The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 150

Chapter 136: The Trap Springs

Caleb POV

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The drive back to the penthouse was a blur of dark streets and red traffic lights I barely registered. My hands gripped the steering wheel too tightly, knuckles white, the scent of Bella still clinging to my skin- her perfume, her arousal, the faint salt of her tears. Every mile away from that anonymous apartment felt like another rip in my chest.

I shouldn’t have gone. I shouldn’t have touched her.

I sure as hell shouldn’t have fucked her like that-raw, brutal, punishing-against the wall when she was begging me to leave. But the second she’d opened that door, the second I saw her standing there already halfway into the role of bait, something inside me had snapped, years of regret, of searching empty rooms for the wife I’d thrown away, of waking up reaching for a woman who wasn’t there… it all crashed over the carefully built walls I’d rebuilt since she came back.

She’d cried out in pain when I thrust into her the first time-sharp, broken sounds that only made me drive harder. Her nails had dug into my shoulders, her voice cracking on pleas for me to stop, to slow down, to leave. And I hadn’t. I’d taken her like a man possessed, squeezing her breasts until they bore my fingerprints, grinding deep, chasing the only thing that still felt real in this nightmare we were walking into. Her body had clenched around me so perfectly, pleasure and pain twisting together until she shattered with my name on her lips. Even now, minutes later, the memory made my c**k twitch traitorously in my

trousers.

I was a bastard. She was risking everything-our son, her life, the empire she’d built from nothing-and I’d used her body to ease my own fear and the worst part? She hadn’t pushed me away instead She’d begged, yes, but she’d also clung to me, hips rocking to meet every savage thrust, tears slipping down her cheeks even as she came apart.

By the time the private elevator deposited me back in the penthouse, my jaw ached from clenching it the entire ride. The lights were dimmed for the night and the place felt too quiet without her.

Diana was in the living room, silhouetted against the soft glow of a single lamp, scrolling through her phone. She looked up as I entered, her expression carefully neutral-the same guarded mask she’d worn since she’d returned to our lives.

“Tom’s asleep,” she said quietly. “Finally. He made me go through every dinosaur card twice before he’d close his eyes.”

I nodded once, throat tight. “Is he okay?”

Diana studied me for a long moment, those cold eyes-Black family eyes-seeing too much. “He’s worried about his mother. Asked if the bad person was going to hurt her. I told him Mummy was the strongest person we know and that she’d come back soon. He seemed to accept it… for now, he also said to tell you about volcanoes if you got sad.”

A ghost of a smile tried to pull at my mouth and failed. Tom, my son. The boy with my grey eyes and Bella’s fierce little heart. The one I’d almost lost before I even knew he existed because I’d been too arrogant, too poisoned by lies, to see the truth.

“He’s okay, then,” I said.

1.3

Chapter 136 The Trap Springs

Diana’s gaze sharpened. “Are you?”

t didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Instead I turned toward the hallway that led to my study, the weight of the evening pressing heavier with every step.

“Caleb.”

I paused but didn’t turn around.

Claim

“She’ll be fine,” Diana said behind me. “Bella’s not the same woman you married the first time. She’s strong and Lena’s team is the best there is.”

“I know.” My voice came out rougher than I intended. “Doesn’t make it easier to watch her walk into the lion’s den while I sit here playing house.”

Diana was silent for a beat. “You went to see her, didn’t you?”

I didn’t deny it. There was no point, my sister had always been too perceptive for her own good.

A soft sigh. “Just… don’t let it cloud your head, we need you sharp if this is going to work.”

I gave a curt nod and continued down the hall without another word.

The study door clicked shut behind me with a sound of finality. I didn’t bother with the lights at first. Moonlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows across the massive oak desk, the shelves lined with contracts and trophies of corporate conquests that suddenly felt hollow. I poured myself a measure of whiskey-and dropped into the leather chair, the glass cool against my palm. The regret hit harder in the silence.

I could still feel the way Bella’s body had trembled against mine, the slick heat of her gripping me as I pounded into her without mercy. The way she’d sobbed “please, Caleb… stop… I need you to leave” even while her legs had locked around my waist, pulling me deeper. I’d marked her-teeth on her neck, fingerprints on her breasts, my cum still inside her when I finally pulled out. She was supposed to be selling the image of a woman fleeing danger, not walking around with fresh bruises and the unmistakable evidence of rough sex hidden under her clothes.

If Cole’s people got even a glimpse of her like that… if they suspected she wasn’t truly alone and terrified…

I downed the whiskey in one burning swallow and set the glass down harder than necessary.

She was right to beg me to leave. I was a liability tonight-too raw, too possessive, too fucking terrified of losing her again. Few years ago I’d thrown her away like she was nothing. Tonight I’d nearly done the same thing in a different way: risking the plan, risking her safety, all because I couldn’t stand the thought of her facing this without me.

But she wasn’t the broken girl I’d married anymore. She was Bella Hart-CEO, mother, survivor. The woman who had rebuilt an empire from nothing while raising our son alone. She didn’t need me to protect her tonight. She needed me to trust her. To stay sharp. To be ready when the time came to end Cole for good.

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