Eda could see the awaiting confrontation with his father was taking its toll on Serkan. With every passing day, he was getting more silent and withdrawn. He avoided spending time with anybody except her, and when he was with her, he mainly read books or cuddled, but he was quiet. He lost all his usual confidence. The person he was avoiding the most was Fifi and her worried gaze. Whenever she tried to reach him, he was disappearing, going to the gym or pool.
After three days since their successful takeover and sale of companies and no sign from Ediz Yildirim, Eda woke up in the middle of the night to an empty bed and saw Serkan sitting on the floor by the big wall window watching Istanbul at night.
Many times she found him in that position day or night and knew he hadn't been sleeping through the past nights. She could recognize his lack of sleep by his face getting more pale and gray with every passing day and the dark circles appearing under his eyes. She found him sleeping several times on the couch when he dozed off over the book from exhaustion, but he was walking up quickly with a start, and Eda knew he was vigilant during the night because he was afraid his nightmares would come back or they already came.
Eda looked at the watch. It was two in the morning. She got up from the bed, wrapped herself into a sheet, and sat next to Serkan, putting her head on his shoulder.
"Why are you not sleeping?" Serkan asked quietly, observing the city lights.
"I can't sleep without you."
When Eda met with the silence from his part, she moved to sit between his legs, placing her head on his chest. She knew he was struggling. She didn't blame him. He always was alone with his feelings and fears. Even if he was surrounded by his family, he never opened up to them. She slowly stroked his arm and chest, feeling how tense he was, and when he embraced her and placed the kiss on the top of her head, Eda felt relief. She reached for his cheek to pull his face down to look at her, and in his eyes she saw uncertainty and fear.
"Serkan, will you tell me what is going on?" She whispered, caressing his cheek.
Serkan answered after a couple of minutes of watching the view from the window. When he turned his gaze to her, he looked lost and helpless. "I don't know what to tell him. I didn't know it would be that difficult. Everything sounds stupid and pretentious."
"Serkan, you don't have to do it if this makes you anxious." Eda tried to reason with him, but he immediately shook his head in protest. "You already defeated him, and he lost. We don't even have to stay in Istanbul."
Serkan looked back at the window. "No, it's not the city, it's him. And if I won't face him, I will never move forward."
"But what do you expect from this? You won't get any satisfaction from him."
"I don't know. I wish he could look me in the eyes and see what has done, but I know it doesn't mean anything to him, so at least I want to look him in the eyes and show he didn't succeed and I'm still here. At the gala, he had no idea what was happening. He was surprised. Shocked, angry but not defeated. Now he learned the full extent of what we did. I want to see his defeat."
His voice was so miserable that Eda straightened up and knelt in front of him, cupping his cheeks and forcing him to stop looking by the window. When he tried to put his head down, she pulled him up.
"It won't help." She said, shaking her head and seeing despair in his eyes.
"It has to. I'm stuck."
"Serkan." She moved to sit cross-legs and made his head rest on her lap. "You need to get some sleep."
He obliged without a word and closed his eyes, embracing her thigh. Eda covered him with the blanket she found lying next to them. She put her fingers into his hair and started to massage his scalp to help him relax.
"I love you." She whispered and leaned to kiss his temple.
"I love you too." Serkan whispered back.
Eda stayed up, caressing gently his hair and stroking his cheek. She continued with her touches until she heard Serkan's breath deepened and evened out, only then did she allow her tears to fall.
Eda woke up in the morning and saw Serkan not sleeping next to her. She was back in the bed. He must've carried her there after she fell asleep on the floor, and she was sure he wasn't sleeping since then.
She sat up and found Serkan sitting at the edge of the bed, already dressed with his back to her. He was resting his elbows on his knees, looking down at the carpet. Eda couldn't help not let out her tears at his miserable sight. He was killing himself with overworry. His struggle was breaking her heart.
Eda moved closer to him and cupped his cheek, making him look at her. Serkan's eyes widened after seeing the tears running from her eyes. He pressed his cheek to her palm.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "Are you angry at me?"
"Why would I be angry at you?"
"I made you cry. This is not what I promised to you. I disappointed you."
