Is this destiny?

Sarah woke up in the bed.

Aiden was next to her, keeping busy on his laptop. As soon as he noticed that Sarah is stirring, he kept the laptop on the side.

Sarah opened her eyes and saw his concerned expression. She remembered the crying episode that made her sleep off and prevented her from enjoying the movie with Aiden. She scolded herself for such a childish behavior.

Sarah repeated to herself few times that it\'s unreasonable to expect that he does not have any history related to relationships. She needs to accept that and to move on. She hoped that these thoughts will help her calm down. What else can she do?

Sarah did her best to smile and to push any ugly thoughts away. "It seems I can\'t stay awake when I watch a movie with you."

Aiden observed that her smile didn\'t reach her eyes. His heart ached at the thought that she is trying to look happy so that he is not worried.

He kissed her forehead and looked her in the eyes. "Are you going to tell me what that was about?"

Sarah lowered her gaze. She was ashamed to confess what caused her crying spell. And she was afraid that if she brings it up, he will clarify… and confirm that everything she fears is true. And no matter how many times she told herself that she needs to accept it and move on, she felt her eyes burning again. Sarah closed them, fearing that he will see her tears that threaten to fall.

"Sarah, my love… you need to tell me what is bothering you. I told you, I want to fight your demons with you, but I need to know what they are.", he cupped her cheeks in his palms and kissed her gently.

Sarah felt a tear sneaking from the corner of her eye, and she buried her face in his chest with hope that he didn\'t see it.

"I\'m afraid that if I tell you, it will get worse.", she confessed.

He embraced her with one arm while other ran through her hair. "Can it get worse than this?"

Sarah thought about his question. Can it get worse? She is already crying because she got herself into this unreasonable state. There are two options… and the worse one is that he confirms her fears. Will that make it worse? Will she cry more? Will she throw a tantrum? Will she leave him? … Of course, she will not leave him… but it will hurt, and it will make her cry more… but maybe in that case at least she will know the reason why she is crying.

"I know you trust me… Can you trust me with this? Tell me what is bothering you…", Aiden spoke softly while caressing her hair.

Sarah inhaled and held her breath for some time before speaking, "How many girls did you bring here before me?"

Aiden\'s hand which was moving over her hair froze.

For Sarah, those two seconds seemed like two eternities which confirmed her worst fears.

She felt his hand touch her chin and lift her head to face him.

"Open your eyes.", he demanded.

Sarah shook her head, rejecting his request.

"Sarah, love… I need you to look at me.", his voice was much softer now.

She opened her eyes, as just as she feared, tears flooded out of them, blurring her vision. Through her blinks she saw fragments of his face, those dark eyes looking at her, full of love, his brow slightly furrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line. His hands moved, frantically trying to wipe her tears with his palms, but it seemed the more he wiped the more they flooded.

Aiden pulled her in his embrace and whispered in her ear, "You are the first one."

Sarah felt her heartache get worse. "You don\'t have to lie to me. Just tell me the truth."

Aiden tightened his hug and spoke softly while his hand moved gently over her back: "That is the truth. You are the first girl who came here with me. You are the first girl to stay in this room and sleep on this bed… Oh, Sarah, I know that you don\'t know much about my past, and it\'s probably better that it stays that way… but know that you are the first one I introduced to my parents. You are the first one who touched my heart." He inched away and held her cheeks in his palms, forcing her to face him. "Do you remember? For Jeff\'s birthday? I told you that it\'s the first time I\'m bringing with me +1. That was the truth."

Aiden kissed Sarah gently on the lips, relieved that the flood of tears is slowing down. He spoke between kisses: "You are the first girl that I considered as my +1, for anything in my life… Please, remember that… And even if all the girls in the world look my way, not one of them can be compared with you... Just how your eyes see only me, my eyes see only you... We are two halves of a whole, and there in no space for anyone else."

He continued kissing her until her tears stopped.

"I\'m sorry…", Sarah said weakly, embarrassed because of her unreasonable behavior.

"Don\'t be. If those demons come back again, let me know. And I will remind you that since I\'m aware of my existence, there was only one girl who ever managed to access my heart… and that girl right now is my fiancée… and she will be my wife in near future. And no one else can challenge that, not even your demons."

Sarah had to admit that his words touched her. She took a deep breath. "I\'m such a mess. I need to get myself together… The truth is, I really want to know how your life was like before we met… but now I think I shouldn\'t. Just a thought that any other girl got your attention, no matter how superficial it was… it hurts so much that it rips me from the inside. And I\'m aware that it\'s irrational how much it\'s bothering me, because at that time we didn\'t even know each other."

Aiden showed a bitter smile. "I know what you mean. I feel the same about you. And it\'s a new thing for me, because before I met you, I was never jealous. I never had this need to keep someone away from everyone else. My desire to possess you completely is clouding my mind, and just a thought that you looked at anyone as a man, ever, is driving me insane."

Sarah was surprised for a moment to hear his words. He described exactly how she feels. "Thank you for telling me this… at least I know that I\'m not crazy."

He laughed. "Maybe you are crazy… but then we are crazy together."

Sarah was not sure at what point during their talk it happened, but the knot in her chest was gone. The only feeling she had was overwhelming love for the man in front of her.

They both laughed and kissed while holding each other.

"I have one request…", Sarah said between kisses.

He inched away and looked at her face expectantly. "Tell me."

"You said you made plans starting at 6 o\'clock…" She saw him nod and continued. "And that includes dinner, right?"

Aiden nodded again.

"Can we drink your favorite beverage? And don\'t tell me that you like things that are related to me… I\'m talking about the drink you would have if you are having a dinner one year ago, before we met."

He nodded in agreement.

Sarah could not hide her excitement that the moment when she finds out his favorite beverage is getting closer.

They observed that it was after 5 o\'clock and headed to the bathroom… it was time to get ready for Aiden\'s plan which starts at 6.