No words can sum up my apologies for my ridiculously long hiatus.

Sweet Victory

If looks could kill, we would've been dead within a heartbeat. The rage coming from Tasha's eyes were enough to scorch several microscopic molecules.

"Excuse me, isn't this called trespassing?" Rose asked, her tone heavy with sarcasm.

I squeezed her hand to prevent her from infuriating the other woman. "What business do you have here at four-thirty in the morning, Tasha?" I asked with a straight voice. She was not going to get the pleasure of having me flustered by her sudden appearance and her brand-name clothes.

She straightened her shoulders and looked straight at me. "I'm here to give you another chance," she said simply. "So, if you'd just send away the foreign trash."

With her lack of sleep, anything set Rose on the edge. She yanked her hand out of mine and got out of bed in a sort of fighting stance. "Another chance? And did you just call me foreign trash?" she repeated, rotating her shoulders. "News flash, Miss Rich-Bitch: the world doesn't revolve around you."

Oh, did Tasha ever look furious. She rounded on me. "Dimka, you'd let her speak to me that way?"

I shrugged one shoulder. "She didn't say anything wrong."

Tears filled her eyes. "Dimka, you've changed," she whimpered.

Groaning, Rose stepped in between us, her eyes coolly meeting Tasha's. "Get over yourself. It was you who ended the relationship. What the hell gives you the right to break into his house and tell him to get back together with you? God, you're pathetic."

I stood up and stood next to Rose. "Leave now, Tasha, before my mother wakes up and sees you here," I warned her.

Rose raised a brow. "Ah, too late."

Tasha froze for a second, then turned to see Olena standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Then her lips twitched up into a pleasant smile. "Mrs. Belikova! It's been a while, and I don't think I have the situation right here. You see, I believe Dimka and that foreign girl are an item. Am I mistaken?" She looked so hopeful.

But the older woman's face didn't change. "No, you believe right, Natasha Ozera. But you were mistaken to step foot in my house without permission and interrupting their sleep," she said sternly, no trace of her usual warmth anywhere. "Now I suggest you leave and never have anything to do with my son or Rose, otherwise I will be glad to call the police on you and have you arrested for trespassing."

Tasha looked appalled that she just stood and stared at my mother with her mouth opened. "Y-you're kicking me out?" She chuckled. "This is a joke, right? This has to be a joke. Dimka still loves me, don't you Dimka?"

I stared down at her deceiving blue eyes. "No," I said flatly and wrapped an arm around Rose's waist to draw her closer to me.

My mother was starting to become impatient. "I'm counting from five, Natasha," she warned.

"No need," Tasha said, her voice wavering. "I see how it is. You know what, Dimitri Belikova? We are through!" With that, she stomped loudly down the stairs and out of the house.

I nodded once absently. "That we are," I mumbled to no one in particular.

Two weeks had passed since the Tasha incident. Every day was normal for my family. Rose and I went down to the bakery, my mother stayed home to cook or went out to get groceries, and my sisters went to school.

So you could understand my surprise when we had arrived at the bakery one morning to see a woman in a black suit and hat waiting in front of the door. Rose went rigid behind me when she got a glimpse of the stranger's face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" my lover demanded, her hands clenched into fists.

The stranger lifted a brow. "To take you home, of course," she answered simply. "Don't be difficult, Rosemarie."

Rose stood firm. "This is my home."

I took the opportunity to step in between both women. "Excuse me, but may I ask who you are and what business you have with Rose?" I asked politely, but firmly. Anything that set Rose on edge set me on edge.

She looked at me squarely. "I'm her mother and my business with her is to take her back home in the States," she said coldly. She turned to her daughter. "Did you get eloped?" she demanded in outrage.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Now I wish I did."

"Look," I interrupted, feeling the heat increasing between the two. "Let's go inside and talk this out." Moving past Rose's mother, I unlocked the door to the bakery and held it opened for the two women to walk through. It was quiet, until I closed the door.

"I'm not going back with you," Rose said firmly.

Her mother's eye narrowed. "The hell you aren't. We are leaving, and that's final," she said coolly.

"I'm happy here!" Rose shouted, making both of us jump slightly. "For once in my life, I'm happy. And you're telling me to throw it away. Does that make any fucking sense?"

"For God's sakes, Rose, you're working in a bakery!"

Oh, now I felt insulted.

"And I love it here! I love what I'm doing! But most importantly, I love Dimitri!"

I couldn't help the smile that spread on my face. God, I was a fool in love.

But her mother was dumbfounded. "What?"

The fire in Rose's eyes continued to flare. "I love him. He's the only man I've met who treated me with some decency and respect and didn't expect to get into my pants," she said, her voice on edge. "All those guys you set me up with for the sake of inheritance and the future of your fucking company? They ended it with me because I wouldn't fall into their beds! And Adrian Ivashkov was no different, I swear to you."

Before her mother could retaliate, I held up a hand. "Let's have a negotiation," I said, placing a hand on Rose's shoulder and squeezing it to prevent her from arguing.

Her mother folded her arms and looked at me. "Out with it," she demanded, still a bit shaken from her daughter's confession.

Instead of answering her directly, I looked down at Rose. "Rose, what do you want to do with your life?"

