Three Years Ago

This trip was worth every dime just to see the smile on Mildred's face. The flight to Toronto wasn't cheap, but the tickets to the concert were. The hotel I booked was on the pricier side too, but it was all worth it. She deserved it.

The concert was small, a small bar-like venue but the energy was crazy. The singer was someone I hadn't heard much of before, but Mildred had found him somehow and was in love with his voice. I could admit that he had a nice voice, laced with an accent that could make any girls' knees weak.

And that face. Damn, that face. Dark brown eyes, brown hair and as tall as I'd ever seen a man.

After the meet and greet, and a few pictures, Mildred and I returned to our hotel. But I wasn't ready to go to bed yet, so I went to the bar across the street. At least I could drink legally here.

I twisted my glass between my hands, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror behind all the liquor bottles. I knew that Barry wasn't thrilled with the colour I changed my hair, but I was enjoying the ability to do what I wanted. So electric blue it was. When I didn't straighten it, it looked a little wonky, but it looked good. I knew that I drew attention to myself with it, but I was still exploring who I was.

"May I sit here?"

I turned and looked at the man standing beside me, nodding my head after a minute. It was the singer from the concert. I couldn't remember his name, but I remembered his face.

"Sure," I said and looked forwards again. The man sat down and ordered a beer when the bartender came by, sighing quietly to himself.

"I remember you; you were at the concert," he said after a moment.

"What made you remember?" I asked with a chuckle and a smile.

"Your hair," he chuckled, "But your face too. That and the fact that you didn't act like an excited tween at a Justin Bieber concert during the meet and greet."

I laughed and smiled at him. "That's because I'm not the fan, my mother is," I explained, "I bought the tickets for her birthday."

"That was nice of you," he mused as the beer was set down in front of me.

I nodded. "She deserves it. She's the best mom I've ever had," I said quietly. "It was a good show, though. Good vibe, and good sound. Although, you need to work on your mic skills."

He scoffed. "Do I?"

"Yeah, if you're gonna swing a mic around like Taking Back Sunday, you gotta make sure you don't hit the stand," I chuckled, "But other than that, you got the right energy."

He laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

"Are you even old enough to know who that is?" he asked.

"I'm in a bar, aren't I?" I asked, "Besides, my brother's a bit older than me and has been a fan for years."

"I haven't caught your name," he said after a few moments. I extended my hand to him.

"Rose," I said.

He took it and shook it. "Dimitri," he said with a grin."

Present

Dimitri said that because we would be out with his whole family, we would be going with his security detail. He didn't anticipate anything going wrong, but with his mother involved, he wanted to be extra cautious.

It touched my heart to see him care that much. My view of family was so distorted that I was still envious at times of siblings. Andrew was a great brother, but a part of me wished that I had the opportunity to grow up with him as a child.

I smoothed my hands over the blue fabric as we waited for our ride to get here. The lobby of the hotel was surprisingly quiet, and it was nice to be able to think. Or at least hear myself think. Dimitri was on the phone with someone, and the conversation seemed heated, but I knew that it was best not to hover.

I turned as I appraised myself, smiling slightly at the gold detailing on my dress.

"Ms. Rose?"

I hummed and raised my brows in the mirror at Rufus.

"Your dress is tucked," he said, pointing at the back of my dress. I twisted trying to see but couldn't see what he was talking about. I smoothed my hands over the back of my dress, but I couldn't feel it either. Rufus stood up from where he was sitting and warned me he was going to touch me. I felt the fabric untuck in the back as it smoothed over the back of my thighs.

"Oh, God. Could you imagine if I had walked outside like that?" I chuckled.

"Good thing we all walk behind you," Rufus chuckled and sat down. I could see from here that Dimitri was trying to stop himself from laughing, and I stuck my tongue out at him like a child in response. He stood up when the call finished and he sighed, slipping his phone into his pocket.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

Dimitri shrugged. "Just being blocked everywhere I turn," he said and I frowned.

I rubbed his arm. "I'm sorry," I said softly.

"I know," he said and wrapped his arm around my shoulder with a tired sigh.

"You look beautiful," he said after a moment.

"Yeah?" I asked with a smile. He nodded and rested my head on his shoulder, sighing quietly.

"Oh. There is something I should mention," Dimitri said suddenly and I looked up.

"What?"

"My family doesn't know," he said quietly. I furrowed my brows before it dawned on me and I moved to stand directly in front of him.

"As in, they think that…"

"Yes," he said, "It was easier so that they didn't say the wrong thing."

