Hi guys, firstly, thank you for the lovely, lovely reviews. Secondly, I'd like to apologize for the lack of updates. I'm trying to be good with updates but I've been busy with moving house and the internet hasn't kicked in at the new place yet – super annoying! To make up for it, I'm going to update two chapters. I'm uploading this from uni so I don't have the usual luxury of proof-reading the story a few times before publishing. I hope this chapter redeems Dimitri a little.

The usual disclaimers apply and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 4

Dimitri's Point of View

Everyone was waiting for Rose to finish getting ready before dinner would be served up. I had quickly pulled on a white polo shirt and dark blue jeans. My wardrobe wasn't something you'd call exciting. All I needed were a few good pairs of jeans, a few polo shirts in different colors, a couple of casual t-shirts and my brown duster to shield me from the cold. I was sure Rose's wardrobe would be much more interesting; hence the time it's taking her to dress up.

Lissa was cooking up a storm in the kitchen and her Moroi friends, Mia and Ayeshah were helping her prepare the dessert. I sneaked a look at the chocolate mousse and my stomach rumbled in response. For someone who doesn't have to eat a lot, she sure does love cooking. I managed to grab myself a beer from the fridge before Lissa shooed me out of the kitchen, possibly because she saw me eyeing the dessert hungrily.

With my beer in hand, I wandered around the villa, checking out the grandeur of the place. Tasha was still getting ready and none of the boys were around. I let my mind wander back to when I came dangerously close to kissing Rose in the gym.

Her lips were slightly parted, her warm breath tickled my neck, her chest heaved slightly – possibly from physical exertion, possibly from anticipation – I hoped it was the latter. She didn't know the effect she had on me, it took every ounce of willpower within me to stop myself from kissing her, every thread of logic left in my befuddled brain to pull myself away from her. It was as if I was drawn to her; as if, despite knowing that I should stay away from her, I couldn't help but yearn to be beside her, to touch her. I knew it was unlike her to lose her concentration, even momentarily and I wondered if she was thinking about the days when we used to spar against each other, because I sure was.

She frightened me. She seemed to have the ability to make me lose all reason when I'm around her. That unnerved me. I'm a Guardian, for crying out loud. I've been through some of the more rigorous Guardian training programs, I fight and kill Strigoi for a living, I'm taught to control my emotions, to use my reason and to focus, concentrate and not falter. And yet, when I'm around Rose, all that goes out of the window. All I can think about is how much I want her to be mine. Self-control can go fuck itself for all I cared.

I kicked myself mentally. I hated the fact that she ignited this internal struggle for control within me. I wasn't used to not being in control of myself. I have always been able to dictate to myself how to feel, how to act. And then there's that stupid decision I made over a year ago. The one where I decided that she is better off without me. And she might be. I'm still convinced that she is better off without me. But, that annoying voice at the back of my head that's telling me that I'm not better off without her is getting stronger each day I live under the same roof as Rose.

So I decided to open my big mouth and hurt her again. It was the only way I knew how to protect her from myself. I couldn't bring myself to ruin her future, I kept telling myself and when she swore at me and ran out of the gym, I wanted nothing more than to go to her and tell her I was sorry, but I couldn't. How could I? For all I knew, she was starting to build her life up again in New York. She was going to leave for Australia at the end of the week. Telling her how I feel now is not going to achieve anything. She was still going to leave; I would still be Tasha's Guardian. It seemed that our fate as star crossed lovers was sealed. Why challenge it now, especially when I willingly gave into it a year ago?

I sighed heavily and made my way back to the dining room. Everyone, except Rose, was already in there chatting to each other. I made my way to the bar to pick up another beer as Peter and David approached me. They were young Guardians and I wasn't sure what rumors they had heard about me, but they had adoration in their eyes as they fired questions about a particular mission I had been involved in. I related it to them, as I had related it to many other Guardians previously. It was painful for me to talk about it but I kept my Guardian face on throughout. After all, hiding my emotions was what I did best.

The mission was of particular interest to Guardians because I didn't kill the Strigois who captured Tasha, I let them go. It's often been used by Queen Tatiana as an example of how violence is not always necessary in a mission. What she didn't know was the real reason behind my apparent 'compassion'. It was a secret I held close to my heart, one that I vowed not to ever let anyone find out. I couldn't even start to imagine the consequences it would have on my career and on the people I love. I took a sip of my beer as I contemplated this darkly. Another reason why I can never tell Rose how I feel. Great.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by a small gasp by Peter. I turned around to look at the object of his admiration. It was Rose. She had a black dress on and I felt my mouth go dry. She was wearing her hair up, exactly the way I liked it. My mind went blank as I drank her in. She was the epitome of perfection. A strand of hair fell down beside her cheek and I barely stopped myself from walking up to her and tucking it behind her ear. I started to wonder why God insisted on testing my restraint.

