Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever

Oliver lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Although he had known the truth about him to see the light, he had not expected it to be this soon. He was utterly unprepared for it. But he was not worried. This was a truth he never wanted to hide and he had no reasons to do so either.

Although he was embarrassed about what he had done, he did not regret it, not when he was not in the wrong. Instead, he was utterly satisfied and happy about it. But he did not know if his daughters too would feel the same about it. Maybe they would find his actions in the past repulsive, downright despicable.

Just the thought of him losing his daughters due to this, made him tear up and Oliver sat up immediately. From the nightstand beside his bed, he retrieved a photo from one of the drawers and stared at it for some time. A smile graced his lips as he saw his family in their younger days.

Oliver ran his thumb over the photo, his smile only widening when he thought of the good old days when his wife was still alive. "Susan." He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. "I just hope our daughters will not leave me after they learn what I did. Just a few hours and my entire life truth will be out."

Oliver hugged the photo and let out a sigh again. "Aria, Ivy, it is all up to you now."

Meanwhile, Ian kept pacing back and forth in his room, not knowing what to do and who to trust. The truth he had discovered at the port had shocked him greatly and he could only hope that Oliver was not the man he was thinking him to be. Even though he was filled with fatigue, his mind was filled with conflicting thoughts, forcing him to stay awake against his body's desires.

A knock at the door brought Ian out of his thoughts. "Come in," Ian ordered and pressed his forehead.

"How did it go, Ian?" Noah walked in and closed the door after him.

"Ahh..." Ian sighed and plopped on the bed, letting his tired body rest for a while. "Not bad but not good either."

"From your words and expression, shall I presume that you have not found the officer?" Noah hit the mark again and Ian nodded after some time.

"We have searched the entire port but the man is nowhere. I wonder what happened and how he managed to get away." Ian raised his brows and shook his head lightly.

"Do you suspect anything?" The one thing Noah and the other two men in their group were good at was reading each other's expressions. From Ian's countenance alone, he could make out that something was running in his mind. 𝙛𝑟𝘦ℯ𝘄e𝙗nov𝙚𝑙. 𝐜𝑜𝗺

"Maybe. I don't know." Ian shrugged. He was too drained out to make a head or tail of his thoughts. All he wanted was to sleep for some time before he thought about the day's incident again. However, that was not possible considering how messed up his thoughts were, especially after the truth he had found out about Oliver.

"What's wrong, Ian? You seem troubled." Noah did not miss Ian's absent-minded look and he turned around completely so that he was facing his friend.

"It's just..." Ian stopped when he recalled Oliver's words. Since the man had promised that he would reveal everything the next day, Ian decided to wait for him, instead of jumping to conclusions. Otherwise, he would only be blaming an innocent person if he was in the wrong.

"Nothing. I am just a little tired from the day's work and Preston missing has kept my mind occupied." Ian flashed a smile at Noah to convince him even though he had an inkling that man did not buy his words.

"Are you sure?" Noah narrowed his eyes and gave him a suspicious look.

"Yes, I am. Trust me. Everything is fine." Ian added.

"In that case, I will see you tomorrow. Take some rest." Noah stood up and patted Ian's shoulder.

Noah stopped and turned around when a thought entered his mind. "Ian?"

"Hmm?"

"Irrespective of what the matter is and what trouble you are facing, you can always tell me about it. Joshua and I will always be with you."

"I know." Ian smiled at him faintly and Noah nodded in return before he walked out of the room.

Ian lay on his bed and the moment his body touched the soft and cozy mattress, his exhaustion took over him and pushed away all his thoughts to the back of his mind. 'Oliver, do not break my trust. Otherwise, do not blame me for being rude even if you are my best friend's father.'

The next day, Oliver was already waiting for Ian at the dining table and a silent conversation ensued between them which no one noticed.

"Good Morning." Aria entered the dining hall with Noah right behind her while Ivy and Joshua joined them a few minutes after.

All the people took their seats and Ian glanced at Oliver again, who was already looking at him with a strange emotion in his eyes. Something in his eyes made Ian wary of him and he narrowed his eyes immediately.

"Ian, why do you look exhausted? Did you not sleep well?" Ivy queried while she helped herself to some food. Among the people, only the sisters did not know what Ian had done the previous night.

"Where is Maggie by the way? Why is she not here?"

"That...She is at the hospital." Noah answered her question and the sisters stopped whatever they were doing immediately.

"Why? What happened to her? Is she alright?" Aria fired, her eyes dilating in fright and Noah held her hand to assure her.

"Her Deputy and other colleagues faced a mishap last night. She has gone to look after them. I will take you there after breakfast." Noah expressed and Aria gave him a dubious look, one that had Noah looking back at her with equal vigor.

A tense silence fell on everyone and Oliver took it as his cue to start speaking.

"Everyone," He started and waited until he had everyone's attention on him. "I have something important to say, more like to confess."

Everyone's ears perked up after seeing his bizarre choice of words.

"This is a secret I have kept to myself for a long time and it is now time for me to come clean."

Confusion filled everyone's minds and they looked at Oliver as though he had grown two heads.

"Dad, what are you speaking about? What secret of yours do you want to share with us?" Ivy glanced at everyone, who had a similar expression as hers before she focused on her father.

"And why do you look so anxious? What's wrong?" Aria added while Ian just looked at him with a grave expression on his face.

"Does anyone here know about Mission Code X? Has anyone heard about it?"

No one reacted when Oliver mentioned the mission, no one except Ivy. The moment she heard about the mission, her eyes widened in shock and she stood up immediately on reflex, gaining everyone's attention on her.