Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever

While Noah was fretting that Aria had not called him yet, Joshua finished having a scrumptious meal at Ivy's house. As expected, the food was as good as before and he had to give it to her again. She was a good cook, just as good as Noah.

Now that he had finished eating, he did not have any more reason to prolong his stay. While Ivy was cleaning the dining table, he had removed all the traces of his work on her laptop. Though he had stopped the work, his AI was still working in the background. All the calls Tim would make would be recorded. He had done it just to ensure safety.

"Ivy, I'll get going."

"Sure." Ivy smiled at him and he started to walk towards the door. After a lot of hesitation, she stopped him. "Joshua."

"Yes?" He turned around, looking forward to what she wanted to tell him. Seeing her fidget in her place, he raised an eyebrow in question, wondering what she wanted to say.

Ivy wanted to thank him for staying with her. Now that she had got to know who Tim was and how dangerous his background was, she had been frightened. Though she was not the one to get scared that easily, she could not help but shiver thinking about the minacious man. But as soon she tried to open her mouth, no words made it from her. She had become mute.

"Do you have something to say?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you for coming to my aid earlier." Ivy whispered. Her voice almost got carried away in the air but Joshua heard it.

"No problem Ivy. Tell me if you face any problem in the future. I'll always be there for you." As soon as he said these words, Ivy's heart fluttered. Unknowingly, her cheeks took a light shade of pink, and Joshua, whose eyes were scrutinizing her, did not miss it. At that moment, she looked so alluring that his heartbeat spiked up a little. Never had he found anyone so attractive as her before. He could sense the unbelievable attraction he had for her against his will. But somewhere in his mind, he was having a conflict. His previous experience in love was hindering his heart from taking a step forward in this direction again.

Clearing his thoughts, he opened the door and walked out. "I'll get going now. Take care."

Ivy nodded subconsciously and watched him leave. She stood at her place for a long time before she snapped back to her senses and closed the door. 

Meanwhile, Joshua dragged his body towards the elevator reluctantly, against his heart's wishes. But he sensed someone's shadow behind him and halted suddenly. He turned behind to see who it was, but he found no one. Finding it a little suspicious, he squinted his eyes and waited on his spot to see if anybody would pop out from their hiding place. However, nothing happened.

Something was wrong. He could sense someone's eyes on him. But he could not decipher where and who he was. The lift door opened gaining his attention and Joshua saw a woman walk out. She was the same woman whom Ivy had met the previous night after Joshua had hugged her. 

Seeing an unknown man on the floor, the woman gave him a suspicious look. He looked vaguely, but she could not put a name to his face. Joshua noticed the woman giving him a weird stare and he decided it was best he left the apartment before something crazy happened.

He gave her a small smile and went inside the elevator. When he walked out of the building, he saw Tim still keeping a look at the apartment. But this time, he had changed his spot of hiding. Joshua could still see him and he smiled in mockery. 'Switching places would not make him invisible.'

Behaving as though he had not seen him, he got in his car and drove away. Since Ivy was being followed by a dangerous man, he had to send his own men to keep her protected. He drove towards Noah's office to speak about the same. He wanted to get his opinion before he decided anything.

It did not take him much time to reach the Carter Enterprises. As soon as he stepped inside the office, the ladies at the receptionist beamed. Everyone in the office knew who he was, especially the ladies who kept their eyes and ears open to see or hear anything about handsome men.

Joshua, being one of them, was a favorite among the women. While Noah was mostly cold and aloof, Joshua was charming and amicable. He would smile warmly at all the women whose gaze were on him and this was enough to send their hearts on overdrive.

They had seen Joshua come here a lot of times and knew about his friendship with their boss. This was one of the many things they were happy about as they could see this man some times. They did not stop him when he took the private elevator. Even though he had left the floor, all the ladies who had seen him enter were still rooted to their places with their eyes fixed on the elevator.

When he reached the floor where Noah's office was, Joshua observed that Ronnie and Shane were busy at work. They looked up to see who had come when the elevator had dinged. 

"Master Martin, what brings you here?" Ronnie approached him immediately.

"Is Noah here?"

"Yes. But Boss is being cranky." Ronnie whispered the last word as he did not want the others to hear his words.

Joshua chortled, his throat bobbing a little. "Why do you say so?"

"Since the time Madam has left, Boss is behaving weird. Just a few minutes ago, he even wanted to fly to the borders because her phone was not reachable. He forgot that normal phone numbers do not work over there."

