Chapter One Hundred and Sixty- Six
The mont he stepped through the doorway, his body reacted
before his mind did.
His hand went straight for the gun hidden beneath his
jacket.
Asli had already anticipated it.
Her fingers slid toward her own weapon at the sa ti,
smooth, and practiced. In less than a second, the room froze, as the two guns
raised, muzzles steady, and their eyes locked.
The air thickened.
Since when had it turned into this again?
The room seed to shrink, walls pressing closer, and breath
turning shallow.
So this was what they were now.
A flicker of sothing ugly crossed her chest. Was it anger,
regret, or maybe both? But she crushed it down. If anyone was to bla, it was
him. Snakes didn’t get forgiven for biting.
Her finger hovered near the trigger.
"What are you doing here?" The words cut through the
silence, tight and dangerous.
His jaw clenched. The muzzle of his gun didn’t waver.
"I could ask you the sa thing."
A step closer. Just one. Enough to warn her.
"Asli," he said, her na coming out low, and lethal, "if
you pull that trigger, I swear I’ll kill you and send what’s left of you back
to your father."
The threat hung between them, heavy and very real.
"You reached for yours first." Her voice barely moved the
air, but her aim stayed steady.
"As I should." His lip curled, eyes flicking briefly to the
weapon in her hand before returning to her face. "I’m not the one who shoots
people every ti her emotions spike."
The disgust landed harder than a slap.
"I’ll lower mine," she said slowly, testing him, "if you do
the sa."
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then his gun dipped, just
enough. She knew it wasn’t out of trust. Probably he was calculating.
"What are you doing here?" he asked again, and this ti the
word sounded like sothing rotten in his mouth.
Her jaw tightened. Old mories stirred as she was reminded of his voice in her father’s ear, about to tell him whatever he knew about her
or what was going on between them.
"You almost sold out," she said. "I paid you to stay
quiet."
His brows drew together. "Paid?"
She didn’t hesitate. "You blackmailed . And I gave you
what you wanted. Every ti."
A short laugh left him. It was sharp, and humorless. It
scraped the room raw.
"Asli."
Her na slid from his mouth like it rembered her.
Heat coiled low in her belly, unwanted, yet familiar. Her
thighs pressed together on instinct, nails biting into her palm as she forced
herself not to shift, not to react. She hated that her body still spoke a
language he understood.
"I don’t have ti for this." He turned his back on her.
For a split second, her breath caught. Why would he turn his
back when he knew she was still holding her gun at him? Did he really trust her
not to pull the trigger?
He swore under his breath. She watched his shoulders tense, and
watched the mont he decided she wasn’t worth the bullet. Her gun slid back
into its place.
He pulled out his phone, dialing. When his gaze found her
again, it held nothing but contempt.
"Don’t flatter yourself," she said quickly. "I didn’t co
here to see you. If I knew you’d be here, I wouldn’t have stepped inside."
He ignored her.
And sohow, that hurt more.
"Markus," he snapped into the phone. "Tell your guards to
open the door."
Only then did she realize that he hadn’t left because he
couldn’t. The door behind him was sealed shut.
"No." His voice rose, sharp enough to cut. "Open the fcking
doors. Now."
Asli stared at the
floor, at the tension coiled in him, at the way command ca so naturally from
his mouth. It stirred sothing dangerous in her chest, sothing she shoved
down with practiced force. She hadn’t co here to rember how he used to sound
when he wanted control.
Aht listened, his jaw tightening.
"How is that my problem?" he barked. "If you do not want blood soaking into this room you like to worship, you’d better open that door before I
lose what little patience I have left."
Her fingers twitched near her gun again.
Enemies, she reminded herself. You and he are enemies.
"Hello, hello... Markus. Markus!" He dragged the phone from
his ear, thumb stabbing the screen again. Nothing. A curse slipped through his
teeth, low and vicious, before he hurled the phone across the room.
It struck the pillar with a sharp crack. The sa pillar she
had touched and rembered him.
Her breath hitched.
Suddenly his shadow was already over her.
"You want to know what we took from your father?" He crossed
the distance in two strides, fingers fisting in her sleeve, yanking her up.
"Call him. Ask him."
"I wouldn’t be here if I could," she shot back, wrenching
against his grip.
"Then back off."
"Is that a threat?"
"Call it whatever keeps you quiet." He released her
abruptly. "Call Markus. Tell him you got what you ca for."
