After those heated moments in the car, Aslan dropped me off at home without even looking me in the eye and drove away. He got what he wanted, after all. Sometimes this whole game wore me out. It felt like I was stuck in some childish game of "playing house." Neither the husband was real, nor the wife. Sure, we were married, but the fakeness of it all was so obvious it made me feel like I was losing my mind. Every time I called Aslan "my husband," it didn't feel like he really was. It was just an act — me playing the role of the sweet, smiling wife who never complained, who always supported him, who never caused trouble.
I'll admit, sometimes I fooled myself. Like when he called me "my beauty," or when he went as far as wanting to install air conditioning all over the house just because I liked hugging him. For a split second, I'd actually feel like a real wife. But reality always came knocking, pulling me back. And each time, it got harder to stomach. Especially today.
From the moment I woke up and curled up next to him, I fell right back under his spell. Hugging him was a mistake — I knew it. But I couldn't stop myself. Still, I didn't deserve such a cold slap in return. Seeing Ece alone was enough of a blow, but then realizing where I really stood in Aslan's eyes? That was way too much for a single day.
And yet, here I was, dressing up, putting on makeup for my husband who'd be home in an hour. I couldn't just pout and throw a tantrum. Who was I, anyway? A nobody whose mood swings he'd put up with? No. I had to go on as if nothing had happened. I had no right to be mad.
When I put on my pink lip gloss, I gave myself one last look in the mirror. As always, I sparkled. Makeup hides everything — a little concealer, some blush, gloss, and the nightmare of the day was gone. The doorbell rang. I fluffed my hair with my fingers, added some volume, took a deep breath, and armed myself with my biggest weapon — my smile.
Aslan never used his key. He always wanted me to open the door. I guess it was his way of craving a family. I didn't know much about his family, but I was sure things weren't good with his mom. He had no siblings, or if he did, I'd never seen them. I'd only seen his father twice, and I swore I never wanted to see him again. That man was the living, breathing definition of "stone-faced." And he hated me. Like I was crazy about him, right? To him, I was just a gold-digging slut who managed to trap his son after screwing around with half the men in town.
Okay, I wasn't gonna lie — the gold-digger part wasn't entirely wrong. But I sure as hell wasn't some desperate chick who tried her luck with every guy. Anyway…
Bottom line: people like them were never gonna turn into a warm family sitting around a table, laughing over dinner.
When the doorbell rang again, I rushed before giving myself a chance to overthink. Smiling, I opened the door.
"Welcome home," I said.
Aslan, one hand in his pocket, just stared at me blankly. After scanning me for two silent seconds, he leaned in, kissed my hair, and said,
"Good to be home, babe." Then he walked straight inside.
No hug at the door? No playful tease? His mood was off. Something was bugging him. Something after me, maybe? I closed the door and followed him into the living room. He was on the couch, head tilted back, eyes shut. I sat down right next to him.
"Aslan, did something happen? Are you okay?" I asked.
Without opening his eyes, he let out a sarcastic laugh. What the hell was wrong with him now?
"I'm fine," he said coldly. He was clearly pissed. But at what? Couldn't be me, right? If anyone had the right to be mad about what happened in the car, it was me. And anyway, we never fought. Why break that streak?
So I slid closer, leaned into his face, and said, "Are we in a fight?"
He couldn't resist that, normally. Shaking his head with a mocking grin, he said, "Not at all."
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was he trying to pick a fight with me? Who actually wants their wife to sulk at them?
Then he opened his eyes, turned to me, and said, "People who care about each other fight sometimes."
Alright, so cuteness wasn't gonna fix this one. He wanted a fight? Fine. We could fight.
I sighed, tired and annoyed. "Sounds like you're itching for a fight."
He straightened up, turned to me, and snapped, "And why aren't you?"
What kind of dumbass question was that?
"Why would I want to?" I shot back.
That just pissed him off more. He pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked straight at me.
"Girl, you'll drive a man insane. Look at me. Look at me!" he barked, and for a second, I thought he might lose it. Suddenly he grabbed my arms and shook me lightly.
"I'm your husband, not your damn boss. You're my wife, not some robot."
Alright, that was it. Now he was pushing me. He wanted me angry? Fine. He was gonna get it.
"Not your robot, huh? Maybe you're the one forgetting things. You bought me, remember?" I snapped back, yanking myself out of his grip and standing up. "What did you say to me back then? That I was the girl you'd kiss when you felt like it, screw when you felt like it, and use to blow off steam when life got heavy. That my only job was to be yours. Maybe you forgot that, but I sure as hell didn't. Not when you first said it, not this morning when you came to me like it was just another one-hour gig, and not now when you're whining like some spoiled brat who's bored of his toy. I've never broken character."
