Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 281

Chapter 281: Thirteen years of joke (2)
“Leave? Did you not hear what I just said to you?” Noah asked as he stared at Ariana in disbelief. “I just told you that I have found out the truth. I know it was you who saved me back then and not Ariel. And this is all you have to say to me?” His voice was low as he questioned Ariana.

“What else did you expect?” Ariana blinked her eyes as she raised her hand and tucked her fluttering pink locks which were flowing in the wind behind her ear. “Did you expect that I will hug and kiss you, Mister Nelson?”

No. He did not expect her to hug and kiss him, but he did expect her to shed a few tears and smile at him in relief.

She should have been happy that he found out the truth, right? So why—— did she look so burdened?

“Aren’t you happy?” Noah asked after a brief pause. His voice sounded hurt.

“Happy? Why should I be happy?” Ariana asked, she sounded genuinely confused.

Noah’s brows furrowed instinctively. He knew that Ariana was going to be angry with him, but he genuinely had no idea what to say to her.

Never had he faced a situation like this before. Ariel, whom he believed to be his saviour, was easy to coax.

All he needed was to send her some branded bags or shoes, and she would be all over him in a heartbeat. With her anger long forgotten she would start clamouring about how much she liked him.

His friends and colleagues were the same. It had always been people coaxing him, and never him coaxing them.

Ariana was however different. In fact, he knew that there was something different about her from the very second he held some small conversations with her.

She did not have anything she liked or disliked.

And even if she did, Noah had no idea about it.

He raised his head and looked at Nicolai, who was staring at Ariana as if he were looking at her for the first time.

‘Does he know about her likes and dislikes?’ Noah questioned, and no sooner did this thought come into his head, than he swallowed hard. The thought was as bitter as the coffee he drank in the morning.

His jaw clenched tightly as he turned to look at Ariana.

Noah said to her, “I know that you are angry with me, and I am willing to accept any punishment that you want to give to me, Ariana. So please come back home with me.”

Since Noah knew that Ariana was the little girl who had saved his life by putting her life on the line, he wanted to make it up to her anyhow.

There was also the matter of him mistaking the identity of his saviour. However, it did not matter because Ariana had loved him.

She had loved him so much that she had placed her life in danger again and again for him. She would certainly come with him, right?

Because he was the only one worthy of Ariana. Not any other man, and certainly not a barbarian.

And Noah was confident, he believed that he could win Ariana’s affection for himself once again.

Nicolai, who stood behind Ariana, clenched his fists upon hearing Noah’s words. His grip was so strong that the tips of his nails dug into the skin of his palm.

The words that this man spoke to him inside the mall echoed hauntingly in his ears.

‘Will she still choose you if I were to give her a choice, Mister de Luca? Ariana is with you because she doesn’t have a choice, so what if I were to give her that very thing she hopes for?’

‘Who in their right mind will decide a barbarian like you? A man who knows more about spilling blood than protecting and nurturing his family.’

‘Can you give her a child? A family? The warmth and security of a family? You cannot. Mister de Luca, you might be a good man to fuck, but not to marry.’

‘Even your father couldn’t love you, so how can Ariana love you?’

Those words were enough to send Nicolai spiralling out of control as a red haze settled in front of his eyes. He wanted to kill Noah then and there.

He also wanted to take Ariana away and hide her from seeing this man ever again. But his mother had taught him to respect women and their choices. This was the reason he wanted to hear Ariana’s response.

If she chose this man over him, then Nicolai was not as shameless as to chase after a woman who had someone else beside her.

Both men watched Ariana, who stared at Noah with a smile on her lips. A second later she burst out laughing, causing both men to frown and look at her with varying expressions.

Noah was dissatisfied upon seeing Ariana laugh, while Nicolai sucked in a breath. He was worried that Ariana was laughing because she was overjoyed at the fact that Noah had come to bring her back.

He knew how much Ariana loved Noah —— what if she agreed? What if she leaves him? What if she tells him to never look for her?

“Mister Nelson, that was a wonderful joke,” Ariana clapped her hands and shook her head. “I didn’t know that you can joke like that.”

Noah’s frown deepened, “That was not a joke.”

“It wasn’t?” Ariana curled her lips in a mocking sneer. “I apologize but to me, it did sound like a joke. Ten years of affection and three years of marriage—— I stayed next to you for thirteen years.”

“Thirteen years of pain, humiliation, and grief—— you think that you can make it all up to me in ten minutes?” Ariana’s voice rose in pitch, and Brandon closed his eyes.

This was why he wanted Noah to stay away, for he knew that Ariana had not just loved Noah, she had protected and worshipped him in ways that he did not even know of.

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Hugs to every little fairy who sends a comment, powerstone, gift or golden ticket. And a special hug to everyone who gave this book a chance, despite it being slow paced.