SUMMARY: Rose Hathaway is a waitress living in a shabby one room apartment with a measly salary and a five year old child- Mason to support. How did she get in this mess?

Five years ago, her best guy friend Mason Ashford and his girlfriend Jillian were brutally murdered by a psychopath Nathan. Fortunately their young child- Little Mason was at his babysitter's place at the time. Refusing to let the child go in foster care, she decides to raise him as her own. Her mother unhappy with her decision kicked her out of the house and left her struggling at the age of 18. Luckily, her best friend- Lissa supports her decision and helps her get a job as well as raise Mason. Her life turns upside down when the rich bachelor Dimitri Belikov makes her an offer she can't refuse. Has Rose actually made a mistake or is it something that will make her life better?

"You're going to regret your decision Rose. Marrying him is the worst mistake you'll ever make. You're much better off without him." Rose could recall those words perfectly in her head and she wished she had paid heed to those words, a very wrong thought for a newly wedded wife. Her life had become miserable ever since she made the worst decision of her life- marrying the cold, heartless, billionaire- Dimitri Belikov.

Rose POV

I sighed as I cleaned the tables at the restaurant I worked at. I had worked double shifts yesterday and had barely got any sleep. I had managed to pay off Mason's school fees and supplies but I was left with the bills.

I didn't have the money to hire a babysitter for Mason but Alberta my boss had been kind enough to allow me to bring him along. The other waitresses had been willing to help me and kept an eye on him while I took orders.

I glanced back at the cash counter where Mason sat with a colouring book, his face scrunched up in concentration and his mouth slightly open with his tongue peeking out, his wild red hair poking in different directions. At such times he reminded me of his father. He was a carbon copy of Mason Ashford and he was the only reason that kept me from giving up. Seeing the smile on Mason's face as he chattered happily kept me going.

His father and I had been great friends right from kindergarten. He had supported me when my mother was too busy to care, shared his lunch with me when my mother was too busy to prepare mine, helped me with my homework when I had nobody. We had even dated for a while but it had never worked out.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the bell at the door. An extremely tall foreigner stood with a little girl just in front of him. He chose a table in my area but the little girl didn't follow him. Instead she made her way to the cash counter towards Mason. She looked slightly older to him but was shyer than I expected. I turned and made my way to her father who was busy working on his laptop.

" Welcome to Grab and Go my name is Rose and I'm your server for today. What can I get you?" I began as cheery as possible. He didn't even glance up from his laptop before answering.

" One coffee and a cheese burger." He had a slight Russian accent but his voice was hard and monotonous.

"It'll be ready in 15 minutes." I took down his order and made my way to the kitchen. On my way out I noticed that Mason was chattering happily with the girl. I could see a spark in her beautiful brown eyes. Her eyes were the same colour as her father's but his were cold and hard while her's were like melted chocolate.

I went over to Mason and ruffled his hair.

"Hey buddy, who's your new friend." I sent a friendly smile towards her and she smiled back shyly. Manson instead glared at me for ruffling his hair and embarrassing him in front of his new friend.

"Her name's Sofia, and she's seven years old." Mason replied.

"Wow, you're a big girl Sofia! Would you two like anything to drink?"

"I'd like an orange juice please." It was the first time I had heard her talk. Her voice was soft and perfectly polite.

"I want one too Rose" Mason called.

"I'll be right back Sofia."

I smiled at both of them and before I could go Sofia blurted out "You're really pretty." Her statement made me smile all the more and I could see her blush.

"Thank you Sofia, and I think you're really pretty too."

"You think so?" Her voice sounded insecure.

I shook my head "I know so." This earned me a huge smile from Sofia as she flashed her sparkling teeth, her eyes glittering. She went back to colouring with Mason and I left them both to that.

The Russian's order was ready and I carried it to him. This time he looked up when I placed his coffee on the table. "Where's Sofia? Tell her her cheese burger's ready."

"She's at the counter with my son Mason, I'll tell her." I could see the look of disgust he sent me. A lot of people gave me that look when I said Mason was my son. They thought it was irresponsible for a 17yr old to get pregnant and that we couldn't take care of kids at such a young age. What he didn't know was that Mason wasn't my son but he didn't need to know that, he could judge me if he wanted.

I went back to Sofia and told her her meal was ready and I could feel the Russian's eyes on my back. Her face fell when I told her that her dad wanted her back.

"You can join Mason after you eat. He's not going anywhere." She readily agreed and skipped off to finish her meal. After she was done, I saw her go back to Mason and resume their conversation but I couldn't observe them for long.

More customers had come and it was a busy night. I was tired by the end of the day. It was closing time and the Russian still hadn't left. He had been working on his laptop all the while. Mason and the girl had slept off a long time ago.

"I'm sorry sir, we're closing. You have to leave." He nodded and went over to wake Sofia up.

"What are you doing? Don't wake her up."

"She's not going to walk unless I wake her." He glared at me like I was dumb. I glared back at him and carried Sofia in my arms.

"Where's your car?" He pointed in the opposite direction and I followed him out till his shiny convertible. Once he had unlocked the car, I gently placed his daughter on the back seat and smoothed her hair away from her forehead.

Without a word I left him and walked back to the diner to lock up. I struggled with the keys in one hand and Mason on the other. When I was done I turned to look for a cab. I usually walked it up to my place but there was no way I could do that with Mason sleeping.

I was out of luck, the roads were empty and I nearly didn't notice a shiny convertible coming after me.

"Get in Rose, I'll drop you home." I had no other choice so I carefully laid Mason beside Sofia and sat in the passenger seat. The atmosphere in the car was tense and there was no conversation apart from me giving him directions to my house. When he stopped in front of my apartment, I slid out quietly to get Mason but he was faster. He carried Mason and motioned me to lead the way.

I didn't like the look of disgust he gave when he saw the crumbling plaster around my flat. I unlocked the door quickly and reached out to take Mason. I didn't want to invite him in. He allowed me to take Mason but stopped me from closing the door with his expensive leather shoes. He surveyed my apartment with his cold calculating eyes and then turned to leave without a word.

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