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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 22

DPOV

I'd barely set foot in my house when Alisa jumped on me.

"Daddy, look at my nails! Look!" she squealed. "Rose painted them!" She took a step back and lifted her hands so I could look at her nails. They were painted pink. "Isn't it pretty?" she said proudly.

I smiled. "Yes, very pretty."

Alisa went back to the living room and I followed her in. Rose was sitting at the table and there were several nail polish colors on the table.

"Daddy says my nails are very pretty," Alisa said to Rose as she sat back down next to her.

"Hey, comrade," Rose said as she looked up at me with a small smile on her face. "Want me to paint your nails too?"

I arched my eyebrow. "I don't think so."

"Aww, come on," she teased. "It's fun."

"Yes, Dad, it's fun!" Alisa piped in.

"No," I said warningly when Rose held up the polish with a grin.

She shrugged. "Alright then."

Liam, who'd been watching cartoons, suddenly got up and joined us. "Can you paint my nails?" he asked eagerly.

"No," I said quickly.

He pouted. "Why not?"

"Because… it's for girls," I said.

"Is it only for girls?" he asked with a frown.

I nodded. "Yes."

He scrunched up his nose. "Oh."

Then he returned to the couch and continued watching his cartoons. Rose chuckled and started painting her own nails in a red color.

"Where's Inna?" I asked.

"She's in her room. Doing homework," Rose responded.

"Don't you have some homework too?" I asked Alisa.

She looked at me guiltily and said slowly, "Maybe."

"Then shouldn't you go do something about that?" I said, trying to look stern.

She nodded and disappeared upstairs. Glancing at Liam, I saw he was focused on his cartoons again. Figuring it was safe, I sat down next to Rose and kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't distract me," she said, concentrating on her nails, "or you'll get nail polish on your face."

"But I'm not distracting you," I said, wrapping my arm around her waist.

"Yes, you are," she said, glancing up at me. A small smile formed on her face again. "You can't kiss me until I'm done."

"Can I at least sit next to you?" I asked, stroking her back gently.

Her smile widened. "I guess that's alright, yeah."

I had the urge to kiss her cheek again, or even her lips, but I didn't want nail polish on my face so I kept my distance and waited patiently until she was done.

"Have you heard from Christian?" I asked.

She shook her head and sighed. "Not since our fight last week. I think I really blew it this time."

Rose had told me a couple of days ago about her fight with Christian and that she'd told him the truth about Tasha. He hadn't taken it so well and now wouldn't speak to neither of us. He'd come by to yell at me, though, but he'd left before I could explain everything. I'd never seen him this angry before.

The doorbell rang several times while I hurried down the stairs to open the door. Christian was standing there and he didn't look very happy.

"How could you?" he exclaimed, clenching his fists in anger.

"Christian-"

"How could you tell Rose all that stuff about my aunt? How could you lie about that?" he yelled. "Didn't you love her at all? Why-"

"I didn't lie," I interrupted. I quickly stepped outside and shut the door so my kids couldn't hear us argue. "I'm sorry, Christian. I know she was your aunt, but she-"

"And why Rose? Why Rose of all people?" he shouted. "Couldn't you use some girl from your work? Why do you have to use my best friend?"

"It's not like that!" I insisted. "I would never do that to Rose."

He scoffed. "If you break her heart, I swear to God I will kill you."

I stared at him, stunned. With one last angry look at me, he turned around and stalked off.

I'd tried calling him a few times the next day, but he ignored me just like he was ignoring Rose.

"Don't give up hope," I murmured, kissing her shoulder. "He can't stay mad at you forever. He'll be back at your doorstep soon enough."

She snorted. "I doubt that."

"You're too important for him to lose," I said, remembering Christian's threat if I'd break her heart. He might be mad right now, but he still cared about her. "He'll come around. Eventually."

Rose sneaked a glance at Liam and then leaned in, pressing her lips against my cheek, before hopping off the chair and going to the kitchen – to get a snack probably. I followed her into the kitchen and, yes, there she was eating ice cream. She grinned at me and held out her spoon.

"Want a bite?" she said.

"You know, sometimes I think you're only here to steal my food," I said teasingly.

She practically shoved the spoon into my mouth as she said, "You should be happy I'm sharing it with you."

"Yeah, I guess I'm really lucky that my girlfriend shares the food that I bought with me," I said sarcastically. She elbowed me in the ribs. Chuckling, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me. "You know I'm just teasing you, right?" I murmured, kissing her lips softly. "I love you, Roza."

She smiled reluctantly, but then turned sober again. "I know you're probably tired of talking about this," she said sighing, "but now that Christian knows… Aren't you afraid that he's going to tell your kids?"

