CHAPTER 1
Ayla zipped the final suitcase shut. Even though Halit knew no one was watching, he never let that mask of agonizing dissatisfaction slip from his face for a single moment.
She was nineteen, dragged to a party by a friend who had practically begged her to go. The moment their eyes met, she felt as if her heart might leap out of her chest.
Ayla had erupted into laughter at his clumsiness, while Halit simply stared back at her with the shy, arched brows of a startled boy.
She remembered the weight in her chest when he cried while telling her his parents died when he was a child. And she remembered the chilling unease of learning he had only been invited to that party to sell drugs to wealthy brats.
She could watch him all day without getting bored. To her, he had always appeared as captivating as a meticulously painted god.
These women were the “shop windows” for men in their sixties—men who wore scarves even in their sleep to hide the wrinkles on their necks. Beneath thousands of dollars of expensive perfumes, Ayla could smell the stench of rotting flesh—a scent that pierced her to the core
She had grown used to retreating to a corner, watching the “carrion eaters” flirt with her young husband. They were his Trojan Horses—the tiny keys that unlocked new partnerships and more wealth.
The gloomy air in the room made her restlessness feel even heavier.
The tremor in her voice betrayed her fear of even asking the question
“You’re telling me this now?” Halit snapped through gritted teeth. She was too exhausted for a fruitless argument. He began haphazardly stuffing perfumes and underwear inside
“I wish you had told me before you told your father,” he said, his voice growing more strained.
As much as her husband could be a thick-headed brute, he was right this time. Since Halit worked for him, he couldn’t say no once the old man was on board
Her eyes refocused on the reflection, staring at the woman in the mirror. The hollows under her eyes resembled empty graves waiting to be filled. Her skin had lost its luster. She wanted to shatter the terrifying silence and escape the toxic thoughts flooding her brain.
He stormed out of the room and headed for the stairs. When he reached the glass doors leading to the garden, he shoved them open with all his might.
The moment the person on the other end picked up, Halit exploded
“I will kill you,” he hissed, his voice a destructive fury that seemed to shake the entire courtyard despite his attempt to keep it low. I won’t have to hear your disgusting voice ever again once you’re dead”
He was losing control. “This is the end. You are truly dead now”
He gritted his teeth, ended the call, and turned around to find Ayla standing at the door, watching him. Ayla pulled her exhausted gaze away and stared at a vague point in the distance.
“A problematic client,” he lied.. They were both the same—simple gestures that spoke of everything they had lost
To banish the thoughts, she said the first thing that came to mind: “You could have spoken in front of me”
Halit, trapped in the game he had to keep playing, looked at her with eyes full of hatred. Leaning into her face, he whispered mockingly, “Yes... if I had wanted to speak in front of you, I would have”
It wasn’t a challenge; it was the final act of two children who were bored with their toys. They didn’t want a new toy; they just wanted to break and shatter what they had until they were finally free of it
As Halit walked away, it was clear that the mysterious stranger on the phone wasn’t the only thing dying tonight
