From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace novel Chapter 1

“Laurinda’s party is packed. I wonder if she’ll still be grinning like that when she figures out what the Austins have been up to behind her back. Or maybe she’ll end up on her knees, begging not to get kicked out, crying her eyes out.”

“Honestly, I want to see it. She acts like she’s so untouchable. I hope the Austins throw her out without a second thought. Watching her fall apart would be the highlight of my night.”

“If she gets kicked out, it won’t just be her pride that takes a hit. She’s pissed off so many people over the years just because she could. The second she loses the Austin name, those people will eat her alive. We’ll get to watch the whole thing unfold.”

“She thinks she’s better than everyone. Kicking her out is too easy. If it were up to me... I’d make sure she never recovers.”

“Congrats, Fabian. Good thing your dad never made your engagement to that idiot official. Otherwise you’d be the joke of the city.”

Laurinda slipped out of the banquet hall and was passing by the lounge when she caught the sound of their laughter, her name tossed around like a punchline. She paused, listening.

She frowned, thinking about how strangely Aiken had been acting lately and that strange dream she’d had just a few nights ago.

In the dream, Aiken brought a girl in shabby clothes to her party. Right in front of everyone, he’d announced that this girl was the real Austin heiress, and Laurinda was just a stand-in, switched at birth, living someone else’s life for eighteen years.

After that, she was thrown out, completely abandoned, her life spiraling until she died alone and miserable...

Remembering the end of that dream, Laurinda almost laughed out loud.

Leaving the Austins would be a relief. There was no way she’d end up lost and helpless. That dream was honestly the funniest thing she’d ever imagined.

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