Is this destiny?

~ Las Vegas, the base of the Army of Chaos ~

Felix approached Aiden who is filling up his plate with grilled kebobs.

"Did you talk to Jeff?", Felix asked.

"Mhm…", Aiden hummed in confirmation.

"And you didn't tell him that Anna is here?"

Aiden paused his movements and turned to Felix. "Why should I?"

"He is your brother."

"So? If I told him that she is here, I would do him a disservice." Aiden saw that Felix is confused, so he explained: "If I told him, he would come and apologize, and it could go in one of two ways. One is that Anna goes into full rage because she still does not want to see him, and the situation gets worse than it is. And the other one is that she forgives him. In that case he gets a pass, but because he got out of this easily, he didn't learn his lesson and he would repeat the offense. And that means it will happen again and then it will be worse. The only way this can end good is if Jeff realizes what he did and how to fix it. Just apologizing will not help."

Felix was unable to believe that Aiden is not helping Jeff. "How do you know?"

Aiden rolled his eyes. "She sedated him and that should tell you how angry she is. He had a woman in his office and instead of admitting his wrong, he said that it's Steve's fault. So… the fact that Bridgette is here without Steve is because Jeff does not get it. Until he gets it, he will mess up much more than just his relationship. And I'm not willing to stick my neck out for his lack of EQ and risk making Sarah angry."

Felix was not sure how to argue against this, so he didn't.

He went to get some grilled vegetables for Sophia because since food started rolling off the grill, she is eating only meat. And Felix junior needs his veggies.

…

"Where is Daniel?", Ade asked Tejan.

He noticed that for some time Tejan is by himself and usually Daniel and Tejan are inseparable.

Tejan pointed with his chin to the side.

Ade saw Daniel and Xiaohui chatting and the mood was good. "Why don't you join them?"

Tejan made a grumpy face. "Daniel told me to stay away."

Ade perked up. "Does he like her? And you don't like it?"

Tejan snorted. "So, what if he likes her? I am upset that he is spending so much time on a girl who will leave soon, and they will never see each other again."

Ade made a face. "That might not be the case."

"What do you mean?"

"The mission in Sierra Leone was to take over the mine. There was no plan to free and take a bunch of kids, yet here you are…"

Tejan's mouth opened in disbelief when he realized: "You are saying that she might stay?"

Ade shrugged and walked away. "Anything is possible…"

…

Felix sat next to Sophia with a full plate of grilled vegetables which he extended toward her.

Sophia frowned. "Where is the meat?"

"My boy needs something healthy. You already had plenty of meat. Finish this and you will get more." Felix saw Sophia's glare directed at him. "OK. Half. A third? You need at least few bites…"

Felix grinned when he saw Sophia taking a bite of grilled asparagus.

He does not want to talk about JoAnna and Jeff, but the topic is killing him. "How is Anna doing?"

Sophia paused he chewing for a second before responding: "I don't know. She is holding back her displeasure for a long time, it will not be easy to pacify her."

"What do you mean by a long time?"

"Do you remember when we found out that Anna and Jeff are engaged? At that time, I told you that I am worried that they are rushing. But if I said anything then, Anna would not listen. And if I say my opinion now, no one will listen either."

"I will listen.", Felix said with sincerity.

Sophia's expression softened. Her husband is the best.

Sophia voiced her thoughts: "From the beginning, the relationship between Anna and Jeff is not balanced. If she is a woman who would be happy to be a housewife and take care of the kids and house-related things while hosting parties and adjusting her days to Jeff's schedule, that would be fine, but Anna is not like that. Anna needs a partner who will be equal. To make this work, Jeff will need to make big changes."

Felix felt that something is off. "Why is only Jeff required to change if they should be equals?"

"Because Anna is angry. Before it reached this point, equality was possible. But now she is fed up and unwilling to bend, which means that Jeff will need to mold his life around hers. And he never did anything like that so… I am not overly optimistic."

Felix thought about this and in his opinion, people should be more flexible when others are impacted, especially children. "What about the kids?"

Sophia frowned. "What about them? Anna said that when she saw that woman in his office, she had a flashback and she was reminded of a similar incident from when they started dating. That means that the two of them moved from dating to engaged to married, and Jeff didn't change. Being with such a man is difficult and kids are only adding more weight to the whole situation. Because of Jeff's identity, he has a lot of baggage and Anna can't stay by his side without being involved in it. If he is not willing to support her in return, then she will need to take care of everything on her side, and the kids, and him, and not even a robot can do all that. If he does not change, I will personally help her file for a divorce."

Felix inhaled a choppy breath. "Divorce?"

"Do you expect me to sit and watch Anna wither away next to a man who is not making her happy? If he does not fix this, I don't want to see Jeff, and I will make sure that he stays away from my sister."

Felix had so many questions that he was unable to pick one for some time. "You don't want to see him? What about the Orion Enterprise? It's already integrated into the White corp."

Sophia understood that Felix is asking about her job. She pressed her lips into a line, and she didn't need more than a few seconds to respond: "It can stay with the White corp. I will not miss it. I can open my own legal practice and take a case occasionally to keep myself busy. Maybe that will be a good thing. It will give me more time for you and the kids."

Felix was surprised that Sophia would do something so drastic and that she spoke about it like it's not a big deal. "You would quit?"

Sophia confirmed. "My position requires me to collaborate with Jeff. If he and Anna are not getting along, I will not be able to put my heart into that work."

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