AN: Two updates so close together? Yay! Just fair warning I also have most of the next chapter pretty much completed. That doesn't mean I will be posting it immediately, it may be a week or so…it depends I'm pretty excited about it! I hope you all enjoy it. Don't hate me when you get to the end. I promise not everything is what it seems! I promise, there will be a happy ending.

Chapter Title Song "Issues" Julia Michael's

"Hey bitch," I smiled heading up towards the bar as Mia was pouring someone a shot.

"Oh, you are still alive!" she laughed looking up at me. She finished pouring the shot then handed it to the customer. She ran around the bar and hugged me then smiled at Adrian and Sydney behind me. "Hey. Looks like a party tonight. Where's the bodyguard?"

"Working," I said rolling my eyes knowing she was referring to Dimitri.

"That's not a good face. Sounds like shots are on the menu," she said as she made her way back behind the bar and started pouring three shots. She handed them to us but Sydney declined. Mia shrugged and took it herself.

"Syd and I are going to go dance," Adrian told me as a slow song came on.

"Have fun!" I smiled and waved them off.

"Trouble in paradise?" Mia asked as I sat on a bar stool. Luckily the bar wasn't as packed as last time so she was able to hang out for a minute.

"Everything's great. I mean my biggest secret gets revealed to the world and my boyfriends avoiding me. Perfect really," I said sarcastically.

"Why's he avoiding you?" she asked.

"I have no freaking clue," I shrugged. "But he's working late and not going to be home until late so I thought why not come see my best friend/ favorite bartender," I smiled. She handed me a drink she made. I had no idea what it was but knew better to question her. This one was bright blue. I took a sip then smiled. It was definitely strong so I wouldn't be able to drink very many.

"You came to get drunk," she corrected.

"No, I'm trying to stop drowning my sorrows in alcohol but, I definitely could use enough to help me sleep," I told her honestly.

"I'm on it," she smiled. About then a couple of customers came up to the end of the bar, she made her way over to them to help them out. About then a man sat beside me. Normally I would have thought he was cute be he gave off a bad vibe that made me dislike him. He was tall, probably a good 6 inches taller than me. Had black hair and green eyes. He looked to be about mid 30's.

"Haven't seen you here before," he slurred with a creepy smile. "You must be new here. There's no way I would've missed a hottie like you."

"Thanks, but I've been here before," I shrugged.

"Want to dance?" he asked.

"Sorry, but I have a boyfriend," I told him.

"That's what they all say. Where is he then?" he asked.

"He just ran to the bathroom while I was talking to my friend," I said gesturing towards Mia.

"Well then he's an idiot for leaving a hot young thing like you alone," he said leaning towards me.

"Look, I'm not interested so please back off," I warned. His hand came and rested on my knee.

"Aw, don't be like that babe. I'm just giving you a compliment," he grinned like he was doing me a favor.

"You have about 3 seconds to move your hand before I break your nose," I warned. He laughed.

"Ok babe," he smirked raising his hand a little higher.

"That's it," I said as a final warning before I pulled my arm back and punched him in the face as hard as I could.

"Bitch!" he shouted holding his nose.

"I asked you nicely to let go of me. I warned you I would hit you," I told him standing up and backing away.

"Fucking slut, I doubt your worth it anyways," he ranted as he walked off. About then Adrian and Sydney came rushing up.

"You ok?" Sydney asked.

"Fine now," I muttered shaking my hand. I knew how to punch but it didn't stop it from hurting.

"Here's some ice for your hand," Mia said coming up and handing me a rag filled with ice. I put it on my knuckles.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"Maybe I should start calling you Rocky," Adrian teased.

"Shut up," I laughed sitting back on my barstool as Sydney sat beside me and Adrian on the other side of her.

"What happened? I saw him lean in but that's it. I couldn't hear what he said. I was on my way to come help when you punched him.

"He hit on me but I told him I had a boyfriend and wasn't interested. He didn't want to take no for an answer and put his hand on my leg. I asked him nicely to remove it or I'd break his nose, he laughed and slipped it up higher so, I punched him."

