Skylee P.O.V
The music softly broke the silence in the car as we drove back to Brother Xander's house... After a week.
멈춘 시간 속 잠든 너를 찾아가
(I find you who is sleeping in the stopped time)
아무리 막아도 결국 너의 곁인 걸
(No matter how much I block, in the end, I'll be by your side)
길고 긴 여행을 끝내 이젠 돌아가
(After a long, long journey, now go back)
There were two cars ahead of us and two trailing behind us. Number 1 and Number 2 were in the back cars while Asli was in one of the front cars with more bodyguards.
Asli came during our chasing and glad she came. Otherwise, we would have starved ourselves to death. She looked fine and healthy and a little troubled by my behavior. Well, I practically hug her when I saw her. I was relieved that she was fine and safe. According to her, I was being odd and not like myself.
So, I made sure to give her the Skylee treatment for the rest of the week. Now I thought about it. Did I over irritate her? But who cared?
너라는 집으로 지금 다시 way back home
(To the house called you, now again, way back home)
세상을 뒤집어 찾으려 해
(Trying to turn the world upside down)
오직 너로 완결된 이야기를
(A story that ended only with you)
Like we expected, the last morning right before the testimony the news had been a break to the media by Kingston. Since then Kingston was ruling the news, they were taping our every move as well as Patrizio Adolfo. The first hearing was on coming Thursday. The atmosphere was thick with all the tension and anxiety. I didn't know what to expect next since Burak had told me the truth.
"Everything will be fine. Baba and Amca will handle it. And remember Anne and Yenge don't know about the attack." He said, looking at me with concern.
(Amca means father's brother in Turkish while Yenge means Aunt. Anne means mother and Baba means father. Enişte means mother's sister's husband.)
"I know, Burak, don't repeat yourself again and again." Irritation was clear in my voice.
He told me this four days ago when I had a Facetime video meeting with my family. Baba and Amca were in Paris while Mum and Yenge were in Istanbul. It was nice talking with my parents and family after so long. They all were so worried about me and so apologetic that they couldn't do the party of my birthday as we had always planned. I wished Baba and Amca good luck with the court case. They strictly ordered us to be careful and avoid going out unnecessarily.
Careful...
I sighed and focused my attention back on the lyrics.
이 마음 그 위로 넌 또 한 겹 쌓여가
(On top of this heart, you build up one more layer)
내겐 그 누구도 아닌 니가 필요해
(I need you, nobody else)
돌아와 내 곁에 그날까지 I'm not done
(Come back and stay by my side until that day, I'm not done)
"I can't do this," I whispered, looking out of the window at the passing trees.
"We have already talked about it. Don't start again." He gave me a pointed look.
"He'll know something is off. Even I can't believe myself around him. I will end up telling him and he deserves to know. He's my boyfriend and I can't hide things from him anymore. I know everything about him. Every little, single thing. I feel so guilty that I haven't told him anything." I sighed.
"Then ignore him," Was his short reply as his eyes were focused on the road.
"Ignore him? You think it's easy?" I glared at him.
"Then let me tell you what will happen if you don't listen to me," He paused to pass me a pointed look before again looked back at the road, "You will tell him everything. Then as a protective good boyfriend, he will stick with you to protect you. Whereas we are trying our best to take all possible security measures, Adolfo will know that Skylee Kingston has the love of her life. Voila! If I were him, I would take an easy way, one dart two down. I will kidnap your boyfriend then make you surrender and knowing you, you will do your best to protect him."
"We won't get anywhere but in a black hole." He completed.
"You're being ridiculous!"
"You're being oblivious to the situation. I'm just trying to stop something before it happens."
I sighed and glared at the road. I hate that he had a solid point.
I again looked back at him, "After what Brother Xander told me, then Zack, I don't know if I should believe your story, too?"
It was harsh.
His face contorted in anger and hurt as a huge frown appeared on his face. His hold on the steering wheel tightened, making his knuckles white. But he kept his mouth shut, making me glare hard at him.
"Your silence won't clear my doubts," I said.
"It was him, Skylee. I wouldn't have known it either if I didn't eavesdrop. Patrizio Adolfo killed..."
"Enişte." I completed his sentence. My heart pounding in my chest.
