Chapter 7 - THE APOLOGY THAT CAME TOO LATE
Rosalind agreed to meet Callum.
Not alone.
Gideon remained nearby, and her attorney had been informed.
Callum entered the living room carrying flowers.
White roses.
The same flowers that had decorated their anniversary gala.
Rosalind looked at them.
Then at him.
“Why are you here?”
Callum swallowed.
“To apologize.”
She waited.
He set the flowers down.
“I made a mistake.”
Rosalind's expression didn't change.
“A mistake?”
He closed his eyes.
“I betrayed you.”
“Yes.”
“I humiliated you.”
“Yes.”
“And I should have stopped Sloane.”
Rosalind looked at him.
“You should never have put me in a position where she believed she had the right to strike me.”
Callum lowered his head.
“I know.”
For a moment, she saw the young man who had once promised to build a life with her.
Then she remembered the ballroom.
The scarlet dress.
The three-second hesitation.
Callum stepped closer.
“I love you.”
Rosalind's eyes filled.
“I know you believe that.”
He looked hopeful.
Then she continued.
“But love without respect becomes something else.”
His expression fell.
He reached into his pocket.
He removed her wedding ring.
He had retrieved it from the champagne glass after she left.
Rosalind stared.
Callum held it out.
“Please.”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
He swallowed.
“Rosalind—”
“No.”
Her voice was gentle.
But final.
Callum lowered his hand.
Then asked:
“Is there any chance?”
Rosalind considered.
“I don't know.”
He looked down.
She continued.
“But I know what has to happen first.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
She placed a folder on the table.
Inside were copies of the Bellwether financial records.
Callum stared.
Rosalind watched his face.
“Tell me what you did.”
For the next hour, Callum spoke.
At first, he minimized.
Then he hesitated.
Then, slowly, the truth emerged.
He had approved transfers he didn't fully understand.
He had trusted Halden's assurances.
He had allowed Sloane access to information she should never have seen.
And he had assumed Rosalind would sign whatever documents were necessary.
Rosalind listened.
Then said:
“You didn't just betray our marriage.”
Callum looked up.
“You betrayed the people who trusted us to build homes.”
He had no answer.
When he left, the flowers remained on the table.
May you like
Rosalind asked Gideon to donate them to a nearby hospital.
She did not want them in her home.
