Abe becoming Dimitri's handler really ruffled Dimitri's feathers. He had been on edge for the last week and a half, and every time Abe called, he tensed. And what made things worse was that for a bit of the tour, Abe was tagging along. I wasn't sure if Dimitri was angry or irritated, but I could see it boiling under the surface.

I knew that he was suspicious, and it was clear that every time Abe approached me, he thought there was something else happening. I wanted to tell him, but I wasn't ready to talk about it. I still wanted time to process it all.

"What did Abe need earlier?" Dimitri asked as we walked down the street. We made a pledge to hit a bakery in every city we went to, and so far, I loved the Korvapuusti, a cinnamon and cardamom bun that was popular in Finland. This was the last stop before we did our stops in Russia.

"Oh, um, he wanted to grab dinner before we left at the end of the week," I said quietly, taking a sip of the last of the coffee in my cup and tossing it in the trash can as we passed by.

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, he umm, mentioned something about an article about my biological mother that he wanted to talk about," I lied, but it wasn't a complete lie. He did say that he wanted to talk to me about my mother, but more about my background.

Dimitri pulled me to stop. "You don't need to lie to me, Rose."

I blinked at him. "He does want to talk to me about my mom," I said but he shook his head.

"It's more than that Rose. Why else would he ask you to have dinner about this? He could talk to you about it any other time."

"I don't understand why you're getting so worked up about this?!" I exclaimed and threw my hands out to the side.

"Because the last time someone I cared about worked with Abe, I got raked over the coals! So, if you're going to do the same thing as Greta, then leave!" Dimitri yelled. We had gained attention with our fighting, but his words stung.

"You think that's what this is? That I'm going behind your back to get my own signing?" I whispered.

"That's what it's starting to look like," he said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I thought you knew me better than that," I whispered, turning around and starting to walk away with my arms wrapped around my stomach. I could see the look people gave me as I walked, and I knew that my eyes were starting to go red as I held back my tears.

It hurt to think that he'd think I would use him. I thought we had built enough of a friendship for him to know me better than that. But being hurt in the past would have left a scar.

"You're not going to tell me the truth?" Dimitri called after me. I turned around and sighed when he approached.

"He's my father, Dimitri! That's why we had been speaking in private, that's why we had a drink together at the hotel in Poland. That was when I found out who he was. I wasn't trying to sign my own deal; I just wasn't ready to tell anyone yet. I haven't even told Lissa! We've just been trying to get to know one another," I explained before turning back around and heading down the street.

Maria didn't say a word as she helped me get ready. The fight between me and Dimitri wasn't secret anymore, in fact, it was everywhere I turned. People started calling me 'Greta 2.0' which bothered me to no end. All it took was three hours.

I didn't like being compared to her, and it didn't help that she had gone out and said that she claimed I was just using Dimitri for personal gain. Even with the concert tonight, I didn't want to be there or perform with him. My heart hurt. It hurt in a way I couldn't explain. I had had fights with Lissa and my other friends in the past, but this was different. It ached and it burned in my chest.

She pulled something out of her bag and handed it to me.

"What this?"

"It's medicinal, but it'll help with your back and whatever is going on inside your head," she explained quietly, "It'll start working by the time you need to go on stage. Then when you smile it won't seem so forced."

I nodded and opened the small zip-closed packet. I took one of the small, squishy candies out and went to put it in my mouth.

"Oh, my God! Not the whole thing!" Maria exclaimed with a small laugh, "Just a bite. I don't need you falling over on stage."

"What exactly is this?" I asked her, looking at it questionably.

"It's CBD with a little THC in it. Now, if you aren't comfortable, don't take it, but it might help," she said. I nodded and looked at it. I bit the top of it off and raised my brows at Maria.

"That should be enough," she said and I chewed it before swallowing it. Maria went back to doing my makeup, her brows pinching together as she pressed concealer under my eyes. I sighed quietly as she worked and she frowned after a little bit.

"Do you want to talk about it? I know I'm not Lissa, but if you need to talk?" Maria offered, "There is the whole assistant employer confidentiality thing in my contract." I shrugged and licked my lips.

"How much do you know?" I asked.

"I know that you two had a fight, and I know that it has to do with Abe Mazur," she explained.

"He's my father. My biological father," I said quietly. Maria nodded and frowned.

"That's a lot," she said with a small shake of her hand, "How did that cause a fight between you and him?"

"He thought I was doing what Greta did; going behind his back and getting signed to the label. I wasn't ready to tell anyone about Abe. It was a lot to take in! I mean, I've literally never had anything stable until I lived with Mildred and Barry. And he said that by the time he figured out where I was, I was adopted and was happy. And then he didn't think it was fair for him to come into my life, and then I started this with Dimitri…"

"He was looking out for you mentally," she supplied quietly.

