Chapter 484 - Lakeside villa

~ Seattle ~

Sarah arrived in front of the lakeside villa which Sophia and Felix purchased. They will move in soon, and this will be their home.

Sophia told her that she will wait for her there.

Sarah walked to the back of the villa, while observing her surroundings and taking photos and notes on her tablet. She was doing that in order to determine possible locations for sensors that Eve will use.

The back of the house has a large lawn area facing the lake. Sarah thought how this will be a great place for kids to play.

She found Sophia and Felix on the back patio. They were relaxing on the chaise. Sophia was leaning into Felix's embrace while enjoying the view of the lake.

Sarah had to clear her throat few times for them to notice her.

"I didn't hear you…", Sophia said while getting up and adjusting her clothes.

"I can see that." Sarah looked around. "This is very nice."

Sophia glanced behind Sarah and then her eyes darted left and right. "Aiden is not with you?"

"No. He has things to do and stayed at the cabin."

Felix greeted Sarah and held Sophia's hand in his. "Let us show you the house.", he told Sarah while leading the way with Sophia.

As they walked through the house, Sophia and Felix explained layout and for what they will use each room. Sarah was taking notes.

The house was not furnished. It had lots of huge boxes placed randomly through rooms. That made it easier for Sarah to access the space.

Sophia explained that they are still waiting for the rest of the furniture to be delivered, and Felix insists to assemble it himself. That is because Felix does not want strangers to linger through the house. When first furniture delivery arrived, the men were just about to start assembling sofa for the living room, when one of the delivery men became a bit flirty with Sophia. Felix saw that and chase him away. He told all of them to scram. Since then, he refuses delivery people to come and assemble furniture. As soon as they drop off boxes in the corresponding room, Felix tells them to leave.

Sarah offered to help, with Aiden, of course. Felix didn't object. He explained that two of them can come and help anytime because they are safe, and he does not need to worry about Sophia. Sarah was not sure how to respond to that, while Sophia laughed.

Felix went with Sarah around the property while Sophia rested on the chaise. She could see them walking away, and then everything was silent, except for birds chirping. The weather was very pleasant, and she dozed off.

When she woke up, Sarah was on the chair nearby, working on her laptop, and Felix was not in sight.

"Did you have a good nap?" Sarah's smile welcomed Sophia when she saw her stirring up.

"Yes… lately I'm dozing off randomly… must be hormones." Sophia was looking around.

"If you are looking for Felix, he went inside to assemble something."

Sophia nodded in understanding. "Did you finish with the property?"

"Yes. We assessed, discussed, and I'm making notes now. Eve will help me create optimal configuration… Felix said that he make sure we got all equipment. I estimate that in few days I can come back and start setting it up…"

"Thank you for doing this." Sophia knows that in terms of security and also other house management features, Eve is unrivaled. Having Sarah bring in Eve will be great help for Felix and her… and for their future children.

"You are welcome. I'm planning to centralize security for all three of us. So, if you, Anna or I are in some danger, everyone else will be notified."

"You thought of this." Sophia approved this plan.

"Yes. Some things happened recently, and it made me… cautious."

Sophia felt that this is something important. Sarah is usually carefree, if something made her cautious, it means it's not a small thing. "Anything you want to share?"

Sarah didn't want to go too much into details, not to worry Sophia, but she mentioned that on two separate occasions she faced a man who looks familiar to her. Sarah also said that she is almost certain that man was looking for her, and that he is connected to some organization in Eastern Europe. Sarah skipped marriage part because she didn't know how it fits in the story.

Sophia listened to Sarah and it was obvious that she is worried. "Do you think he is connected to one of those families, and they are making their move?"

Sarah shook her head. "I don't know… if that is the case, I would assume that their move would be more obvious. Why would they sneak around? Also… he was surprised to see me. Both times. So maybe those were just accidents."

"One time, yes. But do you really think that seeing the same man two times in a short timespan should be categorized as accidental?"

