historical

Joshua accompanied Aria and Noah to fetch Oliver with them, although Joshua was dying in anxiety. He wanted to make sure that Ivy was safe and given a chance, he would have driven over to the cemetery like a maniac. Until he saw Ivy himself, he was unable to stay still.

The previous time when Aria and Ivy had taken Oliver to the cemetery, Noah had not accompanied them as Aria was still furious at him. And Joshua had decided not to tag along as he did not want to disrupt the family's peaceful time. They needed to be alone and the three men had given them the space. This was the reason why neither Noah nor Joshua knew about King's Street.

Oliver was busy working on the issues Noah had handed over to him. Although Noah was the President of the news agency, he had no idea how to operate it. So, he had handed over all the work to Oliver and he was given in charge of all the things. Oliver had no idea when Noah and Aria had even left the mansion as he had locked himself in his room. So, it came as a surprise when he saw a distressed Aria and a serious-looking Noah coming to him.

"Dad, we have to go," Aria said, her voice coming out low. She was gasping for air as she had come running from the entrance to her father's room.

"Where do we have to go?" Oliver looked at the duo in confusion.

"Dad, today is Mom's death anniversary. We have to go to the cemetery." Aria answered taking deep breaths in between and her words made Oliver stand up suddenly.

"What?"

"Yes, Dad. Today is Mom's death anniversary. Let's go and visit her in the cemetery." This time, Aria had calmed down a little. However, that was not the case with Oliver.

"Why didn't you tell me about it before?" He almost shouted at his daughter although he knew that it was not her fault. The last few days had been a lot stressful with Aria falling sick and Ivy going on her mission. It was no wonder that his daughters forgot to tell him. "Let's go, then."

Oliver picked up his coat and accompanied Noah and Aria downstairs to see Joshua already waiting in the car at the driver's seat. What surprised him more was that he could not find Ivy anywhere around him. "Why is Ivy not here?" Oliver asked as he sat beside Joshua while Aria and Noah sat at the back.

"Dad, she is already at the cemetery. Let's go." Aria replied and the four people drove towards King's Street with Joshua trying his best not to press on the accelerator hard. He tried to control his speed lest he should startle Aria or Oliver.

It took them some time to reach King's Street and from there, Aria directed them towards the cemetery. It was just a few minutes drive from the main road and once they reached the cemetery, Joshua was the first one to dash inside. His behavior stunned Oliver who had no idea what had actually happened. However, Aria and Noah knew the reason why he was like this. He wanted to make sure that Ivy was here, which Aria was sure that she was.

Joshua entered the cemetery quickly and looked around. There was no one inside and he could easily spot Ivy who was sitting beside one of the gravestones, her eyes downcast. She seemed to be muttering something with the way her lips moved. Joshua felt as though someone had breathed life into him after seeing her. Only he knew how anxious he had been on seeing her missing.

Before he could take a step at her, Oliver and Aria entered and they went to where Ivy was sitting. Ivy had not noticed them yet and she continue to blabber on and on. "Mom, I don't what I did that has hurt Joshua. Do you think I am the one at fault? Is it something I did that triggered his anger?" Her voice was barely audible. So, neither Aria nor Oliver could hear her when they stood beside her.

"Susan," Oliver breathed and he dropped to his knees. Startled by the sudden voice, Ivy turned to see her father and her sister beside her. Her thoughts broke and she stopped mumbling to herself. It was as though there was a switch and her meek and depressed expression turned expressionless.

However, her eyes turned cold on seeing Joshua who was walking slowly towards her. She glared at him for a second before she averted her gaze away from him. Just by this small action of hers, Joshua realized how bad the situation was. He had seen her glare as well as the hidden hurt and sadness in her eyes and this broke his heart greatly. He could not help but reprimand himself for his actions. 'Why did I lose control of my emotions? Why did I hurt Ivy for something she was not even at fault?'

Noah noticed his friend's face and he patted his shoulders trying to pacify him. But he knew that nothing he said or did could salvage the situation. It was his friend who was in the wrong. Not saying another word, Noah went to stand beside Aria and held her hand.

By then, Oliver had finished speaking to his beloved wife and he was standing at the side allowing his younger daughter some time with her mother. Aria glanced at Noah as soon as he held her hands and she smiled at him faintly. "Mom, I hope you are doing well. I am sorry I did not come earlier. Mom, I want you to meet someone."

Aria pressed her hand on Noah's hands and she took a deep breath. "Mom, this is Noah and he is my boyfriend. Mom, I lo-like him very much. I hope you will give us your blessings and wish us happiness." Aria whispered and Noah did not miss the way Aria had changed her words. He smiled to himself wondering why she had done so.

When Aria became silent, Noah took over and started to speak with a soothing voice. "Hello, Mom. I am Noah. I am your daughter's boyfriend. Thank you very much, Mom, for giving birth to such a beautiful and amazing daughter. I love her more than anything in my life and I wish to be with her forever. I hope you will give us your blessings and look over us from wherever you are."

Noah's words touched Aria and she felt warmth even in the cold weather. She had not missed the way he had declared his love for her and had also addressed her mother and spoke to her as though she was his mother. The couple knelt in front of the gravestone for a second before they stood up and went back.

Now, it was Ivy's turn. But she ignored the man who was looking at her expectantly and stood up. Even though Joshua felt depressed seeing her indifferent behavior, he still came to stand beside her. But the girl did not say a word, she just stood still. A few minutes passed and he realized that Ivy would not be speaking a thing. So, he took it upon himself to start speaking.

"Hello, Mom. I am Joshua. I am your daughter, Ivy's boyfriend. Thank you very much, Mom. You have given me such a beautiful life partner and I could not ask for more. She an outstanding person and I am more than happy to have her in my life. But it was me who did not know how to treasure her. I hurt her last night and I wish to apologize to her for my horrible actions. I hope she forgives me, Mom." Joshua bent his head and offered his silent words before he went and stood behind Noah.

Ivy stood still in her place. "Mom, that was Joshua. He was the one I was talking about." Ivy smiled softly but it vanished as soon as she remembered his words he had said the previous night. Her back was facing the four people. So, they did not see the slight change in her emotions, nor did they hear her words.

The five people stayed in the cemetery for another few minutes before they started to walk back. Joshua tried to walk beside Ivy but the girl evidently ignored him and even his attempts to speak to her. Aria sensed the tension in the air and she took Ivy with her. However, as soon as she held Ivy's hands, she gasped. "Ivy, you are freezing."

"Relax, Aria. I am fine." Ivy tried to assure her. But her sister was having none of it. It was the start of autumn and Ivy had arrived here even before dawn. It was no wonder that her hands were freezing when she was not wearing any gloves.

Joshua, who was walking right behind his woman, heard Aria's words, and the next second, he removed his gloves and handed them to Ivy. However, Just like before, Ivy just gave him one glance and walked away from him. Aria could only shake her head in helplessness seeing her sister's cold behavior.

Joshua's shoulders dropped on seeing Ivy walk away from him. He slowly dragged his body towards the car and got into the driver's seat. Meanwhile, Noah noticed Aria's worried gaze and he hugged her shoulders. "They will make up. Don't worry."

"I hope so. My sister's anger is the worst. I hope Joshua has the strength to bear with it."

"Can it be worse than yours?" Noah tried to lift her mood by teasing her. But it clearly did not work.

"Yes, Ivy rarely gets angry. But once she does, it's a disaster."

"I am sure Joshua can overcome the disaster. He will pacify her and they will definitely make up. Let's go home. It's cold here and I don't you falling sick."