The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 36

Chapter 34: Grandmother Death-1
Bella pov
“When?” I demanded through my sobs. “When did she die? What month?”
“April. April fifteenth.”
I’d been in London. Building my empire, raising Tom, surviving. And the one person who’d shown me genuine kindness, who’d looked at me like I was worth something, had died thinking I’d abandoned her too.
“I should have been there,” I choked out. “I should have come back, should have said goodbye, should have told her.”
“She knew.” Caleb reached across the table, and this time I didn’t pull away when he took my hand. “Bella, she knew you cared about her. She told me once that you reminded her of herself when she was young, that you had the same gentle strength her husband had loved about her. She didn’t blame you for leaving. She blamed me.”
“She should have,” I said bitterly, wiping at my face with my free hand. “It was your fault.”
“I know.” He squeezed my hand gently. “And I told her everything before she died. About the lies Richard and Jade fed me, about the fake video, about how I’d failed you. She said… she said I was a fool and that if I ever found you, I needed to spend the rest of my life earning your forgiveness.”
“You can’t earn forgiveness for what you did,” I said, but my voice had lost its sharp edge. I was too devastated about his grandmother to maintain the coldness.
“I know that too.” He used his free hand to wipe at his own tears. “But I promised her I’d try anyway. That I’d find you and make sure you were safe, even if you never wanted to see me again.”
We sat there in that coffee shop booth, holding hands and crying together, mourning a woman who’d loved us both and died disappointed in what we’d become.
“She wanted grandchildren,” I said suddenly, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “She told me once, before the wedding. Said she hoped we’d give her great-grandchildren to spoil.”
The irony of that statement hit me like a truck. She’d died never knowing about Tom, never meeting the great-grandson who had her son’s eyes and her gentle nature. And it was my fault for keeping him hidden, just as much as it was Caleb’s fault for driving me away.
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Chapter 34 Grandmother Death-1
+25 Points.
“She would have loved being a great-grandmother,” Caleb said softly. “Would have spoiled your friend’s son rotten if she’d gotten the chance to meet him.”
The way he said it, with that careful emphasis on “your friend’s son,” made me realize he didn’t entirely believe my lie. But he wasn’t pushing, wasn’t demanding the truth. He was giving me space to keep my secrets while making it clear he suspected them.
“She was the best person I ever met,” I said, ignoring his implication. “And I hate that I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“I’m sorry.” He squeezed my hand again. “I’m sorry you didn’t know, sorry you couldn’t be there. If I’d found you sooner, I would have told you. Would have made sure you had the
chance to see her one last time.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered,” I said, pulling my hand away and wiping my face roughly. “She was gone by April, and I was building my company. I wouldn’t have come back, even if I’d known.”
“Wouldn’t you have?” He studied me carefully. “She mattered to you, Bella. I could see that, how you lit up when she talked to you, how gentle you were with her. You would have come
back for her.”
He was right, and we both knew it. If I’d known his grandmother was dying, I would have swallowed my pride and my fear and come back to say goodbye to the one person in Caleb’s world who’d treated me like I was worth something.
“This doesn’t change anything between us,” I said, needing to re-establish boundaries before I completely fell apart. “I’m sad about your grandmother, but that doesn’t mean I forgive you or that we’re suddenly going to be friends.”
“I’m not asking for that.” He leaned back, giving me space. “I just wanted you to know. Thought you deserved to know about someone who cared about you.”
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