Chapter 617 - Brainless chicken

~ Seattle, Hill-Martin villa ~

Sophia finished talking to Sarah and was visibly upset.

She called JoAnna two more times, but she didn't answer. Knowing that she is working, Sophia assumed that she is doing her rounds or some other things when she can't answer her phone. She sent her a text to confirm that she will join video conference in the evening.

Sophia lifted her legs on the sofa and rested on fluffy pillows while taking deep breaths.

"Ma chéri, you are tense…", Felix approached her and immediately started massaging her shoulders. "What happened?"

"Besides JoAnna being kidnapped and Bridgette ending up in a hospital, Aiden thinks it's a good idea for him and Sarah to split up!"

Felix was taken aback. "What? Why?"

"Who knows how his brain works? Sometimes I admire him and sometimes I think he is a brainless chicken!" Sophia huffed in anger.

Felix never saw Sophia this upset. He disguised his laugh behind a cough. ' Brainless chicken? ' Felix controlled himself with all his might because if he provokes her, all that anger will be directed at him.

Sophia continued explaining: "Aiden said something how they should split up so that Sarah does not get hurt… but then he changed his mind. And Sarah is crying her eyes out, just because he didn't think things through before talking."

"It is natural for a man to want to protect his woman. And if he believes that she is in danger because she is with him, idea that they should split is not so strange."

"What?!!", Sophia snapped at him. 

She glared at Felix for few long seconds before speaking. "Are you saying that if someone threatens you with hurting me if we stay together you will leave me?"

"No, of course not." Felix denied it immediately. Few seconds later, her added: "But it's easy for me to listen to my heart and say that because I am not in that position. For Aiden, it is different. If he really believes that Sarah is in danger because of him, then he is conflicted between wanting them to be together and wanting to keep her safe."

Sophia had to agree that what Felix said makes sense. Even though she didn't like it. She could not help but wonder if two of them need to make such a decision, what would they decide?

"Felix? Can you promise me one thing?"

"What?"

"If we ever end up in a situation where you need to make a decision which impacts both of us… promise me that you will not make it by yourself. I want us to always discuss things that affect our relationship."

"I can do that… I promise." Felix kissed back of Sophia's head and continued massaging her shoulders.

Sophia exhaled. She calmed down quite a bit. "If Aiden discussed options with Sarah openly instead of making a decision by himself, I'm sure that she would not be hurt."

"You said that he changed his mind. Why is she hurt?"

"Because just by mentioning it, that possibility now exists. And she will not be able to forget about it. No matter what he says or does, she will feel insecure. The more she knows that he loves her, the more she fears that he will leave her in order to keep her safe. It's contradictory, but true at the same time… what a mess." Sophia took few deep breaths and did her best to empty her mind and enjoy the massage.

~ Los Angeles, LA Medical Center ~

JoAnna finished with her round and checked her phone.

She saw missed calls from Sophia and a text message notifying her of a video conference at 7:30 in the evening.

JoAnna wanted to call Sophia back, but she could guess that Sophia found out about kidnapping from previous day, probably from Bridgette, so it's better not to call her. Sophia must be upset, and by 7:30 she might calm down a bit.

JoAnna texted Jeff that there will be a conference call at 7:30 and headed to meet with her supervisor.

Dr. Johnson is a middle aged woman, with a short curly hair colored in fiery red and cat-eye framed glasses. She is supervising all residents in LA Medical Center with an iron fist, and nurses fear her as well. But since JoAnna joined, she is treating her very well.

JoAnna is not oblivious of special treatment, and she is confident that Jeff has something to do with it. For some time, JoAnna is trying to find out what Jeff did, but she is not successful.

"Hello, Dr. Johnson!", JoAnna greeted her supervisor over a small desk in her office. Or maybe desk was not so small, but it was filled with documents, and there was no free space on it, so it just looked small.

"Hi Anna, it's always nice to see you. What brings you here?", Dr. Johnson warmly smiled at her. If JoAnna does not know how this woman treats everyone else, she would think that she is very easy to get along with.

"I'm here to ask if it's OK to take next four days off. I will be back on Tuesday.", JoAnna politely asked, but she already knew that her supervisor will approve all her requests no matter how unreasonable they are.

"No problem. Come back on Wednesday if it works better for you." Dr. Johnson's answer didn't disappoint.

JoAnna looked at the woman and wanted to ask why is she treating her so nicely. On few occasions it even looked like Dr. Johnson is afraid of her. But JoAnna was too tired and decided to ask next time.

She thanked her and walked out. Soon she can head home and if traffic is not bad, she can even rest a bit before their call at 7:30.

~ Los Angeles, Cliffside house ~

Aiden held Sarah for a long time while she sobbed.

He tried talking with her few times, but it only made her sobs louder, so he decided to be quiet and let her cry it out. But this woman has a lot of spare water in her body, because it seems like she is crying forever without any intention to stop.

Aiden scolded himself for talking without thinking it through.

He realized that he is target of some mystery Boss and that because of that JoAnna and Jeff were targeted previous day. And he knows that next in line is Sarah. They are living together, and if anyone is watching him, it will not be difficult to see that she is someone very important in his life and they can use her to flush him out. He does not care about exposing himself how much he worries what those people would do to Sarah.

JoAnna was lucky to come out of that situation unscathed. 

Aiden's first impulse was to keep Sarah safe, at any cost. He didn't think about anything else other than to keep her safe. Only when he saw her breaking down, he thought about actual execution of his idea and realized that there is no way that he can stay away from her.

He can tell that she would be hurt if they are apart, but he knows that he would be much worse. His world revolves around her… She is his reason to live, and he can't survive without her by his side.

Aiden knows that he made a mistake for even thinking about them splitting up, and he made it hundred folds worse when he voiced that thought. And now Sarah is hurt. By the way she is clinging onto him, he can tell that she is insecure, and she fears that he will leave her. It will be difficult to regain her trust.

His heart aches at the thought that she does not trust him. She does not trust that he will stay by her side.

Aiden realized that Sarah stopped sobbing. He craned his neck and saw that she slept off.

Aiden carried Sarah into the bedroom and placed her gently on the bed. He laid next to her and held her tightly while she whimpered in her sleep. And he cursed himself again and again for hurting this girl who is his everything.