I never thought of myself as a vain person, but now, I wasn't so sure. I knew that I didn't look like other women. My skin was darker than others, and my features were considered exotic. I wasn't slim either. I was what Lissa would call well endowed. My chest was large and my hips were too, making dresses harder to buy in the coming fashion. Everyone wanted to see a young woman with slim and delicate features.

Features I didn't have.

Features that Miss Natasha Ozera did have.

I blinked out of my thoughts when Pipa came out of my dressing room.

"Your hands are filthy," she stated in surprise. I looked up at her and shrugged.

"I'm not quite sure I feel like going tonight," I said quietly, looking down at the purple paint staining my fingers. I glanced towards the window where my painting was propped up against the wall.

"It's a dinner, not a dance," Pipa said but I shrugged. I knew who was going to be at the dinner. I didn't want to have to endure sitting at a table with either of the people I knew would be there.

"But you and I both know that the dinner is going to be amazing. Plus, your new dress came in," Pipa led, a smile creeping onto her face. There was something so kind and innocent about Pipa that telling her no seemed to be impossible. I sighed and nodded standing up to get a rag to scrub my hands.

Making sure that there was no wet paint on my fingers before getting into my dress, I couldn't even feel happy about the new dress. I just felt too low on myself. Once my dress was fastened I made my way out to the dressing table and sat down. I scrubbed at my fingers with the cloth, looking at my fingers with a frown.

"Pipa? Can I ask you something? And I want your honest answer."

Pipa hummed quietly as she twisted my hair in her hands, pinning it up.

"Do you think that when I enter society, anyone will want me for something other than my title?"

Pipa's hands slowed in their work. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly. I shrugged and sighed.

"Never mind."

"No, no. Tell me," she encouraged, letting my hair lay against my neck. She came around and faced me, her eyes kind. It was easy to forget that Pipa was only a handful of years older than me. I sighed and sat down in the chair close to me and toyed with my skirt.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" I asked quietly, not looking at her.

Pipa tsked. "What kind of question is that?"

"I know that men find me…alluring, but am I pretty? Someone that a man would be happy to have on their arm, and not just because of my title?"

I looked up at Pipa and she shook her head. "Where is this coming from?"

I shrugged and tried to brush it off, feeling embarrassed. But she wouldn't let me, taking one of my hands that was wrapped tightly in my skirt.

"Rose, tell me."

"It's silly," I said quietly.

"I don't care how silly it is. You're one of the most beautiful young ladies I have ever met. Inside and out. Tell me what's got you so down," Pipa urged, a small smile on her lips.

"It seems ridiculous," I admitted but she simply raised her brows at me.

"Lissa said something about the Grand Duke," I began and a smirk crept to her lips. I narrowed my eyes at her and she laughed.

"I'm sorry, I had a suspicion that he was involved," Pipa said, "But please, continue."

I took a breath and sighed again. "She said something about I didn't have a chance with Miss. Ozera in the picture. It stung a little because he's the first person that I genuinely started to have feelings for, and someone that didn't want my company because of my family."

I felt embarrassed to voice my troubles to Pipa but she took it in stride, letting me get it off my chest.

"She's much prettier," I whispered and she shook her head.

"No, she's not. I knew her before the scandal. She was not a nice person, and that showed through on the surface. From what I've observed, the Duke does care for you. I don't know to what extent, but he does care for you."

I shrugged and stood up, not liking the way my chest clenched thinking about the topic. "We should finish getting ready if we're going to leave on time," I said absently. Pipa stood up too but knew not to push on the subject.

"Rose, just know that we are beautiful. I know that you haven't entered society, but maybe tell the Duke how you feel?"

I gave her a look but she gave me one too. "Trust me. It would do you more good than not."

I shrugged but didn't think much of what she said.


I tapped my fingers against the stem of my glass as I watched the crowd. Today, it was much more intimate, only about a dozen or so attending. Lissa hadn't spoken to me in the week since I punched Christian, and I was starting to feel isolated.

Mason and Eddie had both been busy this week, and there was only so much time I could spend painting. I had finally finished my rose, but it just made me feel melancholic looking at it. If I didn't feel so down, I would have been impressed with my work.

