DPOV

My phone rang again and I muttered some colorful words under my breath. Did this woman really think that getting me to talk to her would be this easy? She didn't want anything to do with me for the last two years, why would she now? I declined the call and set it back down on the blotter. I had had enough with this bullshit. I had already told Jared that I wouldn't take any calls from Tasha, and she had already shown up at the penthouse. Thankfully, Rose handled it perfectly.

I just wanted to go home. The closer Rose got to her due date, the less I wanted to be away from her. Maybe it was because I was so excited for our girl to arrive, or because seeing her made my day a better the moment I saw her.

"Dimitri, your appointment is here. Do you want to see them in the boardroom?" Jared asked through the intercom.

I clicked the button. "It's just him?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'll see him in my office."

I sat up straighter and buttoned my suit jacket. There were words that needed to be said after what happened the last time I saw Abe Mazur. A knock on the door alerted me to his arrival and I put on my 'mask' as Ivan liked to call it. My professional face, one that Rose has barely seen.

Jared showed Abe into my office and Abe nodded to him before walking towards to my desk, sitting in the chair across from me.

"Abe," I said.

"Belikov."

I stood up when Abe stepped further into my office, reaching my hand out to shake his. While I asked him to come under the guise of a work agreement, which I did need to discuss with him, I had other things to say.

We got to business right away, going over statistics and graphs. It didn't take long for us to get through our work, and we touched base about the gala event for the Kizim foundation. I wasn't sure if I was going to go but told him I'd think about it.

"I see that this one is new," Abe said pointing to the metal frame on my desk during a small respite. It was new, all the other photos were in wooden frames.

"It is," I said, looking at the photo fondly for a moment. It was my favourite picture on my desk. Rose had taken it shortly after moving in. She was wearing a long dress and was standing in front of the terrace glass doors. The photo itself was black and white, but it didn't need colour to make me smile. The sun shone through the shade as Rose looked out the window, cupping her bump. It was breathtaking, and when she sent it to me during my meeting, I was so caught up in it that I didn't hear anyone talking. It took a swift kick in the shin from Ivan to remember I was in a meeting.

I looked back at Abe as I reached for the frame, handing it to him to look at. He looked confused but took it, turning the frame around to view the photo. A soft expression came over his face and he gently traced the photo with his finger.

"She's a beautiful girl, isn't she?"

"Rose is a beautiful woman," I retorted. "She's no longer a teenager. She's an adult."

"Yes," Abe whispered, "And I've missed all of it."

"That was your fault," I said bluntly, not wanting to beat around the bush. Abe looked at me and I could see the guilt clear in his eyes. His grip on the frame tightened and he took a slightly shaky breath.

"Yes it was. I've made a lot of mistakes when it comes to Rose. I've wanted to make amends, but just never knew how. I screwed up and don't know how to fix it."

"And that's why you started the foundation."

Abe nodded and carefully set the frame onto the desk as if he let go of it too quickly that it would shatter into pieces.

"Yes. I wanted to do something because I didn't when I should have. You have no idea how hard it was for Rosemarie to come to us and tell us what happened. And then Janine…Janine has always been a firm woman, but there are times where you need to put aside your views when it comes to your children."

"Rose said that Janine ruled the house with an iron fist," I offered. We didn't talk about Rose's mother often, but the one time we did, Rose explained just how difficult it was to live with her mother. If things weren't the way Janine wanted, it didn't happen at all.

"She did. Rose, is she healthy? Her and the baby?"

"Yes. My girls are healthy."

"She's having a girl," Abe whispered back, a smile crossing his lips. "Good. I'm glad that they're okay."

"You know, you have means of contacting her now. If you extended an olive branch, you'd be surprised at her response. She misses you more than she cares to admit. You were one of the most important people in the world to her, and she hasn't had many people stand by her in this pregnancy," I said getting up and walking to the cabinet adjacent to my desk.

I pulled out a bottle I had imported for this conversation and pulled it out. I pour some into two glasses and went back to my desk, setting one glass in front of Abe. He looked at it and raised it to his mouth, sniffing it before a smirk I knew too well from Rose appeared on his face.

