After Aslan left, I took my medicine, talked to Ebru for a while, went upstairs, put on my pajamas, and fell asleep. I slowly opened my eyes; my head was again on Aslan's chest. I remembered him coming home towards morning, but I hadn't paid any attention to him because I was very sleepy. Carefully, without waking him, I lifted my head and met Aslan's bearded chin. He had a handsome face with a dirty beard and sharp features. If he hadn't kidnapped me, if we had met normally on the road or somewhere else, he would probably have caught my attention. I might even have loved him. I watched him for a while.
He slowly opened his eyes, which had long and voluminous eyelashes. He looked deep into my eyes and sent me a sincere smile.
"Good morning, my darling," he greeted me. His voice was deep and hoarse because he had just woken up.
"Good morning," I returned the smile. The plan I had thought of yesterday still made sense to me. First, I would pretend to love him and gain his trust, and then I would leave behind a great devastation. I was going to leave these places by abandoning him. That's why I was going to do everything I could to appear as if I loved him.
"I've arranged everything for your friend's arrival today. You know the rules, Ahsen. Don't make me repeat myself; I hate it. You won't make the slightest hint that you're staying here against your will; you'll say that you're staying here of your own free will and that you love me. If you and your friend play games with me and try to escape, I don't even need to tell you what I'll do to you! Don't think I don't know. I know about everything that happens in this house, even outside of this house. I don't ask much from you; it's enough for me if you follow my rules. Do you understand, my dear? Don't make me regret allowing this. I don't know how I allowed this; my judgment was clouded, damn it," he warned.
"Yes, yes, I understand, Aslan, thank you very much," I said sweetly and hugged him around the neck. Until he believed that I loved him, I pushed the hatred and anger inside me to the furthest corners of my brain. I was going to throw it away and fill its place with a fake love.
Suddenly, he grabbed me by the waist, pulled me under him, climbed on top of me, and buried his head in my neck. First, he gave me his warm, refreshing breath on my neck, making my hair stand on end. Then he started kissing my neck, gently biting it with his teeth, and then he sucked and kissed the place he bit. I put my hands in his hair and pressed his head against my neck. He licked from my neck to my chin with the tip of his tongue and bit my chin.
Meanwhile, I was stroking the hair on the back of his neck. He started going further down from my neck. I closed my eyes, but suddenly, the door knocked, and I opened my eyes in a panic.
"Ms. Ahsen, I apologize for disturbing you, but you have a guest. Yes, ma'am," Ebru's voice called from behind the door.
"Aslan, get up, let's go; it will be rude to my friend."
He continued as if nothing mattered to him.
"Aslan!" I shouted.
"Hmm," he said hoarsely, still licking and sucking on my neck.
"Leave it alone, Aslan; it'll leave a mark!" I exclaimed, absolutely certain my neck was bruised.
He still didn't care; there was nothing I could do. I had to take matters into my own hands. I grabbed his hair tightly and lifted his head forcefully. He pulled away from my neck with a loud kiss; his face was bright red.
"Get up, I'll be late; Bade hates waiting," I insisted.
"Oh, what a precious friend you have! What would happen if she waited 5 minutes? Hmm, let her wait. Two minutes, my dear? Should he wait?" he asked, like a little child. I burst into loud laughter at the question, but he was still looking at me expectantly.
"Don't be silly, Aslan," I managed through my laughter.
"Do I have no chance at all?" He asked, his hope gone. I laughed at his expression for a few minutes.
"Okay, let's go," I said, and quickly got up and went into the bathroom. I took a quick shower and came out and put on a brown long-sleeved knitted sweater and cream-colored high-waisted pants.
When I came out of the dressing room, Aslan was sitting on the armchair next to it, frowning and talking on the phone.
"What do you mean he didn't deliver the money?! When have you ever seen me extend the installment payment date?! When?! Take a few men with you and go and get him out of his hole and bring him to me, Semih! You have hours! I want to see that man in the warehouse today!" he roared.
He was quite angry and looked terrifying. I was grateful that he wasn't walking around with this anger when he was with me. He was generally calm with me. He would get angry when I challenged or contradicted him, but I saw that he was trying hard not to get angry. When he got too angry, he would immediately leave the place, but I couldn't say the same about his attitude towards the environment.
I went and sat next to him. He immediately put one hand on my hair and started gently stroking the ends of my hair. He talked on the phone a little more, but he wasn't shouting as much anymore.
He had a different relationship with this man named Semih than the others. They were like friends, but Semih never forgot the hierarchy between them and never disrespected Aslan. I wondered for a moment if this man could help me when I left here. But he would never betray Aslan.
He finished his phone call and took my hand.
"Come on, sweetheart, don't keep your friend waiting any longer," he said, and we went downstairs.
When we went down to the living room, we found Bade arguing with Semih.
"I'm telling you to go and call him. I'm bursting with frustration. Just go, man, just go!"
"Bade," he responded heatedly.
"Girl, are you sick? Don't you understand that we're not allowed to go up to that floor? Aslan Abi will skin me alive!" Semih complained, looking fed up.
"If you stand here like this any longer, I'll skin you alive already!" Bade shot back and went towards Semih, trying to push him, but Semih didn't budge a single millimeter. Although not as tall as Aslan, he was also tall and well-built in his own way. There was no way Bade could push him.
Semih started pushing her, but he only touched her arm with a small movement.
