A soft knock on the already open door made my attention drift to the doorway. Two women who seemed to have a huge age gap between them were standing there. The one who stepped in first was much older and seemed to be in her late fifties.

The second woman who trailed behind her seemed to be in her forties. She had the exact same hazel eyes as Asiya and I understood immediately she was her mother.

"I figured it's time to finally meet our bride." The older one spoke as I stood up from the edge of the bed. She stopped in front of me and inspected my face silently before smiling. "Just when I thought my nephew couldn't surprise me more...But, looking at you I understand why he did what he did. Mashallah.....I'm Sofia, Walid's aunt. This is Asli, my brother's wife as in Ariana and Asiya's mother."

Pushing away all the negative thoughts, I greeted them and they lead me to the sitting area where Asli sat beside me and Sofia took a seat across from us on the armchair.

I knew that the women in the family had no fault. All of them were probably as helpless as I was. Even though they were acting like there was nothing wrong with my situation, it didn't bother me. That was just their mentality and they were used to Walid doing things they couldn't question.

Time passed and we chatted for almost an hour. They had asked me about my family and my life and I told them what they wanted to hear.

Asli seemed to be very surprised and happy with me. I didn't know how she had expected me to be but I could clearly tell she was surprised in a good way.

The aunt Sofia on the other hand didn't show much emotions. It was hard to tell what she was feeling. I did get a slight feeling of her being a bit too composed because she wanted to show me who was in control...

But then again, I did find out she had lost her husband and son, which was enough reason for her wanting to be reserved. I genuinely felt bad for her. At this old age, she was back in her father's house without any kids or grandkids. I could only imagine how lonely she must've felt.

As we chatted away, I found out a bit about the family members who lived in the Aydin mansion. Walid's paternal family consisted of two siblings only. The eldest one being aunt Sofia. The second one was my supposed to be father-in-law who's name was Wahid.

I had tried to hide my amusement upon hearing the similar names both father and son had...

Aunt Sofia and Walid's father had lost three of their brothers in their youth. It was heartbreaking to hear that Asli was also a widow and Ariana and Asiya had grown up without their father.

The minutes flew by and we talked a bit more about random stuff until it was time for them to leave.

"Your mother-in-law, Zarina, wasn't feeling well so she's resting in her room. I'm sure you'll meet her soon. Wahid is out of country, hopefully he'll be back soon." Asli stood up.

"Okay aunty, thank you for coming here." I stood up and they moved towards the exit.

"Call me Ma, everyone calls me that."

"Okay, Ma." I smiled. I remembered Walid mentioning Ma a few times when he used to talk on the phone. I always thought he was talking about his own mother...

My eyes moved to Sofia. "Take care, bride." She said and gave me a smile. I returned her smile and they left the room.

I went back and took a seat on the sofa. It was only 11 in the morning and time was going really slow.

Earlier when Walid had left, I didn't do much. I didn't step out of the room but thankfully Sofia and Asli had arrived just in time to keep me company.

As for now, I didn't have anything else to do so I decided to go to be cemetery. I could try at least...

I went over to the french doors and tried to push them open. Surprisingly, they were unlocked. I stepped out to the large terrace and passed the table that was put in the middle before reaching the railing.

Since Walid's room was at the top and by the front, I could see the whole front side of the house. I could see the gates where there were plenty of men guarding it.

My eyes roamed around and I realized there were armed men in almost every corner...

Sighing, I wrapped my arms around myself and looked around at the surroundings of the house. The Aydin mansion was very isolated. No other house could be seen close by. Leave alone house, the mansion was almost completely surrounded by woods.

There were a lot of beautiful, high and very green trees surrounding the house. Not to forget, the beautiful green grass.

However, where I was standing I could see a view over town. It was indeed a beautiful view. I usually didn't pay much attention to the landscape. But, the view in front of me changed my perspective and I couldn't help but admire the mountains at the outskirts of town.

My eyes moved to the gates once again and I decided it was time to go out. I went back inside and stepped out of the room before closing the doors behind me.

I tried to be as discreet as possible while trying to find the stairs that lead to the open-plan living area, where the entrance was. It took me a long time but I finally found my way downstairs. I looked around on the way as I made my way to the already open double doors.

I was surprised at how silent the main area of the house was and no one was around...

A sigh of relief left my lips when the soft wind hit my face when I walked out. It took me time until I arrived at the gates.

I tried to hide my nervousness when the men guarding the gates eyed me suspiciously. I gave them an innocent smile and stopped in front of the man who was closest to me.

"Hey." I greeted him. "Look, I'll just get straight to the point. I'm leaving and you have to let me out."

"Not happening." He replied simply, giving me a sorry smile.

