I've not been able to reply to reviews but I love you all and thanks a ton! :p

Enjoy this chapter :)

For those questioning me about the changes made, all I can say is the plot line is the same, guys. Don't expect dramatic twists like early marriage or affairs or something. Plot line is the same. The content is not, the dialogues are not. This chapter especially is a drastic turn from the previous meeting of romitri. Hope you like it :)


Rose

"Dimitri?" I asked, weary of this stranger in front of me but I knew; I knew it had to be him.

It had to be my betrothed.

Despite not having seen him for ages, he was fairly easy to recognize. He had the same dark brown hair and the same soulful eyes a shade darker than his hair.

But he'd changed, so much that if it weren't for the eyes, I wouldn't have recognized him.

His features had transformed beautifully, his chiseled face smooth and aristocratic. His shoulder length hair was pulled back in a short ponytail with a few stray strands framing his face. His skin was tanned, indicating that he spent considerable time outdoors.

He must spend a lot of time working out too, if his lean, muscled frame was any indication. His rugged masculinity was partly concealed beneath that form fitting crisp black suit, adding an air of sophistication to his natural aura of nobility.

Here was a man that embodied the word hot, with all capitals. Hoping that I hadn't been staring for too long at his Greek God-like body, I inclined my head when he swept me a bow, looking graceful while doing so; which surprised me considering his height.

His face was calm when he looked me in the eye. "We meet again, Princess."

His voice, oh god! Deep, velvety and beautifully laced with a faint reagan accent, it was...My admiration was abruptly cut off when another thought entered my head. There's no way that the rumors about him were true!

They were all fooled.

Abe was wrong.

There was no way that he hadn't had a single affair yet. No way! That suave manners, delicious body and that deep voice could drive a woman mad with lust. I was pretty sure he had hundreds of women throwing themselves at him on daily basis. No way had he rejected them all.

No freaking way.

With a husband this hot, I knew my marriage was fated to be doomed. If he thought I'd sit aside quietly and let him continue fooling around, he was so wrong.

'Whoa! Slow down, Rose.' said a voice within my head, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Neal's. 'Give the man the benefit of doubt.'

Realizing that I hadn't yet replied to Dimitri, I said the first thing that came to my mind. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he noted coolly.

"I went for a little ride." I replied stiffly, not liking his tone.

I wasn't going to apologize, if that was what he's after. True, it would be prudent to say sorry for missing his welcoming party but I had never been one to play by the rules.

"You like to ride horses," he framed it more as a statement than a question so I just shrugged in return.

"Strange," he murmured softly, evidently not intended for my ears.

"It may be," I said, emulating his cold tone. "But I don't give a damn what anyone thinks about it."

The conversation was rapidly escalating to a face-off, which I didn't want or need. But I wasn't about to back down.

It would be better if he saw me for what I was.

Before marriage.

He was just like any other king, wasn't he, looking down on women? So what if I missed the party? So what if I loved horse riding?

"That's clear enough," he said with a small tilt of his lips. "You're something else, Rose Mazur."

His tone was odd, heavy with contemplation. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head, trying to make up his mind about me.

Or not.

He could've already dismissed me as being too strange for his taste, not someone he could bend to his will.

It was better this way.

I'd rather he broke the engagement himself.

But in a strange twist of events, he calmly looked at his watch and gestured in the direction of palace. "We'd better get back. My mother would be waiting for me, as will your parents."

Nodding, I started in the direction of my home, Dimitri to my left and my horse to my right. Aruna was trained enough that I didn't have to pull her reins to lead her anywhere.

A fact that seemed to impress Dimitri. "Clever horse you've got there."

For the first time that night, I felt my lips curving up in a smile. "She's the best. Going on a ride with her is always exhilarating, yet soothing."

Dimitri nodded as though he understood me. "That's the best part."

Now that we seemed to be on an even ground, I figured I should clarify the reason for my absence earlier. While there was a chance he'd break off the engagement, there was also a chance that we'd have to spend the rest of our lives together. In that case, I had to do my part if I wanted us to have a civil relationship in the very least.

"About the welcoming party-" I started, aware of Dimitri's eyes on me as we walked. "I didn't mean to miss it. I felt claustrophobic inside so I decided to take Aruna out for a stroll. Time just flew by."

The 'I'm sorry' died in my throat.

Dimitri was quiet for a moment before saying, ""It's not a problem."

Did he mean it? So far, I hadn't seen anything that would make me believe that he was okay with my lack of punctuality. Especially since it kinda seemed disrespectful of me to miss the welcoming party of my betrothed.

We walked for a while, in silence that seemed thick with contemplation; as though each of us were trying to analyze the other, wondering if we could really spend the rest of our lives together.

I knew I was.

After a while, the silence started to make me uneasy. I never did handle silence well.

"My mother's going to kill me," I told Dimitri as we neared the palace.

