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CHAPTER 25

RPOV

Inna wouldn't talk to me. It didn't come as a surprise, but I still felt like I had to try. But I was unsuccessful, just as Dimitri was when he tried to coax her out of her room with freshly made pancakes for breakfast.

Liam, on the other hand, was happy – ecstatic was maybe a better word to describe how he felt – I was going to spend even more time with him and his family.

"Daddy says you have your own place to sleep, but, if you want," he said eagerly, "you can sleep here too! There's enough space in my bed for the both of us!"

I chuckled. "Thanks, Liam. That's nice of you, but I'll be fine."

"And Dad's bed is even bigger!" he continued like he didn't hear me. "You can sleep there. He won't mind because he likes you."

"Alright, Liam. That's enough," Dimitri interrupted his rambling. He looked up at me and smiled reluctantly. Then he leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "He's right. I wouldn't mind. At all."

I blushed and quickly looked away from him so he wouldn't notice. Why the hell was I blushing? I didn't have a reason to. It's not like we hadn't slept together yet.

"Is it true you like him too?" Liam suddenly asked, a curious expression on his face.

I smiled at him. "Yes. I like him too. Very much so."

"Huh." He frowned a little. "But you like me too, don't you?" he asked.

"Of course I do."

Now he was smiling. "Do you like me better than my dad?"

"Definitely," I said grinning.

"Hey," Dimitri said, looking offended.

"Sorry, comrade," I said sweetly.

Liam looked really proud of himself. "And when I'm taller and older, we'll get married."

I laughed. "Liam, sweetie, I like you a lot. But I think I'm a little bit too old for you."

He frowned. "Are you going to marry my dad then?"

"For now, I'm not marrying anyone," I said smiling.

"Does that mean you won't stay with us forever?" he asked, looking sad all of a sudden.

"I'll always be here for you. No matter what. Don't worry about that, Liam," I assured him, wrapping my arms around him.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

He hugged me back, looking relieved. "Okay."

When Dimitri and I were alone again – Liam had gone back to the living room to watch his cartoons – Dimitri moved closer to me and snaked his arm around my waist.

"So, um, you don't want to get married one day?" he asked casually.

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about that yet. Why are you asking?"

He turned to me, his casual demeanor gone. "Well… I would want to marry someone one day – and not because I have to but because I'm in love with her and because I don't want to spend another day without her. I actually already know who that someone is, but…"

His gaze met mine and my breath caught in my throat.

"Y-you mean you want to marry me?" I stammered, caught off guard.

"Yes. Not now, though," he added quickly. Taking my hand in his, he pulled me closer to him and murmured, "but maybe one day…"

I swallowed heavily. "You…you've thought about that?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes," he admitted.

"Wow," I said, taken aback. "I don't know what to say. I hadn't really expected this."

"You don't have to say anything," he said, kissing me softly. "I just thought I'd let you know." He pecked me on the lips again and then let go of me. As he made his way to the living room, he called out to Liam. "You should get dressed, Liam. You can't sit in your pajamas all day."

I heard Liam grumbling, but then they went upstairs. I still stood in the kitchen, shocked by Dimitri's confession. He sure had given me something to think about.

DPOV

Inna didn't get out of her room all day. I spent more than an hour knocking on her door, begging for her to come out so we could talk. Of course, she ignored my request. I knew she must be starved so I left a plate with sandwiches at her door. When I walked past half an hour later, the plate was gone.

Rose was worried about Inna, too. "Maybe I should just go home," she said. "I'm probably only making it worse by being here."

I sighed. I didn't want her to leave, but I knew she was right. As long as Rose was here, Inna would stay in her room.

"I can come back tomorrow," Rose said, squeezing my hand gently.

I nodded. "Yeah, alright." I gave her a small smile. "I'll walk you to the door."

I followed her into the hallway and handed her her coat. "I'll call you later tonight, okay?"

"Okay," she said, putting on her coat. She sighed and looked up at me. "Good luck with Inna. I really hope she gets out of her room soon."

"Me too," I murmured.

She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against mine. "It'll be alright," she whispered, caressing my cheek with her fingers.

I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her even closer, before capturing her lips with mine. Behind me, I could hear giggling. I pulled away from Rose and noticed Alissa and Liam standing in the doorway.

"Bye, Roza," I murmured, pecking her lips one last time.

She smiled. "Bye."

When she'd left, I turned to my kids, who were still here. Liam was making kissing noises and Alisa was laughing. Great. Grinning, they ran back into the living room. I rolled my eyes and went upstairs, hoping Inna would come out of her room now. I knocked on her door again and waited for several moments.

"Inna?" I asked at last. "Can you please open the door? Please?"

It was silent for a few seconds and then I heard a muffled voice asking, "Is she gone?"

My heart lifted ever so slightly. "Yes. Can we talk now?"

No answer. I sighed in defeat and was about to walk away when, suddenly, the door opened. Inna looked at me and mumbled, "I guess."

Her eyes were red and swollen from crying and she looked exhausted.

"Oh, sweetheart," I said, taking a step forward to hug her.

She stepped back and crossed her arms. I had to admit, it hurt a little, but I knew she was just acting like this because she was mad. I suppressed a sigh and closed the door behind me. Inna walked over to her bed and sat down, her hands resting in her lap and her eyes focused on the pattern of her duvet.