"So, all those times you told Dimitri you could take of it yourself, you weren't lying," Adrian said in disbelief. "Ok, Little Rocky."

I laughed and shook my head at his remark. "Dimitri taught me self defense in high school. I know a decent amount."

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," Mia spoke up.

"It's fine. I don't think he would have listened to you anymore than he did me. Asshole," I muttered the last part but they still heard.

"Do you want to go home?" Adrian asked. Honestly, I did but the idea of going to home to an empty condo and laying in that big bed by myself had me shivering internally. I put a fake smile on and spoke up.

"Not really. No need to let one asshole ruin the night. I'm not even buzzed yet," I joked.

"I can help with that," Mia laughed getting us more shots. This time she made us two so just Adrian and I took them.

"Come on Rocky, let's dance," Adrian smiled pulling me and Sydney up and towards the dance floor. We danced for a few songs, they even had me laughing and forgetting my worries for a minute. Then a slow song came on.

"I'm going to go get a drink," I smiled at them before turning and making my way back to the bar. Before I made it there, I detoured and snuck out to the alley. My mind flashed back to the last time I'd been here with Dimitri during my meltdown. I smiled at how far we'd came since then. I know there's something up with Dimitri but I also knew whatever it was, we'd make it through it with enough time. I just hoped it was sooner rather than later.

I quickly dialed his number and listened as it rang then groaned when it went to voicemail.

"Hey Comrade, I was just checking in. Wondering if you knew when you'd be home yet. Adrian, Syd and, I went to the bar. I broke a guy's nose. You would've been proud of my punch. Well, call me back or text me when you get this. I love you," I rambled. Then hung up. I sighed then made my way back to the bar.

"You ok babe?" Mia asked when I got there.

"I'm fine," I smiled softly at her thankful for her concern but not wanting to dwell on the negatives. "What's new in your world? It's been forever since we really got to hang out."

"Not a lot," she shrugged.

"How's it going with Eddie?" I asked. At that her smile dropped.

"It's…ok," she said hesitantly.

"Spill," I told her.

"I guess it's fine. We've just been fighting a lot more. He wants to move faster than I'm comfortable with. Which isn't a bad thing. I'm just not ready for deeper. I like him, I have fun with him, why can't we keep it at that?" she shrugged.

"Babe, I know you don't do relationships but one day you've gotta take a chance on someone. Why not let it be Eddie? He's a good guy and wouldn't willingly hurt you plus you think he's sexy as hell," I joked.

"Damn right," she laughed. "I know and I hear what you're saying. I'm trying."

"Good. Just keep trying and I think you'll find you can be really happy," I smiled. She's from a divorced household and it really affected her. She doesn't believe in marriage and since I've met her has refused to go on more than 3 dates with a guy. That was until Eddie.

About then Sydney and Adrian made their way back towards us. That was the end of the deep conversations. The rest of the night we spent laughing and talking about the tour. I told Sydney and Mia about Adrian and I's bet and they decided to throw out some suggestions. Overall it was a fun night.

Before I knew it, I was walking into the empty condo. As soon as I walked in, I could tell Dimitri hadn't made it home yet and I hadn't heard from him. We hadn't stayed till closing so it really wasn't that late, around midnight. I quickly got ready for bed then I decided to call him again. This time he answered.

"Hey."

"Hey, did you ever get my voicemail?" I asked.

"No, sorry. I haven't checked my voicemail yet. I was in the studio when you called and my phone was in the booth. What's up?" he asked.

"I was just wondering if you knew when you were going to make it home?" I asked feeling way too needy for my liking.

"Probably another hour or so. We're about three quarters of the way done and we're making huge progress so I don't want to stop now."

"Ok, I understand," I told him honestly but sadly. I did understand from our late nights in the studio finishing up our album when you finally hit that stride and everything was working for you. That didn't mean I liked it. I slept better when he was around and I really wasn't looking forward to going to bed without him.

