Stand for Love Ch. 06

He quickly turned around and saw a brunette maid who'd been serving them for a long time. She was one of the most loyal housemaids in the house.

Noah removed the phone from his ear, cut the call and went near her. He stood straight, staring at her. She seemed terrified and she was shaking.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything." She apologized, bowing down. "No one else should be dragged to the police."

"Why?" Noah said angrily, folding his arms. "Did you happen to poison the soup?"

She gasped terribly. "No!" She exclaimed, shaking. "I'd never do that to her. I just happened to see...something. I'm not sure it's even the truth but I've..."

"Just say it," Noah snapped, breathing heavily.

"I don't want to put anyone in trouble." She said softly. "I'm not even..."

"Say it!" Noah said angrily. He was trembling really badly. He needed to know and put the person behind bars. "It's either you tell me or I drag you to the police so that they could get it out of you."

"I'm sorry," She bowed. "I was passing by the kitchen and I happened to see someone who I suspect might have poisoned ma'am Victoria."

Everybody's hearts were pounding in their chests. They were waiting to hear the one who had poisoned the soup.

Adrian was getting worried by what the maid had said. Last he remembered there was no one in the kitchen at that time.

Noah took a deep breath before he softly said, "Who?"

The maid sighed. "Sir...sir, Adrian,"

Adrian's eyes watered. His body trembled, his mouth gaped and his head was spinning. He had his mouth open but nothing came out of it. His heart was beating miles away and his strength was slowly leaving him. He'd just being pointed out as the one who poisoned Victoria.

It was hurting really bad especially since the maid had accused him. Now he was sure something was going on. No wonder he had been feeling uneasy. It was all clear.

"What?" Adrian gasped. He struggled to breath.

"Adrian, please," Noah dismissed Adrian leaving him in pain. "Let her finish,"

"I'm sorry," the maid apologized. "I don't know if I saw it correctly."

"Tell me everything you saw." Noah commanded. "I want it all now."

The maid bowed. "Last night I was passing by the kitchen when I saw..." She paused and gulped. "...I saw Sir Adrian throwing a small bottle in the dustbin. I'm not sure but I'm only saying what I saw."

Nicholas' heart was racing. That maid was lying. His Adrian couldn't do a thing like that, never. He completely trusted his Adrian.

"You are lying," Nicholas yelled as he brought Adrian's head closer to his chest.

He felt his pain and he couldn't take anything against his Adrian. His Adrian was completely innocent. He couldn't hurt a fly.

Nicholas felt Adrian tense up in his arms. It was clear the boy was surprised and hurt.

"Really," Jake snapped. "If it was somebody else you'd have gladly dragged him to..."

"Enough!" Noah yelled, panting like an animal.

Noah stared at all the maids present.

"Did any of you find any bottle when sweeping the house this morning?"

"No," one of the maids said in a trembling voice. "Actually, the whole house hasn't been swept. We were worried and that's why we..."

"Great," Noah exclaimed. "Why don't we go and check the bin. We'll find out if what the maid has said is all true."

From that tone, Adrian knew immediately that Noah doubted him. But he had nothing to fear because he hadn't poisoned any soup. That maid was lying and he had no idea why. He hadn't used any bottle in that kitchen so all that accusation was futile.

Adrian watched as Noah walked towards him and stared at him for a long. That look gave him creeps. He just wanted to prove himself innocent. There was no bottle and that was the truth.

"Adrian!" Noah called. "I'm really sorry but I have no choice."

Adrian felt a tear run down his cheeks. Nicholas was holding him tightly but he was slowly slipping.

"I didn't do anything," Adrian muttered. "I swear to you. You know..."

"I don't know anything," Noah said hoarsely. "I need to find that person who had my mother poisoned. If you are not the one..." Noah looked away and put his hands together. "...I'll apologize to you."

"I didn't do anything," Adrian said as another tear ran down his cheeks. "I'm being..."

"Then come with me," Noah said. He extended his hand and held on to Adrian's hand.

Adrian looked at the hand touching him and he nodded. He had nothing to be afraid of. They were gonna find nothing since he didn't do anything wrong.

He felt Nicholas' arms leave him and he felt empty. His heart was beating so fast and his entire body was shaking. He could already see that Noah was furious. He hadn't seen him like that before. But he understood the guy anyway.

