26. Nina
Nina
W hen we arrive to the beach club, a hostess takes us immediately to a VIP cabana directly on the beach with plush cushions covering a huge bed, curtains for privacy, soft towels, and two glasses of champagne ready for us.
“What is this place?” I ask, looking around in awe. There’s food, drinks, music, a pool, and cabanas directly on the beach leading into the endless blue of the sea. “And why does it seem like a prerequisite to be here is to be rich?”
“Because it is, at least for this one,” Evren says. “To become a member, you have to be sponsored by three existing members to ensure a certain level of privacy for celebrities and people like me.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat or drink besides champagne? ”
“Yeah, I’m starving.” I glance at his dick.
“Later,” he says, chuckling. There’s this lightness clinging to him that he normally doesn’t have when in Skyrise. It’s like he’s home. “How about I order us a mixture of food and cocktails?”
“Do you plan on spoiling me with good food and drinks?”
“Always.” He sneaks a kiss before using the phone to put our order in. For the next several hours, we soak in the sun, swim in the sea, and eat some amazing food. The lahmacun , which is a Turkish-style pizza with minced meat on flatbread, is my favorite.
“It was my grandmother’s favorite, too,” he says, when I tell him that.
“Yeah?” I ask, taking another bite. “Was she a good cook, also?”
“Yeah, she was the best. Food is a big part of my culture, and being able to share the dishes I grew up eating? It’s like I’m able to introduce you to the people and places that have shaped me.”
“I love it.” I never thought of food like that before, like an introduction to someone’s past. All our shared meals together take on a new meaning and become even more special.
“But if you love Turkish food so much, and if you have so many good memories associated with it, then why don’t you eat more of it? ”
“It takes a long time to make.”
“News flash, but you’re a billionaire. It’s not like you’d be the one cooking it if you didn’t want to. ”
He grins. “Does this mean I’m going to get a private chef?”
“Only if it makes you happy.”
“You make me happy.”
“I feel the same way,” I say. My phone rings and I glance at the screen. Mom. I direct her call to voicemail, but it rings again and again.
“Maybe you should answer it,” he says. “What if it’s important?”
“It’s not.”
“Is it your mom?”
“Yeah…”
My phone pings with an onslaught of messages.
What the hell is going on? I open the messages and am surprised to find it’s from Elodie.
She attached an article. When I click on it, there’s a clear photo.
One of Evren and me smiling and holding hands over a table.
It’s from the brunch place we went to right before we went to Lila Lark.
On the top of the photo is the headline: Billionaire NFL Team Owner Dating a Woman Twenty Years Younger.
“Is everything all right?” Evren asks.
I swallow hard and hold my phone out for him to take. I’ve been trying so hard to protect everyone from Mom, and this one photo has ruined it all. No wonder she was calling me. She must’ve seen it. And if that’s the case…
I gag, but swallow down the rising vomit. “There’s an article about us, saying we’re dating.” I can’t keep the tremble from my voice, or stop my hands from shaking as he reads from my screen. “Oh God, what am I going to do?”
I pull my knees tightly to my chest and rock back and forth. Mom’s never going to stop, she’s going to make me regret lying to her, she’s going to?—
“Hey.” Evren crouches in front of me. “It’s okay. We’ll get through this together.”
“No, you don’t understand. This isn’t something we can come back from. She knows I’ve been lying to her. I never told her about you.” My voice cracks, raw and frightened. “And now? She won’t stop, Evren. Not until she gets everything from you.” I’d know, she’s done it to me my entire life.
“There are ways to stop her,” he says. “Have you thought about a restraining order?”
“A piece of paper isn’t going to do anything. She’s too good at what she does. She’ll find a way out of it.” One of the people in town tried that once, tired of her begging them for money. But she spun her lies until she was granted a restraining order against them .
“Then maybe it’s time you cut her off. Make some clear boundaries with her, like how I’ve done with my friends and family when it comes to wanting my money.”
“You think it’s that simple? She’ll blow up my phone, show up at my door—hell, she’ll find any way to worm her way back in.
And the guilt…” My voice falters. “She knows how to twist the knife, how to make me feel like I owe her, like I’m the worst person in the wo rld if I don’t give her what she wants.
I’ve tried setting boundaries before, but she pushes until there’s nothing left.
” I glance away, my voice quieter now. “You don’t just cut off someone like her. She won’t let me.”
“There has to be a way. You’re not alone.”
“Right.” I refuse to look at him, because I’m stuck with her forever. There’s no way out for me, but there is one for him.