She was bantering with Christian about something. The two of them never stopped going off at each other but I didn't catch any of the conversation because I was too busy focusing on how beautiful she looked. All the boys were looking at her lustily, but it was Adrian who sidled up to her and held Rose against him. I suddenly felt an immense need to knock someone's teeth out.

'I know how to walk on my own,' Rose was grinning at Adrian as she gave him a playful shove. It was a wonder I didn't break my beer bottle. I couldn't believe she was actually flirting with the son-of-a-bitch.

'Once I'm done with you, you won't be doing any walking – I can tell you that much,' Adrian said and it took all my resolve to not throw him into a wall.

Thankfully, Rose put an end to the flirting as she smacked Adrian across the head, 'Quit it,'

Her reproach was playful. I would've preferred if she gave him a concussion. Maybe I need to attend more of those self-control workshops they run for Guardians, I thought. The fact that I was seriously contemplating hurting a Royal Moroi for Rose was extremely worrying. I'm meant to defend Morois, not daydream about inflicting severe bodily harm to them.

'So are we ready for dinner?' Rose asked Lissa.

'We've been ready for ages Rose! You're always the last one to get ready,' was Lissa's reply.

'Hey I've got to look good okay. Now, wasn't it worth it?' Rose did a little twirl and looked at every guy in the room, except me. Of course it was worth it, it was more than worth it. I just wished she didn't bring every guy's attention to her body like that. It didn't help with calming the green eyed monster within me.

Lissa told everyone to take their seats as she went to the kitchen to get our dinner. My heart sank when Rose chose to sit herself next to Lissa and Adrian, but I told myself to grow up. She could sit wherever the hell she wanted to sit and I had no right to expect that she would choose to sit next to me. Why would she anyway?

There was a lot of food that night; I could definitely get used to having so much delicious food in front of me every night. Naturally, the Guardians polished everything off the plates – we need a lot of food, especially because we train so much. Tasha kept sending me funny glances throughout the night, as if she was trying to figure something out about me. She would smile mysteriously and shake her head at me when I looked at her pointedly. For a moment, my heart constricted in panic – did she know about Rose? Have I let my guard down too much? But I quickly decided against it. I was certain that I hid my feelings well.

'How are you not morbidly obese?' Mia, one of the Morois, asked Rose as she scooped her second helping of roast turkey onto her plate. It must be good genetics because Rose probably eats as much, if not more than I do, and yet she never seemed to put on any weight.

'Guardian's secret,' Rose teased and I tried to suppress a smile. Her reply tugged painfully at my heart strings as I reminisced on the days when I was her mentor. It triggered a flood of memories and I struggled to keep my stoicism. I missed her. I missed her quick wit, her jokes and our casual banter. I missed talking to her. I missed our easy conversations. It was such a shame that our conversations were now awkward and full of pregnant pauses.

She's probably not even interested in talking, I thought sadly. At the gym, she looked like talking to me was the last thing she wanted to do. I could almost feel the animosity roll off her. And she had every right to resent me, but I couldn't help but want to be close to her, to try and talk to her, to see if we could somehow, be friends, or at least be on talking terms. I was setting myself up for heartbreak, I knew that. But I couldn't help it. I needed to talk to her; I wanted to make her laugh again.

My thoughts were interrupted by Rose clanging her spoon against her wine glass. I looked up at her. She wavered slightly on her feet. I knew she had had too much to drink. Rose was never a big drinker, but between her and Adrian, they had polished off several bottles of wine. Adrian went to steady her and they laughed hysterically. She was drunk and I had no doubt that Adrian would take advantage of the situation. I clenched my fists tightly under the table and told myself to practice some breathing exercises. It was one of the strategies that they taught us at a relaxation workshop I attended a few months ago.

'LISTEN! I want to toast my best friend – Vasilissa Dragomir – for tonight's dinner. Once again, you never fail to amaze me with your culinary skills. Thank you for dinner, and for being the best friend anyone could ever ask for!' Rose shouted loudly and finished her wine.