"Serkan, you didn't." Eda refuted strongly. "It makes me sad seeing you like this."
Serkan tunred his gaze down. "I'm sorry."
Eda pulled his head up. "No, Serkan. You have nothing to be sorry about. I love you, and when I see you struggle, it pains me because I know how hard it is for you. Would you be blaming me if I would be sad?"
"No." He whispered.
"Come to me." Eda moved on the bed to lie down and pulled Serkan's hand to join her. She stroked his cheeks and head as they lay on their sides facing each other.
"You need to go and end this." She said firmly. "But you won't be happy with what you will hear, and you won't throw him on his knees with your speech because he doesn't have a heart to be melted."
"What should I tell him?"
"I don't know. If I had words I would tell you, but I don't. But showing him that you are here already would prove him wrong, no matter what he will tell you. "
Serkan nodded. "I will go today."
"What has he done to you?"
"I'll tell you after facing him."
"Ok." Eda whispered, moving close to his face to kiss his lips.
"Will you go with me?" Serkan asked in a small voice. He looked like a little lost boy.
Eda nodded, trying to swallow her tears.
* * *
The black SUV stopped under the station, and the one of bodyguards opened the door. Serkan left first and helped Eda out of the car. She looked around before quickly entering the building in the company of security. She didn't notice anybody. The street was empty.
Alptekin Bolat was held in the cell until his trial would come, and then he'd be moved to the prison. Eda knew he wasn't able to contact anybody, and his location was kept secret, even if no one knew about his arrest and there was no leak to the press. Aydan Bolat's phone was blocked not to allow her to call anyone either. And Eda's uncle didn't believe that her grandfather would ever risk bailing Alptekin out. He had no use of him anymore.
Eda followed Serkan through the station's corridor. He was silent through their whole ride there, but his eyes showed determination now. They stopped under one of the doors, and the police officers let them inside. Eda took Serkan's hand to show him her support and walked to the room, standing slightly behind his back.
Serkan's father was already there, sitting by the table with a bored expression on his face, and when the door closed behind them, Eda noticed they were left alone in the interrogation room.
Serkan took a step forward with his gaze fixed on his father, who didn't even look at him or acknowledge his presence in any form. He only glanced shortly at Eda and snorted to himself, and she was ready to kill that man for his condescending behavior toward them.
"I knew about your plan all along." Serkan spoke up after a moment of silence, trying to sound calm and composed. He took a deep breath and continued in a dry voice, looking straight at his father. "The Holding was sold. It doesn't exist anymore. All your assets were liquidated. And I closed your Swiss bank accounts as well as those in Cyprus and every other country. You won't get out of here, nor bribe a judge or anyone else. You will not have contact with anyone except for your lawyer, and you will speak with him only in the presence of my lawyer. You won't be able to hurt me, my wife, or anybody from my family or friends, so don't even bother to try."
"And you came all the way here to tell me?" Alptekin said in a disdainful tone, smirking at Serakn, who tensed the moment he started to speak. "Don't you have staff to do that for you? Or Murat said he won't be doing your bidding anymore? Maybe he wants a raise?"
Eda made a step forward, but Serkan stopped her.
"I came to show you that you will never destroy me and bend me. I will survive."
"Like a cockroach, yes. If cockroaches are suicidal." The man said, examining his nails, while his other hand was handcuffed to the back of the chair.
Serkan breathed deeply to keep his composure. "I have nothing more to tell you. I won. I'm not a pawn in your game. I never was." He said and turned to the door. At this moment Alptekin started to laugh, stilling Serkan's movements.
"You are proud of yourself, boy? You always were just a spare option, nothing else. You only exist because I needed the safety of a second heir. I should have given you away and had another child in your place, but after you were born Aydan didn't want to give birth anymore. You were such a pain in the ass even before your birth."
Serkan turned furiously, and Eda froze in shock at the man's words, but he didn't stop there. He kept looking at Serkan and continued with an evil smile spread across his face.
"You always were weak and clingy and disgusted me with your tears."
"I was four years old!" Serkan shouted, fisting his hands.
"So what? Alp didn't cry."
"He cried every time after you were done with him!"
"He had enough of the brain to keep it to himself, not like you. But you knew your kind pretty well. You clung to that maid and stable boy. They were just the right company for you. You were born in the best lineage in Turkey, but your true nature drew you to servants. Even Ayse knew it. She took you to her home and gave away to kitchen help to raise you as it was fitting for you. You probably played with dogs in the mud. Why we didn't enroll you in a school in Turkey? You were embarrassment. Always dirty and smelling like a horse shit. You couldn't even speak proper Turkish, just this wired combination of English mixed with Turkish and Italian. No wonder they didn't want you to go to school in England either. They knew you were imbecile."
Alptekin stopped for a second assessing the effect his words had on Serkan, and let out an evil laugh again. Eda glanced at Serkan's face, and the fury in his eyes changed into hurt. She knew he was believing in every word he heard.
"When you were born, I requested the paternity test because you were a redhead, and who wants to have a redhead child? I was surprised you turned out to be mine. I'm sure one of your great-great-grandmothers must have had an affair with a stable boy, and you got his genes. Such an embarrassment. If you wouldn't do a number on us, and I'm sure it was all Murat idea, you're too stupid for a plan like that, I would bend you to my will. You always were weak. One my word of acceptance, and you would sign everything just to have the daddy you always wanted to have. And maybe I would even accept you then, but you lost your chance." He said in a mocking tone and chuckled, seeing Serkan's shocked reaction. "And you pretend to be smart with all those degrees? You own that university. Everybody knows you bought them. If you would buy one or two, it could be convincing, but you went too far and bought too much. You always were stupid."
Eda was watching Serkan in horror as Alptekin was destroying in him everything. He was attacking and twisting every part of Serkan's life. Every single thing in which Serkan excelled or felt accepted. She saw how Serkan slouched, putting his head down.
"Since the beginning, I knew you won't achieve anything. All you have you bought with the money you didn't earn but got from inheritance. You should be grateful to me that you were even born. And you think you are better because you picked out that hot young wife? She will leave you in a blink of an eye as soon as she learns how big a disappointment you are, you always were."
Eda saw a change in Serkan's eyes, which flashed with fury again as he straightened himself. He fisted his hand and made a move forward as if he were ready to hit Alptekin when the man laughed.
"Do you think she won't leave you? What do you have to offer? She's richer than you. I'm sure she's cheating on you."
"Shut up!" Serkan yelled.
"She probably is with you now only because she's pitting you. But look at you. No one ever wanted you, and no one will. Your own mother didn't want you. Do you really think any woman would want you?"
"I said SHUT UP!" Serkan made another step forward.
"She left you once already, didn't she?" Alptekin laughed, and Serkan stopped, frozen. "I was right. She doesn't want you. Do you think I don't know what was happening? I had my spies. Do you think it is so hard to send a student to your university? And she said very loud and clearly she didn't want to sleep with you when you groveled in front of her, and she didn't care. She said exactly that. I'm not surprised. Who would want to touch you? Tell me, did you ever consummate your marriage, or you're impotent? I always suspected you are..."
He didn't finish his sentence. It was cut by a slap. Eda was standing between him and Serkan, breathing heavily, her face red from anger. "You disgust me! You don't know anything about me and Serkan. You don't know anything about what happened between me and Serkan, and I fell in love with him the moment I saw him!"
"Please, don't make me laugh." Alptekin wasn't intimidated. He raised his brows and licked his lips, looking at Eda as if he was choosing his next prey. "We all know how you are. The poor little orphan who feeds on attention and pity. Your adventures are widely known in Turkey. We were betting when you will try to kill yourself again. You have a nickname here. Yildirim suicide brat."
He smiled, seeing how Eda's eyes widened in shock. She was looking incredulously at him, couldn't comprehend what she just heard. She wanted to kick him when he started speaking again, focused only on her.
"And we all know about your father, how stupid he was. Even more stupid than my son, and this is a great achievement to fell so low in brain department. One pussy, and he threw everything away and got himself killed. He was responsible for his death and his stupid bitch. He did the world a favor, now it's your turn."
Eda screamed in rage and jumped toward the man, hitting him in the face while he continued laughing at her. She never felt so helpless before. Her fury was boiling in her veins and it physically hurting. She was punching blindly, not caring that her knuckles started to bruise and the blood appeared on them until she felt Serkan's arms embracing her and pulling away from Alptekin.