I grimaced. "Well now I really feel nervous," I chuckled uneasily. Dimitri chuckled and kissed the top of my head.

"Don't be. They will love you," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay," I said dryly.

"I promise. They will love you," he said and cut himself off. I raised my brow slightly but didn't push. I hadn't worried about meeting someone's family before, but I knew that they would probably scrutinize me because I came out of nowhere.

Dimitri on the other hand, didn't have a care in the world, just happy and excited to see his family.

Dimitri did in fact act surprised when we arrived at the restaurant, embracing his mother tightly as she hugged him. When she turned to me, I understood what Dimitri meant when he said that Mildred reminded him of his mother.

Dimitri introduced me to his three sisters and pulled my chair out for me when we got to the table. Ivan and Tasha sat next to each other at one end of the table with two of Dimitri's sisters, while we sat at the other with his mother and Karolina.

Olena asked me questions all through our appetizers, mostly about what I do for a living, and I said I was unemployed at the moment, but I was doing some sublet work for Dimitri in terms of writing. She asked a few questions about my family, and Dimitri snickered when she asked about Mildred.

"And your foster mother is a fan of Dimitri's?" Olena asked.

"Adopted mother, and yes. She is a huge fan. She was at one of Dimitri's very first concerts and was hooked ever since," I said.

"Adopted?" Olena asked.

I smiled to myself. "Yeah. They adopted me three weeks before my eighteenth birthday," I said. Olena smiled at my words and twisted her stem between her fingers.

"Mildred was always the mom that you wanted to be around. She was a bit of support for me after my parents died too. She just always had that grandmotherly feeling to her," Tasha said from her spot at the table, a fond look on her face.

"And your adopted father?"

I clicked my tongue softly. "We lost him last Christmas. But, he was also older too. Mildred's going to be almost eighty this year," I explained and tucked my hair behind my ear, "Dimitri mentioned your mother passed last year. I'm very sorry to hear that."

Olena nodded and her eyes twitched.

"Thank you," she said.

A waiter came around and took our orders. I smirked at Dimitri while I ordered cheese tortellini. He shook his head with an exaggerated eye roll before ordering the same thing.

"Are you sure?" Ivan asked and glanced at me, "Rose has to share a hotel room with you."

"I'm pretty sure Rose is worse than I am," he drawled and I laughed into my wine glass.

"To be fair, the last time I ate dairy I went a little overboard."

"You ate a two-litre container of ice cream, Roza. I think overboard is an understatement," Dimitri said and rubbed his face with a shake of his head. I laughed again and rested my hand on his wrist. It was a fleeting gesture, almost like my body acted without letting my brain know what was happening.

Dimitri smiled softly at me and gripped my wrist gently, lifting it to kiss my hand. I hummed quietly under my breath and asked Karolina about her job. She hadn't gone into much detail, but it sounded interesting.

Karolina was the eldest, followed by Dimitri, and then Sonya, and Viktoria was the youngest. Viktoria clearly looked up to her brother, a stary look in her eyes as he spoke. Sonya on the other hand, was almost cold. She had a hard-set face, her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched Dimitri and I interact.

"How did you two meet?" Sonya asked in a break in conversation. Well, more or less demanded. I noticed both Ivan and Tasha's brows raise, along with Karolina's.

"Tasha introduced us," I said truthfully.

"But how do you know Tasha?"

"My brother's girlfriend is Rose's best friend. Rose and Christian went to school together, and I knew Rose through Christian. We've known each other since childhood," Tasha explained, her eyes moving to mine. They were confused and on guard. Sonya didn't exactly appear pleased with our answers.

My phone pinged a few times in my purse, and I apologized quietly before reaching for it. It was Mia. I picked up my phone and smiled softly when I saw her message. It was a video of her son, Teddy, smiling at her as she cooed at him. I turned the phone so that Dimitri could see, putting my hand over my chest. He really made my heart melt sometimes.

"Teddy's really starting to smile now," I said to Tasha, turning the phone so that she could see too. She awed and smiled at the video, smirking at Ivan and telling him that he needs to get to work. I wasn't sure what was going on between them. At the album release, I was curious why Lena wasn't there, but it turned out that they separated because of conflicts with working schedules.

But that comment made me wonder if maybe Tasha and Ivan were seeing each other now. I tucked my phone back into my purse and reached for my wine glass when Sonya spoke again.

"I hope that you aren't just dating my brother so you can get knocked up and have him chained to you for life," Sonya bit out. I choked on my wine and sputtered, holding my napkin up to my mouth.