"I'm sorry babe, I'll try to wrap it up as soon as we can," he said and I could actually hear the regret in his voice and it gave me a little more hope.

"It's ok. I'm about to head to bed. Have fun and get home when you can. The bed feels empty without you," I tried to tease but you could hear the truth in my voice.

"I know babe, I will. Call me again if you need to, I'll keep my phone on me," he said sincerely and I smiled. This was my comrade.

"I will. I love you," I smiled into the phone.

"Love you too babe. Get some sleep. I'll be home soon," he said softly then the line clicked off. I sighed and clutched my phone as I laid down. All of a sudden, tears formed in my eyes and I laughed unsure of why I wanted to cry. I shook my head and closed my eyes holding them back before sitting my phone on the nightstand and turning the light off. I laid down and replayed the day as I drifted off to sleep.

"NO!" Came a scream from somewhere as I jumped and looked around. My heart was racing and I had a thin layer of sweat on my forehead and tears racing down my cheeks. I quickly realized it was me who had screamed no. I don't know when but I had managed to get into a sitting position so I looked over to Dimitri's side. It was still empty.

"Of course," I muttered. This nightmare had been especially bad. I was pregnant with Connor but Dimitri was there and acting as he had been the last two days and try as I might I couldn't get any reactions from him. Then, we were in the car at the red light, I was driving and yelling at him to tell me what was wrong when he finally snapped and started yelling that he hated me and would never forgive me. I asked for what but as I did, I started driving forward against my will. I heard a honk and looked up as the guy from the bar was driving a truck straight towards me. I turned towards Dimitri as he mouthed 'this' and then all I felt was pain and heard metal colliding and glass shattering.

I laid back for a second as I tried to catch my breath and slow my racing heart. After a few minutes I calmed down enough. I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep so I made my way out to the living room. I grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and curled up at the end and turned the tv on. I put on an old movie that I pretty much knew every word to knowing that it would help me relax enough I might be able to go back to sleep for a little while longer. It worked because before long I was drifting off.

"Why didn't you call me?" I heard Dimitri's voice from somewhere as I felt myself being lifted.

"Were working," I mumbled burying into the warmth beside me.

"You can always call me babe," Dimitri muttered into my ear. That's when I woke up enough to realize he must be carrying me back to bed. "How bad?"

I just shrugged in response not wanting to tell him the truth. "Enough."

"I'm sorry," he said softly as he laid me down. I still hadn't opened my eyes. I finally pried them open enough to see him sitting beside me looking down at me. I could see the emotion on his face but was too groggy to be able to tell what it was.

"S'okay. Just come lay with me now," I told him. He stood and made his way over to his side of the bed, taking his pants and shirt off as he did. I rolled into him and laid my head on his chest.

"Tell me about it," he prompted.

"Not much to tell. You were there. Said you hated me then douche from the bar hit us with a truck," I told him honestly but not saying everything.

"You know I don't hate you right? I never could. Even when I tried to, I couldn't. I love you too much," he said gently.

"I know you don't hate me," I stated.

"So, you broke a guys nose?" he asked. I was starting to get sleepy again so I shut my eyes and just nodded. "Why?"

"He put his hands on me, wouldn't go away," I said softly giving an involuntary shiver at the memory.

"Sorry I wasn't there. I let you down twice tonight," he said so softly I almost thought I dreamed it. That woke me up a little more.

"I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. I don't need a body guard," I said honestly.

"I don't deserve you," he said into the darkness.

"Comrade, I'm not sure where your heads at or what's going on but I'm not going anywhere. Work through what you need to work through and when you're ready I'll be here," I reassured.

"Get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow and its late. I'll be here," he said wrapping his arms around me as one of his hands stroked my hair softly. He bent his head down and kissed my head.

"I love it when you do that," I smiled remembering all of the other times I've told him that.

"I know," he replied softly as I drifted back into a deep sleep.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked Dimitri as we waited in a dressing room waiting to be called out for the interview. We had decided to go with a more 60 minutes type of interview where we could sit in front of a camera and tell our story so that it was less likely to be spliced and edited, though, there was still a possibility with that.