"Raki?"

"Raki," I said clicking my glass against his. I took a sip and grimaced slightly at the burn, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

"How do I do it?"

I hummed in response and raised a brow at him. "How do you do what?"

Abe pulled at his tie to loosen it a bit. "Get Rose to forgive me."

I shrugged and got up, walking around the desk to sit next to him. I took another drink from my glass as I thought over the right words to tell him. Rose was hurt and it wasn't something to take lightly. But at the same time, I knew that she wanted to try and fix their relationship as she approached motherhood. I knew I wanted to see my mother more now that my daughter was almost here.

She needed reassurance from her parent that she was going to be a good parent.

"Honestly Abe, it's going to be slow. Invite her out for lunch, spend the day with her. Talk to her, tell her that you're sorry, and tell her that you want to fix things. Maybe talk to her about going rock climbing when she's recovered from having the baby. Make the effort any way that you can," I say, pulling my leg up to rest my ankle on my knee.

Abe had shifted his position and was leaning his forearms on his legs, holding the crystal glass between his hands as he looked out into space.

"She told you about the rock climbing?"

"Yes. She also told me that you would share a cigar with her on holidays. That it was your secret."

A genuine smile came across his face. "How did you two meet?"

I made a noise in the back of my throat that causes Abe to raise a brow. "Well… I met Rose when I hired her."

"I didn't know Rose worked for Belikov Enterprises," Abe responded.

"She doesn't," I said slowly, "I hired Rose as a surrogate."

"Pardon me?" Abe asked, his tone darkening.

"I originally hired Rose as a surrogate. But as things went on, our relationship changed. Rose and I have been a couple for the last few months."

Abe's jaw clenched and ticked as he set his glass on the counter. "You hired my daughter to carry a baby for you. Do you have any idea what that would do to her?" Abe snapped but I cut him off.

"I know about what happened Abe. I know about Jenny. We spoke about it early in her pregnancy. I had the contract revoked a few weeks ago. Rose has full parental rights to our child. Yes, our daughter wasn't conceived traditionally, but it doesn't stop either of us from loving her as much as we do." I defended, not liking the direction he was going.

"Rose originally was going to sell her eggs. When she became a match for the profile I had submitted, the option was brought to her. She made the decision the same day. I did not coerce her if that is what you're concerned about. I love Rose."

Abe's hardened expression relaxed a little, but he still looked pissed off.

"Look, I asked you to come because watching Rose miss you hurts me. But also, I really want to be at home with her right now. So, if you want to talk about fixing your relationship with her, I'll stay. But I think we both know what it's like to deal with a cranky Rose, so I don't to keep her waiting much longer," I said, laughing near the end at the expression on his face.

"Yeah, well, she gets that from me," he said quietly rubbing his hands together with a laugh. "I'll call her in the morning. See about taking her out to talk."

"It sounds like a good start," I said, walking out of my office with him.


The penthouse was too quiet for Rose to be home. Rose always made some kind of noise, whether it be music playing over the speakers or simply her singing quietly to herself as she did her task, there was always quiet noise. But her keys and purse were still on the table inside the door, and I was met with deafening silence.

"Rose?"

I left my keys on the table and ventured into the house, looking in the open doors until I came to a stop at the nursery. I poked my head in and found Rose, but I also found a mess.

Rose was still like a statue in the rocking chair, clutching the stuffed elephant we bought for our girl tightly in her hands. I made my way in and eyed the pile of crib bedding on the floor before crouching down in front of Rose.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, setting my hand on one of hers. I followed her gaze and found it laying on the pile in the center of the floor.

"It's not safe," she said in a quiet voice, her hands tightening on the toy.

"What's not safe?"

"The crib. It's not safe for the baby."

I furrowed my brows. What was she talking about? The crib was perfectly safe. I spent hours going through different cribs before I purchased one, wanting to make sure about quality and stability. I got up and went to pick up the pile of bedding when Rose spoke so quietly I almost missed it.

"Jenny died in her crib," Rose whimpered, "it's not safe."

