The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 238

Chapter 213: Preparing To Meet Him

Bella POV

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A business meeting came up at the last minute, so I had to delay meeting my father. It felt so strange to sit with that thought. For years, I believed I knew who my family was. Now, I had to face the reality that the man I thought was my father was a stranger, and the woman I thought was my mother was not my mother at all. Because of the sudden work conflict, our meeting was pushed back by a few weeks.

But then Sebastien did something I didn’t expect. He chose to come see me instead of letting me travel a long distance to France. It felt deeply touching to see him make that kind of effort and sacrifice just to meet me. When I told Caleb about it, he smiled and told me that is exactly what a parent is supposed to do-to sacrifice for their kids, It felt so good to finally witness that kind of care for myself.

Once the new date was set, I gave myself exactly one week to prepare. I prepared the way I always did for important things in my life. I did my research, checked my emotional position over and over, and tried to control every single variable I could.

I picked the place: a quiet hotel restaurant in the city, forty minutes from my house. It was neutral ground.

I told Maya everything on a Tuesday. I told her about the phone call and the date we chose to meet. We sat at her kitchen table. I had just dropped Tom off at a playdate nearby and went straight to her house. It was the only sudden choice I had made in weeks.

She listened to the whole story without stopping me. That was rare for her, and I noticed it. When I finished, she made us more coffee. She sat back down and looked at me.

“What are you most afraid of?” she asked.

I expected her to ask about travel plans or what Sebastien wanted. I had to think about her question for a

moment.

“I am afraid he will look at me and see Elaine,” I said. “I am afraid he will want something back that I cannot give him. Or he will look at me and be disappointed.”

Maya held her mug with both hands. “Which is worse?”

I did not answer right away. I knew the answer, but I wanted to be sure before I said it out loud.

“The second one,” I said. “I have had enough people be disappointed in me.”

“What if he isn’t?” she said.

I looked at her.

“What if he sits across from you and is just glad?” she asked. “What do you do with that?”

That I did not have an answer for.

Caleb had already promised that I wouldn’t do this alone. Even when the plan was to fly to France, he had insisted on coming along to watch over me. Now that the meeting was happening right here in the city, his

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Chapter 213 Preparing To Meet Him

plan remained exactly the same.

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We were in bed on Wednesday night when he brought it up again. He spoke simply, without putting any pressure on me.

“I am still coming with you, he said. “I will stay in the background. You do the meeting, and I will just be there in the restaurant if you need me.”

I thought about it seriously. “Not for the first meeting,” I said. “I need to do this first one by myself. Not as anyone’s wife.”

He was quiet for a moment, respecting my choice. “Afterward, though?”

“Afterward, yes,” I said. “I will want you there right after it’s over.”

He nodded and turned off the lamp.

I lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling. I ran the meeting through my mind over and over, the same way I planned for important business deals. I thought about how to start, how fast to talk, when to speak, and when to listen.

The difference was that this was not a business deal. I had nothing to win and nothing to protect. I was going to sit across from a sixty-five-year-old man who had loved my mother and lost her before he ever knew she had a baby. I was going to look at his face and try to understand what came next.

I had no plan for that. That was the problem.

I arrived at the restaurant seven minutes early.

I always arrived early to anything important; it was an old habit. I took a table by the wall with a clear view of the front door. I ordered some water, sat with my hands in my lap, and waited.

The restaurant was quiet for a Thursday evening. Only a few tables were full at the far end of the room.

I wore a dark green dress that looked professional.

I had tried on three other outfits that morning and put them all back. They looked too much like boardroom clothes, and this was not a boardroom.

My phone said 6:58 PM.

The door opened at 6:59 PM.

୮

He was tall. I had not expected that, though I did not know why. He had a bit of grey hair and stood very straight. He wore a dark suit with no tie. He looked around the restaurant slowly, keeping his face perfectly calm.

Then his eyes found me.

He stopped walking completely right in the middle of the room as his expression changed.

His lips moved. He spoke just above a whisper, losing his calm look for only a second.

“Elaine.”

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