Maybe I'd gone too far. But damn it, he deserved it. I'd kept my end of the bargain. I accepted my role, my place. The very first night of our marriage, when he threw those words in my face, I locked away all my pink fairytales and buried the key. And every time I started to forget, Aslan was right there to remind me of my place.
So now, when I was doing exactly what he wanted, he was the one acting like a sulky kid? I wasn't having it. I had limits too.
He stared at me for a second, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. Then he stood up.
"So that's why you acted the way you did today?" he asked. Out of everything I just said, that's the part he latched onto? Typical. He didn't wanna hear the rest.
"How did I act?" I asked, holding my chin high. I wasn't about to back down — not this time.
"Don't play dumb. You said it yourself," he snapped, pointing a finger at me.
Then he dropped his hand, shoved both into his belt, and started walking toward me. Normally if I walked at someone like that, I'd look like some nagging housewife ready to pick a fight. But Aslan, in his black jacket and those broadening shoulders, looked… ridiculously hot.
Still, my body instinctively began stepping back with tiny, careful steps. I wasn't about to let him see me flinch, but truth was, the man could devour me whole if he wanted to.
"I'm not playing dumb. I was perfectly normal today," I said, backing up, trying to sound calm.
One of his eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "Normal?" His voice had that mocking edge again.
He was bored. And when Aslan got bored, he played with me like a cat with its mouse. But I wasn't in the mood to play.
"Yes. Normal," I repeated stubbornly.
He kept coming. Step after step.
"So, my lovely wife got offended by my words, huh?" he teased, that sly smile tugging at his lips. Was he… enjoying this? Since when did feelings matter?
"Why would I be offended? I'm not. Don't—don't come any closer," I said finally, running out of space.
But before I could dodge sideways, his arm shot out, grabbing me tight, yanking me into him. One arm locked around my waist, the other gripping my arm. My body slammed against his chest, held firm.
"You can't run. I'll always catch you," he murmured.
The sharp edge in his voice sent a shiver through me. Damn. When he lowered his voice like that, when he locked his eyes on me, it was dangerously sexy. But wait—weren't we fighting just a second ago?
He leaned down, his face inches from mine. I turned my head stubbornly away, clinging to my anger, but he pressed closer anyway, deliberately brushing against me.
"I ditched a major meeting just 'cause you pissed me off over the phone. Selim couldn't handle it alone, but I didn't care. I only had an hour, tops," he said.
An explanation. I hadn't expected that. Normally, we yelled, maybe cursed, then took it to bed and let the sheets do the rest. We weren't "solution-oriented." We were burn-fast, cool-down-fast. That was our rhythm.
So hearing him explain himself while his lips brushed my skin was… confusing as hell. And distracting.
All I managed was a weak, "Hmm?" My face was still turned, avoiding him, but his mouth found every inch it could reach, leaving soft kisses.
"Uh-huh. Selin, you're my wife, not my damn toy. You better drill that into your head."
How was I supposed to feel like his wife when half the time he made me feel like anything but? I tried to step back, to put some distance between us, but just as I opened my mouth to say something—
The doorbell rang.
Aslan glanced at the door, then at me. "Were we expecting someone?"
"No," I shook my head quickly. "Maybe it's Selim."
He let me go, stepping back with that alert stance of his. "You stay. I'll get it."
But I couldn't help myself—I followed behind as he walked to the door. He peeked through the peephole, then unlocked it immediately.
"Mom?" he said.
And just like that, inside my head, I cursed. Fuck. Just my luck.
The one person I had silently thanked a moment ago for saving me from this situation turned out to be my witch of a mother-in-law. What kind of cruel irony was that?
Where the hell had she crawled out from now?
I forced my usual smile onto my face, sliding up beside Aslan.
"Serpil, welcome. We weren't expecting you. Is everything alright?" I asked, my voice sugar-coated.
Of course, a normal person would've given notice. But not my mother-in-law. She never missed a chance to rattle me, yet she also didn't come unless she had a reason.
Her expression soured the second she laid eyes on me. No surprise there. Semih, my father-in-law, was already the type whose face looked carved from stone, so his scowl didn't even bother me anymore. But Serpil? Oh, she knew exactly how to cut with a glance.
"Do I need your permission to come to my son's home?" she snapped.
I wanted to correct her — our home, not just her son's. But I wasn't confident enough in this marriage to claim it. And she, of course, was certain I'd tricked Aslan, and that the second he got bored, he'd kick me out. She never missed a chance to remind me of that.
