The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 295

Chapter 259: The Break

Bella POV

I always give myself three days. It is the exact amount of time I need to get from the first shock of bad news to a place where I can actually think. I missed Caleb terribly, but at the same exact time, I was so incredibly angry with him./

I kept functioning because my family needed me to. Victor needed me steady, Tom needed to see his mom was okay, and Grace needed me present. I took the nursing checks, handled the feeding schedules, and managed everything without letting the outside world see that I was cracked open underneath.

On day one, the heavy glass door clicked open, and Maya walked in smoothly. She was already wearing her yellow visitor’s gown, her dark eyes filled with absolute warmth as she set a warm paper cup of tea and a brown bag of pastries onto my bedside table.

She pulled up the vinyl chair right beside me, sat down, and simply looked at me.

“I brought the good tea from the café downstairs,” Maya said softly, breaking the quiet. “And some croissants you will probably ignore, but they are there anyway.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, staring down at my hands. “I don’t think I can eat anything right now.”

“You don’t have to eat,” Maya replied, leaning back and crossing her legs. “You just have to breathe, Bella. How are you holding up? Really.”

I let out a shaky breath, looking over at the incubator twenty feet away. “I am so angry, Maya. I am furious. But at the exact same time, it’s horrible because I miss him. I miss him being in this room, but I can’t look at his face without seeing that gossip headline.”

Maya nodded slowly, keeping her voice calm and steady. “It is completely valid to feel both of those things at once. You can love a man and want to kick him out of your sight at the same time. Especially when you’re sitting in a hospital bed.”

“He told me he stood there for two minutes,” I said, my voice cracking as the raw pain surfaced. “Two minutes before he shoved her away. I keep thinking about those two minutes on a loop. Why didn’t he walk away instantly?”

“Caleb is an idiot for letting her get that close,” Maya said directly, her tone firm but supportive. “But you know him, Bella. Did he fly all the way back here to lie to you?”

“No,” I admitted, shaking my head as a tear fell. “He told me the whole truth and looked completely broken when he said it.”

“Then that is what you hold onto when the anger gets too loud,” Maya said gently, reaching out to squeeze my arm. “He made a massive corporate mistake by trusting a snake, but he came straight to you. Take your time, Bella. Give yourself a few days to just feel the anger. The baby is stable, and you don’t have to fix your whole marriage this afternoon.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and finally reached for the warm cup of tea. “Three days,” I murmured, taking a small sip. “I just need three days to figure out what comes next.”

13

Chapter 259 The Break

Clam

“Then three days it is,” Maya smiled warmly, settling into her chair. “And I’m staying right here until you Tinish that tea

On the afternoon of day two, the room was exceptionally quiet. The heavy glass door pushed open, and Diana stepped inside, already wearing her yellow hospital gown. She looked at me, then at the empty vinyl chair where Caleb usually sat

“Where is he?” Diana asked, her voice a tow whisper so she wouldn’t disturb Victor.

“I told him to leave,” I said, my voice sounding small even to my own ears. “He is at the hotel across the street.”

Diana gave a single, understanding nod. She didn’t press for details. Instead, she walked over to the side of my bed and looked down at me. “Good. You need space to breathe. And right now, you don’t need to be worrying about the logistics of your household. I am taking the kids for the afternoon.”

I blinked, shifting slightly against my pillows. “Diana, you don’t have to do that. Nadia is downstairs with Tom, and”

“I already talked to Nadia,” Diana interrupted, raising a hand to stop my protest. “She is going to go back to the house to get some real rest. I have Grace, and I am taking Tom with us. Don’t argue with me, Bella.”

I looked at her determined expression and felt a wave of relief wash over me. “I won’t argue. Thank you.”

“Get some sleep,” she murmured, giving my shoulder a quick squeeze before turning on her heel and walking out.

Three hours later, the silence of the room was broken by the sharp buzz of my phone on the bedside table. I picked it up and saw a text notification from Diana. There was no caption, just an attached image.

I tapped the screen to open it.

The photograph was taken in the middle of Diana’s living room. Tom was sitting cross-legged on the rug, still wearing his school uniform trousers but with his tie missing. In his right hand, he was holding a large, green plastic T-Rex high up in the air like a dramatic visual aid. His mouth was open mid-sentence.

Right in front of him sat Grace. She was wearing her bright red shoes, sitting perfectly calm with her hands tucked under her knees. Her enormous grey-and-amber eyes were locked onto her older brother’s face, completely captivated by whatever he was saying.

”

A text message bubbled up right beneath the photo from Diana: Tom is currently explaining that the T-Rex had tiny arms but a very powerful bite. Grace is taking notes. They are safe. Focus on Victor.

I stared at the picture, my thumb brushing over the screen where Tom’s serious little face was captured. A tight, complicated knot formed in my throat, bringing a sudden ache to my chest.

It was a beautiful mix of love and sorrow. They were so perfect, so innocent, and yet the adult world around them was fracturing.

“Look at your brother,” I whispered softly, turning my head toward the incubator twenty feet away. “He’s already taking care of everyone.”

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