"Serkan, let me go!" She screamed, kicking in the air to free herself and to continue to hit the man in front of her.
"Eda." Serkan said quietly, firmly holding her back.
"I will kill him!"
"Eda. Leave it"
There was something in his voice that made Eda sober up, and she let Serkan pull her away. He cleaned her hands from Alptekin's blood, and she turned to the man.
"Don't you ever dare to disrespect my husband and the memory of my parents."
Alptekin ignored her and looked at Serkan with a menacing smile. "You think you won but you didn't. You won't be happy, I can assure you, and this is not the end. Keep your crazy bitch under the key. How do you know she's not cheating on you already? I wouldn't be surprised. And I can assure you, you are not the only man that will have her."
Before Eda could even register, Serkan punched his father in the face with such a force that made him fall on the floor together with the chair he was handcuffed to. She looked in horror at how Alpteking let out an evil laugh, flashing his teeth covered in blood. His swollen and bruised face distorted in a way that he stopped resembling a human but a devil.
"She will be your downfall and your death. As quickly it started as fast it will end."
Alptekin was still laughing when Serkan took Eda's hand and left the room without any word, pulling her behind him. He was moving through the station so quickly that she had to trot behind him to keep up with his pace. He pulled her to the car and ordered the driver to go and didn't say anything for the whole journey back to the hotel, looking with a grim face through the window.
Eda wasn't able to speak either. She still was shaking after what she heard and how this cruelty pushed her to physical violence. She was looking down at her trembling hands and fisted them, trying to gain control over her rage. No one ever insulted her and her parents so much. It hurt so badly that she almost couldn't handle it, but the words directed at Serkan, hurt her even more because none of them was true, but had a colosal destroying effect on him.
The moment the car stopped in the underground parking of the hotel next to the elevator Serkan jumped out of the car, and Eda followed him. None of them spoke up while they were getting to their floor and suite. To Eda's relief, they didn't meet any of their friends there.
Serkan bolted through the door and kicked the chair on his way. He walked over to the coffee table and threw its contents on the floor, smashing the glass. He slumped on the couch, resting his head back, and looked at the ceiling, clenching his jaw and trying to control his heavy breathing.
Eda approached him, walking around the broken glass and knelt next to him on the couch. Serkan pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes. She cupped his cheeks and tilted his head to look into his tormented eyes. She swallowed her tears to keep strong, but her heart was breaking at the years of abuse Serkan suffered at that young age. A couple of words from that man made her lose control. She couldn't imagine what years of that did to Serkan.
Now she understood his need to be perfect all the time. Why he was studying so much, and if any of his drawings weren't perfect enough, he was ripping it, even if his work was outstanding. Why he never did anything in which he wasn't the best. Why his clothes were always impeccable, why his hair was perfectly combed. Why everything in his room was neatly organized and placed in order. Why his pencils had to lay perfectly still. Why he was struggling and having problems with keeping his nerves down when she was messing with the order of his notes or books. He was trying to show the world that he was not as his cruel father had told him through his whole childhood. He wanted to show the world that he had worth, he didn't believe he had.
"Serkan, don't listen to him. You are worth more than thousands like him. He knows that and is jealous of you. You are so much better than him in every way."
"Am I?" Serkan asked with bitterness. His voice was shaking.
"Yes you are. And he is a monster and abuser."
Serkan looked at Eda. She saw tears and torment in his beautiful eyes. He was trying to control the quiver of his lips.
"Did he beat you when you were small?" Eda asked quietly, taking his hand and lacing their fingers.
Serkan shook his head. "I would prefer if he beat me. He was beating Alp and telling me it was my fault."
He took a sharp intake of breath, and tears started running down his cheeks.
"I was trying not to cry in front of him, but I couldn't, and he was laughing at me, but I was four." He looked at Eda apologetically as if he wanted to excuse his state of weakness. "Alp was stronger than me. Alp knew if he would cry, he would beat him more. He was mocking my Turkish, but I was going to preschool only in London, and we mostly spoke English."
