From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 48

“Yes, the strawberries and blueberries at home are ripe. We’ve already sent some to Fidelia and Earl, and the Adams family’s delivery is taken care of too. I’ll bring theirs over myself in a bit.”

The butler knew Laurinda only worried about a few people, and he always made sure to look after each one of them.

“Great. Tomorrow morning, I’ll need two portions, one for my roommates and another for a friend. Can you have them ready for me?”

“Of course, I’ll handle it. I’ll go take care of a few other things now, but just call me if you need anything.”

“Okay.”

The butler slipped out, leaving Laurinda alone. He understood how much she valued her quiet time.

Laurinda settled into her rocking chair and was starting to drift off when her phone buzzed. It was a message from the head nurse, a photo of Fidelia sitting in the sun and eating strawberries.

Laurinda’s face softened as she looked at the photo. Fidelia looked calm and healthy. Seeing her like that made Laurinda smile for real, from deep in her heart.

Fidelia truly was getting better. Laurinda believed that one day, Fidelia would finally be able to leave the sanatorium behind.

Later that evening, Laurinda and York arrived at the Apex esports arena. Their VIP tickets meant they could skip the crowds and head straight in through a private entrance.

Once they found their seats, they started to hear people whispering behind them.

“Why is it just you two? Isn’t Fabian obsessed with NRNR? Why didn’t he show up?”

“Don’t even bring it up. We can’t reach Fabian at all. We even stopped by his house before we came here, but he wasn’t home. All we saw was Laura standing outside the Gates’ place. We tried to ask her what happened, but she wouldn’t say anything. She just stood there. Maybe they had a fight or something.”

Laurinda’s eyes brightened. She turned to him, curious. “And Harden just goes along with that?”

“What choice does he have? The whole thing’s rigged. If they win, the other guy gets all the credit. If they lose, Harden gets blamed. It sucks for him.” The fan sighed, clearly upset for Harden.

“If it’s so bad, why doesn’t he just switch teams?”

“He can’t. They’re holding his contract hostage. The buyout clause is huge. Harden came from nothing, raised by a single parent. Even though he’s made some money lately, most of it’s gone to his family. He can’t afford the penalty, so he’s stuck on this team, wasting away.”

Several people nearby sighed at the same time, everyone feeling sorry for Harden.

Laurinda didn’t say anything. She wasn’t interested in feeling sorry for her rival’s son. Actually, this might be just the opening she needed.