Dimitri snapped at Sonya for being inappropriate, but she continued on.

"That's not going to be an issue," I breathed between coughs.

"And why should I be so sure of that?" Sonya snarked. Dimitri shifted uncomfortably beside me and put his hand on my shoulder, offering me the silent support I needed. I never said out loud how much it bothered me that the accident affected me long-term, but he knew. He could see it.

"I can't have kids," I said quietly and took a sip of my water.

"Yeah, likely story."

"Sonya, that's enough," Tasha snapped with a slight bang on the table. "I've known Rose her entire life. She isn't lying."

Olena looked crestfallen across the table and I wasn't sure what part of this upset her the most. I was still coughing and excused myself to the bathroom. Once I was in the bathroom I put my arms over my head, coughing freely to work all of it up. It wasn't something I was going to do at the table.

The door opened behind me and I turned to see Tasha and Olena behind me.

"Are you okay?" Tasha asked gently.

"I'm fine," I said clearing my throat, finally getting over the worst of the coughing. Tasha's brows were furrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the counter.

"You don't have to pretend that that didn't upset you. I know that it did," she said and I nodded.

"Really, it's fine Tash," I said as I took some toilet paper out of the stall and wiped up my eyes.

"My daughter was very out of line," Olena said and I shook my head.

"It's okay. She's just looking out for her brother," I said but Olena stepped forward, tsking quietly as she tucked some hair behind my ear.

"Dimka had said that you were in a bad accident as a teenager. Is that why?"

I nodded. "When I was in the car accident, I ruptured my spleen and my appendix. They had to open me up and discovered that my fallopian tubes were crushed, my pelvic bone was fractured and pieces broke off, and some of the fragments pierced my uterus. Only one of my fallopian tubes works, and barely. My whole reproductive system was damaged. The doctors did a follow-up during the trial about ovulation and such. They said that I'll most likely never be able to have children, and if I get pregnant, I may not carry past the first trimester. I take an injection of birth control so that I don't get a period, and to protect myself if needed, but mostly for pain. There was a lot said and I don't remember everything they said, but I remember them saying that I was deemed infertile in the trial. The only good that came out of it was that it earned me a lot of money. Which I used to go to school."

Olena's eyes were soft as she listened to me, her lip caught between her teeth.

"Is that something that you want one day?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, maybe? But all the scary things they said about if I got pregnant make me not want to think about it. Maybe one day I'll look into surrogacy or adoption myself." I said with a sigh. Olena shook her head slowly and turned me to face her.

"Regardless, what Sonya said was not appropriate, whether or not we were in public. I'm sorry," Olena said and I smiled at her.

"Really, it's okay," I said before tossing my tissue into the garbage. I nodded at Tasha and went back out to the table, sitting back down beside Dimitri. Sonya was pointedly looking away from me and Dimitri had a pinch in his face. But when I sat down it loosened and he rested his hand on my back.

"Okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I just didn't want to cough up a lung at the table," I said with a slight laugh, reaching for my glass again. Dimitri's brows pinched a little but let it go, rubbing his fingers over my back before moving his hand to my knee under the table. Tasha and Olena sat down as well, Ivan giving Tasha questioning looks but she shook her head.

"Dimitri said that you're a writer?" Viktoria piped up from the other end of the table, folding her arms on the table.

I nodded. "Sort of. I have a degree in writing, but I haven't had an opportunity to put it to use yet," I said with a small shrug.

"That's not true," Dimitri said with a raised brow.

"Okay, the writing exercises I did with you don't count," I said but Dimitri shook his head.

"If I could get away with it, I'd buy the rights to some of your stuff and publish it. You have talent, Roza. Don't diminish yourself."

I smiled at him and shrugged again. When I was trying to help him finish the album, I used the list I had from school of writing prompts. Sometimes it was just enough to trigger a different idea.

"What kind of things do you write?"

"Mostly poetry, but I did a couple of short story assignments," I explained. Viktoria peppered me with questions about my schooling, trying to dig out if I had a hand in any of the songs on Dimitri's album.

"There is one that didn't make it onto the album that I must release later on as a single," Dimitri said with a grin after our dinner had been eaten, enjoying a few moments before dessert was brought out.

"Which?" I asked curiously, trying to think of what he would want to produce into a piece. So many pieces were so raw that I couldn't pinpoint which one.