My own smile dropped and I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "I wasn't asking." I clarified.

"It's brother Lid's orders. I'm sorry. We can't." He replied in the same tone as earlier.

"I said, let me out." I demanded. The man watched me for a few seconds before his eyes fell to the ground. I sighed and tried to reason with him. "I'll bake you fresh bread and cheese every morning if you let me out."

The man's lip twitched and he tried to hold back a smile while shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I have to decline the offer. It's brother Lid's orders. We can't do anything."

"Really? Let's see how you'll stop me then." I challenged and stepped towards the gates that were opened halfway. "Look, I'm taking a step outside." I stepped outside. "And another. You guys can't stop me. I'm taking another and-" I stopped moving abruptly and slowly looked up from the pair of shoes in front of me. When my eyes finally reached the top, I gulped.

In front of me stood a muscular man that was at least five times bigger than me and double my height. Beside him stood a man who was almost the exact same size as him. Both of them towering over me with crossed arms and narrowed eyes.

I couldn't think of doing anything else than let out a nervous laugh as I took a step back.

"I was just showing these guys some dance steps. It goes like this, step forward and then back and then forward and then back and forward and back." I demonstrated the lie for them as I took steps forward and then back, knowing well I looked like I had escaped a mental institution.

I glanced at the other guards and they all were trying to hide the amusement on their face. I wanted the ground to swallow me...

I turned on my heels and rushed away. I stopped midway when I saw a boy standing there with crossed arms. From the looks of it, he had seen the circus because he was slyly smirking.

I couldn't help but find his smirk very familiar. He looked like a combination of both Walid and his half brother Asaf.

Did they have another brother?

I composed myself and got closer to the boy as I made my way toward the house. He seemed to be in his early twenties. He had dark brown hair just like Walid and the darkest brown eyes. He was dressed in a pair of black straight jeans and a black plain t-shirt. He also had a pair of sunglasses rested on his forehead and it reminded me of how Walid always did that with his sunglasses.

My steps halted in front of him and I crossed my arms with raised eyebrows. "What's funny?" I asked, when he wouldn't stop with the funny looks.

"Nothing." He quickly shook his head, the smile still lingering on his lips. "I just liked your dance steps. Do you do dance classes? I would love to join."

Of course...

"As if the world didn't have enough of one Walid..." I muttered, making his smirk grow.

"I'm glad you could guess who I am without me having to say it. But anyways, the name's Alauddin."

I stared at him for a few seconds before speaking up. "Jasmin." I said shortly.

"I know. And I also know that Jasmin usually belongs to Aladdin." He announced, the look on his face made it clear that he was only joking around.

"Good thing your name is Alauddin and not Aladdin." I corrected.

"Not fair. My mom wanted me to be special, hence the extra u. But I can always remove the u for you." He smirked. "Anyways, it was nice to finally put a face on the person who redid her room on the first day of her arrival. See ya." He winked and left.

My cheeks flushed at his words. He had also heard when I had thrown everything around in the room yesterday...

I watched as he disappeared into the house and sighed before stepping inside myself. As I was walking back upstairs, a thought hit me.

Maybe Alauddin could take me to the cemetery? Maybe Walid would let me go if I had his brother with me...

Thinking of it as a brilliant idea, I saw Alauddin disappear into one of the corners. I quickly took a right and not the left that lead to Walid's room. I reached the corner and entered the long hallway. I tried to look around for him but it was like he disappeared into thin air.

I gave up on the idea and decided to just go back to the room. On my way back, something caught my attention. I was passing by the hall that lead to a small terrace when I saw someone seated in the corner of the terrace.

I didn't want to pry but I couldn't help but silently reach the terrace. My confusion grew when I saw that it was Asaf.

If Walid and him hated each other so much, why were they living in the same house?

I took in his features and noticed he looked so lost. His face was so emotionless, so blank. Almost as if he didn't even have a purpose in life...

The other times I had seen him, he always covered it with a glare, anger or a smirk. But now, I had caught him being his devastated self that he was.

My eyes trailed down to the piece of cake in front of him. Was it his birthday?

I decided not to disturb him and turned around to leave but stopped abruptly when something clicked in my mind. My head snapped back furiously and I saw the digit candles on the cake.

26...

The number repeated in my mind over and over again and I stilled in shock. I felt everything swirl around me for a moment before I finally came back to my sense.

No, it was just a coincidence.

I shook my head and silently walked away, making sure he didn't notice me. Once I was out of the hallway, I rushed back to Walid's room. I closed the doors after me and paced back and forth. I felt my hands sweating while I had a hard time breathing properly.

"Just a coincidence, just a coincidence." I tried to assure myself but I knew I couldn't fool myself.

