Lariette, Madeline and Brian walked past a few police officers as they stepped out. The cool and crisp night air brushed on them, gently ruffling their locks and biting their exposed skin.
Brian wanted to drive the ladies to Lumina Spring, but Madeline ca here with her car. Since Lariette would ride together with her, his service was not required.
Madeline’s sports car and Brian’s luxury sedan were parked a distance away from the police station. The lights of the lampposts glead on the sleek tal surfaces.
Glancing at her wristwatch, Lariette was surprised to see it was already seven. The night had just begun. Fortunately, she wasn’t forced to spend more ti at the police station.
Lariette exhaled a sigh of relief, then inhaled deeply, letting the scent of dried leaves fill her lungs. The mont her eyes landed on Madeline, she burst into a short, surprised laugh.
"What?" Madeline asked, confused to see her friend suddenly cackling.
"Maddie! You hit him in front of the police," Lariette said, voice incredulous and amused, shoulders trembling from laughter, "Really, I’ve never loved you more."
Madeline flipped her hair and her lips cracked into a grin, "Well, yours truly have been waiting to do that for years. Lucky , the wait’s over."
Brian chuckled, helplessness washing over his old heart as he watched the ladies exchange laughter. Raising his brows, he said, "Let’s hope we don’t need to do any damage control after this."
His statent also elicited more giggles from the ladies. The rry sound echoed in the solemn air of the police station.
Before parting ways, Lariette thanked Brian for his assistance. The older man gently smiled at her before joking he did that for his own ntal well-being, referring to Chairman Delaney being panicked.
"I should call Grandpa soon," Lariette smiled faintly, a little guilty, "I didn’t get to do that yet. He must’ve been so worried."
Without the need to confirm it, she knew dark clouds of unease were currently hanging above her elderly grandfather’s head. She better contact him as soon as possible.
Brian’s experienced gaze quietly assessed Lariette’s expression. He couldn’t help but recall when the lady was much younger and timid. Now she had grown up with lively sparks in her eyes.
As Chairman Delaney’s close aide, Brian had always heard the forr talking about Lariette. The elderly man was often worried because of her tendency to keep everything to herself, including when she was in trouble.
Then Brian said, voice remaining gentle.
"Please don’t think it’s your fault, Lady Lariette. The Chairman was actually relieved because you imdiately sought his help instead of trying to solve this on your own."
Each of Brian’s words was laced with sincerity, softly touching Lariette’s heart. Once again, she thanked him before reminding him to be careful on his way back. He did the sa.
"Lady Lariette, you and Lady Madeline should go first."
"Yes, see you again, Mr. Kingsley."
The ladies got into the car under Brian’s watchful gaze. Vincent and Gabriel hadn’t erged from the station. Soon, the sports car left.
Sitting behind the wheel, Madeline looked over at Lariette, her gaze gentler, "Lari, you okay?"
Lariette nodded, lips smiling, "I’m fine. I really intended to kick him, hehe. Still, I’m glad you and Mr. Kingsley ca."
"Hah! No way I let you deal with that idiot alone," Madeline scoffed, still infuriated by Vincent’s thoughtless action.
Lariette chuckled. She reached out for the phone inside the sling bag, forgetting to check it even once after silencing it. Her breath caught once she saw several missed calls and unread texts by Ruediger.
Oh no!
How could she forget she ssaged him about going to the police station?
"Maddie," Lariette called her friend, quite absentmindedly, "I gonna call Eddy. I didn’t notice his calls and texts."
"Ah! Do that! Don’t mind ," Madeline quickly answered.
Inhaling deeply, Lariette returned one of Ruediger’s missed calls without checking the ssages. Her heart had just thumped once when the line was connected.
"Lettie," Ruediger’s voice echoed, suppressed with fury and imbued with concern, "Vincent troubled you again? How did it go? Did he hurt you? What happened?"
Despite not being in the loudspeaker mode, Madeline could clearly hear Ruediger’s questions. Lariette shot her a sorry look, before quickly trying to reassure him.
"Eddy, I’m fine, really," Lariette smiled faintly, the other hand clutching her coat, "I rember to kick his leg when he appeared today. You know what, I even acted all pitiful and made everyone feel sorry for ."
There was a long pause, and then helpless laughter rang from the end of the line.
"You sound proud, sweetheart," Ruediger said, his voice lighter than before as his wrath dropped, "Care to explain from the start?"
"Hehe, of course~"
As Madeline drove beside her, Lariette recounted the event clearly. She emphasized how swiftly she kicked the back of Vincent’s knee before crying to gain sympathy.
"I agreed when the guard told to contact the police. The n who helped also ca along, but they quickly left after giving their statents. I could only thank them."
Lariette’s mind wandered to the two n. Due to the chaotic period, she had forgotten to ask for their contacts. Even though they refused when she tried to reward her, she still felt bad.
There was another long pause from Ruediger’s side, but Lariette didn’t catch anything uncanny. Then, she continued her story.
"You don’t have to trouble yourself with Vincent much, Eddy. Maddie already slapped him for us. She did that right in front of a police officer."
As if on cue, Madeline said, loud and clear, "You can reward for that, dear cousin!"
Ruediger’s laughter rang again, "Tell her to expect gifts from ."
"Hehehe, okay~"
After relaying Ruediger’s words to Madeline, Lariette said, "I filed a report, but I didn’t press charges yet. I will do it if he ever cos near us again."
"Lettie," he sighed, "You should’ve done that. No need to worry about anything. I can handle any backlash if you’re worried about that. Well, Grandpa’s on our side too."
"It’s fine. I’ve scared him enough for now," she added softly, "Besides, Mr. Kingsley has warned both him and the attorney nad Gabriel. They gonna have a lot to answer if they did it again."
Ruediger was silent again. Lariette could hear him pacing, almost picturing the stiff set of his shoulders and the thunder brewing in his eyes.
"Eddy, don’t think about coming ho early," she warned jokingly, "Maddie’s gonna be with this weekend. Try not to worry, okay?"
"...okay," he replied dejectedly.
She might say that, but how could he not?
He had to speed things up from his side and quickly fly ho to her.
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