From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 489

“I…”

Lucas could tell Laurinda was pissed now. He hadn’t wanted to mention any of that, but it just slipped out because he was anxious.

“I didn’t mean to bring up you and my brother, it’s just…”

As soon as Lucas noticed Adolphus standing next to Laurinda, he lost his nerve, swallowed his explanation, and stared at the floor.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“At least you know,” Laurinda said, not even glancing his way. She grabbed Adolphus’s hand and walked off with him, not giving Lucas another second of her attention.

Adolphus followed Laurinda, trying to make sense of how calmly she handled it. Normally, Laurinda would never let something like this go so easily. Was it really about his brother, the way Lucas implied?

Laurinda walked a little further then turned and saw the worry in Adolphus’s furrowed brows. She stopped, stepped in close, and pressed him lightly against the wall. Tilting her head up, she looked straight at him.

“What’s up? What’s on your mind?”

When Adolphus didn’t say anything, Laurinda could pretty much guess his thoughts. Before he spoke, she explained, “I’m not upset with him because of his brother. It’s all about his parents.”

Her chest tightened as she mentioned the past. Her feelings toward Lucas were complicated. She hated the Ham family, but she couldn’t put that on Lucas himself.

Adolphus kept his dark eyes fixed on her, watching for every shift in her expression. When he caught the brief pain that crossed her face, his heart softened. The truth or whatever happened before suddenly didn’t matter as much. All that mattered was that he hated seeing her hurt.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you really don’t have to.”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, really, you don’t have to,” he said softly.

Just as Adolphus started to comfort her again, Laurinda smiled. Something sweet and light swirled inside her. She really was unbelievably lucky to have a guy who put her first in everything.

“No, it’s okay. You deserve to know. It’s about what Lucas said… and that whole engagement thing.”

Laurinda took a deep breath. She had never wanted to revisit stuff that only brought her pain, but she knew it was better that Adolphus understood—just in case things got complicated later.

“I’ll start with Lucas. He’s from the Ham family in Stonehaven. Both his parents are scientists. His dad actually grew up with my dad and… was kind of like my dad’s shadow.”

“When my parents left Stonehaven, they took a classified file with them. The only people who knew about it were my parents and Lucas’s dad.”