Serkan wanted to hide his face in his hands to hide his shame, but Eda pulled him up to face her.
"He wanted to put me and Alp against each other, to make Alp hate me. We were too young for him to succeed, but he would probably do it when we would be older, but that never happened."
"Did you tell about it your aunt and uncle?"
Serkan shook his head. "We never told anybody. And he acted as a loving parent when Ferit was staying with us. And sometimes, I believed that he changed his mind, and I was trying to hug him, and he was pushing me away the moment no one was watching. But I was just a small child, I didn't understand any of it. I didn't know I would humiliate myself only more. I wanted him to want me, but I was too stupid."
Eda embraced him tight. "Serkan, I love you so much. You are amazing. You are so smart, intelligent, and witty. You have such a big heart, and you are so caring. And you are so strong. You are a born leader. Everybody concentrate around you. Not only your family but Engin and Piryl stayed because of you. You have real parents who care about you because they recognize how amazing you are and don't want to let you go."
"How can you be so sure they want me?" Serkan asked with doubt in his voice.
"Nesrin told me. She told me you are her son, and she loved you since the moment she met you and never wanted to give up on you, even if she had to stay in England."
Serkan broke into tears, and Eda guided his head on her lap.
"I always pretended she was my mother."
"And she was. She is." She said, caressing his hair. "There are so many people who love you. And no one ever loved him and never will. He's taking out on you because he will never have what you have. The real family and love."
"How can you be even real?" Serkan picked up his head to look at Eda, and she smiled at him.
"I am, and I'm all yours."
He moved to sit up and pulled Eda onto his lap. She snuggled to him, putting her head into the crock of his neck. She still could feel his short breath and his heart pounding in his chest. She caressed his head and back to help him relax.
Eda moved her head to kiss Serkan's cheeks, brushing away his tears. She kissed his closed eyelids, forehead, nose, and chin. She sucked gently on his lips before opening her mouth and meeting his tongue.
They kissed slowly at first, the strokes of their tongues matched by movements on their hands. Serkan picked up Eda to make her straddle him, and she tilted his head back and attacked his lips again. The soft kiss turned into a hungry one. Eda's fingers were fighting with the buttons of Serkan's shirt while he ripped a thin blouse off her and pushed her skirt up to her waist.
"I love you so much." Eda pulled back from Serkan's lips and leaned to suck the spot in the crock of his neck, marking him. He tore her thongs and pushed her bra cups down, sucking and licking her breasts.
Eda was going crazy with the need and desire that Serkan's touches ignited in her. She grinded her hips over the hard bulge of his pants, letting his lips and teeth mark the skin of her neck. She reached to his belt and unbuckled it with one hand, the other already stroking him through the fabric.
Serkan unbuttoned his pants, opened the zipper, and pulled them down with Eda's help just to free himself. He grabbed her hips, raising her up as she centered her core on the tip of his cock, gasping from arousal and anticipation.
"You are only mine." Serkan said in a hoarse voice, pulling her down.
"I'm yours." She panted out, lowering herself on Serkan's hard shaft.
"Only I can have you." He murmured to her ear and punctuated his words with a hard thrust of his hips.
"Only you!" Eda moaned.
She braced herself on his shoulder for better support and started riding Serkan, moving her hips up and down when he buried his face in the valley between her breasts, holding her firmly by her waist.
She grabbed his face and kissed him hard when the heat started culminating in her lower belly, announcing the arrival of her orgasm. She threw her head back, pushing Serkan's face to her chest, and cried out her release. Serkan was bucking his hips upward, thrusting hard inside her, and Eda already was on the verge of another orgasm.
"Don't stop." She panted. "Don't stop!"
"Oh, I'm not going to stop." Serkan rasped into her ear and suddenly picked her up and carried her to the bed, carefully omitting the shattered glass on the floor.
He lay her on the bed and pulled back from her, only to rip her skirt away. Eda shivered at his dominating action. It only turned her out more. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him down to her, and kissed him passionately, pouring all the love she felt for him into this kiss.
Serkan spread her leg wide, laying on top of her, and started pounding her fast and hard, bracing himself on his knees and elbows.
"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" Eda cried repeatedly.
