The Secrets We Hold

Chapter 33

"Lissa. Is there something you need?" I said once coming out of my stupor.

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about something. Can I come in?"

I nod and step aside to let her walk in. "Of course. Could you keep your voice down a little? I don't want Adira's nap to be interrupted."

She takes a seat on the couch and I close the door before joining her. After a few minutes of her not speaking, I say, "You said you wanted to talk about something."

"Right umm, I wanted to apologize for what Andre did to you."

I wave her off. "You don't need to apologize. It was all on Andre, not you."

"I guess. But I also wanted to apologize for how I have been acting towards you since you got back. I'm still hurt by you leaving without talking to me first but I'm willing to put it aside if it means we get to be friends again. I'll admit, holding a grudge can take a lot out of a person." That was probably the weirdest apology I have ever gotten but I guess I can forgive her.

"Okay. I would love for us to be friends again. But it will take time to get back to our friendship before the accident. I think we have some issues we need to work out before becoming best friends again." I say and she nods in agreement.

"That sounds fair."

There was an awkward silence after that. While Lissa fidgeted in her spot, I scrolled on my phone, seeing if there was anything interesting. After a few moments, I set my phone down and looked up at her. I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Getting up, I answer the door to see my mother at the door. She walks in without saying anything and I shut the door behind her. My mother spots Lissa and gives her a small bow in greeting.

"Princess Vasilisa. Do you mind giving us some privacy? I need to speak with my daughter."

Lissa immediately gets up to leave. "Of course not. I'll see you later Rose."

Once Lissa leaves the room, my mother comes to take a seat next to me. "Rose. We need to talk about Ibrahim."

"What's there to talk about? He's my father. I have a right to get to know him." I state.

My mother puts her head in her hands. "There was a reason why I kept you away from him. He's not a good person. He's a mob boss. He gets involved in illegal stuff every day."

"I know what he does, but that doesn't automatically make him a bad person. He hasn't been anything but nice towards me since we met. I can make my own decisions. If it bites me in the ass later, so be it. I'll deal with it on my own."

"I'm your mother, Rose. I care about you and it's my job to protect you – " I cut her off angrily.

"When have you ever cared? You dropped my off at the academy as soon as you could. You barely visit me. To be honest, the only time I ever see you is when you are on official guardian business. And there have been so many times where you forgot my birthday."

"When your daughter grows up, you will understand." She tries to explain.

"The hell I will! I will never let my daughter feel like her mother doesn't love her. I will make sure to visit her whenever I can. And most importantly, she will know that she will always be number one to me. I don't care about the saying that Moroi's come first. My daughter will always come first because that's what it means to be a mother." I shouted angrily.

My mother openly gapes, trying to figure out what to say. I don't give her an opportunity to gather her thoughts. "Can you please get out?" To my surprise, she leaves. I hear a small sniffle come from the crib and groan internally. I must have woken up Adira.

Walking over, I see Adira sitting up in her crib with teary eyes. Lifting her up, I rub her back lightly to get her to calm down.

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We left Court the next evening. Queen Tatiana saw us out and baba made sure to say his goodbyes as well. Tasha was at the runway as well to see us leave, but she still looked like she had a stick up her ass. According to Christian, she had been suspicious this whole trip about what he has been up to. She still thinks that we are in a relationship no matter how many times we have denied it.

On the trip back to the academy, I talked to Lissa for a while, trying to catch up. We haven't talked for the past four months so there was a lot to talk about. As I thought, she is still dating Aaron, though she is thinking about breaking up with him soon. She has her eye on someone else so she wants to try and pursue them.

When we get back to the academy, we all call it a night. We all went back to our respective rooms except for Dimitri, who helped me with my luggage since I couldn't carry them all. Getting into my room, I immediately place a sleepy Adira in her crib before putting things away. Dimitri just dropped my suitcases off in my room before leaving to go back to his, which makes sense as it was late.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to sleep in. Alberta informed us that we would have to go back to classes immediately so that we didn't miss too much work. I didn't think it would be too hard to wake up until the morning came. I had to drag myself out of bed and sluggishly made my way to the bathroom. The running water in the shower almost put me back to sleep but I quickly opened my eyes each time I nodded off.

It was even harder to wake up Adira. She was so tired and cranky that she wouldn't stop crying. I got her bathed and changed while she was sniffling and the only time she was quiet was when I was feeding her. After I burped her, she immediately started crying again.

On the walk to the cafeteria, the tears kept on coming, no matter how much I tried to calm her down. Arriving to the cafeteria, I sit next to Christian and Adrian, who were already there eating. Without saying anything, I hand Christian an upset Adira before getting something to eat.

Sitting back down, Christian tries to hand her back to me. "I can't take the screaming, Rose. Take her back."

"I dealt with it since I woke up. You will survive for ten minutes." I said, eating a breakfast burrito.

I kept eating for a few minutes before realizing something. "Here. Give me Adira. I think I know what's wrong."

Christian doesn't hesitate to give her back to me. Holding her to my side, I place the tip of my finger in her mouth to feel her gums. When I find what I'm looking for, I remove my finger.

Dipping my finger in a cold cup of water, I place my finger back in her mouth. Almost immediately, her crying subsides and I let out a sigh of relief.

Turning to Christian and Adrian, I explain. "Adira has a tooth coming in so she is in pain. The crying is probably a mixture of the pain and having to wake up early."

I finish my breakfast before getting up. There was still ten minutes left of breakfast but I had to drop Adira off at Dimitri's since he isn't working today.

When I arrive to his room, I knock on the door. He opens the door in his pajamas and allows me to come in. Giving me a short hug and a kiss on the forehead, he lets go and grabs Adira. I explain to him that he should put the teething ring in the freezer for Adira and he assures me that he understands.

Dimitri gives me another kiss before telling me to leave so that I'm not late to class.