Chapter 22: Meet at the airport

"Ivy." Aria tried to wake her up by tapping on her shoulders. But her sister just snorted and continued to sleep. Ivy had reached home around twelve in the midnight and had gone to her bed directly without even changing her clothes. She was damn tired from all the running she had done that day.

"Ivy. Get up I am leaving in half an hour." Ivy groaned. Her eyelids felt heavy, she wanted to sleep more. But her sister was annoying her by disturbing her sleep.

"What is it Ari? Let me sleep."

"It 8'o clock. I am going to leave in half an hour."

"Ok Ari. Lock the door before you leave." Ivy pulled the duvet till her neck and turned away from Aria.

Aria rolled her eyes at Ivy's actions. She walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She sat at the dining counter and poured herself a cup of juice. She didn't know how to cook, so she did not have any breakfast. Amongst the twins, it was Ivy who had mastered the art of cooking.

Aria took out the phone given to her by Noah and smiled thinking about his sweet gesture. Yet the next moment, the smile dropped when she remembered that it was because of him her phone was damaged in the first place.

Aria unlocked the screen and sent a message to Danny and Ian. "I am leaving now. I will call you when I reach London. Take care."

She then booked a cab and waited for it to arrive. Till then, she scrolled the news feeds on her phone. There was nothing much except for David's new scandal. She knew it was her sister who had recorded the secret video in the library. In these aspects, Ivy had obtained her father's skills and Aria was proud of it.

She knew Ivy was closest to their father, while Aria was closest to her mother. Ivy had gained an interest in journalism looking at her father exposing the bad things happening in society. While Aria's interest to be a doctor was sparked because of her mother. Her mother, Susan West, was a professor of Biology at the National University of Science, which was among the top universities in the country. But, Aria was similar to her father when it came to cooking. Both of them sucked at it and every time they entered the kitchen to try to make something, it would end up being a disaster. In the end, it would be Ivy or Susan who cooked their meals.

Aria's phone dinged indicating the arrival of her cab. She pushed her luggage out of her house and locked the door. Aria and Ivy had two sets of keys for their apartment due to their abnormal schedule. The driver put her luggage in the trunk and started the car. Aria sat in the car staring dazed. She had no idea what she was going to do in London. She was well prepared for the conference, still she was nervous. The only thing not allowing her a breakdown was the fact that she was accompanied by four other doctors from her hospital. She thanked God for that. Otherwise she would have been bored to death in a foreign land.

Aria looked at her watch. There was still an hour for her to reach the airport. So, she thought of taking a nap for a while. As soon as she fell asleep, she was immersed in a dream. It was a scene from three years ago, when their mother died of a heart attack. The scene played exactly as it had happened. She could see her mother fainting when she received the news that their father had gone missing for a week. And then the scene changed to a hospital, where Ivy and Aria were pacing back and forth outside the operation theater, only for the doctor to declare to their mother's death.

"Miss. Miss. Are you alright?" The driver asked from his seat. He had seen Aria shaking her head and mumbling in her sleep from the mirror above him. She was sweating profusely and she looked frightened. She had closed her eyes tight and her hair was disheveled.

Aria jolted from her seat. The nightmare had woken her up. She looked around and realized that she was still in the cab and the driver was looking at her with concern.

"Miss. Are you alright?" He asked again.

"Yes. Yes. I am fine." Aria took out her bottle of water and emptied it one gulp. "How much longer will it take?"

"We will reach the airport in fifteen minutes." The driver said turning the steering towards the right.

Aria took out her handkerchief and wiped her forehead and neck. She then tidied her hair using her phone camera and covered her head with a black cap. It had been a long time since she had a nightmare of that day. In the beginning, when her mother had died, she used to get a nightmare every day. This continued for almost two months which later reduced and then finally stopped.

"Why did I get this nightmare again?" Aria wondered. But the cab driver's voice broke her train of thoughts.

"Miss. We have arrived."

True to his words, they had arrived exactly in fifteen minutes. Aria paid the cab charges and pulled her luggage behind her. Her colleagues had already arrived and were waiting for her. Aria furrowed her eyebrows when she saw Mason Smith in the group. She was not informed of him joining her team for the conference. She had received a list of people who were accompanying her and Mason's name was not in it.

Mason waved at Aria with a bright face. He had made use of the opportunity that one of the doctors, who was attending the conference, the son was sick. So, he had somehow included his name in the list at the last moment. He did not reveal about it Aria as wanted to give her a surprise. Aria ignored him completely and walked to her other colleagues and greeted them.

"Hey Aria." Mason came from behind her.

"Dr Smith."

"Not again. How many times have I told you to call me by my name?"

"I think we should get going. We should check in early." Aria looked at the time. It was 9.40.

Suddenly, one of the doctors standing next to Aria squealed. "Oh my gosh. He is so handsome." The others turned in the direction she was looking. But Aria's sight was blocked by Mason.

"Shall we go?" Mason looked at Aria, giving her a thorough look. Her white t-shirt blouse, black jeans, and the black cap made her look very young and lovely. She looked very alluring in her attire and Mason felt a strong attraction towards her. Looking at Mason's lustful gaze, Aria squirmed uncomfortably.

"Let's go." Aria immediately escaped from there and walked inside the airport.

After an hour, all the five doctors had checked in and were waiting in the waiting area.

Aria was busy turning the pages of a magazine that she did not see a person approach her.

"What a surprise Dr. Aria West."

Hearing the familiar voice Aria looked up and her jaw dropped. There was only one thought in her mind at that moment.

"What is Noah Allen Carter doing here?"