From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 291

“You mean Laurinda is here?”

Irvin’s eyes lit up. He completely forgot about the experiment data and rushed straight toward the elevators. Something told him Laurinda had come to see him.

Aladin shook his head as he watched Irvin go. He’d never seen anyone get so excited just hearing Laurinda’s name. In his mind, Irvin was still too green. He had no idea how intimidating Laurinda could be.

The elevator doors slid open. Laurinda stepped out with the director by her side. The moment Irvin spotted her, he hurried over, his face bright with surprise and hope.

“Laurinda, did you come to see me?”

Laurinda hadn’t expected Irvin to be waiting for her, but she didn’t interrupt the director’s update. She simply waved Irvin over, inviting him to walk with them to the director’s office.

Inside, the director placed a stack of files in front of Laurinda. She barely glanced at them and motioned for him to stop.

“Danny, I’m not here for a progress check today. I actually came to see Irvin.”

The director hesitated for a second, caught off guard. He’d been so nervous that he’d completely forgotten to ask why Laurinda was visiting. He never thought she was just here to see someone.

“You’re not here to inspect the lab?”

“Let’s leave all that for after the New Year, alright? You don’t want to ruin your holiday with extra stress, do you?”

Danny let out a nervous laugh and quickly scooped up the reports, not giving Laurinda any chance to change her mind.

“Well, if you’re here for Irvin, I’ll leave you two to it.”

“Actually, I do have something else I need your help with. I know the lab has two spots to recommend students for the national competition. If someone wins, they get a special offer from The Cabinda University, right?”

Laurinda stood and headed out with Irvin beside her. He couldn’t stop smiling. It was obvious how happy he was.

When they got back to Irvin’s lab, he immediately grabbed a big sack filled with New Year’s gifts from his classmates for Laurinda.

“Wow, there’s so much. What’s all this?”

“They’re New Year’s gifts from everyone in our class. I’m not sure what’s inside, honestly. I told them I might not see you for a while, so they made sure nothing inside would spoil.”

Laurinda looked at the large sack but didn’t open it. She figured she’d take her time going through it at home.

“I got a gift for you too, Laurinda. It’s to thank you for helping Cathleen. I really mean it. Thank you for what you did that day. My mom heard about it and got really emotional. She’s always blamed herself for Cathleen’s personality. By helping Cathleen, you helped her too. She said if you ever need anything from her or my dad, they’d help you. No questions asked.”

Laurinda understood how much that promise meant. She accepted their kindness with a nod. “Alright. If that day ever comes, I won’t hesitate to ask.”