Noah saw the myriad of emotions in her eyes, and he realized that her father's disappearance was the trigger point for Aria, and he more or less blamed himself too. Only if he had informed Aria about him taking her father with him, things might have turned out differently. Maybe they would have gotten to know each other sooner and fallen in love quickly. However, his hands were bound, and he had to keep his whereabouts under wraps to save the two girls.

"When Dad went missing, Ivy and I had to deal with a lot of things. Mom could not bear the shock, and she had a heart attack. She passed away even before we could make it to the hospital." Noah's eyes did not leave Aria's face.

At one point in time, she had turned away from him, and he could only see her left side profile. Her hair was flying with the wind making it messy. There was sadness and aggravation on her face. She looked forlorn but that did not hide her strength or her confidence. Noah was truly in awe at the wonderful woman in front of him. She had dealt such a critical situation with such finesse that his heart swelled up with pride. Also, he was thankful that she had her sister with her all this time.

"At that time, none of our relatives were willing to help us or support us, not that we needed anything from them. But we would have appreciated it if they gave us some emotional support. It was Daniel and his family who helped us come out of the trauma." Although her eyes were brimming with tears, she managed to keep them at bay.

Noah wanted to just hug the girl and end her agony. It was not easy to remember the painful memories, and all he could do was curse himself for putting the girl through such pain. Indirectly, he too was responsible for it. But he knew that Aria would end up crying if he were to even touch her. So, he maintained his distance, and Aria was glad he did so.

"We could not stay in that house. So we moved back to the apartment, and once we returned to our normal selves, Ivy started to track the men responsible for our father's disappearance. Dad had already created a file about all the doctors and hospitals in the shady dealing. So, Ivy took it over from there. Ivy returned to her usual self. It was not her who was damaged in this. It was I."

Noah realized what she wanted to convey. Aria was slowly getting to the part how she started to kill people. Albeit his interest to find out about it, he could see that the girl was on the verge of a severe breakdown. He took a step forward, only for the girl to move back, making him halt in his place.

"Don't, Noah. Please. I need to let this out. I will not be able to control my tears if you were to touch me." Aria stopped him before he could get to her. She wanted to let out everything she had in her heart for years, and this was the perfect opportunity. Nobody knew what she had been through, not even her sister or her best friend. But Aria did not want to hide anything from the man she loved the most.

Noah too understood what she wanted. If Aria wanted to release her pent-up frustration, he would allow her to do. He would listen to her forever if that helped her relax and calm her heart.

On seeing that Noah had stopped walking, Aria took a deep breath. "I started to assist Maggie in her mission. At first, she was unwilling to take my aid. She eventually gave when I begged her. We started to locate the men who were involved in this while Ivy did her own share of work. All we could find were men at the lower levels who just took instructions to lure people to the small clinics or hospitals involved in such dealings."

Noah observed how the girl's eyes twinkled in pride, and his eyes too gleamed immediately. It surely was a matter of delight and contentment to kill the men who were nothing but scumbags and harm to the society.

"While Maggie tracked the men one by one, we hunted him down whenever we could. She also made me use them as my targets so that I could improve my shooting skills." Noah's eyes widened at her words. But he did not comment, for that was how even he dealt with people in the Underworld. His men would capture and use their victims as their targets to enhance their skills. Noah was beyond impressed, for it was not easy to deal with matters like these.

"That was how I was able to kill thirty people. We did not want to alert the enemy, for it would raise suspicion if we were to kill more people at one go. So, we took our time and started eliminating from the weakest link. But later, Maggie joined Jared's gang on her superior's orders, and we stopped with our mission."

Aria stopped suddenly and looked at her hands, and Noah followed her line of sight. He more or less guessed where this was going. But he did not stop her even though he knew she was hurting from within. "Nobody but Maggie knows about this, not even my sister. I have blood on my hands. I have killed people, and they are not on the operating table. I..I.."

Aria's lips trembled, and Noah now could not stop himself anymore. He hugged her tight, and the moment Aria felt the man's warm embrace, she broke down. She had been hiding everything in her heart for years, and although she wanted to come clean before Ivy, she feared her response. She feared that her sister would resent her for her actions. She feared losing the only family she had.

Unlike her who had lost her sanity after her mother's death, Ivy was still morally upright. Finally, she found someone with whom she could share her darkest secrets, and Aria felt at ease. Her heart was calm, and all the frustration that had accumulated over the years vanished in a blink. This was what she wanted, this was what she needed, a man who would understand her without judging her, and Aria was glad that she had a man like Noah in her life.