Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles, the Cliffside Villa ~

December 25

8:24 AM

The villa is decorated for Christmas and it's buzzing from activity while everyone is preparing for the day ahead.

All the buildings are framed with lights and the paths are lined up with huge lit-up candy canes, there are motorized life-sized figurines of Santa Claus and reindeers and even though there is not a spec of snow (it's too warm for snow in California), it definitely looks like Christmas. Inside, hallways are lined with garlands and colorful lights and there is one Christmas tree in each of the common areas.

Kids made snowflakes from glittery-white crafting paper and they are hanging from the ceiling. There was a group project where everyone made houses and figurines from clay (which were baked and colored to perfection) and now they have a mini snow-village in the main common room (cotton is used to create the snow-effect). Nico and Beck worked with Felix to make an electric train out of their clay coaches which now circles around the snow village while playing Christmas songs.

Everyone is excited because the day will be full of good food and presents, there will be a show prepared by the kids in the afternoon, and in the evening they will have a fancy dinner where they need to dress up in formal attire. Other than regulars who live in the villa, they will have a number of guests as well.

But first, a small flashback because a lot of things happened in the previous two months.

The Ceresc Solutions is building its image as a successful marketing company for high-level customers, just how Sarah and Aiden hoped it will be. Mishi is an effective CEO and with help from Lucija, Petar, Emir, and Tereza, everything is running smoothly. They have four high-profile campaigns behind them and a number of customers lining up to be next.

Eliza joined Mishi about one month after their son Attila was born, and the three of them are living in their two-bedroom apartment in the Castel. Lucija and Petar got engaged and are planning a wedding in spring, and everyone knows that Emir and Tereza are spending nights in each other's apartments, but they are still not making their relationship official.

Other than focusing on the Ceresc Solutions, the members of the Sigma army are keeping an eye on Nick and Marija and they are aware that those two are in contact. However, at this point, it does not seem that they are up to something that can harm Sarah or the Sigma army, and Sarah told them to keep monitoring without taking any actions.

...

The Army of Chaos is proceeding with its plans at a steady pace. Their bases in Europe are stable, with Aaron managing everything efficiently. Aaron loves his role as Sarah's right-hand man, and he finally feels that he is useful. When Aaron goes to one of their four fight-clubs across Europe, he is the one who does the bashing. His hard work in training is paying off and he is not embarrassing himself anymore. His only regret is that Sarah is not there to see his performance personally.

Aiden and Sarah are pressuring the Voronin family by attacking their remote bases in South America while making it look that the Lebedev family is behind it. Currently, they see signs of Voronin and Lebedev families fighting each other, but it's still not a full-blown war that they hoped to accomplish. It is more a series of small covert attacks.

Sarah and Aiden underestimated that both families are benefiting from the balance in their power, and Lebedevs and Voronins are cautious because they are aware of how in case of an open confrontation, each side will lose many resources.

Sarah is confident that if they persist with their attacks, they will force Voronins to be bolder (or more desperate) to attack Lebedevs. Aiden really wants to stop with the attacks which put Sarah in the center of the fray, but he knows that she will not give up, so he is putting most of his efforts into planning, to ensure that the danger is minimized.

Since Stella joined the Lebedev family, King didn't make any open moves on the Hill sisters, and they are happy about it.

...

The White corp. had their annual meeting. The event was grand, gathering more than ten thousand people in person and many others online to celebrate the success of the previous year, and announcing plans for the future. All that was spiced up with food and drinks and a lot of freebies. Ben was the one to give the speech for the security department of the White corp. while Sarah and Aiden observed with all their kids from the VIP booth. Sophia and Felix were speakers as well, and the booth also accommodated Penny, Steve, Bridgette, Mike, Tiffany, Charlie, and Emma. Leah and Pam were busy behind the stage, making sure everything runs smoothly.

Sarah held onto Aiden tightly while remembering that last year this event didn't end up well for them. He understood her clingy behavior and he held onto her as well. It was traumatic for both of them... but now it's different.

Ron secured event tickets for his three newly-made friends: Colin, Marshall, and Jason. Since their meeting in the abandoned warehouse at the outskirts of Springfield, the four of them are in touch, and Ron took on the role of a mentor for the other three who are obviously admiring Ron for being able to escape that small town and make a name for himself. Ron's goal was to show them a glimpse of the White corp. and he assured them that if they work hard, they can be part of all that. The three boys were still going every evening to the abandoned warehouse in their quest to torture Julia, giving her a taste of torment which they suffered for years. She pleaded them for death, but they were not willing to accommodate such a request.

The White corp.'s annual event ended in good spirits, and Jeff booked the whole restaurant for dinner with his friends which included Sarah's and Aiden's kids as well.

...

Sarah and Aiden spent one week in November at the property in New Mexico which is owned by Edward. All the new girls and Bo, Souta, and Wing had to join so that they can attend lessons on driving cars and riding horses.

Ade, Daniel, and Tejan protested when Sarah told them that they should stay at the Cliffside villa and focus on their studies, and only when they proved that they are doing everything as scheduled, Sarah allowed them to join. Of course, she knew that those three are not interested in cars and horses how much they are in Hande, Xiaohui, and Rosa, but as long they are not slacking with education, she will allow it. And the three girls in question were visibly happy when they heard that their boys will come along.

Daniel and Xiaohui are a real couple, holding hands and kissing, and they are doing most of the things together.

Ade and Hande didn't kiss, but that does not make them any less of a couple. Ade is helping Hande with her studies and they train side by side every morning. Also, three times a week Ade and Hande meet in one of the smaller flex-rooms to practice violin.

Tejan and Rosa are still maintaining their story how they are good friends, even though everyone can see that they like each other and that it's only a matter of time before they switch from friends to a couple.

In terms of potential couples, Bo and Francisca are getting closer, and so are Wing and Azra. However, when Master Hollow is nearby, he makes sure to remind his three disciples (Souta included) why they are here and not to fool around with girls. The excitement among the onlookers bubbled because for the trip to New Mexico, Master Hollow stayed at the Cliffside Villa and of course, that allowed those two almost-couples to spend much more time together. Neither of them officially acknowledged that they are dating, but it's obvious that their relationship became stronger.

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