"Roza, I'm positive," Dimitri said frustrated with me. I couldn't blame him. I've been asking him the same question all day. "I'm not ashamed of my son or you. I'm not going to act like I am."

"I'm not saying you are. I'm just saying. Once you do this there's no turning back," I warned not sure how to put my fears into words. He's been a bit better today though I could still feel something is off. He hasn't been avoiding me but that's also probably because he hasn't been able to. He was there when I woke up this morning but, he had reverted back to the emotionless barely talkative self he'd been the last two days.

"I know, Roza," he sighed. "Look I know you're worried about me and you're freaking out about this which is making your fears worse but, I want to do this. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than by your side as we tell the world about our son. OUR son. Not just yours. I'm here."

"That's not what I mean," I said frustrated. "I'm not trying to take that away from you. It's just right now you're not a focal point of this story. If you do this, then you will be and they'll never leave you alone about it. Plus, this isn't going to shine positively on either of us. Our mistakes are going to come out and I don't want to put you through that."

"You don't have to protect me Roza. I know the repercussions; I still want to. It's my story just as much as yours," he stated the last part bitterly and I sighed knowing this was not going how I wanted it to.

"That's not what I mean and you know it," I said getting agitated.

"Isn't it though?" he snapped.

"That's it, I can't do this. Not unless I know we're good and right now we're so far from good, I think this interview will hurt us more than it ever will help us," I sighed collapsing back onto the couch.

"Well then it's a good thing we're not doing this for us, we're doing this for your image," he said bluntly.

"I don't fucking care about my image if it's going to cause you to hate me or resent me even more than you already do because lets face it, you're still angry that's what all of this is about," I cried in frustration. Dimitri came over and knelt in front of me, putting his hands on my knees.

"Look Roza, let's go and do this interview and we can talk more later. This isn't going to hurt us, it's not going to cause resentment and it's like I said last night, I couldn't hate you if I tried. He doesn't deserve to be treated like a dirty secret or something we're ashamed of, let's go show the world we're not."

"How? How are we supposed to go out there and pretend we're all happy and in love when there's still obvious issues here."

"Because we do love each other. That part is not hard to pretend because its not pretending. Yea, we have issues but the world doesn't need to know that. Every couple has issues. We just go out there and tell our story. We just need to be honest. Tell them what happened, then show the world that we're still together despite it all and we're moving forward."

"Are we though? Because I'm not so sure anymore," I asked. About then there was a knock on the door and a stage hand opened it up poking his head through.

"We're ready for you," he said before stepping away and closing the door. Dimitri stood up and offered a hand towards me.

"Come on babe, we can talk more later," I reached for his hand and stood up.

"Are you sure we're ok?" I asked. Instead of replying he leaned down and kissed my forehead softly. I smiled softly at him and he gave a small grin.

"I know," he replied. "Let's go before they send a search party."

"Here's Rose and Dimitri to set the record Straight," said, Wanda, the host of this special. She had made some introduction speech but I'd accidentally tuned it out. For her being a reporter, she did seem pretty down to earth and warming which is one of the reasons I decided to come on her show. She's an older lady but instead of looking full of botox, she seems like she's embraced her age with gray strands highlighting her chocolate hair, eye crinkles, and laugh lines. "Thank you both for joining us. I think the whole world is interested to hear the truth and not some tabloid rumors."

"Thank you for having us. We're excited for the chance to clear the air," I smiled. Dimitri reached over and grabbed my hand.

"So, where do we start? I know there's been rumors of affairs, abortions, and much more but, we all know how truthful the tabloids are," she chuckled.

"For sure, I don't think they've gotten a single thing correct yet," I laughed. "I think we kind of have to start at the beginning. We've admitted that we've known each other since we were kids but we didn't tell everything. We wanted to keep some parts of the past to ourselves but, it doesn't seem quite likely."

"What's the other parts?" she questioned.