I recognized the faces around me. Some were friends of my parents, some were others I had seen at parties this season. There was a man that I didn't recognize though. He screamed money, his suit said so, as did the jewels he wore on his hand. He was young too, maybe a few years older than I was.

Bronze hair and vibrant green eyes stood out against the flashiness, as did the smoke that swirled around him. One hand had a cigarette, the other held a tumbler of amber liquid. I watched Andre walk towards the mysterious man. They acted like they knew one another in the way they interacted.

Andre was gesturing around the garden we were currently standing in when he spotted me and waved me over. I sighed to myself and lifted my skirt to avoid stepping on it, making my way over.

"I'd like you to meet a friend. This is Lady Rosemarie Mazur. Rose, this is my friend Duke Adrian Ivashkov. We met last summer in France. Something of an artist if I must say," Andre said as he introduced us. "Rose is quite the litter painter herself."

I rolled my eyes at Andre. "It's a pleasure to meet you, your Grace," I said extending my hand.

"Adrian, please. And the pleasure is mine. What a lovely friend of yours, Andre. Where did you gain class?" Adrian said with a smirk.

"Rose is a close friend of the family. She is in my care for the summer until Earl and Countess Mazur return."

Adrian took my hand and kiss my knuckles, something that I had become used to this summer.

"It's a shame you're stuck with him all summer; he's no fun," Adrian said with a chuckle, letting go of my hand. "You're a painter?"

"On the occasion."

"Rose just finished quite the painting. A rose?"

I nodded and flitted my eyes over the garden again. I could see Lissa across the garden talking to one of our hosts. As my eyes moved again I spotted another person and quickly averted my gaze.

Adrian said something before excusing himself with the reason for refilling his glass. I smiled politely before pinning my eyes on Andre.

"Why do you keep introducing me to men when your sister is the one in society?"

Andre smirked. "Because while my sister is in society, she has met many eligible suitors. I'm simply helping to get the ball rolling for next season. Getting you out in the open while nobody can fight over you will weed out the ones who aren't serious," Andre explained with a smirk.

I raised my brows at him and snorted a laugh. "Really?"

Andre shrugged. "As much as I love my sister, finding a match for her is much more difficult. She's naïve. You, on the other hand, are a good judge of character. I don't feel like I need to worry about you."

I smiled at him. "Thank you," I said.

"Don't worry about it. I got look out for both my sisters."

I bumped his shoulder and laughed quietly. "How is everything going with Lissa? Is she closer to picking someone?"

Andre groaned. "Please don't ask. She's stuck on Ozera and I'd rather not feel like drinking an entire bottle of whiskey."

I held my hands up in surrender and didn't press on the matter. It was a touchy subject. I had heard the two of them fighting over it since I caught her and Christian. I had been tempted to tell Andre what happened, but couldn't get past the feeling that I would be betraying her.

I was going to change the subject when we were all called for dinner. I was grateful, partly because I was starving. We were led into the dining room and I was impressed with how bright it was, but seeing a dining room this grand made me miss my family home. One of the few things that made me dislike the summer. I loved our estate home.

I walked around the table, noticing that each plate had a name placed on it. I found my name quickly and felt eyes on me. I looked up and found Dimitri's eyes on me from the doorway. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks and I gave Dimitri a polite nod. I spied the name assigned next to me and smiled to myself softly. At least I knew who I was sitting next to. Lord Zeklos would be good company.

I made myself comfortable in my seat when Lord Zeklos sat down beside me. I turned to make conversation with him but felt the smile die on my lips.

"Your Grace," I said quietly, "I believe Lord Zeklos was supposed to sit there."

Dimitri winked at me. "I switched. I felt that my table partner would not be up for the challenge," he said with a smile, tilting his head across the table. I smirked to myself when I realized that he would have been seated next to Lady Danville, a wisened lady who would most likely fall asleep during the meal.

"And I'm a suitable match?"

