Dearest Noelle,

    Today marks two months of your disappearance. I'm so worried about you. We heard about Mr. Marshall's disappearance from the center, and now you're gone too. Although, the authorities state that you were perfectly fine, when you left the center, I couldn't help but wonder—I can't even say it aloud.

   Your anguished eyes appear in the worst of my nightmares, you know? I remember standing at the far end of aisle during my wife's funeral. Everyone was looking at me with contempt. And then you came beside me, brushed your fingers softly against mine, to offer me comfort. You always cared about me so much. Never left me alone. And what did I do? I jerked your hand away; the next morning, when you came to check up on me, I asked you, "Did you kill her? Tell me, Noelle, did you kill Juliet?"

    I wish, I could take it back. Take everything back—the marriage, the heartbreak, and most importantly, your pain. Because when you looked at me that day-like a bullet sliced your chest-with so much anguish in your eyes. That was the last time we saw each other. During your time in juvie, you never did see me once. All the damn time, I was tormented by the anguish in your eyes, Noelle.

    But now, I would do anything, anything, to even see those sad eyes. Angry eyes. Just a glimpse would quench my thirst. Your arms would be heaven.

    Do come back, Noelle.

    Ever yours,

    Aiden

― Aiden Summers to Noelle Montcliff after eight weeks of her disappearance.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

    "Nobody is bulletproof, Noel. Are you sure you want to go through this?" Cecily—the ever cautious Cecily—exhorted over the phone. Cecily Martin was the first friend she made during her time in juvie. Their story of friendship was quite the scene out of a movie: from enemies to well—friends. Cecily knew Noelle's every secret, everything from her childhood to the last, horrid night in the juvie.

    Had it not been Cecily, Noelle would've been rotting somewhere. They had made a blood oath to help each other, whatever the circumstances. Men were not to be trusted, especially not in matters of revenge. That's why they had decided to become each other's men: Cecily was Cecil to Noelle, and Noelle was Noel to Cecily. They often saved each other from men's advances, well, by emergency phone calls—from possessive boyfriends to brothers who would kill for their sisters.

    "Cecil, I need this. You know, how I have been after that night. This gives me purpose. I know, it is not an ideal situation, but I lost everything to that family, and I can't let them stand so tall, when they have destroyed my entire universe."

    "I understand," Cecily conceded with a sigh. "Just be careful. This is a very dangerous game you're playing. No one knows it better than me."

    "I know. I just want to finish this up, so I can come back home. I miss everyone so much!" Cecily and Noelle had vowed to help the ones who were less fortunate. Cecily, having lived in foster care after a fire destroyed her home and her entire family, was no stranger to pain, just like Noelle.

    Noelle, after expanding her small inheritance from her mother's trust fund, made it sure to spend it on matters that were important. She knew how charities were so shallow in the social whirl of Cherry Hills, so she made sure, she was personally involved everywhere. Be it the orphanages they were associated with, or lodging of young girls who were exposed to hostility like rape, prostitution or domestic violence, Cecily and Noelle took care of people like they were family.

    "Well, they miss you too, and are giving you their toothless smiles. I have to go now, but promise me you will take care."

    "Bye, my Cecil. I miss you dearly."

    "I miss you too, Noel."

═══════════════════════════

    She was all alone left in the house now, after dismissing Gerald from his duty. After sharing their last meal together in the Pancake House in the morning, she had asked Gerald to leave for Newark to his family after providing his monthly wage. She couldn't keep him here, knowing how dangerous it could be in her mission. Dragging him into her mess would simply not do. In the morning, she went to see him off while a station wagon came in with the rest of her stuff. She was yet to unpack, having only use the things, she kept in her travelling valise the previous night.

    Unpacking, that she could do, along with the torturous wait for the next move by Montcliffs. She was sure Aiden would've dropped the news of her arrival to the Montcliffs by now. Sighing, she trudged outside her house toward the station wagon, then stretched her body lazily. She had dismissed the wagon driver, needing her privacy. He was too big, and looked a little shady.

    It was typical weather, with the slightest trace of afternoon sun. She opened the trunk of her car, and bodily lifted two heavy boxes towards the porch and placed them neatly. It was then when a hand snaked around her waist. Startled by the action, Noelle removed her boot knife, then turned reflexively to place the tip of the knife inches away from the person's carotid artery.

    Blue eyes met her green ones. During her childhood, she often wondered what would be the color of their children—foolish dreams, really. The gall of this man-he was grinning, "Little Noelle, not so little anymore."

    She looked at him with an admonishing manner, "What are you doing here, sneaking around like a thief?"

    Aiden's grin grew wider. Noelle felt like completing her action, he was that exasperating. "Tell me, I don't remind you of yourself. You used to do this all the time, Noe."

    "Don't forget your pregnable position, Mr. Summers." Noelle chided, ducking her head towards the knife in a censured motion, then sighed in exasperation, "Please, do not test my patience. I have a lot of things to do."

    "Place dressing up for a masquerade ball, and attending it at the top of your list. Grandmother asked me to personally invite you at her Manor tonight. Also, do quit calling me Mr. Summers. It's annoying." he said with a seraphic smile, then dropped a quick peck on her right cheek which was away from the knife.

