The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 296

Chapter 260: The Advice

Bella POV

My head snapped around to look at him. “You talked to him? Why would you do that after what he did?”

“Because I love you, and I have lived long enough to know how easily pride can destroy a family,” Sebastien replied. “He told me the whole truth. He didn’t make excuses for himself. He is a broken man sitting in that hotel room right now.”

“He let that woman get close to him, Dad,” I whispered, tears burning the backs of my eyes. “He stayed there for too long. He hid it from me.”

“He did,” Sebastien agreed, nodding slowly. “He made a terrible mistake by letting a problem worker into his personal space. But he stopped it, Isabella. He threw her out, and he told you the truth. Please, listen to your father. Do not allow a stranger like Nadina to step in and destroy your marriage.”

“It hurts so much,” I confessed, a tear finally slipping down my cheek. “The distance between us felt so vast even before he left.”

“Marriage is not a straight line,” Sebastien said gently, wiping my tear away. “You have three beautiful children with this man now. Tom, Grace, and little Victor. They need their father, and you need your husband. Caleb loves you fiercely. Don’t throw your life away because of a snake who tried to steal what you built. Talk to him.”

I let out a shaky breath, leaning my head back against the pillow. “It’s easy for you to say that, Dad. You are not in my shoes. You didn’t feel the room spin when the world found out before I did.”

“I am a Marchetti, Isabella. I have seen every version of betrayal the world has to offer,” he replied, his voice dropping into a low, fiercely protective tone. “But I also know the difference between a man who has strayed and a man who has been caught in a trap. Caleb’s sin was his pride and his blindness. He thought he was untouchable. He knows now that he is not.”

“He stayed for two minutes,” I whispered, the words cutting my throat. “Two minutes, Dad. What was he thinking during those two minutes?”

“He was frozen, ma chérie. A foolish, temporary lapse in judgment because he was exhausted and overwhelmed by everything happening here,” Sebastien explained, his hand squeezing mine gently. “I am not defending his silence afterward. That was a coward’s choice, born out of the sheer terror of losing you. But he did not touch her. He broke her contract, he threw her out of his sight, and he flew across an ocean to stand in this room and take your anger. A man who does not love you would have let his public relations team handle the mess.”

“I just feel so stupid,” I murmured, staring at the empty space where Caleb’s chair used to be. “I missed him the second he walked out that door, but the anger is just so loud.”

“Let it be loud,” Sebastien said, a small, knowing smile touching his lips. “Anger means there is still something left to fight for. If you felt nothing but cold indifference, then I would tell you to let him go. But you are furious because you still love him. Do not let this woman win by giving her exactly what she wanted-the destruction of your family.”

I looked at my father, seeing the heavy lines of exhaustion around his eyes. “What are you going to do

13

5 Chapter 260 The Advice

about her?”

Claim

Sebastien’s expression shifted, the warm father vanishing for a split second, replaced by the cold, unyielding businessman who ruled an empire. “You do not need to concern yourself with that, Isabella. Focus on your recovery and on little Victor. The rest is already being handled. No one touches my family and walks away whole.”

He stood up, smoothing the front of his expensive coat. He leaned down, pressing a final, lingering kiss to my forehead. “Rest now and think about what I said.”

“I will,” I whispered. “Goodnight, Dad.”

“Goodnight, ma chérie.” He turned and walked out, the heavy glass door clicking shut behind him, leaving me alone with the rhythmic beeps of the monitors.

The night passed in a blur of restless half-sleep and nursing checks. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard my father’s voice, weighing against the heavy silence of the room.

On the morning of day three, I sat alone by the incubator with my hand sliding through the circular porthole. I held Victor’s tiny, warm hand, and I decided to make a mental list.

He stayed two minutes past the point he should have walked away or pushed her away. True.

He did not kiss her back, and he stopped it. True.

He came straight home to the hospital. True.

He told me everything before I found out from a gossip site. False.

He is sitting in a hotel room two minutes away, waiting for me. True.

The break in our trust was real. Also true.

But the break was not the end. I stared at our tiny son, watching his chest rise and fall.

I crossed over to the room, picked up my phone, scrolled to Caleb’s name, and pressed the call button. He answered before the phone could even finish its first ring. The heavy, breathless silence on his end told me everything.

“Caleb?” I said, my voice steady but soft.

“Bella,” he breathed, his voice raw and desperate. “I’m here. I am right here.”

“Come back,” I told him, closing my eyes. “We are going to work through this.”

I heard him catch his breath, a ragged sound of pure emotion over the line.

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