Chapter 17

Last night Aylin had also stayed awake, thinking about her life and all her decisions. She concluded that why should she depend on others for happiness? All her life she has depended upon others. If she wants anything, she must get it herself. So she came to the conclusion that she will do everything by herself without depending upon her father or Axel. Because she was now tired of playing toyed around like a doll with no feelings or desires.

Although Axel is someone she has come to like but she knows that by staying with him, she will only keep reminding him about his parents' murder. Even if he says he doesn't want to involve her and he doesn't think about her that way. But still, unconsciously he will be reminded of the fact that she is his parents' murderer's daughter. And it will ultimately put Axel in a difficult position and he will feel hurt. This is why she also decided to secretly find out the truth behind his parent's murder. So after she is done with everything, she will leave. She will then live with her mother and this is why she made this condition of the job and the shares.

When Axel agreed to the contract, her face instantly lit up. Although she was surprised, Axel so easily agreed to the shares. That's not something someone gives away so easily.

She then thanks him and heads to her room. After going inside, she instantly calls her mother,

"How are you doing now?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm good. Father didn't say anything else to you, did he?"

"No. Are you doing what your father told you to do?"

"Yes."

She lied.

"That's my good girl."

"Do you remember, when we were young we always dreamt about running away together? Just you and me. On a small hut far from the city. The only noise would be the chirping birds and the ocean waves crashing. Just like we always imagined."

"Those were just silly talks, my dear."

"How would you like it if it came true?"

"Aylin! Again you're talking like that? I told you, stop it."

"It's only because I love you and I care for you."

Thud.

Upon hearing the noise from the outside, Aylin quickly ends her call.

"Just a second, mom."

She goes outside to see who it was but is met with an empty tranquil hallway. She then thinks the noise must have come from downstairs and continues to talk to her mother.

Meanwhile, Axel who had rushed downstairs was trying to calm his mind.

'Let me get this straight. She escaped her house because she couldn't get that person. This bastard is the one she loves and now she plans to help me and run away with him, is that it?'

Axel felt like he couldn't breathe. A sharp pain ringed. Suddenly a thought flashed in his mind,

'But something doesn't fit right. She has always denied that there was a guy. And I believe her. I also know that the way she looks at me cannot be a lie. Even all the moments we spend together. So it must be someone else. There is something that's going on.'

He instantly calls Eric,

"Did you find out about that guy?"

"I couldn't because there isn't any."

"Then look around. It doesn't have to be a guy. Just keep digging until you find something suspicious. You can even stalk every one of them. Just get me anything you find."

"Is everything alright?"

