Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 405

Chapter 405: Shifting future (2)
“I am,” Ari replied as her eyes flickered to the door of the ward. The last thing she wanted was to create any sort of misunderstanding. Though Nicolai never said it out loud, Ari noticed that he reacted quite severely whenever the situation involved Noah.

“I am sorry,” Noah offered her a small smile as he came to a stop next to her bed. “I heard about what Ariel had done to you. I swear I had no idea that she would do such a thing if I had —I would have approached her much more calmly after ensuring your safety.”

Looked like he was no longer hiding anymore, thought Ari and she exhaled a heavy breath. She had known Noah for years, and she understood him all too well. For him, admitting that he was in the wrong was really difficult.

Compared to her, he must be having an even harder time considering that he had trusted and believed in Ariel— no, it was better to say that he had believed his judgement and now that it had failed…certainly, he must have been hit hard.

But his poor judgment skills had nothing to do with her.

Ari lowered her eyes and said grimly, “I have long warned you that you were making a mistake. I had asked—no I have begged for you to believe me. You never listened to a word that I said to you.”

Though the wounds that she had received from Samuel had healed more or less, the scars on her heart would never heal.

For a man, she had been sold off like a cow or a sow.

Ariel could have faced Noah, she could have changed herself and made herself a better person. But no, she had pushed the blame and put Ari’s life in danger for her own selfish greed and all of this could have been avoided, if only Noah had read the signs, this situation and many others could have been avoided.

“I know, I can’t tell you how sorry I am —I was trapped in my head and blamed you for something you haven’t done,” the confident smile that Noah usually wore was missing, and he looked troubled, almost on the edge of breaking into pieces.

He apologized to her, “I am sorry for not coming to an understanding earlier,” Ari could hear the regret in his voice, but what was the point in regretting now? When her heart had long turned cold.

And even if it desired some warmth, it wanted someone else’s arms.

Ari shook her head. She heaved a breath heavily and said, “It’s alright, there is no point in regretting anymore. In the past, I had often wondered why you disliked me and blamed me for the smallest thing. As if I had some great wrong, but I don’t want to know anymore—”

Noah however surprised Ari by suddenly closing the distance between them, and he wrapped his arms around her as he drew her in his embrace. As if he truly felt hurt because of what she had said to him.

Given their relationship, Ari had expected the butterflies in her stomach to go into a frenzy but nothing. She didn’t even feel a jolt of excitement or thrill. It was then that Ari realized that she had really given up on this man long ago.

“It was my grandmother,” Noah confessed while hugging her. She heard him say, “I don’t know whether your mother told you this or not, but when you were really young—you were kidnapped by someone.”

“A man precisely with a neon mask. And the one who saved you was my grandmother — however, saving your life cost her own. She died in front of me as I was too helpless to save her and like a fool, I blamed you because I was weak …I was so weak, Ariana.”

He couldn’t protect his grandmother and he was unable to protect Ariana either as he let others govern his life. But not anymore, he would do anything —anything to protect this woman.

To make sure that no horror reached her again and if it meant sacrificing himself, he would do it as well.

Ari took a moment to understand what Noah was trying to tell her. She raised her head and pulled away from him, Noah released her but didn’t take a step away from her, “What do you mean? Your grandmother— you mean, the late Mrs. Nelson, died saving my life?”

She could feel her ears ringing. Why did no one tell her this? No, in fact, it made sense. Her mother wanted her as downtrodden as possible, so hiding and keeping this bit of information from her would have achieved what she had wanted to always do.

And it did. Noah hated her, and he must have found her despicable as well for getting closer to him, especially when the reason his time with his grandmother was cut short was her.

She knew how much Noah loved his grandmother.

‘No wonder he never let me visit his grandmother’s grave,’ thought Ari and just then the thought of Mister Nelson’s kindness also swooped inside of her head, leaving her to feel even more miserable than before.

A hatred as invincible as her own self-loathing surged in her heart when she thought about how deep Mrs. Harlow’s scheme truly ran.

“I—”

“I don’t blame you,” Noah took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. He kissed the back of her hand and said, “It wasn’t your fault. I have finally come to understand this —it is really late, and I know this too.”

“The things I have done to you— because I couldn’t face the truth… They could be never forgiven.” He raised his head and in a begging voice said, “But if one day I finish my repentance in your eyes. Do forgive me, Ari, because even if we can’t be together … I would take your hand even as a familiar stranger.”

As the two of them were too focused on their conversation, neither of the two noticed the camera glare that glinted at the doorways.