Is this destiny?

"Here you go…", Sarah gave the plate with grilled meat and veggies to Michael and one bottle of juice.

"Thanks.", Michael kept them on the side with one hand while holding Oni with the other one. "Should I wake her up?"

"No need." Sarah smiled at the sight of Oni who is sleeping firmly, despite all the noise. "Did she learn her lesson?"

Michael didn't understand. "Lesson?"

Sarah gave him a knowing look. "I am OK with her dating, but she needs to keep her education as a priority."

Michael understood that Sarah gave additional tasks to Oni because Oni was spending too much time with him instead of studying. He looked at Oni's sleeping face before his gaze moved to Sarah. "She is working hard not to disappoint you."

Sarah nodded in approval. "Tell me, if her grades drop, how should I punish her?"

Michael's expression told Sarah that he does not approve Oni being punished. "She is punishing herself already."

"As you know, I don't object to the two of you dating, and I am happy to see that you care about each other, but I expect that you will also think about the future. Good grades and education will benefit her long term, and now is the exam period when she should work on it. If the two of you are serious about your future, postponing a date or cutting it short during these few weeks will not make much of an impact."

Michael watched Sarah leaving and he completely agrees with her. He only wishes that Oni heard Sarah as well because the young lady in his arms is tempting him to devour her beyond belief even though she is sleeping like a log.

He decided to eat. He is hungry.

…

Sarah left Michael and Oni and headed to gather the other three girls. She can see Nala dancing, Zula is with Ron on the side, and Sarah was trying to spot Imani. Out of Nala, Zula, and Imani, she wants to see which one of them can stay and assist JoAnna.

Just as she spotted Imani, Sarah heard JoAnna call for her and went to see what she wants.

"I'm tired and will go to sleep.", JoAnna told Sarah.

Sarah was not sure what to do. JoAnna is hurting and she is pregnant, and Sarah is not good at things like these. "Did you eat? Do you need anything? Can I give you a hug?"

JoAnna spread her arms, silently accepting the hug offer. "Thank you, Sarah, you are doing everything you can. Take care of your business and don't worry about me. I will be fine, and if I need something, Biddy will help me. I will see you in the morning. In case you need me, feel free to wake me up."

Sarah was touched. With everything JoAnna is going through, she is still offering her help.

Sarah wanted to make sure that Bridgette is staying overnight. "You will stay with Anna?"

Bridgette confirmed. "The bed is big for the two of us and my two godchildren."

JoAnna frowned. "I already told you not to claim them as yours. I didn't decide on that…"

Bridgette waved her hand dismissively which made JoAnna protest even more.

Sarah watched JoAnna and Bridgette bicker while walking away and she was glad that Bridgette is here.

Sarah saw that Sophia is by herself and went to check on her. Nala, Zula, and Imani are not going anywhere.

"Where is Felix?"

"He went with Aiden for some man-only talk." Sophia responded. "They were there for a few minutes, and then they went inside."

Sarah remembered her conversation with Aiden and guessed that he took Felix to talk to Jeff. Aiden is awesome like that.

"I am looking at the girls and I think you are doing an awesome job. With all the kids, not only the girls.", Sophia said.

"Thanks."

"If you need an extra jet to send the girls home, you can use ours. We are not going anywhere any time soon.", Sophia said while rubbing her (almost flat) belly.

With all this commotion, Sarah (almost) forgot that Sophia is pregnant. "How are you doing? How is the baby Felix?"

"We are both fine. Now that Felix is not in sight, I am thinking of getting some more meat. How about you?"

Sarah can see that Sophia is giving her a meaningful look, but she was not sure what Sophia is talking about, so she responded out of habit. "I'm fine."

"Now that you are married, are you thinking of having kids of your own?"

Sophia observed Sarah's expression and she guessed that the answer is 'no'.

"Sarah, I am not saying that you should get pregnant, but I hope that you will not allow one negative experience to define you. There are many things in this world, good and bad and they will come at us no matter what we do. It is in your power to decide how you will react to those events."

"That experience showed me that it's not safe.", Sarah said after a long silence.

"I don't know what your definition of safe is, but if you are waiting for all the threats to disappear so that you can raise your child in complete safety, considering your and Aiden's identity, that will never happen."

Sarah made a face. "Are you telling me to get pregnant because I'm married?"

Sophia shook her head. "Of course, not. I am telling you that no matter how much preparations and precautions you take, you will never be able to cover everything. The most important thing is that you reach the point of wanting to have a child, and everything else will sort itself out."

Sarah was not willing to go deeper into this talk.

"I just turned twenty-one.", Sarah reminded Sophia. "Don't make it sound like I'm out of time."

Sophia pursed her lips. "Statistically speaking, as you approach twenty-five, you will start taking other things as priorities and babies will be pushed to the back of your mind."

Sarah laughed. "Fine. I will make sure to get pregnant by the time I'm twenty-four. OK?"

Sophia can see that Sarah started joking. The serious mood is gone, and it's probably better that way.

…

Inside the mansion…

Bridgette helped JoAnna get ready for bed first and then it was her turn.

She looked at her phone and saw notifications for five missed calls and numerous messages from Steve and kept her phone away. She didn't want to read the messages or return his calls out of fear to give in and tell him where she is.

"How come you are not sleeping?", Bridgette asked JoAnna when she joined her in the bed. In the next moment, she regretted her question. "Sorry. I wanted to say that it was a long day and you should sleep."

"It's fine. I hope that with me you can speak your mind without the need to correct yourself."

Bridgette smiled gratefully. "Anna? I have no right to tell you if leaving Jeff like that was the right thing to do or not, but… what's next?"

JoAnna sighed. "I don't know. For a long time, I don't know what I want to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Since I've got to Los Angeles, my decisions are based around Jeff. Don't get me wrong, he didn't force me into anything. However, I convinced myself that by making Jeff happy I'm making myself happy as well, and today I realized that is not the case. It will take me some time to figure out what I want to do." 

Bridgette analyzed JoAnna's words and she realized that JoAnna spoke about herself, without including Jeff. "Will you forgive him?"

"Forgive him? For what? He was always like that. It was my mistake to believe that he would change just because the two of us are together."

"But… people should change when they find the right one. You can't act the same as a single person and when you are in a relationship."

"If that is the truth then… maybe I am not the right one for him." JoAnna felt the tears swelling in her eyes and she turned her back to Bridgette. "Good night…"

Bridgette saw that JoAnna's shoulders are shaking and she was not sure what to say. "Good night, Anna…"

---

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