"And it's not like I didn't want to tell Dimitri, I just wasn't ready. I mean, this is a lot! Finding out that my father knew about me, but that my mom refused to let him see me. He wanted me! He wanted me and she wouldn't let him! And then when he had the chance, he didn't want to cause me any more confusion and pain. Like, my mom didn't care about me, and then there's this man who does!"

Maria set her things down and gripped my hands.

"You really love him, don't you?" she said quietly. I looked at her and felt like a weight settled in my chest. I didn't want to use the words, but Maria was right. I did love him, I was in love with him. That's why it hurt so much.

I didn't respond verbally but nodded my head a little bit. Maria looked at me sympathetically.

"It hurts this much because you're so vulnerable," Maria said, "And I say that because I care. You are; you hide it well, but I see it. You want to be loved and accepted because even though you were adopted by an amazing family, you are still scarred. And this fight, it's making you feel like everything is falling apart around you."

I swallowed and leaned toward her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. She returned the embrace and rubbed her hand over her back.

"It'll be okay. People fight all the time, but I see how much you two love each other," Maria said. I pulled back and looked at her sadly.

"But this isn't real," I said.

"I know. I know that it was supposed to be pretend, but I can see it. He loves you, and you love him," she whispered, tucking my hair behind my ear.

I nodded and felt relieved that she knew the truth. Deceiving people was the hardest part of all of this, and I hated that I was lying to people. It wasn't even about the money anymore. But I don't think that Dimitri loved me, I think that he felt like he needed to continue the act at all times on this tour.

"What are you supposed to be singing tonight?" Maria asked as she went back to doing my make-up.

"We're supposed to sing 11 Minutes, but I don't know. I don't think it's the best idea. I don't think I can fake it," I said.

"You can; you can fake it. Once you go on stage, you can fake it. I know you can, and when you are done, I will have a tube of lactose-free Ben and Jerry's and a bottle of Shiraz waiting for you. You and I can pig out and watch cringy movies and just get it all out if you need to," she said reassuringly with a small smile.

I mouthed a thank you and she smiled at me, telling me she was done and to go get dressed so she could put on the last touches. Once I got dressed, I looked at myself in the mirror. The outfit was more me than any of the other ones had worn before; jeans and a graphic t-shirt that was ripped, cutting down nicely to showcase my boobs.

Maria knocked on the door and I called out to let her in. She smirked at me and sprayed something over my chest, rubbing it into the skin.

"It's not oil but it'll draw the light to your skin, same as usual," she explained and I nodded. She opened the main door to the room and called the sound crew in to get me set up. I let them do what they needed to do, hearing the vibrations of the current set from the stage. Dimitri had already gone on and I was just coming out for the end of the show.

Maria cocked her head slightly and tugged on my jeans gently. "Have you put on weight?" she asked after the crew left.

"I don't think so, why?" I asked.

"Well, usually you need a belt with the pack when you wear these, but you don't need it tonight. Maybe it's just the jeans; you know, you can never get the same size in two places," Maria said with a wave of her hand but her face was still pinched.

"Maybe I've had too much dairy, you know I bloat when I have too much dairy," I shrugged and put my earpieces in and headed towards the stage. Maria was trailing behind me, my water bottle in her hand and I stopped to move my hair out of my face.

Maria handed me my bottle of water and I took a sip and then checked my phone one more time. I gestured for Maria to come closer and took a quick snap, sending it to Mia and Lissa, asking for them to wish me luck. After that, I handed Maria my phone and nodded at Tasha before taking my mic and heading on stage at my cue.

Maria was true to her word; when the show was over and we finished the after-show greetings, I got back to my hotel room and Maria was waiting for me. So were Mia and Lissa.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked in surprise.

"Maria called us a few days ago and told us that you needed your people," Lissa said and stood up from the couch, wrapping her arms around me tightly. I hugged her back and rested my head against her shoulder.

"You guys flew out here for me?" I asked quietly.

"Maria made it sound like we needed to be here," Mia said, "And I brought Teddy with me. He's just in your room sleeping right now. He sleeps like his auntie Rose."

I smiled and slipped into the other room, peering over the playpen and smiling at Teddy. He was a year old now and adorable as ever. I leaned over and carefully picked him up, cuddling him to my chest. He shifted and clutched at me, rubbing his face against my chest before becoming still. I heard the door creak behind me, and I smiled at Mia.

