His Untamed Rose novel Chapter 12

The man had been standing there for who knows how long. At last, he straightened his back and brushed the ash from his half-finished cigarette.

“Well, aren’t you quite the mess, Ms. Jardin.”

His tone was cool and unhurried, his lips curling into a faint, mocking smile. His brows were sharp as blades, his eyes cold and deep, giving off the impression of carelessness, yet somehow, an overwhelming sense of security radiated from him.

At least for Lumina, right now, his presence was a relief. Her entire body seemed to melt, muscles finally unclenching.

Leaning against the hallway wall, she closed her eyes and let out a soft, almost disbelieving laugh. “Am I dreaming? I thought you had dinner plans with Ms. Naylor tonight? What are you doing here?”

Her voice trembled, sweet and gentle, like someone who’d just escaped disaster.

She slumped against the wall, limp and fragile, like a stray cat with nowhere left to go—pitiful yet carrying a certain fragile beauty.

Cedric narrowed his dark gaze, studying her in that moment.

Suddenly, he remembered the first time he’d met her.

Back then, Lumina was still in college, stumbling home clutching a dying puppy in her arms, sobbing as she burst through the doors of the Jardin family estate.

By coincidence, Cedric had been there on business that day. He’d watched, almost unwillingly, as this desperate girl had knelt before her parents, forehead scraped and bleeding as she begged for money to save the little animal, her sobs barely giving her time to breathe.

That was when Cedric learned Lumina had completely broken with her family after starting college, moving out and cutting all ties. She’d supported herself through school with three jobs, scraping together every penny for tuition, rent, and food.

She was tough to her core, yet willing to bend for the sake of a helpless creature, lowering herself to beg her parents for help.

It was no surprise they turned her away without a second thought, shoving her out the door.

In the end, it was Cedric who paid the vet’s bill and saved the little dog’s life.

He could still remember the look on Lumina’s face when that puppy began to walk again, when life returned to its eyes.

The same look she wore now.

Genuine. Untainted.

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