Is this destiny?

Story by story, Sarah found out that Vasily kept her romantic pursuers at bay, many of whom Sarah never heard of because Vasily forced them to change their minds before they got a chance to approach Sarah in order to state their intentions.

The more Vasily spoke, the more Aiden liked the man. Unintentionally, Vasily protected Sarah so that she is available (and untouched) for Aiden.

Inevitably, Vasily reached the topic of Aiden, and Aiden's mood fell when he heard all the verbal bashing directed his way.

"I didn't like that White boy from the start..." Vasily's face darkened and he said in a growl: "Aiden..."

Vasily took in a sharp breath and continued talking angrily: "Other than his family's shady dealings with the Voronins, that boy is the ficklest and the most lecherous creature on Earth! How can I allow my precious angel to get attached to that dastard? Sarah, I feared that he will ruin you just how he ruined numerous girls before you. You were pure and uncorrupted and he was... dirty!"

Vasily snorted and continued: "When I got reports that the two of you are dating and that he managed to make his way into your family's home, I sent the information on him to Edward. I counted on the fact that Edward loves you and that he will open your eyes and get you to see Aiden as the man-tramp he is, but Edward was too angry to think straight and the only thing he accomplished was to alienate you... and you ended up moving to Fairfield WITH the womanizer!"

Vasily rubbed his forehead forcibly.

"And what could I do? Stella said that she does not want to interfere in your love life, Edward sulked because you rejected his advice and said that you will learn the hard way, but I could not let you be without protection, so I moved to the apartment across the hall. I didn't have any plan at that time, other than breaking Aiden's legs if he dares to cheat on you or to hurt you in any way…"

Sarah glanced at Aiden and she saw him gaping at the screen in disbelief.

Sarah paused the video and bit her lower lip, unsure what to say. It is obvious that Aiden didn't like what Vasily said about him. Well, Sarah didn't like it either, she does not like it when anyone talks badly about Aiden. However, that was at the beginning of their relationship, before Aiden proved his sincerity. Sarah's heart warmed and cracked at the same time when she heard that Vasily was worried Aiden will hurt her and that Vasily would break Aiden's legs if he is cheating on Sarah.

"At that time, I thought that my dad freaked out because someone from the Christmas party told him about us dating. But it seems that he read the report about your inglorious past.", Sarah said to Aiden. "That explains Edward's insistence that I stay away from you."

Aiden could not believe what he heard. That amount of verbal bashing was difficult to swallow. On top of that, Aiden thought Edward is an overprotective father, who is unwilling to accept that Sarah is old enough to have a boyfriend, and it turned out that her whole family was aware of his previous conquests and they thought that he is only interested in bedding Sarah and taking advantage of her.

Edward, Stella, Vasily… Who else knew from Sarah's family? Owen, probably. No wonder everyone gave Aiden a hard time and dirty looks.

This was an unexpected blow. It will take Aiden some time to accept this and be able to look at Edward and Stella in the eyes without showing how ashamed he is for what he did before meeting Sarah.

Aiden cleared his throat awkwardly. "Let's watch it further."

Aiden wanted this to end and for Vasily to move on to the next topic, but unfortunately for Aiden, Vasily was not done with the current topic: Sarah's relationship with Aiden.

"... I didn't like that boy, nothing about him was good except for his fighting abilities. However, over time, I confirmed that he is supporting you and that he is staying away from other girls. I didn't have full access to you while you were at the University, because my men would stick out too much, but I confirmed that Aiden is doing his best to protect you. When I bumped into you in Las Vegas, I saw that you are happy and that the two of you have things in common, and I decided to give him a chance, but still… I was watching him."

Vasily paused and his face darkened.

"When I found out about the incident at JoAnna's wedding, that Aiden was careless enough to get drugged and he hurt you, I was furious. Milena told me that it was not Aiden's fault, but I didn't agree with her. Those were his friends from high school, and he knew they are up to something; he was supposed to be cautious, to protect himself and you, but because of his mistake, you ended up suffering. My anger didn't subside, and you got shot because of him. If my men were not nearby watching, you would bleed to death right there on that street. You almost died, Sarah."

Vasily took in a deep breath and continued: "I am sorry that my men were unable to fix your arm, and when I found out that Aiden got you pregnant before marriage, I was livid. I wanted to kill him right there. He was in my hands; one word and he would be dead. But I couldn't do that to you, so I told my men to remove bullets and to patch him up."

Vasily exhaled and half-smiled. "You must wonder how Aiden ended up in a coma. Well, I wonder that as well. I told my men to find a way to send a warning, something for Aiden to know that I can end him anytime I want if he does not straighten up his act. How many times will he hurt you and put your life in danger? My men were supposed to give me a list of options to choose from, but the next time they called, it was a report that they followed my orders, sent you back, and that Aiden was in a coma induced by an experimental drug we don't have an antidote for. I suspect that Ivan was behind the order, but I don't have the proof. Ivan or not, it was done by my men, and I take responsibility. The doctor who administered the drug is gone. He is the only one from that staff unaccounted for…"

Vasily smiled. "I was relieved that Aiden managed to pull through. I'm pleased that he did the right thing, and you are married. Your spark is back, and you are happy, and I am glad that I didn't need to break his legs. However, I am still watching him. If he hurts you again, I don't know if I can hold back. God only knows how many things you forgave that boy. Your heart must be made of gold."

Vasily looked at the side, making sure that he addressed everything from his list that he kept outside of the view of the camera before he looked back at Sarah and Aiden. "I said at the beginning that this will be a short video, well… I lied. I also said that I will work on improving our relationship with a goal to tell you all this in person… I hope that one comes true. To be honest, I never thought that you will come to the Lebedev family, knowing how you were oblivious about it and that Milena sheltered you from all this. When you showed up with your sisters and challenged Elder Nikolai's position, it was the first time you got closer to me and I was ecstatic because I finally got a chance to interact with you face-to-face. Now that you are here, leading the family, I'm giving you my full support openly, without the need to hide in the shadows. Let's remove all the pesky people who see the Lebedev family as a way to gain power, and transform this into what it should have always been: a family. I would love it if we could sit over a cup of tea and chat about things."

Vasily paused with a dreamy expression like he is imagining something very pleasant.

A few seconds later, he snapped back to reality and spoke seriously: "Sarah, I don't expect you to thank me, but I hope that you will not hate me for meddling into your lives. Please, understand that even though you didn't notice my presence, I am watching you from the day you were born, and you and your two sisters are, for me, the closest as a family. I think of you as my own daughters, and I will do anything in my power to protect you… even if that means destroying the Lebedev organization and myself in the process."

Vasily smiled. "Well, that's it. I'm going now to see what Sophia and JoAnna are up to. You are in that base of the Voronin family and it's driving me nuts but then… you are the one who always gave me the most headaches and also brought me the most joy. I am proud of you."

The video ended and Sarah stared at the blank screen.

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