The Price of Pride

Chapter 26

"Anne, don't be dramatic. None of this is Reyhan's fault. You are the only one with a problem with Reyhan. So maybe the problem is you. This hatred you feel for her is only going to come back to haunt you. You are going to only regret your actions one day."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, Anne. A warning," he says with a tired, resigned sigh. "Why can't you see how much I love Reyhan? How much she loves me? How right we are for each other? You are about to miss out on so much just because you've decided to make her your enemy. What about your grandchildren?"

"That little street child is not my grandchild. And nothing you say will make me accept her."

"What about this baby?"

Emir turns around quickly when the quiet voice speaks up from behind him. He immediately goes to Reyhan's side and puts his arm around her.

"Sweetheart, I thought you were resting."

Reyhan has her hand on her stomach and walks towards Cavidan.

"Are you going to deny him the way you deny Ayla?" Reyhan asks her, tears in her eyes. "My children deserve to be happy. I won't allow you to treat them the way you treated me. I won't allow that kind of negativity into their lives."

"Ah, so you're pregnant. It was only a matter of time, I suppose," Cavidan sneers at her, rolling her eyes. "You think trapping him with a baby is going to keep him? I'm not going to let you and your brats steal from this family. You will end up broke and alone. Just you and that girl. We'll keep this baby, if he actually turns out to be my blood."

"Anne!" is all Emir can say, too horrified at his mother's words.

Reyhan just gasps, holding on to her stomach tighter. She takes an involuntary step back. And then another, her instincts telling her to run far, far away. She stumbles back to the bedroom and barely makes it to the bathroom before becoming violently ill. She never had a big problem with morning sickness, but even that went away days ago. This is all a reaction from the pure evil in this house. She has to get her uncle out of here. She has to keep her children away from here. She knows she was the main one encouraging Emir to not give up on his mother. But Cavidan is too much. She's gone too far.

She feels a cool cloth on her face, the hand holding it belonging unmistakingly to Emir. She falls back into the strong arms she knows will be there to catch her.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, pulling her into his lap. "Baby, I'm so sorry. Let's get out of here. Let's just go. We'll have my father moved to Amca's house until his spot in Italy becomes available. We won't ever have to come back here again. You won't ever have to see her again. I'm not going to let her hurt you anymore."

She wants to refuse, not wanting to give up on the idea of being a part of this family. But she can't. She just doesn't have the strength to fight Cavidan anymore. Her baby is more important. And she's just tired. So she just nods and lets him lift her into his arms. He carries her out of the bathroom, out of the bedroom. Out of that house. Hopefully for forever. But the glare Cavidan gives her as they walk out the door leaves a sinking feeling on the inside that this is far from over.

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She drifts off into an uneasy sleep on the way home. But he knows she needs the rest so he's actually thankful for the heavy Istanbul traffic that time of day. She'll have plenty of time to get the sleep she needs.

His brow crinkles in concern when she suddenly starts to stir. He reaches over to take her hand and finds it cool and clammy. She clenches him tightly and starts moaning.