Yaman got over his initial shock fast.
"Get out!" He roared.
Zuhal raised her head, looking stunned.
"Yaman?" She asked. "What happened?"
"Get out of my room!"
He pushed the clinging woman away, feeling slightly sick. God, what had gotten into him? He'd almost forgotten that he couldn't stand Zuhal.
When he'd come home after the good news the doctor had given him, he'd wanted nothing more than to find Seher and hug her tight. Then he remembered her betrayal. Two months of absolute agony, endless nights filled with nightmares and her scent haunting him like a phantom... He was furious. How could he still want her after she called him a weakling to his face, mocked him for his sickness and ran away with another man?
He was so weak when it came to that woman...
He'd closed himself in his room, ignoring all the well wishes of the rest of the household. His mother had tried to talk to him about the money Nedim was supposed to send to her account. He'd ignored her too.
What a vile woman...
Come to think of it, all the women were vile.
He was still thinking about Seher when Zuhal came in, carrying a tray laden with a cup of coffee and a glass of water.
Instantly, memories burst inside Yaman's head. A thousand abstracts of Seher and him, the brightest being the rooftop coffee they had shared just after the surgery of his stab wound in prison, him- unconsciously revealing his feelings to her and her- adorably clueless. Coffee meant home to him. It meant peace and calm and shared smiles and being so close to Seher, he could drown in her vanilla scent.
Now all of it was just a shattered mess.
"Get this out of my sight!" He growled.
Sighing, Zuhal placed the tray on the table and approached him cautiously.
"Yaman, I understand you", she said. "More than you know. It's hard. Being betrayed by your closest one. My sister did the same to me. She left me alone, when I needed her the most. Just like Seher did, when you were sick"
Annoyance crept up inside him at her hypocrisy. Who was she to talk like she was some saint? This woman's whole life was a scam, carefully cultivated by her sister so they could get his wealth. She was no better than a leech- being devious through and through.
"But you're healed now. It makes me so happy", She was still talking. "Think about Yusuf. He needs you. He needs us. Maybe he needs to know what Seher did too- don't let her fool him anymore. Yaman..." She paused. "...I don't think that Seher belongs in this family anymore!"
Seher... Her name was a treasure to him. Something he'd kept safe, savouring the sound of it in his mind, dreaming about the day he could utter it without any regrets. Even when she had shot him and left, he'd finally felt free saying her name aloud and saying that he loved her.
He remembered the first time he'd kissed her under that tree, reveling in her silky brown hair under his fingers, sighing against the softness of her lips. Pure heaven... He'd never seen a more beautiful woman. Soft and tiny but larger than life with her will of iron. She was relentless when it came to protecting her loved ones. And her wide eyes, with their olive green depths...
He dimly heard a shocked gasp and raised his head.
The same eyes were staring at him as Seher stood frozen at his door. Shock, hurt and pain flitted across those expressive eyes. She abruptly turned and ran away. Yaman straightened.
What had he done?
Now Zuhal faced him, arms crossed over her chest.
"Yaman", she said. Her voice grated on his nerves. "That woman is cheating on you behind your back! But I'm here. Why do you still keep her in this house?"
"Watch it!" Yaman said suddenly. "Don't forget who let you back into this mansion!"
Zuhal's eyes widened. Yaman went on.
"And pray that she keeps living here or I'll kick you out too! I have no use for any more snakes in my house!"
Zuhal reeled back from the disgust in his voice. Tears filled her eyes and she ran out without another word.
Yaman took a sip of coffee to get rid of her taste. Gross. Gross. He would have to rinse his mouth with lye or acid later.
Her tears did nothing to him.
Seher's tear filled green eyes came to his mind. He felt a pang in his heart. Then it hardened. Good. Now she knew what he'd gone through, when he had to watch her hugging that lowlife- Fikret. He felt a twisted pleasure when he realized that they had shared this pain too.
But he had been envisioning Seher when Zuhal had kissed him. He was remembering her smell, her body and her whole being. Did she think of him when she...
No. He couldn't even complete that thought. The merest thought of Seher being with another man, made him want to set fire to the whole world!
Yaman looked up as the door opened and Çenger came in, wearing a careful expression.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
Yaman nodded, even though he wanted to go on a rampage. Çenger leaned down and picked something off the floor. Yaman frowned as he noticed Seher's necklace in his hand. He opened the locket.
"What is it?" Yaman asked.
Çenger took out something from inside of the locket- an SD card. He held it out to Yaman.
What was happening?
"Mr Yaman, you should listen to this", Çenger said in an unusually firm voice. "It's crucial that you listen to this, if you want to make sense of what happened in the past two months"
************************************
It took a while for her tears to dry.
Seher burrowed herself into her coat, as the wind whipped her unruly hair around. She looked into the distance.
When she'd left the mansion, the only coherent thought in her mind had been to get away. She'd found a few crumpled notes of liras in her pocket and she'd come here by a taxi- to the place where she'd watched stars with Yaman.
God, what a mess... For the thousandth time, Seher wished she'd been strong. Strong enough to take the risk and tell the truth to Yaman, before Çanan could blackmail her. But his life had been at stake. What if that one decision had led him to his death?
At least Yaman was alive now. He was healthy and thriving.
Seher bowed her head. She remembered the first time they'd been here as a couple, Yaman looking at her so tenderly and holding out his hand for her to take. They'd watched the stars together and she'd felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach. Then he'd brought her here again when she'd almost been paralyzed by the physiotherapist Iqbal had hired. His beautiful dark eyes so earnest, he'd held her face in his big hand and extinguished all of her fears with his loving words. She'd felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
The last time they were here, they had shared coffee. God, she missed having coffee with Yaman. She missed its tranquility and the solidarity it built between them.
What had gone wrong?
But she could understand him too. He was hurting. She'd seen the pain in his eyes when he'd shouted at her in the place they'd been dreaming to build their home. She'd just taken his cruel words in silence, knowing he had no fault. Maybe it was a momentary lapse in judgement- him kissing Zuhal.
Seher stood up. Everything inside her screamed at her to just curl up here and sleep the pain away- in the place where they had phantoms of a thousand happy memories. But she had to go back for Yusuf's sake and most importantly, for their sake. She couldn't give up now.
Seher had no more money left on her person and she couldn't even call anyone for help because Çanan had broken her phone. She decided to walk back to the mansion, hoping the cool night air would clear her mind.
She reached the road and slowly began her trek, pushing her hands deep into the pockets of her coat. She was just crossing the road when a sudden thought struck her like lightning.
What if Yaman truly didn't love her anymore?
Seher halted in her tracks, stunned. An icy feeling started spreading through her veins.
What if he burned all of her stuff and all of their memories together, because he no longer had a place for her in his heart? What if he truly regretted being with her?
Seher's heart lurched in her chest. No. No. It was not possible. They would cross this hurdle too. Together.
But all the insecurities she'd fought to keep inside her now rose up, threatening to engulf her in their flames. She'd abandoned Yaman at his most vulnerable moment. And Zuhal had actually been with him. She'd probably been there when he'd woken up from his surgery. She'd probably been there for Yusuf too.
Maybe they really didn't have a place for her in their lives anymore...
Seher stood rooted to the spot, gasping for breath. In that moment, the loneliness she felt seemed to swallow her up.
Too late she'd heard the screeching of tires at the bend of the road. Too late she'd seen the flashing of twin headlights coming her way.
A sharp pain tore through her side as the vehicle crashed into her, lifting her off the road and throwing her to the edge of the dark woods. By the time her body hit the ground, she'd already blacked out.
❤️
Confrontations are on their way...😘
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-nocturnal4ever