Is this destiny?

They all came back together for the cake and not long after that, Sophia, JoAnna, Sarah, Bridgette and Emma chatted, Elanor, Oscar, Edward and Stella formed another group, and almost everyone else was at the rink.

Staff was there for the food, but after they had their fill (and the cake) they all returned to their regular tasks.

Charlie observed people interacting and then moved closer to Aiden. It did look like he is just sleeping. He imagined Emma giving a sponge bath to Aiden and was surprised that he was jealous. He wanted Emma to take care of him, but she does not even want to spend time with him. She left, and the only thing he has is a note which says: 'thank you for everything'.

How silly. To feel this helpless and selfish at the same time. He wants to be with Emma but does not know how to make his intention clear to her and not to chase her away. At the same time, he does not want their relationship to be a burden for her.

Charlie turned around to make sure no one is nearby before he started talking to Aiden: "Sarah said that you are a good listener. But right now, I could really use an advice. It would be helpful if you can tell me: with your background as a White, how did you approach a regular girl like Sarah?"

A grunt of disapproval came from behind him.

"I didn't see you there.", Charlie awkwardly said to Jeff.

Charlie's comment earned him a raised eyebrow from Jeff. Did he think that he would allow him to approach his brother without supervision?

"You are lucky that he can't respond. Otherwise he would scold you or maybe even hit you."

Charlie was surprised by Jeff's hostile behavior. Then he remembered that Sarah is JoAnna's sister and he guessed why both White brothers might be upset…"Because I spoke badly of Sarah?"

"Because you spoke badly about Aiden." Jeff saw that Charlie is confused and explained: "Do you really think that he approached Sarah as a White, or as a man who sees an attractive woman? If you are approaching Emma as a Smith with all the status that comes with your last name while emphasizing that she is a regular girl, what are you trying to accomplish? Hire a maid? Get yourself a mistress? Or humiliate her?"

Charlie wanted to ask Jeff, how does he know that he was referring to Emma? But then he realized that Jeff probably found out from JoAnna. That woman seems to know everything. "How should I approach her? There is no way to remove my status, it's part of me."

Jeff shook his head in disapproval. "Is it? When it's just the two of you, do you see her as anything other than an attractive young woman?"

"I see her as a woman with whom I want to spend my time with.", Charlie admitted.

"And do you want her to see you as a Charlie, or as a Smith with all the baggage that comes with it?"

Charlie shrugged, indicating that he does not see where Jeff is going with his questions. "Of course, I want her to like me for who I am. That will be enough when it's just the two of us. But we can't live in a bubble. What about the others?"

"What about them? If you love a woman, you will protect her no matter what. If you are so tied up to your status, why don't you use it to make Emma's life easier? Why does it need to be a burden?" Jeff heard more than once JoAnna talk about Emma and how Charlie is treating her, and now that Charlie confirmed that he is interested in Emma, Jeff found him… weak. "Your behavior is telling Emma that she is not the worthy one. Do you think that you are protecting her? Hiding her from your so-called friends while privately telling her that she is important is only making her think that you want her as your mistress. At most."

"That is not my intention."

Jeff snorted. "Who cares what your intention is? Is she the most important woman in your world? If no, stop pursuing her. If yes, then you need to show that to everyone. As long as you are entertaining the stream of women who are coming to accompany you, Emma will be out of your reach. Do you think that your status puts you above her? Let me tell you… she is the one not willing to lower herself to your level. Emma respects herself by staying in the company of people who treat her well and appreciate her for who she is. Which is the opposite from you. If not for your last name, where would you be? Remove your family background and be honest with yourself, how many of those people will stay by your side? Business connections are important, but for maintaining those you should do it in your office on weekdays from nine to five. And that should be done with the people in power, not with their daughters."

Jeff didn't interact much with Charlie, but Charlie's behavior is not scoring him any points in Jeff's good book. Jeff remembers when he fell for JoAnna, he left everything to be with her and the only thing on his mind was how to show her that he is sincere. When they face an adversity, Jeff's instinct is to keep JoAnna closer to him and to protect her, and this... he is not sure what to think of Charlie's actions.

In Jeff's opinion, Charlie's feelings are not deep enough. Because if they are, he would stop talking about status-this, status-that and the only thing on his mind would be how to spend more time with the woman his heart is set on. And he would reject anyone else who tries to come close to him.

The more Jeff thinks about it, the more he dislikes Charlie. Standing up for what you believe in and finding a way to get what you want is a sign of a strong character. If not for his uncle who is pushing him forward, Jeff is confident that Charlie would be lost in the crowd. A weakling. Jeff wondered, why is he even wasting his breath on a weakling? Smithsonite corp. has a bleak future with this man at its helm.

Charlie watched Jeff as he walked away and thought how he just got a love advice (and some scolding) from Jeffrey White! Is this that friendship and everyone-is-treated-as-an-equal which Emma mentioned?

For the rest of the party, Charlie observed Emma. She was talking with other young women, with Stella and Edward, Oscar and Elanor, Jeffrey, Ade and the rest of the kids… everyone present. Him included. And even thought Charlie could not hear most of the conversations, it was evident that they are smiling and enjoying.

Charlie could see that Emma is capable of interacting with people of different ages and statuses and he started wondering, why did he exclude Emma when those women visited? Is it so that they don't see Emma, or so that Emma does not see them? What was the problem with just saying: 'this is Emma and she is staying here while taking care of me?' Was his intention to keep her for himself? He does not have answers to those questions. But he knows that his behavior made Emma think that she is below him. That was not his intention, but as Jeff said, no one cares what his intention was. It's important how he behaves. And if he wants Emma not to misunderstand him, he needs to show her how he feels without leaving any gaps for her doubts.

When the sun dipped lower to the horizon, Emma and JoAnna helped wheel the bed with Aiden back to the bedroom. He should not be chilly, and the temperature inside is always steady.

Not long after, the guests left.

Everyone was in good spirits, and Sarah was pleased that the party was successful.

Sarah was back in the room with Aiden.

"Happy birthday!" Sarah was lying by Aiden's side and holding a small box above his head. "You are wondering what this is, aren't you?" She opened the box and an almost-triangle shaped car key was inside. "Yup, you guessed it right. You, my love, now own one of the seven units ever made of the most amazing Lykan Hypersport. I remember that you called it a perfect blend of luxury, power and functionality. You were almost drooling when talking about how it's made out of carbon fiber, and your eyes were sparkling at the mention of a holographic display system, diamonds embedded in the headlights and gold stitching on the seats. And you were waving your hands excitedly when you said that it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in only 2.8 seconds. Well… happy birthday."

Sarah kept the key back in the box and in his bedside table drawer. "This baby is in the garage, waiting for you to wake up. Just how I am."

Sarah kissed Aiden's cheek, hugged his arm and drifted off to sleep while Kitty warmed their legs.

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