The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 85

Chapter 76: Tom Nightmare

Caleb pov

Before I could respond, the baby monitor on the counter crackled to life. Tom’s small, tearful face appeared on the screen, his penguin pressed tight against his chest.

I had set up the monitors the first week he was brought to the penthouse- one in his room pointed at the crib, one in the hallway outside his door, one in each living room, down to my bedroom, always within reach no matter what room we were in. It had felt like overkill back then. Now I was grateful for every single camera.

“Buddy, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“I had a nightmare,” Tom said, his voice shaking. “The bad lady came back and took me away from you and Mommy.”

“Oh baby.” Bella’s voice broke. “That’s not going to happen. We’re right here.”

“But where are you?” Tom looked around his dark room. “I went to Mommy’s room and you weren’t there. I went to Daddy’s room and you weren’t there either.”

“We’re in the sitting room working,” I explained. “We’re sorry we weren’t closer, buddy. We didn’t mean to scare you.”

“When are you coming home?” Tom asked, and the word ‘home’ hit both of us. “When are Mommy and Daddy both coming home to me?”

Bella and I looked at each other. We were both home, both in the same penthouse, but to Tom that wasn’t enough. He wanted us together, in one room, a real family.

“We’re coming right now,” Bella said.

We walked back to Tom’s room together, and when we reached Tom’s room together. Bella sat on one side of his bed, I sat on the other, and Tom immediately crawled into the space between us.

“Better?” Bella asked, stroking his hair.

“Better.” Tom snuggled against her. “But it would be even better if you both stayed.”

“We can stay until you fall asleep,” I offered.

“No, stay forever.” Tom grabbed my hand and Bella’s, pulling them together over his small body. “Be a real family.”

I felt Bella’s hand in mine, felt Tom’s trust in us, and wanted with everything in me to promise him that. “Buddy, Mommy and I are working on being a family,” I said carefully. “But it’s complicated for grown-ups.”

“Why?” Tom’s grey eyes looked between us. “You like each other, right?”

“We do,” Bella said.

“And you both love me, right?”

1/4

Chapter 76 Tom Nightmare

“More than anything,” I said.

+25 Points

“Then why can’t we all be together?” Tom’s logic was painfully simple. “Families who love each other live together.”

“Sometimes it’s not that easy, baby,” Bella tried to explain.

“Why not?” Tom was getting upset agam “Is it because of the bad lady? Is she why you don’t live in the same room?”

“No, it’s not Jade,” I said.

“Then why?” Tom’s voice was rising. “Don’t you want to be my real daddy and mommy together?”

“Of course we do,” Bella said, tears in her voice. “Tom, baby, this isn’t about not wanting”

“Then do it!” Tom sat up, looking between us with the devastating honesty of childhood. “Please? I just want to be normal like other kids. I want a mommy and daddy who love each other and live together and don’t have two different rooms.”

I looked at Bella over Tom’s head and saw my own heartbreak reflected in her eyes. How do you explain to a three-year-old that the people who love him can’t trust each other enough to be together?

“How about this,” Bella said gently. “Tonight, Daddy and I will both stay right here with you. We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow, okay?”

“Promise?” Tom looked at both of us.

“Promise,” we said together.

Tom settled back down between us, holding both our hands. Within minutes, his breathing evened out and he was asleep.

Bella and I sat there in the darkness of Tom’s room, our son between us, our hands still clasped over his small body.

“We can’t keep doing this to him,” Bella whispered. “Every time he asks about us being together, I see his hope and it kills me.”

“I know.” My thumb stroked over her knuckles. “But Bella, is he wrong? We do like each other. We do both love him. Why can’t we at least try?”

“Because you destroyed me once, and I barely survived it.” Her voice was raw. “If I let you in again, if I trust you and you break me, I won’t come back from it. And Tom needs at least one functional parent.”

“I won’t break you,” I said fiercely. “Never again, Bella. I swear on everything I have.”

“You can’t promise that, no one can.” She pulled her hand away gently, careful not to wake Tom. “I should go.”

“Bella, you promised Tom we’d both stay.”

She looked at our sleeping son, then at me. “Fine, but you sleep in the chair.”

I moved to the reading chair in the corner while Bella settled on the other side of Tom’s bed. We sat there

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Chapter 76 Tom Nightmare

in the darkness, two parents separated by a sleeping child and years of hurt.

+25 Points

My phone buzzed softly. A message from my head of security: “Confirming Hart Industries ownership transfer complete. Att legal challenges blocked. Ms. Hart is clear.

I looked at Bella, who’d closed her eyes but wasn’t sleeping. “It’s done. Richard’s legal challenges have all been dismissed. Hart Industries is officially yours.”

She opened her eyes. “How did you know about the legal challenges?”

“I made sure they’d fail before they started.” I shrugged. “You didn’t think I’d let Richard contest this, did you?”

“Caleb, you can’t just”

“I can and I did.” I met her gaze across the darkness. “You won, Bella. You beat him completely. Now let yourself feel it.”

I saw emotions flicker across her face-relief, satisfaction, grief, and something that looked almost like

regret.

“Thank you,” she said finally. “For everything you’ve done. The legal support, the resources, staying up until 1 AM doing financial models. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Yes, you could have,” I said honestly. “But I’m glad you didn’t have to.”

We fell into silence, both of us watching Tom sleep. Around 2 AM, I heard Bella’s breathing deepen and knew she’d finally fallen asleep.

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