Ayshe
Asin sent us home with a small army, headed by Ovuz. They waited with a smile as we said our goodbyes.
"You will be late tonight, huh?" asked Marie, unable to tear herself away from him.
"Nope. I'll swear some nonsense, sign some silly book, and be home... around 2 AM at the most," he reassured her.
As they finished their goodbye ritual, the rain hit. Asin stood there and waved us off until our convoy took a left turn and headed back to the mansion.
"So, now that we're alone," I turned to my sister. "What the hell was that!"
Marie's smile was genuine, showing none of the shadows from two hours ago.
"I don't know, but remember when that tall guy took him away and..."
"Yes, he watched something on the screen and sent some of the crew away straight after. Do you think he... saw us?" I asked, thinking out loud.
She nodded, slowly biting her lip.
"Which means two things," I theorized. "For one, he knows everything. Or at least a portion and got really mad at Desiree."
Marie kept bobbing her head.
"Two, he already made sure those videos never see daylight. And three..."
My phone pinged. It was Oliver. He had been suspiciously silent until now.
I will be there in 20 minutes. I called Desiree as well. She's coming separately. We can talk later after tonight.
It made me sad how our previous conversations were full of love and affection, and now...
"Was that Oliver?" Marie asked, looking up at her phone. "By the way, there's a bunch of videos deleted when I searched our names or that dinner about two hours ago." She showed her screen with greyed-out, blurred videos.
At least that's one less problem.
"Yes, it was him," I said, leaning on her shoulder. "He took his sweet time replying and... well, he sounded like he was talking to a colleague."
Marie kissed the top of my head. "It will get better... if we only survive until tomorrow. We can fix everything."
I enjoyed the hopeful outlook she had now. She had given up when she first dialled Asin, but his love was enough to pull her back.
At least their love is untainted and seems indestructible.
But I swore an oath. Tonight, I will clear the air between me and Oliver. I will tell him everything I've done... and hope our love will triumph as well.
---
Oliver
I met with Desiree outside the Balton well before Asin arrived. I needed to ask and tell her some things now that her life was in jeopardy.
"Oliver, do you know why he wanted to see the two of us?" she asked, looking around nervously.
I constantly felt the same fear. "No idea. He didn't even text me; he let Ayshe do it. Look, what happened at that dinner..."
"I know. It was stupid to agree to it. I see now. Others had phones out, and I—" She switched into full panic mode.
The hammer is about to drop.
"I did something stupid as well," I opened my eyes.
"What did you do?" she asked, stepping closer.
"Before answering, let me ask you one thing. What happened before you ended that call? What did Anna show the girls?"
She shook her head, but then, with a defeated sigh, she answered. "It was... a picture of an ultrasound." She leaned closer. "Of the child of them... Asin's daughter."
The strength left my legs. It has to be a lie, right? I leaned on the wall. That night at the chalet... Anna got pregnant with his daughter?
"Oliver, are you okay? Get a hold of yourself, for heaven's sake!"
"Is the baby... is she... is she alive?" I asked between panicked breaths.
Desiree shook her head, tears in her eyes. "Anna was on pills, and she was in a very bad state, and... she... apparently, the baby was stillborn."
Damn myself! I helped kill my own niece. Asin will kill us all if he finds this out.
"Oliver, you promised to tell me if I..."
"I talked to his parents. They know about you, about Anna... about everything. They most likely already buried you two in their heads."
Now it was her turn to lose strength. "W-why... why did you..."
"BECAUSE I MESSED UP!" I broke away, shaking her hands off. "BECAUSE I COULDN'T TRUST ANYONE! I needed allies myself and..."
Desiree started hitting my arms, lacking strength. "AND YOU DECIDED TO HAVE US ALL KILLED BY THOSE HEARTLESS MONSTERS!?"
I didn't even attempt a defense. She was right. I just wanted this to end.
We stood there, both wholly broken and utterly defeated. And the worst was just about to begin.
It took us almost fifteen minutes to pull ourselves together, only because Asin's text woke us up. He asked us to wait inside Room 615. He was five minutes away.
We settled inside the room, sitting in complete silence.
Asin... brother... I can't keep these inside me anymore. I will come clean today, and let his wrath burn me and all others.
I had to. I not only played a major role in his torment, but I, and his parents, killed his child.
"This is not the time for tears," Desiree reached over, cleaning my cheeks. "Asin most likely found the video footage from today and probably put the picture together. You need to be resilient and not break in front of him."
"I will tell him everything."
"No, you won't. Unless you want to lose your brother of thirteen years," she smiled, cupping my face.
She wasn't wrong. And also, we hadn't been this close in over three years. It felt familiar and comfortable.
( CLICK )
As we both snapped toward the door, Asin walked in, wearing an elegant black suit and a cold smile.