"He's like the perfect feel better," she whispered with her arms crossed over her chest.

"He is," I said quietly and kissed the top of his head before putting him back into the playpen. I went back into the main room and sat down, taking the already poured glass of wine from Lissa and got comfortable on the couch.

"You sounded so good tonight!" Lissa enthused, "Mia and I could not get over how good the show was! I mean, you're a born star!"

"You guys went to the show? Who had Teddy?"

"I had him in the back, he was sporting some amazing noise-cancelling handphones and conked out around eight. He's a perfect baby. He's a trap," Maria said as she put her feet up on the coffee table. I smiled and took a drink of my wine.

"Where is Dimitri?" Lissa asked.

"I think he went out for a drink with Ivan before coming back here," I mused and took a longer drink, noticing Mia and Lissa watching me carefully.

"Maria said that something has been happening and that you needed some support," Lissa said after a few minutes, "Is it about this fight I keep seeing on social media?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's about the guy that handles Dimitri now that Victor's gone," I explained.

"What's wrong with him? Did he take a pass at you?" Mia asked.

"No. He's my father," I said and finished the last of my wine, holding it out for a refill. Mia's eyes widened as she filled my glass.

"What?" Lissa exclaimed quietly.

"Yeah, he's my biological father and he wants to know me. We're taking it really slow."

"But why did that cause a fight?"

"Because I thought she was going behind my back," Dimitri said. We all jumped, not hearing him come in. I looked at him tiredly and then at my glass of wine.

"Want one?"

"No, thank you," he said quietly, "Good to see you, ladies."

Lissa and Mia waved at him when there was a loud squawk followed by tears from my room. Dimitri stopped in his tracks and looked at my room.

"You brought Teddy?" he asked, a small smile rising to his lips.

"Yeah," Mia said as she started to get up but Dimitri gestured her to sit down.

"I got him," Dimitri offered and went into my room. I bit my lip and then looked back at my wine glass.

"I have no idea how we're going to get through a week at his mother's house," I whispered as I drained my glass in one gulp.

"That's coming up, isn't it?"

"We hit St. Petersburg in two days, and then we fly to his mother's house, performing in Omsk the second day we're there," I said as I set my glass on the table. I stood up and went to the freezer, smiling to myself as I pulled a single serving of Ben & Jerry's from the freezer. I popped the lid off and grabbed a spoon from the drawer, coming to sit back down on the couch.

"If you need an escape, I'm renting a place closer to Omsk," Maria whispered.

"It's fine, besides, we need to keep up pretenses," I said quietly as I shovelled the ice cream into my mother. I glanced up when Dimitri slipped out of my room and into his room.

"Have you spoken to Mildred?" Lissa asked.

"I spoke to her when I found out. I couldn't even process it, so I called her," I said quietly. Lissa nodded, glancing at the clock.

"Do you want to come and stay in our room?" Mia asked, "It's not a problem."

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. We'll probably just try to avoid each other like we did for most of the day," I replied. The three of them looked at each other but didn't speak, instead drinking their wine with worried looks.

DPOV

Ivan wasn't overly impressed with me when we sat down for beers after the gig. We found a hole in the wall and a dark corner, leaving us to our own solitude away from everyone else.

"So, what exactly caused this huge blowout that Tasha and I have been trying to take care of since this morning?" Ivan asked as he took a sip of his beer, thanking our waiter when he set down a pan of nachos on the table between us.

"Abe," I said tiredly.

"That much was obvious," he muttered and cocked his head at me. "What did you do?"

"You immediately assume it was me," I retorted. Not that he was wrong, but it was usually where he went.

"Are you seriously that dense, Dimitri? Did it seriously take you yelling at Rose for you to figure it all out?"

"What? That I'm in love with her and I just seriously fucked things up?" I asked as I took a sip of my beer.

Ivan rolled his eyes. "Well, yes, but no. That he is her father."

I sputtered into my beer. "How the hell did you know that? From what I've seen, nobody knows what she said to me."

Ivan exaggeratedly rolled his eyes at me, his whole body moving in the motion.

"Are you stupid?! Have you looked at either of them when they were in the same room? They're identical! They have the same face, the same smile, the same eyes. Tasha overheard them in Poland when the two of them drinking. And I figured it out during the meeting the next day. It wasn't hard to see. And he didn't treat her the same way he treated Greta. He wanted all conversations behind closed doors then, but he openly talked to her in our presence. So what, he wants to have dinner with his biological daughter? Do you think that maybe it was too much to bring up, especially because you've bitched and moaned about him since Poland?! You've made it virtually impossible for her to feel okay about the situation, not to mention, feel okay to bring it up to you!" Ivan exclaimed, leaning over the table.

