His Untamed Rose novel Chapter 133

Cedric stubbed out his cigarette, a hollow smile flickering on his lips. “You’re heading over there to take care of things—what would I even do?”

Linus had to admit, Cedric’s only real connection to the kingdom of Yuria was his brother Soren, who’d returned from there years ago. Other than that, there was just that person.

“Forget I asked,” Linus said with a wry smile, giving Cedric a friendly clap on the shoulder.

Cedric finished his cigarette without another word and slipped into his car, bending low to slide behind the wheel. The tinted windows slowly swallowed the sharp lines of his face, leaving his expression unreadable.

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Lumina had told people she’d be out that weekend, but the truth was, she had no idea where she could actually go.

Her circle in Yuria was painfully small: the flower shop, her apartment, the hospital—a monotonous triangle she rarely strayed from.

So on Friday evening, she approached Barbara, her boss, and said she’d like to work overtime at the shop over the weekend.

Barbara barely glanced up from her calculator, her tone dry as dust. “Can’t make rent again, is that it?”

Lumina offered a gentle, noncommittal smile. “Something like that.”

“Fine, work late if you want, but don’t expect any overtime pay.” Barbara was as blunt as ever, not even bothering to look up. She began rattling off numbers. “Look here—this week, a handful of customers came in, tried to chat, and you just brushed them off. They complained on the app and left bad reviews.”

Lumina glanced at the screen, recognizing the names. They were troublemakers from a nearby private school—privileged kids with nothing better to do.

“They asked for my phone number and started taking pictures of me. They weren’t here to buy flowers,” Lumina said quietly.

Barbara shot her a look. “Listen, darling, ever heard of ‘the customer is always right’? This is the service industry. Whatever the customer wants, you’re supposed to serve it up with a smile. Honestly, you’re still living like a hothouse flower—never really had to tough it out, have you?”

Lumina listened in silence, keeping her composure. If this had happened back home, she would’ve snapped back in a heartbeat. But here, in a foreign country with no one to rely on, she had to tread carefully. Better to keep her head down.

“I understand. It won’t happen again,” she said quietly. “Just dock the pay for the bad reviews, and pay me whatever you think is fair. As long as I can stay here in the shop this weekend, that’s enough.”

She gave Barbara a small, respectful nod and slipped out the door.

Barbara watched her go, letting out a sharp little snort. “So thin and pale, always looking so miserable. She’s going to pass that bad mood right on to her baby, if she’s not careful.”

Gone was the decisive, dazzling Ms. Jardin of old.

Lumina’s dark hair was loosely tucked behind her ears, exposing a delicate, pale face. Her features were as refined as ever, but now softened, almost gentle. She wore a cream blouse, light blue jeans, and scuffed canvas sneakers—her slender figure standing quietly apart from the crowd.

She was still beautiful, still carried an air of otherworldly grace, but compared to the incandescent Ms. Jardin who’d once stood beside Cedric, she was almost unrecognizable.

“You…” Stella’s surprise curdled into something meaner—a flash of schadenfreude in her eyes.

She was studying abroad in the country next to Yuria, but when her brother came to visit, she’d insisted on coming along. Officially, it was for sightseeing, but in truth, Stella had been dying to see for herself what kind of life the woman Cedric couldn’t forget was living now.

She’d pulled a few strings to find out where Lumina worked, and now, with her brother out at dinner, she’d seized her chance.

Lumina, for her part, remained calm. She saw the amusement, the scorn, and the touch of pity in Stella’s gaze—all of it.

But she greeted her with the same cool composure as always. “Ms. Naylor. It’s been a while.”

Stella studied her for a long moment before laughing. “Not that long, really. But I almost didn’t recognize you, Ms. Jardin.”