The Price of Pride

Chapter 12

"Ayla is going to love this," Defne says with a smile. "She's going to love it here. Your friends seem like good people. They're going to be good for her."

"They're the best," Zafer agrees. "They're so excited about getting Ayla. She's going to be good for them too. She's going to make them the family they deserve to be. I'm happy for Emir."

"Jealous?" Defne gives him a knowing little grin.

"Me? No," Zafer denies. Almost too vehemently. "This life isn't for me. I can't see myself with a wife and kid. No offense."

She just laughs.

"Why would that offend me? I happen to agree with you," she says. "Although that realization for me came a bit too late."

"Bad experience?" Zafer guesses.

"The worst. Men like him make me think all men are terrible ... no offense," she tosses back at him.

"Ouch," Zafer laughs. "Whoever he is, he's giving us men a bad name. But he was a fool for hurting you. Do you want me to beat him up?"

She eyes him suspiciously.

"You don't strike me as a fighter."

He just laughs again.

"Maybe not. But maybe for you I would be."

That blush again that turns her cheeks the most intriguing color. This time it makes his heart pick up its pace. He shakes his head to come to his senses, not quite understand how he got so distracted in the first place. He doesn't even know this woman. Probably won't ever see her again. Why does that disappoint him?

"It's gotten late," he says, changing the subject. "How about I drive you home."

No, it's best to get out of the same space as this oddly fascinating woman. Just like he told her just a few minutes ago, this isn't a life he's looking for. Better to end this now before either of them get any ideas otherwise.

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

The sigh she lets out concerns him. She had been on the phone with Defne for the past ten minutes and at first everything seemed fine. Defne had sent pictures of how Ayla's room turned out and the room looked amazing. He's going to have to remember to really thank Zafer. And he's glad his friend had the thought to take Defne home. The woman was at the house as a favor to them. She shouldn't be inconvenienced going home this late.

But a few minutes into the conversation, things somehow took a turn. Now Reyhan looks like she wants to cry. He walks over to sit next to her and puts arm around her. She sinks into him, taking the comfort.

"Well, just keep whatever is still in decent condition to use for the other kids you work with. Kids that may not have anything. We'll get her new stuff."

He waits until she ends the call to give her a questioning glance.

"Earlier today, Defne went to Ayla's old foster parents to get her things," Reyhan explains quietly, not wanting to wake Ayla. She had come back from the playroom exhausted, but happy. She fell asleep almost as soon as they got her tucked into the bed. "It wasn't good. They had thrown everything into garbage bags and left it on the front lawn. She's not sure yet how much is usable still."

"That's fine," Emir says, kissing her on the forehead because she's still upset. "You told her the right thing. We'll get new things for Ayla. And we'll buy double to donate to Defne's organization. Defne doesn't have to worry about the old things."

"That's a great idea! It feels good to be able to help other children."

Her smile makes him melt. But he nearly passes out when she throws her arms around him and hugs him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispers in his ear.

"For what?" he asks curiously.

"For reminding me everyday how wonderful you are. And how lucky I am to be married to you."

He just smiles and shakes his head before grabbing her face.

"You asked for this," is his only warning before pressing a gentle, but quick kiss to her lips.

"You can't say stuff like that without it affecting me," he explains, briefly resting his forehead against hers to continue to breathe her in.

As expected, her cheeks turn that beautiful shade of blush that thrills him. He has to stop himself from kissing them too. He doesn't want to scare her completely. He just wants to keep her off her guard a little. The more she realizes she has to expect the unexpected with him, the more comfortable she'll become with the intimacy he's craving.

"Anyway," he says, trying to change the subject to give her a little time to recover. "We can shop online for some of the basics."

He reaches over for his tablet and pulls up a popular kids clothing site.

"Tomorrow I'll order you a debit card for our checking account so that you can get whatever else she needs," he continues, not noticing when she goes pale.

"Emir ... wait." She's visibly upset now. "Just stop a minute."

He's confused when he notices her distress.

"I don't want the card. It caused trouble last time. Trouble we barely survived," she reminds him.

He just nods and sighs.

"You're right," he agrees. "But it wasn't because of the card. Reyhan, we had so much stacked against us back at home. Mostly my mother and the way she knew me so much better than I knew you. She knew how to play us against each other. And that's exactly what she did."

He puts the tablet down and turns to face her, taking her hands in his own. He needs the connection right now. He knew his mother would cause trouble for them. He just didn't think it would be this soon.

"Reyhan, my mother did a lot," he admits with a pained grimace. "A lot more than you may realize. I'm just now understanding that from the conversations with my father and Zafer. They've been talking to the lawyers trying to figure out how things got so crazy in the first place. And all answers seem to lead back to my mother."

"This has something to do with what you said before," Reyhan guesses. "How someone made you believe terrible things about me."

"You may have thought that I hated you and wanted you gone," he starts. "And at first, I did want you gone. I never wanted to be married. And I resented my father for forcing this marriage. I resented you for not siding with me and telling my father you didn't want to be married to me anymore than I wanted to be married to you. But it wasn't long before my feelings started to change. Everything you did affected me. And sooner than I could accept, I could see us in a real marriage. One filled with love and happiness. Children. That time we spent with Masal showed me how good of a mother you'd be. I was ready to start a family."

"But something changed," she interrupts. "One day I felt all what you just said too. And I was happy for us. I was excited that a real marriage suddenly seemed possible. But the next day, you were cold and distant. As if I had done something."

"You didn't do anything. But I thought you had. After we came back from Erzurum, things were so different. My mother wasn't happy about that. And neither was Cemre. Both women apparently thought when my father decreed I was to be married that Cemre would be that bride. When he came home with you, they weren't happy and had been trying to get rid of you from that point on. But after Erzurum, it was clear that my feelings for you were changing. And then to top it all off, they discovered that my father had drawn up documents to give you a 10% share in the holding. My mother decided to make it look like you had tricked my father into giving you the shares and then married me for the money. That is what I saw that changed everything between us. And instead of being a decent person and talking to you about it, I decided to punish you for it."

She lets his explanation sink in. And when she finally realizes what he's saying, a ball of rage unleashes itself and she can't hold it in.

"Money?" she asks, disbelief clouding her voice. "This has all been about money?"