"You have been narrow-minded when it comes to her because you love her, but give your head a shake," he muttered after a moment, taking a long drink of his beer and then eating some nachos.

"Thank you for making me feel so much better about all of this," I muttered sarcastically.

"Good!" he said and shook his head, "You need to apologize."

"I know that," I whispered.

"And sooner, rather than later. I know how you get. You become all broody and dark, you stop writing, and you get into a funk. And to be perfectly honest, I think that Rose loves you too. But you've hurt her. I saw the look on her face when she got back to the hotel, and I've never seen her like that before. And you've been a happier person with her along for the ride. So, as your branding manager, get your shit together because I can't afford for you to tank yourself right now."

I rubbed my brow and grabbed a few nachos off the pan, eating them as I mulled over what Ivan said. He was brutally honest, but I needed it.

"I don't even know where to start," I said tiredly, "I made an already difficult situation harder."

Ivan raised a brow at me, and I rolled my eyes at him. "Yes, you did. I get where your mind went, but Rose would never have done that to you."

I nodded. "Any ideas on how to make it better, or are you going to let me flounder until I make a bigger fool of myself, publicly and personally?"

Ivan smirked at me and shrugged, pinching a few chips off the pan.

I gave the girls the main part of the suite to hang out, but even after they all left, I couldn't sleep. All I could think about was the look on Rose's face when I yelled at her. The look of hurt and betrayal screamed louder than any words could say.

I knew that Rose wasn't asleep either, I heard the balcony door open about an hour ago. I wasn't my best tonight during the show, and I knew that I sounded off when I performed tonight. She faked it the best she could, but I could see the cracks in her composure.

I decided that if I wasn't going to sleep, I needed to face this. I tossed the covers off me and I got out of bed, pulling a shirt on and a sweater. I went into the small kitchenette and pulled down two mugs from the cupboards, filling them with hot chocolate mix and then used the hot water from the cooler. When I opened the balcony door, I saw the pebbled skin on Rose's arms and I set the mugs on the ledge and took off my sweater, draping it over her shoulders.

She didn't turn when I came out, but she looked up when I extended the mug to her. Her expression pulled at my heart. Her cheeks were flushed, whether by the cold or her tears, and there were fresh tears on her cheeks.

"Any good?" I asked her. She nodded slowly, her eyes moving back to the skyline.

"Yeah. Whoever is playing the jazz trumpet sounds amazing," she whispered, taking a sip of the hot chocolate while wrapping the sweater around her shoulders. I nodded and I sighed after taking a sip.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No, I couldn't sleep," I said quietly. She nodded and held her mug close to her chest. I watched her carefully as we listened to the music. I knew that she knew I was watching her, but I was trying to see a sign of anything. But after a while, I couldn't stay silent any longer. I should have waited, I should have been calm, but I snapped instead.

"Abe's your biological father," I whispered.

Rose nodded and blinked tiredly. "Yeah."

"And he didn't tell you until Poland?"

"Yeah. But he knew who I was, and where I was, shortly after the car accident," she sighed.

"Why would he wait so long to say anything?" I asked quietly, but it was more to myself than to Rose.

"He didn't want to interfere. Millie and Barry had already put through the application to adopt me, and when he spoke to my case worker, he decided that he didn't want to cause more problems for me. He didn't want to put anything else on my plate," she explained quietly and rested her head back on the chair.

I took in a slow deep breath. "And I snapped at you, thinking that you were doing the same as Greta. I should have respected your privacy," I said.

"You should have. Because in all reality, I'm not your girlfriend, and you owe me a little bit of respect and privacy. I'm allowed to have my own secrets, we both know you have them," she returned, looking at me in the eyes, "And instead, you freaked out in public and now we have a huge scandal on our hands. And just so you know, your ex-girlfriend is making this all about how she told everyone she was right about me. I got bombarded when I left the show before you, people calling me a cheap whore and user and manipulative. Do you how that feels? When you're already feeling pretty shitty about the whole thing?"

I looked down at my mug and nodded, no doubt looking as guilty as I felt. Her words hit me hard. She wasn't my girlfriend, even though I would like her to be, I couldn't ask her to stay in this life long term. It would twist her world more than it already was.

"I'm sorry," I offered quietly.

"Sorry isn't enough right now. Not when anyone who's on social media has probably seen the fight. They didn't hear me say anything about Abe being my father, all they heard was you accusing me of being Greta."

I bit my lip and looked at her and she looked back out at the city, drinking her hot chocolate in silence.

Couldn't resist updating a day early ;)