The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 78

Chapter 70: Jade’s Interference

Bella POV

I made it back to the penthouse in record time, my mind still spinning from what happened in the elevator. The kiss, the confession, the way my body had betrayed me completely.

Tom was in the living room with Maya, building what appeared to be a penguin village out of blocks.

“Mommy!” He jumped up and ran to me. “Look what Aunt Maya and I made! It’s Antarctica!”

“It’s amazing, baby.” I knelt down to hug him, grateful for the normalcy. “Did you have a good day?”

“The best! We played penguins and had mac and cheese and she let me watch three whole episodes!” Tom was bouncing with excitement. “Is Daddy coming home soon?”

The casual way he said “Daddy” and “home” made my chest tight.

“Soon, he had some work to finish.” I stood, meeting Maya’s knowing eyes over Tom’s head.

“Tom, why don’t you show me the penguin emperor?” Maya suggested. “I don’t think I saw him yet.”

Tom raced back to his blocks, already narrating the emperor penguin’s backstory, and Maya moved closer

to me.

“You look like you’ve been through a war,” she said quietly.

“The board meeting was intense.” Not a lie.

“Uh-huh, and is that why your lips are swollen and your hair is messed up?”

I turned away, heading to the kitchen. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Bella.” Maya followed. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened.” I poured water with shaking hands. “The meeting went well, the board will probably approve the deal, and we have a press conference tomorrow.”

“And?”

“And nothing, that’s it.”

Maya studied me for a long moment. “You kissed him.”

“I didn’t” I started to deny it, then sighed. “The elevator got stuck.”

“Oh my god, you kissed him in a broken elevator?” Maya’s eyes went wide. “That’s like a romance novel.”

“It was a mistake.” I set down the water glass before I dropped it. “A momentary lapse in judgment that won’t happen again.”

“Did you want it to happen?”

“That’s irrelevant.”

Chapter Toe’s Interference

25 Ports

“Bella, that’s the most relevant question.” Maya leaned against the counter. “Did you want to kiss him?”

+ thought about Caleb’s hands on my waist, his confession of love, the way my body had melted against his. “It doesn’t matter what I wanted.”>

“It’s the only thing that matters.” Maya’s voice was gentle. “You’re allowed to want him, you know. You’re allowed to be conflicted and confused and scared.”

“I can’t want him, Maya, he destroyed me.” The words came out broken. “He told me to abort our baby. He threw me out. He chose Jade over me. How do come back from that?”

“I don’t know,” Maya admitted. “But Bella, he’s not that person anymore. You’ve seen it yourself, the way he is with Tom, the way he looks at you. People can change.”

“Can they?” I wrapped my arms around myself. “Or do they just get better at hiding who they really are?”

Before Maya could answer, the elevator chimed and Caleb walked in. His eyes found mine immediately, dark and intense, and I felt the kiss all over again.

“Daddy!” Tom abandoned his penguins and launched himself at Caleb.

“Hey, buddy.” Caleb scooped him up easily, but his gaze never left mine. “Did you have fun with Aunt Maya?”

“So much fun! We made Antarctica and everything!” Tom chattered on about penguins while Caleb listened, but I could feel the tension between us, thick and electric.

“I should go,” Maya said, grabbing her bag. “Call me later, Bella.”

After she left, I retreated to the guest wing while Caleb and Tom played. I needed space, needed to think, needed to figure out what I was going to do.

My phone buzzed with a message from my attorney: “Press conference confirmed for 2PM tomorrow at Black Tower, PR team wants you there by 1PM for prep.”

Perfect, hours of media training on how to look professional while standing next to the man I’d kissed in an elevator.

That night, Tom insisted both of us read him bedtime stories. We sat on either side of his bed, taking turns with the penguin book he’d chosen, our hands accidentally brushing when we turned pages.

“This is nice,” Tom said sleepily. “Like a real family.”

The words hung there, painful and hopeful at once. After Tom fell asleep, Caleb and I stood in the hallway outside his room, not quite looking at each other.

“We need to talk about what happened,” Caleb said finally.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I moved toward my room. “It was a mistake.”

“Bella”

“Goodnight, Caleb.”

I closed the door before he could argue, then leaned against it with my heart racing. This was going to be

Chapter 70e Interference

impossible.

+25 Paints

The next morning, twoke up to my phone ringing. My attorney’s name flashed on the screen. “Please tell me you have good news,” Tanswered.

“Depends on your definition of good. The judge dismissed most of Richard and Jade’s custody claims as baseless, but they’re being granted supervised visitation rights pending a full hearing.”

“What?” I sat up in bed. “They can’t have access to Tom.”

“The judge says denying all contact looks bad, makes it seem like you’re vindictive. But it’s supervised only, two hours a week at a family center, and they can’t remove him from the premises.”

“This is ridiculous.” I was already getting dressed. “They threw me out while I was pregnant. They have no right to Tom.”

“I know, and we’re building that case, but Bella, you need to let them have this. The judge is watching closely, any appearance that you’re alienating Tom from family will hurt your case.”

I wanted to scream. “Fine, but I want security at every visit.”

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