I cheered, albeit half heartedly, along with the rest of the table – I was too concerned about Rose's mental state. She really shouldn't be drinking so much – it wasn't good practice for Guardians to be intoxicated. We always had to be alert for our charges and it annoyed me that she didn't consider this. You're more annoyed that she's drunk and might do something stupid with Adrian. I hate that voice sometimes. I think because as much as I hate to admit it, more times than not, it's right.

I saw Adrian go to top up Rose's wine glass and suddenly, I felt like I had to do something. I couldn't just sit back and watch Adrian lead Rose further and further down that path of intoxication anymore so impulsively, I reached out to stop him. He flashed me an angry look and I had to remind myself to keep my fists in check.

'She's had too much to drink,' I tried to reason with him. I should have known better. There was no point trying to reason with an idiot, especially a drunk one.

'Pft!' Adrian snorted, and brushed my hand away. 'Rose have you had enough?'

'NO!' she yelled. She's had way too much to drink, 'Top it up! WOO!'

Adrian shot me a smug look and I would've liked nothing better than to feed him my fist. He poured more wine into his own glass and turning to Rose, said, 'To the most beautiful woman in the world,'

She smiled at him. She actually frigging smiled at him. I couldn't believe Rose was buying into his bullshit. I felt Tasha lay a concerned hand on my arm, but I ignored it. Rose followed suit, downing her wine in a go and it earned cheers all around the table again, as if she needed more encouragement.

Then, to my surprise, she turned to me and smiled brazenly. I was taken aback by her sudden gesture and instinctively chose to frown at her instead. It was better than giving her the satisfaction of knowing that every time she paid me attention, no matter how little, it made my heart soar.

'Aren't you going to applaud me, Dimitri?' she demanded.

If she thought I was going to encourage her drinking, she was in for a rude shock. There was a momentary silence as I battled what to do next. What a way to put me on the spot! As I opened my mouth to reply, Adrian interrupted and said, 'Well, if he won't applaud you, I will!'

Self-righteous prick, who said anything about not applauding her?

And then what happened next made me lose the tiny thread of control I was so desperately hanging on to. Adrian took Rose's face in his hands and kissed her long and hard and if that wasn't enough to make me want to snap his neck in half, Rose closed her eyes and kissed him back. Without sparing another thought to my reputation or the fact that I was surrounded by some of Rose's closest friends, I roughly scraped my chair back, strode towards Adrian and yanked him away from her. She's drunk, it's the only reason why she would kiss him back and he was taking advantage of the situation, I told myself. I have to defend her honour, I argued. If it ever occurred to me that she didn't want her honour defended, that she was kissing him because she wanted to, even enjoyed it, I quickly pushed it away. It was a thought I didn't think I would ever be able to tolerate and no amount of anger management workshops would ever help it.

I half-threw Adrian into the wall and from the corner of my eye, could see his Guardians instinctively get up to protect him. They must have noticed the savage look in my eyes because they quickly backed down.

'Stay away from her,' I managed to say, 'Can't you see she's drunk?'

It was a surprise that I could even speak when all I wanted was to pummel the living daylights out of the punk. As I gave him my coldest stare, a part of me started to wonder what I was getting myself into. I was digging myself a hole. For all I knew, the whole Rose-Adrian thing could have been going on for a year. But she said she's single, I desperately insisted as I remembered what she said at breakfast a few days ago. A part of me had felt like flying when she made that begrudging confession.

I can usually bring even the toughest of Guardians to their knees with one mean look if I wanted to, but Adrian, either fueled by alcohol or a pure lack of judgment, stared murderously back at me. I would have snorted humorously at his puny attempt at a stare down if I wasn't feeling so murderous myself.

'And so what if she is?'

God, please give me the strength to refrain from killing him.

'You disgust me, Ivashkov,' I managed to snarl instead.

He walked up to me and squared his shoulders back, 'Don't you dare talk to me like that, Belikov,'

If he thought that he could be in any way intimidating to me, he must be dreaming. But I was doing well in the self-control department, I thought. Apart from totally making a complete fool out of myself, I hadn't broken anyone's nose yet, which was a good start. I'm sure my self-control workshop leader would have been proud of me, although I'm sure when he gave us lessons on discipline, he wasn't referring to situations like the one I was in.

'Hey!' I heard Rose say and I turned to look at her.

'So what if I'm drunk?'

And suddenly, all that self-control I had desperately tried to regain went out of the window. She couldn't be serious could she? Was she trying to tell me that I should've let Adrian take advantage of her? Did she want to be taken advantage of? No, I kept telling myself. Rose would never let that happen, she's not like that and yet everything she's said and done tonight kind of seemed like she would let it happen, even wanted it to happen.