Her screams resonated in the room mixed with the sound of Serkan's thrust. His moves became irregular, and his breath was getting short. He took her lips in a rough kiss and moaned against her mouth, coming hard deep inside her.
They lay in each other arms, breathing heavily, coming back to earth after their climax took them to heavens. Serkan rolled them to their sides, securing Eda's legs around his hip, still buried inside her. She stroked his cheek, looking him deep in the eyes.
"All he said were lies. He doesn't know you and me." Eda said firmly.
"I know." Serkan answered her in a determined tone. "I won't let him get into my head again."
Eda ran her fingers through Serkan's hair and traced his features with her index finger until he closed his eyes and fell asleep. She leaned over him and whispered in his ear.
"You're mine, Serkan. You're my only love. I know what are you scared of, but don't listen to him. He doesn't know us. He judge us on what I did, but I'll never do that again. I'm not afraid of loving you anymore, and I want only you. I will never change my mind. This is not who I am. I hope you know it."
Eda kissed his cheek and chin. Serkan's stubble tickled her lips. She looked at his exhausted but peaceful face. It made her heart full again seeing him sleeping again. Eda put her head on his naked chest and pressed her nose to his skin. She placed her hand on his heart. Feel of its regular strong beat and Serkan's deep breath was one of the things she loved the most. Serkan shifted to the side, embracing her tight and pulling her to rest on his shoulder. Eda kissed his neck and closed her eyes to follow him into undisturbed sleep.
* * *
Selin was sitting in her father's study in their mansion in Istanbul, listening to her parents fight.
"What did you expect?" Kadir Atakan asked with raised brows. "Ayse Bolat to invite you to her party? She always felt better than everybody and looked down on us because she thinks she's aristocracy."
"Shouldn't we be there as her sister's future in-laws?" Damla Atakan exclaimed in anger, pacing through the room "We are cut from every important social event, we have no access to anything that is happening there, no information. Shouldn't our status go up through Selin's engagement with Bolat? Or we will still be just tools in Alptekin's hands to save his ass? Do I really need to point out everything for you as for a child?"
"What is your problem? Who cares about Ayse's vanity projects? She didn't even care to show up from what I have heard."
"Someone saw Ferit Simsek at his parents' gala in the company of a boy, whose description perfectly fits young Bolat. He returned to the city, and we didn't even have any idea." The woman stopped in front of her daughter, put her hands on her hips, and looked at her sternly. "And how do you watch your fiance if you don't even know what he's doing and with whom?! What are you even doing here? Why aren't you with him?!"
Selin stayed silent, looking down when her mother continued. "Why aren't you at the university?! Are you still so sure Bolat broke up with Yildirim girl? Because from what I see, she's with him, and you are here!"
"I gaduated yestraday, I had no reson to stay there. He's not there." Selin said quietly.
"And we are very proud of you and your degree, canim." Kadir said, smiling at his daughter and squinted his eyes at his wife when she threw her hand in the air and snorted in anger.
"I can't believe it. I'm sure she's already pregnant with him, and they will be getting married before you even blink an eye!"
"Dalma, could you stop?" Atakan interluded. "I have a deal with Alptekin. I spoke to him four days ago, and he assured me everything is in order."
"How can it be in order if he had no idea where his own son could be?! I was telling you he would make us look like fools, but you stubbornly insisted on sticking with Alptekin, and you even do his bidding! Who cares who some Baytekin is?!" Delma shouted and left the study, slamming the door behind her with a loud bang.
"Baytekin?" Selin asked in surprise. "Piryl Baytekin?"
"Do you know her?"
"She was my roommate in boarding school in London and she attended the same university, studying the same degree as Serkan."
Atakan looked at her with an eyebrow raise. "Why would Alptekin be interested in your roommate? Who are her parents?"
"I don't know. She said, they are living in London, but I don't know what they do. They are pretty rich. Her father's name is Faruk or something like that." Selin shrugged.
"We will find out who this Faruk Baytekin is and why he is so important for Alptekin." Selin's father dialed the phone and put it on speaker. "Ahmed? Find me Faruk Baytekin from London, and I want to know everything about him, and I mean it, everything."