She shook her head. "No."
His eyes darkened. "Don’t test ."
"I’m not here to fight you, Aht," she said, steadying
herself. "Give the truth and I will leave."
He laughed, slow and incredulous.
"Oh, don’t even think of it. Did you really think you could
kill ?"
"Don’t be stupid." Her voice sharpened. "You wore a chain
that night. I aid exactly where I needed to keep you alive, Aht. I tried
everything to deny the fact that I could’ve killed you, and didn’t. So don’t
act like I thought I killed you but you survived." She folded her arms.
Aht traced his neckline as if rembering sothing.
"Now that I spared your life," she added coolly, "you owe
."
His temper snapped. "What kind of audacity did they teach
you in that villa?" he snarled. "Are you high on sothing? You should be
thankful that I haven’t killed you yet. You dare tell I owe you?"
"I’m not here to quarrel. Just tell what I am here for and
I’ll leave."
"Fine." His smile was thin, and cruel. "Your father is an
animal."
Her spine went rigid. "Watch your tongue."
"Oh, I am! And of course. Your father is the light of your
world, there’s nothing he can do wrong in your eyes. I’m happy to break it to
you, he is an animal who trafficked humans. He sold human organs and kidnapped
won for prostitution. There is more we are yet to even discover." Aht told her, though she felt he was
holding back.
The room tilted. He was lying. He had to be. Her father
would never do that. She knew he had dark days and did so dark things but
this was not them. She never imagined hearing this.
"Go ahead and call him," Aht said coldly. "Ask him."
"You’re lying," she said, the words scraping out of her
throat. "Why would you tell such a lie?"
He inclined his head once. Slow and deliberate.
"Yeah?" His mouth curved, but there was no humor in it.
"Then don’t forget this, what you did doesn’t end cleanly. I do not let things
go unpunished." His gaze pinned her. "I will punish you for shooting ."
The room seed to tilt.
"So this is your punishnt?" she scoffed weakly. "That’s so
lowly of you."
He didn’t answer.
He turned away, his shoulders stiff, and reached the door in
three long strides. His palm flattened against the tal. He twisted the
handle. Once. Twice. Harder the second ti. The lock didn’t open.
His jaw flexed.
A breath tore out of him, rough and uneven. His hand
tightened at his side, fingers curling so hard the tendons stood out beneath
his skin. He didn’t move for a mont, just stood there, rigid, as if forcing
himself not to turn around.
The silence stretched.
Then he let out a slow breath, asured, and controlled.
Too controlled.
Her phone began to ring. She snatched it up, pressing it to her ear.
"Demir," she said, her voice steady despite the storm in her chest.
Aht’s head turned slowly toward her, the restless pacing coming to a halt.
His full attention locked onto her in an instant; no distraction, no impatience...
just a sharp, focused stillness that made her pulse stutter.
He did not move. He did not blink.
But she saw it in the tilt of his head, the narrowing of his eyes, the
almost imperceptible tightening of his jaw.
A shiver ran down her spine.
’Why is he looking at like that?’ she thought to herself.
’And why is Demir calling at this particular mont?’
She pressed the phone a little closer to her ear, her
fingers tightening around it. The tremor betrayed her and it was not out of fear,
nor weakness but the weight of his gaze still pinning her in place.
Aht was looking at her the way he used to before
everything shattered. Like he rembered her body before she could stop her own
from rembering him.
Her throat went dry. Her spine straightened instinctively,
as if bracing for a touch that never ca. The air between them felt charged,
dangerous, not because he might hurt her, but because he already had.
Her fingers shook slightly as her thoughts read more aning into his look.
"You are not ho yet. We need to discuss sothing." Demir’s voice ca
through, pulling her back. "I brought your favorite drink."
A smile tugged at her lips before she could stop it.
"Sure. I’ll be ho soon," she said, then cleared her throat. "Just... don’t
touch the outlines in my room."
She lowered the phone.
Aht’s gaze lingered on her mouth a second too long before drifting away.
His jaw still flexed, twice, as if he’d bitten down on sothing he didn’t
intend to taste. He turned his back to her and crossed the room, stopping near
the window but he didn’t look outside.
The silence stretched, taut and uncomfortable.
Asli watched him, a strange awareness settling in her chest. She couldn’t tell whether the tension rolling off him was anger, irritation... or sothing else entirely.
************
This went well... surprisingly.
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