His Untamed Rose novel Chapter 25

Lumina fought back a twitch at the corner of her mouth, forcing a bright, dazzling smile. “Do you even have to ask? Of course, I’m talking about the kind of relationship we’ll never have.”

Cedric, in a fit of mischief, bit her a few times. With his hand on her waist, he suddenly seemed to remember something and sighed in frustration. “Does it really have to be five months?”

She nodded. “Yeah. It hasn’t even been five days yet.”

He fell silent.

...

Back in her office, Lumina hesitated for a long moment before finally calling Yadiel.

A young nurse picked up the phone, her tone cautious, “Dr. Yadiel is in surgery right now. May I ask who’s calling?”

Lumina paused, then asked the nurse to let Yadiel know to call her back when he was done.

As she hung up, Lumina couldn’t help but smile wryly. He was still as popular with the nurses as ever.

She really couldn’t blame them—fair-skinned and gentle, reserved yet steady, the kind of man who radiated a quiet sense of security. People were naturally drawn to him.

She could still remember, back when they were kids, she used to get bullied by Yadiel’s admirers just for being too close to him.

Lumina made herself a cup of coffee while she waited. By the time her mug was nearly empty, Yadiel’s call came through. His voice sounded tired as he asked what was going on.

“I have some bad news,” Lumina said.

Yadiel rubbed his brow and gave a wry chuckle. “Is there ever a time you call me with good news?”

She thought about it and realized, maybe not.

“It’s just... well, Cedric is probably coming with me to dinner at your home tonight.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Yadiel’s forehead vein practically popped. He opened his eyes wide. “You’re joking, right?”

“He asked me to dinner and I just happened to mention I was going to your place… Who knew he’d insist on coming along?”

Yadiel’s frustration was palpable, his breathing ragged over the line, as if he’d have liked nothing better than to reach through the phone and give her a piece of his mind.

She knew it was a bit rude to bring someone—especially someone Yadiel couldn’t stand—to dinner without warning, so she offered, “If you’d rather not see him, I can visit your parents another time.”

He sighed. “No, it’s fine. My mom’s been talking all day about you coming over, even went out early to buy groceries. I’m not going to ruin her excitement over a grudge.”

Lumina smiled. “I’m sorry for the trouble tonight.”

“You’ve been giving me trouble since we were kids. What’s one more night?”

It was his way of telling her not to feel so guilty.

Still, she felt bad.

So, on her way, she stopped by the mall. She picked out a dress for Minka, then headed to the men’s section and found a tie that suited Yadiel’s understated style.

By six, Cedric was already waiting for her in the car.

Lumina wore her usual work attire: a crisp white blouse and a black pencil skirt that accentuated her waist and long, elegant legs. She’d twisted her hair up into a loose bun and kept her makeup light, but she still turned heads—there was an effortless, alluring confidence in her every movement.

His expression softened a bit as he fiddled with his watch. “I’m not a tyrant, you know.”

She nearly scoffed. Could’ve fooled her.

The car soon turned onto a narrow one-way street, and the driver slowed down.

Lumina gazed out the window, her eyes suddenly lighting up. “Isn’t that the preschool I went to as a kid? Wow, I haven’t been here in ages. So many memories.”

Cedric propped his chin in his hand and followed her gesture.

To him, it was just a patch of overgrown rubble. The old building was half-collapsed, a faded sign still visible beneath the spray-painted demolition warnings.

Lumina smiled. “Back then, I hated going to preschool. I used to wish every day that the school would just vanish. Who knew, growing up would actually make that wish come true?”

“If I’d known childhood wishes were so effective, I would’ve wished to become a billionaire.”

Cedric listened to her rambling and couldn’t help the faint curve of his lips.

The car rolled down a tree-lined lane and passed a winding alley packed with street food vendors.

From a distance, they could see kids and teenagers digging in, laughing and eating their fill.

Lumina licked her lips, giving Cedric a pleading look. “Could we stop for a minute? I’d love to grab some popcorn chicken.”

At that, Cedric’s brow creased in disapproval.