My Turkish Heart

Chapter 64: My last plea..

It had been a while since Serkan had seen Izzy and he really wanted to make amends. So he called her out and invited her for coffee, giving her the freedom to choose which place to go to.

"Serkan.. called me out for coffee..." Izzy told Kyle.

"He has a nerve to contact you again" Kyle said upset.

"I agreed...." she said nervously.

"You agreed? Why? He could have another trick up his sleeve"

"Because... because, I know his not a bad guy. Even if he was involved with everything that had happened, I really don't think he would harm me intentionally. Regardless of what happened, I do have some good memories of his friendship and I don't want to remember him as the bad guy"

Kyle sighed heavily and fidgeted with the mug in his hand, trying not to get too upset for Izzy's sake.

"I..just...I.." Kyle stuttered.

"You just what? Think I'm being naive to believe that? I've heard that before, but I can't believe someone who was always good to me just turn around and choose to be bad suddenly. Something must have happened for him to decide to take that path..."

"I'm not saying you are naive... You have a valid reason, but I'm just worried that he would use his good memories with you and manipulate you"

"I know you are trying to protect me and I also know that you're worried that I will get conned. However, the bodyguards are always nearby, I know that you send them when I head out alone. Even if you didn't tell me, I know your concern and care for me. I really appreciate it, but I believe everyone needs a chance to explain themselves or at least  to get some benefit of the doubt"

Listening to Izzy's reasoning, it was hard to disagree to her life philosophies. At that moment, Kyle's thoughts went to Burak and he wondered if Izzy would give him a second chance too, or give him a chance to explain everything , so that they can fix their relationship. Thinking about that brought a bitter feeling to Kyle's mouth and he felt uncomfortable. Realizing that his feelings for Izzy might have deepen and that he started to feel jealous of them rekindling their love.

"Are you still listening to me?" Izzy asked a deep in thought Kyle.

"Mmm hmm.. Even though I don't like you going out to meet him, I'll trust your judgement on this" Kyle reluctantly agreed.

Izzy gave him a big bright smile, hearing him agreeing to her meeting Serkan.

"Where's my reward for letting you go into the lion's den?" he joked.

Izzy looked puzzled by Kyle's joke and thought maybe he really wanted a reward. Thinking what she could offer him on the spot, she walked a bit closer to where he was standing in the kitchen, leaned in quickly and kissed his cheek. She felt so embarrassed that she grabbed her bag and ran out the kitchen and playfully yelled goodbye at the doorway. Kyle stood in utter shock, with his mug half filled with coffee in mid air. He wasn't expecting Izzy to take his joke seriously, he thought she might play it off giving him a sarcastic remark. Slowly placing his mug down on the counter, he still did not know how to react to what had just happened. His hand reached up to feel the spot Izzy had kissed and he couldn't stop the big grin that was plastered on his face.

Serkan arrived at the cafe outside the city bowl , that was overlooking the sea. The area reminded him a lot of his favourite places in America that he would visit during Summer. He saw Izzy was already seated and walked in to join her, both feeling a bit nervous to see each other again. They faked a smile and greeted awkwardly as Serkan sat down.

"Hi..how have you been?" Serkan asked.

"I've.. been.. okay.." Izzy said.

"This is awkward..." Serkan said to break the ice.

They both laughed at how they were feeling weird in this moment.

"Yeah, I guess you are right.. We never really been like this, even when we first met" Izzy said.

"It's my fault.. I called you here to  apologize for everything and explain some things"

"Ok..I'm all ears..."

"Firstly, I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable around me and also breaking your trust. I know a lot has happened and also a lot that needs to be explained. Just to clarify, I was not involved in the kidnapping, I did want to save you, but I got attacked as I left the building that day. When I woke up, I had a nasty bump on my head and you were already taken away..."

As Serkan was explaining about being attacked, Izzy figured it was probably Kyle and his bodyguards , which made her feel a bit bad for him being knocked out.

"I wanted to try and find you after, but I thought you probably might be afraid of me or think I was plotting against you.. Also, I felt like a coward not having the courage to face you sooner...I'm sorry!" he said.

"Thank you for the apology, I suppose... I just don't get why you were there in the first place or how you were so familiar with my sister..."

"Emma initially met up with me because she wanted to get some cash out of Burak and she knew I had a grudge against him. Due to her noticing that I have a soft spot for you, she pushed me further into the darkness of taking revenge. However , I never wanted to hurt you at all! It never was my intention.. It's true I have bad blood with Burak and I thought by using you I could make him jealous, but I feel stupid about involving you in all this..."

"Can I ask why do you have a problem with Burak?"

"We're blood cousins actually.. There has just been alot of bad things that has happened in our family life that were unfair towards me.. I guess I sound like I'm whining..."

"No, no... We all have things that we haven't healed from that we sometimes seek closure for, no matter how long ago it was" Izzy empathized.

"Yeah... so there's alot of unresolved issues..."

"That night.. I heard you tell Emma that Burak wouldn't pay.. How did you know that? Also, do you know why Emma is so desperate for money?"

"Burak and his family are a bit stingy when it comes to their wealth.. They live large and also talk a big game, but actually using their wealth to help someone in need it's not really a thing for them... I wasn't actually sure of what I was saying, but in the end I was right.. He intentionally stalled for time to fool Emma... "

Izzy clenched the side of her skirt tightly, as she felt a stinging pain in her heart thinking that Burak might really think she wasn't worth the ransom requested.

"Regarding Emma.. when she first wanted to work together because of money, I had her checked out. Apparently the life she is living abroad is more thorny than rosy , she's been hanging around older rich men and living a very superficial life.. Alot of things went down and she has a lot of debts to pay.."

"I can't believe this! It's literally the first I'm hearing of this.. We have no idea that Emma has been living like this. Why didn't she ask us for help, we could have atleast helped with something.."

"Izzy, you're very kind and caring, but there are some things you need to understand of the real world. If you have been dealing with dodgy people and doing some dodgy deeds, you want to cover them up with other things. If she had asked your family, then you guys would worry and start preying in her business. She's already going down a tricky path and to be honest her means of doing things are even a bit scary to me..."

"Yeah, I never thought she wanted money so badly that she would kidnap me, her own sister" Izzy said sadly.

"This is not my place to say this, but you might find out soon... Emma has a dislike towards you because of something else... Something you should ask your parents about"

"My parents?? You making me anxious. Just tell me!"

"You're adopted..." Serkan blurted out.

Izzy sat in utter shock, looking at Serkan with a frozen unreadable expression on her face.