Chapter 72: Proposal

Noah's POV

After Grace passed away, Aria kicked me out of her room, and I hadn't had the guts to go near her since. I was scared she would never get over her grief and would continue to use her own life to threaten me. Plus, I was worried my presence might mess with her fragile emotions and make things worse for her health. She was already so heartbroken she couldn't even walk; I couldn't stand the thought of adding to her pain.

So, I kept myself super busy, throwing myself into the search for the hot spring. It was a good distraction to keep my mind off Aria. Furthermore, there was an ancient legend proclaiming that the hot springs possessed the power to expedite the healing of injuries remarkably. If I found them soon, maybe it would help Aria get back on her feet quicker.

But just when I was deep into the search, Aurora, who had been looking after Aria, hesitated before telling me that Aria had been missing for over three weeks.

I was furious when I heard this and chewed out the servants for not taking better care of Aria, which led to her disappearance. I was also scared out of my mind about what dangers she might be facing, especially since she couldn't walk.

In my rage, I punished all the servants, including Aurora, who had always been close to Aria.

Just as I was about to gather people to search for Aria, Victoria showed up.

I was completely baffled by Victoria's true motives. Every time we met, she shamelessly clung to me, uttering words that make my skin crawl.

Despite my countless warnings that I didn't like her, she wouldn't back off.

For Aria's sake, I sometimes wished I could just get rid of her, but I couldn't; the SilverBlade Pack and the vampire clan had a deep-seated hatred for each other. Victoria, being the personal secretary to the vampire king, if I killed her, it would definitely spark a full-blown war between our factions.

The SilverBlade Pack was already on shaky ground, so it was the worst time for a conflict. So, I put up with Victoria's gross behavior over and over again.

"I don't have time for your nonsense today. Get out of my way." I was desperate to find Aria and tried to push Victoria aside.

 However, Victoria seemed to anticipate my intentions, swiftly grabbing my arm and pulling herself directly into my embrace. "I know what you're up to. I can tell you where Aria is right now, but I have a condition."

Her sudden words shocked me, and I wondered how she knew what I was planning.

Seeing my confused expression, Victoria repeated, "Agree to my condition, and I'll tell you where Aria is right now."

She smiled mysteriously and added, "Plus, I can tell you something even more shocking."

Impatiently, I pushed her away. "Just spit it out already."

Victoria spoke proudly, "Introduce me to your father Jason as your girlfriend."

I thought she had to be out of her mind. As the closest woman to the vampire king, she couldn't seriously want to be my girlfriend.

"You don't need to know why I'm doing this. Just do what I ask, and that's all that matters," Victoria urged. "You ain't losing a thing. No need to think twice."

Victoria was nothing but trouble. I didn't want to get too involved with her, but for Aria's sake, I was willing to play along for now. It was just a verbal promise after all. Once I got what I needed, whether I kept my word or not was up to me. "Fine, once I find Aria, I'll introduce you to my father."

Victoria finally smiled with satisfaction and handed me a map. "This is Lucien's private villa. I followed him for a long time to draw this map. You can find Aria there."

'Why would Aria be at Lucien's private villa? Did Lucien kidnap her to threaten me? Damn vampires!' I cursed inwardly.

Victoria clung to me, holding my arm. "Oh, I forgot to tell you the shocking news. Aria is pregnant."

"Are you serious?" I grabbed Victoria's shoulders and asked, dead serious.

Victoria looked into my eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Lucien found a doctor to treat Aria. After the doctor came out, I stopped him and spent a lot of effort to get him to talk. It was the doctor himself who told me that Aria was pregnant. Based on the timing, it had been over a month now."

Aria was pregnant, and I was going to be a father. I'd been struggling to get my parents to accept Aria as my wife. But now that she was pregnant, they'd have to agree. I needed to bring Aria back and formally propose to her.

I pushed Victoria away, quickly transformed into my wolf form, and rushed to the villa on the map with Owen.

When we arrived at the villa, Lucien was angrily yelling at a group of servants. "You useless bunch, can't even take care of one woman. Get out of my sight!"

Hearing this, a sudden sense of dread washed over me. Had something happened to Aria? I rushed forward, transforming back into my human form. "Where is Aria?"

Seeing me and Owen, Lucien was momentarily surprised, then angrily yelled at me, "Who do you think you are? What right do you have to ask where Aria is? If it weren't for you, she wouldn't be unable to walk!"

I opened my mouth but found myself unable to argue. Lucien was right; it was my fault Aria was hurt.

Owen spoke up for me, "Mr. Blackwood, regardless of any disputes between Aria and Mr. Brooks, the most important thing now is to find Aria."

Hearing this, Lucien finally calmed down a bit. "Aria shouldn't be in too much trouble. We had a little misunderstanding yesterday. I think she left on her own. She still can't walk, so she shouldn't be far from here."

Lucien looked exhausted, like he hadn't rested well in a long time. He pleaded slightly, "I've already sent many people to search the surrounding area, and there should be results soon. If possible, please send your people to help search as well."

'Aria and Lucien had a misunderstanding? What's their relationship? Forget it, there's no time to think about that now. We need to make sure Aria is safe first,' I thought.

The people Lucien and I sent to search for Aria reported back almost twice a day, but there was no progress each time.

My heart grew heavier with each passing day, countless terrible scenarios playing out in my mind as I wondered, 'Aria, where are you? Are you okay?'