"You want to start?" I asked after a few moments. "Or do you want me to-"

"No," she whispered. She looked up at me at last and I noticed the tears in her eyes. I wanted to reach out again and hug her, but I knew she would just push me away so I stayed put. It killed me, though, to see her like that and not being allowed to comfort her. "Why?" she asked at last.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Why would you do that to Mom?" she said, her voice breaking. "Don't you love her anymore?"

I sighed. "Inna…"

"I know she isn't here anymore," she continued, "but… I thought that you loved her. Why would you want to be with Rose then?"

"Because…" I paused. "Rose is an amazing person – you know that too. She makes me happy. She means a lot to me." She frowned. "I know, that deep down in your heart, she means a lot to you too. I know you like her."

"I did, but not anymore," she huffed.

"Why? Because of what I told you last night?"

She didn't say anything.

"Look, sweetheart," I said sighing. "I know this is difficult for you. I understand. I really do. But...you don't have anything to worry about. Rose will never replace your mother – she can't. But what she can be is your friend. Do you want that?"

"I don't know," she mumbled.

"Well…can you at least try to be nice to her?" I asked. "You don't have to be friends. You don't have to be anything at all. But...just be nice. Rose really means a lot to me and I would like for you two to get along. You did fine before. Why wouldn't you anymore?"

She shrugged. "Do you…do you love her?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

I hesitated for a moment. Should I tell her the truth? I knew I shouldn't lie, but if I told the truth it would probably hurt her. You can't lie to your daughter. You have to tell the truth, a voice inside my head said.

"Yes. I do," I said at last. Taking her hand in mine, I added, "But I love you too. You know that, right?"

She nodded as a lone tear ran down her cheek. I wiped it away and then, carefully, wrapped my arms around her as I pulled her against my chest. Inna buried her face in my neck and started crying.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said. "I… I was upset. I-"

"It's okay, sweetheart," I murmured, kissing the top of her head. "It's okay. All I want is for you to be happy and if…" I paused and let out a sigh. "And if you really don't like the idea of Rose and me together… Then I'll-"

"No," Inna cut me off. She looked up at me and shook her head. "I… I'll try. If you really do love her, then I'll try my best to…accept it." She glanced away and wiped at her eyes. "Mom is gone and she won't ever come back. I know that. And I know that we have to move on. You too. And you deserve to be happy and if Rose makes you happy…then I guess I'll have to accept that."

I was moved by her words. "Are you sure, sweetie?" I asked.

"Yes," she said.

"That means a lot to me, Inna," I said, hugging her tighter. "Thank you."

She gave me a small smile. "It's okay, Dad."

I pulled away and asked, "You hungry?"

"I'm starved," she admitted.

"Come on," I said, getting up from her bed. "I'll make you some dinner."

I sat with Inna at the table as she ate her dinner.

"Would you mind if Rose came by tomorrow?" I asked. Her head shot up and I added quickly, "You could talk to her. Tell her what's on your mind. Maybe you'll feel better about it all afterwards."

She hesitated but finally nodded. "Okay."

I smiled at her, glad we were making progress. Hopefully tomorrow wouldn't be another disaster when Rose came over.

I let Inna be for a while and went upstairs to call Rose. She picked up after the first ring and I told her Inna had come out of her room at last and that she was ready to talk. She was relieved and would come over tomorrow. We talked a little more after that, but after half an hour had passed I decided to check on Inna and see if she was okay.

"Good night, Roza," I murmured.

"Night, comrade," she said before hanging up.

With a sigh, I rose from the bed and went back downstairs. Inna was still sitting at the kitchen table, but she wasn't alone. Alisa had joined her and they were talking. Not just about this and that, but an actual serious conversation.

Sometimes I wondered if their mother's death had robbed them from their childhood. They used to be carefree and always happy, but since Tasha had died it was like they'd lost their carefree attitude and had become serious. They still laughed and had fun, but it was different.

Alarmed, I looked up when I heard Alisa mention Rose's name, but Inna didn't shout or say anything bad about Rose. She just nodded. I hadn't realized they were talking about Rose. They hadn't even noticed me standing in the doorway yet.

"Just give her a chance," Alisa said. "I know, she's not Mom. But…she's, well, she's really nice. And she's our friend. And she thinks we're nice too. It could've been a lot worse, don't you think? She could've been one of those horrible stepmoms like in Cinderella, but she isn't."

Inna nodded again. "I know. It's just… I don't really understand why Dad would…"

When she didn't continue, Alisa said, "Rose makes Daddy happy. Haven't you noticed he's smiling more when she's around?"

Inna shook her head. "I guess I haven't really been paying attention to that."

"Just try, okay?" Alisa said. "For Dad."

"For Dad," Inna whispered, nodding.

I smiled, feeling blessed for having such amazing children. Clearing my throat, I opened the door wider and stepped into the kitchen.

"Who wants to go to the movies?" I asked with a grin.

"Did you say movies?"

I turned around and saw Liam, an eager look on his face.

"Yup. You wanna go?" I asked.

"Yes!" he said excitedly.

I looked at the girls and they smiled.

"Sure," Alisa said.

I smiled. "Great. Let's go then."

After all the drama that had been going on, they deserved to have some fun. I wanted to take their minds off of their worries, even if it was just for tonight.

Do you think Inna is going to accept is so easily? Will she talk to Rose?

I hope you liked the chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Have a nice day/evening! :)