Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever

Song recommendation - Let me love you

Aria's sudden outburst was like an eye-opener for Noah and he could not help but gape at her like a fish. He was dumbstruck and it was only now did he realize how big a mistake he had committed. Whatever he had done was nothing less than kidnapping and he had no right to keep someone away from his family. He realized his fault and was filled with immense regret. However, what was done was done. He could not go back in time and rectify them, he could only apologize for what he had done.

Aria was glaring at him, her eyes flaring like a dangerous dragon. She had thought of forgiving him for a second but all of it had evaporated when she had heard his ridiculous reasons for keeping her father away from her and her sister. His reason was definitely annoying and her hands were itching to slap him hard for his audacity. However, she controlled herself. There was more to the story and she was wanted to hear everything about it.

"Continue." She spat at him and again Noah was surprised by her behavior. He started speaking again seeing the raging tigress before him.

"After that, nothing significant happened. Ian continued to treat Mr. West, trying to alleviate the effect of the poison on his body. We had forgotten about you two and we were solely concentrated on finding my mentor and bringing your Dad to consciousness until Ivy approached Joshua requesting help in something related to her work. It was only then did we come in contact with you two. I found out about you being Mr. West's daughter after we came back from London."

"Okay, why didn't you tell us then? You could have come clean before us, right? There was no danger to Ivy or me at that time." Aria fired her questions like a canon, making Noah cower in his seat. Nobody had treated him this way and it was always him who had made others shiver in fear. His woman was more domineering than he had assumed and he was unknowingly getting aroused by her dominating character. He now really wanted her. He had long known that she was a bold woman when she had scolded him at the hospital the time he was made to lie down all day. It was this personality of hers that had attracted him to her. She was really different than many women who come across and he was liking it.

However, the situation right now was not in his favor and even a small mistake from his side would lead him to lose Aria forever. He had to tread carefully now if he wanted to salvage the situation and get back Aria. She could not be dealt with the same way he usually dealt. He had to come up with something else and the best thing he could do right now was to apologize to her sincerely and amend things between them by accepting any punishment she wanted to bestow upon him.

"I know Aria. But this time, I had reasons. You know the guy named Tim, who was following Ivy, right?"

Aria nodded, confused with his words. She wondered what Tim had to do with this case now. Noah could read her mind and sighed lightly. "He belonged to the gang who wanted your father dead three years ago. He was keeping an eye on your sister like a hawk and it was best that you two did not know about your Dad until he was taken care of."

"How did he found out about us after three years?"

"He was behind Ivy for a different reason. He still does not know about you two being related to Mr. West."

"Okay. Is he that dangerous?"

"You have no idea. It was not easy to trick him with his extraordinary skills. He is very deadly and I did not want to take risks. Though you two would never reveal about your father to anybody else, I could not have the same confidence about that man."

"What do you mean? How will he even know about it when none of us are going to tell him?"

"Aria, let me tell you this secret. When we came to your house to help you find your father, we found a listening bug in Ivy's bag." Noah's revelation rendered Aria speechless.

"How did you know that?" Aria asked him dumbfounded. She had not expected something like this to happen. Why did they not know about it?

"Joshua is a skilled hacker. He has some app on his phone that can indicate if there are devices like these in his vicinity. It like a detector app and he found out about it immediately. When you two sisters were not looking, he checked your house and found her bag. There was a bug as small as a button in her bag. Though it was small, it had high amplifying capacity and whoever was listening to it can eavesdrop on the conversation with ease."

"Why didn't you tell us then? You could have warned us, right?"

"We did not want to scare you more and it was not that significant anyway. You were leaving in a few days and we did not want you to keep worrying about your sister."

"What happened to the bug?"

"Joshua took it with him." Noah shrugged lightly telling her that he had no idea what he did to it later. "After that, you know what happened."

"Let me ask you one question and I hope you answer it honestly"

"Aria, I have been honest with you since the time I have entered your house today." Noah declared, hurt flashing through his eyes which Aria completely ignored. It was not her fault that she was being skeptical and doubted his words. He was the one who lied to her first and he was only bearing the consequences.

"When were you thinking of telling us the truth?"

"I had told your Dad three days before your return that I would bring him to you and Ivy after a week of your return. You can ask Mr. West if you doubt my words. So, according to my plans, you were supposed to meet him today."

Aria believed him this time and she could always confirm it with her father to see if he was lying or not. But seeing his determined gaze fixed on her, she was guaranteed that he was not lying. "I believe you this time." Aria's words made Noah to smile. These were the words he was waiting to hear from her for a long time. Though her trust in him was just to a small extent, at least she trusted some words of his and he was happy with it.

"Thank you."

"What happened to the man who was following Ivy? There might be more chances to get to her."

"Don't worry about it. His matter has been taken care of and he won't trouble you or Ivy anymore."

"What if some other man pesters us? You cannot always be around us, right?"

Aria's innocent words brought an evil smile on Noah's face. 'Who told her that I would not be around her? She might be angry at me now. But that would not continue for long and if she wanted to leave me, who would allow her to?'

"Don't worry about it Aria. Now Ivy is safe and she is with Joshua. He will take care of her."

"What do you mean by that? What is going on between Ivy and Joshua?" Aria asked, her voice rising a level. Aria's confused face revealed that she knew nothing about her sister's newfound relationship and Noah could only curse his slip of tongue. It was a matter not related to him and he had no right to reveal it to her. 

"That.." Noah scratched his head. "It's best you ask your sister."

Aria narrowed her eyes at him, trying to make him spit out whatever he knew. But the man was as adamant as ever and he did not open his mouth anymore. She could only give up now and decided to thoroughly interrogate her sister later. "Will Ivy be safe?"

"Definitely," Noah answered without hesitation. "I promise you that your family will be safe and nothing will harm them. You are completely safe with me Aria."

Aria was deep in thoughts. So, she missed his last sentence. She did not notice his eyes flashing with some unknown determination before it went back to normal.

"Thank you for keeping my father and sister safe."

Noah raised an eyebrow when she expressed her gratitude. He was waiting for this moment and now that it had come to him, he was going to make full use of it. Also, he had the promise he had taken from Aria a few months back. If Aria was really the woman of her words, then she would definitely keep her promise.

"Aria, do you remember the promise you have given me."

"What promise?" Noah sudden question made Aria to stare at him questioningly.

"Do you remember your promise that you would give me the gift I wanted whenever I asked you?"

It then struck her and she remembered the promise she had given him. She now realized his intentions and she was suddenly having a bad premonition. Looking at the smirk plastered on his face, she was sure that he was going to ask something weird from her. He was using this situation to his advantage and chided herself for giving him such an obnoxious thing without thinking. She wondered how long he had planned this and could not help but secretly praise his devilish mind. If she was not angry at him right now, she would have definitely applauded him for his wicked thinking.

"Yes," Aria answered, her guards now up against him.

"It now time for you to fulfill the promise."

"What do you want?"

"Forgive me for what I did and let's begin a afresh. Let's start dating again."