Is this destiny?

~ Seattle, Hill family villa ~

Next morning, Stella returned to Hill family villa. Her movements were slower than usual, and her clothes showed sign of prolonged wear. It was obvious that she didn't sleep at least one night, and she didn't change her clothes either.

She went to master bedroom, freshened up and got a fresh set of clothes. She was tired, but she wanted to talk to Edward first.

Mr. Joe informed her that Edward is in the study.

Stella entered study room and found Edward sitting at his desk. His hands were in a praying position, palms connecting, and his nose was hovering few inches above his index fingers. He was staring at an invisible spot on his desk.

"You don't look like you slept enough…", she noticed dark circles around his eyes.

He gave a vague nod and looked up to her.

"Same as you.", he observed that she does not look much better than he does. "What is going on?" He didn't delay in wanting to know what keeps his wife awake at night.

Stella smiled and shook her head. 'This man… always ready to fix things for me.' But this time no matter how much she wanted to avoid involving him, she felt that she needs to, if she wants to get her answers.

"I need your help to look into something." Stella was feeling guilty to ask for his SP3CT3R services, but her own resources didn't find anything, and she does not have other choice than to turn to her husband for help. After all, this is an emergency. She feels that family is preparing to make a move on their daughters, if they didn't start already, and she needs all the information she can get her hands on, in order to plan her next move.

Edward raised his eyebrow as a sign that he is listening.

"Sarah's apartment in Fairfield. I need to know as much as possible about previous owners." Stella anxiously expected his answer.

"OK." He shortly responded. Based on Stella's behavior he can tell that it's probably something related to her family.

"Thanks." Stella was grateful that he didn't ask more questions.

The reason she was reluctant to ask him for help is because they have an agreement not to meddle in each other's work. She prefers that he is not implicated in anything related to her side of family. If they discover that her husband is SP3CT3R, they will come after him as well. The only reason they didn't force him to become active part of the family as soon as Elders found out about their relationship is because they believe that he is an ordinary person without special skills; useless, how her own parents call him.

"Did kids leave?" Stella was referring to Sarah and Aiden. She checked dining and family room, and it was empty. She knows that Sarah and Aiden are about to head out for their trip that morning, but she was not sure if they already left.

"Yes. You missed them by about one hour." Edward's expression darkened.

"What happened?", Stella asked seeing change in Edward's mood.

"Are you sure about him?", Edward struggled to keep his voice calm. "That he is not a threat?"

Stella was confused for a second until she realized who Edward is talking about. "Who? Aiden?"

Edward gave a small nod as a response.

Stella frowned seeing how serious Edward is. All kind of scenarios formed in her mind. 'Did he betray Sarah? No, no… I watched him for a long time, he adores Sarah, he would not hurt her… Did he join Voronin family?! No, he would not leave Sarah… Did he convince Sarah to join Voronin family with him?!!'

She struggled to stay calm while asking again, "What happened?"

Edward inhaled, "Last night, the boy stopped by… to tell me that he is taking our baby girl… on a… vacation…"

Stella held her breath, waiting for him to continue. But he didn't say anything for what seemed like forever.

"And?" Stella lost her patience. "You can't be in this state because of a vacation… Right? Please tell me there is more…" She thought that if he is giving her this scare just because of a vacation, she will give him a piece of her mind. Sarah messaged her about this trip two days ago… did Edward just found out about it now? Even if he did, what is with that reaction?

"He said that he loves our baby girl very much… and that…", Edward's words were stuck in his throat.

"What?!!" Stella was on the verge of snapping. Edward was driving her mad from suspense.

Edward waved his hands. "I can't make myself say it… here… listen to the recording…" He handed her an earpiece which is connected to his phone.

"You recorded him?", Stella asked while placing earpiece in her left ear.

"Eve did… when he left, I asked Eve to send the sound file to me so I can make sure I heard it right…" Edward played the recording.

Stella listened to the recording. About a minute later she smiled… shortly after her eyes widened in surprise and she sat on the chair. Her hand moved to her face and covered her mouth.

Recording ended and Stella removed the earpiece and handed it to Edward.

"To answer your question: yes, I am sure about him. If there is anyone who would do anything to keep our baby girl safe, that is Aiden. And he is not a weakling. She is in good hands." She was assuring her husband and herself as well. She hopes that Aiden will do everything in his power to keep Sarah safe. She hopes that she is right… because if she is wrong, it could be disastrous.

Stella smiled. "Come on. Let's go and get some sleep first. Then we can continue with our lives."

Edward nodded and stood up. He was still not fully convinced about Aiden, but hearing that Stella has a good opinion of him, removed some of Edward's concerns.

"Don't tell me that he is the reason why you didn't sleep last night?", Stella giggled.

Edward refused to respond. But his silence served as a confirmation. He wrapped his arm around Stella's waist, and they headed up to their bedroom to catch up on missed sleep.

~ Somewhere above Pacific Ocean ~

Aiden and Sarah are in a private jet.

He is watching her, unable to comprehend how fast she slept off.

Sarah likes to sleep in the plane, humming of the engines and light shaking of the giant metallic bird makes a perfect lullaby for her. It's a habit she picked up as a child, since she travelled with her mom often.

The seats are very comfortable, with them being fully reclined, leg rest raised and armrest between them lowered, two seats made a comfy twin-size bed.

He covered her with a blanket and pulled her closer to him.

Aiden pushed a lock of her hair away from her face.

He remembered how she slept off in his apartment in Fairfield first time they watched a movie together and he moved her to his bed… and next morning, her face full of shock was priceless… but she still allowed him to hug her. He chuckled. 'So carefree and defenseless… you are lucky I didn't have any intention to take advantage of you…'

Aiden tried to sleep next to her, but his mind was racing. After some time, he gave up on the idea to sleep.

He kissed Sarah's forehead and held her while she slept.