718 Aria's advice
"I am so sorry, Ian. I failed to uphold my promise. I failed in my duty. If possible, please forgive me." Theo begged, his voice turning hoarse at the end due to his cries and Noah and Joshua felt miserable for him.
Even if the men were furious at their mentor, they were still attached to him by heart and to hear the man they had once admired crying like a child still made them feel uneasy and dejected. It was nothing like Theo.
"Ian is not here, Theo," Noah responded when he could not tolerate his mentor crying pitifully. "He left a few seconds ago."
"I know, Noah." Theo let out a helpless laugh. "I heard him walk away. I have not lost my senses even if I am far away from you guys."
Joshua and Noah did not say a word in reply and Theo sucked in a deep breath. "I just wanted to apologize to the boy I had rescued and given a home. I gave him a new life, a new identity and a new beginning. I promised to take care of him and protect him from everyone. But I failed at something that matters the most, to protect him from someone he is close to the most."
Theo sneered softly and sniffled again. "I failed to protect him from me and I will always regret it for life. Not just him, you and Joshua too. I am sorry I broke your trust, I feel ashamed of myself."
"Let's talk once you are here, Theo. You know where to find us." Noah did not allow the man to go further and intervened immediately.
"I will be there soon. I just hope I have the courage to face you all."
Noah ended the call and a heavy silence fell between the two. Besides their erratic breathing, as they tried to calm their nerves, there was no other sound for quite some time.
"I think we need to look for Ian. He needs us at this moment." Joshua stood up suddenly and stole the words that were on the tip of Noah's tongue and the man on the bed nodded at him to go to Ian and help him out.
With his lips pursed, Joshua exited the ward only to stumble upon Aria, pacing back and forth outside the ward as she kept looking towards the corridor occasionally. Her face was filled with worry and she kept mumbling to herself.
"What's wrong, Aria? What happened?" Joshua frowned when he saw her condition and stopped her immediately.
"It's Ian. He seemed too restless and agitated when he walked out of the ward and he did not stop when I called him out. I do not know what to do. Should I speak to him?"
Joshua shook his head at her suggestion immediately. "Please, don't. Ian must feel broken right now. I think I should go to him."
"Please. He seemed too troubled and I can't see him that way."
"Don't worry, Aria. I'll talk to him." Joshua assured her even though he was unassured himself. "Where did he go?"
"In that direction." Aria pointed. "There is a resting room which the staff uses whenever they want to take a break. I presume he has gone there."
"Great. I will be back soon." Joshua smiled warmly at her and Aria hoped that Joshua would be able to console Ian soon.
But to her dismay, Joshua returned quicker than she had expected and he shook his head when she raised his brows at him questioningly.
"He is unwilling to listen to me at all, Aria. He is hurt deeply and I don't know what to do." Joshua's shoulders sagged in defeat and he pressed his forehead in worry. He looked even more exhausted than he already was, his handsome face filled with fatigue from his previous night's stress.
"Let me try." Aria licked her lips and looked at Joshua, who nodded at her, silently giving her permission to proceed.
Taking a deep breath, Aria traced the steps Ian had taken and just as she had predicted, Ian was in the resting room.
"Go away, Noah. I do not want to talk to anyone." Ian frowned in dismay when he heard the door open.
"Did you forget that Noah is a patient and I will not allow him to leave his bed until he recovers completely?" Aria's tone turned light-hearted and she took the spot beside Ian on the sofa.
"Aria, I am not in the mood to talk with anyone. Please, leave me alone for some time." Ian did not look at her. Instead, he kept staring out of the window at the vast sky.
"Oh, I will. Don't worry. I will leave you alone. But let me say all that I have in mind and I will leave from him here immediately."
Ian pursed his lips but did not say anything and Aria took it as her cue to continue speaking.
"Do you hate Theo?"
Ian's silence said it all and Aria did not press him for any answer.
"Do you remember when I learned Dad was under your care for three years?" Aria's words made Ian turn to her immediately and he looked at her inquisitively.
"When I found out about it, I was way too hurt to analyze things and blamed all three of you, Noah, Joshua and you. I stopped speaking to you and avoided you even though you apologized to me repeatedly."
Ian remembered it clearly. It was embedded deep in his mind for him to forget that easily. For the first time in his life, he had felt the fear of losing a dear friend due to his actions and the feeling was worse than any physical pain.
"But do you remember what you told me?" Aria did not stop at that and smiled faintly when she noticed that she had Ian's complete attention.
"You wanted me to hear you out and then decide if I wanted to avoid you. You wanted me to find out the reason behind your actions. You wanted me to listen to your apology and then decide if I wanted to accept your apology or not."
Ian immediately understood where the conversation was leading towards and lowered his head immediately.
"I do not want you to make the same mistake I did. In my anger, I hurt my dear friend. Although it was for just some time, I still hurt him and I regret it more than anything."
Aria held Ian's palm and made him look at her. "So, please hear what Theo wants to say to you and then decide. What if you end up making the same mistake I did and hurt the man who you consider dear?"
Aria let go of his hand and stood up, her smile still intact. "Anyway, you can still be angry with him once you find the reason. But before that, please do not shut yourself out like this in your anger." Aria patted his shoulder lightly and blinked at him, consoling him silently through her soft gaze.
"After all, it must have been a precarious situation for Theo and Grandpa Carter to take such a drastic measure. Think about it carefully and decide."
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