"Rose and I did meet as kids and she quickly became my best friend all the way up until high school," Dimitri said looking over at me. I smiled at him then turned towards Wanda.

"I didn't have the best home life, I won't get into too many details there but, Dimitri and his family took me in and became a sort of make shift family for me. Dimitri's youngest sister and I also became best friends and his mom was the one that would take me to the ER when PE baseball games got out of hand and someone broke my ankle," I laughed looking at him remembering that day. "I eventually developed feelings for him but didn't want to risk out losing his friendship so I kept them a secret for a while until one day he finally told me he'd had feelings for me too."

"More like she gave me an ultimatum and told me to stop being an idiot," he smirked.

"Well," I shrugged with a smile. Despite everything going on with us now it was nice to remember back during the good days, before all the drama entered. "After that it just became natural. His family already felt like my in laws, and everything was great."

"How did it go from happy and 'great' to strangers?" she asked.

"I sent a demo cd of myself to a band looking for a lead singer as theirs had just quit and next thing you know they wanted me to fly out to LA and join them. Rose was great about it all and encouraged me to go. That's where I screwed up. I broke things off with her telling her she needed to finish school and focus on her future, I said we'd still be friends and that maybe one day we would get back together. I thought I was doing what was best for her and me. I was wrong," he said sadly. I squeezed his hand gently.

"What Dimitri hadn't known is that I was pregnant when he left. I wasn't very far along and didn't find out until the day he left. I panicked because what 17 year old girl wouldn't when she finds herself broken hearted and pregnant? Instead of immediately telling him, I thought it would be best to wait a little while for him to get settled in LA. I didn't want him rushing back home and giving up his dreams. That's where I messed up."

"I take it you never told him?" she prompted.

"She never really got a chance. Things were very rushed once I got to LA and I decided it would be best to not contact her for a while, hoping that would ease my hurt and guilt and help her move on. I ignored her calls and next thing I knew I was spiraling down a bad path. Eventually, she quit calling and that was the last of our contact until she showed up in my studio a couple of months ago."

"So, what happened to the baby Rose?" she asked softly. I paused for a moment and tried to gather my strength. Dimitri squeezed my hand softly.

"The day of my 6-month sonogram, I was in a bad car accident. I was driving home excited to tell everyone that I found out it was a boy. Dimitri's mom had been going with me to my appointments but that day she had to work and couldn't get out of it so I was alone. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings so when the red light turned green, I went, I didn't notice the truck running his red light coming at me until it was too late. He hit my drivers' side and that was all I really remember until I woke up in the hospital. They checked the baby and said everything seemed to be ok but just in case they wanted me on bed rest for at least a week and to come back in and check again," I told her as though it was rehearsed. I stopped to catch my breath and looked down at the ground for a moment. Dimitri lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles softly. I smiled sadly at him before turning back to Wanda. "Sorry, I haven't really told this story. Even some of my closest friends don't know it all."

"Take your time. You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to. If it's too much we can take a break," she said reassuringly.

"It's fine," I lied before continuing. "The next day thanks to some unforeseen events I found myself home alone and hungry. I decided one trip to the kitchen shouldn't hurt but halfway down the stairs I collapsed. I later found out I had what was called a placental abruption. By the time I had called for help and an ambulance had gotten me to the hospital they were forced to do an emergency C-section. At that point Connor had been too long without oxygen and nutrients so he didn't survive it."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine going through that especially at just 17," she remarked sadly.

"It was hard. I sank into a severe depression, tried to drown myself in alcohol, ended up in an abusive situation, even attempted to kill myself a few times. It was Dimitri's family who ended up saving me. I found myself staying with a 'friend'," I put air quotes up as I said that. "Who decided that friendship wasn't enough so he tried to beat me into a relationship. When Dimitri's sister found me with a black eye she dragged me back to her house and they practically forced me to move in with them."

"They can be stubborn and a force to be reckoned with," Dimitri chuckled.

