Chapter 10
Men like Sebastian understood symbolism.
A public event.
Hundreds of important people.
Every powerful family watching.
A perfect place to remind everyone that Callum Moretti could bleed.
Rosalie arrived beside Callum.
Not behind him.
Beside him.
The room noticed.
They always noticed.
Because for years, people had watched Rosalie leave.
They had watched Callum lose control.
Now they watched something else.
A man who no longer treated love like possession.
Halfway through the evening, Sebastian appeared.
Older.
Calmer.
More dangerous.
He approached their table with a smile.
“Callum.”
Callum stood.
“Sebastian.”
The room quieted.
Rosalie remained seated.
She did not need protection.
She needed information.
Sebastian looked at her.
“Rosalie.”
She nodded.
“Sebastian.”
A faint smile.
“I always wondered what kind of woman could make Callum Moretti change.”
Rosalie answered calmly.
“I didn’t change him.”
She looked at Callum.
“He changed himself.”
For the first time that evening, Sebastian looked uncertain.
Because that was the one thing he did not understand.
He understood fear.
He understood power.
He understood control.
But he did not understand someone changing because they loved another person.
“You’re different,” Sebastian said to Callum.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Callum glanced at Rosalie.
The answer was simple.
“Because I almost lost something I could never replace.”
Sebastian laughed softly.
“Love made you weak.”
Callum looked at him.
“No.”
A pause.
“Love made me honest.”
***
The truth behind Sebastian’s attack came out that night.
He was not trying to destroy Callum.
He was trying to prove something.
He believed every powerful man eventually became alone.
He wanted Callum to lose everyone.
Because Sebastian had.
But Callum did something Sebastian never expected.
He offered him a choice.
Not revenge.
Not punishment.
A choice.
“You can spend the rest of your life trying to prove I’m like you.”
Callum looked at him.
“Or you can admit you were wrong.”
Sebastian laughed.
“You think one conversation fixes everything?”
“No.”
Callum nodded.
“I think one choice changes everything.”
For a long moment, Sebastian said nothing.
Then he walked away.
Not defeated.
Not forgiven.
But finally forced to face himself.
***
Months later, Rosalie stood on their terrace again.
The same place where everything began.
Callum joined her.
“You’re thinking loudly.”
She smiled.
“You still say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
She looked at him.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“When I left, I thought the hardest part would be losing you.”
He waited.
“It wasn’t.”