She looked at me like I had asked a question with an obvious answer. "I want to stay and work with you…here," she finished, motioning around the bakery with her arms.

I nodded and turned back to her mother. "Rose will return with you, ma'am," I stated, feeling Rose go tense under my hand.

"Dimi—"

"If you let her study what she wants to study. And after she graduates, if she wants to come back to Russia, you'll let her come without restrictions," I finished.

The mother was still for a few minutes, I thought I might have sent her into a state of shock. Then she turned her head slowly to look at Rose who, in turn, looked absolute devastated. "If I let you do what he asks of me, will you come back?" she asked slowly.

Rose shook slightly. "Give me a minute," she said and went into the baking area.

I followed after her and went through the door. "Rose."

She turned to glare at me. "How could you? How could you turn on me so fast?"

"Let me explain."

She scoffed and leaned against the metal table. "Please do."

I exhaled loudly. "I love you, Rose. I love you so much, I don't want you to leave," I said quietly.

"Then why?" she whispered, and the hurt was evident in her voice.

Going over to her, I took her hand in mine. "I want you to finish your education. No, listen," I said, pulling her back as she tried to turn away. "I don't want you stay here now and later have regrets. I'd rather you finish everything you have to finish in the States and come back. And right now, that everything is college."

I saw the tears filling her eyes, saw her trying to hold them back.

"But if I go, I can't see you for a long time," she said, trying to keep her voice absolutely still.

On that, I could empathize with her. "Rose, I can get one of those webcams and see you through the computer."

She shook her head furiously. "It's not the same."

I lifted my hand to cup the side of her face. "What kind of school do you want to go to?"

"Culinary school." She said it with certainty.

My lips twitched up. "You can graduate from a culinary school within two years. I'm willing to wait those two years, and I want you to be, too."

"But—"

I placed a finger on her lips. "And when you graduate, you can come back and work with me again."

She looked at me. "You know I'm not one for patience," she reminded me.

I had to laugh at that. "I know."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "If I come back, and my job is taken, I'm going to kick your ass all the way to Germany."

Smiling, I pressed my lips to her forehead. "I'll remember that for the next two years."

Why the hell had the past two years taken a long time to pass? Rose sighed as she finished fixing her hair in her dorm room before putting on her navy blue graduation gown and cap. She remembered leaving Russia, leaving Dimitri, leaving half of her heart with the Belikova family. During the past two years, she and Dimitri have had extremely long webcam sessions on a daily basis until it drove her roommate, Lissa, out to sleep in her boyfriend's dorm. But both of them knew seeing through a screen wasn't the same thing as being able to touch the other.

Lissa popped her blonde head in her room. "Everyone's lining up, Rose. You ready?"

Rose turned around and smiled. "When am I not?"

At the ceremony, the chancellor gave the typical long speech about the success of the students and their seemingly bright futures from their achievements at the school. It was so long that by the time he was finished, they had to turn on the stadium lights to see everyone in the graduating class. Because her graduating class consisted of a hundred students or so, it didn't take long for her to receive her degree in baking.

Once the ceremony was officially over, Rose met Janine a few feet away from the podium. "A deal's a deal, right? You're letting me go to Russia, and you're not going to interfere," she reminded her.

Janine nodded once slowly. "Yes, that's what I had promised. But you'll be seeing me in Russia soon enough," she said, making her daughter edgy.

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked through clenched teeth.

Instead of answering, Janine pointed towards the center of the field. And with precaution, Rose turned very slowly.

It was like time had stopped.

Dimitri was standing in the center of the field with a smile on his face.

Dumbfounded, it took Rose a shove from her mother to get her to start walking towards him. And when she reached him, he put a hand on either shoulder.

"Are you really here?" she asked, still in disbelief.

He chuckled softly and brushed his lips against her forehead. "Yes, I am," he answered.

"We're going to Russia together?"

When he didn't answer right away, panic slammed into her and nearly made her stagger back.

"We're going to Russia under one condition," he answered after a few seconds of silence. He took one hand from her shoulder and reached in his pocket to produce a thin silver band with a tiny diamond in the center.

Now, Rose had seen many soap operas because of her roommate and thought it was stupid for women to start crying when they got proposed to. But in that moment, she knew why they cried.

He moved his other hand to cup her neck, running his finger gently over her jawline with a tender smile. "Rosemarie Hathaway, will you stay in Russia with me…as my wife?"

She didn't bother hiding her tears as she nodded once. "God, what took you so long?"

He laughed and slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. "I was looking for the perfect moment."

When he pulled his hand away to admire the ring on her finger, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I want to go home," she whispered in his ear and sniffed softly.

Pulling back, he cupped her face in his hands and started to lean down. "Then let's go home together," he whispered back just before their lips met under the stars.

End.

Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? R&R!

God, I am sorry for rushing this! But as one reviewer pointed out, I didn't want to throw in another character and create more and more drama. And as I said before, I didn't like where this fanfic was going. So yes, I know the ending was shitty and rushed, and I will apologize profusely. But I will promise you that I'll put all my effort into my next fanfic! So stay tuned! Thanks for reading Under The Stars!

-Delicate