His Untamed Rose novel Chapter 134

Lumina’s brows knit for a moment at the way Stella addressed her, but she quickly smoothed her expression. “I work here at the flower shop now. You can call me Lumina.”

She kept her tone cool as she introduced herself to Stella. “Are you buying flowers as a gift, or for decoration? I can help recommend something.”

Stella burst out laughing, then leaned in to gossip with her friends. “Remember that handsome guy from my birthday party? This is his ex.”

A girl beside her giggled, covering her mouth. “Her? She looks like she just crawled out of the projects.”

“She’s nothing compared to you, Stella. That guy clearly has terrible taste.”

The compliments made Stella beam. She plucked a flower at random and held it up to her nose, savoring the scent. “You girls don’t get it. She only ended up like this after leaving him. Back when she was Ms. Jardin, she walked around like she owned the place, nose in the air, too proud to look at anyone.”

Lumina turned her back to them, eyelids fluttering shut for a brief moment.

She forced herself to breathe, pressing down the surge of emotion threatening to break through, until she finally felt in control again.

Only then did Lumina face Stella. “Ms. Naylor, what do you think of these lisianthus? The soft ivory is elegant and goes well with any furniture. They keep well and are said to be good for you too.”

Stella lounged in her chair, legs crossed, clearly enjoying Lumina’s deferential manner.

With a satisfied smile, she pointed to a vase filled with vibrant red roses. “Let me see the roses.”

“Of course.” Lumina selected a bouquet and leaned forward, offering it to her.

As Lumina looked up, her eyes gleamed—clear and luminous like glass—her pale skin set off by the vivid red of the roses in her hands.

Stella stared at that flawless face, suddenly feeling a knot of envy twist inside her.

She’s too beautiful, too fair—it’s almost infuriating.

Stella’s tone sharpened. “Did you even listen? I meant I want to pick them out one by one, not just see the whole bunch.”

Lumina paused, then began to untie the carefully folded ribbons and unwrap the bouquet, laying each rose out individually for Stella to inspect. “Don’t worry, these were picked fresh this morning. They’re as fresh as can be.”

Stella glanced at them dismissively, a faint sneer tugging at her lips. “They look awfully thorny.”

Lumina smiled gently. “Well, they are roses, after all.”

Leaning back in her seat, Stella’s smile twisted. “Take the thorns off, then. I don’t like getting pricked—it’ll ruin my hands. Get rid of every single thorn and I’ll buy them.”

As Lumina cradled the roses, a few petals dropped to the floor at her feet.

The glass door was already half open when Stella paused, glancing over her shoulder. Lumina had peeled off her gloves and was reaching for the sharp rose thorns with bare hands. “I can do it, Ms. Naylor. Please, have a seat.”

“Now that’s more like it, Ms. Jardin.”

Stella sat down with a satisfied smirk, watching as Lumina’s face pinched with pain every time a thorn drew blood.

The sight thrilled her—revenge, at last. She couldn’t resist snapping several photos and posting them on Instagram.

She didn’t have Cedric’s Instagram, but gossip like this spread fast. It wasn’t long before those photos ended up on Cedric’s phone.

He sat there, phone in hand, his eyes fixed on the woman in the pictures.

Her head was bowed, hair falling across her face; she looked much thinner now, those soft locks hiding her brilliant eyes.

Living in Yuria had always suited her, making her skin glow rosy and fair, and once, she’d carried herself with such confidence and grace—every inch the perfect wife.

But as Cedric’s gaze shifted lower, he saw her fingers, raw and bleeding from the thorns.

In a sudden burst of anger, he slammed his coffee cup against the table, shattering it into pieces.