"In more ways than one," Dimitri said quietly. I raised my brows at him but he didn't elaborate, instead, lifting his tumbler and taking a sip. I hummed quietly under my breath and lifted my glass as well, pondering what he said.

Everyone else sat down in their seats and dinner began. It consisted of salmon and beef and a few other small side dishes. It smelled heavenly and my mouth watered looking at it. Chatter was steady during the dinner, though I didn't say much to Dimitri.

Not for lack of opportunity, but simply because I didn't feel like I could talk to him about anything civil. Or not blurt out something I shouldn't.

"I've heard from the ladies that you've been entertaining Miss. Ozera as of late," Lord Zeklos said with a smirk, winking at me. I cast a look at Dimitri from the corner of my eye and he didn't look all impressed with the direction of the conversation.

"You know better than to listen to the gossip of the ladies," Dimitri said dryly and took a sip from his tumbler again.

"But it's such fun. Especially when the grannies get involved," Lord Zeklos drawled, "I heard that you had invited her to the mid-summer gala."

My nose flared as I kept my eyes focused on my plate but I let my foot come out and nudge Lord Zeklos' shine at the same time another foot made contact. Lord Zeklos yelped and jumped, banging his knee on the table.

"Ouch! What was the cause of that?!" he exclaimed, looking at both of us.

I didn't indulge him with an answer and instead took a bite of my meal.

"My mother invited her, not me," Dimitri answered tersely.

"Yes, but it's your place."

"It's still my family's home. My mother can do as she pleases when it comes to hosting," Dimitri retorted, his fork grinding against his plate for a second. I looked at Lord Zeklos and raised my brows, but he seemed to be enjoying his teasing too much.

"I don't recall Mama inviting Rose. From what she's said, she thinks Rose is lovely. So does Viktoria," he continued and I sputtered on my drink.

"Ivan," Dimitri said firmly, snaping something at him in a different language. I furrowed my brows and Lord Zeklos seemed to give up, sending another wink my way.

"I'm sure you'll get your invitation soon, Rose, don't fret."

Dimitri sighed and rested his elbow on the table with a thud. I fought to hide my smirk. While I felt conflicted, Lord Zeklos gave me the comic relief I needed.

"We received an invitation earlier this week," Lissa piped up from her spot by Lord Zeklos, "We'll be in attendance."

I cleared my throat and looked at her, raising my brows. I had never had an issue with Lissa accepting an invitation on my behalf, but at least I knew about beforehand. Or at least she told me about it right away.

Lissa didn't dignify me with a response instead keeping her attention on her meal and those sitting beside her.

I shrugged it off because I was to the point where I didn't care. If she wanted to act childlike and petty because she did something stupid, that was on her. What would I give to feel the experience of a kiss? Not a whole lot. But from someone like Dimitri. I'd give anything.

But I knew the rules of our society. I knew what happened to girls who did things like that. We were friends with a girl whose reputation was tarnished. I didn't want the same for her.


The sun had well disappeared by the time the party drew to an end. But throughout dinner, I was starting to worry about Lissa. It wasn't uncommon for Andre to allow us to drink within reason at dinner, but I watched her drink more than usual. Almost to the point where it was brazen.

There was a slight slur in her speech and while a few young men who were eligible bachelors tried to make conversation with her, she was blunt and rude. The more she drank the sloppier she got. She even spilled her drink on our host, much to Andre's horror.

The party started to dwindle down after that. Many were watching Lissa and while Adrian tried to cover it up, I could tell that he was starting to become angry. Our host was gracious enough to help him and called it a night.

I was thankful that while everyone was watching Lissa, they agreed to save face.

I lingered outside by the door while I waited for Lissa and Andre. There was a crunch of gravel beside me and I looked to find Adrian beside me, a cigarette in his hand. I thought cigarettes were disgusting, but he made it look almost tasteful and classy.

"Tonight went well," Adrian joked as he took a drag.

"It could have gone worse," I said tiredly. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

He snorted and took the paper from his mouth. "I did. I had a lot of entertainment."

I rolled my eyes and ran my hand over my wrap. "I'm glad you find my friend's drunkenness entertaining."

