Chapter 9

A/N: Hi guys! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! So sorry for the late update. I'm sure some of you know how busy you can get around the holidays. Especially when you have a big family. But, I'm back now and here with this update. Thank you so much for the continued support. I don't know what I would do without any of you. You make this so worth it. Love you all. HAPPY HOLIDAYS AGAIN! Please read and enjoy.

Rose xoxo

DIMITRI POV:

I was going to forgive Rose. The more time I spent holding a grudge against her, the more I pushed her way. And I didn't want us to get to the point where she just gave up on us. On our family. I still loved her, no doubt. My girls were my everything. I would give them the life that they deserved and then I would put a ring on Rose's finger, proving to her that she could trust me. That we could work in a relationship...in a family. As I walked into Rosalie's nursery, I heard Rose singing to her as she dressed her. We were going to my office and I wanted her to get used to having security.

"Are you ready?" I knocked, softly, on the door.

Rose nodded, "Yeah. We're good. Can you get her baby bag and put more diapers in it?"

I grabbed the purple bag and did what she said, also putting a couple of rattles in there. When Rosie picked up Rosalie, I smiled at her outfit. She was wearing a white onesie with the words: I'm My Daddy's Girl and My Mommy's World, written in pink, shimmery letters, tights, and a pink jacket with little white sneakers. My baby girl was so beautiful. Walking over to them, I kissed Rose on the cheek, making her give me a surprised look.

"i love you," I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Her eyes widened a little before the faintest smile crossed her face, "Still? Even after what I did?"

"Life's too short to hold grudges and I want us to give our child a stable life...I don't want us to walk on eggshells around each other," I explained.

This time, Rose had a much bigger smile on her face. It made my heart swell and it made me happy. Rosalie just sat there, clueless, with her head on her mother's shoulder, big brown eyes watching us. Rose got on her tiptoes and kissed me on the lips. It was brief, but sweet. And I knew it was the start of so much more.

"I love you, too," said Rose, without hesitation, before looking back down at our baby. "And we love you."

Rosalie started gurgling, making both of us laugh. Rose took the baby bag and promised she'd be downstairs in a few minutes while I took Rosalie out of her arms.

ROSE POV:

Dimitri still loved me. That had the count for something. He hadn't said in the exact words that he forgave me, but that's what it sounded like he was doing and I couldn't be more happy. And he was right. Rosie deserved for us to give her a stable life. It wasn't just about us anymore. We had to be parents. And this was probably the most responsible decision we'd made together since I moved to Seattle for us to live together. Now that I knew how much Dimitri really cared for us and didn't want anything to happen to us, I wasn't going to give him such a hard time about the bodyguard situation. Did I like someone following me all the time and watching me? Hell no. But, I was going to do it for the sake of our family.

"OK. All good to-" When I walked downstairs, I saw a woman falling all over Dimitri.

The same woman that was at Dimitri's office in Denver. Tasha. She was pressing her cherry red lips to his and it felt like my heart was breaking all over again. Dimitri pushed her away, eyes dark.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Tasha? Get out!" he shouted at her.

He pushed her away. That had to mean something. Rosie started wailing and I reached her before Dimitri did, rocking her and rubbing her back. Dimitri looked at me, clearly realizing that I saw what just happened but that wasn't what was important right now. Tasha looked at me with pure hatred. I didn't pay any attention to her. She was unnecessary and irrelevant to my life. And she was clearly older than Dimitri. I couldn't believe a woman would act that desperate to try and get a man that clearly didn't want them.

"It's OK, baby. Shh, it's OK," I cooed over my baby.

"Leave my house and don't come back. Do you understand me?" Dimitri growled at her in a low voice before walking over to me and Rosie. "Is she OK?"

"Yeah. She's fine. It was just the raised voices," I assured him, continuing to gently rock her.

I reached up with my free hand and wiped the lipstick off his mouth, clearly pissing Tasha off because she stormed out. He leaned down to press a kiss to my cheek but I stopped him.

"I don't know where that woman's lips have been," I told him, making him laugh.

"Are you ready?"

Nodding, I handed our baby over to him before pulling on my own jacket and lifting her baby bag onto my shoulder. Eddie and Kellan, the two bodyguards that Dimitri hired, were waiting by a black Suburban in the driveway, in their bodyguard stances. Kellan opened the back door for me and I gave him a small smile. Dimitri's eyes narrowed, making me roll my eyes. So jealous. I strapped Rosie's car seat in the middle, making sure it was secure before climbing in. It was a really nice car.

"How did you guys get the company started up so quickly?" I questioned, curiously. "I mean, people must've underestimated three 19-year-olds building their own business up."

Sometimes, I forgot how young Dimitri was. How young I was. We both had to grow up too quickly. Neither of us ever got the chance to have a normal childhood. And now here we were, with our own child. Maybe people would judge. Tell us we were stupid little kids who didn't use a condom and ended up with a baby we weren't ready for. But, guess what? I didn't care. No one was ever really ready to have a child. You could read as many books as you wanted, it never compared to having a living, breathing, little human to take care of. The book wouldn't change their diapers or feed them or make them stop crying for you. That was something you had to learn how to do. And I wouldn't trade being the mother of my little girl for anything in the world.

"We had a lot of people tell us we were too young. That we should come back in 10 years," shrugged Dimitri. "But, finally, someone gave us a chance and word got around that we were worth the chance they would take."

I smiled, "I'm proud of you."

