The little sneak

"Should I go to this birthday party?" Ari questioned Timmy, who had his face buried in the bowl in which Ari had poured mashed broccoli, chicken and soft bones for Timmy to eat. 

Timmy raised his face just an inch above the bowl before turning his head to the side. He looked at Ari and let out a whine before going back to eating. The only answer that Ari received from him was his back facing her face as if silently telling Ari to not disturb him when he was having his meal. 

Ari sighed before standing up and walking over to the couch. She sat down and turned up her favourite murder mystery, but her attention was not on the scene that was playing on the screen. Instead, all her attention was on the impending birthday party that she had to attend, even if Ari did not want to. 

After living with Madam Harlow for years, Ari knew what kind of woman her mother was. No matter how messy the relationships between the members of their family were, her mother liked presenting her family as a united and happy family in front of others. 

She took great satisfaction in the fact that all her three kids were well settled, and Madam Harlow liked to bask in the envy and jealousy of her neighbours. So, even if Madam Harlow disliked Ari, she would want her to attend the party no matter what. 

Even if a flood were to break on the night of Madam Harlow's birthday party, she would expect Ari to swim past the violent waters rather than stay safe at home. 

If Ari missed the party, she knew that Madam Harlow would definitely not let her have even a single moment of peace. Her mother would continue to hunt her down until she could berate her or maybe hit her, depending on her temper. 

And as Ari knew that she would have to start working very soon—— 

"I have to attend this part," Ari groaned in her hands. Not only did she have to attend this party, but she would also have to buy a decent gift for her mother, one that she would be able to show off in front of her friends. No wonder Aaron handed her a stack of five hundred dollars, he knew that Ari would need it to buy their mother a gift. 

"Why is my life so hard?" Ari rubbed her fingers on her forehead, she could feel a headache coming when she thought about the drama that Ariel must have prepared for her. However, hiding was not an option, if she wanted to avoid a workplace drama, she better face her mother soon. 

However, there was one more thing that worried Ari. 

Noah. 

The two of them were not divorced yet, if she were to turn up at her house, then what would Noah do to her? 

Ari threw her head back at the edge of the couch and muttered, "I hope everything gets settled in the next three days." 

At the Nelson's mansion, Noah's patience was running terribly low. It had been three days, but he couldn't get any information about Ariana or where she went missing. It was as if someone were deliberately hiding her from him, but Noah was unable to remember Ari having such a powerful friend who could suppress him. 

Nicolai was the only one who could go headlong against him, but Ari wasn't the kind of woman who would get entangled with that barbaric man. The two of them were simply polar opposites. 

It never occurred to him that Ari might be acquainted with Nicolai, as it was simply impossible in his eyes. Noah, thus, never even investigated in that direction, causing the best opportunity to slip past his hands, that he wasn't even aware of. 

Now he sat in his study feeling stuffy, he had tried everything from calling to messaging and even filed a complaint at the police station but nothing. No one could tell him where his wife was and Noah, who was not used to losing control like this, was feeling a tad bit anxious. 

It wasn't clear to him why but the feelings inside his heart were complicated, he was part nervous, part angry and a bit worried. 

"Mister Nelson," the head of the bodyguards and security department of his family, Edward, stepped inside the office. He was dressed in tight-fitting pants and a shirt with a black jacket, while his brown hair was gelled neatly back, making him look older than he was. 

"Edward, did you find Ariana?" Noah questioned Edward. Three days ago, he thought that his wife would come back, however, when he found out that she had taken her old clothes and degrees away, Noah knew that she was not coming back. 

Now he only hoped that anyone would be able to bring him information regarding his wife's whereabouts. 

"No sir," Edward shook his head. Behind his glasses, he was frowning as he relayed, "We tried to trace the surveillance recording of that day when Madam ran away from the hospital, but we did not find anything. It's as if someone had deliberately erased that part in fact, we did not even see Madam leaving the hospital." 

Which was impossible, given that Noah had searched for Ari in the hospital. He did not even leave a single corner, in the process of looking for his wife, he had even offended Aiden Dimitri, the maternal cousin of Nicolai De Luca. 

However, Noah was not scared of Aiden or Nicolai. Thus, it did not matter to him that Aiden was upset with him because of the manhunt that he arranged in his hospital. 

"Are you sure?" Noah questioned Edward, feeling a bit uncomfortable. If the surveillance recording was messed up, then it could only mean that someone helped Ari. But who was the one helping her? 

Noah frowned and then asked, "Was it Dimitri?" 

He thought there was a highly plausible chance that Aiden deleted the recording. Though he was neutral when it came to treating patients as he was the best doctor of the Lonest City, Aiden was in the end Nicolai's cousin. 

He could be the one who deleted the recording to take revenge on Noah. 

"We have already investigated this and no, Mister Dimitri never appeared in the recording room. In fact, no one did, as we secured the recordings at once." 

BANG!

"Then are you telling me that my wife vanished into thin air? If you cannot find her, it's obvious that someone is helping her!" Noah snapped at Edward, who lowered his head and apologized, "Forgive me, Mister Noah." 

"I don't want your useless apologies! Bring my wife to me!" 

"Mister Noah——"

"Brother, are you in there?"