The Ring (Complete)

Chapters 9 - 12

Desperate to put some distance between her and the rest of the staff , she rushed out of the office.

*****

Omer should have been revising the designs he drew last night. Instead, his mind was preoccupied with Defne. It had been a few days since she stormed out of his car, and since then there have been no contact between them. There used to be a time when he couldn't go a few hours without seeing her. His chest would feel constricted, his mind depressed if he didn't hold her in her arms, breathe in her scent. In Rome, he turned to alcohol and women to dull his senses so as not to feel her absence so keenly, but even then it was a temporary cure; Defne's laugh, her smile, echoed in his mind throughout the entire time. These days, knowing she was only a few levels below, it took every ounce of strength he had to keep away from her. In the past they'd always found a way to connect but the more he crowded her now, the more distant and aloof she became. He had no idea how to cope with that, what to do. He felt utterly incapable of fixing things between them, helpless.

"Buddy, how's it going?"

Hearing Sinan's voice from the doorway, Omer looked up. "Fine. Don't worry, designs are coming along."

"Good, good." Sinan entered the room and took a seat on the couch.

Immediately Omer sensed his best friend was troubled. "What's wrong?"

"I have to tell you something but I don't want you to bite my head off. Or anyone else's."

"Just say it."

"Word's gotten out about you and Defne being married. I was downstairs at StilVagon and I heard people talking about it."

Omer slammed his fist into the table. "Fuck!"

"Okay, calm down. You knew this had to happen eventually. Stuff like that can't be kept secret forever."

His thoughts ran instantly to Defne. She'd always been concerned about being the subject of office gossip, so much so she even wanted to keep their engagement a secret. He still remembered how devastated she'd been when people had found out about him buying her house. And this being about their wedding, he knew it would crush her completely. "How the hell did this get around?"

"Someone here texted pictures of you guys from the wedding to the StilVagon staff. You know how these things go."

Omer stood up. "Find out who did it. Talk to Derya. I want to know exactly who has this much time on their hands so I can fire them."

"Okay, okay. Just calm down. I don't want you to make any rash decisions when you're angry."

"I have to go check on Defne. Make sure she's alright."

Sinan nodded. "Yeah. She must have heard it by now too. This can't be easy for her."

Omer stormed towards the door, looking over his shoulder at Sinan. "Find out who's responsible." He marched towards the staircase, too furious to wait for the elevator. This was going to hurt Defne, no doubt about it. When he reached the warehouse, there were groups of people mingling together in separate corners. Some were working, but there were others gathered around laughing, chatting it up. "What? You guys have nothing better to do with your time?" Omer barked. "Or do I need to find some actual work for you guys to do?" Instantly the crowd dispersed. He quickly strode to Defne's office, but it was empty. A quick glance revealed her bag was still there which meant she hadn't left the premises. Grabbing his cell phone, he dialed her number. Music played in the room; she'd left her cell phone on the table.

"Are you looking for Defne?"

Omer turned around to find the perpetually nervous Aytekin standing a few feet away. "Where is she?"