"No, so hurry up."

~~~~~

The next day, they both avoid each other except that Axel tells her the details about her job and makes her sign the paper. Before signing, Aylin blurts out without being consciously aware of it,

"Why did you agree so easily? Do you want to bring dad down so much?"

Axel sadly smiles and replies,

"Revenge isn't everything for me, you know. My world doesn't revolve around it."

Letting out a slight chuckle, Aylin adds while signing,

"Then what does it revolve around?"

"You."

Aylin's eyes go round. She thinks that if he keeps saying things like this, it'll be hard for her to leave him later on.

"I agreed so easily because it's you."

He bluntly adds and looks straight at her. While she averts her gaze and hands him the papers,

"Here you go. Anything else?"

"Yes. Why did you shift into the guest room?"

"Can't I?"

"No."

He instantly replies, moving closer. She reflexively takes a few steps back.

"Why?"

"You should be asking yourself that."

His face comes closer, inches apart from her,

"Are you worried you won't be able to leave me if you stay in the room like me?"

"Oh look at the time! I have to leave. It's my friend's birthday party."

Aylin rapped out the words and quickly left. She didn't lie though because it was Ellen's birthday party at a nightclub.

After she quickly got ready, she realized Axel was waiting for her downstairs.

"Want me to drop you off?"

"No, thanks. She is already outside waiting for me."

Aylin quickly left, while trying to wear her earrings. Before she knew it, one of the earrings fell onto the floor but she only realized that when she sat inside the car and Ellen pointed it out to her.

Meanwhile, Axel gets a call from one of his friends to come out for some drinks so he decides to go there. When he is about to leave, he ends up stepping on the earring and breaks it.

"Oh shit."

He picks it up and realizes Aylin must have dropped it while leaving earlier. He decides to get it fixed and then hand it back to her.
He then heads to the nightclub, which is one of the most secure nightclubs ever. Many celebrities hang out here without any care about the public spreading scandals.

On the first floor, his friends were waiting for him. As they drank and talked about things mainly about how one of his friends just broke up with his girlfriend, one of them looked over at the dance floor on the ground floor and adds,

"Oh! Isn't that your wife, Axel?"

At his words, Axel quickly turns around to look at the source.

He finds Aylin dancing with a guy, laughing. There was a whole group and the background was decorated with her friend's birthday theme. However, even among the group, Axel kept staring at her and that guy whose hand she was holding and dancing.

'Didn't she tell me she didn't know how to dance?'

Axel thinks to himself in jealousy. He soon notices that Aylin wasn't good at dancing. She was clumsy and awkward and she kept stepping on that guy's feet. But still, his grip on his glass tightens,

'It should be me dancing with her. Not him. Who is he? Get your hands off her.'

"Woah dude, stop staring so hard. It seems like you are gonna pierce a hole in that place where that guy is touching your wife."

"You know, I have to say. I never thought Axel was the type to be so obsessive and protective."

His friends commented, making him come out of his thoughts. His eyes never leaving that place, he replies,

"I never thought of myself like that too....but with her, it's different."

"Dude, you have fallen so deep for her."

"You can say that."

"He isn't even denying that! Ahhh the cringe...."

"I just broke up! Don't say stuff like that in front of me!"

"Oh, right we almost forgot about you."

His friends continued to joke around but Axel's gaze never left his wife and that unknown man.

Suddenly Aylin's heel broke and she was about to fall but that guy caught her by her waist. Their faces were just inches apart. At this, Axel who was shaking his leg in anger and drinking places his glass quite hard on the table.

Thud.

The noise makes his friend stop talking and ask him if he was alright.

He in response clenches his fist tightly, glaring at the guy who was helping Aylin stand up and walk to the booth.

Axel wanted to go over there but he stopped himself because he still didn't know what was going on between Aylin and him. Can he even call him her husband? Because they are separated these days. He still loves her but she talks about leaving him. He thinks that she loves him too but he doesn't want to push her to tell her the reason for the contract because he is afraid that like last time, she will end up leaving his house.

"Leave him be, he is just jealous."

"How nice. I can't even feel jealous like this because my girlfriend left me. Excuse me, give me another bottle!"

"And give me five more bottles!"

Axel added to which everyone looks at him with wide eyes.

After quite a few drinks, even if the rest of the two friends were stopping him, Axel and his friend Stephen, who had gotten dumped today, just kept on drinking.

