Arzu pressed the phone to her chest.
As if punishing it for not being able to hug her mother.
Mert approached with curious eyes.
"Mom… You said grandma's name. What happened?"
Arzu knelt to his level. She stroked his hair and kissed his nose and cheeks gently.
She smiled, as though trying to conceal the sorrow on her face.
"My baby… I know you love your friends and your school here. But… your grandmother is ill. She needs us. If you could finish this school year over there… would that be okay?"
Mert fixed his eyes on her.
Despite his small body, there was the stance of a strong man on his face.
"Of course, Mom… We're a team. I'll always be by your side," he said.
Arzu hugged Mert tightly, wiping away the tears streaming down her cheeks.
In that moment… she felt a burning hatred for her father — the man who denied her a normal childhood and forced her to be strong.
With a strained smile, she lifted her head.
"Go tell Leylia. Let's take her to her mom and get ourselves ready. We need to hurry," she said.
Mert nodded and dashed off to the living room.
Just then, the sharp buzz of her phone startled Arzu.
For a second… she feared the phone might bring terrible news.
She looked at the screen.
The message was short and clear:
What do you need?
Yaman Korutürk.
Arzu spent the rest of the day in a whirlwind.
She rushed through a few legal matters. Handed over all her case files. Sent brief but direct farewell messages to her clients.
She entrusted her home to a real estate agent.
Packed Mert's favorite toys and a few clothes into a suitcase.
In haste…
They arrived at the airport, leaving behind all their order, all their habits, and everything they knew, heading to Turkey.
As the plane took off…
Somewhere in the void of the sky, the weight of the past settled on Arzu's shoulders.
She leaned against the window. Her life was drifting. Amid the turmoil within her, a memory leaked through:
That night…
The night she felt like a woman again — when she felt Ateş's breath on her neck, when he devoured her beneath him in sinful ecstasy.
A small smile played on her lips for the first time in years. She didn't deserve that man, but even the dream of him was beautiful.
Then…
She remembered their conversation the night before.
She had sent him a rushed message, trying to explain everything.
Ateş had sent only one reply:
"I've sent a team to the hospital where your mother is. She's under protection now.
And I will meet you tomorrow."
At that moment…
She remembered what it felt like to be safe.
And for the first time in a very long time, she thought — maybe she wasn't alone.
Istanbul Airport – International Arrivals Exit
Amid the chaotic hum of the airport, Arzu's steps were firm, but her heart was in pieces.
Next to her, Mert clung to her hand with his small palm, walking toward a new life, back in their homeland.
At the terminal exit, three black SUVs stopped simultaneously.
The deep growl of their engines spread like a threat.
All doors opened at once.
Men in pitch-black suits emerged, earpieces in, eyes sharp, movements disciplined.
This was not a welcome — it was a show of power.
And when the door of the front vehicle opened, time seemed to freeze.
Ateş stepped out...
Tall, broad-shouldered, his muscular frame hinted beneath a black shirt…
His eyes were as dark as night, carrying the fury of a dormant volcano.
A light beard framed his jaw — a portrait of pain and power.
Arzu stepped back.
There he was — the man she had abandoned years ago like a crime…
Now, the same man who had emerged from his darkness to protect her.
Ateş's gaze locked onto Arzu.
In the crowd, he saw only one person.
In her expression: years of longing, a reopened wound of an unfinished story.
The corner of his mouth curved.
That familiar, arrogant, dangerously charming smile…
Arzu held her breath.
She had faced countless mafia lords, smugglers, and con artists in her legal career — but none were like Ateş.
This man was danger incarnate.
And no matter how afraid she was…
She couldn't deny how the passion within his power made her knees tremble.
As Ateş drew closer, Arzu's pupils widened.
The air between them grew sharper.
This wasn't just the gaze between a man and a woman.
It was the rekindling of a relentless hunt.
He stopped, standing directly in front of her.
His voice rumbled from deep within his chest:
"Welcome back, Runaway."
Arzu said nothing.
But her eyes said everything.
Longing. Anger. Desire.
And with her unyielding stare, she pierced right through Ateş's soul.
Mert had stepped back a little, sensing the power of the men around them — but feeling even more strongly the storm brewing between his mother and the giant of a man before her.
Ateş knelt, meeting Mert's eyes.
"So you're Mert… You've protected your mom well. Good job," he said with a slow nod.
Mert was startled, but pleased.
Ateş turned his head toward Arzu and stepped closer, whispering in that familiar tone:
"Are you ready… or will you run again?"
Arzu's lips trembled. Then, softly, she replied:
"There's nowhere left to run."
And in that moment…
The fire within them reignited with a suppressed explosion.
Behind them, the SUVs roared to life. The men were ready.
The streets of Istanbul were about to witness the next act of this long-lost story.
As Arzu settled into the back seat, Ateş's masculine scent filled her lungs like a lingering memory from the night.
Mert, half-asleep, was gazing out of the window beside her, while Arzu felt almost breathless from the presence of Ateş sitting across from her. The electric tension in the air was almost tangible.
Ateş's eyes… Those pitch-black stares, never leaving her for even a moment.
It was as if he was wandering through every dark corner of her soul like a shadow.
His gaze was like a silent rebellion; it pierced her like a dagger…
Arzu checked if Mert's earphones were still in place, making sure he couldn't hear them. Once she was sure, she turned her head with a sense of unease.
And then, she locked her eyes with Ateş's.
She furrowed her brows, bringing back that old sharpness in her voice:
"Yaman, are you going to say something? You look like you're about to hit me…"
Ateş's lips curled into a smile, clearly enjoying himself.
With dark pleasure, his voice dripped with mockery:
"You're saying exactly what I want most right now. Don't do that… I imagine it, and then..."
Arzu rolled her eyes. She shook her head, but the knot inside her only grew tighter.
There was a heavy burden in her eyes, one that had accumulated over the years.
"I had no one..." she said softly.
"The people who caused trouble for my mother are dark figures. I had no one to deal with them."
She swallowed.
"If this bothers you... just say it. I'll find a way. I don't want to get you into trouble."
Ateş's brows furrowed suddenly.
The lines on his face tightened. The usual patience he carried seemed to crack.
He leaned forward, now face-to-face with Arzu.
His voice first calm, then rising like flames:
"You could've said I bought the ticket... You could've said, 'If I don't go, can you protect me?'... You could've said, 'I want to start a new life, can you help?'..."
He didn't stop. Words were now bursting from his chest, not his throat.
"Most importantly, Arzu!" His eyes blazed with burning anger,
"Yaman, would you want to come with me? You could have said this, Arzu! Instead of running away, you could've said this!"
Arzu's gaze suddenly became misty.
Her eyelids grew heavy, as if the words had knotted in her throat.
"I didn't deserve it," she said.
In a quiet, self-effacing tone, shrinking in on herself...
Ateş's face froze.
Time seemed to stop for him for a few seconds.
"I was a woman who couldn't get divorced, who had gone bankrupt, and was made a fool of, Yaman..."
"I had no right to drag you down with me."
Ateş's pupils briefly darkened.
The fact that this woman still saw herself as incomplete, always worthless, even after all these years… It was the only thing that hadn't changed.
She was always deciding for others, always ignoring herself.
He muttered harshly through his clenched teeth:
"I could have decided this, Arzu..."
"It was unfair for you to decide what I wanted."
Then, he turned his head and looked outside, towards the streets of Istanbul.
The burning longing, filled with things they couldn't say to each other, began to quietly dissipate inside the car.
Anger, hurt, and an undeniable attraction…
They were now swirling around the luxury vehicle like an invisible smoke.
It was as if they would catch fire if they spoke… The longer they stayed silent, the more they burned.