Anything for Her - Complete

Chapter 6

The days after Lissa's compulsion, Rose could not bring herself to leave her rooms. She spent the time obsessively cleaning, looking after Lara, and sleeping – the whole time trying to understand how Lissa could have fucked her over the way she did. For so long, as long as Rose could remember, Lissa had come first. When she'd accepted her allocation as Lissa's Guardian, Rose had made a promise to protect Lissa, no matter what the cost. She'd already proven her commitment when she took a bullet for Lissa, nearly dying in the process. And since then, Rose had proven her fidelity again and again – repeatedly choosing her duty to Lissa – even when it came at the expense of her time with Dimitri. They'd been in the same boat, she and Dimitri. Both torn between their duty to their charge and their commitment to their partner. And they'd made it work - at least until now. Even though it had rubbed on them both, they'd both convinced themselves their charges were worth the sacrifices they made.

Stupidly, Rose had thought her commitment to Lissa was reciprocated; that Lissa acknowledged and appreciated her many sacrifices. But now Rose doubted that had ever been the case. With the benefit of hindsight, she had to wonder whether Lissa had ever recognized the weighty toll Rose paid again and again by putting her first. Indeed, Rose started to contemplate all that had happened since Lissa had realized she was pregnant and pondered whether placing the blame on her had been Lissa's plan from the aft. Even before Rose became aware of what was going on, Lissa had made her first medical appointment in Rose's name. At the time, it made sense, but looking back Rose wasn't sure whether this traitorous deception had always been Lissa's intention.

Every day, Rose would straighten the unit, hoping against hope Dimitri would calm down and come to see her. And every day she was disappointed. In fact, other than the meals which continued to arrive at regular intervals, Rose had no visitors until four days after Lissa's visit.

"Christian," Rose greeted, opening the door after a quiet knock. The Queen's Consort looked at Rose as though she was nothing better than something on the bottom of his shoe.

"Rose. I'm here to collect Dimitri's things. He said his stuff is not in the unit you used to share?"

"He's very welcome to come and get anything he wants," Rose said passively, all her usual spunk demonstrably absent. "I do need to talk to him."

"He doesn't want to speak with you, Rose. Ever. He's absolutely devastated. I know you've always been impulsive, but I can believe you would cheat on him. Not after everything you two have been through together. I really thought you, and he were the real deal."

"We are the real deal!" Rose snapped. "I love Dimitri more than you could ever know."

"Not enough to be faithful to him," Christian sneered, his contemptuous look judge and jury. Rose tried to open her mouth to deny Christian's assertion of infidelity, but nothing came. No matter how hard she tried to say the words that she hadn't cheated – that Lara was her child but not biologically – nothing came out. Christian regarded Rose with a look of victory, believing her silence to be an admission of guilt.

"Look I don't want to argue. Just get Dimitri's things together. He said he doesn't want anything you've given him – but he wants his clothes and books."

Rose looked around. The only box she had handy was a nearly empty diaper box, and that would only add insult to injury. So instead, she found a garbage bag in the kitchenette. Quickly moving through to her bedroom, she started pulling Dimitri's clothes out of the closet, neatly folding them and putting them into the bag. She was trying to be quiet, but nonetheless, she woke Lara who'd been sleeping in the bassinette beside Rose's bed.

The infant started to cry. She needed to be changed, and it was coming up to her feed time, so she was irritable. Rose picked Lara up in one arm, carrying the bag back out into the tiny living room where Christian was waiting. He looked at the baby, noticing her brown hair and hazel green eyes.