I let the fabric slip between my fingers as I turned around, my heart breaking for her. I went back to her and cupped her cheeks gently between my hands. I knew that Jenny had died in her sleep, but never thought that that thought would be weighing so heavily on her mind.

"Why is it not safe, Roza?"

The look of distress was clear on her face as her eyes moved to mine.

"The bedding. It's too soft, she could suffocate in her sleep."

"Rose. This is the bedding that you picked out. The saleswoman assured us that this was safe for the baby, remember? You asked her when we bought it," I said softly, trying to reassure her. Rose's lip trembled a little and I ran my thumb over her bottom lip.

"It's safe," I said again, trying to calm her. Rose looked up at me again and took a shaky breath, reaching her hand up and squeezing my wrist.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. How about this, we keep the bumper out for now, at least until she's a bit older?"

Rose gave me a timid head nod and let me pull her out of the rocking chair. I pressed my lips to her forehead and pulled her into my arms. Rose buried her face into my chest and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, heaving a heavy sigh.

"She's going to be okay," I whispered in her hair, trying to soothe her. Rose nodded her head against my chest.

"Let's go to bed," I said, pulling her with me towards our room. I would come back later and clean up the bedding when she was asleep. I got Rose settled into bed and brushed my hand over her head, trying to soothe her.


RPOV

I grumbled when the bed shifted under me, and the covers were readjusted. I was about to let my foot swing back when a heavy arm lovingly draped around me, a hand coming to rest on my stomach.

I cracked an eye open and turned my head, seeing Dimitri laying behind me in his pajamas.

"Hey, where did you go?" I mumbled, turning my head back and snuggling into my pillow again.

"Just went to pick things up in the nursery. I didn't mean to wake you," Dimitri replied, kissing the back of my head and running his hand over me.

"Your parental leave starts tomorrow, doesn't it?" I asked through a yawn, squirming back a little bit to snuggle into him. I sighed as Dimitri's hand slipped under my shirt and rested on my skin.

"Yes. If you get a phone call in the morning from a number you don't recognize, answer it," Dimitri mumbled sleepily against my skin.

I frowned but shrugged it off. I was too tired to think about anything other than falling asleep.


I stood outside in the falling snow for what felt like ages before I had the guts to go in. I didn't exactly understand what Dimitri meant when he said to answer a call that I didn't recognize, but when I heard the distinct undertone of my dad's voice, I understood.

I took a deep breath and opened the door, shrugging my coat off as I approached the host.

"I have a reservation under Mazur," I said as I rubbed my hands on the fabric of my dress. It wasn't as dressy as the dress code would have liked, but the blue sweater-like fabric worked in my favour because it was stretchy. The host looked at his list before showing me into the restaurant, coming to a table in front of the bay window.

"Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?"

"Tea would be fine, thank you," I said as I draped my napkin over my lap. I took a look at the time and watched the minutes pass. Abe was usually punctual but seeing that he was late made me feel queasy. I played with the saucer for my cup and looked at the time again, finding that he was now twenty minutes late.

"Are you waiting to order still?" the waiter came back, giving me a soft smile. I looked at the time again before looking up at him, catching a flash of colour moving towards us in the background.

"Yes, thank you. Can you please bring a cup of coffee to the table?" I asked as Abe made his way through the tables. Abe looked slightly dishevelled before reaching the table, sitting down across of me.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, there was an accident on the bridge," Abe said apologetically.

"I was starting to think you weren't coming," I said playing with the handle of my cup.

"You didn't get my message?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed. I shook my head, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket, looking at it before looking back at me with a sheepish expression.

"It probably would have helped if I had hit send," he said as he set his phone on the table. I nodded my head and played with my bracelet absently, not really sure how to approach this lunch.

Abe thanked the waiter when he brought his cup of coffee and he fixed it to his liking, all while watching me carefully.

"So," Abe stated, taking a sip of his coffee, "You and Dimitri?"

I nodded my head and took a drink of my tea. "Yeah," I said awkwardly, not sure exactly how to respond or what he was really asking.

"Does he treat you good? He makes you happy?"

"Yes, I'm happy. And he treats me really good," I said with a smile. Abe nodded his head enthusiastically but didn't say anything. He must have been as nervous as I was.