'Pull yourself together, Rose. You're no longer 17,' was my reply. I masked my disappointment with anger.

She blushed, embarrassed at my patronizing comment and I immediately regretted it. I shouldn't have said it. What right did I have? God, I was an asshole.

Seconds later, I saw her eyes cloud over with anger. Oh, this is not going to be good, I thought and sure enough, she spat, 'yeah, I'm no longer 17. I'm glad I'm no longer 17. When I was 17, I was stupid enough to believe your lies about loving me!'

Oh she did not just go there, I groaned inwardly. A collective gasp went around the table. Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag now and I'm sure I would have a lot of explaining to do, especially with Tasha but at the moment, it was the last thing I cared about. I had caught a glimpse of moisture in Rose's eyes as she bitterly yelled at me and I wanted to catch her tears. I wanted to kiss them away. I wanted to say I was sorry, so very sorry.

She turned around to leave and without thinking, I yelled out to her, 'Is that your solution Rose? Just run away from things every time they don't go your way?'

Okay, not the best thing to say to her, especially when I had left her first.

She turned around and glared at me, 'Let's see, aren't you the expert in running away from fucked up situations? Just learning from the best, mentor!'

Touché.

I stood there, stunned for a few seconds as I watched her storm out of the villa, into the cold night.

--

'Go after her!' I heard Lissa whisper urgently at me, rousing me from my daze. It was all I needed to rush out after Rose. I quickly caught up with her. She was wearing heels and despite moving at a pace faster than I ever thought would be possible in heels, she was still considerably slower than if she was wearing sneakers.

'Rose,' I yelled out at her, 'Roza. Wait,'

She continued to ignore me, not that I blamed her. I had embarrassed her in front of all her friends and I really should have just kept my mouth shut. Why couldn't I just accept that Rose will eventually be with Adrian? They seemed to have a close relationship. If it hadn't happened already, it would only be a matter of time before he would have her in his bed. The thought made me want to punch something.

'ROZA!' I yelled at her again.

She spun around to face me, 'do not ever call me that again!'

I felt a crack in the middle of my chest. Boy, it was starting to hurt as much as it did when I first left her. 'Rose, you'll freeze. Take my jacket,' I took my jacket off and handed it to her but she backed away from me. Why is my heart hurting so damn much? If I was Adrian, would she be in my arms?

'What's wrong Dimitri? Does rejection hurt?' she smirked, putting on a bold façade. What's wrong is that I love you, more than you can ever imagine but I can't be with you, I wanted to say.

We stared at each other for a few seconds and I saw her come apart. Her shoulders heaved violently as she tried to control her sobbing. My heart tightened painfully in my chest, as I cursed myself for making her cry. I wanted to hold her, but I wasn't sure if she would let me get close to her, let alone hold her.

'You don't even know what rejection means. All this time while you were playing happy families with Tasha, I've been trying to forget you and what we had together. I loved you Dimitri and I would have fought everything and everyone for you. Yes, even the whole damned bureaucracy! But I realize now that I was naïve; that you were never… Would never be prepared to do the same for me. It's been more than a year, Dimitri. I was piecing my life back together but then you had to turn up again. And… Everything's upside down again. I hate it. It has to stop. You said I was just an infatuation, a random distraction. Act like it. Stop pretending to care about me when I know you don't. Offering me your jacket… Asking me if I'm happy… Just… Stop it,'

She paused for a second before continuing.

'So please, I am not Roza to you. Not anymore,' she breathed heavily, desperately trying to control her tears.

She was piecing her life together, and then I turned up and turned her life upside down again. It only meant one thing to me – that she still cared, that I still had an effect on her. I couldn't believe that a part of me was actually rejoicing at this information.

But she was right. I said she was just a random distraction. I should really act like it. What point was there to my words if I kept trying to interact with her?

Then, there was that part of me that was tired of pretending not to care when I did, more than anything else, I cared. And I would never stop caring. I took a step towards her and she backed away again. I saw it coming, and yet it hurt nonetheless.

She briefly glanced up at me and as I saw the betrayal in her eyes, I felt something crack within me. I was past caring about consequences. I had to tell her the truth. I was tired of pretending, of living a lie. I couldn't let her go again without letting her know my reasons for leaving, without telling her how I truly felt. I wasn't sure what would happen after I told her, I wasn't even sure what I wanted to achieve. I just knew that I had to tell her.