To my immense surprise, Dimitri smiled. A full smile.

Not so cold, after all, huh?

I didn't think he was capable of that.

But I was glad he was. For, the smile lit his chiseled features beautifully, making me stare at this god like creature in awe.

Yeah, no way was he a saint! No woman could resist such a smile...

"She isn't going to kill you, Rose." He said, amused at my apprehension.

I just rolled my eyes. "You don't know her. She's capable of anything."

Dimitri arched an eyebrow, making me wonder why everything he did seemed so insanely sexy.

"Even murdering her own daughter?" he said skeptically.

"Yes," I nodded solemnly. "Especially murdering her daughter."

There was silence for a moment before he chuckled, the low sound of amusement wrapping around me.

Not so cold, after all.

I was starting to get a whiplash with the way our conversation was going. First we were almost hostile, now we were laughing together?

What do I make of this man?

I kept my eyes on the Palace ahead of us. It was fully dark now, dusk having smoothly transitioned to nighttime. Light glowed from the windows of the palace and from the lamps illuminating the grounds.

We fell into that contemplative silence again.

This time, I didn't try to break it, too lost in thought of whether I'd be able to live with this man beside me. Would we be each other's downfall?

Would he try to prevent me from doing what I love?

Would I be able to tolerate the presence of other women in his life? Would there be other women?

We needed to talk. But what's the guarantee that he'd be truthful with me?

After all, we were still strangers.

As we approached a palace, one of the stable boys came over to lead Aruna back to the stables. After patting her head, I instructed the stable boy to feed her some sugar cubes along with her dinner. Bowing, he left quickly with Aruna.

As we climbed up the broad steps leading to Eastern entrance of the palace, I managed to find a question both innocent and sufficient to fill the silence, "Do you have a horse?"

"I do," he admitted. "Black stallion. I take him out on weekends."

I had to smile at that.

"Do you still read those western novels?" I remembered him saying that he loved westerns, loved reading the beautiful books his mother had collected. In fact, he'd admitted that he'd rather have stayed in his room and read novels than attend the Ozeras' party.

I didn't know why that particular piece of information was still on my mind but it was.

It was one of the few things I remembered from that night.

A look of shock and surprise flittered across Dimitri's face before a neutral mask settled over his features.

But that small glimpse was enough for me.

I smirked. "My memory happens to be very good."

He conceded my point with a small inclination of his head. "Yes, I do still read westerns when I find time."

"Is that often?"

A small, wistful smile appeared on his lips. "Not often, no."

Words died on my lips when a small figure came running out of the Eastern entrance. "Rose!"

"Mia?"

Panting, Mia stopped in front of me, not yet registering Dimitri's presence. "Where were you?" she wheezed out, her blond curls falling into her face. "We searched everywhere."

Evidently, not everywhere.

Clutching her forearms, I bent a little to look her in the eyes. "Mia, calm down. Tell me what's wrong."

"Your mother!" Mia screeched. "She's on warpath!"

Huffing out a breath, I turned to look at Dimitri. "What did I tell you?"

It was then that Mia realized that we had company.

"King Belikov!" she squeaked in surprise. "I'm so sorry, Your Highness. I didn't see you there! I swear I-"

"It's quite all right," Dimitri said, cutting off her long winded apology.

Smiling shakily at him, Mia asked me, "What will you do now?"

I perused my lips, looking from Mia to Dimitri.

I had an idea but would he agree to it?

Did I really care?

No, I decided.

Screw propriety.

"Would you care to escort me to my residence?" I asked Dimitri point-blank. Mia hissed in reproach.

"May I ask why?"

"You may," I said slowly, trying to figure out what he would say. "I'll explain on the way. So, is it a yes or a no?"

Dimitri tilted his head to a side. "I'm not sure I'm allowed to do that."

I scoffed, "You're my betrothed. If they didn't have a problem with arranging marriage between two strangers, they shouldn't have a problem with you escorting me home even if it's after hours."

He studied me seriously for a moment before offering me his arm.

Mia gaped, unable to believe that he was going through with it.

I was just as surprised.

Not so cold, after all.

Concealing my astonishment, I smirked at Mia and hooked my arm through Dimitri's, directing him to my part of the palace, the Nakshathra.


AN: So, that's that. What'cha think? :D

In the previous version, Rose and Dimitri's meeting went a little too well for people with opposite personalities. I've written 'fire' and 'ice' in my summary but the previous version barely emphasized it. I hope this one does. Rose is a little too hasty in her judgements but Dimitri is too, as you'll see in the next chapter which is in his point of view. Their first conversation with their intended was not all sunshine and roses, not when the two people involved have such different ideologies, a little of which was in the last chapter DPOV and more will be revealed in the next chapter. Basically, he's all 'royal' while she's ready to spit on the face of royalty :p

Leave a review and let me know what you thought about this chapter :)