"Have you and Dimitri thought of any names?"

I nodded and smiled fondly, resting my hand over my stomach.

"Yes. We are naming her Sofia, but we haven't told many people what her name is."

A soft look came over his face. "We almost named you Sofia, but your mother liked Rosemarie better," he said as he played with his cup. I smiled and stretched back in my chair. I wasn't overly big in size, but the baby was getting too big for my stomach, causing a slight bit of pain with her kicks and stretches.

"Your mother used to make that face too. Right near the end, you used to kick her ribs something furious," Abe laughed into his cup, smirking at me. I chuckled at his words, knowing that he wouldn't lie to me about it.

"I guess I let her know how I felt early on in life."

Abe sputtered into his cup and smiled, slightly shaking his head. Our waiter came back to the table and asked if we were ready to order. Not actually looking at the menu, I scanned it quickly and ordered a pasta dish, Abe asking for the same.

"So, a few weeks and you'll be a mother again," Abe said quietly.

"Yeah. Five weeks are going to either fly by or drag on. Apparently, the baby will be born right after a holiday in Russia," I said. It felt like a lifetime ago that I met Dimitri, but I couldn't be happier that I did.

"You're due January 9, right? Dimitri mentioned it the other night."

I nodded my head.

"Orthodox Christmas is January 7," Abe said before his expression became pinched.

"What is it?"

"I know you and I are not in a great place right now, but will you or Dimitri let me know when you go into labour?"

I stretched my arm out and rested my hand on his, squeezing softly. "Of course." Abe smiled and rubbed the back of my hand before pulling away. As easy as it was when I was a teenager to talk to him, it was just as easy to fall back into it with him. The conversation had a mind of its own and we brushed over many things, but mostly we spent our lunch catching up with each other's lives. We both had missed so much.

We fell into a lapse of silence and we both just looked at each other, letting our conversation sink in.

"Kiz, I really-"

"You said that-"

We both started speaking at the same time, cutting each other off. We both fell quiet again before chuckling, smiling at ourselves.

"You first," I said.

Abe nodded and leaned forward in his chair, resting his folded hands on the table cloth. "One of the reasons I asked you to lunch was so that I could apologize. I should have been there for you, and I wasn't. I wish I had tried to make amends sooner and not have had to be apart from you for so long. I want to make things better between us."

I toyed with my napkin in my lap as I listened to him. I had wanted to hear him say that he was sorry for a long time, but I didn't know what to say. I wanted to mend things, but it's like every word got stuck in my throat. So instead I nodded my head and gave him a small smile.

"I think we can make that work," I finally managed to choke out.

Abe returned my smile and took a sip of his now cold coffee. "You were going to say something?"

I waved him off. "No, no, you answered my question. I was going to ask if we had the talk you wanted to have."

Noticing the time I stood up. We had been here for almost three hours, and there were some last-minute things I needed to get for Christmas. Abe stood up as well and dealt with the bill before getting our coats.

"Dimitri and I are having his family over for American Christmas. It'd mean a lot if you came," I said, offering a branch to him, silently pleading for him to take it. Abe opened the door for me and the blowing snow hit us both with a heavy force, making me shiver in my coat. I had forgotten my scarf when I left and the wind wasn't as bad then. Abe gave me a soft smile and nodded his head, unwinding his scarf from around his neck. Abe wrapped the cashmere around my neck and tucked the ends into my coat. I smiled and tugged the collar of my coat tighter to me.

"I'd love to come," Abe said.

"How do you want me to get this back to you?" I asked, toying with the scarf that smelled strongly of pine, spices, and aftershave. Abe shrugged and slipped his hands into his coat pockets.

"Hang on to it until Christmas. Let me know when you get home, please?"

I nodded and turned to find Eddie pulling up with the car, coming around to the passenger side to open the door.

"I will," I said, slipping my arms around him in a hug. It was impulsive on my part, but he didn't hesitate to return the gesture. Abe squeezed my shoulder before pulling away, gesturing me towards the car.


Hello hello hello!:)

I apologize if there are any errors, I edited it alone and my brain has been a bit foggy the last week or so.

I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter!