Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 471

Chapter 471: A little payback
“Ariana?”

Noah stepped inside the waiting room of the reception lobby. He looked at the woman who was sitting on the plush couch. Never before had he felt the rise and fall of his heartbeat as he did at that very moment.

Ariana raised her head and looked at the man who had just stepped inside the room. Her eyes flickered slightly as she rose to her feet. “Noah,” she greeted him with a light voice. “I am sorry for disturbing you. But there is something that I wish to ask you.”

“There is no need to apologise,” Noah replied in a collected voice. He stepped inside the waiting room, with his feet padding on the carpeted floor. He tipped his chin at the couch before saying to Ariana, “Sit down; there is no need to stand up.”

Ari hesitated. All she wanted was to ask the questions that she had in her mind, but when she saw that Noah had already sat down, she followed suit and took her seat on the couch again.

“Would you like to drink juice or coffee?” Noah asked as he picked up the receiver of the phone on the coffee table.

“Juice, thank you,” Ari replied as she pulled the clutch in her hands on her lap and looked around the resting room. It was much more simple and chic than she expected, given that the decor last time was rather expensive and heavy.

As if reading her thoughts, Noah said to her, “I had the decor changed a few months ago, after my mother stopped interfering with the company.”

Usually, the matters of the interior of the company were dealt with by the lady of the Nelson family, but as Mrs Mia refused to let Ari take charge of the decor, she was the one who had been responsible for it.

At least that was what Ari thought; she was quite surprised when she heard that Noah had stopped his mother from poking her overly large nose in the company.

Her expression must have been too vivid because the man’s cheeks flushed slightly, and he said to her, “You were saying something?” As he finished speaking, the door of the resting room opened, and the receptionist walked in.

She looked at Ariana and Noah with a gossipy expression; how could she not? She still had quite an impression of Ari, the woman who barged into the company and asked for a divorce.

It was Ari’s turn to blush as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat; fortunately, the receptionist didn’t stay for long and left soon.

“You left quite an impression on her,” Noah chuckled when he noticed Ari’s discomfort. He was obviously trying to make the tense and stiff atmosphere a bit calm.

Ari raised her head and looked at the man before saying in a quiet voice, “I wouldn’t have to do that if I had another choice.” Her words caused the slightly warm atmosphere to freeze again. She sighed and then said, “I am sorry. I am not here to bring up old scores,” she paused before saying to Noah, “I came here because there is something that I need to ask you.”

“What is it?” Noah asked as he picked up the glass of juice from the coffee table. However, as he brought the glass to his lips, he heard Ari ask him, “In the small park around my house—did an accident take your grandmother away… Is that why you — you hated me?”

Her words were tentative at best and rude at worst, but Ari had to know the reason. She did feel guilty over the loss of a life that was taken away just because she was trying to protect her. But more than that, she needed to understand the depth of the malice and obsession that man held towards her.

Noah, who was about to drink the orange juice, raised his head and looked at her. He asked, “How did you find out? I thought you didn’t remember the incident that day.”

“I don’t,” Ari honestly replied. “I heard some things, and it sort of connected.”

Noah stared at her without speaking. He was concentrating so hard on her face that Ari felt as if he was about to make a hole in her forehead.

She blinked her eyes and said to him, “Well?”

Hearing her words, he straightened up and placed the glass of juice on the table. He placed his hands on his thighs before nodding stiffly, “That’s right, I know it was stupid, but I had to find a way to channel the hatred and helplessness that I felt when my grandmother was killed right in front of me.”

“Did you see who killed her?” Ari asked while trying to suppress the thumping of her heartbeat.

Noah shook his head before replying, “The killer was quite skilled. He wore not only a mask but was also using a voice changer.”

“A neon stitch mask?” Ari offered, and Noah frowned upon hearing her words. He hesitated for a while before saying, “I don’t quite recall as I only saw the side profile of that man, but yes… There was something on his mask.”

Ari sucked in a breath when she heard his reply. She knew and expected that there was something wrong with that man, but never did she expect that the man who had been trying to groom her was also a murderer.

“Is everything alright?” Noah asked Ari, who raised her head and looked at him with a hint of surprise on her face.

“What?” she asked as she had not caught his words.

“Are you alright?” Noah repeated as he looked at her while appraising her expression. “You look really pale; is everything alright? Is that man troubling you again?”

“Nothing like that,” Ari shook her head, but she looked so pale that Noah didn’t believe her words. Ari, who had gotten her answer, rose to her feet; she said to Noah, “I should take me leave now.”

With that, she walked past Noah and reached the door, but as soon as she turned the knob of the door,

“Ariana.”