The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 304

Chapter 266: Sebastien’s Response-1

Bella POV

Chim

It was a Thursday evening, days after the press conference. I was sitting on the living room floor with Victor resting on my chest. Tom sat right beside me on the rug, waving a plastic dinosaur in the air as he explained why the stegosaurus was completely underrated.

Upstairs, Grace was already asleep, tucked into her bed.

“The spikes on the tail are called a thagomizer, Mom,” Tom said, pointing a tiny finger at the toy. “They are for smacking the T-Rex. Hard.”

“That sounds like a very good defense,” I said, smoothing his hair down.

Caleb sat on the sofa nearby, watching us with a quiet smile.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated on the floor. The screen lit up, showing my father’s name.

I looked up and caught Caleb’s eye. Without a word, I carefully lifted Victor and handed him over. Caleb reached out, his large hands supporting the baby’s head, and pulled him close to his chest.

I picked up the phone, stood up, and walked straight into the kitchen, pulling the door half-closed behind me to block out the noise.

I pressed the green button and held the phone to my ear.

“Bella,”

“Dad,” I said, leaning back against the cool kitchen counter.

“I saw the news,” he said, shifting straight to the point. “How are you?”

“I’m exhausted, Dad,” I said, deciding to give him the raw truth.”The press conference was tough, but the story is mostly under control.”

“Good,” my father replied softly. “I didn’t call for the PR version.

On the other end of the line, I heard his chair scrape against the floor.

“Your mother was like that too,” he said, his voice turning careful and gentle. “Elaine would always say she was completely fine while she was holding everything together with her bare hands. You could see the massive effort if you knew exactly where to look.”

“Did she ever learn to let people help her?” I asked. The question slipped out before I could even think to stop it.

“Eventually,” he said, pausing for a brief second. “But it took much longer than it should have. She was very proud. She learned early in her life that needing things from people was not always safe. You know something about that, don’t you, Bella?”

“I do,” I whispered, looking down at my shoes.

“But you are learning much faster than she did,” he said, and I could hear the warmth in his tone. “I saw the

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Chapter 206 bastions Response 1

Claim

press conference. You didn’t put on a fake performance for the cameras. You just told the plain truth and Tet it be enough. Your mother would have found that very difficult at your age. She always wanted to look Tike someone who didn’t need a single thing from the world.”

I stood in the quiet Kitshen, letting his words wash over me. It was a strange feeling-being known so deeply by the man who had known the person I came from.

“I am working on it every day,” I said.

“I can see that,” he said. “And how are my grandchildren?” Sebastien asked, his voice softening. “Are they keeping you up all night?”

“They are fine, Dad,” I said with a light laugh. “They are growing so well, and they eat perfectly, but they are absolute noisemakers. The house is never quiet for more than five minutes.”

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