"Evening," he smiled, taking a seat immediately.
I was so nervous I forgot to say hello. Desiree was perspiring. Asin noticed our strange atmosphere but said nothing. His eyes were cold, calculating. His aura spelt our doom.
"So you had a busy day, huh Desi?" he turned to her.
"I... it was okay, I guess..."
"Do tell," he cut in.
Desiree was caught off guard and stayed silent. Asin snapped his finger, and one of his guards appeared, handing him a large-screen tablet.
"You two know, how much I hate surprises," he started, working on the thing. "...but worst of all. Betrayals."
He looked at me, and his smile died slowly. Desiree chose this time to make her stand.
"A-asin, I think it's..."
"Susya! (Silence)," Asin got up, frightening her back into her seat. "I wasn't finished." He handed the tablet to her. "You said Anna was out of your life, and for whatever reason, I believed you. But this..."
Desiree watched the video. As it finished, he took back the tablet. Her tears stained her face.
Asin threw the tablet on the large bed and raised her chin, forcing eye contact. "You will take me to her... tomorrow. You will stay here, and then... you WILL TAKE ME TO HER."
"Asin, I promise you. I d-didn't betray you. I... I mean... I had my reasons," she stuttered.
"Good ones?" Asin smiled.
Desiree kept silent. I opened my mouth, but I was too late.
"And you..." Asin turned to me. "For months I was on edge, feeling guilty about forcing you to work with her. But you knew all along, right?"
I opened my mouth to deny it.
"And remember... no more fibbing." He shook his finger.
All I could manage was a short nod.
"Hmm... my kerdes (brother)," he said, his eyes filling up.
He took a few steps back and sat down, rubbing his eyes. Desiree stood up, and I knew she was about to make our situation worse.
"Asin... I did keep contact with Anna, only recently though." She glanced at me. "But I wasn't the one betraying you. Marie is a killer! She killed a girl when she was but..."
"Nora Woods... right. I know," he looked up, his eyes red.
Desiree stumbled back to her chair.
"Hahaha... what?" he asked me. "You honestly thought you could sneak around with such knowledge and MY MAN WOULDN'T NOTIFY ME!! That girl sold you out in a second!" His voice filled the room.
What killed me was the hurt I noticed in there.
The door slammed open, and a dozen men came in, holding loaded guns. Asin waved them away.
"Brother, I simply wanted to... I wanted to know for a hundred percent before telling you," I finally found my voice.
"Right... like the time when you sneaked up to the Suirless and let Anna or Desiree destroy it?"
He even knew about that.
"It was a random event, and I didn't know where to put it. I guess it was you leaving Anna's pictures on the bed that day?" He asked Desiree, who was utterly defeated.
"You don't... you don't care about Marie..."
"Being a killer?" He walked beside her, sitting by her side. "No... no... fuck no. You see..." He put his arm around her. "...I'm a killer myself."
That made her shake like a leaf as Asin left her alone.
"I tell you what..." He motioned behind himself, and the same dozen guards appeared. "These gentlemen will stay by your side until I appear like a bad smell and make your day so much worse... and that bitch of a best friend of yours. By the way..." He leaned down. "I instructed them to hurt you like you stole something if you even start breathing weirdly... and unlike my own shitty friend... they are loyal."
Desiree openly wept. He turned to the one in front. "Take her phone and make sure she's breathing by the time I arrive."
Two men gently took her phone and handed it to Asin.
"You don't think I'm done with you..." he sat back down, putting Desiree's phone away. "I contemplated a lot of things. How to punish my own brother and such. What should I do? By the way, is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"
Too many things, my brother. I would kill me, too. With everything going to shit, I decided to at least clean my soul before I die.
But Desiree had the same thought, or just wanted to grip at something.
"Your parents orchestrated you break up with Anna. She was pregnant and forced by her own parents to agree... you had a daughter."
So she calculated that unleashing a demon who will turn our world into true ash was her only way out.
---
Marie
Hope. Such a short word, but it was the most powerful feeling a human could have. And I was filled with it.
Asin will fix everything and make sure we are heading towards a bright future.
Unless...
That picture from the dinner came to my mind. What if Desiree will try something desperate with nothing left to lose?
"And let's order something. Dinner was nice, but I crave something else. Like ITALIAN! Girls?" Henny kept nudging me.
"Yes, just go and do it. I'm not hungry," I said, handing her my phone.
"Marie, are you... okay?" Lilly stood up, stopping my pacing. "In fact, both of you have been acting strange for days now."
Ayshe smiled apologetically and spun some fabricated tales about our strange behavior. I stood near the balcony window, looking out into the torrential rain.
What will the future look like after tonight? Will Asin choose me even after he learned everything? Will he stand by my side against his own family and the world?
But that will be another story altogether...
Book 1 End.