The look Asaf had given me when we had met the first time. The way he almost broke down crying. The day I saw him at the cemetery, almost by my sister's grave. All of that made me realize it was not a coincidence.

The cake he had in front of him, the candles he had lit...they were for my sister...

Not to forget, the two brothers fighting like enemies. It was because they had wanted the same girl...

The thought made me sit down on the bed as tears subconsciously left my eyes.

What crime had I committed to be so unfortunate...?

~~~~~Walid~~~~~

"I swear, I swear to God I don't know anyone named Mikael! I swear I didn't send her there for her to get attacked! How many times do I have to say this?" Jalil said, spitting out blood every time he said a sentence.

Pasha had personally taken care of him for the past days but he wasn't opening his mouth. He had said that he had nothing to do with Jasmin's car getting attacked. But, we obviously can't believe him now can we?

"This is the last time I'm asking. Why did you persuade Jasmin to go over there?" I was seated in front of him on a chair, looking straight into his eyes. I held myself calm and composed but he had seen my crazy side.

Yesterday when I had taken Jasmin home, I had come for him. I took out all my anger on him, but the bastard was still not speaking.

"I told you, I had nothing to do with it. You couldn't get any information on me because I had to stay low key. I had problems with other people. I can even tell you their names if you want." He managed to say.

"Why did you send Jasmin to take your place?" I asked for the final time, the loaded gun swirling around my finger.

"You'll kill me if I tell you."

"Who said I won't kill you if you don't tell me?" I raised my eyebrows.

He closed his eyes for a moment as if preparing himself. His hands were tied behind him and there was a fair amount of blood all over him.

I waited patiently until he finally spoke up. "There's a man who owns a model agency, Kian. He had seen Jasmin a few months ago and wanted to invest in her. He said she could be the new face in the industry. He wanted his partners to see her and he wanted to put the offer on the table for her. That's why he made me send her over there. But I knew she would refuse, I told him that. He said he won't give up. I swear."

My fingers tightened around the gun in my hand and I smiled wickedly when I glanced at Pasha who was glaring at Jalil.

"Did you hear that? They wanted to put her out there just so they could fill their own pockets..." I trailed off, turning back to Jalil. "You were right, you should've not told me this."

In a swift movement, I rested the gun on his leg and pulled the trigger. His screams brought me satisfaction. I moved to the other leg and did the same, making him scream louder like the bastard that he was.

Pasha suddenly pulled me away. "We need him alive for a bit longer, in case he's lying. Ask Jasmin about the motherf*cker Kian first." He said and I nodded, knowing he was right.

I glared at the man who was screaming in pain one last time before leaving the room. "I believe he was telling the truth. But don't let him go in case we find out something else." I told Pasha as both of us stepped inside the room across from the previous one. We took a seat around the table and I signaled for our other men to leave. They all left and closed the doors after them. "What do we have regarding the attack?"

"Not much. The men were killed during the shooting and we couldn't find anything on them or in the car." Pasha said.

"One of our men is a traitor. We need to find out who. If Jalil didn't organize this, which I doubt he did now that I see the circumstances...there's someone else from the inside. Someone who knew about Jasmin." I put aside my gun and picked up the pen resting on the table.

"That's the thing, it's someone who knows about Jasmin. We can put our men to follow all of the ones that knew about her." Pasha suggested.

The pen swirled around between my fingers as I thought about it. "That will waste a lot of time, they can go on with another attack while we are busy trying to spy on our own men." I said.

"Yeah but if we put a few men to follow their every move, maybe we get a small lead at least." Pasha leaned back, the stress radiating from his face.

It was a stressful period for all of us. There was someone who was trying to kill Jasmin and we didn't know who. All the other conflicts we had throughout the years, we always knew who we were facing.

But this time, it was someone who was aiming at us sneakily and they had done the mistake of starting with Jasmin.

I had thought a lot about who it could be. I even wrote down every name I had disagreements with. Still, I couldn't think of anyone who would go so far and attack three women.

"You're right. Put our most trusted men on the task. We'll have to do something at least until I find another way." I agreed.

The door swung open suddenly and both Isak and Rashid appeared at the doorway. I was surprised to see them there.

Since I had to come back after hearing about Jasmin being targeted, I had let them stay behind to finish the task we had gone out of town for. They were supposed to be back tomorrow, but the looks on their faces, clearly showed something was wrong.

They closed the door to the room where we usually gathered when we had to discuss something. "You guys are back soon?" Pasha asked, having the same expression as me.

"The Kazi's matter is solved. He agreed on what we discussed so we returned immediately because we have some very bad news." Rashid said, taking a seat across from us with Isak joining beside him.

"What is it?" I asked, leaning back in my seat.