'I do care about you. My heart shattered when yours did. Just because I chose to leave first, just because I did what we both knew would be inevitable, doesn't mean that I hurt any less than you did. I think about you, dream about you all the time. But someone needs to be realistic here. We're duty bound to our charges. We can never be bound to each other. I know how much Lissa means to you. What if one day, you need to choose? I don't want you to ever have to make that choice,'

I felt my left cheek sting painfully as I felt the full force of her slap. What the fuck?

'Stop using Lissa as an excuse for leaving me. You left me because you were ashamed of what we had. You left me because I could never give you a family, because Tasha was always going to be the better deal, because I was just… Some girl… Some stupid girl,' she yelled at me, anger flashing dangerously in her eyes.

She was never just some girl!

'Roz-…' I started but she interrupted me.

'Please,' she said resignedly. I could almost see the energy drain out of her, 'Who I kiss, who I date, and even if I really wanted to, who I sleep with is no longer any of your business. For the remainder of your stay, please do not embarrass yourself by interfering. I loved you back then. I loved you all this time while you were away. Now, I'm going to stop loving you,' she avoided my gaze, 'Maybe one day, I'll look back on what we had and smile at the memories. But for now, it is something I'd rather forget. You said you think about me, dream about me... You said that your heart broke. I'm sorry. I'm too busy trying to mend my own to care,'

And without waiting for a response, she turned around to head towards the villa, leaving me to watch her receding back for the second time that night. She was right. Whatever she does is not my business, I had no right to interfere, I had no right to stop her from kissing Adrian… I didn't even have the right to want to be a part of her life.

She loved me. It wasn't as if I didn't know, but to have her say it out loud again made my heart soar and break at the same time. I have never understood feelings, always choosing to hide them under a well practiced stoicism, but when Rose is involved, it seems like my emotions are all up in the air. Only she could evoke this infuriating, endless battle between reason and passion within me.

During our time in the Academy, I rarely confessed my love for her. It was always hinted, but seldom overtly articulated. I preferred to show her my devotion, rather than to tell her. I always told her she was special, that she was beautiful and amazing, that she means more to me than anyone else, but not that I loved her. Rose, on the other hand, was not only verbal but also physical with her displays of affection. She was so passionate, I thought wistfully as I started to regret not telling her more often how much I was falling for her. The only time I told her that I loved her was the day before her Graduation, the day before I had planned to leave her. If she sensed any melancholy in my tone, she didn't raise it. She glowed happily when I told her and it took every ounce of discipline within me to resist her temptations to bed her that night.

But now, it was too late and as my heart pounded painfully within me, I started to truly hate myself – not only for letting the best thing that had ever happened to me go, but mostly for hurting Rose so much. In light of everything she's said, what I once thought were noble reasons for leaving her now seemed pathetic. She was willing to fight everything and everyone to be with me, and yet, I willingly let her go. And now, it was too late.

Serves you right, I thought bitterly as I let myself relive the pain of losing Rose. She deserves someone much better than a weak bastard who was too much of a coward to fight for something he knew was special, once in a lifetime special. It was just too damn bad.

--

I finally returned to the villa after taking a long walk around the compound. The night was cold, but it was nothing compared to the hollow chill within me. Everyone had retired to bed and I was thankful that I didn't have to do any explaining that night. I trudged my way to the room I shared with Tasha. I paused briefly at Rose's closed bedroom door and sadness washed over me. I urged myself to keep walking. I made my choice a long time ago; now, I just need to find the resolve to stick to it.

'Hey you,' Tasha whispered softly as I tiptoed into the room. She was sitting on the bed with a night light on, reading Tolstoy's War and Peace. The thing with classical literature is that it's something you want to have said you've read, but something you don't actually want to read. She was halfway through it. Fair effort, considering she only started reading it about a month ago.

'Hey,' I whispered back as I reached into my luggage to grab my sleeping bag out, 'what are you doing up so late?'

'Waiting for you to get back,' she said, placing a bookmark in her book. She crossed her legs and leaned forward to look at me.

'Thanks, but you shouldn't have,' I mumbled as she handed me a pillow.

'So it's been Rose all along huh?' she cut to the chase, she was never one to beat around the bush.

I wasn't in the mood to talk so I ignored her, hoping that she would just drop it. I slid myself into my sleeping bag and turned my back towards her. Seconds later, I felt her foot nudge my back. Damn it.

'I think you owe me an explanation at least, Dimitri,' she said seriously as I turned around to face her. Talk about guilt tripping…

I sighed heavily, contemplating where to begin.

