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CHAPTER 41

RPOV

"Mom, there's something I need to tell you."

We were having another luncheon and since she was discussing 'boyfriends' at the moment, I decided now was the time to tell her the truth.

"Oh? There is?" she said, looking surprised.

"Yeah," I said reluctantly. "I probably should've told you sooner, but I had my reasons for keeping it to myself."

Now she looked curious. "Okay. And now you feel like you can tell me?"

"Well, I feel like I have to," I corrected. "Because I know you'll find out anyway."

Mom frowned. "So you don't want to tell me?"

"Not really," I admitted, grimacing.

"Okay…" she said slowly, a little uncertain. "Well, what is it then?"

"You can't freak out like last time," I warned.

"Like last time? What do you mean-"

"I'm seeing Dimitri again," I said in one breath.

She stared at me, rendered speechless. "B-but…but," she sputtered, her eyes wide in shock. "He broke up with you."

"Yeah, well, now we're back together," I muttered. "And I'd appreciate it if you stay out of it this time."

My mother was still staring at me, stunned. "You…you can't – I mean, how is that possible? You broke up. And for good reasons."

"No, we broke up because of you and your meddling," I countered.

"I did it for you. I was helping you."

I scoffed. "No, you weren't. My life was perfect before you came along and then you ruined it. It's why I kept my relationship with Dimitri a secret until now – because you would ruin it again if you had the chance. But that's not going to happen this time," I vowed. "This time you'll leave him alone. You'll leave us alone."

Mom crossed her arms and looked at me defiantly. "And what if I don't?"

"Then you're out of my life," I answered flatly. "You've never been a real mother to me – until now, for reasons I still don't understand – and I don't need you to be a real mother to me. Not anymore. I'm an adult now and I don't need your 'help'." She looked outraged and was about to speak, but I cut her off. "So if you want to stay in my life, you have to stay away from Dimitri."

Mom looked ready to snap, but she bit off her angry retort and instead, she asked, "So I can't ever talk to Dimitri?"

"No. Not until I'm sure you don't want to break us up anymore."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you so afraid he's going to listen to me like last time? It doesn't seem like he loves you all that much, then. If he's so easily influenced by others."

"It's not his fault," I defended Dimitri. "It's yours. You made him believe I was going to leave him sooner or later."

"That's because I believe you are going to leave him," she said.

"I am not," I said firmly, placing my hands on the table. "I won't ever leave him. And he won't leave me either."

"He did once, he can do it again," she responded with a shrug.

"He won't," I said, gritting my teeth. She was making me furious with every word she said and she knew it. I think she enjoyed taunting me, but I was not going to give her that satisfaction. I took a deep breath and said calmly, "Despite what you think, he's a good man and I know you would say the same if you tried to get to know him."

She snorted, obviously finding the idea ridiculous.

"He loves me. I love him. And that's all there is to it." I got up from my seat and gathered my stuff. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a class to go to."

DPOV

"And then what happened?"

"Then I left," Rose answered with a shrug.

Glancing up at me, she snuggled closer to me. We'd been lying in bed for the past half an hour and during that time, I'd let Rose vent about her mother. When she'd come over earlier today, I'd immediately noticed something was wrong, but she hadn't wanted to tell me because the kids had been there. After I'd put them to bed and had returned to her, she'd burst out angrily and told me everything. Now that she'd finished her story, she seemed to calm down – luckily.

"Didn't she come after you?" I asked, stroking her hair gently.

Rose shook her head. "No. Thank God."

I pulled her closer to me and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," she said, burying her face in my neck. "It's not your fault."

"Maybe a little," I murmured.

"Stop," she chastised, slapping my chest lightly. "It's not your fault, Dimitri."

"I still feel guilty, though. You're fighting with your mother because of me."

"If we weren't fighting because of you, it would've been because of something else. We're always fighting so don't feel guilty."

"I'll try," I said, pressing another kiss to her hair.

It was silent for a while. I kept stroking her hair and she let out a contented sigh, tightening her arms around me.

"You think she left town?" I asked at last.

"I don't know," she answered after a few moments. "It's possible, but… I don't know," she repeated. She sighed. "That would be too easy, I think. She'll want to have another chat with you before she leaves."

"But you gave her an ultimatum. You said-"

"I know, but, honestly, I don't think she cares if I'm going to ban her from my life if she tries to talk to you," Rose said with another sigh.

"Well…" I said slowly. "Why don't you let her have her say?" She looked up at me, an incredulous look on her face. "She can say whatever she wants to say to me."

"She did that last time and look what happened then."

"It doesn't matter what she says, I won't leave you again," I promised. "I swear, I'll be a good boyfriend this time," I added jokingly.

"I don't doubt it," she said sarcastically.

I nudged her. "Hey, I'm being serious."

Rose smiled reluctantly. Her smile disappeared quickly, though. "Let's just wait and see what happens next. Maybe she doesn't even want to talk anymore. Maybe she realized she can't change my mind. Maybe she already left."

"Fine," I agreed. "We'll see how it goes."

We fell silent, then, and soon after I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, Rose was still lying in my arms – much to my delight. Usually, she was already up and gone when I woke up, but, I realized, that was because her mom had claimed her these past few weeks.

I let Rose get some more sleep while I got the children ready for school. I was just putting the kids' lunchboxes in their schoolbags when she showed up in the kitchen, still in her PJs.

