A Rose For A Rose

Deleted Scenes

IPOV

It was amusing to watch the two. They tried to pretend that nothing was happening, that they had been entertaining a romance that they shouldn't have started, but I could tell. It wasn't just because Dimitri was my best friend, but I knew what he looked like when he was interested in someone.

And it didn't make things better to know that that person was our dearest friend's younger sister.

She looked so much like Aslan. The same nose, same cheeks, the same twinkle of mischief in her eyes when she had something scheming in her mind. I could see the similarities between them. You would have thought the two were twins if Aslan wasn't seven years her elder.

But she was also so spirited. She was everything society demanded a lady of her standing to be, but I could tell how much she didn't want to be here. I had noticed specks of dried paint on her fingers when I spoke to her earlier, and I knew that she'd rather be painting than here dancing with men she didn't have an interest in.

The downside of her attendance was the lingering looks between Rose and Dimitri. We both knew Rose hadn't entered society as an available debutante, but it didn't stop Dimitri from falling for her hard.

"Have you noticed that my sister insists on entertaining the wrong company?" Andre asked, breaking me out of my musing. I blinked at him, and it took a moment for me to realize that he was talking about Vasilisa, not Rose.

"How so?"

"Lord Christian Ozera," Andre said bitterly, taking a long drink of his whiskey. I nodded my head in understanding. We all knew the smear that had been left by his parents' demise, but I didn't let that reflect my outlook on his character. Christian was quiet and reserved, but very different from his parents. I didn't see many similarities between him and his parents, but it was clear he kept everything close to his chest. He didn't want anyone to know him.

"I think you're being a little rash, Andre. He isn't his parents."

"And the same could be said about your brother," Andre said quickly. I raised my brows at him, surprised he brought up Jesse, but I let it be. He was agitated trying to find a suitable husband for his sister, but I felt that he needed to let her pick. Nobody wanted to be married to someone they didn't want.

I wasn't someone who thought about marrying anyone. The idea of entertaining a courtship crossed my mind once, but it quickly dissipated when I saw how taken Dimitri was with Rose. I couldn't pursue her when I saw how just looking at him made Rose smile.

"I think that's enough," I said taking the glass from Andre. He looked at me with a piercing gaze but I gave him a pointed look.

"You are making a fool out of yourself! People are watching!" I hissed quickly, "Get a grip on yourself."

Andre sighed and ran his hand through his hair, his eyes flicking over the room. His gaze landed on Rose and Dimitri and I tensed up.

"Why can't Lissa find someone who treats her with the same respect Dimitri shows her and Rose?"

"You mean you wish Dimitri would show interest in her?" I asked with furrowed brows, trying to see where I could spin this away.

"God, no. I wouldn't want Lissa with Dimitri. Not with his history."

"Careful Andre, even your father had skeletons in his closet. I would be careful what you say about the Grand Duke in a room with so many listening ears," I snapped, stepping into his line of view, "Dimitri has bailed your ass out on more than one occasion. That makes him much bigger a man than his father!"

Andre was most definitely drunk. He wouldn't say these things out loud if the liquor wasn't so heavy in his veins. We both knew that Dimitri did everything in his power to be the exact opposite of his late father. It angered me that Andre would suggest such.