"Mikael's unknown partner shook hands with Kamran and is now in lead of the city Kash together with Kamran." The information I received from Rashid made me straighten up.

"What the f*ck are you saying?" I couldn't control my irritation.

"That's not even it. A few months ago, as we all know Mikael and his partner didn't have much control over their own city. They controlled maybe sixty percent of Alav. But now, after gaining power over Kash....they managed to get some powerful politicians behind them and with the help of them they've gained complete power over Alav." Rashid said.

"How did it happen? Why did Kamran agree to this?" I breathed out, getting on my feet. I paced back and forth, trying to calm my nerves.

"The only lead I'm getting is the girl they abducted a few months ago, Narges. She's from Kash and as soon as she arrived in Alav, all of this happened. I couldn't find out more about her but it's definitely got something to do with her." Isak spoke.

"So you're saying, Mikael and that bastard of his partner that we don't even know the name of...are now in control of our neighboring cities? The only two cities that are literally surrounding us?" I let out, not believing the things I was hearing.

The news I received were not good...not good at all. Our city's safety was at risk. Everything was at risk.

I guess, I had underestimated Mikael. But, he didn't know that he had underestimated me as well.

"Are we sure that the person who attacked Jasmin wasn't Mikael?" Pasha asked suddenly.

"Yes. The bastard wants Jasmin alive, he's the last person who would want to kill her. Also, he didn't even know about our marriage. If the traitor was working for him, he would've known a few weeks ago that I had married Jasmin. But he didn't, he was surprised when he found out." I stated, knowing well Mikael wasn't behind the attack.

"So, we don't only have Mikael to deal with but someone else who's slyly starting a war with us?" Isak raised his eyebrows, frustration clear on his face.

"Yes. But, we're not gonna let whatever happened fourteen years ago repeat itself. History won't repeat itself, I won't allow that to happen." My jaw clenched at the memories.

Fourteen years ago, Rosew was under attack by the neighboring city Alav. A man called Demir had at that time control over Alav, and he was hungry for power. He shook hands with my father and formed a friendship. But, when he got the opportunity, he betrayed us and attacked Rosew.

The most disturbing part was that he didn't care about who he killed, if it was women or children...he didn't care.

I was only thirteen at that time. I was young and powerless. I had tried to stand in front of our house and protect the women, but failed. They took my only sister, Nora, who was only five at that time. I wanted to stop them but they took me as well. They held us captive a few days until I managed to take Nora with me and run. I had entered a random house and put her in a cupboard. I ran out and purposely got caught so they would stop looking for us and find her. I didn't care, I was happy I had taken my sister out of the hell hole at least.

Fast forward, two years later when I was freed, I couldn't find my sister. I returned to Rosew without my sister. I had failed as a brother but I could only hope she had landed with good people and a good family. If she even was alive.

At that time, Demir's story had ended but, his close friend who was Mikael's father had taken his place. Mikael's father passed away a few years ago and that was when Mikael became a threat to us. He was also hungry for power, just like Demir had been.

However, both him and me knew he didn't stand a chance. Rosew wasn't a random city, my family had been here for decades. We knew this business better than anyone. But, Kamran and his family had also been in control over Kash for decades.

Which was why it was a smart move from Mikael to join him. What surprised me was why Kamran would do what he did. We had a pretty good relation with him.

"I'll meet up with Kamran and talk to him. Until then, take contact with every man that had asked for our help for the past few months. The more people we have on our side, the better." I ordered.

"But I've already declined all of them." Pasha said, standing up.

"Take contact with them again and say I've changed my mind." I told him, making him nod and disappear to make some phone calls.

It was normal for people all over the country to approach us when they needed help. It could be everything from political matters to the smallest family matters. In exchange of us helping, I either demanded money or simply their support.

For the last couple of months I had declined everyone because I had been busy with other matters. But now, I knew it was time to start forming stronger ties with stronger people across the country.

"When's Zaid coming?" I asked.

"He was supposed to be gone for a few months, I can call him back if we need to." Rashid replied.

"No, leave him be." I said. "I have to inform Baba about the situation, he has to return as soon as possible. If I know Mikael, he won't strike yet, but we still need to be careful." I took a seat and started typing away on the laptop in front of me.

We started discussing and made a few plans for the future. I was ready to go to any extent to keep the people of Rosew safe and not let whatever happened repeat itself.

A few hours passed with us discussing, planing, fixing meetings with the ones by our side to inform them that a war was about to start and we had to prepare for it. It was getting late and our day was coming to an end.

