Livid Guardian's Endless Coddling

At Ross Villa

Ivan had lost count of how many times he looked at his mobile waiting for Arna's message. He many times grabbed his mobile to dial her number but controlled. Hence his night was sleepless. 

A look of Arsh was enough to tell him that Arsh already knew what happened at the park, and Arsh was obviously disappointed in him. Even though they had a strong bond, one of their weaknesses was Arna, and she could be a reason for bringing the crack between them.

Ivan wasn't only worried about love and friendship but also his profession. He realized he was so interconnected with the Morgan family that a small mistake could leave his life miserable and put his parents' strong bond with the Morgan family at risk.

He had never thought he was living a life of dominos. One mistake, a fall of a domino, could destroy his life and question his personality.

With those complex thoughts, he had immersed himself in the study room with office work when he saw Eva open the door and sigh. In the past, if Eva had to support one out of Arna and him, Eva always stood by Arna. The duo had a great bond. But, he wasn't sure if they could get along just like in the past.

Did he have the right to get angry at Eva, his mother? He didn't know, but he was too tired of the complex, entangled messy thoughts in his head.

Eva could tell Ivan didn't take a wink of sleep. She knew Ivan and Arna had a good relationship - friendship. Even when they were in different countries, they always were in contact with each other despite their busy schedules.

Seeing his dull face, Eva went to him and rubbed his back head, "I am sorry, Ivan. I shouldn't have put you in an awkward position." He had brought Arna out. She had left Arna in tears. Eva knew she pushed Ivan into trouble.

He wasn't expecting an apology from his mother. If one should be coaxed and taken care of was Arna, not him. He stood up and took his mother to the chair on the other side of the desk. He sat with her and narrated what had happened in both Arna and Naira's perspective, which he had recently got to know entirely.

As he had expected, Eva didn't know the entire situation, but whatever Naira had told them. Eva was overwhelmed, understanding what Arna had gone through and how much she feared to return.

She suddenly got up and tried to rush out when Ivan held her hand, "Mom, what's wrong?" His voice was slightly panicked.

Eva's eyes were bright red. She inhaled a quick breath before revealing, "To meet Snow."

Ivan: "..."

Isaac, who was at the door, asked in a dilemma, "You aren't angry anymore?" Eva turned to Isaac, who was leaning on the door frame in disbelief. Even Isaac didn't know the whole thing other than knowing what Naira had told them all. He realized Morgans hadn't told anybody because they didn't want others to treat Naira poorly.

"Mom, if I had told you yesterday after I got to know, would you have scolded Snow?" Ivan asked, thinking if he made a mistake by not telling everything to his mother.  What he could do, he had heard from Arna when they were in the cafe.

Eva turned to Ivan, who was at another side. She nodded in response, indicating she would have still scolded Arna. "I understand Snow was too young and afraid. She should have at least let Arrie speak with her when Arrie repeatedly tried to reach her. Arrie was mailing Snow also, and I don't think Snow ever read it. When she knew she was in the wrong, why did she continue even after many years? I would have still slapped her a few times." She sounded grim, remembering everything.

Isaac: "..."

Ivan was flustered, thinking Eva was going to Arna to scold her more, "Mom, why are you going to Snow then?"

Eva shrugged without knowing why his son was still clueless, "To nag her. I am not angry anymore."

'Nag?' Isaac wanted to smack her head but avoided due to their son.

Ivan breathed in relief before letting go of her hand. He watched his father trying to reason with her as it was too early to go, but Eva wanted to see Arna realizing she was very harsh on her.

He wasn't in the mood for breakfast, so he got ready and went to the office to take care of the client signing meeting. All the way, he was thinking about how he was going to face Aria and Alan if he visited Skyline.

His work started with a worry of Arsh, who didn't contact him. Ivan wanted Arsh to vent his frustration out else the distance between them would increase. He wanted to call Arsh but stopped himself, afraid of disturbing his sleep.

'Snow.' He kept his mobile away and sighed. He didn't know why; all he could get on his lips was an apology when he thought of speaking to her.

Running his fingers through his hair, he left out a sigh. If everything had gone as he thought, he would have confessed to Arna the previous evening and spoken with Eva in the morning about everything.

The intercom ringing on his desk brought him to real-time. He answered it without checking its screen. "Yes?"

[Ivan, come to my office.] Ivan subconsciously jerked up hearing Aria's unemotional voice. He was about to greet her, but the call ended. 

Unknown fear crept in as he took a file that needed Aria's attention. For the first time, he wanted the extended distance from his office to Aria. His decisive long strides were short as he passed by his secretary without hearing her greet. 

He started imagining how Aria might react and how it will affect their work. 'Will I have to change this job?' It wasn't a big deal, but he didn't want to leave on a wrong note. 'What if Aunt Aria bans me? Will Aunt Aria ask me to stay away from Snow? Will she mistreat me?'

Battling with his thoughts, he didn't see Levi passing by him. Levi was surprised when Ivan absentmindedly walked without hearing him. He didn't disturb Ivan, seeing him worried.

Ivan knocked on the door and pushed the door open. He saw Aria focusing on her computer screen while her slender fingers flew on the keyboard at unimaginable speed. He wondered if he could attain that talent. 

His focus shifted back when he had to take a step in. He felt his heartbeats loud when he entered as he closed the door behind him. His eyes were on Aria, but her eyes were fixed on the computer.

He greeted, "President Cooper." His voice was cautious. He placed a file on her desk as he said, "President Cooper, the promotion list has been fixed. It needs your signature for further processing."

Aria hummed without moving her focus from the screen. Despite knowing she was checking on essential matters, he felt each second like a test.

'Is she firing me?' Negativity clutched his throat.