The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 41

Chapter 37: Caleb Confrontation-1

Bella pov

Maya appeared and took Tom’s hand, leading him away while shooting me a concerned look over her shoulder. I opened the door just wide enough to slip out into the hallway, closing it firmly behind me so Tom couldn’t see.”What are you doing here?” I demanded, keeping my voice low. How do you even know where I live?

“Does that even matter, I am Caleb, nothing can be hidden from me in this city. Now back to the matter that brought me here, do you know that Jade called me,” Caleb said, his grey eyes intense. “She told me everything, Bella. About how Tom is actually your son, not Maya’s. About how you’ve been lying to me, how you’ve kept my child hidden for years.”

My heart stopped. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”

“Stop lying.” His voice was harsh, but underneath it was pain. “I investigated Maya chen. She doesn’t have any children, Bella. Which means that little boy in the photos is yours. Which

means he’s ‘mine too.”

I stared at him, my carefully constructed world crumbling around me. “You investigated Maya?”

“I investigated everyone connected to you,” he said bluntly. “Because I needed to know the truth. And the truth is that you had our baby, you kept him hidden from me for years, and you lied to my face about it yesterday morning.”

“You told me to get rid of him!” I shot back, anger replacing fear. “You laughed when I said I was pregnant. You threw me out with nothing. Why would I ever bring my son near you after

that?”

“Because he’s mine too!” His voice rose, and I saw staff members glancing our way. He noticed too and lowered his voice. “Bella, please. I know I don’t have proof, I know I can’t force you to tell me the truth. But I’m begging you. Let me meet him. Let me be his father.”

“You don’t get to be his father just because you suddenly decided you want to be.” Tears were streaming down my face now. “You gave up that right years ago. Tom is mine, I raised him alone, I kept him safe, I gave him everything you refused to give him.”

“I know.” Caleb’s own eyes were wet. “And I will spend the rest of my life making that up to both of you. But Bella, he deserves to know his father. He deserves to have both parents in his life. Don’t punish him for my mistakes.”

“I’m not punishing him. I’m protecting him.” I wiped at my face angrily. “From you, from Jade,

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Chapter 37 Caleb Confrontation-1

from everyone who might hurt him.”

+25 Points

“I would never hurt him.” Caleb stepped closer, his voice urgent. “I would die before I hurt my son. Please, Bella. Just let me meet him. Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.”

“How do you even know he’s yours?” I challenged, even though we both knew the answer. “You said you investigated Maya, found out she doesn’t have children. That doesn’t prove Tom is your son.”

“He has my eyes,” Caleb said quietly. “In every photo Jade sent me, I can see my own eyes staring back. The same grey eyes my mother had, the same ones my grandmother used to comment on. And the timing matches perfectly – you would have been about a few months pregnant when you left. Bella, I don’t need a DNA test to know he’s mine. I can see it.”

“Seeing isn’t proof,” I said desperately, even as my resolve crumbled.

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