"Go home now. I need all of you in your best forms for the coming days." I announced before turning to Pasha and Isak. "And when I say home, I mean home. Not the club or a random woman's room."

"Yeah yeah, just because you have a wife to go home to now. Is that why you're shooing us away so early? It's only twelve, since when do you go home at this time?" Isak started, purposely trying to irritate me.

"I've done everything I was supposed to do for the day. Do you want me to sit here and stare at your face for the rest of the night? The face I'm about to restore if you don't shut up."

"No need to be grumpy. Hurry and go home now, don't make our beautiful sister-in-law wait-" Isak didn't even get to finish before I was on my feet, ready to smack him into another dimension.

Unfortunately for me, he was already sprinting out of the room. I was already irritated at him for the stunt he pulled a few days ago when I decided to phone Jasmin. He had said it was going to work. But I had been the stupid one to not read what he had written on the board before calling her.

My eyes landed on Pasha and he had a smug look on his face. I took out my irritation on him and smacked the back of his head. "What did I do?" He scratched the spot I had hit him.

"You're just as shameless as him. Today was the last time I heard a random girl's father ask me to make you stay away from his daughter. I'm sick of constantly hearing complaints about you two." I warned and picked up my phone and car keys.

"That's bullshit. He just can't accept that he's got a daughter who's dying for men's attention. She was the one who approached me." He defended.

"Doesn't matter. If they approach you...you ignore them. Simple as that." I turned to look at him.

"It's not simple as that. I'm not Walid Aydin to be able to do that. If someone offers you free food, you obviously accept the food. Who says no to free food? The same way, I can't say no-"

"Quiet." I raised my hand to silence his blabber. The second he compared women to food, I knew he was a lost case. Only a miracle could change him and Isak from their foolish habits. "Meet me early tomorrow. Go now."

Pasha nodded and rushed after Isak. "They will never change." Rashid shook his head as he stood up. "I just got a message from Adam, should we meet him now instead? To get it over and done with?" He added, looking at his phone.

"Why not, let's go." I agreed. My phone rang suddenly and I pulled it out to see Ariana calling. "What happened?"

"Umm, nothing like that but when are you coming home?" She asked.

"In a few hours maybe, why?" I said, knowing my meeting with Adam would take much time.

"I think you should come home now." She suggested.

"What happened to her?" I asked.

"I don't know. She didn't eat anything all day and she's been crying nonstop since morning. She'll get sick if she continues like this." I sighed at her words and ran a hand over my face in frustration.

"Why did you not tell me?"

"I didn't want to disturb you, sorry." Ariana replied as my fingers clenched around the phone.

"I'll be there." I hung up. "Rashid, tell Adam I'll see him tomorrow instead."

Rashid nodded and we both parted ways. I walked up the stairs and pushed open the doors before stepping out in the almost empty streets of the bazaar. I got in my car and reached home in less than fifteen minutes.

I stepped inside and didn't go anywhere than straight to my room. My steps halted at the doorway and my eyes landed on the bed.

Jasmin was sleeping on the bed, the covers on top of her. On her left side sat Ariana, who was caressing her hair and on her right side sat Asiya.

I stepped inside and both of the sisters got down from the bed soundlessly when they noticed me. "Thank God you're here. She just fell asleep a few minutes ago." Ariana tried to keep her voice low when she approached me. "I tried to make her eat something but couldn't."

"Did someone say something to her?" I asked, pulling out my suit jacket before throwing it on the sofa.

"I don't think so. Ma and aunt Sofia visited her in the morning. Then I heard from Alauddin that she tried to leave but Murad had stopped her at the gates. She didn't leave her room after that."

I didn't even think twice before I strode out of the room. I heard the girls follow me from behind but I ignored them and stepped out of the house. I made my way towards the gates and looked for Murad. He was one of our most trusted man and I had put him in charge of the security at the house.

"Where's Murad?" I asked the men gathered around the gate.

"He went home a while ago. Is something wrong?" Hamza asked, approaching me.

"Were you here since morning?" I asked and he nodded. "What happened with Jasmin?"

"Nothing. She just came and tried to leave but we scared her by using Hasan and Eren." He spoke, referring to the two of our men who were much bigger in size.

As his words registered in my mind, my teeth clenched and my hand raised before I slapped him hard across the face. I slapped him again and again and lucky for him he didn't dare to lift his gaze.

"Scared her? Who said you can do that?" I asked and pushed him harshly. "Who the f*ck said you can do that? Didn't I tell you to call me if she tries to leave?" He fell to the ground because of the impact and I pulled him up by his collar.

"Walid, calm down." Ariana tugged on my arm and I got to punch him one last time before the two girls blocked my way.

"He's telling me they scared her as if I'm gonna praise him for it! Are you out of your mind?" I let out, my eyes almost wide open at the audacity he had to talk about Jasmin that way.

I wanted to hurt him more for even uttering those words but Ariana and Asiya were present and I didn't want to lose my temper more than I already had. I would unintentionally hurt them.