In the end, they both were quite drunk. One of them decides to take Stephen home while the other is gonna take Axel back until his eyes fall upon Aylin. He then goes to her, which surprises her. Aylin was alone with Ellen who was waiting for someone. Since her heel broke, she was wearing Ellen's spare shoes. Everyone else had long left.

"Hello, sister-in-law!"

"Hi?"

"Do you remember me? We met at the wedding. My name is..."

Before he could speak, Aylin added,

"Felix."

"Yep. That's right. So actually, Axel, Bryan, and Stephen came here to hang out. But now both Stephen and Axel are drunk."

"Huh? Axel is drunk?"

Surprised, Aylin got up. It was the first time she had heard of Axel being drunk.

"Yes, we are all pretty surprised about it too. Did you guys fight?"

Aylin averts his gaze in response.

"Well anyways, Bryan has already taken Stephen back and I have somewhere to go. It's an emergency. Do you know how to drive?"

Aylin nodded reflexively.

"Great. Here you go. I trust you'll take great care of Axel. Well bye! He is there on the first floor, you can see him, right? Goodbye."

He hands her Axel's car keys and then leaves quickly.

"Looks like you also have to leave."

Ellen added.

"Why is he drunk? Also, are you going to keep on waiting for Jackson?"

"He did promise...he will be here."

"It's been hours! How long are you going to keep waiting? Just go back home."

"I will...soon. Just a few more minutes. I promise I'll go back after that. You go ahead and take your husband home."

"Fine but don't stay late waiting for him, okay?"

She nods in response as Aylin goes to get Axel.
Axel was surprised to see Aylin come and ask him to get up. But without saying anything, he follows after her.

In the car, Axel kept drowsing off till he fell asleep.

When they reached home, Aylin tried to wake him up but he looked fast asleep.

She pushes his arm and calls him softly,

"Axel? Wake up. You can go inside and then sleep on your bed."

"Axel?"

"Axel?"

"Axel!"

She slaps his shoulder but he doesn't budge.

He blinks his eyes but then again closes them.

"Fine then. Stay here."

She headed back inside and changed her clothes. Throughout she couldn't stop thinking about him. This is why after quickly changing, she goes outside and sees him still sitting in the same spot.

She opens the door and tries to wake him up, he blinks and keeps staring at her, without uttering a word.

"Okay, get up!"

Aylin helps him stand by lending him her shoulder. Since he was heavier than her, she was practically crouching and had to drag him. Although he was walking, it was lazily. She could smell alcohol on his breath.

"Urgh...why did you drink so much?"

She pushes him onto the sofa as she takes a deep breath.

"I can now understand what you went through when I was drunk. I promise to never get drunk in front of you, forgive me."

Saying that she grabs a cushion and a blanket and lays him down and covers him up properly.

As she is tucking him in, he grabs her hand,

"Don't go...why do you want to leave me?"

"Huh?"

Getting pulled, she ends up sitting on the floor with her back against the sofa.

"Please don't leave me...I am sorry...I shouldn't have even thought about divorce but I just hate it....I can't stand it knowing that you are suffering and I don't know what that is...just tell me...I will help you...I am always here for you..."

Seeing this brings tears to Aylin's eyes. She slowly removes his hand from hers. While he continues to speak,

"Where do you want to run away? Tell me. I will take you there. Who are you running from? Tell me. I will protect myself. Just don't suffer alone. Please. The person you want to run away with...can't it be me? Would you like to run away with me? Or should I kidnap you like before? What should I do to make your stay..."

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"I sometimes feel like you hate me but I don't want to believe it..."

"I don't. But....you may come to hate me."

"Never. That will never happen."

"You don't know. After all, I am his daughter."

"Like I have been saying, I don't care. To me, you're just my sweet love. My Aylin."

Aylin's face goes red at his words. She instantly gets up.

"Where are you going?"

"To get some water. And don't worry, I'm not leaving you. I promise."

'If you tell me to leave, only then I will leave. And I am uncertain but when you find the truth, you may want me to leave. I'll let you decide when that time comes. Until then, I'll selfishly stay here.'

She thought as she went to the kitchen. She remains there for a while, trying to look for old files from her father's business that might help Axel. After she finds a few, she comes back to see Axel fast asleep.

Smiling, she fixes his blanket and sits down on the floor, with her back against the sofa next to him. Hugging her knees, she fondly looks at him and before she knows it, she too falls asleep.

How do you like the story so far? I am literally so excited for what's going to come next! 🤩 Packed with some plot twist, and some exciting new things, I can't-wait to upload the next few chapters! Till now, I hope you enjoy reading and please stay tune for the upcoming exciting chapters! Please do vote, comment and share to support this book! 🤍🤍🤍