Chapter 19
I was sitting at the table, about to have lunch with my family, when I heard the doorbell ring.
I wasn't expecting visitors. Esrin, the housekeeper of the Yavuz mansion, went to answer, and soon she returned with a woman I'd never seen before—one who insisted on speaking with me, claiming it was a matter of life or death.
She introduced herself as Leyla. She was a young woman with dark hair, dressed in simple yet elegant clothes, and her eyes were a deep shade of green, as if they held secrets from the world. She said she was Eda's messenger, and I immediately knew I didn't want to hear what she had to say.
“What are you doing in my house, Leyla?” My voice came out harsher than I'd intended.
“Mr. Ayaz,” she said, with a smile that seemed more polite than warm, “I came on behalf of Eda Aydin. I have an important message from her for you.” She looked around, as if assessing my house and my loved ones, then turned her gaze back to me. “Something you need to know.”
“I'm sorry, but there's nothing about that woman that could possibly interest me.” My tone was cold. “Please leave.”
“Ayaz, maybe you should hear what the young lady has to say,” my mother, ?zge Yavuz, suggested with curiosity.
“All right. Say what you want, Leyla, but get straight to the point and be brief.” I sighed, exasperated. “What does Eda have to say that's so important it can't wait? Why did you come here during my lunch hour?”
“Thank you for listening, sir.” I nodded, and she began to speak in a solemn tone.
“Eda is very worried about your child's life.” Why did she keep insisting on calling that child ours?
“It will be a boy, and he should be born soon—she's already almost nine months pregnant.
She needs your help to save him. Hilal Aydin intended to give him up for adoption, but now there are strong signs that he plans to kill the child as soon as he's born, so his existence never comes to light, since he has Yavuz blood running through his veins.”
I listened with growing distrust, skepticism mounting with every word that left her mouth.
I didn't believe a thing she said, and deep down, I thought this was nothing more than another scheme cooked up by Eda to get me under her control and seize power over my organization.
My opinion about that pregnancy hadn't changed one bit during those months.
“Look, I appreciate your visit, but can you please tell Eda that I don't believe a single word of what you said?” I retorted impatiently.
“I discovered the trap they set for me long ago, and our story is over for good. Tell her to forget I exist, go her own way, and find another sucker to run the pregnancy scam on.”
In fact, I couldn't understand why she was showing up again after so many months, when I'd already gotten over what happened and returned to my old Don Juan lifestyle.
“No. You don't understand, Mr. Ayaz.” Leyla seemed surprised by my response, as if she hadn't expected any resistance from me. “Your son needs your help to survive.”
“I already said I don't believe any of this,” I declared, my patience running out.
“It's been months since we've seen each other.
She disappeared. I put my men on her trail, but she vanished—no one could find a single trace of her anywhere on this planet.
She didn't even bother to prove the child was mine, and now she reappears out of nowhere with this cock-and-bull story, insisting we're going to have a son and that his life is in danger.
It's obvious something's fishy here. But I'm not falling for her tricks again.
Now please leave—I'm hungry, I want to have lunch, and you're in my way.”
With those words, I pointed to the door, making it clear it was past time for her to leave.
“All right, Mr. Ayaz.” She looked at me with disappointment but nodded. “I hope you don't regret your decision when it's too late.”
She seemed reluctant to leave but obeyed, turning and walking out, her last words leaving me with much to think about.
As she passed through, I closed the door hard, feeling relieved to have gotten her out of my house.
I didn't want Eda back in my life and would never accept her.
Especially since she was the daughter of my father's murderer.