A pin-drop silence prevailed in the car, even the song had ended. I gulped and immediately, again started the song 'Way Back Home' by Shaun. I didn't want to think about that day.
After a long silence, I spoke again, "They told me the person reasonable for his death had been already punished."
"They lied to us." He said.
"Of course." I ran a hand through my neck and took some deep breaths to calm down. Even though he had told me this entire truth, I couldn't help the fear that caged my soul every time I remember that day. The lifeless body of my Enişte Edain jerking because of the bullets. I closed my eyes and rested my head with the windscreen, feeling the coldness against my cold skin.
"Are you alright?" I heard him but decided to ignore him.
"Alright, I'm sorry. I know it's hard for you. But I promise I'll fix this once we'll be done with this. I'll tell Eric everything but not now. And I hope you'll understand I'm not against you. I'll be more than happy to meet the guy who has stolen the heart of this devil but this is for good. Just for few days. I will even tell Amca about you guys and make sure he will accept him."
At this, I looked at him and smiled.
He was right. I couldn't let Eric's life dangle in danger just because of me. I had no idea how far Adolfo could go just to save himself. He killed my Enişte so brutally just because of land. A piece of land where he had his illegal drug supplies stored and my Enişte knew about it. Enişte wanted to expose him and after all the warnings he had sent. When Enişte didn't step back. He killed him.
I couldn't believe Enişte was killed just because he wanted to expose him. A tear rolled down my cheek.
Twelve years... It took twelve freaking years for my Baba and Amca to finally found all records and evidence of Patrizio Adolfo all illegal works. Now, their plan was simple. They would hand over all evidence to the government and they would decide what to do. I knew the first hearing would be the last hearing and Adolfo would have to run away to save himself. So, he just wanted to blackmail and attack us to make him stop submitting the evidence.
But my Baba had his revenge plan set. He wanted to bring Amca death justice and his soul rest by exposing him. I just wish he would succeed.
"I'll stay away from him, from all of them. You're right. The more closely I'll be, the more in danger they'll get. I'll keep my distance." I finally said, looking at him.
"It will be over soon, don't worry, and have hope." He nodded with an encouraging smile.
"I should stay away then. Don't you think staying with them is way too dangerous?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in confusion.
"No, leaving you alone with just guards is dangerous for you. Brother Nick's house is a safe place for you. We have our people at every corner of that area. No one can even touch a strand of your hair there. It is dangerous and risky but the safest place too." He reasoned out and I nodded.
"Also stay away from that guy Zack. He knows too much. It's not a good sign. I'll let you know if he's trustworthy or not. Just keep a distance from everyone." He said.
"Zack is a nice guy," I said.
"One never knows." He said and added, "We are almost there."
And my heart skipped a beat. I had no idea what was I going to do after I reach there? How would I maintain a reasonable distance with the people I had grown so close to? That too without hurting them. I shook my head. I had to stay away from them. They had to stay away from me. I would do anything to protect them if that meant hurting them.
I would do one thing I knew very well - ignoring.
"We are here," Burak announced.
I angled my head to look at the huge gate. And behind the gate, I could see Zack with one arm snaked around Rosalyn's shoulders, stopped dead in his track, and curiously looking in our direction. Owen was behind with... My heart started to pound so madly as I took in his appearance. Eric was wearing blue jeans with a white D-neck shirt and a brown jacket. His hair was messy and his face looked pale and lifeless. I felt a pang in my chest when my eyes moved towards the bandage on his left wrist.
I was about to jump out of the car and ran towards him when someone stopped me by my elbow. He gave me a pointed look and I sighed.
"I know. I know," I said, freeing my elbow from his hold.
He stepped out of the car, came towards my side, and opened the door for me. A gush of fresh air made me inhaled softly. I could feel the many curious gazes on me but Burak was blocking my view by standing in front of me. I looked at him and he gave me assuring nod. I nodded back at him and stepped out of the car.
Burak had a P-cap on and a face mask, covering his half face from nose to chin. He was looking mysterious with the all-black look from his jeans, shirt, jacket to his cap and mask. On the contrary, I was wearing high-waist white shorts with a red off-shoulder top, white sneakers, and a white coat that was reaching my knees. I had my regular makeup on with my hair up in a messy bun.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine." He said, stepping aside and walking to the backseat, and bring out my backpack. My eyes fell over my friends who had curious frowns etched on their faces and a particular someone had a blank face. I gulped.
