Forbidden

Chapter 39

Ashley's POV

"Osman, that's enough! You haven't talked to her for a long time, so she got worried about you." My mother admonishes him. I walk a few nervous steps towards him after he got speechless.

"Hello, father. How are..." He cuts my words by hugging me. I hug him back and can't hold my tears back.

"I'm so sorry. This is all my fault!" I sob, but he doesn't say a thing. My whole family doesn't either. They're just looking at us and my mother is crying too.

When I face my father, I see him crying too. I can't remember my father ever crying. Maybe the day my grandmother died and that was seven years ago. I hug him now even tighter since I made him cry.

We had a good day together. I know they acted like I never left and someday they will punish me for that but I'm glad it wasn't now. I say goodbye to my father and promise to visit him again tomorrow. Amar drives us home and we already eat dinner.

It's still 6 pm so I think I could meet someone I really missed. Kerem. I know my father wants me to marry him and I shouldn't see him after I did this to him but he's still my best friend. Even though it's been a while I haven't talked to him. I feel bad about this.

I texted him to meet at the Bellevue near Lake Zurich. We used to go there all the time. So I ask Samir to drive me and later pick me up. When I arrive there, memories come up and I smile immediately. I haven't been there for such a long time but not a thing about it has changed. It's still full of people and they are already staring at me. Usually, people don't go alone to the Bellevue unless you go jogging. Even then they're mostly two people jogging together.

I hope Kerem doesn't take much longer because I'm here way too early and he needs some time to arrive because he moved a little further away. I forgot that and came too early now. I remember when we were kids, we met at a soccer field near my place and he wasn't always on time because his apartment was a little further away than mine. I never realized how lazy and selfish I'd been for always meeting him at places he had further to travel. And sometimes I get the feeling I'm a bad friend. But you know what the funniest thing in this story is? Kerem still fell for me even though I treated him like this. He never tries to correct my actions he just accepts me the way I am. I always wished a girl for him that someday would love him back and make him happy in a way that I couldn't. And now here I am destroying the happy ending of my best friend who always treated me like every woman wants to be treated by a man.

While thinking of all these things and staring at the Lake, suddenly someone closes my eyes from behind me. I jump with fright and immediately grasp the stranger's hands on my eyes.

"Who's this?" I ask.

"Guess who, Kanka." When a manly voice says this, I immediately know who this is.

"Kanka!" I say excitedly and turn to face Kerem. 'Kanka' is in Turkish and means 'buddy' in English. We used to call each other that very often. And now that I think of it, it would be weird if we got married and still called each other Kanka.

"Where have you been, Asli? Not even telling me anything about your runaway, I feel ashamed!" He chuckles. Kerem would never be angry at me and that's one of the reasons why nobody could ever replace him as my best friend.

"I have to tell you a lot of things. Please sit down." I tell him the whole story. Even about Hudson. I know Kerem has feelings for me, and this would hurt him, but I don't want him to hear it from someone else. I even told him about this week that we couldn't really enjoy because I had to come back.

"Oh, sounds like you really fell for him." He says, trying to act normal, but I know he's disappointed. I feel so bad for him, but he has already known for a long tim that he and I have no future. Well, a future where I love him back.

"I even told him I love him before my flight, but I had to hurry so he didn't say it." I tell him worriedly. I guess I'm being a little too honest and regret it every time I say something that could hurt Kerem.

"I think he just needs time. It's always harder for guys to say "I love you" than for women." He calms me.

After a very long talk about that and other stuff, I see the time. Three hours have already gone by and I have to go back home. Kerem wants to drive me and I first resist but then I agree. Maybe it's better that he drives me, so my mother can will be reassured by knowing that I'm not alone at this late hour.

We arrive at my house and he even walks with me to the door. After a long goodbye and a hug, an Uber drives directly in our driveway. Before I can ask myself who this could be he gets out of the car.

I can't believe it. Hudson!