"He has become lovesick," Joshua stated.

"Yes. I am worried about him. This is just the first day and he is already being weird. What happens as the days progress?"

"He has lost it. Only Aria can cure his disease now."

"Hmm. By the way, Master Martin, is the matter something important?"

"Yes. Come with me."

Joshua pushed the door without knocking with Ronnie hot on his heels. Noah was standing in front of the ceiling to floor glass window behind his desk, deep in thoughts. When he heard the door open, he turned around and took a glance at who it was. His gaze then went back to the view outside the window.

"Are you trying to see if you can find Aria from here?" Joshua teased only to get a cold glare in return. He raised his hands in defeat. "Don't look at me like that Mr. Lovesick. I am not the one whose sweetheart has gone out of station."

"Why are you here? If you have come to waste my time, just leave. I have a lot of work to do." Noah spat.

"That I can see."

Not getting any response, Joshua sat on the couch. "I have something important to tell you. It's about Ivy." This got Noah's attention and he went to sit on the couch beside Joshua.

"What happened to her?"

"Did you know that the man who was following her was Tim?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It must have slipped out of my mind. Why? What happened?"

"When I went to drop her home today, I saw him outside her house."

"I know. How was his reaction when he saw you both together?"

"He sort of looked spooked. I told him that we were dating. Now, he will think twice before trying to do her any harm."

"That's a good idea. Ivy will stay safe if people know that you are her boyfriend. By the way, why don't you date her for real? She is a good girl." Noah mused.

"Noah, I am not here to discuss my dating plans. I have something else to report."

"Continue."

"When I was at her house, I hacked into his phone and looked through his recent contacts and you won't believe who he is contacting the most."

"Who?" Noah raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Jared."

"Jared Augustus?"

"Yes."

"Interesting. Then my assumptions are correct."

"That is what I am worried about. Now that Ivy is being stalked, why don't we send some of our men to follow her everywhere to keep her safe?" Joshua voiced his concerns.

"Already done," Noah answered taking his friend in shock.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I have already asked someone to keep her protected."

"Who?"

"Kaito."

"Who is Kaito?" Joshua asked in confusion. He did not know anyone by the name, nor had he heard Noah speak about him.

"He is the one who is keeping Ivy safe."

"Is it? Why have I not heard of him before?"

"You don't know him. He was my bodyguard in London. I brought him here when I came back the last time."

"How is he? Is he good?"

"He is the best after Ronnie. Nothing will happen to Ivy with him keeping a watch on her and her surroundings. I guarantee you that."

"I trust you on it now that she is going to be your sister-in-law. By the way, where did you send Mr. West?"

"He is at my house."

"My, my. Mr. Lovesick is already taking care of his father-in-law. Aria will be touched."

"Don't fret. You can come and stay with me. Both of us can take care of our father-in-law together." Noah said with a straight face.

"Who is my father-in-law? I have no father-in-law."

"We will see about that in the future when you fall hard for Ivy," Noah mumbled to himself.

"Did you say something?"

"Yes. When you were at Ivy's house before, did you not sense anybody's presence that made you suspicious. Given your skills, you might have sensed him right away."

"I did. How do know about it?" Joshua was perplexed by Noah's accurate guess.

"It was Kaito keeping an eye on Ivy. He staying in a flat on the same floor as hers so that he can keep a good watch on her."

"That's great to hear. Now I will be less worried when it comes to her safety."

Noah smirked hearing his words. "I have a better idea that will make you stop worrying about it altogether."

"What is it?" Joshua leaned in to see what great idea he had in mind. Even Ronnie's ears perked up when he heard his Boss.

"You could make her your girlfriend for real and move in together with her. Nothing will happen to her with you around her. Think about it. How long are you to stay single? I know you have something for her. I can see it in your eyes. What if, in the future, she starts to date someone and eventually marry him. Can you bear to see it? Are you sure you will not be hurt? Are you sure you will not crave for her love? Are you sure you can bear with it?"

Noah asked him without any hesitation. He had to show him the reality. He had to burst his bubble. If he did not take the first step now due to his haunting past, he could not do anything after the opportunity was gone when he actually fell for her. Ivy was a great woman and no doubt Joshua would be happy with her. Though he did not want to force his friend in this matter, he did not want him to get hurt either at a later stage.

Noah's questions rendered Joshua speechless and he sat thinking about it. What Noah said was the truth, he could not deny that. Just the thought of Ivy marrying somebody else made his blood boil and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"Think about it and take your decision."