"This time don't get in the middle of my plans. You no longer have any way of protecting her. I would stay back if I were you. Trust me AUNTIE I would definitely not get in the path of a vengeful woman." Adriana smiled sweetly and she walked right past her.
She held a startled expression after when she saw the person in front of her.
Mrs.Preston turned to see who it was and she froze. She examined Adriana's expression to see if she had said that on purpose so that the person could hear her. Seeing her startled expression she realized that it wasn't planned by her and she too was surprised.
"Mom, what she said...is it true?"
"I should go, have a nice day auntie take care." Adriana smiled and started walking away.
"No, explain to me what happened back then? Mom!" Kimberly interrupted stubbornly.
"Nothing you need to worry about Kim, we just have a small misunderstanding between us. I have some things to take care of so we can continue catching up another time."
*****
Adriana walked out of the hospital and she smirked. She was feeling quite nervous and tense previously but now that she felt the control of the situation back in her hands she felt more relieved. Maybe she was just being paranoid but every time things started going sideways she would be stiff and she would avoid making a move. Those moments are the most dangerous ones because they are her weakness.
Her smirk turned into a low laugh. Everyone was slowly falling into her hands at the right time. Back then they made her seem like she was the bad guy. They told her heartless words and they never took her feelings into consideration.
Now, since they made her look like the villain then she would surely fulfill their expectations. Whether her actions are evil it doesn't matter. They brought this upon themselves anyway….
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Earlier she had seen Kimberly's shadow and she could easily figure out it was her because of her figure and the jet black hair in the reflection of a glass window in the hallway where a small nurse office is, Adriana was even more sure it was Kimberly.
The words she said were not planned but when she saw Kimberly and she made good use of the opportunity. Her plan was to make the opportunities for herself but since it came right into her hands she would definitely catch it.
Adriana used the opportunity to call Caroline.
"Where are you right now?" She asked her. "I'm at your hotel room. Aria is in the living room watching tv right now." Caroline responded.
"Something happened, I need us to meet including the others." Adriana told her. Caroline sighed and she looked back at Aria.
"What about Aria?" She asked.
"I will have to hire a nanny for the rest of the day. Ugh, I don't know what to do anymore….it's scary." Adriana admitted. "Calm down and take a deep breath in. You are just stressed because of work, your kids and the fact that you have returned earlier than expected. Once you take a moment to clear your mind I promise things will be better." Caroline assured her.
"Right, tell Aria that a nanny will take care of her for me and that I will be arriving home late."
"You won't tell her yourself?"
"No, she will be disappointed since I made plans with her tonight." Adriana pursed her lips. "I see."
After their conversation ended Adriana hung up. She decided to call Ralf, to discuss the problem with Aria's nanny.
"If you don't mind, I can take care of her."
Adriana stiffened again. She swallowed and turned around. "Thank you for the kind offer but that's alright." She rejected his offer, wondering how much of the conversation he heard.
"You can pick her up at the same place as last time." He acted as if she had indeed accepted his offer.
Adriana frowned, she started actually considering it. If Aria stays with Noah she can be sure that Aria won't be too upset with their ruined plans for tonight because she will be having fun with the 'handsome uncle.' Other than that Aria is also safe with him….
'No, I shouldn't make a habit out of it.'
"Thank you, I promise I won't disturb you again, I will find a nanny for her soon." Adriana ended up agreeing. She definitely would not want a stranger taking care of her daughter either. Left with no other comfortable choice Adriana accepted his offer.
"Okay. Get in." He said opening the door of his car. Adriana hesitated but she ended up getting inside. The silence between them was uncomfortable.
In the past, there had never been a day where they were in such silence, sometimes it would be a peaceful silence between them. Now, the silence was almost suffocating. So many years have passed and the familiarity of each other has faded away. It was as if they were strangers to each other.
"About grandma…"
"You don't need to worry. We will just act like that in front of her, in a few days we can tell her we have decided to stay as good friends. She should accept it by then." He interrupted.
"Right." Adriana gazed out the window with a sigh.
"The accident, how bad was it. You should have at least reached out to someone. We thought you were dead. You can't just come back abruptly and tell us that you are fine with no good explanation." The more he spoke the more his hands clenched onto the steering wheel.
"No matter what happened between us, there are people who care for you. Did you ever wonder how Kimberly would react and Grandma who was hospitalized for two weeks. The shock of your 'death' impacted many people's lives." He snapped his head into her direction but her expression held no regret to what she had done.
"Are you one of those people?" She suddenly asked.
"W-what?" He stuttered.
"Were you one of those people? I always wondered about your reaction." She repeated.
"Why is that important? It's not the point here." Noah gritted his teeth.
"No it actually is. I'm asking you a question and if you can't answer then I won't explain myself to you. Why would I explain it to someone who was not impacted by my death? Since they weren't that means they don't care, explaining myself to THEM would be a waste of time." She shrugged.
"Are you kidding? You're asking your ex-husband if he was impacted by your 'death'? What do you think?"
"My thoughts say you were but I don't know. My 'death' could have been a certain freedom for you. Perhaps you celebrated my death. How am I supposed to know?" She shrugged again, insisting on getting an answer from him.
"Yes, I was obviously impacted." He answered, frustratingly.
"In what way?" She continued.