"You think he'd do that?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said, biting her lip. "Maybe not on purpose. But when he's angry, he blurts out all kinds of things. So maybe…maybe we should tell them before they hear it from him or anyone else?"

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. We've been keeping this a secret from them long enough. How about you stay for dinner this Friday night? We'll tell them then."

"Alright," she said. "But are you sure you want me there? Maybe it's better if I stay at home. I can imagine they're going to be upset and…"

I sighed, knowing that Rose was probably right. "I guess." I let out another sigh and said, "Fine. I'll tell them Friday night and I'll let you know."

"What if they hate the idea of us together?" she asked, looking a little worried.

"They won't," I assured her. "They love you, Roza. I love you. If they know you make me happy, they'll accept it."

She gave me a small smile. "Let's hope so."

I smiled back and pressed my lips against hers. "Don't worry. It'll be alright."

Her smile grew a little and she wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my chest. "I love you, comrade."

I kissed the top of her head. "I love you too."

She let go of me and sighed. "I should go now. I have a test tomorrow and I still need to study."

I nodded and kissed her forehead. "Good luck, Roza."

"Thanks. I'll call you later."

I smiled at her and when she'd left, I returned to the living room, already mulling over Friday night.

CHRISTIAN POV

"Mom!"

When I slammed the front door shut, my mom appeared in the hallway. She looked surprised to see me. I was surprised to be here, too.

"Christian! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" she asked.

"Tell me the truth about Aunt Tasha," I demanded.

She paled and I realized Rose had been right after all. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said quietly.

"Don't lie to me, Mom!" She flinched and I felt a little bad for yelling at her like that. Only a little, though. I was too angry to stay calm right now. "Why did Aunt Tasha marry Dimitri?"

"Christian…"

I shook my head. "No. I want to know the truth. And I know you know the truth about my aunt and Dimitri."

She looked at me for a long time and at last, she asked, "How did you find out?"

I crossed my arms. "It doesn't matter."

She nodded. "I guess we'd better sit down."

I followed her into the kitchen and we sat down across from each other. She offered me something to drink and some cookies – probably as a peace offering. It was only because I was starving, I accepted the food.

"What do you want to know?" she asked after several moments had passed.

"Everything," I said.

She sighed. "Well. Your aunt had always liked Dimitri and she used to tell me that, one day, she'd be marrying him. I'd always thought that it was just a crush and that she'd get over it, that she was joking. But…"

"But what?" I said when she didn't continue.

"One day she came to me and said she was pregnant," she said, letting out another sigh. "She said the child was Dimitri's. I thought she was joking, but then she told me it had been her plan all along. She said that she'd slept with him and that she'd told him she was on birth control. But she never was. She wanted to get pregnant because she knew… She knew Dimitri would do the right thing and marry her."

I scowled, not liking what I was hearing. "So, what? She just decided to get pregnant, hoping he would marry her when he'd find out he was the father? That's crazy."

"I know, but it's true. And you know Dimitri… He always wants to do the right thing."

"And what if she hadn't gotten pregnant?" I questioned. "What would she have done then? Seriously, this is – it's absurd."

Mom shrugged. "Tasha has always been a little…strange. And she was obsessed with Dimitri. She would do anything if it meant he would marry her. She made me swear not to tell anyone."

"What happened next?"

"They got married and, in the beginning, everything seemed alright. But then I noticed things weren't alright. They were always fighting and Tasha made Dimitri's life miserable. He did everything he could to make her happy, but it was never enough for her."

"This doesn't sound like Aunt Tasha at all," I said frowning.

"It's not because she was nice to you that she was nice to others," Mom responded.

"Alright then," I grumbled. "So suppose this is all true…then why didn't he just divorce her?"

"He couldn't do that to the kids. But things escalated and I couldn't handle seeing it anymore. So… I told him the truth."

I sat up straighter. "And?"

"And then he decided he did want to divorce her," she said. "When he told your aunt he knew the truth and that he wanted a divorce, she didn't take it well. She left and…well, that night she died."

My eyes widened in shock. "Did she kill herself?"

"No. She was drunk, Christian," Mom said. "All we know is that she was on her way home and that she crashed into a tree."

"Maybe she did it on purpose!" I exclaimed angrily. "Maybe-"

"No!" Mom cut me off. "Christian, you know Tasha would never do that. That's not the kind of person she was. But that night she was upset and had too much to drink. You know what happens when you get behind the wheel when you're drunk."

I sighed, realizing my mom was right. Aunt Tasha might have been a lot of things, but she was not a quitter. She wouldn't have given up like that. She would've probably done everything in her power to make Dimitri stay.

"Was there a time he loved her?" I asked after a few moments. "Or… did he really just marry her because he'd gotten her pregnant?"

"He never loved her. He tried, though. But Tasha made it really hard."

