667: Heartfelt apology - Part 1

Heartfelt apology - Part 1

Aria glanced at her phone which had not stopped ringing for quite some time before she focused on the magazine she was reading. Almost after half an hour after Noah left her apartment, her phone started ringing non-stop and she did not have to see the phone screen to find out who it was. Who else could it be other than the man who had infuriated her to death that day?2

"How audacious!!" She grumbled under her breath and shook her head. "What a nuisance!" 

Unable to tolerate the disturbance anymore, she switched off the phone and threw it beside her as she leaned against the pillow and stretched her legs. Aria stared at the ceiling in a daze and recalled all that had happened in the living room before Noah departed. 

Although her father had ordered her to return to her room, Aria had hidden behind the door and heard all that had happened and all that Noah and her father had spoken in her absence. 

Noah had not said a word other than apologizing to her father and repenting for his mistakes, but Aria, who knew him better than he did, discerned something to be wrong right away. He looked utterly broken and his eyes seemed desperate and lost.

Aria's eyes widened when a notion entered her mind and she switched on her phone right away. Barely a minute had passed when Noah called her again and this time, she answered it much to the man's relief.

"Aria, please listen to me. Please..."

"Noah, was my father saying the truth? Is your grandfather really involved in Mission Code X?" Aria intervened before he could even apologize to her and Noah went silent at her sudden questioning. Her tone was demanding and the man realized that he had to answer her, there was no room for lies and objections.

"Is he guilty of the crimes I think he is?" Aria continued when she did not get any response from him, the heavy silence killing her from within. Even though his lack of response had given her the answer she so desperately wanted to avoid, it was still the truth and she could not ignore it even if she wanted.

Aria trusted her father. He was a man of honesty and was true to his work. There was no way he would be mistaken when it came to important and complicated matters like the organ trafficking case. But somewhere in her heart, she wished for him to be wrong this one time. She had prayed for her father to be mistaken this once. 

But it was all her wishful thinking and Noah's next words confirmed her unimaginable thoughts.

"Yes, he is involved in Mission Code X." Noah's tone was filled with anger, hatred, helplessness, the feeling of betrayal and Aria felt her heart shattering in pain on hearing him so hurt and lost.

Noah had never sounded so defeated, not even when she had given him a cold shoulder after finding her father. This time, he was slapped mercilessly by his grandfather's dark truth and Aria could not imagine the pain and misery the man was in.

"Where are you?"

"At home," Noah replied immediately, not knowing what she was getting at.

"I am coming to meet you." That was all she said before she ended the call.

Aria washed her face and applied another layer of ointment to her bruised stomach before picking up her trench coat and bolting out of her room. In her hurry, she did not notice her father sitting at the dining table.

"Where are you going, Aria?" Oliver did not miss the way his daughter had rushed out of her room, with a look of anxiety and heart ache. Either she was in a hurry to get to the hospital, maybe due to an emergency or....she was in a hurry to meet Noah and Oliver perceived it to be the latter.

Aria stopped suddenly after meeting her father's unimpressed and stern gaze. But she did not cower and stood in her place, wondering if she should tell him the truth or lie to him. But she decided to go with the latter. Anyway, she was not doing anything wrong. There was nothing to worry about.

"I'm meeting Noah, Dad." Aria grasped her coat tight as she looked at her father eagerly. "May I go?" She added.

"Will you not go if I do not permit you to?" Oliver questioned back and Aria was not shocked by his question.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I will have to go. But if you give your permission, I will not have any worries." Aria stated her stance and Oliver let out a sigh.

"Noah needs me, Dad. Please." Aria begged when she saw her father's relentless gaze and Oliver's gaze softened when he saw Aria's predicament. He understood her situation and dilemma.

Aria was stuck between him and Noah and since she loved both of them dearly, there was no way she would choose one over the other. She may be furious with Noah currently. Oliver was sure that it was only temporary, Aria and Noah would reconcile soon. 

Moreover, he discerned what had got Aria all flustered and apprehensive. It had to be the truth about Jonathan Carter. He was not surprised that Aria was in a haste to meet Noah.

In such a situation, he did not wish to add more to Aria's problems and Oliver smiled faintly. "You may go, Aria. But be careful."

Aria's eyes widened in surprise and she gaped at him for a few moments, eliciting a chuckle from her father.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" He quirked his brows and looked at her playfully. "Did you think I would not allow you to go, Aria?" He queried. "I am not that heartless. Moreover, you are old enough to make your decisions. I will not interfere in them if they are in no way harmful to you."

"Thanks, Dad." Aria could not conceal her excitement and she kissed his cheek. "I will see ya later."

With that, she ran out of the apartment while Oliver shook his head and went back to reading his book.

pqdm.com