"Oh I wasn't talking about Vasilisa. I was talking about Duke Belikov."

I raised my brows at him but he simply smiled at me. "Have a good evening, Rose," he said as a trolly pulled up. I nodded my head at him as he climbed into the trolley. I sighed but didn't get to have another moment alone because someone else joined me outside.

"Your Grace," I said kindly.

"Lady Mazur," he returned. I made a face and he laughed.

"Every time you call me 'Your Grace' when it's not needed, I'm going to call you by your title as well," he chuckled with a crooked smile.

I sighed in exasperation. "Fine. Hello, Dimitri."

"Roza," he said and I raised my brows at him in question.

"It's your name in Russian."

"Oh," I said surprised and toyed with my wrap. "Is your name different in Russian?"

"No. But my family calls me Dimka. It's a nickname of sorts."

I wrinkled my nose. "I think I'd rather call Comrade than Dimka."

Dimitri made a noise in the back of his throat that sounds like a laugh and a protest. I smirked to myself and sighed. While banter came easily with him, I still felt uneasy. While it was clear Lord Zeklos was trying to agitate Dimitri, knowing that I had seen Dimitri this week and he didn't mention the event bothered me.

We stood in silence for a few moments and I chewed on my lip. I opened my mouth to ask why he didn't mention it but thought better of it. It would make me look desperate.

"Oh there you are."

I turned and found Andre looking flustered as he approached us. Lissa not with him.

"I'm sorry, my sister has become difficult these last few days. Would you mind escorting Rose? I don't want her to linger any longer than necessary," Andre asked Dimitri, giving me a quick smile. A part of me wanted him to disagree, but Dimitri was already nodding in agreeance.

I sighed and hid my discontent with a forced smile. Dimitri nodded at Andre and then smiled at me before gesturing for me to walk with him. I took my wrap and wrapped it around me, running my fingers around the hem of it. The lace tickled and scratched against my skin, and I used the feeling to distract me.

The trolly pulled up and I sighed to myself. Once it stopped I reached out for the handle but Dimitri beat me to it, opening the door for me. I glanced up at him and smiled before climbing into the trolley, tucking myself into the seat.

I expected Dimitri to sit across from me, but two others climbed in as well. Noticing that they were an older couple that my parents were friends with, I didn't say much about it. I wouldn't tell them they couldn't use the trolly. It would have been rude. Plus, this way, nobody could make any claims about me being alone with Dimitri.

Not that I would expect anyone would, but it was in my favour. And I wasn't alone with him so I couldn't say something stupid. Something stupid like how I feel for him. Mrs. Webster complimented my dress as we sat in silence, even mentioning how much I look like my mother.

It wasn't often anyone compared me to my mother, but it always filled me with a sense of pride. My mother was beautiful, and people commonly compared me to my father. Mostly because of my hair and dark eyes, or simply saw my father in me because of my personality.

When we made our way into the main part of town, we approached the Websters' house first. It wasn't a far walk to Lissa's house from here, so I climbed out too.

"The evening is nice. I don't mind walking the rest of the way," I said, hoping that I could dodge being in Dimitri's presence. I could feel his gaze on me intermittently on the ride here.

"That's fine," Dimitri said and climbed out too. My lips pressed into a thin line but I didn't say anything. Apparently, he was taking his duty of escorting me home seriously. I twisted my clutch between my hands as we walked. The silence between us was heavy and thick, both of us not saying anything, well I wanted to scream.

"I see that you're taken with Miss. Ozera," I said leadingly, testing the water.

Dimitri made a noise in the back of his throat. "Not really."

I looked up at him with raised brows. "How so? I have seen you with her on multiple occasions."

Dimitri rounded on me so suddenly that I walked into him, bumping into his chest. "And many have seen me in your company and no one has made comment of such. Why should I be concerned with people's impression of Miss. Ozera and I?"

I gaped up at him before closing my mouth. I didn't have anything to say. I thought about pointing out that Lord Zeklos mentioned it but thought better.