"Great. It turns out I really didn't know her," I said bitterly.

"Christian," Mom said gently, taking my hand. "Don't-"

"I should go back to school," I interrupted, getting up. "Thank you for telling me the truth. Say hi to Dad for me, will you?"

She nodded and I left, not sure how to feel right now.

RPOV

It was almost midnight when I finally finished studying for my test. Avery was already asleep. I had to be quiet as I put my stuff back into my backpack and got ready for bed. I was tempted to make some noise on purpose so she'd wake up, but I stopped myself just in time. Avery would only be grumpier than usual in the morning if I woke her up in the middle of the night.

Relieved I could finally go to sleep too, I crawled in my bed and closed my eyes. I fell asleep instantly. The next morning, I woke up late. Avery was already gone and as I glanced at the clock, I realized I was going to have to hurry if I wanted to make it in time to class. And I had to be in time today since I had a test.

Hurriedly, I pulled on some clothes and brushed my teeth before running down the hall. On my way to class, I ate a granola bar I'd found in my bag. I tried not to think about how long it had been sitting in my bag and just stuffed it into my mouth.

"Rose!"

I groaned inwardly. Now I was definitely going to be late. Sighing, I turned around. Christian was leaning against the wall of my dorm and approached me as I turned toward him.

"Hey," he said hesitantly.

"Hey," I said, surprised he'd been waiting for me. Or maybe he'd been waiting for Lissa. "I'm sorry, but I can't talk right now," I said apologetically. "I've got to go to class."

"Oh, okay," he said. "I'll… I'll find you later."

"Um…okay," I said, unsure if he'd really come search for me later. Did this mean he'd decided to forgive me and talk to me again? I offered him a smile. "Bye."

I felt a little excited and happy that Christian had talked to me at all, but right now I couldn't think about this. I needed to get to class. Now.

I sprinted down the hallways and managed to slip inside just in time I was completely out of breath, but relieved I'd made it. I slumped down on the nearest chair and tried to calm my breathing. A few of my fellow students gave me a weird look, but I ignored them.

I was feeling pretty good about myself when I handed my test over to the professor, sure that I'd passed it. My next class was in two hours so, usually, I went to Dimitri's. I knew he was expecting me, but I decided I would find Christian instead and try to talk to him. I texted Dimitri, letting him know I would come over tonight instead.

After walking around campus for half an hour, I finally found Christian in the cafeteria. He was sitting alone, picking at his sandwich.

"Hey," I said carefully as I approached him. He looked up, clearly surprised. "Mind if I join you for a sec?" He shook his head and I sat down across from him. "Where's Lissa? I figured you'd be with her."

"She's with her friends," he answered, not looking at me. "I think she's, um, a little angry with me."

I frowned. "Why?"

He finally looked up at me. "Because she thinks I overreacted when I found out about you and…Dimitri." He swallowed heavily and glanced away for a moment before meeting my eyes again. "I guess she's right. I did overreact and-"

"No, you were totally right," I said. "I'm so sorry, Christian. I should've just told you and-"

"Please let me finish, Rose," he said, interrupting me. I shut up and looked at him, waiting for him to say something. He took a deep breath and continued, "I am the one who should be sorry – and I am. Truly. I overreacted and I should've listened to you before…before making my conclusions."

I opened my mouth again to say something, but he held up his hand and shushed me. "You were right, Rose. About…about my aunt," he said sighing. "I asked my mother and she told me the truth. Finally," he added bitterly. He let out another sigh. "Aunt Tasha wasn't who I thought she was. And… I'm sorry I didn't want to believe you and Dimitri."

"Christian, it's alright," I said, giving him a sympathetic smile. "She was your aunt and you were close with her. I understand why you reacted like that. It's okay."

He gave me a small smile, but it disappeared quickly. "I kind of feel bad for Dimitri. What my aunt did…" He shook his head and sighed. "I guess I should go and apologize to him, too."

"If you want I can go with you," I suggested. "I'm going over tonight anyway so…"

"Okay," he said. "I'll go with you."

I gave him a tentative smile. "Okay."

"So… Am I forgiven?" Christian asked hesitantly.

"There's nothing to forgive, Chris. I was never angry at you."

He looked relieved. "I'm sorry, though."

"I know. Me too," I said.

Smiling, I got up and sat down next to him, wrapping my arms around him.

"I missed you," he admitted as he hugged me back.

"I missed you too," I murmured.

We pulled away from our hug and looked at each other, smiling. I sighed in relief, glad I had my best friend back.

So Christian finally knows the truth and has forgiven Rose. But what about Dimitri? Will he be forgiven so easily? ;)

That was it for this chapter. I hope you liked it. Have a nice day/evening! :)