All Chapters of The One Who Waited: Chapter 21 - Chapter 28

During the few days Irina was back in Sterling City for the divorce, she was not idle. She took the time to sketch out the renovation plans for Luther's three-story Twilight Villa.The overall design of the sketches was clean, elegant, yet warm. It aligned with mainstream aesthetics while still carrying Irina's personal touch.After Luther reviewed them, he said nothing and simply sent back a thumbs-up emoji. Just like he had said from the start, leaving everything to her meant exactly that.However, Irina felt this would not do. After all, a house was meant to be lived in, and only through personal involvement would the owner develop a connection to it, transforming cold concrete and steel into something that could truly be called a home.After returning to Lakewood City, Irina attempted to schedule a meeting with Luther. However, after several attempts, she could not pin him down.When she asked, he said he was busy. When she pressed further, he told her the house was her call,

Irina searched through her memory several times, but she just could not remember when or where she had met Luther. If he said he had a crush on her, they must have met before.When Luther heard the question, he scoffed. "Yeah, we've met.""Where? When?" Irina pressed."I think light gray works well. It looks sophisticated. What do you think?"It was obvious Luther had no intention of answering her question. Since he did not want to say it, Irina dropped the matter."Alright, I'll send the revised plans to your phone."Just then, Irina's phone rang.It was Racheal.Though she did not want to answer, she had to. The moment the call connected, Racheal eagerly asked about the situation."Irina, did you meet him? How did it go? Luther is a great guy. He has a good character, is handsome, and makes good money. If you marry him, you'll be set for life."Her phone's speaker was so loud that Luther could hear everything clearly, and he could not help but smile.Irina was smiling too,

When Luther said dinner, he really just took Irina out for a meal. After dinner, it was Irina who suggested they walk around the shopping district.Holding a cup of hot latte, Irina walked shoulder to shoulder with Luther through the dense crowd.She sighed. "It's such a shame it didn't snow today."By the way, Luther, has it snowed here in past years?"Irina had not spent Christmas in her hometown for many years. The snow she remembered was from her high school days.Luther replied, "I don't know.""You don't know? Weren't you home?""No, I went to Sterling City."Irina was shocked. "To Sterling City? For work?"Irina was only asking out of curiosity.At that point, Luther stopped walking and looked down at Irina, whose cheeks were slightly red from the cold."To see you."Irina fell silent."Last Christmas, you spent it with Uriah at the college with the international students he was mentoring. The year before, he probably wasn't home, so you went to the convenience stor

When Luther's parents–Terrence Zimmerman and Cynthia Lowell–arrived at the hospital, they saw Irina covered in blood. The couple checked her over several times, and only after confirming Irina was not injured did they breathe a sigh of relief.However, Luther's parents' expressions immediately turned grave. Despite the heavy mood, Cynthia still walked over to Irina and gripped her hands tightly.She said, "You must've been terrified, dear. Don't worry. Luther's tough. A little injury like this is nothing.""I'm so sorry, Mrs. Zimmerman. He was trying to save me. I'm so sorry..."Irina broke down again, like a child who had done something terribly wrong, unable to even look Cynthia in the eye. The people around could tell that saying anything right now would be useless given her state.Time ticked by minute by minute. When the operating room light finally went out, and the doctor emerged, Irina was the first to rush over."Doctor, how is Luther?""He's fine. No vital organs were