Adrian followed Noah into the kitchen while all the others remained. In just a few seconds they were already in the kitchen. Adrian's heart was pounding and he felt weak.

"Here we are," Noah said softly, letting go of his hand. "We'll find out if at all you poisoned my mother or not."

Adrian dropped his head and closed his eyes, feeling warm tears falling down his cheeks.

"I didn't do anything to mother," Adrian said softly. "You'll find nothing there."

He opened his eyes just in time to see Noah kneeling down in front of the dustbin. He was certain there was nothing in that bin.

Adrian watched as Noah picked up the bin and emptied its content on the white tiled floor. It was just a bunch of peels from the vegetables, nothing else. He was breathing fine again even when Noah raised his head and stared at him.

Noah too his fingers and slowly searched the content one by one. Adrian was relieved. He'd been telling the truth. It was just a bunch of vegetable peels.

"I told you I..."

Adrian trailed off. His eyes and mouth gaped. His brain froze and he was suddenly shaking like a leaf. What he had seen was enough to scare even the strongest person on earth.

Just down below, covered by an orange peel was a small brown bottle. Adrian's mouth shook and his body felt cold. Tears were already running down his cheeks uncontrollably. He knew he had to be strong but at that point there was no single strength left in him. He slightly moved and leaned to a wall for support.

He watched as Noah carefully picked the bottle and held it in his hands. He was really hoping it was not what he was thinking. He really hoped so because it'd be a disaster for him. He'd never get out of that situation if his fears came true.

Noah slowly got up, held the bottle in his hand and carefully read it. From the way his face was sweating Adrian could tell his suspicions were right. But he was still hoping for the best.

His suspicions were proved right once Noah brought that empty bottle close to him. He was now in deep shit. He couldn't think clearly as his mind was instantly blocked. Sweat began forming on his skin and his head was spinning. That bottle scared him big time.

"Poison," Adrian read.

He could see the horror in Noah's eyes and he felt like he was about to receive a really hot slap. He felt Noah's breathing become violent and his fists clenched, shaking terribly. He'd never be able to escape that if Noah punched him at all.

"It was you?" Noah bellowed, coming closer to Adrian. "You did this? You emptied this..." Noah raised his shaking hand to show the bottle to Adrian. "...You emptied it in my mother's soup."

Adrian gasped in pain. He was really hurt. God, he knew he had never even seen that poison bottle in his life till now. It was so confusing. He couldn't think properly and he was suddenly struck by a terrible headache. His head was pulsing and every blood that passed through his veins was like poison.

"I...I," He stammered, trying to understand what the hell was going on.

Noah grabbed his arm furiously making him wince.

"Come with me," Noah said hoarsely as he dragged him out of the kitchen.

His arm was hurting really badly. His heart was on fire and his mind was blocked. While being driven there, all he felt were warm tears that made their way down his cheeks. The pain he felt was worse than anything else. He'd never even thought of killing Victoria, not to talk of poisoning her. Some was framing him for what he didn't do.

"Look at her," Noah pointed angrily to his mother seated on the couch.

Adrian came back to reality. He hadn't even realized that they were back to the living room. His confused mind was playing tricks on him. He felt frozen. Looking at Victoria only gave him more fear than he'd thought he'd ever have in his life. There was something deep inside of him that was hurting really badly.

Nicholas had no idea what was going on. His Adrian was in tears and his brother was furiously pointing at their mother. He had no idea but what he knew was that he had to hold his Adrian and prevent his brother from saying anything.

"What happened?" Emily asked as she went nearer.

"You won't believe it, aunt," Noah snapped, tightening his grip on Adrian's arm. "This boy actually poisoned my mother."

Nicholas instantly froze when he heard his brother's statement. He was accusing his Adrian of poisoning their mother's food.

"How can you make such allegations?" Emily said angrily. "Yes, Adrian made the soup but you and I both know that..."

"I found this," Noah let go of Adrian's arm and raised the small bottle of poison.

Nicholas' heart broke. It still failed to accept that his Adrian had poisoned his mother. It was really impossible. There was no way Adrian would do that.

"I did cook the soup," Adrian sobbed, feeling a sharp pain in his heart. "But I didn't poison her food. I have never seen that bottle all my life."

Adrian's face was flooded with tears. He was shaking terribly. There was nothing else to do. He couldn't even think properly about what to do. He couldn't even raise his face to Nicholas. He couldn't do it because he didn't want to see him hurt.

