Anything for Her - Complete

Chapter 45

"I'm nervous, Mama..." Lara was almost crying as she sat in her packed-up dorm room as Rose braided her hair, lovingly sweeping the long dark blonde locks up into a stylish up-do.

"I was apprehensive when I graduated, too. It's going to be ok," Rose replied, trying not to cry as she styled her 'baby's' hair ahead of her graduation from St. Vladimir's. Lara was eighteen, now. Almost two decades had passed in close to the blink of an eye.

"I worry what people are going to think..."

"You can't control what other people think. You live your life by your rules. You do what you want when you want it," Rose said, meaning every syllable she uttered.

"Everyone expects me to take my promise and be allocated..."

"Your Papa, Daddy and I don't care. If you want to go to college, and not as someone's Guardian, we couldn't be prouder. Dede is over the moon you've chosen to major in business - he already thinks you'll take over his affairs when he retires..."

Lara's hair complete, Rose leaned in from behind cuddling her daughter as their eyes met in the mirror.

"Thank you," Lara said, tears welling. "You, Papa and D. You're my everything! Maxim, Danila and Anastasia, too!"

"You made me a Mama," Rose said, shrugging as tears rolled down her face. At forty-three, Rose still felt young; until she remembered she and Dimitri had an eighteen-year-old, another who was seventeen, a fifteen-year-old and a 'baby' who was now fourteen. All four attending St. Vladimir's, today they were here with their extended family to see Lara Belikov graduate.

Just mother and daughter in Lara's dorm room, Rose took a minute to reflect on the journey they'd traveled to get here. Schooling her with humans and training Lara at home until middle school, she'd then left to spend Monday through Friday at St. Vlad's. Rose or Dimitri had tearfully dropped their little girl off every Moroi Monday 'morning', then one of them had collected her after class on Friday afternoons to spend her weekend at home. The family living on a daylight schedule, and Lara living nocturnally had presented some difficulties, but they got into a schedule, and it worked for them as each of their children had transitioned to attending St. Vladimir's.

'D' being at St. Vlad's had made a huge difference for Lara. Ever since she could remember, Lara had known Eddie was her biological dad. He was her Godfather – Maxim, Danila and Anastasia's, too – but being her Daddy meant they had a special bond he didn't share with the others. They hadn't disclosed information about their connection to anyone at St. V's, but from the moment she'd arrived, Guardian Castile had taken a special interest in Novice Belikov – mentoring her one-on-one. As the other Belikov kids arrived, he'd included them, too.

"She's here, isn't she?" Lara asked, referring to her biological mother. Just as Rose and Dimitri had been honest with Lara about her biological father, they'd shared information about her bio mother, too. Her Majesty, Queen Vasilisa Dragomir, was here to confer the St. Vladimir's diplomas this year, and as the first time Lara would come face to face with her biological mother, she didn't know how to feel.

"She is," Rose confirmed. "I knew she'd come today. It's a big day for you, and you are her daughter."

"You're my Mama," Lara asserted softly, not knowing how to explain her emotions about seeing her biological mother. She didn't know how she felt, but that she knew.

Rose smiled. "I am, baby. I chose to be your Mama even before you were born. Nothing will ever change that."

"I don't know how I'm going to feel when I see her..."