His Untamed Rose novel Chapter 139

When Winona finally finished her long, impassioned speech, her breath trembled slightly. She didn’t dare glance at the man beside her, only feeling as if the temperature inside the car had suddenly plummeted.

The car slipped into a tunnel, leaving them shrouded in darkness. His expression was lost in the shadows, but the unsteady rhythm of his breathing seemed to siphon away what little warmth remained in the air.

Winona slammed down on the gas, overtaking the cars ahead, her voice sharp with agitation. “I heard what Linus said at the door just now. He’s convinced that the man Lumina was with in Yuria was your brother! Soren’s the one who suddenly came back early, isn’t he?”

She pressed on, voice rising with every word. “That child—Lumina’s baby—it has to be Soren’s! Those two must’ve planned it all, sneaking off to Yuria so they could reunite as a family of three, keeping everyone else in the dark!”

Her words struck home. The man’s hand clenched tighter on the wheel, knuckles turning bone white. Though he said nothing, his gaze flickered beneath thick lashes.

Winona’s tone softened, almost pleading. “Cedric, I’ve never lied to you. If you’d just have someone watch your brother, or check if Lumina has ever gone to his stables, everything would become clear.”

The car rolled to a stop outside the opulent facade of the Royce Manor.

Cedric sat there, eyes shadowed, giving away nothing—neither belief nor disbelief. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and when he opened them again, his voice was hoarse. “I understand. I’ll look into it myself.”

Winona simply nodded and dropped the subject. “Let’s go in.”

They had barely reached the steps of the Royce estate when the frantic sound of someone pounding on a window reached them from the second floor.

Cedric looked up—and for a moment, his gaze froze.

A golden-barred window framed the silhouette of a woman inside, her hair disheveled, her presence trapped as if in a gilded cage.

Her face was pale, all the elegance she’d carried for over fifty years vanished.

“Cedric! Cedric! It’s me—your mother! Please, help me!” The woman, recognizing her son, cried out desperately, voice cracking.

A shadow moved behind Harriet, looming in the dim light. The next instant, the curtains were yanked shut with a sharp swish, cutting off the view.

Cedric finally turned away, his expression cold and hard.

He asked the old family butler, Ferdinand, in a low voice, “How long has she been locked up?”

Ferdinand sighed, speaking quietly. “Alistair found out Harriet secretly allowed the pregnant Lumina to leave the country. He was furious, so he locked her in the upstairs room. No one’s allowed to see her, apart from the daily meals.”

“To let her get pregnant.”

With a sharp crack, Alistair slammed down his pen, face twisted with seething disappointment. “You play around with women—I wouldn’t care if you had a new one every day. I always believed you had a sense of propriety, knew when to draw the line. That’s why I allowed you and Lumina to be together for three years. But you—how could you fall for her tricks? How could you let her get her way?”

Cedric kept his jaw steady, voice quiet. “You’re mistaken. The pregnancy—she had nothing to do with it. It was me.”

Winona stared at him, wide-eyed in disbelief.

Alistair’s gaze snapped to Cedric, shocked. “You? What do you mean, you?”

Cedric didn’t answer.

That silence only enraged Alistair further. He suddenly kicked out, toppling the heavy oak desk, sending ink and papers flying. Black stains bloomed across Cedric’s shirt.

“You stupid, blind fool!”

Alistair’s breathing grew ragged, and he fumbled for his heart medication. “Even now, you’re still defending her! You think I can’t see through it? You spoil her, let her carry your child, drag her into the Royce family mess? You know better than anyone—any woman who marries into this family needs nerves of steel to survive the suffering and dangers that hide behind our glittering facade. You’d really drag her into this storm?”