The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 240

Chapter 215: Talking to her father

Bella pov

Sebastien laughed out loud, a sound that filled the quiet restaurant. “It was awful! She did not know the French words for half the action scenes. She started making up her own French words. They made no sense at all, but she said them with so much confidence that I just nodded along. By the end of the chapter, we were both laughing so hard our stomachs hurt,”

I smiled, feeling a strange warmth in my chest. “She really loved to laugh, didn’t she?”

“She did,” he said softly. “She could find joy in the smallest things. Once, we got lost in a tiny village outside Geneva. It was freezing, and our car broke down. I was furious. I was on the phone shouting at my assistant. I turned around, and your mother had left the car. She was down the road, buying hot roasted chestnuts from an old man and teaching him how to dance the waltz in the snow.”

I laughed, my eyes watering a little. “In the snow?”

“Yes,” Sebastien said, smiling warmly at me. “She brought me a handful of hot chestnuts, kissed my cheek, and told me that a broken car was just a good excuse to have a snack. I forgot all about my anger. We spent the whole afternoon in that freezing village, and it was one of the best days of my life.”

By the time he stopped talking, the restaurant was nearly empty. The waiters had refilled my water glass twice without me even noticing. The heavy weight in my chest had started to lift. Hearing these stories did not fix the past, but it gave me something I had never had before. It gave me a mother who was real, alive, and full of love.

“She would have been a good mother,” I said. It was not a question.

“Yes,” Sebastien said simply. His smile faded into something deep and gentle. “She would have been extraordinary.”

A silence fell over the table, but for the first time in my life, the silence was not uncomfortable.

He looked at his hands for a moment, then back at me. “I have two sons,” he said. “Olivier and Enzo. They don’t know about you yet. I wanted to meet you first.”

He paused, taking a slow breath. “I intend to tell them myself, properly, soon. They deserve to know, and so do you.”

“How do you think they will take it?” I asked.

Sebastien smiled a little, though his eyes looked tired. “Enzo is young, and he is very warm. He studies art in Paris, and he takes after his mother’s side of the family. I think he will accept you quickly. Olivier, however, is my oldest son. He has spent his whole life working beside me, preparing to take over the Marchetti Group. He is very protective of our family name, and he is sharp. He might be angry at first because this changes everything he thought he knew about our family.”

“I understand that,” I said. “I am a stranger coming out of nowhere. And I am older than him.”

“Yes, you are the firstborn,” Sebastien nodded. “But you are my daughter, Bella, and he will have to respect that. I will make sure of it.” He looked at me carefully. “And I would like-if you are ever willing, when you

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Chapter 215 Talking to her father

Claim

are ready and not a moment before to show you Lyon. The city. The house. The parts of where I come Trom that are also, by some logic, part of where you come from.”

“Is it a big house?” Tasked.-

“It is a very old family home,” he said. “It has a large garden. Your mother never saw it, but I often look at the trees there and wonder if she would have liked them. I think she would have.”

I sat with that, thinking about a whole world across the ocean that belonged to me, even if I had never

seen it.

“One thing at a time,” I said.

He nodded immediately. “Of course.”

“But I’m not saying no,” I added.

Something shifted in his face-small, but real. He looked deeply relieved. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

We stayed another twenty minutes. The conversation was slower now, and much easier. The stiff feeling from the start was gone. We were not completely warm yet, but we were no longer guarded either.

“Your business in Silverton,” Sebastien said, leaning forward a little. “Hart Worldwide. I have read about your recent acquisitions. You have a very sharp eye for technology and investment.”

“I had to learn quickly,” I said, taking a sip of my water. “When you start with nothing, you cannot afford to make mistakes. You have to see the value in a company before anyone else does.”

He nodded, his eyes fixed on me with a look of quiet respect. “That is not something they can teach you in a classroom. It is an instinct. You have the same mind for strategy that I see in the best leaders in Europe.”

“I build things so they cannot be taken away from me,” I told him openly. “That is my main rule.”

“A good rule,” Sebastien agreed softly. “And your people? Do they follow you because they fear you, or because they trust you?”

“They trust me because I am consistent,” I said. “And because I protect the people who work hard for me. I do not tolerate games or lies.”

“Then you are already a better leader than most,” he said. He paused, looking thoughtful. “My work in France is different. The Marchetti Group is old. It has been around for generations, which means I spend half my time fighting tradition just to make a simple change.”

“Is it difficult working with family?” I asked. “With Olivier?”

“Sometimes,” Sebastien admitted. “Olivier is very capable, but he views business as a war to be won. He wants to crush the competition. I try to teach him that true power is about endurance, not just winning the day. He is young, so he still wants to prove himself.”

“And Enzo?”

Sebastien smiled, his face softening completely. “Enzo does not care about the boardroom at all. He cares about light, shadow, and the price of coffee in Paris. When he comes to the office, it is usually because he lost his wallet or wants to argue about a building’s design. But he has a good heart.”

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Chapter 215 Palking to her father

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