His Untamed Rose novel Chapter 35

As Lumina opened the back door, she found Cedric already inside, waiting for her. He looked utterly exhausted, eyes closed as if trying to steal a moment’s rest. Even the scent from the car’s air freshener seemed different from usual.

Lumina slid in beside him and gently reached for his hand, her voice soft and calm. “Want me to rub your temples for a bit?”

Cedric opened his eyes, giving her a weary glance. Yet his reply was distant, almost deliberately so. Instead of answering, he looked straight ahead and spoke to the driver. “Let’s go.”

“Alright,” came the reply.

The voice caught Lumina off guard. It wasn’t Wade’s familiar tone, it was a woman’s, and one she could’ve sworn she knew.

Curious, Lumina leaned forward to get a look at the driver, her eyes widening in surprise. “It’s you?”

It was the same woman who had driven Yadiel’s father home a few days ago. She remembered Yadiel calling her Ms. Tatum.

Winona Tatum gave a quiet “Yes.”

Today, Winona was dressed in a sharp suit, her whole presence more polished and refined, though her expression remained gentle and composed.

She caught Lumina’s gaze in the rearview mirror and offered a warm smile. “Good evening, Ms. Jardin.”

Lumina returned the smile and asked, “Ms. Tatum, aren’t you usually working for the Sterling family?”

Something about Winona’s presence made her instincts prickle. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Yadiel’s dad and Cedric sharing the same driver wasn’t just a coincidence.

“I still help them out,” Winona replied, hands resting delicately on the steering wheel, a simple silver ring glinting on her pinky. “But my last employer let me go, so I had some extra time and found my way to Mr. Royce here.”

“I see,” Lumina nodded, then turned to Cedric. “Did Wade resign?”

Wade had been Cedric’s driver for ages. If there hadn’t been a major mishap, Cedric would never swap him out for someone new—especially not a stranger. Being a personal driver was a private job; anything said in the car, whether about family or business, was easily overheard.

Cedric, particular to a fault, would only let someone he trusted take that seat.

Winona was about to answer, but Cedric cut in coolly, shooting Lumina a look. “So many questions.”

Lumina let the subject drop, but a seed of suspicion had already taken root in her mind.

Cedric strode over. “Are you hurt?”

She glanced up at him, then quickly looked away, shaking her head.

A shy flush crept up the tip of her ear, half-hidden beneath her hair—something Lumina caught instantly.

Cedric didn’t seem concerned about the mirror. Instead, he led Winona to stand before a mirror. “Perfect timing. We’re debating tie colors—brown or gray. Which do you think suits me better?”

Winona glanced at the reflection, only to meet Lumina’s searching gaze.

She quickly demurred. “I’m no expert. Ms. Jardin should choose. She’s got a great eye, much better than mine…”

But Cedric pressed on. “She’s picked the brown. What do you think?”

Winona bit her lip, studied the mirror, and finally said, “I think the gray one works better. The neutral tones pull everything together, and it really matches your steady personality.”

Cedric nodded slightly, then turned to the shop assistant. “We’ll take the gray one.”