He ran a hand over my hair and kissed the top of my head. The ride to his HQ wasn't long. Maybe 20 minutes. I noticed Eddie nor Kellan were ones to speak much. They drove in perfect silence unless Dimitri asked a question that had to do with security. They would be staying in the two bedrooms on the first floor of the mansion and Dimitri was having some people come to install some top-of-the-line system that seemed to be pretty pricey. But, now I knew not to say anything when it came to security. Dimitri would do whatever he felt was necessary to protect us. Eddie walked in front of us, Kellan bringing up the rear, as we walked through the glass double doors leading into Acer Enterprises.

"Mr. Belikov," the guard sitting behind the long, curved, black marble desk nodded at Dimitri.

"Carter," Dimitri nodded back, professionally but with a small smile on his face.

When we walked in, it was like he changed. He kept his arm around me, while I carried Rosie's car seat in my hands, but was very serious and professional. That was his business face, I was assuming. Instead of walking to the bank of elevators where everyone was waiting to get on, we walked to one on the other side of large lobby. Dimitri typed in a code and the doors opened with a ding.

"You have a private elevator?" My eyes widened as we stepped on.

For the briefest moment, Dimitri flashed a boyish grin, "Cool, right?" Then, he turned to Kellan and Eddie with the serious look. "I'lll make sure to let security know who you are and that you have access to this building and my floor."

Both men nodded before responding in unison, "Yes, sir."

We were going up to what I was assuming was the top floor because it took forever. Rosie was getting impatient, gurgling and waving her tiny fists in the air. Finally, the elevator stopped and the door opened to a large reception area. A woman was sitting behind the large desk against one wall, next to a comfy looking waiting room. She was a pretty woman. Maybe mid-20s, with bright red hair curled and pinned back. She had freckles that reminded me of an old friend and bright blue eyes. She smiled when she saw us walk off the elevator.

"Mr. Belikov. Your coffee and messages are waiting for you in your office," she said, brightly.

Huh. She was too happy-go-lucky for me. Maybe that was what I needed more of.

"Thank you, Megan...This is my girlfriend, Rose, and our daughter, Rosalie," Dimitri introduced us, putting a hand on my lower back.

"Hi. How are you?" Megan beamed before looking down at Rosie. "Oh my gosh. She is the cutest baby I've ever seen. Can I hold her?"

I looked at Dimitri, hesitantly, and he nodded, smiling. But, my mothering instincts made me hesitant. After Megan put hand sanitizer on, I sat Rosie in her arms, very gently. She gushed over her and I couldn't help it when I started smiling. Maybe I was biased, but I had the best baby in the world.

"Megan, can you have breakfast sent up for us?" Dimitri put a hand on my back.

"'Course, Boss Man," she handed back the baby and saluted him.

Dimitri shook his head in amusement, before leading us into his office. I liked her. She seemed genuinely nice. But, I missed my own friends. It felt like I hadn't seen Ali and Lissa in forever. But, I didn't blame them. They gave up a lot to help me take care of Rosie, so, they deserved to have their own lives, too, with their boyfriends. Dimitri's office was huge. The wall behind his desk was completely made of glass, showing off the Seattle skyline. As Dimitri sat down behind the large, mahogany desk, in his black rolling chair, I felt like it suited him. He was large and commanding. Powerful. You didn't see his age when you saw him sitting at the desk. You saw a man whose bad side you did not want to get on.

"This..." I gestured to the fancy artwork on the white walls, "is totally not you."

He smiled and nodded, "I know."

Rosie started wailing and I immediately lifted her up out of the car seat, rocking her in my arms. She hated not being in someone's arms for a long period of time. Maybe it was because I spoiled her when she was a new newborn, refusing to put her down. I would, literally, sit for hours just holding her.

"You know, we would've been fine at home. How can you get any work done?" I held her with one arm while I grabbed the baby bag, trying to open it to get a diaper.

He was by my side in a second, helping me get the diapers and wipes.

"I have a meeting in an hour and I don't know how long it'll last. So, I probably won't even be in here. But..." he grabbed a remote and pressed a button, causing some wall panels to slide open, revealing a flat screen TV, "there's plenty for you to entertain yourselves with. Eddie and Kellan will be right outside the door, just in case you need anything. And Megan should be back up with breakfast soon."

I gave him a confused look, "But, I thought you said your meeting wasn't for another hour."

"It isn't, but, I have to make sure Ivan, Jay and I are on the same page," he kissed me, briefly, then pressed a kiss to Rosie's head.

Then, he rushed out the room. Well, then. I laid Rosie's extra blanket on the black, Italian leather sofa and changed her, her cries quieting down. A few minutes later, we were cuddled up on the couch together, watching TV. There was a knock at the door and I called for them to come in. Megan came in with a man pushing a tray of breakfast foods. She smiled, waved, then scurried out. OK...I laid Rosie back in her car seat once she started dozing off and laid her blanket over her, making sure she wouldn't get too hot. Then, I walked over to the spread. There was bagels, fruit, waffles, sausages, bacon, orange juice, coffee, eggs, hash browns, everything I could think of. I could get used to this. Curious, as I munched on some fruit, I explored Dimitri's office. I knew it was kind of wrong and I did trust him, but, I just wanted to explore. And I found something I didn't expect. I gasped. A note:

If you want your beautiful girls to live, you will do what I tell you...or I'll make you watch while they bleed, slowly.

I know I'm the worst, worst, WORST person! But, life gets in the way all the time and I honestly don't know how to deal with it all at once but I'm trying. And I know people hate cliffhangers, but once I update my other stories, which will be soon, I will work on the next chapter of this one. I REALLY PROMISE THIS TIME. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH.

xoxo Rose