Mom’s in the front yard, sitting in the grass of Stella’s house, when the car pulls into the driveway.
I haven’t seen her for months, and yet she looks the same.
I should be shocked to see her, but I’m not.
There’s no way she’d see that photo and not come.
Not when I have access to a billionaire.
The jacket and what it’s worth is nothing compared to Evren.
She jumps to her feet when she sees us and Evren asks, “Is that your mom?”
I swallow hard and nod.
“Nate,” he says. “Stay close.”
Nate nods and gets out of the car first while Evren opens my door and helps me out. I remove my hand from his the second I’m on my feet. Mom doesn’t need more fuel to her fire.
“Niiiiiina, baby,” Mom says. “Is this your new home? It’s gorgeous. ”
“Come on, let’s go inside,” I say, needing to get us all off the street. I unlock the door and guide us to the couch.
Mom whistles as she takes in the house. “Now this is what I call luxury. But the decoration is all so tacky.”
I try to hide my wince. Of course Mom would recognize my style and take a jab at me.
“How do you afford rent on this place?” she asks. “Or is this courtesy of your boyfriend?” Her gaze swings to Evren and she says, “We haven’t been introduced yet. I’m Bonnie.”
“Evren,” he says, standing near the wall next to Nate.
“How did you get here?” I ask, ignoring her question.
“What can I say,” she says. “I’m resourceful.”
“You are,” I say, stiffly sitting next to her. “I’m just surprised you came. You’re a long way from home.”
“How could I not come and meet my only daughter’s new boyfriend?”
“We’re not dating,” I say firmly. I’ve got no other strategy than to deny, deny, deny.
“The tabloids seem to think otherwise,” Mom says.
“And who trusts the tabloids?” I scoff.
“You’re right,” Bonnie says. “Who would trust them over my own daughter? You know, I never expected you to go through with it.”
“With what?” I ask, dread pooling in my stomach at the wide smile she has on her face, the same smile she’s used thousands of times to convince someone to do her bidding.
“You know what. ”
“I really don’t,” I say flatly, keeping my attention only on Mom.
“Baby, it’s okay. You don’t have to pretend anymore. You’ve done your job.”
“There’s no need to do this,” I say.
“Do what? Tell the truth?”
“No, you’re wielding another one of your stories,” I say. “Whatever you’re trying to do won’t work.”
“Hoo boy, would you look at that?” Mom says to Evren. “Nina thinks I’m the one telling a story, when it’s really her. Would you like to know what it is?”
“Not really, no,” he says, crossing his arms.
“Oh?” Bonnie asks. “I think you’d want to, especially since it involves you.”
“Me? In what way?” Evren asks.
“Nina? Shall I tell him? Or will you do the honors?”
“Evren,” I say, pleading with my eyes for him to believe me. “Whatever she’s about to say is a lie. Don’t believe a word of it.”
“There’s no need to be so dramatic,” Mom says. “This is always the hardest part, you know that.”
My lips flatten. “Just stop it. You and your games?—”
“Game?” Bonnie laughs. “The only one playing a game here is you.”
“And what game is that?” Evren asks Mom.
“To trap you, of course.” Bonnie says it casually, like it’s just another Tuesday for her. “Nina learned from the best, after all.”
“Learned what?” he asks .
“How to get pregnant and trap a man,” Mom says, pride shining on her face.
I choke on my own spit. “I’m what now?”
“You’re pregnant?” Evren asks me.
“No, definitely not,” I say. “I told you; she’s lying.”
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Bonnie says. “We’re all going to be family, after all.”
“There is no baby,” I shout. “Stop lying.”
“Why would you care? You’re not dating, right? Oh…wait… Did you fall for your mark? How amateur of you.”
“Nina isn’t trying to trap me,” Evren says, but it’s not as confident as I would’ve expected.
“You sure about that?” Mom asks. “Didn’t she say she was on birth control, or better yet, has an IUD?
That it was safe to have unprotected sex?
” She chuckles. “And then she held off on having sex with you because she wasn’t ready, but little did you know that she just wanted to make sure she was ovulating. ”
“Stop,” I say, gritting my teeth. How does she know about my IUD? That’s personal information and she’s never cared to learn anything about me, let alone that. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Really?” Mom asks. “We’ve talked regularly, exchanged information. You even asked for tips.”
Evren’s gaze bounces between us, and it’s clear he doesn’t know who to believe right now. Everything she’s saying lines up, and I can see the moment Evren realizes it, too. His face goes completely blank, and he gives me a look that says he doesn’t recognize me .