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CHAPTER 29

DPOV

Dinner was almost ready when, suddenly, Inna and Rose came in. That in itself was a surprise, but what stunned me even more was that Inna was crying. Rose had her arm wrapped around her and Inna was clinging to her.

"Inna, what's wrong?" I asked, immediately dropping everything in my hands as I rushed to them. "What's wrong with her?" I asked Rose when Inna didn't say anything. She just kept crying.

"Umm, we talked and, well, she has a few questions for you," Rose said, looking uncomfortable.

"What do you mean? What did you talk about?"

"I told her about my parents," she said. "About what happened. So she knew that I understand how she's feeling and then…well, she asked me if my mom had been happy with my dad. And yeah… Then she-"

"Were you ever happy with Mom?" Inna interrupted, still crying.

Dimitri's eyes widened in horror. He looked up at me and I gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, but I think it's time you tell her the truth."

"I can't-"

"I'm not saying you have to tell her everything," she said in a hushed voice so Inna couldn't hear, "but some things…" She gave me a knowing look. "It has been bothering her for a while. I'm sure that if you tell her, she'll feel better."

I looked at her for a long time, contemplating on telling Inna the truth. At last, I gave in with a sigh. "Okay. I'll tell her."

Rose sat Inna down at the kitchen table. "Maybe I should go home. Then you-"

"No," I said hastily, grabbing her hand. I knew she couldn't stay here while I talked to Inna, but I didn't want her to leave either. "Could you…could you take Alisa and Liam to the movies or something? They can't be here right now. They're too young to know."

Rose nodded. "Okay. Text me when you've talked and I'll bring them home."

I gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Roza."

She smiled back and leaned in, kissing my cheek. "Good luck."

I waited until Rose had left with Alisa and Liam. I could hear them in the hallway, asking where I was and why I wasn't going with them. Rose managed to get them outside, at last, and when they were gone, I sat down next to Inna. She'd stopped crying and was looking at me, waiting for an explanation. Honestly, I didn't know where to begin. I didn't know how.

"Did you ever love Mom?" Inna asked after a long silence. I think the look on my face said enough because Inna frowned and muttered, "I guess that means no."

"Look, your mom and I…" I paused. "We used to be...friends. And when she was pregnant with you, we got together."

"You weren't with her before that?" Inna asked frowning.

I swallowed heavily. "No."

"Did you get together because of me?"

I nodded. "I wanted to take care of you. I wanted to be a father to you. So I married your mom and at first, we were happy." Kind of, I thought. "You coming into this world made me the happiest man alive."

"And what about Mom? Did she make you happy?" Inna asked.

I tried not to make a face. "Well, you know how your mom was," I muttered. I hated myself for doing this. I didn't want to denigrate Tasha, but I guess I had no choice if Inna wanted to hear the truth. "Nothing I did was ever good."

Inna looked down. "I remember," she whispered, hugging herself. "She also got mad at Liam and Alisa. But never me." She looked up at me. "Why?"

"You were special. You were her firstborn," I said.

"Aren't Liam and Alisa special?" she said with a frown.

"Of course they are. But you are too," I said, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "All three of you."

She gave me a small, sad smile. "Really? You don't regret marrying Mom to take care of me? Of us?"

"Of course not," I said earnestly. "I love you. I would do anything for you. You mean the world to me, milaya. You, Alisa and Liam." Inna was silent as she looked down at her lap again. I scooted closer to her and lifted her chin so she was looking me in the eyes. "You have to believe me," I said, almost desperate. "You are everything to me."

Tears glistened her eyes, but she blinked them away. "I believe you," she whispered.

I almost sagged in relief.

"Why did you stay? Why did you stay if you didn't love Mom?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

"I wanted it to work out. But mostly I stayed for you," I admitted. "I didn't want to leave you guys."

"The night Mom died…" A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. "I heard you fighting with her."

My eyes widened. I hadn't realized she'd heard us. I hoped she hadn't heard what we'd been fighting about.

"It was worse than usual," Inna continued, a little hesitant. "What was it about?"

I sighed. "Inna…"

"No, tell me the truth," she cut me off, a fierce look on her face.

"Your mom had lied to me about some things…important things," I told her, "and, well, that was the last straw for me. I wanted a divorce."

She gasped. "But you just said you didn't want to leave because of me! Because of Alisa and Liam! Was that a lie?"

"No, of course not!" I said hastily. "I was going to take you with me." There's no way I would have left them with an unstable woman who had an alcohol addiction.

"Did you tell her to leave that night?" Inna said, suddenly angry.

"No! I might've been mad at her that night, but I would've never made her leave," I said. "She left because she needed space and time to think." I couldn't really tell Inna her mother left to get wasted and drown all her sorrows. I was already ruining the perfect image Inna had of her mother, but I wasn't going to make it even worse. "She would've come home later that night."

"But she didn't," Inna whispered, wiping at her eyes again.

A sob racked her body and I quickly wrapped my arms around her, pulling her onto my lap. "I'm sorry, milaya," I said. "I really am. If I could turn back time, I'd beg her to stay home."

"Why?" she cried. "You didn't love her so what does it matter to you that she's dead?"

I flinched. "It matters to me, Inna. I might not have loved her, but she was your mother. I wanted her to be safe. I wanted her to be okay. I didn't want anything to happen to her. But it did and I wish I'd been there to stop it. I'm so sorry, milaya. I'm sorry."