"Of course," Jake said angrily. "It just magically appeared in the bin, right?"

Adrian nodded his head, sobbing uncontrollably. The pain was too much. He had never cried in front of his in laws but he couldn't help it.

"I didn't do such a thing?" Adrian cried. "What would I gain..."

"I don't know," Noah snapped, throwing the bottle furiously on the floor. It broke into pieces. "All I know is that you tried to kill my mother."

Everyone was quiet and Adrian knew that he'd be in jail if he didn't act fast. He had to beg the one person who had brought all this up. She needed to clear that misunderstanding and save him from that torture. It was too much to bear.

Adrian quickly ran towards the maid who had started all this up. He held his hands together and begged,

"Please," Adrian begged as more tears ran down his face. "Please, tell the truth and save me from this. I know you know the complete truth. Tell them what you know,"

The maid bowed her. "I'm truly sorry," She sobbed. "I've already told them what I saw."

"You are lying," Adrian yelled into her face. He used his hand and grabbed her by the uniform. "You are lying. Why are you trying to set me up?"

"This is not a setup," Adrian heard a voice say angrily.

He let go of the maid and quickly turned around. It was Arianna who had just spoke and she was looking furious with a tear running down her cheek.

"What?" Nicholas muttered. "You've got to believe me and..."

"Why should I?" Arianna said hoarsely. "It is all clear that you had tried to kill mother. There was no one else in this house that'd have done it."

"Arianna," Emily said, trying to touch her before she withdrew. "What, aunt? Are you still gonna defend him? Mother almost died and it's all because of his fault."

More tears ran down Adrian's face. He was flooded. It was like one by one they were ganging up on him. He was getting afraid because they had been so good to him since the day he came back to the house.

"You have to believe me," Adrian cried.

Arianna came closer and Adrian literally died. He'd never seen her like that. She was just this girl who was lively and sweet. Now she was like this angry lady who was ready to have his head on a platter.

"I won't," Arianna shouted in his face. He closed his eyes as a shot of pain hit his head. "You tried to kill my mother and for what, because you hated her?"

"I'd never hurt mother," Adrian cried. "I had no reason to,"

"Of course," Arianna chuckled angrily. "We both know that mother has always disapproved of your relationship with Nicholas. She always preferred Jake for him. You got pissed and decided to eliminate her before she could do that, right?"

"No," Adrian cried heavily. "Mother..."

"Maybe mother was right," Arianna said loudly. "Maybe you are not good for my brother."

"No," Adrian nodded as more tears flooded his face. "Please, don't say that."

"Yes and from now on, I'll never speak to you." She yelled. "I hate you and I never want to see your face again."

"Arianna..." Before Adrian could even say what he had to, Arianna went away from him leaving him empty and sad. He had no idea where the other members stood. They might as well say what they had to say to him.

"Arianna is right," Clara said loudly. "You almost killed your mother in law. A son in law is meant to bring peace and not death. I think you are really dangerous. I wonder what else is in your mind."

"You know me," Adrian cried. "I'd never do such a thing."

"I'm sorry, Adrian," Clara muttered. "I'm with Arianna on this one."

Nicholas was hurting. He didn't know what to think or who to trust. His Adrian was a sweet, sweet, innocent boy. Everything about him was absolutely innocent. No way in this world would he harm anyone? All those comments from his sister and Clara were really painful especially the part where they didn't want to see him.

On the other hand, his mother had been poisoned and he had no idea who could have done it. He would have gladly accused Jake but the guy loved his mother like super crazy. There was no way he would hurt her and besides, Jake had not been in the room.

He felt like he had played a part in the poisoning of his mother. He had forced Adrian to make the soup even when he felt like Adrian didn't want to. That didn't mean anything though. He was a little bit doubting but he couldn't accept his Adrian had done that.

He wanted to rush to him and kiss those tears of his but he was frozen. He couldn't move any part of his body. He was numb and he was in pain, deep pain. That was the pain of his mother poisoned and his Adrian being accused. He just didn't know what to do.

Adrian ran to Emily and looked at her. She had tears in her eyes and he couldn't read what she was thinking. His heart was really hoping she had believed him. He was really hoping so.

Adrian touched her hand and stared deep in her brown eyes.

"You believe me, don't you?" Adrian cried. "You believe I didn't poison mother. I...I'm not like that. Please, you have to believe me."

