Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Four
The villa’s corridors echoed with the sharp staccato of Asli’s heels as she stord through, her breath ragged, fists clenched. The report clutched in her hand felt like a burning brand, each page a betrayal etched in ink. Staff mbers scattered at her approach, their eyes wide with alarm.
"Where is he?" she barked at a passing guard.
"Boss?"
"Markus. Where is he?"
The guard hesitated, glancing toward the courtyard. "His car hasn’t left the premises, Boss."
Asli’s eyes narrowed. She spun on her heel, pulling out her phone. Her fingers trembled as she dialed his number.
---
Inside his parked car, Markus still sat rigidly.
His phone buzzed, the screen flashing Asli’s na. He swallowed hard, while dread coiled in his stomach.
"Hello?" he answered, his voice strained.
"Markus," Asli’s voice was icy, "I need to see you. Now."
He glanced at Matilda, her smirk growing when she noticed who had called.
"I’ll be right there," he replied, ending the call.
He turned to Matilda, his jaw tight. "I don’t want to see you in this car when I return."
She raised an eyebrow, unbothered. "Or what?"
"Don’t test ," he growled. "Be gone before I return."
Without waiting for a response, he exited the car, striding toward the villa.
Asli paced her bedroom, the report spread out on the bed like a cri scene. The door creaked open, and Markus stepped in, though his expression was guarded.
Before he could speak, a vase flew past his head, missing him by inches and shattering against the wall behind him. Ceramic shards rained down in sharp, tinkling splinters.
"Are you out of your mind?" he barked, instinctively stepping back.
But even as the words left his mouth, a cold ripple threaded down his spine. His eyes flicked around the room, briefly scanning the windows, and the cracked vase, then landing back on her fiery fra. Sothing felt off.
’Did she see us in the car?’ he thought.
The possibility hit him like a punch to the gut. Was she watching them? His eyes went back to the window.
’No.’ he quickly responded. Where his car was packed was nowhere near her window.
He hadn’t seen anyone, hadn’t felt any eyes... he was trained to know when he was being watched.
But still...
Or maybe soone else saw. Soone who knew what it would an. Soone petty or nosy enough to report it to her like a prized secret.
Was it Demir? He had vanished during his current mission, did he suddenly return? Did he see them?
His jaw clenched. He could still feel the ghost of Matilda’s breath on his skin, the reckless tilt of her smile, the smug gleam in her eyes when she threatened to twist the story to her favor. And now, Asli... was she reacting to that as if it were his fault?
Her fury was wild and unfiltered, and she wasn’t one to lose control unless sothing cut deep.
If she knew what happened in the car, if she even suspected... he was screwed.
"Explain this!" she shouted, pointing at the docunts.
Markus’s eyes flicked to the papers, recognizing the damning evidence. He sighed, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly.
"This is better than I expected," he muttered.
Asli’s eyes blazed. "Better? You have been lying to !" How did he imagine her reaction to be like for him to think this one was better?
He t her gaze, his deanor shifting. The usual levity was gone, replaced by a cold, steely resolve.
"I owe you no explanation," he said flatly.
Asli’s breath caught. This wasn’t the Markus she knew.
"Get out," she whispered. "And don’t co back."
He crossed his arms. "My business is with your father, not you."
She stepped closer, fury radiating off her. "I will expose you."
He leaned in, his voice low. "Are you ready for the consequences?"
Her heart pounded. He knew. Or probably knew... About her and Aht.
"Get out," she repeated, her voice cracking.
Markus turned and walked away, leaving Asli standing amidst the wreckage.
She needed to think. Why would they play her? What was his business with her father about? She knew her adoptive father hated Aht and his family so there was no way he’d join hands with them unless he had a motive or simply wasn’t aware of the ga these brothers were playing.
She reached for her phone and called Aht. Her fingers were trembling around the phone. She nearly hung up, but on the third ring, his voice ca through smooth, unreadable.
He picked up at the third ring. "Hello."
"What ga are you playing with ?" She yelled at him.
There was a pause. Long enough to cut through her like a blade.
Then his tone dropped, calm and maddeningly detached. "Asli, I thought we were over this."
Her brows furrowed. Her lips parted, but for a second, no words ca.
Over what exactly? What were they over with? What was he... "You know damn well what you were doing." She growled, heat rising behind her eyes.
"Woman, I’ve got a war waging in my head. If you’re not going to say what this is about, I’m hanging up."