"Of course not, I just meant—is everything okay? Anyway, we were about to eat, why don't you join us?" I said smoothly.
Because like it or not, I was the lady of this house. And that meant hosting them properly, no matter how much I despised it. As they walked past us into the living room, Aslan was standing quietly beside me. He had always been distant and cold with his family anyway. I held Aslan's hand and made him look at me.
"Are you okay?" I asked. Every time he saw them, Aslan would grow silent and withdrawn. Could it be that they had beaten my husband? Serpil anne wouldn't, but my father-in-law… I wasn't so sure. I could expect anything from that man. Aslan pulled his hand away from mine and said,
"I'm fine, let's go." That same thing was happening again. Just a moment ago he had been warm, and now he was ice cold. Like I said, you could never rely on Aslan's closeness. Once he saw his family, his mood dropped and he stopped playing. He walked in first, I followed. As always, Serpil anne gave my living room her condescending look. Unlike her, I had decorated mine very simple and modern. Her house, on the other hand, was like a museum. You'd be ashamed to walk around in pajamas. Semih baba, as usual, went straight to the bar in the corner and poured himself a drink. He drank a lot. Aslan and I didn't like drinking, but that bar was built for his father. He was the only one who used it. Unfortunately, my husband was still struggling to earn the approval of a father he had never even seen smile at him.
"Shall we move to the table?" I said. Çiçek abla had set it before leaving. Thank goodness she had cooked too. Just when Serpil anne was about to spit out her venom, Semih baba stepped in:
"No need, we ate already. We came to talk to Aslan." What could he want to talk about? Aslan was visibly tense next to me.
"About what?" he asked. He looked so cold and harsh, nothing like the man who had just cornered me in that spot a moment ago. How could someone act like such a stranger with his own family? Instead of being happy to see his parents at the door, what had he gone through to stand on edge, guarded? He had just fought with me to drill into my head that I was his wife, yet I knew nothing about him. What kind of marriage was this? What kind of husband was this?
"Work-related, let's go to your study." He set his glass on the bar and started walking toward us. I mean, wouldn't a person expect an answer? Maybe we wanted to hear too. Aslan looked at me before following his father. He paused, winked at me, and then walked out of the living room. I guessed that meant there was no problem. Ugh, now I was left alone with my snake of a mother-in-law. I smiled and walked toward her,
"Shall we have a coffee, Serpil anne?" I asked. Looking around, she said,
"Don't you have a maid?" Of course, it bothered her, because in her house there were two live-in maids, serving until they went to bed. Aslan didn't like strangers around in the evenings. It worked for me too, because honestly, I didn't want to risk embarrassment with people around when you never knew what we might be doing. This was a home, after all.
"You know Aslan doesn't really like having maids around in the evenings." I said shortly. A faint mocking smile crossed her face.
"Right, you already have one." she said. And so it began. When Aslan wasn't around, I gave back what came from Serpil anne. Without crossing the line too much, and most importantly, without taking off my mask of politeness. That's how these rich people fought—smiling politely.
"No, not because of that… you know, nights are for private things. Maybe you forgot." I said. It was obvious even from five kilometers away that they had no sex life. Maybe that was why they were both so tense.
"Shameless," she said with the same scorn, but this time her nasty smile was gone. Then she straightened her face and added,
"Anyway, not even you can ruin my good mood today." So this was her good mood? You couldn't tell. With one expression she seemed to live through all emotions.
"Let's hope it's something good." I said. What had made her so cheerful? Whatever it was, it surely wasn't anything good for me, but let's see. With a sly smile on her face, she said:
"Oh, it's good news. Congratulations, you're leaving here." This time it was my own smile that froze.
"I don't understand?" I asked. What nonsense was this woman spouting? From the look on her face, she clearly enjoyed my expression.
"What's not to understand? You're going back to the hole you came from. Aslan is divorcing you." It was as if boiling water had been poured over me. A cold tingling took over my entire body. For a moment, my brain blue-screened and then came back. I tried to pull myself together and not give anything away.
"Oh, come on, who told you that? There's no such thing." I said. Hopefully, she would say it was something one of her stupid friends made up. Because, even though I couldn't stand my mother-in-law, she was definitely not a woman who spoke without reason.
"You don't know, I see. That's why we came here. Aslan bought an old house in the neighborhood. Today he also called the bank and asked them to freeze all your accounts and cards in a week. In other words, you're going back to your hole empty-handed, just like you came." she said. The smile I had been forcing vanished completely from my face. Was he really divorcing me?