'Why did you leave her then?' she persisted.

'We're Guardians. It's just not possible,' I said in exasperation. What did people not get? Rose and I weren't Morois, we weren't free to love whoever we wanted, whenever we wanted.

'Anything's possible,' Tasha rolled her eyes at me.

'No, you don't understand. Guardians are solitary beings. Our sole purpose in life is to protect our charges. End of story. There's absolutely no room for feelings. Sticking around is just going to jeopardize her career,'

'And it didn't matter that she loves you and you love her?'

'I told you, there's no room for love in our world,' I said bitterly, 'Besides, it's complicated,'

'I heard you Dimitri, but for someone who prides himself on being a fighter, you sure aren't doing much fighting for what truly matters,'

'Tasha, it's for the better okay?' I was getting increasingly frustrated by her comments. What did she know about being a Guardian anyway? 'What's the point of being together when nothing is ever going to come out of it? We can't have a family, we can't live a normal life together, society will reject us, and we need to be devoted to our charges, not each other,'

'What's the point?' she said incredulously, 'What about love, Dimitri? What about just being together because you two are irrevocably in love with each other? Isn't that a reason enough? Don't you know how rare it is for love to come along in your world? So don't you think that when love does actually come your way, there's all the more reason to hold onto it? I don't doubt that being Guardians, the two of you will face challenges beyond that of a normal relationship, but don't you think it's worth fighting for?'

I sat in silence as I took her lecture in. Was it worth fighting for? Of course. Rose was wrong when she said that I wouldn't fight the whole system just to be with her. I wondered how long I could go on convincing myself that I'll be okay without her. She seemed fine without me, but each day I spend under the same roof as her, without her in my arms, was slowly driving me insane, gradually chipping away at this stiff pretense that I have so diligently tried to keep up.

'You're okay with it?' I said dumbly.

'Dimitri, of course I'm okay with it!' she cried, 'You're one of my dearest friends; I want you to be happy. What I'm not okay with is when you give away your happiness. It's more than obvious that you still love her. Why did you walk away? Seriously, what is wrong with you?'

'Sometimes I wonder too,'

'Well, why don't you do something about it now?'

I shook my head sadly, 'It's too late now,'

She looked at me quizzically and I told her what happened. She chewed on her bottom lip as she took in everything I said. She looked like she was thinking hard about something and after a few minutes of me trying to work out whether she was going to respond to what I had just told her, she said, 'She still has feelings for you,'

I rolled my eyes at her, 'Didn't you hear anything I just said?'

'Yeah,' she said, 'And I think she still has feelings for you,'

I scoffed at Tasha as I adjusted myself on my pillow. The conversation was getting tiring, and I wasn't in the mood for entertaining her idealistic views.

'If I know anything about matters of the heart, you can't just decide to stop having feelings for someone suddenly. She said she loved you all this time that you've been away. She said that she's now going to stop loving you. Maybe if you don't get off your ass and do something about it, next year when we visit, she'll probably have stopped loving you, but right now, at this moment, there's definitely something,' Tasha said sagely, 'Besides, if she doesn't love you, you wouldn't have affected her this much,'

'How do you know its love? You said feelings… That doesn't necessarily mean love. It can mean… Hate, or disappointment…' I retorted. I was trying to find excuses, I had to.

'Only one way to find out,' she grinned and I rolled my eyes at her.

'Think about it Dimka,' Tasha said, stifling a yawn, 'And if I were you, I'd be grasping at every opportunity to make her mine,'

'But what happens after the week is over…?'

'I'd be more worried about how to win her back,' Tasha smiled mysteriously at me before sliding under the covers, indicating that the conversation was nearly over.

'Hmm…' was all I said as Tasha flicked the night light off.

'Of course, I could be all wrong, and you don't love her at all… In which case, well… I'm sure Adrian would jump at the opportunity,' she whispered softly into the dark as she turned her back towards me. I thought I heard her chuckle, but I may have been wrong.

Adrian. Damn, she knew how to get to me.

I laid awake for much of the night, mulling over Tasha's words, wondering if she was right, if I still had a chance.

Maybe, I finally concluded as I fell into a troubled sleep. Maybe.

What did you think? Is Dimitri forgiven, even just a little? :)

Just a small note. I tried uploading the next chapter but the server keeps shutting down on me. :( Terribly disappointing and I am very sorry but I'm going to upload it up on Monday - I promise.

Thanks again for all the lovely reviews! 3