* * *
Eda was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, looking at the marks Serkan's mouth and teeth left on her skin. She left as many marks on his body as he did on her.
Serkan walked to her from behind, taking her in his arms and looking at her through the mirror. His fingers ran gently through every mark he left on her body, leaving goosebumps under his touch.
Eda arched her back and pushed her ass a little up to grind herself on his growing erection. He was naked, and she had only a see-through white robe on. He pulled the garment down, letting it fall down her feet, and cupped her breast, his other hand ran down her flat stomach between her legs.
Eda's breath hitched when he ran his finger through her folds. She was wet and ready for him. He leaned to her shoulder, sinking his teeth into soft flesh, and knelt her legs apart, taking her from behind.
Eda moaned, looking at him. He picked up his gaze, and their eyes locked. He held her firmly with one hand between her legs, massaging her clit, and the other dug into her hair, pulling her head up to keep their eye contact when his hip was thrusting hard and fast inside her, just as she liked.
She moaned his name, looking him straight in the eyes, when the pleasure expanded in her body, making her jerk in his arms. Her knees buckled under her, and Serkan let go of her hair, wrapping his hand around her waist and pulling her up.
He moved them to the side and crushed her to the tiled wall, moving even faster inside her, chasing his own release. He came with a low groan, triggering her another orgasm. Before Eda could even recover, Serkan pulled out of her and turned her around, taking her lips into a kiss, invading her mouth with his tongue. He picked her up and carried her to the shower.
* * *
Eda walked through the closed-off part of the hotel garden, which was prepared for their use only, so they could enjoy the hot Istanbul weather outside, not staying in the hotel rooms. She walked to the stand with drinks and snaks and poured a glass of orange juice. Fifi used the occasion she was alone and came close to her.
"Where did you go yesterday?" She asked with a curious expression on her face.
"To visit Alptekin." Eda answered, taking the plate with strawberries and adding the whipped cream to them.
Fifi raised her brows and glanced at Serkan, who was sitting by the table in the company of his cousin, Engin and Piryl. "How it went?"
"Terrible, not only for Serkan." Eda sighed heavily at the memory of yesterday's encounter. "He's an awful man."
"Serkan seems to be better." His cousin remarked, and they both looked at Serkan, who just smiled at Ferit who was laughing loudly at Enign, almost falling from the bench. Engin turned red, and Piryl palmed her face.
"Yes." Eda smiled a little, watching how Serkan joined the conversation with his friends, looking visibly more relaxed and confident. "He needed it to finally put it behind. Even if it was a terrible experience. But he let it all out."
"Did he tell you what happened in his childhood?" Fifi whispered. "Serkan never told any of us, not even Mom. I'm not saying you have to tell me what happened, but I know something wasn't right with him and Alp. They were hiding something."
Eda nodded. "He told me everything."
Ceren approached them from the direction of a small garden gazebo, holding her phone. "I talked to Dad. He said we should change the location. Your grandfather can learn that we are in this hotel."
Eda pursed her lips and lost her good mood at the reminder that her grandfather, whom she hated with her whole heart, was still somewhere out there, not allowing them to feel safe. "Ok, what he proposed?"
"Dad thinks it will be better if you and Serkan move to another heavily secured hotel, and we should go home. Engin can take Piryl to his parents, and they will lay low there. And our home turned into a fortress. Fifi and Ferit can go stay with us."
"Murat amca doesn't want me and Serkan to stay with you so we won't be danger for you?" Eda asked, cocking her brows.
"No, Eda, don't think like that. He said our home is the most obvious target for your grandfather to look for you. You will be safer in one of the hotels."
"But you will be in greater danger then." Eda remarked.
"We have a lot of security. And we will not leave until he's out there. Dad said we should prepare to finish our degrees when we are closed at home. I'm just missing some points for my graduation. How is yours?" Ceren asked Fifi.
"I will wait to come back home. I can graduate during the summer, and I'm staying for my master's there. Aren't you going to continue your studies in England?"
"No. I don't think so." Ceren blushed a bit. "I will switch to Istanbul. Ferit will graduate soon, and he's opening the business here with Serkan. We don't want to do a long-distance relationship. And you, Eda? I don't think you would want to go back to the weather you hate and leave your husband."
