Is this destiny?

While two sisters chatted about the plans for the girls, in the study, on the main level…

Aiden is going through reports related to the girls. Six of them left with their private jet, and the jet will be back by tomorrow morning. Considering that the pilots need some break, maybe they can schedule the next batch of girls to leave tomorrow evening. But which one? There are not many girls left who are willing to leave and who got in touch with their family. 

Aiden\'s phone rang and he saw that it\'s Jeff.

Aiden cleared his throat and answered. "Yes?"

"I need your help to find Anna.", Jeff asked right away, and Aiden could hear that Jeff is beyond anxious.

Aiden was irked that Jeff spoke like he is ordering him. Shouldn\'t he be nicer because he needs a favor? Aiden pretended not to hear the urgency in Jeff\'s voice. "What happened?"

"Uhm… we had a misunderstanding and she left."

Aiden was amused that Jeff is not telling him the details. "Why don\'t you track her with our app?"

"She doesn\'t have her watch or her phone on her."

Jeff didn\'t want to say that she left behind the wedding ring as well. He does not care much about the phone, but the wristwatch and the ring are important. Both of them he gave to JoAnna while promising that they will stay together forever, and that they will take care of each other, and she… left.

"Must be quite a misunderstanding."

Jeff exhaled in frustration. "Look. I messed up and she left. I checked at your house, Sophia\'s house, I asked Emma, Mike, and I even called Ellie, but no one knows where she is. You must help me. What if something happened to her?"

"She is a Hill. Nothing will happen to her. You are aware that I am on my honeymoon, right? Why are you calling me after a misunderstanding with your wife? Can\'t you take care of it yourself?"

Jeff paused. "I am also aware that you got Mason to interrogate bodyguards which you captured in Vegas, so I guess that your honeymoon is not only flowers, chocolate, and wine in the bedroom. My wife is missing for several hours and I\'m losing my mind here. Are you going to help me or not?"

Aiden exhaled. Jeff\'s words hit him right where it hurts. This honeymoon is a lot of things, but there are no flowers or chocolates or wine, and last night they slept in the same room with ten other people!

Aiden reminded himself to focus. "Jeff, your wife is not missing. She left because you messed up."

Jeff realized: "You know where she is!"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah, yeah. I messed up. I will apologize and it will be fine. She overreacted because of the pregnancy hormones."

"Is that what you think?"

"WHERE IS ANNA!?", Jeff roared.

Aiden ended the call. Why is Jeff yelling at him? Considering that Aiden knows what Jeff wants to find out, Jeff should be more polite.

Three seconds later, Aiden\'s phone rang again.

"Yes?", Aiden asked casually.

"Sorry for raising my voice.", Jeff spoke calmly, but his pitch was higher than usually, revealing his impatience. "Can you please tell me where Anna is?"

"Do you know what you did wrong?"

Jeff exhaled. He realized that Aiden will not tell him. "Can you at least tell me if she is OK?"

"Physically, she is fine. Emotionally, she is drained and hurting."

"Shit…", Jeff cursed under his breath.

Aiden waited for Jeff to say something, but he was silent. The only sign that Jeff is still on the line was the sound of uneven breathing.

"Jeff, you allowed a woman who is openly after you to get close. I know that you don\'t pay attention to any woman other than Anna, but you can\'t pretend that they don\'t exist. Do you know how many women Anna had to handle because you allowed them to get too close? Do you know through how much pain she went through because your silence emboldened those women?"

Jeff sighed. "I know."

"I don\'t think you do. I heard from Anna what happened in your office today. She is pregnant and that means that she needs you more than ever. I saw you acting like a doting husband, but that is only when your schedule allows it. You are not there for her when she needs you. You arranged for Bridgette to give her company, but do you really think that is enough? Anna left Seattle, her friends, and her life for you. What did you sacrifice for her? Do you know how lonely she is? Anna arrived at your office unannounced and an unknown woman came out of your bedroom and acted like she owns the place. I heard that she even baked for you. And what did you do? You said that it\'s not your fault because someone else allowed her in. There is a limit to how much a woman can take, no matter how much she loves you."

Jeff took in a shaky breath.

Aiden continued: "You are acting like you are a big boss who handles everything. I want you to remember every time when Anna took the lead in saving your reckless ass. Do you think that you are unbreakable? Maybe you forgot, but I still remember the image of Timothy Cox holding a gun to your head. You stood frozen, and Anna saved you. Do you remember the Spirit Pavilion? Roxy and her friends sent us spiked drinks, and Anna was the one who noticed that they are off. Do you remember Regina Heaven? …"

"OK. I get it!", Jeff interrupted Aiden.

"You don\'t!" Aiden\'s voice showed that he is losing his temper. "You are not aware of your identity. You are suffocating Anna by asking her to sit home surrounded by bodyguards, while at the same time you are carefree. How did your life change since the two of you are together other than where you sleep and with whom? Compare that with Anna and maybe you will realize why she is hurt. Do you know that letting a woman unsupervised near you or near your things is dangerous? If you need an example of consequences, remember what happened to me and Sarah at your wedding. I was careless for a second, and Sarah and I paid the price. You can\'t imagine how hard it was to go through that, and I\'m still not over it. I will never forgive myself for that."

Jeff sighed. "What happened to you was horrible. But after that mess, you and Sarah were together, working it out. I can\'t fix this with Anna if I don\'t know where she is. I need to talk to her."

"Jeff, just saying that you are sorry and that it\'s not your fault will not fix things."

"And what will?"

Aiden exhaled. "After everything I said you still didn\'t figure it out?" Aiden wanted to hang up, but he decided to say one more thing. "I will tell Anna that you called."

"Tell her that I love her and that I miss her."

"She knows.", Aiden responded and ended the call.

Aiden kept his phone on the side and wondered if he was too harsh. Maybe he was supposed to offer some words of comfort. Maybe some compassion.

Aiden dismissed those ideas because that is not the right approach. Jeff pursued JoAnna and they quickly got engaged and married, and during that time, Jeff didn\'t change much. Sure, there was a glaring change that he noticed a woman and fell for her, but other than that, his habits and his behavior are the same. He is still the same workaholic, oblivious to anything around him, and while JoAnna was able to follow his pace, it was fine.

JoAnna left Seattle, and her life changed completely because of Jeff while Jeff… only added JoAnna. No wonder she feels drained and needs a break.

Aiden is confident that Jeff needs to realize this, and to make necessary adjustments. Because now is only tired JoAnna, but soon it will be tired JoAnna and two babies who need him, and if he spends his time buried in the paperwork, while JoAnna needs to shoulder the kids, the bed climbers, and their relationship… that can\'t last.

Aiden wondered, is this what people mean when they say that someone is taking their significant other for granted? He also wondered if he is doing the same mistake with Sarah…

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