The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 246

Chapter 221: Tom Meets Sebastien-1

Bella pov

Clar

I parked the car in the lot near the park entrance. I unbuckled Tom from his car seat, took his hand, and we walked together toward the main gates.

As we got closer, I spotted Sebastien. He was already there, standing near the entrance and waiting for us.

He wore a pale grey jacket with no tie. The morning sun lit up the grey in his hair, and he looked much softer and less intimidating than he had at the restaurant. He just looked like a regular person.

I stopped walking and pointed gently ahead so my son could see him.

“Look, Tom,” I said softly. “See the man standing right over there? That is Sebastien, the person I was telling you about. Go say hi to him.”

Tom nodded and took a few steps forward on his own.

Sebastien saw us coming. For a brief second, a mix of deep emotions flashed across his face, but then his expression settled into a warm, gentle smile.

Tom stopped about four meters away from him. He looked Sebastien up and down, completely quiet, like he was testing him out.

Once we got right up to him, Tom looked straight up at his face. “How tall are you?” he asked.

Sebastien blinked. Then he answered completely seriously: “One metre eighty-nine.”

“That’s very tall,” Tom said, as though issuing a verdict. “My dad is one metre ninety-eight. He’s the tallest.” He squinted upward. “Do you like dinosaurs?”

Sebastien considered this. “The scary ones are interesting,” he said.

Tom stared at him, his little face twisting into a deep scowl. “No,” Tom said, sighing like he had an enormous chore to do. “Scary isn’t real.”

Tom immediately dropped to his knees in the dirt to find a stick. Seeing the boy on the ground, Sebastien carefully walked over to the park bench right beside him and sat down, leaning forward so he could look directly at whatever Tom was drawing in the soil.

For the next ten minutes, Tom gave him a fierce, fast lecture on everything Sebastien had gotten wrong. He rambled on about how T. rex actually had tiny arms, why Spinosaurus would easily win a swimming fight, and why flying reptiles technically weren’t even real dinosaurs because of their bones. He used his hands, pointed with his sticky fingers, and even made a giant roaring face to demonstrate a point.

Sebastien did not look at his phone once. He did not look at me for rescue. He just sat on that low bench, completely focused on my five-year-old, asking short questions just to let Tom correct him again. He looked genuinely captured by the information.

When Tom finally ran out of breath and wandered off toward a flower bed to find a leaf, Sebastien stayed on the bench for a moment, looking down at the messy stick drawings in the dirt.

Chapter 221 Pom Meels Sebastren-1

Gam

Iwalked over and stood close to him. The silence between us felt heavy, charged with all the things we hadn’t said over our nightly phone calls.

“He’s a tough critic, said quietly, breaking the quiet.

Sebastien looked up at me, the grey in his hair catching the bright morning light. “He is remarkable, Bella. Those eyes of his are so steady and focused when he speaks.” He paused, looking back toward the flower bed. “Whose eyes does he take after?”

A small, proud smile touched my lips. “His father” I said softly. “It is their signature style.”

Sebastien’s expression softened, but I could see a faint flash of pain in his eyes. He nodded slowly. “Then his father has very honest eyes. I am glad the boy has him.”

He cleared his throat, his face turning a bit more serious as he looked around the quiet park. He clasped his hands together, resting them on his knees. “Bella, there is something else I need to talk to you about. Something I found out before I came here today.”

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