Chapter 445: Kill count

Aria and Noah sat facing each other as they ate in the hospital canteen. It was somewhere after five in the morning, and they had to settle for a quick sandwich instead of a full meal, even though Aria was starving. Noah observed her gobble her food, and he chuckled lightly, finding her antics extremely cute. Aria was too famished to care about his teasing chuckles. She needed to fill her stomach and replenish her energy.

She glared at the man, her cheeks bulging, courtesy to the food in her mouth, and Noah's laughter only increased. Aria huffed in annoyance as she continued to eat.

"How bad is Jo's condition?" Noah queried when Aria had licked her plate clean.

"He is still in danger. But I am sure he will overcome this phase. His body accepted the medicine we gave him, and if things go well, he might wake up soon. It is due to his condition that he is in such a critical situation." Aria put forth everything she had in mind." Why didn't you tell me before that he was suffering from hemophilia? We could have cured him before things escalated to this."

"I did not know things would end up this way. I remember Ian telling us about the treatment once. But it was Joshua who was unwilling to go ahead with this." Noah sighed and folded his hands, oblivious to the way his words had smacked Aria, filling her with remorse.

"I am sorry. It was because of me that Joshua is in this state." Aria hung her head down, and Noah held her hand at once, seeing her blame herself.

"No, Aria. It is not. It is not your fault that Joshua got shot. It is not you who did it." Noah got up from his chair and sat beside her, turning her chair towards him. "Aria, look at me." He held her chin and raised her head only to find her eyes red with tears. "Please don't cry, love. It was not your fault." He wiped the tears that started to fall off her eyes. "Please don't cry. I can't bear to see tears in your eyes."

"I am sorry. I am at fault." Aria started sobbing, and her cries hit Noah hard, his heart clenching in pain. He was glad that the canteen was empty and nobody was inside. The chef too had escaped after preparing Aria's sandwich, and they were alone. 

"Look at me, Aria." He held her face in his hands and ran his thumbs over her cheeks, trying to soothe her. "Look at me." He coaxed her to look at him, and the moment she did so, Aria was stunned. Instead of seeing anger or resentment in his eyes liked she had expected, all she saw was love and pure adoration. There was no trace of anger in them, and this made Aria cry harder.

"Why are you so good to me?"

"Because you deserve to be treated so." Noah's sweet reply was instant, and Aria was rendered speechless for a minute.

"I am not as good as you deem me to be."

"Don't worry. I am not any good either. We can be the bad couple." Noah tried to lighten the mood, and it worked. Aria smiled, although it did not reach her eyes. 

Noah noticed her regret and the guilt that was still eating her. He sighed lightly and kissed her forehead, his lips not moving away for a few seconds. "Look Aria, nobody knew that Joshua would be shot today. You were not at fault."

"But this would not have happened if I had told you everything before. He would not have ended up in this state."

"Aria, I believe you had your reasons for not telling us about this soon. So, I don't blame you." Noah replied, his words dripping with honesty, and Aria was beyond touched.

"What did I do to deserve you? You are too good for me." Aria's words made Noah shake his head in disagreement.

"Not at all. You are too good for me, and I am the fortunate one."

"Noah," Aria did not know how to tell him everything. "You are not understanding. I have blood on my hands."

"It's a given, sweetheart. You are a doctor, remember?"

"Noah," Aria groaned, wondering if the man was faking his ignorance. "What I meant was that I have killed people." Before Noah could connect it to her profession again, she added, "Intentionally."

This shut Noah up, and he dropped his hands. Wrong move. 'I knew it.' Aria's tears that had stopped, started to flow once again. 'Noah now loathes me. He does not want me.' Noah had no idea how wild Aria's thoughts were running and that she was on the verge of having a mental breakdown. He was thinking about disclosing his true identity, about him being involved with the Underworld. Though he had already spoken to her about it before, there were many things she did not know about. There were dark secrets he had kept hidden from her."

However, the moment he met her eyes after making his mind reveal everything, his heart shattered. The girl looked so lost and broken that his whole world submerged itself in despair and agony. 

"You loathe me," Aria mumbled, and Noah had to lean closer to her to hear what she was speaking.

"What!! No. I don't loathe you." He was shocked by her words. "Who told you that I loathe you? There is no way I will loathe you, ever." Noah stated with determination, and Aria gaped at him, trying to gauge the truth in his words.

"Then, why..why..." Aria could not bear to say the words, and she bit her lip.

Noah frowned before the realization hit him. 'Was she scared because I did not say anything and moved away from her?' Unable to stop himself any longer, he hugged her, patting her back. "Oh, dear." He sighed, chiding himself for his mistake. He did not forget how hurt Aria looked a few seconds ago, like a wounded animal that had been abandoned to take care of itself.

"Aria, love, I don't loathe you, nor am I leaving you. I was thinking about how to tell you about my truth. I too have skeletons in my closest. I have killed people too, way more than you think. So, don't ever think I will loathe due to this pathetic, puny reason. Nothing can stop me from loving you." Noah confessed, and Aria had the sudden urge to cry again. 

Nobody said a word for a long time and Aria continued to sob lightly in Noah's embrace.

"Aria, I have something to tell you," Noah stated all of a sudden, and Aria guessed what the man wanted to say. But she did not speak a word, waiting for him to continue. "I am involved with the Underworld." Noah waited for Aria's reaction, but all he got was silence before he heard her speak.

"I know. You had told me before." Aria said with a frown, wondering where the topic was going.

"But, there are some things you don't know. I have not told you about them."

"And I know about them too."

Her response stunned Noah, and he pulled back to see her. "How?" That was all he could manage to ask, for he was in disbelief.

"Maggie did a background check on you when I told her about us after I returned from London."

"I see." Noah's bland response made Aria panic.

"Are you angry?" She queried, softening her voice as much as possible, and that was all it took for the man to melt completely.

"And, why would I be?"

"Because I did a background check on you."

"Not at all," Noah replied, picking a strand of her and twirling it around. "I am glad you did."

"What?" His response was not what Aria had expected.

"Yes, it saves me from an explanation." Aria rolled her eyes at him.

"You scared me. I thought you were angry when I told you about killing people."

"Why would I? I will be honest here. I am actually proud that you did and surprised too. Who knew that a bunny like you could kill people?" Noah teased, and Aria huffed lightly.

"Beware, Mister. Don't provoke me." 

"Or else?" Noah interrupted, amused by Aria's sudden courage. 'How adorable!'

"Or else, or else," Aria did not know what to say, and she ended up threatening him. "I will kill you too."

"Gladly. It would be my pleasure to die by your hands."

"Noah," Aria was at her wit's end by now. "Can't you be serious for once?"

"By the way, what is your kill count?" Noah's unexpected question stopped Aria from protesting. 

Since she had decided to come clean before the man she loved the most, she did not back off from the question. With the softest voice possible, she muttered, "Thirty-one after I killed Kevin."