"Good morning," she said, yawning.

"Morning," I said smiling.

Rose walked over to my side and wrapped her arms around my waist. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed my cheek.

"You already had breakfast?"

I shook my head. "No time. Wanna have breakfast with me after I drop off the kids at school? I don't have to get to work until eleven."

"Okay," she said. "I'll go take a shower and get dressed."

When I got back home, Rose was ready to go. I let her pick the place where we'd have our breakfast and, of course, like I'd already guessed, she picked someplace where they had lots of pastries.

"God, this is delicious," she moaned, munching on her donut. "You should take one too, comrade. You'll love it."

I chuckled. "I don't think I can."

"Why not?"

"Because it seems like you're going to eat all of them," I joked, glancing at the pile of donuts in front of her.

She grinned. "That's right. But you can have one if you ask me nicely."

I shook my head, still smiling. "That's okay, Roza. I don't want one. They're all yours."

She shrugged. "Fine. Your loss."

I rolled my eyes at her, but she didn't notice. She was too preoccupied with her donuts. Other people might be grossed out by her appetite, but I thought it was endearing. I'd always loved her appetite, even before we'd started dating. It was so different from most women, who just picked at their food. And when they ate something, it was a salad. Tasha used to do that and it was not attractive.

"So, what are your plans today?" I asked, taking a sip of my coffee.

"I've got two classes today and tonight I'm going to the movies with Mason," Rose answered.

"Mason?" I asked, alarmed. "Is that the guy from the supermarket?"

"Yeah," she said as she took a bite of her third donut.

I looked at her, surprised. "And you… You're going to the movies with him?" I repeated dumbly.

"Yeah. And dinner."

"That sounds like a date."

Now she gave me a surprised look. "What makes you say that?"

"Dinner and a movie? That's a date," I said frowning.

"Friends have dinner and go to movies, too," she retorted.

I hesitated, but then said, "Yeah, but Mason doesn't just want to be your friend."

"What do you mean?" she asked, glancing away nervously.

I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering why she was so nervous all of a sudden. Then I realized. "You know," I gasped. "You know he's in love with you!"

She looked up, giving me an incredulous look. "He isn't in love with me. That's ridiculous."

I arched an eyebrow. "Is it? Because from the few times I saw him, he looked pretty much smitten with you."

"He isn't in love with me," she repeated.

I crossed my arms. "He definitely likes you more than a friend should."

Rose stared at me for a long time and then sighed. "Fine," she admitted. "Maybe he likes me a little bit more than a friend should. But," she added when she saw the look on my face, "he knows I'm not interested in him that way. He knows I have a boyfriend."

"Then why did he ask you on a date?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "It's not a date! He just wanted to hang out, that's all."

"If he tries to hold your hand during the movie or tries to kiss you at the end of the night, it is a date in his eyes."

Rose smirked. "Look at you, comrade. So jealous."

I scowled. "I'm not jealous."

Her smirk widened. "Liar."

I didn't say anything.

"Look," she said, leaning forward. "Mason is a good guy. He won't try anything. He knows I don't feel the same way about him and he's fine with that. He still wants us to be friends so we're hanging out tonight. As friends." She reached out and took my hand in hers. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do," I said, looking up at her at last. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. "I know you won't cheat on me, but I can't help but feel a little bit…jealous," I admitted. "I trust you, though, and I don't mind that you have guy friends. I don't mind that you hang out with Christian and Adrian. But they… they aren't into you. And Mason is. But… he's your friend so…" I realized I was rambling. I cut myself off and sighed. "Yeah, of course you can hang out with him. But, I swear," I added warningly, "if that guy tries something I'm going to-"

Rose laughed. "I told you, comrade. Mase is a good guy. He would never try something unless I give him my permission."

"You'll call me, though?" I asked. "If something's wrong?"

"Of course," she replied, squeezing my hand gently.

"You can also call me when everything's fine," I suggested, trying to appear casual. "You could, uh, tell me how your not-date is going."

"I'll call you," she promised.

I smiled, relieved. "Okay."

"You ready to go? I have a class in half an hour," Rose said after a few moments of silence.

I nodded and got up, taking her hand in mine and lacing our fingers together. I walked her back to her dorm room and before I left, I reminded her to call me tonight. She nodded, smiling, and pressed her lips against mine.

"How about I make you a better deal?" she murmured against my lips.

"I'm listening," I mumbled.

"I can come over after my not-date," she suggested before pressing another kiss to my lips. "How about that? And then I can stay the night. You like that idea?"

I smiled against her lips. "Hmm. I like that idea very much."

Rose pulled away slightly, smiling. "Great. Then I'll see you tonight."

I kissed her one last time before pulling back completely. "Can't wait." I started walking back to the stairs. When I looked over my shoulder, she was still standing in the doorway.

"Have fun on your not-date."

She smirked. "Thanks, comrade. I'm sure I'll have a blast," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

I glared at her playfully. "I'm still not liking the idea so don't make me change my mind about letting you go."

Laughing, she turned around and walked into her room. "See you tonight, comrade!" she called before the door fell closed behind her.

I'm sorry about the lack of updates these past few weeks. Really, I am. I would love to write and update every day, but, unfortunately, life gets in the way. Hope you can understand, my dear readers! :)

Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Have a nice day/evening! ;)