"Just calm down. He probably didn't mean it like that. Let's go inside." Ariana lead me away from the gates.

"She's already scared from the incident that happened and he's out here telling me he purposely scared her? He made her cry all day and he made her stop eating? I'll end his f*cking life." The anger started coming back as I thought about it.

The bastard had scared her so much she had stayed in her room and cried all day?

"Please stop it. Just go back to Jasmin maybe she's sad because of something else?" Asiya pleaded.

What else could there be? Other than her being angry with me.

But she was mad at me since yesterday. She didn't cry and neither did she stop eating because of that. Yes, she stopped taking to me...but she didn't act like she did today.

Sighing, I controlled my emotions and gave the girls a reassuring nod. "Both of you go to your rooms. It's late." I ordered as we stopped in front of the entrance.

"But-"

Ariana stopped protesting when I warned her through my eyes. She gave up and both of them returned back inside. I looked back at Hamza who was far away at the gate and decided to deal with both him and Murad tomorrow.

I stepped inside and went to the kitchen. I couldn't help but look around. An image of my mother appeared in my mind.

Pushing away the memory, I picked up some fruits and washed them before pulling out my pocket knife to cut the them in pieces.

I stopped halfway when I thought of how many times I hade used the same knife for some unpleasant reasons and how many fingers I had cut with it. I quickly put the knife back and looked for another one in the kitchen.

"Do you need help?" I glanced at the doorway and saw Natasha leaning against it with her arms crossed.

"No." I said and finally found a knife.

"I've never seen you in the kitchen. What brings you here?" She asked as I cut the fruits.

"I've never seen you in the kitchen, what brings you here?" I asked her the same, not looking her way as I put the pieces in the bowl.

She was silent for a moment before speaking up. "When are you going to introduce me to Jasmin? She's been here for almost two days and I've not even seen a glimpse of her." She started coming closer.

"I will, if you promise not to jinx her."

She chuckled at my words. "That means she is as pretty as everyone says...interesting."

I glanced at her and she watched me with the longing clearly showing in her eyes. "Go to your room." I ordered, making her stare at me for a moment more before leaving me alone.

I took the bowl with me and left the kitchen. Entering the room, I locked the doors after me. I put the bowl on the nightstand and sat down on the bed. I watched Jasmin sleeping for a few minutes. I noticed her eyebrows were furrowed and I anticipated she was having a bad dream.

I sighed in frustration. What was I going to do with this girl? She was so stubborn. She didn't want to understand the problem. She didn't want to understand that her life was in danger. I couldn't risk anything.

Even if she stopped talking to me, it wouldn't change my mind. I would take her silent treatment a hundred times than purposely put her life at risk.

But still, my heart felt restless upon hearing about today. I couldn't let it continue like this. Ariana was right, she could fall sick. She hadn't eaten anything and had spent her day crying.

On the other hand, Mikael was getting stronger. What could I possibly do to make her happy?

She wanted freedom, everything was okay with her as long as she got her freedom. But how could I give her that now when knowing she didn't have only one bastard after her but someone else as well who was secretly trying to kill her.

Maybe I could let her go to the bazaar while I was there. I spent a few hours in the afternoon there anyways, planing or having meetings.

The bazaar was almost as safe as our house. It was all of our own people working or living there. It was surrounded by security.

She would probably feel a bit better if I let her accompany me there...

As I was thinking of ways to make life easier for both me and her, she stirred in her sleep and her eyes opened slowly. I watched in silence as her green/blue eyes that had turned puffy from all the crying, looked up at me.

She kept her curious gaze on me for a long time, as if she was trying to figure out if she was dreaming or not. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she did something I wasn't ready for.

Her hand raised and she slapped me hard across the face...

My eyes closed subconsciously and I breathed out heavily as I tried to get rid of the anger that took over me. She had already had a rough day, I didn't want to make her cry herself to sleep once again. Hence the reason I buried the emotion of rage.

"How dare you?" She asked suddenly when I looked back at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed and the anger she was feeling was showing in her eyes.

It confused me. How could she be so mad over me bringing her here with me? She didn't even show so much anger when I forcefully made her my wife...

"What's your problem?" I finally asked, wanting to know what was actually going on in her mind.

"Why did you do this to me? Couldn't you find other ways to break my heart? Did the thought of me finding out never cross your mind? Did you never think how I would feel knowing that you..." She couldn't finish her sentence and tears formed in her eyes.

All these questions and I was still as confused as ever.

"Just leave me alone. Get away from me!" Her voice raised when I was about to ask her what the hell she was talking about. She glared at me and I stood up, my fist clenching.

