do. He turned and walked straight out.

Arrow came over with a glass of warm water, setting it down gently beside Laurinda. In a soft voice, she reminded her, “Laurinda, go easy on the pineapple. It’s really acidic.”

“Okay,” Laurinda said, glancing at her with a small smile.

She’d always had a good impression of Arrow. Back when Arrow worked as Bonnie’s private nurse at her house, they’d gotten along really well. Having her around now felt pretty comforting. Thinking about all her stuff still in the dorm, Laurinda looked up. “Can you come with me to pack up my things later? I’m not coming back to school after this.”

“Sure, just let me know when you’re ready,” Arrow replied.

When the lunch bell rang, Laurinda took Arrow with her to the dorm. Arrow was almost done packing Laurinda’s things when loud voices started echoing down the hallway. Laurinda recognized the sounds of her roommates and stepped outside her door to wait for them.

Shirley was the first to spot Laurinda and hurried over, ready to throw her arms around her. Right before she could, Arrow stopped her, lightly grabbing Shirley’s arm.

Shirley looked at Arrow, confused. “What are you doing?”

“Laurinda’s hurt. She shouldn’t be hugged right now,” Arrow explained quietly.

Suddenly, everyone crowded around, voices full of concern.

“Of course she is. Laura’s always sharing stuff in our group chat. She even sent out gifts the other day. Want to see? This is from Queen’s latest collection.” The girl pulled out a delicate necklace from under her shirt, holding it up for Laurinda to see.

Everyone knew Laurinda used to give her roommates gifts too, but hers were just small, inexpensive things. Not like this.

Laurinda watched the showy display, her smile lingering. She couldn’t quite figure out what Laura was up to, using her Stonehaven status like this. What was she really trying to do?

“Oh, and I guess you haven’t heard. Stonehaven University is opening up admissions to students from here this year. Laura said she could get us recommendation spots. Laurinda, do you regret how you treated Laura now?”

“If you hadn’t bullied her, with how sweet Laura is, she probably would’ve given you a spot too. But with your grades, you’ll be lucky to get into some second-rate school around here.”