But I… I did everything right. I did everything the way we agreed at the beginning. I was always cheerful. Always elegant and beautiful. I didn't nag, I didn't suffocate him.
I did everything right.
I was trying hard to pull myself together, but it was like thoughts were pouring down into my brain like rain. I couldn't focus on anything. Once I managed to collect myself a little, I said,
"I'm sure there's an explanation for all this." I was still trying to keep my head high, but there was no explanation for any of this. What I feared had happened. When I hugged Aslan, I ruined everything. He must have thought I was attached, maybe even in love, and he got bored of me. I wasn't a fun game anymore. By hugging him, I made him think I had fallen for him. I was no different from the other women around him anymore. Once I was no different from all those girls falling for him, why would he keep me by his side? I had lost the one thing about me that Aslan found attractive. No matter how close I got or even slept with him, Aslan knew he hadn't completely won me over. That was what drew him to me in the first place: me being a prey he could never fully catch. But when I hugged him, I ended the chase. There was no point for him to keep running. Now he would leave me and go after new prey.
Maybe he already had.
"Of course there is. When I visit you in your new home, you can tell me that explanation yourself. I'll be curious." she said. What pissed me off more than that ugly smirk on her face was the fact that I had nothing to wipe it off with. Everything was slipping from my hands and I couldn't do anything. I was still in shock when I heard Semih baba's voice behind me.
"We're leaving," he said. His voice sounded angry. They had probably fought, and Aslan was angry too.
Let the bastard rot.
I didn't even look their way, and Serpil anne stood up and left. I couldn't believe I had let this woman win. How had I not seen it? How had I not realized he wanted to divorce me? Of course, that was why he had treated me this way all day. That was why he didn't want me to think straight. So I hadn't noticed anything. While I was busy resisting his games, he had already handled his business behind my back. But he was forgetting one thing. I wasn't just going to sit by idly. I wasn't going to leave his life so easily.
Once I managed to gather myself, I took a deep breath and calmed down. What was done was done. Sitting around crying or getting angry was useless. If the circumstances had changed, then I had to act accordingly. I had to take precautions. I stood up and walked toward the study. Just like he had done to me, now I would make my plans without letting him notice a thing. When I walked in, Aslan was smoking in front of the open window. As I walked toward him, I said,
"Well, looks like we got our daily dose of fighting from your parents today." Aslan laughed at what I said, but it was a helpless kind of laugh. When I got to him, he pulled me under his arm and immediately put out his cigarette. He never smoked near me since I couldn't stand the smell. Keeping up my role perfectly, I wrapped my arms around his waist. We stood there for a while, just watching outside together.
"You won't ask what we fought about?" Aslan finally broke the silence.
"When have we ever talked about unpleasant things?" I said. Honestly, what I really wanted right now was to smash his head in, but this wasn't the time. I had to be cautious. I'd do it later when I got what I wanted. Aslan took a deep breath and just said,
"True." To keep up my role and not make him suspicious, I stepped back a little, gave him the look I knew he found irresistible, and said,
"But if you want, I can clear this cloudy air." As always, I was trying to distract him by pulling him into bed. If he had power over me, I had the same power over him.
"Oh yeah? And how's that?" he asked, realizing my game and playing along. I shrugged and said,
"I don't know, I actually have a few ideas." Meanwhile, my hands started unbuttoning his shirt. Aslan placed his hands on my hips and pulled me toward him in a way that was far from gentle. Pressed against his chest, I traced my fingers along his bare skin.
"How do you do it?" he asked. His eyes were narrowed, and I knew that look. That was the look he gave right before he pounced on me.
"Do what?" I said, puckering my lips. His gaze traveled from my eyes, to my lips, to my breasts pressed against him, and finally back to my eyes, his voice laced with both anger and desire.
"Make all the clouds disappear with just one touch… even when I'm furious with you." Furious with me? I'd show him what fury was, but thank God I had other priorities—like saving my jewelry and Hermes bags. So without breaking character, I raised my eyebrows slightly and said,
"Are you angry with me?" His eyes traveled over my lips, my breasts pressed against him, and finally my eyes again, and with a voice tinged with both anger and lust, he said,
"Angry enough to want to tear you apart." I wrapped my hands around his neck, brought my face close to his, and with a teasing tone said,
"I think that's a wonderful idea." From that moment, the only thing I remembered was him practically attacking my lips and tearing off everything I had on, just as he had said. Even while making love with him, even while he slept beside me like a log, my mind was on how to get out of this divorce with the least damage possible. What I didn't know was that my husband also had a plan coiled inside his mind like a poisonous snake—and unfortunately, he had started executing his plan long before me.