I decided not to make matters worse and went to the terrace to cool off. Closing the doors after me, I unbuttoned my shirt all the way and took a seat by the table. I put my feet up on the chair in front of me and picked up one of the cigars that were lined up. I cut the cigar and proceeded to light it.

Looking at the view in front of me, I felt calm. The city lights at night made the view mesmerizing from where I was sitting. I always enjoyed coming out here before going to sleep. I enjoyed looking out at my city and seeing it in front of me. Seeing the silence and peacefulness I had worked so hard for.

I knew that it was a matter of time before this peace was going to get disturbed. I had backup plans. I always had. But I hadn't been ready for Mikael to gain so much power in such short amount of time. There had to be something to it.

I was going to find out. And for me to do that, I had to start with that girl named Narges. Whoever she was, Mikael had made good use of her. I was sure she was the reason he had managed to take over Kash.

I started to think of ways to conquer Mikael. A lot of ideas and plans were made while I spent my time on the terrace gazing out at the view and smoking.

Almost half and hour later, I rested the finished cigar on the ashtray and got on my feet. I went back inside and saw Jasmin standing by the bed. She had gotten changed and was putting on her robe when she saw me suddenly. I noticed her eyes linger on my bare chest for a moment before she quickly turned away from me.

My lip twitched and I purposely pushed myself down on her side of the bed. I laid on my back and pulled out my phone, ignoring her gaze on me.

After just standing there and staring at me for a while, she walked around the bed and took a seat on the edge, her back turned to me. I noticed she had taken the bowl of fruits with her and was eating from it.

I felt relieved when I saw her eating. Fortunately, she didn't know I was the one who had brought it for her. She would empty all of it on my head if she had known...

All of a sudden, she turned to look at me but I was quick to drop my gaze to the phone in my hands. I realized she was stiff, like she wanted to say something.

I understood instantly why she was acting like that. She had come back to her sense and if I knew her well, she was regretting what she had done earlier.

That was just the type of person she was. How much anyone hurt her, she didn't feel at peace after hurting them back. I had to have a chat about that with her someday. She had to understand that in times of need, she had to put herself first and sometimes hurt others to survive.

But I wasn't planning on doing that now...not when I had the perfect opportunity to mess with her...

"Listen." She called out suddenly. When I looked at her, she turned back around. "Nothing, never mind." She said and quickly got on her feet.

I put away my phone and watched her put the bowl on the nightstand before sitting on the bed and leaning her upper body on the headboard. Her light brown hair was falling loosely on her arms and I stopped myself from grabbing the lengths of her hair and pulling her towards me.

"Listen." She repeated again, making me look up at her to see her staring down at me.

"I'm listening." I said, trying to hide my amusement.

"Sometimes, violence is not an answer. I am a firm believer of that. So, you should know whatever happened won't repeat itself again." My eyebrows raised at her words.

Sometimes, violence is not an answer.

The memory of her wanting to break a vase on my head a few days before our wedding day, appeared in my mind. Followed by the memory of her wanting to break yet another vase on my head a few weeks ago when we were at the beach house. Followed by yet another memory of her throwing the vase at me in this exact room yesterday. And of course, followed by the memory from moments ago when she slapped me.

My eyes landed on the glass bowl she had put on the nightstand. I should've had brought the fruit for her in a plastic bowl instead.

"Of course I know." I nodded. "You couldn't even hurt a fly even if you wanted to." She glared at me when she sensed the sarcasm.

"Whatever. I'm going to sleep. Move from my side." She said and licked her upper lip as she got down from the bed. Her subconscious behavior made made me think of all the ways I could explore those luscious lips.

But like always, I had to force the thoughts out of my mind. It was getting harder each day to stay away from her, but I had to.

Even though I had decided that the idea of me letting her go after I had finished Mikael was absurd. I had decided, I wasn't going to let her go. But, at the end of the day I had to give her a choice. Even if she decided to finish everything and leave me, I wouldn't give up.

Long story short, I knew that wherever she went...at the end of the day she would come back to me. But that didn't mean I could use her now. I couldn't have physical relation with her until she knew about everything and genuinely accepted me.

As tempting as she could be, it would be very unfair to her if I gave into my desires.

"Your side? I used to sleep on this side before you." I eventually said.

"Doesn't matter, I'm going to brush my teeth and I want you away from my side when I'm back." She spoke while disappearing into the bathroom.

I turned around swiftly until I was on the other side of bed. I picked up the bowl and pushed it under the bed to hide it from her and turned back around.

Some time later, she stepped out and narrowed her eyes at me when she saw I hadn't moved from 'her' side.

"What did I tell you?" She stopped by the bed.

