Chapter 353 - What if he is not who you think he is?

~Seattle area~

When they woke up on Friday morning, Sarah was not sure what to say to Aiden. He was getting ready with her to go for a morning training even though Stella told him that she will not train him.

Sarah was not sure if she should comfort him, or to discourage him, or… she really didn't understand what made Stella act the way she did. Sarah went last night to talk to Stella about that, but she was not successful in getting any answers.

"Don't worry about me.", Aiden comforted Sarah when he saw her troubled expression. "It can be another test. For my resolve. Whatever it is, I will not give up."

…

Sometimes later, Stella is practicing with Sarah, and Aiden is sitting on the ground nearby, watching them.

"You can go and work. I will not train you now." Stella told Aiden without looking at him.

"I know you have your reasons. You don't need to work with me. I will watch." Aiden was persistent, even though he didn't understand what made Stella change her mind.

On Wednesday it all went well. Stella even said that she will work with him so that he can protect Sarah. 'What happened? Why did she change her opinion?' He decided to sit and watch how Sarah trains. Maybe he learns something. Maybe Stella changes her opinion again. Maybe this is another test that he needs to pass.

...

Stella ended morning session with Sarah earlier. As soon as she was alone, she texted her brother, "What is the progress on your research?"

She got a response few seconds later, "Still working on it."

Stella was frustrated. "Tonight, I want to see what you found."

She was troubled seeing how persistent Aiden is. 'He really looks like a good kid.'

Another thing on Stella's mind is that she knows that Sarah loves Aiden. It was evident that Sarah was troubled and had difficulty to focus during morning training.

...

After lunch, Stella called Sarah in the study.

"Close the door." She instructed Sarah.

"Is this about Aiden?", Sarah has her guesses.

Stella nodded. She looked at Sarah for some time before asking, "What would you do if he is an enemy?"

Sarah froze. "Enemy?" Her chest was constricted, she was not able to breathe. At the same time, her heart was pounding like it wants to jump out of her chest.

Stella was trying to choose her words. "Yes. What if he is not one of the good guys?"

"No, mom... no..." Sarah shook her head uncontrollably. "No... no..."

"Calm down... " Stella walked to Sarah and held her shoulders seeing that she is about to break down. "I'm investigating... Nothing is certain at this point."

"Is that why you don't want to work with him?" There was disappointment in Sarah's voice.

Stella nodded. "I just want you to brace yourself... That he might not be who you think he is."

Sarah's face became cold. "Not one of the good guys? Who determines who is a good guy and who is not? … He is not who I think he is? And who might that be? Are you saying that he is not the man who saved me more than once? Or the man who pulled me out of the coma-like state when I was surrounded with nothing but darkness? Or the man who can calm my heart when I'm consumed in raging anger? Or the man who treats me like I'm the most precious thing on Earth? Which one of those is not him?" Sarah removed Stella's hands from her shoulders. Her head shook lightly, her voice was cold and firm. "I don't care who you say he is. I know who he is. I will not abandon him."

Sarah turned her back to Stella and walked out of the study.

When door closed behind Sarah, Stella took a deep breath. 'It's already too late. If it turns out that Aiden is a spy, I will lose Sarah.'

...

Sarah found Aiden in the bedroom. She pulled him in the bed and curled up next to him.

Aiden noticed that Sarah is not her usual self. He embraced her. "It will be all right, I am here."

She looked up at him. "Promise mi one thing."

"Anything."

"That you will not abandon me, no matter what."

"I promise." He held her tightly. "That is an easy promise to keep."

…

That afternoon, Stella was waiting for Sarah next to the river. "You are late."

"I didn't want to come." Sarah answered in a cold tone. "But he made me."

Aiden was with Sarah. He sat under a nearby tree and was ready to watch.

River has number of sharp and pointy rocks sticking out of the water. That afternoon training included for Sarah to balance on those rocks while avoiding black blades and catching black balls that Stella threw at her. Balls are about the size of a golf ball, but much heavier, while blades are very sharp. Just balancing on rocks is challenging, and Sarah can't recklessly jump from one to another rock because they have sharp edges. Sarah performed beautifully. No mistakes. Aiden was admiring her silently.

After about two hours, Sarah felt fatigue getting to her. She didn't want to admit that to Stella and braved through the exercise. At some point, Sarah lost balance and was falling backward toward sharp rocks. Stella moved to try to catch Sarah, but before she could make few steps, Aiden was already in the river, standing on the rocks and holding Sarah.

"Thank you." Sarah smiled.

"I will never let you fall." He said in a gentle voice while helping her get her balance back.

Stella watched two of them gaze into each other's eyes, and her heart was moved. She can see that they have deep feelings for each other. "We are done for today." Stella went into the 'cabin'.

As soon as Stella got into the study room, she made a phone call, "Oleg, send me now what you have."

Few minutes later, Stella got notification that she received an email. She took her laptop and started reading through documents. Her expression was unreadable.