Music recommendation - Please Don't Go by Joel Adams

After dinner, Aria went back to her apartment as she had intended to rather than going back to Noah's house. Though she wanted to accompany her father, she knew that her father would be crestfallen and he would need time. Just like him, even Aria needed time, she wanted to sit and think thoroughly about all that had happened. Her going to Noah's house would only make her lose her cool and it was best that she avoided him for the time being.

Her mind drifted to all that Daniel and her father had told her and somewhere she felt that Noah might not be that wrong she had thought him to be. Whatever he did was for her and her family and if she was not wrong, without his help, her family would be gone by now. The people behind her father would have come for her and Ivy ages ago.

As Daniel had suggested, she had to speak to Noah about it and clear her doubts. There was something else that was bothering her greatly. She wondered why Ivy was so cool about all of this. Why her sister was not that angry at Joshua or Noah as she was? Did she really forgive them or did she have other intentions altogether? As far as she knew Ivy, her sister was not the one to tolerate this kind of betrayal. Never.

Aria wanted to speak to Noah. However, she was in no mood to meet him right now. Her mind was still a mess and she needed some rest to clear her thoughts. Also, she had to report to the hospital the next day as she had a meeting with the management. She could only meet him in the evening. Since she had made up her mind, she sent a text to Noah immediately lest her anger should get the best of her and she changed her mind.

"Need to meet you tomorrow.

6 p.m. My apartment."

After sending him the text, she lied down and drowned herself in a sea of thoughts. Unbeknownst to her, Noah was just outside her apartment. He had not eaten anything even though all his friends and Ivy had forced him to. He wanted to speak to Aria first or at least see her. He was losing his mind and his patience was wearing thin. He had this intense urge to kill someone, his hands were itching for blood. Noah was sure that if he visited the Underground base in the state he was in, he would end up killing a lot of people. So, the first thing he had done was go to Aria's apartment.

He had waited for a long time for her to come and finally he saw Daniel's car pull over in front of her apartment. From where he had parked his car, he could clearly see her face and she looked a lot better than she had been when she was in his house. Noah could only let out a sad smile. If not him, somebody else could at least make her feel better.

He waited in front of her apartment for a long time until darkness spread everywhere. He was in no hurry to leave for home. Though he was not with Aria, his mind was at peace here. He felt closer to Aria and that was all he wanted. He was so lost in thoughts that he did not realize anything until his phone vibrated. It was a message from Aria and that was all it took for Noah's face to brighten up. His face bloomed in happiness and his eyes sparkled with happiness. Never in his dreams had he expected a message from the woman he loved at this time.

It was short but her message was all he wanted. She was willing to meet him and Noah made up his mind to make use of this opportunity to persuade her to forgive him. Even if she was unwilling, he was contented with the fact that she was ready to talk to him. With a happy smile on his face, he drove home.

Joshua and Ivy had not gone home and Ian too had decided to stay at Noah's house for the day. Everybody, other than Oliver, was in the living room with a serious expression on their faces. However, their expressions changed when they saw Noah walk in with a huge smile on his face. It looked as though whatever had transpired between him and Aria had been solved and they were back to normal. But they also knew that it would not be the case. Aria was not the one to forgive someone this fast.

Now everybody had only one question in mind. Why was Noah this happy and who was the reason for it?

Before anybody could voice the question, Noah spoke first. "Ivy, could you please call Daniel and ask him if Aria had anything or not? I am worried that she might have skipped her meals in a fit of anger.

Ivy could only nod at him and do as she was told even though she knew the truth. Aria was not the one to skip her meals and ruin her health. She might be angry or depressed, but she never did anything that would eventually hurt herself. Why would she skip eating just because she had a tiff with someone?

Ivy called and confirmed from Daniel for Noah's satisfaction. After getting the answer he needed, the man did not wait for any of them and went to have his dinner. His woman had eaten. So, why would he go on a fast now? Just like Ivy who was bewildered by Noah's actions, even Ian and Joshua looked at each other in shock.

"What do you think happened to him?" Ian was the first one to question.

"His brain must have short-circuited in depression," Ivy answered her eyes fixed on the path that led to the dining hall.

"That might be the case." Joshua agreed immediately. "Should we go and talk to him?"

"I don't know. I think I'll stay out of it. It might not look good if I intervene in his things but I am sure you men can have a talk to him, like man to man talk." Ivy suggested and this idea seemed fair to both Ian and Joshua.

"I'll be with Dad," Ivy got up and went to her Dad's room. Though she also wanted to be with Aria, she knew Daniel would have filled some sense in her sister's brain. It was true that the three men had lied to them and Ivy was angry at them too. But things were not that simple as it looked. If they had not helped them in this matter, they would have lost their father forever and at least for this help, she had to thank them. Just like Aria, she too had some questions to ask them, but they could wait for now. There were other pressing matters to attend to.

Her father was deep asleep when she entered the room and she sat beside him. There were some dried tears on his cheeks and she wiped them clean using a wet towel. To her relief, Oliver had at least eaten the dinner when she had brought it an hour ago. "I am sorry Dad. I am sorry for all that you had to go through. I will promise you that whoever was responsible for our misery will get a death so horrible that they will even curse being born. I promise." Ivy said with determination as she fixed her gaze on her father's face.

She knew how risky it was to go behind those monsters. However, if she did not do it, more people would be affected by them and that was something she was not ready to accept. They had to be punished and it had to be done sooner before those hooligans did something huge.

Ivy's resolve was fixed and she knew just what to do. She had to start disguising herself again and start her mission. She had to bring back the Ivy who right now was on a slumber since the time she had left the news agency. The new news agency under Noah's management was almost ready and they did not need her right now for any other work. She was free to do anything she wanted for the time being and that was what she needed.

Not wasting any more time, she sent out messages to all her sources to call her if there was anything they knew. She had a lot of contacts for use and most of them were reliable sources. They were the ones who helped her with her missions in the past and now that she was back, she was going to make use of them again.

She did not have to wait long. One of her men sent her a message immediately. He sent her an address and the time she had to go there. Ivy went through it and immediately her eyes flashed in determination. Whatever was going to happen at the said address, it was scheduled after ten days. Now, she had ten days to prepare herself. Before that, she wanted to solve all the issues in her life, one of them being Aria and Noah's love life. She was going to get them back together at all costs before she went on her mission.

Ivy knew that just as much as Noah loved Aria, her sister too loved him dearly. So, what if Aria was being angry at him and ignoring him for the mistakes he committed, Ivy was there to guide her. Ivy would do anything to get them back as she was sure that her sister's happiness was with Noah and him alone.