Is this destiny?

Jeff is delivering his speech…

Kyra's eyes are glued to Jeff and she is so focused on the man in the white suit that she can completely crop JoAnna out of the image in front of her.

"Miss Bell, you should pay attention to your date.", Lukas reminded her.

She scoffed. "My date?"

Miss Bell's face froze when she saw Lukas narrowing his eyes at her and then she forced a smile. "What is wrong with me paying attention to the person delivering a speech?"

Lukas pursed his lips and tightened his hold on her waist. His right arm is in a cast because of that female Russian bodyguard, but his left one is perfectly working.

Lukas observed the security since they reached, and he is unable to spot any of those two Russian bodyguards. He remembers that Jeff told him there are three of them. He didn't give up looking around. When he finds them, he will teach them a lesson!

Marcus' daughter, Samara is busy munching on appetizers and sipping wine. She does not care about all this power nonsense. But she is bummed that she was unable to get a date for tonight. The ones who would accompany her were not suitable for this event. And the suitable ones didn't want to come with her.

Samara is glancing around and she is not happy to see that most of the people came with dates.

Even her father got a date! Few days ago, he sent his last wife packing, so she thought that he will come by himself. She completely forgot about Jasmine. Seeing how her father is looking at Jasmine, Samara thought that Jasmine might be her next stepmother.

Samara sighed. It seems that everyone has a date. Even this handsome African American man (aka Jesse) next to her is with a girl (aka Oni). The man is wearing a suit, but Samara can see that he is muscular and sitting straight and his facial features are not bad at all. The more she looks at him, the more attractive he is. He reminds her of a royal. 'Maybe he is a king where he comes from', Samara thought. Ah, if she ends up with him, she will be a queen! Samara was happy that she is sitting next to him. She will definitely make an effort to talk to the man tonight.

Few tables away...

Mr. Morgan is doing his best to focus on Jeff, but his eyes are darting around nervously, landing occasionally on Marcus. Last two days, Marcus is avoiding him, and refusing to take his calls. Mr. Morgan has a suspicion that Marcus' change in behavior is because of recent attacks from the army of Chaos.

They rumor going around is that he provoked them, but Mr. Morgan is not sure what he did.

What he knows is that they plundered three warehouses and his precious underground bunker! The only thing they left is that Chaos symbol. They took everything. Even the office equipment and supplies from the warehouses are gone. Unbelievable! As much as he does not like it, he can understand that they took gold and documents and money… but why did they take printing paper and erasable markers? Those people have no shame.

Mr. Morgan is anxious because he knows that the army of Chaos is associated with Jeffrey. At the event last week, that Russian bodyguard said that they are very close, like a family. But no matter how he looks around, other than regular security, he can't find any masked person with red eyes, or those blonde bodyguards. That can mean that they are either not here, or they blended in the crowd. Mr. Morgan shuddered at that thought. Is anyone at his table from the army of Chaos? Other than his wife, he does not know anyone else. How strange is that in this gathering he ended up seated with eight people he does not know? Are all of them from the army of Chaos?

Ron and Zula observed Mr. Morgan fidgeting in his seat, and he was getting more anxious as the time went by. They exchanged glances and a silent understanding that Sarah and JoAnna were correct when they said how Mr. Morgan's paranoia will escalate due to this seating arrangement. The man looks like he will fall apart any minute!

At the table with grandparents…

"Is that our Anna?", Mary asked James while gesturing toward the stage.

"Yes.", he responded.

Mary smiled. "She is grown into a wonderful young woman. Who is the good-looking man next to her?"

"That is Jeffrey, her husband.", James responded while doing his best to keep a smile on. Even after all this time, his heart is aching every time he is reminded that his wife is losing her memories.

"Anna's husband? When did she got married? How come I was not there?", Mary frowned while trying to remember.

"We were there. I will show you the photos later…"

"I hope he treats her well.", Mary said with a concern in her voice.

"Of course, he treats her well…", Barbara chimed in. "He is my grandson."

"Oh?", Mary's face lit up at Barbara's words. "So, we are in-laws?"

"Yes. Other than neighbors, we are related as well.", Barbara beamed. "I remember when that rascal was escaping to your property as a kid to see your granddaughter. And I didn't realize that the childish crush will end up in them being married almost twenty years later…"

Mary paused. "Wait… so that boy who used to show up to play with Anna is yours?"

Barbara confirmed.

James looked at Barbara who catted with his wife and smiled gratefully. Their good friends Donald and Barbara White know about Mary's condition, and they are a great emotional support to James.

James took Mary to many specialists, but the prognosis is not good. Her memory will not improve, and there is a high possibility that it will deteriorate over time. Doctors recommended that Mary stays in some institution which specializes with memory loss patients, but James can't make himself send her there. He hired two nurses to stay with them, and they are with Mary whenever he is not available.

Stella and Edward offered that the two of them move in their home in Seattle, but James refused. Mary is already forgetting so many things and he does not want her to end up in a different environment which can cause her an additional confusion. She forgets about many things, but so far she never forgot about two: their home on the East Coast and her husband. James hopes that Mary never forgets those two things.

Back to present…

Jeff's speech ended and people stood up to clap.

When Jeff and JoAnna stepped off the stage, people lined up to congratulate them in person. Many had gifts with them. Four staff members were ready to accept envelopes, boxes, and bags of various sizes while one was standing on the side and taking notes of who gave what (documented with a photo).

JoAnna smiled and accepted well wishes with polite nods while thinking that she will spend the next week or so opening presents and writing 'thank you' notes. Looking at the people in the queue who waited for their turn… this will take a while. JoAnna wished for a chair, or at least flat shoes.

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