The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 23

<Chapter 23-inking about him

Chapter 23: Thinking about him

Bella pov

+25 Points

He didn’t know years of searching for me, and he still didn’t know whether I’d terminated the pregnancy like he’d demanded. Whether his child existed or not.

Part of me wanted to tell him, wanted to see his face when he realized Tom was alive and perfect and everything he’d thrown away. Wanted to watch him suffer knowing his son was growing up without him, that Tom called me Mommy.

But the larger part, the part that had kept us alive and safe for years, knew that telling Caleb about Tom would change everything. He was a billionaire with unlimited resources and lawyers. He could fight for custody, could take Tom away from me, could hurt my son the way he’d hurt me.

I would die before I let that happen.

“Mommy?” Tom twisted in my lap to look at me again. “When is Aunt Maya coming? You said she was visiting soon.”

Maya. I’d almost forgotten she was flying in tonight. She’d insisted on coming after I’d texted her about seeing Caleb, said she needed to be here to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid like forgive him or, worse, fall apart alone.

“She’ll be here around eight,” I said, checking the time. “That’s in two hours. Are you excited to see her?”

“Yes!” Tom bounced excitedly. “I missed her so much! Can we show her the new office? And the park with the ducks? And”.

“We’ll show her everything,” I promised, kissing his forehead. “But first, how about we order dinner? What do you want?”

“Chicken nuggets!” Tom said immediately, then paused. “But can we get the fancy ones from that restaurant you like? The ones with the special sauce?”

Even at three years old, my son had expensive taste. I blamed myself for that. “Fancy chicken nuggets it

is.”

We ordered dinner and ate together on the couch, Tom chattering about his day while I tried to focus on his words instead of the panic still clawing at my chest. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Caleb’s face. Every time I took a breath, I felt that crushing weight on my lungs.

By the time Maya arrived at eight thirty, I was barely holding it together.

She took one look at me through the open door and immediately wrapped me in a hug, not saying anything, just holding me while I tried not to cry again.

“Aunt Maya!” Tom appeared behind us, bouncing on his toes. “You’re here! I missed you!”

Maya pulled back from me and crouched down to Tom’s level, her face lighting up the way it always did when she saw him. “I missed you too, little man! Look at you, you’ve grown so much! Are you going to be taller than your mommy soon?”

1/3

Chapter 23 Thinking about him

+25 Points >

“Maybe!” Tum threw his arms around her neck. “Mommy said we can show you everything tomorrow. The office and the park and my new room and.”

“We’ll show her everything,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “But right now, it’s almost bedtime. Why don’t you go brush your teeth while I talk to Aunt Maya for a minute?

Tom pouted but obeyed, running off to his bathroom while Maya stood and studied my face with worried eyes.

“How bad was it?” she asked quietly.

“Bad.” I walked to the kitchen and poured two glasses of wine, handing her one. “He cornered me after my speech. Tried to apologize, said he’d been searching for me for years, and asked about the baby.”

Maya’s eyes widened. “He doesn’t know about Tom?”

“No. And he’s not going to.” I took a long drink of wine, needing the burn. “Maya, seeing him today… I could barely breathe. I thought I was ready, thought I’d built enough walls, but the moment I heard his voice…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence. I didn’t need to. Maya had been there through the worst of it, had held me through panic attacks and nightmares, had watched me rebuild myself from nothing.

“Did he say why he was looking for you?” she asked carefully.

“He said he was wrong. That he was lied to and manipulated, that he’s sorry.” I laughed, bitter and sharp. “It years too late for sorry.”

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