"I'm not thinking anything," I mumbled to myself but he heard me.
He handed me my backpack before saying, "Skylee, I'm sorry for giving it to you now but I was ordered by Amca to give it to you just before I drop you." He handed me an envelope and a little box. "This is your birthday present from Amca."
"How nice of you to follow his orders." I taunted sarcastically and opened the box. It had a little pendant inside it. I looked in awe at the small gold bunny which had a teardrop of pink sapphire in the tummy area and a white diamond on the face area and was outlined with small white diamonds. A gold chain with small embedded diamonds clapped in the ears of the bunny. It was cute, beautiful, and sophisticated.
I held it in the air and whispered, "It's so beautiful."
He came in front of me and put his mask down to kiss my cheek. While putting his mask back, he said with a wink, "I know. Love you, Abla, and take care of yourself."
"I should go now," He said, looking back at the rest of the people who had their mouths gaped open.
"Taman," I said and added with a death glare, "Don't drive to LA on your own."
"Tamam." He nodded with a grin.
I put the pendant and the envelope inside my backpack, and slung it over my shoulders. Asli and my bodyguards also came towards us.
"Burak, don't drive. I've told your bodyguards, listen to me and behave. Don't bother them too much."
"Tamam. Tamam." Burak nodded his head.
While Asli ordered Burak I looked towards them.
From the bags, they must be leaving for school when I made an entrance. They all looked at me like I had grown two heads while Eric had some unreadable expressions plastered on his face. My brows raised in confusion. Surely, I had expected their worst reactions but bewildered and baffled wasn't one of them. I imagined Eric huffing in anger while Rosalyn scolding, not this at all.
That was when it hit me. I turned around to look at Burak and he winked at me before sitting in his car and driving away. From this angle, it looked like Burak kissed me. Yes, he did and it was a normal greeting and goodbye and a way of showing sibling affection among us but from where I was standing and they had seen it, it seemed like he kissed me on the lips.
'Arghhh! Burak, I'm going to kill you next time I see you!' I groaned.
Number 1 came forward while Number 2 opened the gate and we entered inside.
"We will leave for school after leaving your things in your room," Number 2 said, walking past me with the few bags of my things. I didn't have much luggage since I left all of my things here.
Rosalyn was the first one to came out of her shock and ran towards me. She squeezed me tightly in a bear hug. I relaxed in her hug before pulling my guard high again, so high that no one could pull them down.
"God! I'm so happy you're okay! We were so worried about you. Thank God you're fine." She whispered, pulling apart.
"I'm fine," I said and looked at Eric. He didn't look back at me. My heart squeezed when he stormed towards his red Ferrari, Owen tagging along with him, and they drove off. He didn't spare me a single glance. He was mad at me. My heart went down. He must have misunderstood. And I couldn't even explain myself.
It was right and necessary. Eric away from me as much as possible. But... My heart didn't want it.
"Who are Eric Xander and Rosalyn Xander?" Asli asked, coming forward.
"It's me," Rosalyn said, slightly confused.
"Mr. Nick Xander sent me here to look after his siblings. You can confirm him and please leave for school or else you all will get late." Asli said, her face and tone resembled one of a Hitler. No room for denying.
"Oh... Alright." Rosalyn said unsure.
I looked at Zack. His face had a happy and relieved smile. "You scared us. Thank God you're fine." He smiled warmly. I felt so bad that I couldn't retort their smiles. I couldn't even manage to fake a smile just for their sake.
I just nodded at him and before he could hug me I step backward and said, "I should go now."
The frown on his face and the confusion on Rosalyn's face was clear but I ignored it and turned towards my car.
"I'll come with you, Skylee." I heard Rosalyn's voice. I shut my eyes and gulped before looking back at her with a blank face.
"I don't share my car. Go with your boyfriend." With that, I walked towards my armored car.
Once inside the car, I held my head in my hands and sighed.
"This is going to be so, so, so, difficult!" I exclaimed, striking at my seat in exhaustion. Already fed up with this.
"You'll be fine, just calm down." Number 2 said, earning a glare from me.
God, please help me...
Translation:
Abla: Big Sister.
Tamam: Alright. Okay.
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