Untangling the Web

Chapter 20

"Emir!" she gasps, looking around in awe and amazement. "This place ..."

"I told you you'd love it," he grins, throwing an arm over her shoulder and pulling her close.

She wraps her arms around him and hugs him tight.

"This is better than I could have ever imagined."

"We call it The Ranch," he explains, taking her hand and showing her around the place. "With both Anne and Baba out of the mansion, I figured now would be a good time to do some renovations so that we can have a proper nursery when the babies come. Relocating to The Ranch seemed like a good idea for us to get away for awhile."

The house was far enough away from the city to have peace and quiet and fresh air. But it was close enough for Emir to commute to work daily if necessary.

"Don't be mad, but I have one more surprise for you," he admits. He gives her a smile before opening the front door and leading her inside.

Surprise is not the word to describe what she feels when her eyes land on the person standing by the fireplace.

"Suna?" she cries out, tears instantly springing from her eyes. "You're here! You're standing!"

She runs to the girl and throws her arms around her. Suna wobbles a bit on her crutches, but Emir is there to keep them all steady.

"How is this even possible?" Reyhan asks while Emir helps Suna get settled on a nearby seat.

"When I had the thought to open this place up, I knew Suna would love it and would benefit being here much more than the clinic. And I also wanted to tell Suna about what's been happening, especially with our mother," Emir explains. "So I went to see her and see if she wanted to come live here."

"And when he got to the clinic to see me, I had a surprise for him," Suna smiles. "I have been working so hard on this and couldn't wait to be able to take some steps on my own."

"It's a miracle. I'm so proud of you. I knew you could do whatever you set your mind to," Reyhan tells her.

"You really did," Suna nods. "You always believed in me. Even after how I treated you. I'm so sorry."

"Suna, that's not even necessary," Reyhan tries to stop her. But Suna insists.

"No Reyhan. It is. I was so weak and so gullible."

"You were being drugged, Canim," Emir reminds her. "I told you what Cemre did to you."

"I was stupid to believe her. And we were all stupid we didn't believe you, Reyhan, when you tried to warn us. And don't even get me started on my mother. She is truly unbelievable. She should be in jail for what she did to Baba. And to you, Reyhan."

"Well, she may as well be in jail," Emir points out. "She's stuck in that house with no place else to go. The mansion is being renovated and she won't think to come here. She's always hated this place. That's why we never came here that much."

"She's going to be very angry," Reyhan says quietly, her heart full of silent fear. Emir and Suna are Cavidan's children. Cavidan will only blame so much on them. Reyhan knows from experience that she will be the one to take the brunt of Cavidan's wrath. "She's going to blame me. Maybe you should reconsider. Maybe that first house you picked out is still available. It's not what she wants, but it won't seem as much like a punishment."

"Reyhan?" Suna questions the panicked tone to her voice. "Are you okay?"

"Please, Emir," Reyhan begs. "I'm terrified at how she'll get back at me for this."

Emir goes to her and pulls her into his arms, doing his best to soothe her.

"It's okay," he assures her, still trying to settle her. "I'll call the realtor in the morning if it will make you feel better. We'll have Anne moved by the afternoon if the place is still available."

Reyhan takes a deep breath and wipes her face when she realizes she's making a scene.

"Here I am being a mess again," she tries to joke. "We'll have to see what the books say about all this crying. I feel like that's all I do now."

"You're entitled," Emir says with a laugh, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Books? Crying? What's going on?" Suna asks, giving them suspicious glances. "Is there something else going on? Something you haven't told me?"

Emir just grins and looks at Reyhan, shrugging his shoulder as if to say it's her call. Reyhan smiles back and nods to him, letting him know that it's okay.

"There is something else, actually," Emir starts, moving to stand behind Reyhan. He wraps his arm around her waist and cups his hand on her belly, giving it a little pat and rub. The loose shirt Reyhan is wearing molds to her stomach and her tiny bump becomes visible.

"Reyhan? Abi?" Suna's eyes widen in excitement. "Are you having a baby?"

"Two actually," Reyhan says with a smile. "We're going to have twins."

"This is amazing," she screams. "I'm so happy for you. Come here! Come here! Let me feel."

Reyhan obliges her and goes to sit next to Suna. Suna spends what seems like the next hour talking to her belly. She doesn't mind, though. For once, she feels as if she's finally at home in a Tarhun residence. This ranch is going to be good for them. She can feel it. She should be able to keep her children safe from Cavidan here. She can be happy here.

She tries to ignore the tiny seed of doubt in her mind telling her that Cavidan isn't through with her yet.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Get me out of this place."

Cavidan hangs up the phone after giving the order. It's been almost three days since she was so unceremoniously abandoned to this dump and she's had enough. She's tried to escape, but to no avail. The first day, she lasted all of two hours before catching a taxi back to the mansion. She had no money and promised the driver the fare would be paid by someone at home. But when she got there, no one was home. She discovered the place had been closed up in anticipation of renovations starting the next day. She couldn't get in and what's worse, she couldn't get a ride back when the driver realized he wasn't getting paid. She had to walk back to that pit where her so called son left her. It took the next two days for her feet and legs to recover from the long trek.

But she refuses to stay another day in this hovel. Fortunately Cemre has finally returned from her spa trip. When Cavidan told her to get herself ready for Emir to come ask for her hand, she didn't spare any expense. The girl went above and beyond for Emir. And Cavidan won't be the one to tell her it was all for nothing.

"No," Cavidan says to the empty house. "It won't be for nothing. I'll get that girl away from my son if it's the last thing that I do."

Speaking of her son... she looks down at the phone display when it rings. It's Emir calling again. He started calling yesterday, but she refuses to speak to him. She'll deal with him once she gets rid of his clingy little wife. With what she has planned for that peasant, Emir won't have any other choice but to accept Cavidan back into his home and his life. And he won't ever go against her again. Not if he ever wants to live another happy and peaceful day in his life. Her son is about to learn a lesson about always keeping his mother as his number one priority.

She eventually hears the honk of a car horn and she goes out to meet her rescuer.

"It's about time you showed up," she snaps at Cemre, getting into the small red car. "Get me out of here and to some place decent. I need to wash the poor off of me."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Emir pulls up to the little house just in time to watch his mother drive off with Cemre. He had been calling her for the past couple of days to let her know the first house he picked out for her was still available and that she can move if she wanted to. But she never answered. So he decided to just go to the house and tell her in person, only to be greeted with this new development.

"What are those two up to now?" he wonders aloud. Before they can get too far, he pulls back into traffic and follows them. Something tells him he's not going to like whatever they have planned.