    "Aiden," she breathed out, then turned one-eighty degrees to stab the knife into the box. Everything she could manage, everything but him. "I want to impale you like this."

    "Okay, sweet Noelle. You may do so, I won't retort if it makes you smile. You do smile now, right?"

    "Oh, please do stop. We are not kids anymore."

    "Okay, okay." he conceded, but Noelle didn't bother to turn around to check his face if he was serious in his surrender. "So, you're moving in? That's just great! Do you want me to help you while you unpack?" Noelle looked at him, nonplussed. It seemed as if she was not the only one who had changed. "Of course, I'm going to help you!" He answered for her, then walked towards the wagon to lift a box.

    Noelle sighed. "You are acting like a daft," she then picked up her knife, tucked it in her boot, and lifted the boxes inside the house, while he trotted behind her. After they gathered all the boxes, Noelle caught her breath. Aiden kept on poking at her with questions, but all he got was cold glares in replies from her. The cardboard boxes were scrawled across the floor, with white labels stuck on them.

    They started unpacking the stuff; there wasn't much—clothes, books, memoirs, confidential files and essentials. Aiden's gaze lingered on the boxes labelled as memoirs. Of course, he wanted to learn about the new side of Noelle. Noelle Frostine was nothing but a stranger to him.

    "May I?"

    Noelle gave him a silent nod, her breathing becoming erratic. He picked out the first thing, a statue of Odysseus. "Odysseus. I used to narrate stories from The Adventures of Ulysses for the children in the orphanage in Durham. He was a warrior, and it was like giving them a tiny bit of hope that they were not alone in the world, and there was someone to look after them." Aiden felt like the luckiest man in the world, because he saw a glimmer of smile on her face when she spoke.

    He recalled how she used to associate her dad with Gabriel, the archangel. He often asked her which mythological character did he remind her of. She wouldn't tell him that, but she always said that Juliet reminded her of Cyclopes. He would laugh at her then.

    "It's wonderful," he gave her a smile in return, and placed the statue tidily on the table. Next he picked up her photo-frames from her travelling in Asia. She told him the stories behind them: her biking in Leh, hiking in Nepal and surfing in Bali. Cecilia was a constant in them, there were so many memories of them together.

    "How did the two of you met?" Aiden asked, internally groaning at seeing the same woman in most of the pictures, barring a few transient travelling friends.

    "We met in juvie, and became fast friends. Both had nowhere to go, so we decided to stick together. I had a little money from my mother's fund so, I invested it in well—do you remember my god father's son, Nicholas Brooke?—so yeah, he had this startup idea for which I invested because I trusted his instincts and it payed off well. Intercorp was a huge success, but I asked him to keep Cecily's name as the shareholder instead of me, so that–"

    "–you were not found." Aiden narrowed his eyes at her. "Very sneaky, and that's a lot of trust you put on this... Cecily." He spoke her name like she was a vermin.

    "I trust her with my life, Aiden." Noelle said, and meant it. Aiden gave her a nod, feeling jealous of this-this girl who replaced him in her life which was so irreverent. By God, he was jealous of every single person in her life who kept her away from him, especially the rat of a husband whom he couldn't find in those memoirs.

    He was probably in the box of essentials. It was for the good if Frostine didn't resurface, because he simply didn't like the idea of a married Noelle. His absence was exhilarating, he wished the man was forever booted in whatever remote corner of the world where he was, away from him. Away from her too. He was not going to acknowledge his presence at all.

    Aiden waited for her to ask questions about him, but she never asked. They stood in silence for sometime, then Noelle spoke, "That will be all. Thank you for the help, Aiden."

    "Don't you want to know about me? How was I all this time?" He sounded pathetic, but he didn't care. This was Noelle, and there was never any pretense in their relationship. It was all in the open. She murmured something incoherently between shallow breaths, so Aiden didn't wait for her to speak. "Apart from missing you every single day, I was miserable here. I waited for you here for some odd nine months, then realized you were not coming soon. So, I left this place and moved to New Jersey. Did a miserable, exhausting nine-to-five job which kept me busy, and missed you rest of the time. Searched for your face in the crowd, kept badgering Royce to know if you have come," he then chuckled, while his eyes turned moist. "There was a time when Royce wouldn't even have to wait for my question, and just shout over the phone with a dragged, 'no brother, she is not here.' Every day—every single day, I ached for you."

    "Aiden." Noelle shook her head; there were no tears rolling down her face, but he could see the anguish in her eyes.

    He wrapped his arms around her shoulder, "I'm sorry, Noelle." In that moment, the not so lovable Noelle felt so loved. He held her hard, bringing her closer—hard grip, cheek against hair, a gentle sway, eyes closed and ragged breaths. "I never thought, I could hold you this close again. Did I tell you, I missed you? So much—so very much."

    For a moment, just for a moment,   nothing mattered in the embrace of this sanctum. Her revenge, the pain, her defenses, nothing. Then a tremor hit, and slowly, she pulled away. But it was not enough, for Aiden felt the gasping loss of her. "I'm back," she held his hands, and gave them a gentle squeeze. "I'm back, and not going anywhere, anytime soon."

    "Oh, Noelle. It doesn't matter, because I'm never letting you go now."