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Chapter 688: False assurance

Noah leaned against the corridor wall as he waited outside the operation theater. It had been quite some time since the surgery had started and he had no idea about the status. As time passed, an unknown dread started to settle in his heart; the dread of losing his grandfather.         

Although Noah had been suspecting his old man for the past few days, his love for him eventually won over all other emotions. Even if he wanted to, he could not ignore his grandfather when he was in such a fragile and vulnerable state as he fought death.     

Rachel kept pacing back and forth while Samuel and Hailey sat beside each other as they waited for the surgery to end. Every passing moment was a like a tick of death to them and their fears increased gradually.     

Even if Rachel\'s mind was filled with worry for her grandfather, she was equally worried about Noah and she stopped walking when she saw the man staring at the floor absent-mindedly. She had never seen him this way before and for a moment, she did not know how to approach him and console him. He resembled nothing less than an abandoned puppy and her heart broke on seeing him this lost.     

"Noah," She stood beside him and hugged him from the side, tight enough to break him from his stupor but not strong enough to put him in pain. "Grandpa will be alright." She mumbled, her voice filled with uncertainty.     

Even though she was trying hard to console her broken brother, Rachel knew she had failed badly. Her dubious tone gave her away and Noah looked back at her blankly, his distant gaze still filled with grief.     

"Please get a hold of yourself, Noah. Grandpa would not want to see you this way. Please." Rachel stared at him in conviction, ignoring the tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill any time. "And Ian and Aria are with him. I\'m sure they\'ll take care of him."     

This time, her words of assurance worked and Noah took a deep breath as he blinked deeply to clear his thoughts. His clouded gaze vanished and he returned his self. However, Rachel could still see traces of despair in his eyes and she lowered her gaze, not knowing how else to make him feel better.     

"You are right, Rachel. Grandpa has to fight death. I still have a lot of questions to ask him and I\'ll not allow him to leave me or anyone else before he answers all of them. And if..." Noah stopped himself in time and glanced at his sister who was staring in the direction of the operation theater.     

\'If you are innocent as you claim yourself to be, old man,\' Noah thought in his mind, his gaze too now fixed on the operation theater doors. \'I\'ll not allow you to leave me before I fulfill your wish. Who will teach my kids the way I was taught? You have to fight, for yourself, for me, for us.\' He begged silently and waited hopefully.     

Nobody knew how much time had passed. Finally, after a long traumatizing wait, the doors to the operation theater opened and Ian and Aria walked out. Although neither of them had assisted in the surgery, they had still stayed in the operation theater just to be safe and the moment Noah saw them, he dashed towards them, startling Rachel who was leaning against him.     

"Ian, Aria, how\'s Grandpa? Is he alright? Is he awake? May I meet him? Did he ask for me?" Noah fired a bunch of questions as he looked back and forth between Ian and Aria, his hopeful gaze begging them desperately to give him the answer he was looking for.     

However, their serious expressions said otherwise and Noah\'s hope diminished instantly when he did not receive any response from the two.     

"What\'s wrong, Ian? What happened? Grandpa is fine, right? Aria?" Noah did not give up and shook his friend lightly by his shoulders. "Please say something."     

"Noah," Ian took a deep breath and glanced at Aria, who nodded at him in return. "We have tried our best. But his condition is still critical and we can only say anything after we observe him for the next forty-eight hours."     

"What do you mean, Ian? What are you trying to say?" Samuel stood beside his son and looked at Ian, his frown not leaving his face even for a moment.     

"Mr. Carter, if Grandpa does not gain his consciousness in the next forty-eight hours, we are afraid to say that chances of him waking up later is..."     

"No, Ian. Stop right there." Noah interrupted him even before Ian could continue and shook his head in denial. "Grandpa will wake up. He will for sure. He promised he would answer my questions. He cannot leave just like that. I\'ll not allow him to."     

The tears he had so badly stopped from flowing down started to run down his cheeks. Even Rachel was crying behind him as the Carter family looked at Ian and Aria helplessly, desperately.      

"Please do something. Anything. But save him. Please." Noah begged, not caring where he was and how he seemed to the others around him. To hell with his image when his grandpa was on the brink of death.     

"Noah, Noah." Aria held his hand and forced him to look at her. "Please stay strong. Grandpa will make it out alive. I trust him too."     

"But..."     

"You need to trust him, Noah. He needs you to be strong and I want you to stay strong." Aria did not care about Noah\'s parents. It was the first time she was meeting them after she got into a relationship with Noah. However, at that moment, all she had in mind was Noah and his well being and in order to calm him, she ignored everyone else.     

"Grandpa needs you and I\'m sure he will wake up soon."     

"Aria," Ian warned from the side. He understood her actions but he did not support them whatsoever. The old Carter\'s condition was serious and the chances of him waking up was bleak. Even he was unable to assure Noah and to think Aria had done just that even after knowing the truth, made him feel troubled.     

Aria gave a deaf ear to Ian\'s warning and hugged Noah. "Grandpa will wake up for sure. Just stay strong and.." She pulled back and looked at him in the eye. "Positive."