A Cinderella Story - ZeyBar

Chapter XV

Zeynep

My heart pounded in my chest, muffled by panic in my ears. I watched as the door opened, no air left in my lungs. I was shaking Barış's hand, who was standing behind me just as frozen. There was nothing for me to do. I can only pray that my name was not called by Mrs. Ozlem.

The door opened slowly, so slowly that I thought my heart stopped beating at one point. Barış returned my squeeze by also squeezing my hand the moment we realized who was looking for me. I don't know why, but the feel of his hand had a soothing effect on me, as if it gave me courage.

The big figure of Sultan abla appeared in front of us, and we stood motionless like hunted rabbits.

I lost my mind and words. I could neither move nor say anything. I opened and closed my mouth trying to say something, but nothing came out.

Sultan abla's gaze met mine, rose to Barış's, and then down to our clasped hands, which were nervously shaking. Her eyes met mine again. She let out a small sigh and closed the door behind her, leaving the room in darkness once more, with only light coming from the outdoor lighting in the garden.

"Listen, children," she began, head down. - "What you are doing is not right. Especially now." - she sighed as if she didn't know where to start - " Zeynep, your mother is looking for you. She had to be here now, not me. But do you know why she's not in my place now?" I shook my head. "I stopped her. Do you know why?" - Again I nodded my head negatively, and a few tears were already welling up in my eyes. - "Because I saw that Barış Bey followed you into the kitchen." she smiled. - " you don't  think that you can fool me, right?! Haha, there is no such thing. I've been watching you since the beginning! "

I couldn't believe it! My mouth fell open, and Barış's grip on my arm loosened.

"So, your mother wanted to enter, but I stopped her. I didn't want her to witness this. Unlike her, however, I guessed what I could find here... I won't tell you anything now, just because it's not the right time. But please consider your actions more. We all know what it would be like if someone else caught you... Zeynep, come on, we have work to do now, please, my child, pull yourself together. I know what its like, I've also been young and in love, but..." I laughed and blinked a few times to remove the tears from my eyes. I sighed and nodded. She was right. I let go of Barış's hand and hugged Sultan abla tightly, whispering thanks to her.

...

The morning finally came, and I, having slept only a few hours, was now crossing the threshold of the huge building of the company where I was interning. I loved coming here, it was beautiful and it was.. it was my dream. I already knew so many people that I can't remember how many times I said "Good morning" on the way to my desk. I hope that the committee, headed by Barış, appreciated my work enough to offer me to sign an employment contract with them. I had high hopes.

I reached my seat and threw my bag on the chair. Instinctively I turned for a moment towards him, towards the door of his office, but I couldn't see anything, the blinds were down, preventing anyone from knowing what was going on inside. I had never noticed Barış closing the blinds of his office until now, so I was curious to know what was going on.

"Shh" - I nudged Leyla on the shoulder - "what's going on inside?" - I pointed to the office I was looking at a second ago.

"Mrs. Ceren said that the boss is still talking with the committee." - whispered to me quietly. - "They have some disagreements, they haven't decided who to legt work here yet.

"Aha" was the only thing I could say.

I sat in my chair, eyes fixed on Barış's office again. Something tightened my chest, a thought worried me..