"Why does who I interact with bother you so much? I saw how you reacted at dinner," he pushed. I swallowed and looked down from his eyes, focusing on the slight crease in his shirt. I didn't want to admit out loud, especially to him why it bothered me so much. It wasn't my place and I had no such claim over him.

I jumped a little when his hand cupped my cheek, forcing me gently to look up at him.

"Maybe it's the same reason why I don't like that Ivan is so taken with you," he whispered, his eyes tender and bottomless.

"Ivan?" I asked breathlessly.

Dimitri nodded. "He's taken with you."

"I'm aware. But it's unreciprocated," I said, my chest rising and falling with my breath. Being so close to him I could smell him, a citrus and piney smell wrapped in leather. It was becoming intoxicating at the same time.

"Is it? Truly?"

I nodded. "Yes," I whispered.

I took a shakier breath as his head dipped down. He tilted it slightly and I felt his lips press against my cheek. His lips were soft and warm against my skin. I turned my head ever so slightly as he pulled away, his face only inches from mine.

My eyes met his again and let his breath wash over my face. A thought of how his lips would feel on mine made me blush. The blush felt so hot that I turned away, smiling to myself.

"You know, I think I just punched a man for doing something so indecorous," I giggled, licking my lips before looking up at him again.

Dimitri chuckled and let his thumb stroke my cheekbone. "Should I be concerned?"

I shook my head. "No. But it does make a hypocrite."

"We're both hypocrites," Dimitri whispered again, his thumb brushing against my bottom lip. My skin prickled at the touch and I wanted to lean into his touch but stepped back.

"We can be seen," I said quietly when he raised a brow at me. Dimitri nodded and cleared his throat with a smile and offered his arm.

"I believe I was to escort you home," he said with a smirk.


I felt giddy all through the night. When I woke up a smile crept to my face. Maybe the interaction between us last night was a dream, but I didn't want to accept it.

Pipa noticed my change in behaviour, and even teased me about it, but I couldn't care about the teasing. Though, my good mood made me the teaser.

As punishment, Andre forced Lissa to go out in the morning for a walk. She looked terrible and she climbed that she had a horrible headache, which I wasn't surprised with.

"Maybe you should have stopped while you were ahead," I quipped at Lissa to which she responded with a groan.

"Please don't. Andre is already unbearable today."

"But why? I mean, it's so much fun," I laughed as I looped my arm through hers.

Lissa huffed but left it be. "How did you enjoy the dinner? I remember dessert being good, but that's about it."

"It was…fine," I said with a smile. Lissa raised a brow at me but didn't push further.

The park was busy for the early morning, but as the summer progressed it got busier and busier. I smiled to myself when I saw Viktoria up ahead with Eddie, Dimitri not far behind them. He was her chaperon today instead of their mother. Viktoria's eagle eyes found us and she dragged Eddie towards us. I smiled at Viktoria and made please conversation with her. A smile crawled across my lips when I looked up at Dimitri. While Viktoria held Lissa's attention I politely excused myself and stepped around them towards Dimitri.

"Dimitri," I said with a smile.

Dimitri's eyes met mine and he gave me a tight smile. "Rose."

My brows furrowed at him. "What is it?"

Dimitri glanced over my shoulder and then back to me. "What I did last night was inappropriate."

I didn't jump to disagree with him because he was technically right. "Okay? And I think you and I both established that we are hypocrites?"

Dimitri cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back. "I shouldn't have done it and it won't happen again. I think it may be best if we put distance in our interactions."

I pressed my lips together and squared my shoulders back. "Okay."

Dimitri nodded but didn't say anything else, stepping around me. I gritted my teeth together and swallowed down the hurt. There went the giddy feeling. I turned around and walked back towards Lissa and Pipa, both looking at me curiously.

"What was that about?"

I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about it," I bit out. Pipa looked at Dimitri and back at me with imploring eyes but I gave her a look that pleaded for her to drop it.


So I know that some of you may hate me for this ending, but it had to happen. But I promise we will return to our regularly scheduled Romitri Fluff.

I'm sorry it took so long to get this up, I saw Halsey this weekend and didn't have much time to write. I pulled myself away from her new release to finish this chapter for you all!

Let me know what you think! :)