And just like that, the line went dead.
She stared at the screen in disbelief. The disconnected tone echoed in her ears like a slap. Her thumb scrambled to redial, but the line was busy.
Of course, it was.
Her breath caught.
She could feel it! Aht was talking to Markus. She thought she was the first to call him. Yet still, the bastard had beaten her to it.
She lowered the phone slowly, her jaw clenched so tight it ached.
*********
Aht tossed his phone onto the couch like it had burned him.
He rubbed at his temples, the silence of the room pressing on his skull. Asli’s voice still rang in his ears. That sharp, cracked tone but it was laced with sothing that wasn’t just anger.
It sounded like a wounded pride. Did he do anything wrong? Aside from kidnapping Cole, he didn’t recall doing anything else that could make her angry. Besides, she had texted him to keep Cole. He also decided to stay.
Wait a damn minute. Did Cole stay because... ’Naaa... nobody talked to him while he was in the cell.’ he told himself.
So why was Asli yelling at him?
Won. Was she in that ti of the month?
He wasn’t sure anymore.
He leaned back, head dropping against the cool wall behind the couch. "Shit," he muttered under his breath.
The phone buzzed again. He knew she was going to call back.
He exhaled through his nose, jaw twitching. "She’s relentless," he grunted, snatching the phone with the intention of switching it off entirely. However, he knew her temper. If he turned off his phone, she’d definitely be on her way to him and wouldn’t care where.
He swiped to answer. "Asli, listen, if you’re—"
"It’s ," a familiar voice cut in.
Aht’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t expected—
Markus.
Aht sat up. He pulled the phone back and glanced at the screen just to be sure. He hadn’t misread it. He shook his head once and sat forward. Why did he sound serious?
"What is it?" he asked, his voice flat. Dry.
There was a silence on the line; one of those weighted silences that told Aht whatever ca next was going to cost him peace.
"Asli knows. She suspects us," Markus said finally.
A sharp chill curled in Aht’s gut. He didn’t even ask what. He just let his head fall back against the wall again and stared at the ceiling like it might provide divine intervention.
"What exactly does she know?" he asked, his tone stripped of emotion.
"She knows we’re not enemies. She has photos. Us together. The missions. She knows I’m not the idiot she thinks I am."
A beat passed.
Aht ran a hand down his face. "How?"
Markus hesitated. "I don’t know. Maybe she hired soone. Maybe she’s been suspicious for a while. I can’t say for sure."
Aht let out a long sigh, the kind that hollowed him out.
It was always like this.
One step forward. Ten steps back.
He and Asli would inch toward each other, maybe even sothing warr—and then the ground would open beneath them and they’d fall right back into the familiar chaos.
The last ti he pointed a gun at her, he was sure she would be doing it too when they t.
She’d probably throw sothing at him.
He’d say sothing he couldn’t take back.
She’d look at him like he was the villain in a story she was too proud to admit she helped write.
Now she had proof. Not just suspicions. Asli was smart and it wouldn’t take long for her to know what plan they had.
And Markus... Well, Markus had just lit the fuse. Whether he ant to or not. He was sure it wasn’t him who gave it away... it had to be his cousin.
Maybe it was when Matilda was short and he brought her here. Maybe she heard them. But even if it were Matilda who inford Asli of their pretense to be enemies, the ti was too short for her to gather all the information Markus was telling him she had.
Aht closed his eyes for a brief mont.
This was going to be hell.
"What did you tell her?" he asked eventually, his voice cool and collected again.
"Nothing. She only threatened to tell her dad... which, I might or might not have given her the clue that I knew about you two." Markus whispered the last part and he couldn’t help but squeeze his eyes.
"Co on!" He finally said.
"Well, business is business. I needed to stand on it." Markus inford him but he didn’t miss the amusent in his tone.
"Oh don’t tell that. You think I don’t know you care for them? You like her!" Aht wasn’t accusing and even with the word he ntioned, he ant it in a friendly manner. Nothing romantic.
"Yeah. She grew on ." Markus got it and he was grateful he didn’t have to go back and forth on that one.
There was a long pause.
"Let her scream it out. I’ll handle her."
"Handle her?" Markus sounded amused. "You sure about that?"
Aht didn’t answer. Because he wasn’t. Not really.
Asli was hotheaded and would definitely cause a scene. She would find out what their plan was.
If she reacted to this badly, he could only imagine how she’d act when she found out they were trying to take over her kingdom.
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