The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 256

Chapter 229: The Night Before

Caleb POV

She moved through the house quietly, changing moods like the weather. Even though she was restless, she didn’t make a sound. She walked down the hallway barefoot, stopping to fix books that were already neat. From the kitchen island, I watched her as I chopped vegetables for dinner. Then, she walked away toward the stairs.

A few minutes later, she came back down.

“Bella,” I said, putting the knife down on the cutting board. “That is the second time you have gone upstairs to check on Grace in forty minutes. The monitor right here on the counter shows her breathing is perfectly steady.”

She didn’t look at me right away. She walked into the kitchen, opened a dish drawer, looked directly at the silverware inside, and then closed it without taking anything out. She wiped an invisible piece of dust off the clean marble counter.

I chuckled softly, leaning my hands against the edge of the island. “Bella, you really need to calm down.”

She stopped her hands and finally looked up at me, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I am perfectly calm, Caleb.”

“You are pacing,” I said, pointing a finger at the closed drawer. “You are fixing things that are not even broken. It is a week since they locked Marcus Webb back up. The estate is secure. Tomorrow is just a dinner.”

“It is not just a dinner,” she said, her voice dropping into a tight, quiet tone. “Tomorrow I am walking into a room to sit down with my biological father and my husband at the exact same time. I have met Sebastien two times now. We have talked, and we have established an understanding. But you have never met him. Putting the two of you in the same room is a completely different reality.”

“Are you ashamed of introducing me to your father?” I asked. I raised an eyebrow, letting a slight, teasing smile touch my face.

“No! Don’t say that,” she said quickly, taking two steps toward the island. She shook her head, her chestnut waves shifting over her shoulders. “You know it is not that at all. It is just… it is like taking your partner to see your parents for the very first time. You know? In a way, it just makes you feel incredibly nervous. It is this strange pressure. I know that you understand exactly what I mean.”

She paused, staring at me as if searching for the right words, and then sighed loudly, letting her hands drop to her sides. “Right now, it seems like I am just babbling.”

I laughed out loud, reaching across the marble counter to lay my palm over her hand. “You are babbling a little bit. But it is fine.”

“I am allowed to be a little unhinged tonight,” she muttered, though the sharp tension in her jaw relaxed just a fraction.

Before she could say anything else, Tom came bursting into the kitchen. He dragged his small plastic stool over to the kitchen island, climbed up onto it, and looked at me with absolute seriousness.

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< Chapter 229 The Night Before

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“Daddy,” Tom said, leaning his elbows on the counter. “We had a very big argument at school today during

recess.

“Did you?” I asked, turning back to the stove to drop the pasta into the boiling water. “What was the argument about?”

“Astronauts and deep-sea divers, Tom said loudly, shaking his head. “Leon thinks space is harder because you float and aliens might eat you. But Hold him deep-sea divers wear giant heavy suits and the water can crush a submarine like a soda can! I saw it in a book last week. Space doesn’t have water pressure, Daddy. Don’t you think divers have it harder?”

“Well,” I said, stirring the pot. “Space is incredibly cold, but the ocean floor is pitch black. I think you made a strong case.”

“Exactly,” Tom said, looking very satisfied with himself.

Our housekeeper, Nadia, walked into the kitchen carrying Grace, who seemed to have woken up from sleep. Grace sat in her high chair and ate what she was given with great concentration. She picked up small pieces of cooked vegetables, offering the occasional loud commentary. Bella sat at the table and ate half her bowl, watching all of it.

When Tom finally finished his last bite of pasta, he pushed his empty bowl toward the center of the island. Grace pushed a piece of broccoli around her tray, let out a loud yawn, and rubbed her eyes with her small fists.

Nadia stepped forward from the counter, walking over to the high chair first. She unbuckled the safety strap, lifted Grace out, and grabbed a damp cloth to wipe the stray pieces of vegetable from her fingers.

“I will take Miss Grace up to change her diaper and get her into her pajamas, sir,” Nadia said, settling Grace against her hip.

“Thank you, Nadia,” Bella said, leaning over to kiss Grace’s cheek. “We will be up in a few minutes to say goodnight.”

Nadia carried Grace out of the kitchen, her footsteps fading up the staircase.

I stood up from my stool, gathered my own bowl and Bella’s half-eaten one, and carried them over to the sink. I rinsed the remaining sauce off the porcelain under running water, then opened the dishwasher and slotted the bowls into the bottom rack. I walked back to the stove, picked up the pot used to boil the pasta, and placed it in the sink to soak.

Tom remained on his plastic stool, swinging his legs back and forth against the rungs.

About fifteen minutes later, Nadia walked back down the stairs and entered the kitchen. She immediately began clearing the rest of the island, picking up the placemats and wiping down the marble counter with a fresh sponge.

At exactly eight o’clock, Nadia finished drying the counters, set her towel down, and walked back into the living room where Tom had moved to play with his blocks.

“Tom, it is time for bed,” Nadia said gently.

Tom groaned, but he climbed off his stool. He walked over to Bella and wrapped his arms around her

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