Take Me To Your Heart

Game Over

I'm awoken to the feel of Ferit stroking my hair. I snuggle further into him as I come to consciousness, not wanting to have to face the day ahead of me, as always. He chuckles, hugging me closer to him. "Good morning, askim." 

"Morning." I grumble. I lean up to get my good morning kiss. He obliges, placing a soft peck on my lips, the small touch sending a charge through my body.

There is something new this morning, a deeper intimacy than ever before. I feel like I can see his heart now, and I am so touched that he shared his story with me. The stoic, ever steady Ferit Aslan feels comfortable breaking down in my arms, seeks comfort in me. The woman he loves.

I'll never tire of this.

But, I force myself out of bed, knowing I don't have the luxury to dwaddle today. Opening day is only three weeks away and it is time to make some decisions.

All week I work late into the night, spending my days handling logistics with Emre, and my evenings experimenting with my ever stubborn menu. Ferit brings Bulut by the restaurant so that I can still spend some time with him in this craze and I transform him into my assistant, delighting him.

Ferit and I barely have time together, until one night I return to find him still awake, sitting outside on the patio couch, clutching what looks like a pink shawl. A bottle of whiskey lies on the table in front of him.

The scene reminds me so vividly of his destroyed state after the temporary custody hearing and I nearly run to him. A pang shoots through my heart as I get close enough to see his face and take in his clear distress. "Ferit?" I ask, alerting him to my presence.

I seem to startle him out of his thoughts. He turns to me and I can see the tears in his eyes. "What happened, love?" I ask.

He closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath. I take a seat next to him and lean my head on his shoulder, wrapping my arms around one of his. "This was Zeynep's." He says, his voice wavering as he says her name. "She left it here the last time she was here. It was her favorite shawl, but she wasn't concerned. She just told me she'd pick it up next time she was here."

I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling his pain. That was the cruelty of the sudden death, the abrupt end of all the things you hadn't even realized you took for granted.

"Hakan forged that will, Sejal. We can prove it." He whispers after a long pause. "I thought all this time that she changed her mind. That she didn't trust me to care for Bulut without a wife. But, she did. They trusted only me. It was all a lie."

Tears stream down his face as he allows himself to grieve. My heart seizes as I realize that this whole time he has been feeling guilty for failing her somehow, for doing something to cause her to change her mind. Now that he had confirmation she had never doubted him, it seemed as though the sadness was all that was left. I knew it would be a relief in some ways to be able to mourn without complication. He was free to remember the relationship with his sister fondly, instead of trying to piece together answers he would never get.

I sit next to him and cry my own silent tears with him, not bothering with words. What he needs is someone to feel his pain with him. I kiss him on the cheek and hug him close as he finally lets loose. It kills to realize that Bulut and I are his only real family. His father and sister are gone, and his mother had already abandoned him.

When he calms down, he fills me in on the investigation. I'm taken aback by the lengths Hakan went to in order to take control of Bulut's inheritance. That his first move after finding out about the accident was to plant a forged will seems monstrous.

But the real question is, does Demet know?

Ferit turns to look at me, gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you for being next to me, Sejal." He has this way of looking at me that makes me feel like the most special woman on the planet, as if he is in awe of me. It makes me a little nervous, wondering if there will come a day when he realizes that I'm fallible, that I might not be worthy of his bottomless respect and faith in me.