Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 268

Chapter 268: Lost time
At the Nelson Corporation, the employees were filled with dread and trepidation. Even though no one was scolded or fired, something about the atmosphere terrified them.

They all were breathing as softly as possible while trying to control even the sound of their footsteps. Once in a while, there would be a sharp piercing sound of someone’s phone chiming and everyone would turn to that person like a pack of hyenas.

Brandon strode past the silent cubicles and sighed, for he knew why the employees were in a tense mood. With his feet clad in black leather shoes and legs in brownish-grey pants which matched his inner coat and jacket, he walked toward Noah’s office.

“You know,” he said to Noah as he pushed open the door. “I will suggest that you put a smile on your face when you come to the office, the entire staff is sitting on pins and needles, Mister Nelson.”

“The report, Brandon. The report,” Noah was not sitting on the chair where he usually sat in his office. Now, he was sitting on the small couch in the left corner of his office —— with a tea table in front of him and moreover, table sat a chessboard, with several pieces scattered.

Brandon had always seen those chess pieces placed in their designated places, as if their roles and responsibilities had already been designated. But now they were scattered haywire with Noah staring down at them.

A sigh escaped Brandon’s lips. He walked over and placed the report on the table, “Ariel never went through any cosmetic surgery, other than her face…she had not touched any other place.”

“I also collected her past medical history—— she had never received any severe injuries such as cuts from a dagger.”

Noah curled his fingers around the chess piece that he was holding in his hand. It was as if he were trying to crumble that pawn into nothing but broken pieces.

“Are you sure about it?” Noah questioned, his fingers still clenching the pawn, until veins popped on the back of his right hand.

“I am sure,” Brandon answered without any hesitation. “You know my skills, Mister Nelson. There is no way I would have made a mistake given that the doctor who treated Ariel back then had been long arrested for medical malpractice and taking bribes. It was not difficult to find the truth.”

There was also the fact that someone was helping him from behind, but Brandon was not going to relay that to Noah lest he felt even more incompetent.

Bang!

No sooner, Brandon answered Noah, the chess piece in his hand was flung on the floor with a loud clatter.

“Lies! She has been lying to me for years!” Noah roared and Brandon flinched under his loud voice. This was the first time Brandon had seen Noah lose his temper like this.

However, he did not blame Noah. For Ariel’s sake, he had ruined his youth and marriage only for the truth to reveal itself most cruelly.

But the cruellest thing was ——

‘Noah cannot blame anyone either but himself,’ Brandon thought while watching Noah breathing heavily.

At that moment Noah did not know what to feel—— his control, something he was rather proud of, was slipping through his fingers. His plans have fallen apart and taken chunks of his very existence along with them.

He felt like he was drowning, while watching the future, past, and present that he had built shatter and crumble around him.

Countless hands dragged him down into the deeper end, and he could not breathe. The woman whom he had loved and cared for —— she had been lying to him.

Noah closed his eyes in pain as he knew that he had lost not only the woman he loved but even the very belief that kept him going.

“W…what about Ariana?” He took a deep breath and questioned. Even though he missed everything else, those vibrant pink locks were hard to miss, even in his half-conscious and half-unconscious state.

He waited for an answer but didn’t receive one which was why he turned around on his feet and looked at Brandon whose head was lowered. “Well?”

“I…didn’t look into her medical history,” Brandon answered as he raised his head and looked Noah right into his eyes. “It didn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?” Noah sharply questioned. His eyes narrowed as he stared at his assistant and friend. “I need to know the truth, Brandon.”

“Will that change anything?” Brandon instead of answering, he questioned Noah, “Ariana is gone, Noah. Even if you deny it with all your willpower, it will not change anything. So what is the point in finding a truth that will only make you crumble?”

Noah clenched his fingers barely stopping himself from resorting to violence. “What is the point? I was betrayed, Brandon. By the very person whom I cared and loved for, and you are telling me that there is no point in knowing the truth.”

“I need to know what happened and who saved me——”

“What then?” Brandon asked him while sighing in his heart. “What are you going to do then, Noah? I agree that you were betrayed, but didn’t you allow her to betray you?”

“How in the——”

“You knew that there was another possibility, Noah,” Brandon interrupted Noah. His gaze fixated on Noah, “However, you ignored that possibility because of your prejudices. You could have investigated the truth long ago, but you did not because it suited you and your plans. So who can you blame but yourself?”

“Now that it’s too late, why do you insist on finding the truth that you have conveniently ignored until now?”

“Brandon,” Noah warned his friend. His breathing was uneven as he tried to calm himself down, “It’s not too late, I can still fix this.”

“She loves me….if it’s her —— I will make up to her, so just tell me the truth!”

“She loved you, Noah,” Brandon corrected Noah with a sympathetic expression. “She loved you, and you lost that love through your actions.”

He closed his eyes and continued, “I am sorry, but I cannot do what you have asked. I have seen Ariana break for you enough times, Noah —— I don’t think I can do it again.”