"The thirtieth," Dimitri said and I raised my brows.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"The raw emotion behind the words is uncanny. Mixed with the acoustic guitar, it could be crazy," he said as a waiter set a plate down in front of him with his dessert, sparklers sticking out of it. I winked at him and snapped a quick picture of him before he tugged me closer to him and took a quick picture of us. I pursed my lips to the side as he took the picture, smirking at him afterwards and laughed when he pecked my lips.

"Happy birthday, comrade," I said with a smile. He smiled at me and laughed when his family started to sing to him, but it was in Russian so I tried to follow along in English the best I could. There was a possibility that we were singing two separate songs, but I just liked seeing the smile on his face.

He offered me a bite of his cake, and I all but stole it from him afterwards. It was so good and it was the type of cake you couldn't have just one bite of.

"Dimitri told me that the two of you were working on a song together," Viktoria said after dessert. Dimitri shot her a look, and I could see how much the information shocked Tasha.

"What?" she asked, a smile growing on her face.

"It's just something we've been toying with," I said, "And all the music that's been done for the demo has been done in Dimitri's home studio. A lot of work with the launchpad."

Tasha glanced at Ivan and grinned.

"I'll be expecting to hear some of it soon," she said.

"No vocals are done yet," Dimitri laughed and raised a hand at her, "Settle down. It may not be done for a while since we'll be going on tour in a few weeks."

Tasha shrugged and crossed her arms. "Maybe you could throw your label through a loop and sing it live for the first time before you release it. They can't do anything 'cause they don't own the masters."

I shrugged and wiped the last little bit of ganache off my plate with my finger, sticking it in my mouth. I caught Dimitri's gaze and blushed. It was a heavy, heated look and I winked at him.

"Don't do that, you're making me think about last night," Dimitri whispered in my ear and I snorted a laugh, trying to cut myself short so that I didn't have to explain why I was laughing to anyone.

I groaned quietly as I kicked my shoes off and stretched my arms over my head. I knew deep in my heart that I was going to rot in hell for deceiving Olena, but man, she was such a sweet woman.

"Other than my sister's poor behaviour, did you enjoy dinner?" Dimitri asked as he pulled his tie off.

I grinned at him. "I did. Your mom is such a sweetheart. You take after her," I said and rubbed my eyes.

"Did you enjoy your dinner?"

Dimitri smiled. "I did. I'm glad they came down to surprise me," he said with a fond look. I smiled and gestured for him to stay there and I slipped into my room, changing into an oversized t-shirt and pyjama pants, carting out two wrapped boxes.

Dimitri saw it and shook his head.

"You didn't need to get me anything for my birthday," Dimitri said with a smile.

"It's your dirty thirty. You're getting a gift," I said and handed the boxes to him. Dimitri looked between the two and pursed his lips before setting the smaller one down. I watched with a smirk as he opened it, laughing with him when he started laughing.

"You remembered," he said.

"Oh course I did," I said with a snort. "How could I forget that you had never heard of Scrabble?"

Dimitri rolled his eyes and then lifted up the smaller box, opening it. He picked up the leather wrap-around bracelet and held it up so he could read the metallic flat beads on it. He stared at it for a minute before lifting his eyes to mine.

"How did you know this was when and when I performed my first concert?" he asked quietly.

"Because I was there. I didn't think you'd remember."

Dimitri sat on the couch and was deep in thought before I watched it all fall into place.

"You had blue hair then," he said after a moment and I smirked, picking up my phone and scrolling near the beginning of my gallery. I turned it towards him and he chuckled.

"I remember this now," he said. The photo was me, him and Mildred. I was maybe barely nineteen and sporting bright blue hair. Mildred had a megawatt smile on her face, and as I looked at the photo, I could easily remember the night. "You were at the bar after, and we had a few drinks before I walked you back to your hotel."

I nodded. "You were swinging the mic around and whacked it off the stand during the show," I snickered and Dimitri laughed.

"I did, and then I switched to cordless mics," he said, looking down at the bracelet again.

"I just thought that, even with all the changes your label wants to make with you, that this will always remind you of who you are," I said quietly. Dimitri's lips turned up in a soft smile and he slipped it onto his wrist.

"I love it, thank you," he said quietly. I nodded and stood up, going to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water and cracking the seal.

"I know we just ate, but I have a huge chocolate craving," I said as I picked up the room service menu and looked at it. I could see Dimitri's smirk from here as he stood up to change.

"Order whatever piques your interest," he said, "I'm going to shower. And then you can teach me how to scrabble."

I laughed to myself as he walked away, taking a moment to post a few photos I had taken today, ending off with the picture of me and Dimitri at the restaurant.

Let me know what you think!

The 30th by Billie Eilish.