The Business Trip Part 2

Deceit and Decisions

Hayat is a little preoccupied at dinner, a part of her wants to stay back and not get involved in the showing but the other part wanted so badly to go to Paris- and all the three reasons to go were equally compelling, for one she had always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and the Champs de Elysees, secondly, although she just wanted to end her relationship with Murat and move on, somewhere deep down she wanted to see him succeed as well and was sure this would be it and thirdly she was excited for herself from a professional point of view, this was her first big gig, organizing the event for Emre, she had played a huge part in putting it all together and wanted to reap the rewards of her hard work. She almost trips walking with the food to set the table, if it were not for Murat steadying her at the right time, she would have taken a big fall. "Steady steady" he reprimands her. Holding her close to him, his breath on hers, she snaps out of her trance, he takes the food from her and sets it on the table and turns around to face her, 'what's going on Hayat, is something bothering you?" Of course he could read her like an open book, she doesn't know how to bring up the subject, she starts toying with her hair, a sure sign that she is nervous, "Ummm...... Murat" she pauses, "Emre wants me to go to Paris", waiting for an explosion from Murat which doesn't come, instead Murat quickly thinks, perfect, at least now he won't have to convince her of going with him, half his problem would be solved if she thinks she is going to Paris for her work and not with him, so he quickly says, " why not, it will be a good break before the baby arrives, I'll be at the showing too, Emir will be presenting my designs there, so I'll be relieved if you are with me and not alone here in Istanbul by yourself." he concludes. " Besides, I would love for you to be by my side on my big day Hayat, this is it, this is going to make or break me." Not wanting to show her emotions and not wanting to let her fragile mind play any games relating to their future, she says, "oh, but I am going to be terribly busy Murat, helping Emre with his showing, so please do not have any expectations from me, I don't think I'll have the time to go anywhere with you. I may also be staying at the same place as Emre, that way it will be easy for us to coordinate everything." Murat just nods his head responding, "that's even better, we can stay at the same place, I don't have any issues with that, let Emre know that you will fly in with me and we will stay together wherever it is that he's going to put you up." He turns away and finishes with a slight smile playing on his lips. God, that was easy he thinks, he had been racking his brains trying to find a way to convince her to travel to Paris, this was a sure sign from above that things would get better. Hayat tries to figure out what really happened and how easily he had talked her into not only going with him but also staying at the same place. Was the pregnancy affecting her mind and making her agree to things she really did not want to do or was she secretly hoping that things would work out the way they did? 

Meanwhile, Cagla goes over her plan one more time, she had it all sorted, she knew that she was taking a huge risk by sending the design to Emre, but she was confident that Emre would not disappoint her, all she sought was revenge, and what better way to get it than humiliate Murat in front of Emir and the entire fashion fraternity. She did not care how this would affect her future, so blinded by her misplaced pride was she, that she does not even care that if she were caught, it would surely be the end of her career as a model, without giving it any further thought, she emails the design to Emre.

Emre is stunned seeing the design, he is well aware of Murat's talent as a designer, but clearly Murat had outdone himself with this creation, Emre is in a dilemma, should he use the design or should he just let it go, if he did use this design, it would put Emre's Creations up there with some of the biggest names in fashion, it would catapult him to instant fame and success, but on the other hand, he had wanted to start afresh, he had washed himself clean of his previous misdeeds. He would be deceiving himself and Hayat if he used Murat's design. She had started to trust him, and to break that trust now, he would never be able to redeem himself in her eyes ever again. Emre also knew that all fingers would point at Hayat if he used the design as that was the only way he could have got them, he is also aware that it would be the end of Murat and Hayat as Murat would never trust Hayat again, something that he desperately wanted. It was a clear indication from above that this was Emre's only opportunity to get even with Murat, but then again, what was the guarantee that Hayat would go with Emre after she separated from Murat, there were too many ifs and buts and Emre is in a big fix.

As Hayat prepares for bed that night, she can feel the baby getting affected by her restless mind, it seemed to be moving a lot and the slight pain in Hayat's back is starting to get worse with every passing minute. Sleep eludes her, and Murat can hear her tossing and turning, finally after an hour of trying to sleep Hayat is not able to bear the pain anymore and remembers the ointment that the doctor had prescribed, she is unable to reach her lower back to apply it and  calls Murat for help, Murat is alert at once, and is immediately by her side, worried. " What is it Hayat?", " Its my back, it hurts a lot, can you please apply this ointment?" " Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" he asks her, masking his concern. "No, the doctor said its normal as I get bigger." she says and goes back and lies down on the bed, her back facing him, he lifts her night gown and gently starts to apply the ointment on her lower back and hips, moving his fingers gently in a circular motion, her muscles start to relax with his expert kneading and the pain starts to dull away. "Is that better?" he asks, she simply nods her head not wanting him to stop or go away, Murat is turned on seeing her bare back and he just about controls an urge to move his fingers to the front. As if sensing all the tension, the baby decides to make its presence felt and gives a small kick making Hayat's belly move, Murat feels the movement on the side and quickly reacts placing his palm on her bulge waiting for another movement, the baby obliges and he feels a few more kicks, Hayat is enjoying the father and yet to be born daughter bonding and lets Murat explore a little more. Unable to help himself he starts to caress Hayat's belly and places a kiss on the spot where he feels the last kick. This catches Hayat unaware, and she gets up with a start, a thousand sensations raging through her. As she faces him, eye to eye, Murat bridges the gap between them and plants a soft kiss on her quivering lips, gets up and walks out of the room leaving Hayat even more confused, the pain in her back had vanished but she was left with a dull ache in her heart!