Chapter
Melinda wrapped up a few things before heading back in her room to test, leaving Begins feeling completely dazed.
“Wasn’t today’s hos Laurel’s fault? Why was everyone suddenly on her side? And how did the viden–whatever tacties Laurel used to iwisted into my deliberately trying to sabotage the engagement jurty! slie wondered, “Laurel! ‘That bitch!”
o get it–get
She was the daughter of the Lambert family, yet she needed to give up that title for some so–called “greater good” She even had to give up the guy. she liked Regina was fuming about it—she really couldn’t shake off the anger.
With no one to vent to, Regina grabbed a coffee mug from the table and smashed it on the floor.
Sure, the loud crash should’ve drawn some attention, but it was eerily quiet upstairs, and no one came out to see what was up.
Hill and Melinda had already decided Regina was the troublemaker of the day and were giving her the cold shoulder on purpose,
Laurel could tell they were suspicious of Regina, especially since they didn’t even ask her where she got that videox.
The video did look like a selfie at first glance, and if Regina hadn’t sent it to Laurel on purpose, no way Laurel could have even gotten it.
Honestly, if they had asked, Laurel would’ve spun the whole thing to make it look like itegina’s fault. But with their tendency to be suspicious, even of their own kids, it just meant less work for her
Laurel had just finished a relaxing bath and was drying off when her phone rang. It was Martin. As soon as she picked up, he said, “Laurel, I sent everything I could dig up to your inbox. Make sure to check it out”
“Awesome, thanks for the hard work
“Anything else? If not, I’m gonna excuse myself now?”
Laurel chuckled “
After h
“You’re so chatty”
hanging up, she opened her laptop, logged into her email, and clicked on the new message. As she read, her face went blank.
The death of Roderick’s pare
parents was way inore complicated than she’d thought.
Checking the time—10:00 pm–she decided to message Martin: [ Find out where Roderick is right now |
Martin was a genius hacker and really
ly knew his stuff. Laurel had once done him a big favor, so he always handled her requests with impressive speed and care.
Just two minutes later, she got a message with Roderick’s location and a phone munber. He was at a fancy club.
Quickly, she
be threw tog
together an outfit that fit the scene and headed out the door.
As she walked downstairs, she noticed Regina’s door was wide open, and her room was empty. Meanwhile, Bill and Melinda’s door was closed, suggesting they were already asleep.
Not wasting any more time, Laurel made a beeline for the garage and drove off
In the Lars Club’s SVI box, a guy lounged back on the wide couch, tuning into the chatter of three gossipers next to him, who were dishing out the latest scoop from Oslonia City.
“Isn’t today the wedding of the Lamberts and Lynches! I heard Laurel Lambert had a change of heart and actually pushed her sister to get engaged
“I heard that too! There are also rumors that she dropped an intimate video of Regina and George in public. That scene is something else!” Tve always thought that George was a poser! I’d love to see that video myself
The more
are they fam
talked, the more pumped they became. Suddenly, Manfred Wells reinembered one of them had been at the wedding today.
“Roderick, George is your cousin, right? The whole Lynch family was at the party today. You were there, weren’t
you?” he asked.
Chapter 9
Roderick took a sip from his glass and replied casually. “Yep”
With that. Alf Madron and Austin Goodman leaned in closer, eager for details. “Roderick, did you get any live footage! Show us!”
Roderick glanced at the three eager faces, took another sip of wine, and shrugged, “Nope.”
Their excitement deflated for a moment, but they quickly looked back at him, hopeful “Come on, was it as dramatic as everyone’s saying?”
“George finally embarrassed himself! I can’t wait to find out how?”
“Seriously, spill the tea!”
Just as Roderick was about to say something, the door to the booth swung open, and someone walked in. With a smirk, Roderick said, “If you want the full story, you should ask the ones involved.”
“Laurel and George? We don’t know them that well—”
“Roderick.” A melodic female voice cut off Manfred’s sentence.
The three of them looked up at the same time, and a woman with striking features stood before them.
“Ms. Lambert Manfred said, eyes wide.
Laurel gave the tro a quick glance and a polite nod before fixating on Roderick. “Roderick, I need to talk to you. Can you step outside for a minute“”
Her t
tone was serious and a bit urgent.
The trio exchanged puzzled looks. Roderick and Laurel knew each other. This was news to them.
Manfred couldn’t stand George the most. The guy was incredibly pretentious, always packaging himself as some gentle and refined nobleman of Odonia City.
Clearly. Manfred didn’t think so. In fact, he thought George was not even close to Roderick in every way
Laurel and George had grown up together and were also engaged, which made Manfred eye Laurel with disdain.
Seeing Roderick lounging around and clearly not taking Laurel seriously, Manfred decided to take advantage of the whole situation.
“Hey, Ms. Lambert, is this your first time in a place like this? You probably don’t know the ropes. If you want, you can finish this bottle and take Roderick with you,” he teased, giving Roderick a wink to get in on the act.
Laurel paused, glancing from the full bottle of spirits in Manfred’s hand to Roderick, who was still sprawled out on the couch and had no plans to
“So, drink this, and you’re coming with me?” she asked, locking her gaze on Roderick, waiting for his answer.
“Fine,” he replied with a dismissive grunt.
“Deal,” Laurel declared, taking the bottle, leaning over, and pouring herself a glass.
With one drink down, she quickly followed it up with a second and then a third
People always said Laurel was the perfect example of a noble lady–capable, smart, dignified, and all that jazz. She had a grace that many stuck–up rich girls lacked.
young lady everyone knew. It was hard not to admire her.
But right now, Laurel was bold and fierce. No one would guess she was the sweet yo
Manfred was left stunned, watching her down drink after drink without ev
even flinching.
He wondered if she really was the Laurel they had heard about.
He knew exactly
actly how strong this wine was. They usually just took a sip when they ordered it, never chugging it like she was.
Manfred suddenly felt bad for giving Laurel a hard time. Roderick stayed quiet, not wanting to say anything. Manfred could only shoot secret glances at him, which Roderick completely ignored.
2/3
Chapter
bus
At first, Roderick slouched lazily on the couch, but as Laurel gulped down her fifth drink he finally sat up straight, leaning in a while wrong her with a mix of concern and intrigue
Ha dark eyes were fixed on the woman who just kept pouring herself more
Before lone Laurel had polished off half the bottle of spirits. She seemed a bit dated but was still forming another wig when Bederick hugely ge up and snatched the bottle away.
“Okay, that’s enough.” he said.