"Obviously." Eda chuckled. "I wasn't planning to continue studies there for a long time. I will move here too. And Serkan already graduated in May. We don't need to go back."
"So you all will leave me alone?" Fifi pouted.
"Alone with your boyfriend?" Ceren wiggled her brows and laughed with Eda. "You will have the whole floor just for you and Deniz to run around naked."
"Ceren, can't you stop with these comments!" Fifi exclaimed, turning crimson red. "Sometimes I don't know who is worst. You or Eda!"
"It runs in the family."
* * *
The sun was setting, and only Eda and Serkan stayed in the garden as the rest of the group had already been moved from the hotel to their family houses. Eda had her phone with her, waiting for her uncle's call. He was preparing the security and checking if the new place was safe for them to stay.
She stood behind Serkan, who was sitting by the table with a piece of paper and pencil, sketching the view of the hotel with the sun setting over it. She leaned to kiss his hand, and he embraced her waist to pull her on his lap.
"Are you tired of hiding in the hotels?" Serkan asked, stopping drawing and putting his pencil away.
"Not yet. I can stay in a hotel for a longer time, but I would want to go out eventually to walk around the city. I'm your guide. Do you remember?" She smiled, seeing his smile.
"I can't wait to see it."
"I will have to make a list of every important site for us to see, and we can systematically cross them off." Eda said with newfound excitement and moved from Serkan's lap. "Where did you find the paper to draw?"
"I asked the hotel staff to bring it. They put it next to the food."
Eda moved from the table and walked a short distance to the stands, and when she was out of Serkan's hearing range, her phone started to buzz. She frowned, seeing the unknown number. She answered the phone and froze, hearing a caller.
"Don't you think you owe me face-to-face conversation?" The cold voice spoke up on the other side of the line.
"I don't owe you anything." Eda said, starting to shake from anger and hate that immediately filled her whole body.
"I think you do, but I can imagine you are not so stupid to just leave your safe walls. Don't worry, I have my way. Come home."
"Yes, I'm not stupid, and I have nothing to tell you. You might figure out what I think about you. And I don't want to hear a word from you ever." Eda was ready to hang up when the voice laughed.
"Eda, Eda, my sweet little Eda." The man cliqued his tongue. "I like you a lot. But don't hang up. You will not appreciate the consequences if you do. You might want to look where your husband is."
"He's right with me." Eda spat, turning quickly toward the chair where Serkan was supposed to be, and breathed out with reliefe, seeing him sitting by the table and sketching.
"Right, perfect. Watch him carefully but don't move."
Eda's eyes widened when she spotted the red laser dot on Serkan's back just in the middle of his shoulder blades and the other beam pointing at his head. She paled, terrified, and the phone almost fell out of her hand.
"I hate you." She uttered in a disgusted tone. She looked around in the direction of laser beams but couldn't spot any sniper or place where they could hide. They must've been aiming from very far away, probably from buildings behind the hotel.
"I presume you noticed." The voice laughed again. "Now listen carefully. Don't approach your husband. Turn around and go inside the hotel. Don't go to the elevator, but turn left, go through the kitchen to the restaurant, and leave by the restaurant's door. The black SUV is waiting for you. Am I clear?"
"What do you want?!" Eda shouted, treas creeping into her eyes when her gaze was still fixed on laser beams pointing at Serkan.
"Shh, not so loud. If he moves, they shoot. Do you understand?"
"Yes, call them back."
"I'm waiting. Don't make me lose my patience." The man said in a mocing tone.
"I will go, but call them back." She demanded, trying to control her shaking from fear voice.
"No." The line cut.
Eda turned to the door, trying to walk normally, not to attract Serkan's attention. She was nervously trying to come up with an idea of how she could inform anyone about snipers and her destination. Eda knew she couldn't send any message or make a call because she was more than sure her phone activities were monitored, but she could leave a message on her phone.
Eda passed the wall leading to the hotel entry, which was shielded from the outside and inside view. She quickly opened her phone and tapped the message. She made a screenshot and put it on the lock screen. She dropped the phone to the ground. When Serkan starts looking for her, he will have to go through this path. She only hoped he would spot her phone lying there and look into it.