The Price of Pride

Chapter 13

She snatches her hands from his and stands to pace the floor in anger. Her therapy sessions have been making her stronger, so she makes a few passes across the floor before she begins to tire. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of helping her, she finds her own seat and makes sure it's far from him. She can't let him be near or touch her. Because when he touches her, she can't think. And right now, she needs to think.

"So when Cemre took me shopping and made me buy all that stuff? She was doing that to make me look bad?"

"She said you left your credit card at home, so she offered to pay for everything. But that you spent more than even her credit limit allowed," Emir explains.

"That's not what happened," Reyhan sobs, the full realization of what Cemre and Cavidan had done finally sinking in. "I didn't want any of that stuff. I didn't even want to go shopping."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "Sorry that they did that. Sorry I believed them."

He can't stand to see her crying so he goes to her. He kneels next to her and tries to catch her eyes. But the angry fire burning in her eyes makes him feel even worse. Because she's not just mad. She's also hurt. He did that to her.

"And you," she continues, stopping to wipe her cheeks. "You set me up with that dinner on the beach. You took me out there, showed me a good time, and then gave me that check. Do you know how that made me feel? Of course you do. It made me feel exactly how you wanted me to feel. Like a whore."

"Reyhan. Don't say that. Please," he begs her.

"What? It's true, isn't it? 'Payment ... for your services' you said. And then you just left me there. Do you hate me that much too? Was any of that day on the beach real? Is any of this real? Are you playing me now?"

"No! Of course not!"

"How am I supposed to know what's real and what's not real?"

She pushes him away and gets out of the chair, moving towards the door. Leaving. Leaving him. And it makes him panic.

"Reyhan?"

"Don't follow me," she calls over her shoulder, hand on the door handle. "I can't be here right now."

"Reyhan, please. Can you just listen to me?"

He comes up behind her and covers her hand with his own, not letting her leave.

"That day on the beach was real," he tells her. "So real that I almost forgot about my plans for revenge. But I'll never forget that day. It was the first time we danced. I didn't want it to end."

She isn't actively trying to leave anymore and he considers that a good sign. So he continues.

"I couldn't think straight," he confesses. "You had my mind all messed up. I didn't know what to believe about you. I was convinced you were running a con on me, yet I still couldn't let you go. My heart didn't want to let you go. But my pride got in the way. And we both ended up paying the heavy price of that pride."

She turns around and faces him, tears still streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you," he says, still apologizing. "I'm sorry I let them hurt you. I'm sorry I didn't have your back the way a husband should. But I can promise you I'll have your back now. I'll be there to protect you against anything. Even my mother. I won't let them hurt you again. I don't ever want to see your eyes filled with tears again. Just say it isn't too late."

When he reaches out to her and she no longer pulls away from him, he considers that another good sign. When he holds out his arms, she falls into them and he can't help but be relieved. She buries her face in his neck, still crying. But she doesn't seem to be angry anymore. Just sad. And that breaks his heart even more.