Second Time's the Charm

Part 3

"I'd like you to do me a favour."

Dila stilled. Ferman was sitting across from her at the breakfast table, seemingly engrossed in the newspaper in front of him but that was obviously not the case. Whether she was near or far, he was cognizant of her every move. To the world he seemed to be a calm, collected, worldly man but she knew him for who he really was and that meant being hyper vigilant of everything she did and said.

Their wedding had taken place four weeks ago in a lavish ceremony, pictures of them plastered all over the popular society blogs in Istanbul. Dila had caught glimpses of herself. amazing at how deceptively happy she'd looked in the photos. To everyone else she appeared to be madly in love with her husband but inside she'd been petrified the entire time, thanks to the casual words Ferman had uttered before the ceremony began.

"How did you enjoy your visits with Kuzgun?"

That same sense of dread flooded over her again. "Of course, Ferman," she replied in an even tone.

"I'd like for you to buy your childhood home back."

The house was worth nothing financially which meant Ferman either wanted the land or he was testing her. This was her life now, a daily series of hoops she had to jump through to satisfy Ferman's every whim. A part of her had foolishly hoped that marrying Ferman would not be as disastrous as she'd dreaded but their honeymoon had proven otherwise. He was a sadist who enjoyed inflicting pain on others and she had no choice but to play his games. "The house belongs to Kuzgun. He bought it at the auction after my father died."

Ferman drank his coffee. "Do you think I'm not aware of that?"

"I doubt he'll sell it back to me."

Ferman locked his gaze onto her; a cold shiver ran down her spine. "I have faith in you." He gave her a small smile before putting down the paper. Taking a sip of his coffee, he stood up and circled around the table towards her.

Her stomach recoiled as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head, his arm touching her right thigh – the very spot he'd bruised so badly last night. Even as pain shot through her and she grimaced internally, she maintained her outward composure. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her grimace. He may own her in many ways but she still had her dignity and he would never take that from her.

"You'll find a way to persuade him."

She nodded her head, holding still. It wasn't until he left the room that Dila finally exhaled. Instinctively, her hand pressed the scar on her chest. How was she supposed to face Kuzgun? Their last encounter had been disastrous, and no matter how much she tried to bury him in the recesses of her brain his memory was ever ready to torment her. The thought of having to see him made her want to throw up but then there was that tiny little part aching for him – but she couldn't dwell on that. Her focus had to be on Ferman and Ferman only, otherwise everything she'd worked for would be in jeopardy and her family would pay the price.

Drawing in a long breath, she started formulating a plan.

---

Dila made her way towards her old neighbourhood, her heart swelling up when she parked in front of her childhood home. She walked to the front gate, taking in the surroundings. There were so many memories attached to this place, ghosts of her parents laughing in the front yard while she and Ali played together, the stone bench on which her mother sat when she was sick and in need of fresh air, the hidden alcove in the garden when she and Kuzgun shared their first kiss. The last time they made love. Every inch of the house was haunted and entirely too painful to visit, which was why she never came back in the past three years.