"Yes, they can be," I smiled. "Olena, Dimitri's mom, had known I'd used writing as an outlet during my pregnancy so she suggested I write down what I was feeling. That's how I started song writing. I fell in love with the whole process of writing the lyrics down and matching them to the right chords, next thing you know, I wanted to be a singer song-writer. I knew how much music had helped me so I wanted to use it to hopefully help someone else. I saved up enough money and eventually made my way out to LA to try it out. Luckily for me, our record label had an A&R rep there one night while I was performing at a karaoke/open mic bar."

"Is that how you and Dimitri reconnected?" she asked.

"I was informed we had a new artist coming in and they wanted me to be her producer. I wasn't very happy about feeling like I already had too much going on but I decided to give it a shot. Imagine my surprise when Rose started singing. I hadn't even looked up to see her yet but as soon as I heard her voice, I knew."

"Yea he was kind of a jerk," I laughed.

"So, did you hit it off immediately? I imagine with everything you both went through, it wasn't an easy reunion," she smiled.

"Definitely not. We fought a lot. We both had a lot of anger and hurt. Some rational some irrational. It wasn't until we went back to Georgia for the birth of his niece and my god daughter that we found a sort of truce," I admitted. "Though we still didn't really leave Georgia on the best terms either."

"Being back home after 5 years was hard for me. Seeing everyone I had hurt and all the people I'd loved and missed over the years had me emotional. That's where I realized I had been unfair to Tasha over the years. She didn't really get along with my family, which is perfectly understandable, it's not the kind of world she's used to. It's small town charm for sure and she's used to big city. I had always been upfront with her about my feelings for Rose, that's how we actually ended up together. She became a close friend and someone I could confide in. After going to Georgia and being reminded of my old roots and everything I realized Tasha and I had been unhappy for a long time and it wasn't fair to keep stringing the relationship along. I thought she deserved better than settling with me. It had absolutely nothing to do with Rose. In fact, Rose had already left Georgia and like she said we hadn't been on great terms then."

"So, you both left Georgia as you stated in not great standing with each other. Dimitri, you broke off your relationship with Tasha. Did you already know about the baby by then?"

"No, I hadn't told him yet and I begged his family not too knowing it needed to come from me. They all disagreed with my decision but they knew I was right that it needed to come from me. After Georgia, the studio decided to do the showcase and announce the duet album. Dimitri and I found a sort of truce and managed to work together for the next couple of weeks without fighting but we also weren't really friends. I knew I still loved him and always would but I was terrified to tell him the truth because I thought for sure he'd hate me forever. I decided as soon as the showcase was over I'd tell him because he did deserve to know but I also didn't want to mess up the showcase. During soundchecks the day before I sang a very emotional song I had written about our relationship and broke down. Dimitri came to check on me in my dressing room and I broke and told him everything. The next day I avoided him and made plans to go finish the album in New York away from him afraid that he hated me and would forever. Little did I know, he already knew I was going to run and had helped make it happen."

"Why would you do that Dimitri?" she asked.

"I knew she needed it. She'd spent years harboring this guilt and pain and even though it broke my heart to see her go. I knew it was what she needed to move on and finally start to live her life or her. Plus, she was right. I was angry but I never hated her. I had to work through my own emotions about it all."

"Was your performance of 'Surrender' for him?" she asked.

"It was. He had reached out and told me how he had felt after all the dust had settled and I realized that even though I was finally moving on and getting to a much healthier place, I didn't have to cut him out. I decided to tell him how I felt in the main way I knew how. Through song. Then I flew home with the intent to wait and see what his reaction was. Little did I know, I'd get in a second car crash and end up in a coma," I half chuckled at the irony. "When I woke up Dimitri was there and he's been here since."

"That's quite a story. You seem to be handling it all quite well," she stated.

"Well looks can be deceiving. I can't speak for Dimitri but there's days it's hard to just get out of bed but, I have a great support system that's always there for me. Within 20 minutes of the story about Connor breaking I'd had 3 people checking on me. It was actually my best friend who broke it to me because she was calling to see if I was ok. I'd been stuck in a meeting and hadn't heard. Dimitri's sister called him to give him the heads up about the same time. There's always going to be hard days. Dimitri's helped teach me that as long as I get through them and continue to keep pushing through then I'm doing pretty good."