Emily was deeply hurt. Deep down she knew that Adrian was innocent but she couldn't say anything to him either. She just stared at him while he cried. She had never seen him cry so it kinda got to her so badly. She had never seen a boy cry like that. She wanted to hold him, embrace him and tell him she believed him but on the other hand she couldn't say a thing or do anything.

Adrian saw that Emily was not responding to anything. He understood but he had to try one more person. He ran to granny and fell on her feet. He respected her a lot and he really hoped that she'd understand him unlike the others who'd chosen not to believe him.

"Granny...granny," He cried heavily, holding her feet. "Please, believe me. I didn't do it. I never poisoned mother. I know it's hard to believe but....you believe me, right? I just need....I need..."

Adrian's voice just went away. All that was heard were his sobs. It didn't seem to affect anyone and it was hurting so fucking badly. Even granny didn't believe.

"Please,"

Adrian cried for almost a minute on granny's feet. He was slowly losing hope till he felt hands sweetly rubbing on his back. He raised his head and saw granny staring at him with sympathy on her face.

"Please, get up," Granny said softly. "It's really hard and confusing. But I know that you didn't do it. I believe you,"

"You do," Adrian gasped as more tears flooded his eyes. He cried even more. At least there was still one person that believed him.

"Thank you so much," Adrian cried. "This really means a lot to me."

He cried even more till he felt her hand on his face, slowly rubbing his tears away. That was really sweet but instead of stopping his tears was now flowing faster.

Nicholas was in pain. He saw Adrian right in front of him but he couldn't do anything. It was supposed to be him rubbing those tears away and not his grandmother. He was supposed to stand out for his love not his grandmother. He was really confused and couldn't think properly.

He looked at Noah and he was trembling terribly clenching his fists. His sister on the other was on the couch holding their mother who had not uttered a word but just watched. The rest were sad and angry.

Nicholas felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked past his shoulder and saw George with a frown on his face. George signaled for him to go to Adrian. George was really emotional and it showed in everything that he did. It was clear to Nicholas that George was concerned about Adrian. He was only quiet probably because it involved the family and he had no words to say.

"Thank you." Adrian muttered, feeling the warm hands on granny rubbing his cheeks sweetly. "Thank you so..."

"Enough!" Noah yelled throughout the house.

He came near and gripped Adrian's arm. It was in pain again and his cries increased. He had experienced pain but that was too much. Noah was a powerful man and his arms was being twisted making him wince in pain.

"Please," Adrian begged.

"I've had enough," Noah snapped.

"Let him go," Granny yelled.

"I'm sorry," Noah said softly but his voice was hoarse. "I'm really sorry granny."

"Please," Adrian begged.

Noah took him to Victoria again and made him stare at her.

"Just look at her," Noah said angrily. "This woman wouldn't have been alive. She would have died and it was all because of you." He said angrily. "I hate you so much for trying to make us orphans. We've lost our father and I won't let you take our mother." He breathed violently. "I'm going to teach you a big lesson that will make you not to do this again."

"What?" Adrian muttered.

"I'll teach you never to mess with my mother again." Noah said, clenching his teeth. Adrian was really scared of him.

"Since you came here you've seen nothing but love from me." He warned. "But you'll also experience just how much I can hate someone. I'll make you pay for this."

As soon as he said that he shoved his hands in his pockets and got out his huge phone. By the time he brought it closer he was breathing heavily. That was making Adrian really scared and nervous. Tears kept on flowing. It was true he had never seen Noah that angry before. He was really scared.

He let go of Adrian's arm and Adrian touched it. He was sure it was gonna leave bruises but he didn't care. He needed to prove that he had not done any of that.

"What are you doing?" Nicholas screamed out.

"What does it look like?" Noah hissed, busy pressing on his phone. "I'm calling the police inspector."

"No," Nicholas screamed out in horror.

He ran to his brother and held his hand tightly. He loved Adrian and didn't want him to go anywhere. Besides, Adrian had saved Victoria from going to jail too.

"Please," Nicholas begged. "Don't do that. I'm sure Adrian didn't do it. I trust him completely."

Adrian raised his face and saw the pain on Nicholas' face. It hurt him a lot and he wanted to wipe that away. Seeing him pleading with his brother was sweet. Maybe he could make Noah understand and bring his temper down.