"I know… I'm also thinking the same. Aiden and I are trying to figure out who he is. So far, we didn't find anything useful, but we are not giving up.", Sarah assured her.

Sophia gave a faint smile and nodded. "I'm happy you are on top of this. We should let Anna know as well. Just in case if she bumps into something similar."

Sarah agreed with Sophia.

Sophia looked at Sarah for some time before asking, "Besides mystery man, did something else happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"I still remember you mentioning that Aiden is not pampering you enough. That is not like you… so… did something happen?"

"Nothing really happened…", Sarah responded hurriedly and avoided Sophia's gaze.

Sophia scrutinized Sarah and she started fidgeting nervously.

Sarah saw that Sophia will not give up. She exhaled and started talking, "For one event we used identities as a married couple… and for some reason it made me think about those things… marriage and stuff. It's not first time that it came to my mind, but this time it was different. I don't know how to explain it… We ended up in front of the wedding chapel… and when we left, I was not sure if I was disappointed that we were there, or that we left without going in."

"Are you doubting your feelings for him?"

"No. I can't imagine my life without him.", Sarah responded without hesitation.

Sophia was trying to suppress her smile, fearing that Sarah will interpret it as mockery. "So… are you disappointed that you didn't get married?"

"No, no… I'm just not sure how he feels… we talked about it previously, and agreed that we are young, and that it's early to talk about it." Sarah glanced at Sophia and saw that Sophia is still looking at her expectantly. Of course, her sister knows that there is more to it. Sarah gave up on the idea to hide things from her oldest sister and continued, "But after what happened in last week or so… the thought that he is not ready, bothers me. Makes me wonder if it's something about me, am I too demanding? Too competitive? What am I lacking? Or am I too much? … Why would he not be ready?"

Sophia saw that Sarah is not comfortable. It seems that first step needed for Sarah is to clarify with herself what her expectations are.

"If he proposes to you right now, what will you say?"

Sarah looked at Sophia without responding. She didn't move at all. The only thing telling Sophia that Sarah is still breathing is that her cheeks got red.

Sophia smiled. "It appears that you are clear on what you want. And I don't think that you should doubt him. Just by the way he looks at you, it's clear that he loves you very much… But if you have something that bothers you about him or your relationship, you know that there is only one way to sort it out, right?"

Sarah gave a small nod. The only way to clarify things between Aiden and her is to talk to him. But how can she talk to him about that? Sarah exhaled, unsure how to handle this, and admitted, "I don't know how to talk to him about this… last time this topic came between us, he freaked out and it was obvious that he is not ready… and neither was I."

"You said that some things happened recently… as you experience new things, you mature. When you share those experiences with someone, you grow closer. It seems that last week made you realize that you are ready for next step in your relationship. Maybe it did the same for him… or maybe he needs more time to reach there. Your choices are either to talk to him or to wait until he brings it up… but in any case, I don't think that you should worry, because he has eyes only for you."

Sarah wanted to say something but was interrupted by noise coming from the house.

Two of them rushed inside and found Felix in one room. His left arm was under a large box. Felix's face was contorted in pain, it was obvious that he is hurt.

Sarah and Sophia helped to lift the box so he can get his arm out. Felix protested that Sophia should not lift anything heavy, but she didn't listen.

Hi arm was bruised, bleeding. They did a quick first aid with cold pack and bandages from first aid kit, and then Sarah drove them to the hospital.

"How did this happen?", Sophia finally asked from the back seat.

"Box fell... I thought I can catch it…"

"Well... you caught it. I told you not to do these things by yourself!", Sophia's voice was harsh. She was upset that he got hurt.

"Sorry…"

"Are you in pain?", Sophia's voice softened seeing that he feels guilty.

Felix's response was a frown.

Sophia exhaled, realizing that instead of comforting her man who is hurt, she is scolding him. "I'm sorry… we will be in hospital soon... Can you move your wrist? How about your fingers? ..."

Sarah was driving, stressed that Felix is hurt, but happy that Sophia stopped reprimanding him.