"That's pretty good advice. As a couple you two seem to be doing really great. How do you feel about the newest gossip about you and Adrian? I understand there's some pretty bad looking pictures."

"I'm not sure what you mean? I haven't seen any pictures," I stated confused.

"Just today there were some pictures released of you and Adrian looking pretty cozy," she said pulling up a tablet and clicking on something. She passed it over to me. I looked at it and saw an article stating Adrian and I were having an affair. It had pictures of Adrian opening his car door for me while I was laughing, pictures of us at the diner with the hats and sunglasses, pictures of us walking into the bar last night that looked incriminating because his hand was on my lower back as he was gesturing for me to go in front of him. It conveniently cropped Sydney out of the pic though she was right there with us. the one that had my jaw dropping though was one of us sitting on the couch in the sound booth yesterday after Dimitri had left when I laid my head on his shoulder. Dimitri's hand clenched but he didn't say anything. Instead of voicing my concerns in front of a recording camera I smiled at Wanda.

"These pictures are all taken completely out of context. Adrian is one of my best friends and he knew I was upset about the tabloids saying I had purposely killed my son, so he took me to one of his friends smash rooms to let my frustration out, then we ate dinner. You can see we're wearing the same outfits in the first three pictures that validates that was all from that outing. Both Dimitri and Sydney knew that we were hanging out and were ok with it. Adrian and I even made plans to bring Dimitri and Sydney back to his friends place so we could all paintball together. The one outside of the bar conveniently cropped Sydney out who was hanging on to his other arm. The one on the couch was because I was upset and so he hugged me as any friend would. I absolutely love Adrian as a best friend. When I came out to LA I had one friend out here by the time I was signed. Adrian and I bonded over mutual heartbreak and quickly became great friends. Nothing romantic has happened between us or ever will. I'm the one that reconnected him and Sydney and I'm so happy that they have found happiness with each other. I think cheating is the worst thing someone can do in a relationship and would never imagine cheating on Dimitri or becoming the other woman. I love Dimitri whole heartedly and would never cheat on him or risk our relationship."

"Dimitri how do you feel about the situation?"

"I'm behind Rose 100%. She has a great friend in Adrian and I'm happy for that. He actually asked me if it was alright for him to take her to the smash room and I told him I was fine with it. They're friends and I trust them completely. I'm annoyed by the paparazzi taking innocent situations and turning them into their own narrative. But, you know they have to sell tabloids somehow and happiness doesn't sell," he shrugged.

"Very true," she nodded.

"What do you both have to say about the rumors Tasha has been spreading?" I looked to Dimitri to answer that because I knew I probably wouldn't be able to say anything nice.

"I'm sorry for the pain that I've inadvertently caused Tasha that's caused her to lash out but there is no foundation to what she's been saying. The truth is our separation had been coming for a long time. We weren't really happy and hadn't been. Honestly going back to Georgia probably was a huge part in the timing because it brought up old emotions I'd shut off and opened my eyes to the fact we'd been pretending for a long time. It opened my eyes to our differences and how much we'd been faking. It had nothing to do with Rose, there was no cheating. We didn't even get back together until after Rose's car accident. I hate that it's dragged Rose's name through the mud because she's done nothing wrong in this situation. If anyone was in the wrong it was me for letting the relationship drag as long as I did. Tasha deserved better than that. I hope she finds someone who loves her like she deserves to be loved and finds happiness."

"Beautifully said Dimitri," she said before smiling. "Ok, so we've talked about serious subjects now onto some more lighthearted topics. What are your favorite quirks about each other?"

"Hmmm…that's a hard one," I smiled looking at Dimitri.

"Really? My answers pretty easy to some up with," he smirked. I attempted to raise an eyebrow and failed causing me to laugh and Dimitri to chuckle. "She quotes from everything all of the time. Movies, Tv shows, songs. Her and my sister do it all of the time. Even at the most inappropriate moments but it never fails to make me laugh. She does it so much that she now accidentally does it without realizing it."