"Fine. I'm leaving anyway. I have no intention of staying in a room where I get slapped back and forth." I said to purposely disturb her. "I was better off with my girlfriends. They never treated me that wa-"

Before I could finish the sentence, she was straddling me. Her hands reached to my throat and she started strangling me. "As if whatever you did was not enough. It's my fault for thinking for a second I could forgive you. Even if you hurt me, I tried to understand you. I tried to understand your feelings. But I was wrong. I'll kill you!"

"Violence...is not an answer." I managed to say.

I couldn't stop smiling at the grip she had around my throat. The little minx had a lot of strength in her...

I let her have her moment before I pulled her hands away and turned us around.

Her eyes widened and she looked between me and my bare chest a few times. The position I had her in made her face turn pink, a sight I enjoyed seeing more than anything.

"Nice to hear that you thought of forgiving me. Now if you could please do me a favor and tell me what it is that you wanted to forgive me for?" I asked, holding her hands to stop her from hitting me.

"You keep acting like you don't know." She snapped, rocking back and forth to try and get away from me but I held her down firmly.

"I don't like acting. Never was a fan. Now can you answer my question?" I gave her a harsh look, wanting her to start speaking about whatever bullshit she had formed in her mind.

"Really? So you really want me to say it? Even though you know that only thinking about it makes me cringe? Fine then, I'll say it. I'll tell you that I know why you married me and showed the little bit of interest that you had in me. It was all because of my sister. You knew her, I saw the photograph of her in your room last week. You used me. You married me just because I look like her and I remind you of her. Mikael was just an excuse."

She didn't push me away when my grip loosened around her wrists. She just laid there, tears forming in her captivating eyes as she looked up at me.

I tried to control my emotions but failed miserably. The silence that had taken over the room vanished when I cackled with laughter. I dropped on top of her and buried my face in her neck as I tried to stop laughing.

"Have you lost your mind?" I heard her ask and I tried to stop laughing. Finally, after a few moments my laughter died down.

"No. But you definitely have." I let her know and sat back up as I straightened up. She looked up at me confused. "You said a week ago? So all this time you were thinking these foolish thoughts? The argument you started before going to that trip of yours, was because of this? You made me make Pasha stay back and not follow you, which resulted in someone attacking you, because of this? These foolish doubts that you didn't even bother sharing with me?"

How could she be so naive and careless? She had put me through hell since last week and the reason for that was because of some suspicions?

She had risked her own life, asking me to cancel all the preparations I had made for her security when she was leaving town, because she had found a photograph of her sister in my room?

"Are you trying to deny it now?" She asked, her voice low.

I got away from her and stood up. "I'll say this first and last time. I've not even met your sister. Her photograph came in the mail for me, I figured first it was Mikael who was trying to mess with me but then again he would had mentioned it. So, it could've been anyone. I don't know why they would send me a photograph of your sister but I kept it in my room to try and find out what secretes there were to it." I explained.

I remembered the time I had received the photograph, I had first thought it was Jasmin in the photograph. But then, I had noticed the girl's hair was darker than Jasmin's and the smiling girl on the photo had dimples. I understood that it was her sister but I never got the chance to find the person who had sent it to me and why.

"B-but you had said we had fought the same battles when I talked about my sister. And you looked for my bracelet. You did that only when you found out it was a gift from my sister. And the first time we met, you looked at me in shock. As if you had seen me before." She spoke, the slight panic showing on her face as she got down from the bed.

"I had seen you before, but that doesn't mean I had seen your sister. I saw you once, two years ago. Yes, I did go back for your bracelet when I found out it was a gift from your sister. But that's only because I heard from your parents how much it meant for you. And what I said that day had nothing to do with your sister. I meant my own sister who's been lost since she was five and could possibly be dead and my mother who passed away five years ago." I paused and ran a hand through my hair. "I hope I've cleared your suspicions...allow me to rest now I have to wake up early."

I left her shocked self in the room and entered the bathroom to shower and get ready for the night.

Yes it had been funny at first hearing her utter those words. But it was more sad than funny. She didn't even trust me that little. Instead, she was ready to jump to conclusions any given moment.

I went back into the room when I was ready and noticed her sitting on the bed. "Walid, I-" I raised my hand to stop her from saying anything further.

"There's no point. What happened, happened. Forget about it and go to sleep." I said and turned all the lights off.

Her lack of trust in me had disturbed me more than it should've had. But I knew I was the one at fault.

I never gave her a reason to trust me. I had treated her in ways she didn't deserve to be treated...