A Little Too Much, A Little Too Deep

Chapter 30

May

In the four months after Tatiana announced her retirement, a lot of things have happened. Before Tatiana announced Lissa, she revealed that she is not the last Dragomir. Eric had an affair and had an illegitimate daughter, who happened to be Jill Manstreon. Lissa was in denial for a few days before seeing reason, and gracefully accepted reality.

After multiple DNA tests, it was confirmed, and Jill was announced as a Dragomir, and nobody could say anything about Lissa not taking her place on the council now. There was an outcry from many royals when I was announced as an advisor. Thankfully, the majority of the non-royals and dhampirs supported the decision.

Lissa insisted that Dimitri and I take advantage of the housing provided for us as members of Parliament, so we moved from the small house at the edge of court to a comfortable family-sized home. It looked similar in structure and colour to the house in Goderich and I was ecstatic to find a fenced-in pool in the backyard.

It's not widely known, but each advisor is assigned a guardian because they are confidants of the monarch, and because of that, Dimitri applied to take that position. When I questioned it, he simply said he felt better being the one to have my back, and that way we would be together if I have to travel with Lissa. Eddie was assigned to Jill to his and my excitement.

Adrian confided to me one night that he and Sydney have been seeing each other in secret, that he had been sneaking away from court every weekend to see her. He also confided that it was the best choice he has made. He cut back on his smoking and drinking with her help, and she was distancing herself from the Alchemists.

Mom had to go back to Nepal with her charge two months ago, and I discovered how much I didn't understand about my impending motherhood, and it scared me shitless. I called her almost every night with questions, most of which she laughed at because they were ridiculous, but it made me feel better.

After an extensive investigation, we discovered that Tasha, along with Victor and Robert, were also at fault for the necklace, car accident, and Tatiana's assault. Christian was crushed when we told him what was going on and was in denial for a few days about it. A warrant was put out for their arrests, but there have been no sightings of either of them since Tasha compelled Dimitri.

Dimitri has become my rock through all of this. Listening intently during our meetings with the current advisor and helping me whenever he can. We even picked a wedding date for next October, which made both of our mothers happy, and Abe has been trying to front the bill, but I told him that he couldn't pay for all of it.

"You ready to go?" Dimitri asks, putting on his watch and making sure his stakes were where they belonged. I nod as a sob slips out of my mouth.

Dimitri turns, crouching in front of me where I sit on the edge of the bed, cupping my face in his hands. "Roza, what's wrong?"

I shake my head and wave him off, but he asks me again, wiping the fat tears that roll down my cheeks. "I can't put my shoes on," I sniffle. Dimitri bites his lip to keep himself from smiling and snorts out a breath, reaching down to grab my shoes and sliding them onto my feet.

"Oh sweetheart," he says with an amused chuckle and kisses my nose. I swat my hand at him and try to push myself up off the bed.

"This is your fault. You and your freakishly large genetics. I look like a jersey cow!" I wail as he takes my hands and pulls me to my feet. Looking at him, I can tell he is trying his best not to laugh at me, which makes me even angrier. "It's not funny, Dimitri!"

"I know, I'm sorry. It's not funny," he soothes, trying to appease me. I scowl at him and cross my arms over my chest. I will admit, the closer to my due date I get, the crankier I have become. Lately, he has to sleep in the guest room because I can't get comfortable in bed if he is sleeping next to me. It's a double edge sword because I want him to be close to me at night.