Moments in Time

you're my destroyer (and my salvation)

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(NOW)
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Feraye opens the door to see a young man, probably only a few years older than her, smiling at her. She attempts to smile, "yes?"

"Hi, my name is Mustafa Deniz, I'm a friend of Ateş'. Is he here?"

She frowns, eying him closely. She closes the door behind her and steps out onto the porch. "A friend," she repeats slowly, not convinced.

"Yes," he says impatiently. "Is he here? There's something I need to tell him."

"He's not here. I can give him a message if you want."

She can tell he's getting nervous, and it makes her all the more anxious.

"Has he contacted you at all today?"

She swallows. "Who are you?" He doesn't answer, actually takes a step back from her. "Who are you? And what do you want with my husband?"

"I told you, I'm his friend."

She scoffs, folding her arms across her chest. "My husband doesn't have friends. I would know if he did," she counters, lying through her teeth. "Now tell me who you are, or I'll call the police."

He lets out a slow, controlled breath. He puts his hand in his pocket and she takes an involuntary step back. He must notice, because his face softens. He looks around, before he passes her his wallet, with a badge inside. "I'm with the police, ma'am. And I believe your husband is missing."

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THEN (Three Months Earlier.)
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"Why did you lie to Okan?"

He doesn't answer her. He takes off his tie with shaking hands, and sits on the bed with his head in his hands. "Ateş-"

"You do not have the right to interrogate me, Feraye. This isn't any of your business."

She looks down, wringing her hands together. "You said the thing you hate the most is lying, but you just lied to your brother. Something is wrong, I can tell."

He throws his phone on the couch, rubbing a hand down his face. "Maybe I want to give him a taste of his own medicine, hmm?"

She purses her lips in disapproval. "You know I won't believe that."

He huffs out a laugh that's a little hysterical. "Unbelievable. Seriously, you are something else, Feraye Yilmaz."

She inhales sharply. "Feraye Gülsoy," she corrects him.

He shakes his head. "Not once you sign these papers," he points his chin at the bedside table, where a small black file sits. He stands up, face devoid of emotion. "Unless you're gonna be marrying my brother," he mutters bitterly as he passes her.

Her heart nearly stops beating.

"No."

He turns around slowly. "Excuse me?"

"No," she says, walking closer. "I made a godawful mistake that I've regretted every day for the past three months, but do you know why I never told you about Yaman and I? Even after I lost my baby?"

"I can think of a million and one reasons, Feraye," he tells her quietly, "and none of them would excuse what you did."

"Is one of them that I didn't want to lose you?" She asks him, "that I didn't want the life we were just starting to build to crumble? That I couldn't bear the fact that you would hate me?" She takes a breath, holds it in, and blows it out slowly. "Ateş, I thought I was happy before you. I thought what I had before was perfect. But it wasn't, and I have you to thank for opening my eyes." She tries to grab his hand but he steps back from her. But he doesn't leave, and she thinks it's more than she deserves. "You brought me back to life, and you made my life so much brighter, and so much better."