She cried into my neck and I held her, whispering soothing words into her ear. Tears stung in my eyes, but I forced them back.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," I whispered. "Please don't be mad at me."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked in a muffled voice.

"I didn't want to burden you. You're too young," I said. "I wanted you to be happy." She didn't say anything; she just looked away. "I'm sorry," I told her over and over again. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Dad," she said softly, looking up at me. "I know Mom wasn't…easy. I know you weren't happy. Seeing you with Rose…" She took a deep breath. "I realize that now." Another tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away. "I'm not mad at you. I just wanted to know the truth."

I sighed in relief and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight. "You know I love you very much, right?" I murmured.

Inna nodded. "I love you too, Dad." I hugged her tighter, not ever wanting to let her go. But, at last, she pulled away and mumbled, "I kind of want to be alone for a little while."

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, sure. Call me if you need anything."

She left the kitchen and went up to her room. I sat in the kitchen a little while longer and looked at the dinner I'd made. It was long cold now.

Sighing, I took my phone and texted Rose that she could come back with the kids. I didn't get a reply until half an hour later. She said she was on her way back.

"How did it go?" Rose asked me when she finally arrived. Alisa and Liam had gone upstairs. They'd already had dinner with Rose, which I was glad for.

"Well, I told her everything," I said. I crossed my arms and looked down. "It was hard," I admitted. "But you were right. She deserved to know the truth."

"Did you really tell her everything?" Rose asked.

I shook my head. "I left some things out. I couldn't exactly tell her that her mother tricked me into marrying her. And about Tasha's drinking." I sighed. "I don't want her to start hating her mother. Tasha had her faults, but she wasn't all that bad. She was a good mother to Inna." And from time to time to Alisa and Liam, too, I added silently. "I'm lucky Inna doesn't hate me right now."

"She could never hate you," Rose said. "I'm sure Tasha took good care of her, but you…well, you are a true parent. You would do anything for her."

"I hope she knows that," I said sighing.

Rose gave me a small smile. "Where's she now?"

"Upstairs. She wanted to be alone for a while."

"Will she be okay?"

I hesitated. "Yeah, I think so. I mean, she was sad, of course, but… I think this'll help her move on. At least, I hope so."

Rose nodded. "I'd better go home. It's probably easier if I'm not around right now. So you can be there for Inna in case you need her."

I didn't want her to leave, but I knew she was right. "Okay," I said softly. "I'll call you in the morning."

She smiled and gave me a soft kiss. "Good night, Dimitri," she said as she squeezed my hand before turning around and leaving.

"Rose, wait," I called after her.

She was already out of the front door, but she turned around when I called her name, a questioning look on her face. I walked over to her.

"Thank you," I said, holding her gaze. "For making me tell Inna the truth. For taking Alisa and Liam out. For…everything."

I kissed her goodnight and went back inside. I checked on Alisa and Liam and told them to leave Inna alone tonight. They gave me weird looks, but, luckily, didn't ask questions. When it was bedtime for them, I tucked them in their beds.

"Is Inna okay?" Alisa asked, concerned.

I forced a smile. "Yeah, she's fine. She just had a headache and wanted to go to bed early." I kissed the top of her head. "Sweet dreams, milaya."

I flicked out the lights and before I closed the door, she yawned, "Night, Dad."

I walked down the hall and when I passed Inna's room, I contemplated on going in – just to check on her. But she'd asked for some alone time. Still, I couldn't stop myself from knocking on her door.

"Inna?" I asked softly.

"Yes?" I heard her answer.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

Inna was lying in her bed when I entered. The lights were on and there was a photo album lying next to her on the bed. She saw me looking at it and said, "I found it in the attic."

I nodded. "How…how are you feeling?" I asked, clearing my throat.

She shrugged. "I'm okay."

Hesitantly, I walked over and sat down at the edge of her bed. Inna was looking at the pictures in the photo album again.

"I can't remember anyof this," she said sighing. She was looking at a picture of the five of us when visiting Disneyland.

"Well, it was about four years ago, I think." I peered at the picture. Inna and Alisa hugging, big smiles on their faces and Tasha holding Liam in her arms, who was more on the verge of tears than laughter. He hadn't liked the noise, I remembered now. "Yeah. Liam was barely two years old."

"Do you think we can do this again sometime?"

"What?" I asked distractedly. I was still looking at the picture. We'd been happy there. Even Tasha had been happy.

"Can we go back there?" Inna asked. "To Disneyland?"

I smiled. "Sure. If you'd like to."

"Rose could go with us," Inna said, closing the photo album.

I raised my eyebrow. "You'd want that?"

"Maybe." Then she shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

She snuggled under the covers and yawned. I placed the photo album on her nightstand and tucked her in.

"Well, if you want her to come with us, I'll ask her," I said. "Or maybe you could ask her?"

"Okay," she agreed.

I smiled again. "Good night, milaya," I murmured, kissing her forehead.

"Good night, Dad," she murmured back.

I kissed her forehead again and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

I flicked out the lights and as I left her room, relief washed over me. I'd told her the truth – more or less – and she didn't hate me. I'd never been so grateful for anything in my life.


Aww, wasn't that sweet? Do you think their problems are over now? ;)

Hope you liked it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Have a nice weekend! :)