"Really?" Wanda laughed, "Is there anything specific you like to quote from?"

"Not really, just whatever fits. Mostly it's rom-coms because those are my favorite but It's not really genre specific. Mostly movies I watched over and over again as a kid."

"That's cute. So, what's your favorite quirk about him?"

"He has quite a few that I love about him. I tease him that he has a hero complex because he loves westerns and country music. I even got him a duster for Christmas in high school that he still has," I laughed.

"A hero complex huh?" she laughed. Dimitri just shrugged. "Well thank you both for sitting down with me and clearing the air. It's been a pleasure meeting you both."

"Thank you for having us," I smiled. Dimitri smiled at her also, then the producer called cut.

"That's a wrap!" the director said.

"Wow guys, that was awesome. You really are a beautiful couple," Wanda smiled warmly at us. "And both of you are so strong. I really do wish you the best."

"Thank you so much. I appreciate you giving us the time on your show to clear the air," I told her honestly.

"No problem, you're both welcome back anytime. Though hopefully in the future it will be under better circumstances. Maybe a wedding special?" she suggested with a laugh.

"Well, there's no wedding plans on the schedule for now but, maybe when the time comes around," Dimitri laughed.

"I'll hold you to that," she laughed before walking over to the director. Dimitri and I made our way back to the dressing room.

"That went better than expected," I said. Dimitri didn't say anything. "Back to not talking to me?"

"What do you want me to say Roza? Because right now I don't have much," he said sitting on the couch.

"That's how it's going to be? We pretend to be this happy loving couple for the camera but as soon as it turns off we become this? I understand that you're going through a lot but so am I and I really need you right now."

"Then go run into Adrians arms again," he smarted off.

"That's not fair and you know it. Or was everything you said out there lies too? Do you really think I'm having an affair with Adrian?" I questioned hurt by his response.

"No, I don't think you're having an affair with Adrian but that last picture you seemed pretty cozy with him. One afternoon with him and suddenly you're perfectly fine and not bothered at all about the tabloids," he said angrily standing up.

"Is that what you think? That I'm fine with everything now? Because I'm not. I'm hurt, I'm angry, I feel betrayed that my personal information got leaked and now somehow the tabloids have invaded one of the few safe spaces I'm supposed to have by getting that picture in the first place. They had to have someone on the inside to get it. So, now I'm wondering who I can't trust anymore. That being said something broke inside of me in that smash room and I decided I'm tired of being a victim in this. That's what's helped me. I decided I didn't want to sit in the corner and cry about it anymore. I'm sorry if that bothers you that I'm not a needy mess."

"Yes, that's what's bothering me. Hit it right on the head," he snapped. He turned and headed for the door, "I can't do this right now."

"Of course not, why talk to me when you can run away," I snapped back. A phone chimed from the makeup counter and I turned towards it noticing it was dimitri's "Hey asshole, you forgot your phone"

I grabbed it to take it to him when I noticed a message on it. I wasn't trying to snoop but when I saw a kissy face emoji I stopped in my tracks. There was a message from someone named Sherri.

S: Thanks for all of your help the last two days! I hope your interview goes great. You can talk to me anytime! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

She ended it with the kissy face and a smiling emoji. As I finished reading it Dimitri came back into the room.

"I forgot…" he started before he stopped himself seeing me hold it.

"You asshole. How dare you?" he looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Sherri texted you. Kissy face and all," I told him coldly. I knew he hadn't cheated but I was still pissed. "Don't worry about rushing home to comfort your needy girlfriend, I'll be late coming home. If I decide to at all."

"Roza, it's not-" he started before I cut him off.

"Don't. The time for talking was 5 minutes ago. Or yesterday or the day before. Guess it's my turn to walk out," I snapped slapping his phone into his chest as I walked out.

He didn't follow and I wasn't sure if I was happy about that or hurt.