Chapter 26

I pulled away as far as I could on the hospital beds. I loved him and I knew it but I didn't know if he loved me. How could I think he did? A kiss couldn't fix it.

"Dimitri… You hurt me." I looked away determined not to let him see the tears welling up in my eyes. He didn't deserve the satisfaction.

"Roza, I'm...sorry?"

"Rose."

"Rose?"

"Rose and you're sorry? Sorry for leaving me in the dead of night in a hospital after my suicide attempt over you?"

"I didn't make you take those scissors-"

"How dare you? This was all your fault. Don't you know that by now? I loved you. I loved you more than anyone else. I loved you and you left me for- for Tasha! You-"

"I didn't leave you for Tasha. I left you for you!"

"For me? How could you possibly have left for me?"

"You were laying in a hospital bed from a suicide attempt caused by me. Caused by me never being able to love you the way you wanted, the way you needed. We would always have to put them first and you know that. If you were falling off of a cliff and so was my charge it would kill me to have to save them. Because I swear an oath! I would never be able to love you the way you deserved! What was the point of me staying there? That truth almost killed you. It almost killed me. And as much as I wanted to stand there and hold you in my arms and tell you my truth of how I never wanted to leave you or let you go, how I wanted to love you with all of my heart they would always get between us. I couldn't stand you living a lifetime of hurt and pain at my hands. I couldn't stand something like that happening to you again." He looked away. I wanted to run my hands over his shoulders, the hard line of his jaw. To calm him down, to sooth his pain.

"What I deserved was you there. Loving me the way that you could. Didn't you think leaving me would cause me pain?"

"Pain, but not the same as a lifetime of pain."

"Well I'm still in pain!"

"Roza you will never understand how sorry I am. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. Safe. Safe from me. Safe from pain. I never wanted to see you that way."

"So you marry Tasha and have a kid and come back to my best friend's home, not knowing that I've 'become a blood whore' and think that's not going to hurt me at all?"

"Roza, please don't-"

"Leave it alone Dimitri," I said having know exactly what he was about to say about my blood whore comment.

"Roza…"

"Did you think it would not be hurtful?" I asked more aggressively this time.

"I thought that you would have moved on by now. You know exactly why I came back. I needed to see you. And you know that Tasha's kid is not my kid."

"I don't believe that's why you came back and if the kid isn't your kid why are you still with her? Why didn't you tell anyone? Why do you let the world believe-"

"For you." He whispered. I paused almost deciding to pretend I didn't hear him.

"What?"

"For you." He said a little louder but still weakly. He almost collapsed into the chair beside my bed and buried his face in his hands.

"What do you mean for me? How is any of that for me, Dimitri?" I said hesitantly. He finally sat up and leaned forward grabbing my hand. I fought the urge to pull it away. I was angry at him. I liked the way his hand felt on mine though. I liked his skin against mine and the way his fingers curled around mine protectively.

"Tasha knew about us. She threatened to tell. To ruin my career… and yours. She said if I told she would make your life hell. Make it so that you never got a job again. She did the same with Rosalina. She does it everyday. I could never do anything but what she told me. I had to leave you either way. I never wanted to and it hurt a little less after the hospital. It felt more like the right thing after you were hurt because then I knew I wasn't just protecting your job from her, I was protecting you from me. I'm sorry Roza, I really am. Maya Roza, Ya tebya lyublyu. Moi Lyubov, vsem serdtsem." (my rose, I love you. My love, with all my heart.)

"What… what does that mean?" he stood until he was standing over me again. He bent down and wrapped an arm carefully around me but I still winced in pain. I could see him cringe but he didn't let go, probably for fear of hurting me again. I liked the feeling of being wrapped in his arms. The feeling I longed for so long. He kissed my cheek and bent down to whisper in my ear.

"It means that I love you. I love you more than anyone in the world. I never loved Tasha and I never will."

"All that in those few words? Foreign languages." I joked dryly. He chuckled and pulled back.

"My Rose, I love you. My love, with all my heart." He said. He leaned forward and kissed me again. And this time I let him.

"Rose!" Christian barged into the room. I pulled away, my face cherry, and Dimitri carefully removed his arm. He sat next to the bed as I turned disappointedly to Christian.

"Yes?"

"He's dead?"

"Who?" I questioned. Abe walked into the room with his hand in his hair. His face seemed scrunched together as he moved closer to my bed. He didn't glare at Dimitri as he usually did, he didn't even glance at him.

"Ivan is dead, Rose." He said gravely, confirming what I had already known. Confirming what I had hoped was just my pessimism.

"D-dead?"

"And there's a note." He muttered. He handed it cautiously to me almost as if he was waiting to see if he changed his mind. I took a deep breath and he gripped my hand squeezing it tight in reassurance. He couldn't change his mind now.

I see you. You killed Mishka, and you will pay.

See you soon.

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I've been waiting for days to post this chapter, it's almost my favorite one. This is the second to last chapter. The sequel to this is already in progress it's called 'Mishka's Redemption'. Stay tuned! let me know what you think guys. Happy reading :)

I've got a shout out for ScorpioGirl20 who has been making me smile for days with her reviews!