Mrs. and Mr. Soysalan - AsLaz

8

Enjoy a gentle chapter where Asi and Alaz talk to their parents <3

***

Asi’s mind wandered back to a time before all the chaos, before the weight of her family’s expectations pressed down on her. She thought about Deniz, about how they met and how it all began so quietly, so uneventfully. It wasn’t a story she’d ever imagined for herself—not a grand, sweeping romance with epic moments.

It was just... simple.

Too simple, maybe.

She had come back from London for her father’s birthday, over a year ago. Her father didn’t want to celebrate that year. He hadn’t wanted to go to his favorite restaurant, listen to his favorite live band or sit with family and friends. Asi could understand why. His father had recently died and everything in Güven’s life seemed to be unraveling—one daughter far away in London and the mafia starting to make their threats known, a detail she wouldn’t learn until much later. The weight of it all was crushing him, making him withdraw, making him a shadow of the vibrant man who loved a good celebration.

Despite the melancholy atmosphere, Rüya, Asi’s sister, insisted that a small surprise might lift their father's spirits. She called Asi late one night, her voice tight with worry and hope.

“Just come back for a few days, Asi,” Rüya had pleaded. “Just for Dad. He needs something good, even if it’s just a little surprise. Just walk into his office with a cake or something. Maybe it’ll cheer him up a bit.”

Rüya gave Asi Deniz’s number, saying he was the one who had been by Güven’s side these past few weeks, handling things at the company. Asi didn’t know Deniz, hadn’t even heard of him before that call. But when she rang him, she found him polite and helpful, his voice steady and calm.

He had suggested a simple plan: Asi would sneak into the IT department with a cake and balloons and Deniz would send a message to her father to draw him away from his desk for a moment. Nothing fancy, just a small surprise to brighten his day.

Asi remembered that moment clearly. Walking through the corridors of Aydin Technologies with a small cake in her hands and a bunch of colorful balloons trailing behind her, she felt like she was bringing some cheer back into a house that had forgotten what happiness felt like. When Deniz texted her that it was time, she stepped into the department, heart pounding, not quite sure what to expect.

And that’s when she first saw Deniz in person. He was tall, black hair, black eyes, neatly trimmed beard, with a gentle demeanor and a warm smile that reached his eyes. There wasn’t anything spectacular about their meeting—no spark, no electricity in the air, no sign that fate had brought them together. Just a polite handshake and a soft-spoken introduction.

It wasn’t love at first sight, not even close. They were just two people who happened to be in the same place at the same time, each playing their part in a small family surprise. They spent the rest of that day chatting lightly and exchanging the usual pleasantries.

That night, they went out for drinks. It wasn’t planned; it just happened. Asi had needed someone to talk to and Deniz had been there, willing to listen. She didn’t remember much about what they talked about, but she did remember how she felt—drunk and lost, her emotions a tangled mess. She ended up crying on his shoulder, confessing things she hadn’t told anyone, not even Rüya.

“I can’t come back to Istanbul, I can't live here,” she had slurred, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m hopelessly in love with a man here, but he ghosted me after a few beautiful days together. He just... vanished.”