Is this destiny?

4:37 PM

Edward stood on the side and observed Sarah and Aiden who held each other, joined at the hips, while chatting with their guests. 

He counted the seconds between the gaps of when Sarah and Aiden would look at each other. Seven. It was never more than seven seconds before their eyes met again. And both of them are smiling. Beaming from joy. He would be a fool not to acknowledge that Aiden really makes Sarah happy. 

After the third group of guests which spoke with Sarah and Aiden moved away from them, Sarah\'s gaze drifted to the side and landed on Edward.

She smiled. 

"I think my dad is ready.", Sarah told Aiden.

Aiden frowned slightly and his grip on her waist intensified.

"What?", Sarah asked him.

"That means I need to let go of you."

Sarah stifled a laugh. He can be silly sometimes. "You will still see me."

"You don\'t understand, love.", he said in a low voice. "Look at this…" Aiden let go of Sarah and took half a step away while extending his arm for her to see his wedding band which already turned black. "The moment I don\'t touch you, my light fades. That is how badly I need you."

Sarah laughed at his pouty face and pinched his cheeks. "I will be back into your arms in a bit."

"My arms will be waiting!", he cried after her.

Sarah turned her head toward Aiden without stopping her steps and mouthed: "I know."

Aiden smiled dreamily while watching Sarah walk toward Edward. That is his wife right there!

"Hi dad… I hear that the next in the program is the two of us dancing.", she told Edward when she was two steps away from him. "Are you ready?"

Edward nodded and extended his arm for Sarah to take.

"You are beautiful. And I am not talking about the dress."

He is talking about her beaming and there is nothing more beautiful than a happy woman. His baby girl is grown up.

"Thanks, dad. All this is overwhelming. In a good way. It will take me days to process all this and to realize that everyone came together to make this come true."

"Are you happy to be married?"

Sarah smiled brightly while looking around. "Yes. I am beyond happy to be married to Aiden. But it\'s more than that. My happiness is amplified with the knowledge that I have so many people who care about me."

Edward\'s heart melted a bit. He knows that Sarah is a kindhearted girl without a single malicious intention, but even with that she struggled to have close friends. Sarah was always on the top, completing challenges in the fastest, in the most precise and accurate way. Edward assumes that this is what made others believe that she is above them, untouchable. And he is surprised to see how in the last year and a half so many people gathered around Sarah. Is it possible that this is related to Aiden? That somehow because the two of them are together, Sarah became more approachable?

Both Sarah and Aiden are amazing young individuals and together they are enhancing each other. Edward hopes that he has a long and healthy life so that he can witness what the two of them will accomplish together. He always told Sarah that the only thing which prevents her from reaching the stars is her lack of ambition. Edward is convinced that if they set their minds to it, Sarah and Aiden with the help of their siblings can rule the world. Or at least mold it to serve their needs. He looks forward to it. 

As Sarah and Edward walked in the direction of the dance area, Bridgette rushed past them toward the stage.

When Edward and Sarah approached the middle of the dance area, the music stopped. 

Bridgette was holding onto the microphone, ready to make an announcement: "May I have your attention, please? … It is time for father-daughter dance!" 

Most of the guests gathered around to watch.

The band started playing a familiar tune of the song "Isn\'t she lovely" by Stevie Wonder, and Edward and Sarah started moving slowly at the beat of the music.

Edward looked at Sarah while mix of emotions showed on his face.

"Are you OK?", Sarah asked Edward.

"I am happy for you.", Edward responded after a long pause.

"But…?"

Edward sighed. "You are my baby girl. Can\'t I be sad that you will not need me?"

Sarah smiled. "No matter where I go, I will never forget that you taught me how to ride a bike, and how to ride a car with a stick shift, and that you introduced me to C++, Python and JavaScript, and that the two of us made a mess when we built a volcano on the kitchen island and how we scrambled to clean it before mom sees… I have many memories of you teaching me things and helping me do stuff. Those are good memories. For twenty years, you are my go-to guy and that will not change. I will always need you." 

Edward sighed again, but in a bit better mood. Sarah was never such a sweet-talker. It seems that this rubbed off from Aiden on her.

"Did you two make any plans for the future?", Edward asked.

"Like?"

"Will anything change now that you are married?"

Sarah thought for a second before responding: "I don\'t think so. As long as no one forces us to change, we will stay in Los Angeles as our primary residence, working... kids. The same."

Edward understood that those who might force them to change are Lebedevs and Voronins. Which reminded him… "Will you have kids of your own?"

"Not yet. It\'s not safe.", Sarah responded. 

As much as there is a painful memory of a lost baby associated with the notion of \'her own kid\', Sarah was ready for this kind of questions. They are newlyweds and it\'s normal for their family members to ask about their future children.

Edward was surprised by her answer. He thought that if the information from the USB Ivan gave them is not correct, Sarah would be shy or brush it off in a clumsy way. And if the information is correct, Sarah would be angry, or maybe sad. But her answer was almost robotic and very rational. 

He wanted to know more. "Safe?"

"As you know, there are people who are after us. I don\'t think it\'s safe to go through the pregnancy and bring a fragile life into this world if I am not sure that I can take care of it. Besides, we have almost thirty kids already."

Edward didn\'t want to ask more about this, and he would not think that anything is off about Sarah\'s words if not for that USB they got from Ivan. His suspicion grew that the information they found there is correct, and that Sarah was pregnant. He did his best to keep his smile on because he does not want to spoil this day for Sarah.

Edward was surprised that the song was over already. He regretted not picking a longer song.

Edward wondered, why is Aiden standing next to them? Ah, it is time to let go of Sarah and put her hand into Aiden\'s. But Edward knows that no other young man is more deserving of her hand than Aiden. 

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