Chapter 312: Convincing Ivy

Ivy was too embarrassed to meet Noah in the condition she was. She could still feel the sting from Joshua's bite on her lips and she did not have to guess for it to have been swollen. She could still feel the pool of heat between her legs and she did not even have to look into the mirror to see how disheveled she might have become after the kiss. So, instead of going to the living room, she slipped back to her room sneakily trying to avoid Noah and Joshua. But still, the two men saw her and did not say a thing, allowing her to escape for the time being.

Noah saw the grim expression on Joshua's face and he shook his head. He knew why the man looked tortured. He too would experience the same torment whenever he was with Aria. So, he did not tease his friend, although his mind was itching to do so. He sat still and took out his phone to pass the time until Ivy returned. Although he still had work to do, the sisters' safety was more important. So, he pushed back everything for the day and had ordered Shane to handle all the urgent matters for now.

Meanwhile, Joshua took deep breaths to calm himself down. The fire that had been ignited in him after the kiss wanted to devour Ivy completely. But he had stopped himself right at the worst moment, tormenting himself like a masochist. He did not want to do anything in the presence of his friend. And since she would be moving in with him, he would take all the time in the world to satisfy his desires as well as hers starting today.

After almost half an hour, Ivy emerged from her room. She was dressed in a different attire compared to the time when she had opened the door for them. She seemed to be better now and even Joshua had calmed down. However, one could still notice the light blush on her cheeks. Joshua only smirked seeing her making her avert her gaze away from him. And Noah did not say a thing. 

"Why are you guys here? Is something the matter?" Ivy started when she noticed that none of them were stating their intentions of coming to meet here.

"Yes, Ivy. We have something to tell you." Since they had very little time and Ivy had already initiated the conversation, Noah did not delay any more.

"Yes," Ivy nodded at him to continue.

"We want you and Aria to move in with us," Noah stated and his tone was more or less commanding, not giving any room for her to reject him. Ivy could only gape at him in confusion with the sudden demand put forth before her. She did not know why they were forcing her and stressing on it out of nowhere.

"But why? Why do you want us to move in like this? What's the rush?"

"Ivy it's just for your safety. We want to keep you safe." Joshua replied this time, his face completely serious. He folded his hands to appear more intimidating and it sure worked as Ivy was truly taken aback by the change in his demeanor.

"From whom do I have a threat?" Ivy asked still perplexed by the sudden turn of events.

Noah and Joshua gave each a knowing look which Ivy could not comprehend. Noah knew that it was difficult to fool Ivy given her intelligence, not only Ivy even Aria. She would not be too willing to go along with them until she was provided with valid reasons. And there was nothing better than telling her the actual truth. It was best she knew about it so that she could keep a lookout for any possible dangers.

"Ivy, do you know why Tim was keeping an eye on you?" Joshua asked after getting a signal from Noah. Ivy was once again flabbergasted by the topic. She wondered why Tim was even brought into the conversation. Nevertheless, she still answered him.

"No." She shook her head waiting for them to continue.

"Okay, do you know who Tim worked for?" Joshua continued. Noah remained silent. He had given the entire duty to Joshua to convince his girl. So, he would not intervene unless needed. It was better Joshua handled Ivy as he knew her better.

"No." 

"Let me tell you everything then. Have you heard of Jared Augustus?"

Ivy narrowed her eyes on hearing the name. Why did it feel like she had heard it somewhere before? She wondered if she knew the man as it sounded all the more familiar. "I guess so. But I am unable to recollect it now. Who is he by the way?"

"He is the owner of a lot of resorts in the country. He is known as the resort king, if this can rekindle your memory."

As soon as Joshua labeled the man as the resort king, it struck Ivy who Jared was. She now remembered reading about him somewhere. "Now I remember. What about him?" She queried still wondering how all of these were related.

"Tim worked for him," Joshua revealed carefully observing Ivy's change of expressions. But there was not much change in her. It seemed as though she was still muddled about all of these.

"If that's the case, why did he want to keep an eye on me? How did I offend Jared?" Ivy looked back and forth between Noah and Joshua waiting for someone to solve the dilemma her mind was in.

"Because you messed up his plans big time. Although neither Jared nor Tim knew it was you, they had their suspicions. So, they wanted to confirm it."

"That explains it. But what did I do and what plans of his did I sabotage?"

"Do you remember David Peters?"

"Yes, I do. He was the one who planned about the virus, right?" 

"Not exactly. He was just working under someone's orders. The real mastermind was Jared." 

Now Ivy was seriously spooked after listening to the truth. Her calm expression cracked and she stared at the two men in horror. Though she had a hunch that there was somebody behind the mission and David Peters was just a pawn, she never expected a man like Jared to be involved in this, let alone be the mastermind.

"What?" She asked after a lot of time.

"Yes, and there is more. Do you want to know who is one behind the organ trafficking case?"

Again, Ivy was taken away by a storm. Her eyes widened all the more. "Don't tell that the mastermind behind it Jared again?"

She got her answer when the men nodded at her and she held her head in her hands trying to comprehend everything she had heard since the time the two guys had started speaking. Everything was a mess and her mind had become chaotic, a lot of things running in her mind. She had never expected this outcome, never ever.

Seeing the state she was in, Joshua sat beside and hugged her, trying to calm her down. He knew it was a lot for her to take in. Even he had been shocked beyond words when Noah had told him about it. Nobody said a word for some time and when finally, Ivy pulled back a little, still lying in Joshua's embrace.

"Is there anything more?"

"Yes, that man is dangerous and we do not want to risk your lives. No. Ivy, we want you and Aria to move in with us. I know this to be too sudden for you, but it is for your safety. That man is a bastard and it's better to be safe than sorry. We do not want anything happening to you two." This time it was Noah who spoke up and his tone was more or less pleading unlike before when he had been demanding.

"I understand why he is behind me? But what does all of these have to do with Aria?"

"Ivy, Jared and us are arch enemies," Noah replied pointing at Joshua and himself. "That man wants to destroy us and if I am not wrong, Aria being my girlfriend is enough of a reason for him to attack her just to spite me. Let me be honest about this matter. He has also set his eyes on Rachel and has been pestering her for a long time now."

"Rachel? Your sister, Rachel?" 

"Yes. That is why we want you to move in with us. You already know what had happened a few days back with Tim trying to break into your house. We do not want the same thing to repeat once again. With you guys moving into our house, you will not have to worry about these issues and we too could be at peace."

This time, Ivy had to agree with his reasoning. It was true that Noah and Joshua's houses had the utmost security with a large number of guards watching out for even a minute possibility of danger. Even if she wanted to ignore her safety, she could not neglect her sister. Given that, there was a high possibility of Aria being in danger, Ivy could only agree to their suggestion.

"Fine, I agree."

Noah and Joshua smiled at her appraisingly for taking the best decision, especially Josuha was who highly jubilant to have his woman around him every day of his life from now on. "Go, pack your bags, Ivy. We will be leaving today itself. Also, pack Aria's bags. We will leave as soon as she comes back."

Ivy let out a long sigh before she went to her room. Since her bags were already packed, she did not have many things to put in them. She had kept herself ready as she had promised to move in with Joshua right after Aria and Noah had made up. So, she did not have much to do. After seeing that she had all the necessary things with her, she went to pack Aria's belongings.