C308 Decision Made

Inside Sarah's room, Sarah lay quietly on her bed. After returning from the Chambers residence, she had been exhausted. She had barely managed to freshen up before falling asleep. When she finally woke up, she remembered that there was something she wanted to discuss with Samantha. She slowly got out of bed and walked toward the door.

A moment later, she stepped into the hallway and knocked on Samantha's door. There was movement inside. The door opened. Samantha smiled when she saw her. "Sarah." Sarah smiled. "Can I come in?" "Of course." Samantha opened the door wider. Sarah stepped inside. But she immediately noticed something. The door had been locked. She looked at it. "You even locked your door?" Samantha laughed. "Yes." She closed it again. "If you hadn't left me alone yesterday, would I have been this scared?"

Sarah laughed. "You're still thinking about that?" "Of course." Samantha shook her head. "After you left me alone yesterday, I wasn't taking any chances." Sarah smiled. "Well, I actually came here because I wanted to talk to you." Samantha's expression became more serious. "About what?" Sarah sat down. "Yesterday." Samantha raised an eyebrow. "What about yesterday?" Sarah smiled. "We went out." "Mike and Alicia came with us." "And Chris and I were there."

Samantha nodded. "Okay." "We also invited Laura and her husband." Samantha immediately looked surprised. "Laura?" "Yes." "She came?" Sarah nodded. "And surprisingly..." "We had a really good time." Samantha smiled. "Really?" "Yes." "It felt like she had never dated Mike." "They joked around, laughed, and everything was completely normal." Sarah paused. "That's actually why I wanted to talk to you." Samantha's smile faded slightly. "What do you mean?"

Sarah looked at her. "I asked them whether you could join us next time." Samantha froze. "Me?" Sarah nodded. "Yes you." "You're my sister." "You're my best friend." "I can't keep going out with them while leaving you behind." Samantha stared at her. "What did they say?" Sarah smiled. "Alicia agreed immediately." "She said she doesn't hate you." "She understands what you went through better than most people because she's a woman too."

Samantha's eyes softened. "And? "Sarah laughed. "Then Chris.." "You know my husband." "He objected." Samantha smiled. "Of course he would do that." "But..." Sarah paused deliberately. "Eventually, he agreed." Samantha waited. She wasn't interested in Chris's teasing. She was waiting for the most important answer. "What did Mike say?" Sarah looked at her. "Why do you suddenly look nervous?" Samantha laughed awkwardly. "I'm not nervous." "You are." "I'm not." Sarah smiled. "Fine."

She paused. "Mike said he understood what happened." "He said he never hated you." Samantha's expression changed. "He was only hurt because you disappeared without explaining everything." "You left him with questions." "You left him with a broken heart." "And when he finally saw you again months later..." Sarah paused. "You were pregnant." Samantha immediately lowered her gaze. She didn't know what to say.

Sarah continued gently. "Mike said that as long as you respect the fact that he's married to Alicia..." "...and you don't come with bad intentions..." "...then you're welcome to join us." "He said Laura left the past behind." "And if she can sit with us peacefully, then so can you." Samantha looked up. There were tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Really?" Sarah nodded. "Really." Samantha didn't hesitate. "Then I'll join." Sarah laughed. "What?" "You don't even need time to think about it?"

Samantha shook her head. "No." She smiled. "I've already spent enough time thinking." "Maybe it's time I stop being afraid of people who have already forgiven me." Sarah smiled warmly. "That's the Samantha I know." The two sisters looked at each other for a moment. Then Samantha pulled Sarah into a hug. For the first time in a long time, she felt that perhaps she hadn't completely lost the people who once mattered to her.

Maybe there was still a way forward.

Samantha laughed softly and shook her head. “So next time If you go, I will go. It is that simple. I only feel relieved when I am with you. I feel like you understand me better than anyone ever has." "Besides, I already told you that I have let go of Mike. Joining you all will not suddenly bring back the feelings I once had for him.” Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Really?” Samantha nodded confidently. “Yes. Really.”

The two sisters looked at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. The tension that had been hanging over the Wood family seemed to disappear. They eventually left the room and walked downstairs together for dinner. However, the moment they entered the dining room, the atmosphere changed again. Everyone was unusually quiet. Kelvin sat at the head of the table, occasionally glancing at Ben. Tracy was quietly eating. Ben himself barely touched his food. His mind was clearly somewhere else.

Sarah noticed the silence but decided not to bring it up immediately. She slowly sat down along with Samantha. They ate quietly until dinner was nearly finished. Finally, Sarah placed her spoon down and looked toward her father. “Dad, I have decided something.” Everyone looked at her. Kelvin frowned slightly. “What have you decided?” Sarah took a breath. “We are going to join Mike and Alicia in fighting against their enemies.” The table immediately became silent.

Ben looked at Sarah and slowly shook his head, but he didn't say anything. Tracy, however, looked genuinely shocked. “What?” Sarah remained calm. “I said we are going to support them.” Tracy stared at her daughter. “Sarah, you are pregnant. You don't know anything about fighting, and the people they are dealing with are extremely dangerous. How can you possibly think about joining a war?”

Sarah calmly explained. “Mom, like I told everyone earlier, Mike and Alicia have already started preparing. They renovated one of the halls at Lucia Goods into a training facility. There will be different forms of training there. Alicia and I won't immediately do anything dangerous. We will start lightly and learn basic self-defense.” Tracy shook her head. “Even basic training can be dangerous when you're pregnant.”

Sarah looked down at her stomach for a moment before replying. “I know. That's why I won't push myself. I just want to learn enough to protect myself if something happens.” Kelvin remained silent for several seconds.