Support and encouragement

Laila not fully understanding why Noah was sounding so worried, almost sad, as he was saying this to her but continued to patiently listen as Noah continued to explain. "Well the thing is. At that moment we didn't have much time to think about what to do and our options were limited. So, having to act fast with little information, we decided that I should sell our fighting idea to Olivia some more by asking her for a date."

This was when Laila reacted. In shock she exclaimed, "A date!?! What do you mean a date. Between you and her?" Noah let out a small sigh. "Calm down for a minute and listen. I know this sucks. Believe me I do. I hate the very idea of having to go to dinner with her as well. But I see no other way for the moment. To solidify the image of my affections shifting from you to her, I needed to do this. If I make her believe that you and I are still fighting and that the interest I showed in her last night is real, then she will get off our backs. It will buy us more time to prepare and think up a plan to deal with all three of them at the same time. With Jake getting occupied again with his life-long obsession with you, he won't have time to worry about me. That way we can take action from the shadows, with neither of them being any wiser."

After hearing Noah's full explanation, she got a better idea of the situation he was in and understood his reasoning. He was in a tough situation with a tough call to make and he made it. She couldn't say that she wouldn't have done the same thing in that situation. But, this did not mean she was any happier about the current situation. The mere thought of Olivia being at dinner with Noah, thinking she had bested her. Olivia was probably already imagining herself in her and Noah's house, feeling smug and looking down on her even more than she already did. A bit reluctantly Laila gave in and after a saddened sigh she said, "I suppose you are right. But I really, really hate this situation. I wish there was another way."

Noah felt bad for the situation he was putting Laila in and he too didn't like the way things would be for the time being but right now he knew that he needed to be there for her. Give her some extra mental support and encouragement as she was already dealing with enough with the pregnancy and all. Now he needed to add this burden on her shoulders as well. So, whatever he could do to ease some of that burden for her, he would. Starting with helping her see things in a more positive light and hopefully lessening some of her worries.

"I know the situation we are in isn't great. But the sooner we think of a plan, the sooner we can get rid of them and return to our normal lives. I don't want either of them hanging around when our son enters this world. They would become too much of a threat at that point and I don't want to waste any second of my precious time with our family on any of them. If me going to dinner with Olivia will help us reach our goal faster and give us a higher chance of success on our first try, then that is an sacrifice worth making right? Plus, right now you have Maria by your side to keep you company and help take your mind of things. So, this is the perfect time for something like this. Don't you agree?"

Laila let out another sigh and said, "Yeah...You are right. I guess I won't see you until later tonight then. There is nothing much either of us can do at this point but to accept the situation for what it is. I'm sure I'll be fine. Like you said, I have Maria by my side. I'll let you go now. I am sure you have enough to do at work besides comforting your wife over a dinner with someone else."

Noah could still hear the disappointment and sadness in Laila's voice and he couldn't really blame her but there was only so much he could do from over here. He would have to reassure her some more tonight but for now his words would have to do. Noah closed the conversation off by saying, "I know this isn't a fun situation to be in but I promise we will get through this. Just be patient and keep believing in us. No matter what you hear or see during this time because none of it will be real. I really can't stress this fact enough and I will record these words for you if you need me to, so you can listen to it whenever you are in doubt. Heck, I'll even write you a letter."

Laila smiled a bit weakly and tried to joke along as she said, "Yeah, I'll hold you to it. You are stuck with me for life."