"Leave me alone, you crazy man, leave me alone! Help! Save me! There's a pervert!" Bade started screaming, but Semih had already pulled his hand away and was holding his head with annoyance.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!" Aslan shouted as he entered, squeezing my hand even tighter so I wouldn't intervene.
"This man assaulted me, brother-in-law! I'm filing a complaint against him!" Bade said angrily to Aslan. I was slightly shocked by her statement. When had Aslan become her brother-in-law?
"What... what assault, girl? Are you crazy? There's no such thing, Aslan Abi. I swear I didn't do anything," Semih defended himself.
"OKAY, ENOUGH!" Aslan bellowed this time.
Bade looked at Semih angrily, and when she looked up, she saw me. There was endless love and loyalty in her eyes. I let go of Aslan's hand and took a step forward; she took a step too and hugged me tightly. I put my hand on her back and pulled her closer, burying my head in her hair.
"I was so scared, Ahsen; I was so afraid something had happened to you. I thought you had gone to Trabzon again for a few days to clear your head without telling anyone, but when you didn't answer your phone, I got really scared."
"Shh, it's okay, don't be scared, I'm here, I'm fine; isn't that what's important?"
"Yes, thank goodness you're okay," she said and pulled away.
Then she gave Aslan, who was next to me, a disapproving look and extended her hand.
"Bade, I'm Ahsen's friend," she introduced herself.
Aslan also gave her a disapproving look and extended his hand. Someone who didn't know him would think he was frowning because he was angry, but actually, that was his general demeanor towards everyone except me.
"Aslan Beyoğlu," he stated.
He turned towards me, came closer, and leaned into my ear. "You know what you need to do. I won't see any wrong moves from you, okay?" He whispered with a flat voice.
"Okay, Aslan, I understand; I won't say anything," I whispered back in his ear.
"Good."
Before pulling away, he leaned down a little more and planted a deep kiss on my neck. He pulled away.
"I have some things to do; I'll be home in the evening, my darling," he said, and left, taking Semih with him.
After Aslan left, Bade and I sat on the couch.
"Ahsen, I couldn't ask that man, but what's going on? I haven't heard from you for days, and today a man suddenly came to my door and said he would take me to you. Why are you here?" Bade demanded.
"Who took you from your house?"
"That idiot who assaulted me just now!" She rolled her eyes.
I burst into loud laughter. "Don't exaggerate, Bade, I was watching you. The man only touched your arm. So Semih brought you here, huh?"
"Ugh, whatever. Why are you staying here? The man said something like, 'You love that horrible creature called Aslan, you wanted to stay here, you didn't have time to tell me, and you invited him home today,' etc. I hope you don't think I believe any of this," she said, looking confused.
"Now, Bade, you're not going to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, okay?" I said, and I told her everything that had happened to me over the past few days, word for word.
She listened to me with great astonishment. "WHAT!?... What are you saying, Ahsen!?"
"That's it, Bade; so many things have happened to me."
I waited for her surprise to subside a little and told her about my plan.
"Girl, you're saying you'll pretend to love him, but will that man fall for that? Didn't you look into his eyes? He's retired from the devil, and you're saying he's a mafia boss too," she said hopelessly.
"I'll play such a game that Bade will think I'm in love with him, and then I'll leave here, leaving a wreckage behind. Whether it takes 5 years or 10 years, there's no other way. Even if I run away, he'll find me in less than 10 minutes. This man has very long arms."
"Well, you know best, but how am I going to stand here? I'm worried about you. What if this psychopath hurts you?" She fretted. Oh, my dear, I really loved this girl.
"No, no, don't worry, Bade, he doesn't hurt me; he won't."
"Oh my, it's like she's talking about her husband of 10 years. Look at those confident attitudes," she teased.
"Bade! Don't be silly; I swear I'll pull your hair out!" I warned.
"Girl, what's wrong with you? Did you become a mafia boss while staying here?" She asked, laughing, and jumped on me and started tickling me.
"Oh Bade, stop... stop, I'm going to die laughing," I gasped, and then I started tickling her too.
We laughed and fought like that for a few minutes, and finally Ebru came and said that breakfast was ready, so we stopped.
"Ms. Ahsen?"
"Did that woman call you Mrs. Ahsen? Honestly, sister, we spent a lot of time together, but we didn't see much of her ladylike behavior," Bade joked.
"What can I do, Bade? Everyone here acts differently towards me. I feel like a lady boss."
"But it would suit you very well, a mafia mom."
"Oh my, may God keep us away from such things!" I said, clicking my tongue.
We went to the table and sat down. I sat in Aslan's chair, and she sat in the chair right next to me.
"Oh, I see we've already taken over the chair, Mrs. Ahsen?" she said, emphasizing the last part.
"Ugh, you talk too much, Bade. Shut up and eat your food."
We ate our meals calmly, and after finishing, we went to the hammock in the garden and sat there. It was winter, but the weather was sunny, and we wanted to take advantage of it.
"I feel very different, Bade... For the first time since my mother and father died, someone has been looking at me like this..." I mused.
"I'm a prisoner in my own house; I can't do anything. They're holding me against my will. I want to escape, but I can't."
"I saw firsthand how much you were affected by the deaths of Cengiz Baba and Leyla Anne, Ahsen; it's very normal for you to be affected by the attention you receive after them," she said in a friendly manner. I loved this aspect of Bade the most. When I told her my problems, she listened to me patiently and gave advice like a psychologist.