Thirty Seven

I step out of the shower, wrapping a heated towel around myself after I finished scrubbing Aydems touch and scent from my body.

I was furiously cleaning myself free from the sins I have and continue to commit.

I wipe the pooling moisture that coats my mirror and I stare at my reflection. My eyes have dark circles around them and my cheeks look hollow of any life.

I feel lost.

I have no idea what to do or what path to take. As I sat in the Uber on the ride home, I dialled Aces number multiple times and each time it went straight to his voice mail. It's been doing that all day and I don't know who to turn to for help.

I have no family or friends.

I miss my son and with each passing day, my heart bleeds with sorrow.

Gods!

I miss the smell of his hair, the touch of his soft skin and the sound of him giggling. I would lay my life down on the line for him and that is why I've decided to come clean to Aydem.

He has the resources to find him and at this very moment, I don't have many options. I mean, who's to say that Trent and Castello haven't locked them up in an abandoned building?

Tears pool in my eyes as I continue to stare back at myself and before my mind can catch up with my body. I pick up my ceramic toothbrush holder and throw it at the mirror.

I step to the side, "Shit!" I cry out.

Watching as the mirror shatters and falls in pieces around the basin and bathroom floor.

I stand there trembling, staring down at the fragments, contemplating how they reflect my life.

A chaotic mess.

After a few heartbeats,

I bend down, picking up the huge shards of mirror, depositing them inside the basin, and then I drop my towel. It pools around my feet as I change into my cotton dressing robe and tie my wet hair up in a top knot.

>>>Knock, knock, knock<<<

The sound of someone knocking at my door travels through the apartment and I pick up my towel, throwing it over the glass as I exit the bathroom.

As I pull the door open, I gasp and I physically have to stop myself from slamming it shut again. Instead, I take a deep breath and count to three as I swallow the sudden shock that consumes me.

"Mr. Burak." My voice is laced with trepidation. "Wh. What are you doing here?" My entire body goes numb with suspicion.

"You left before we finished what we started." He grins mischievously.

If I wasn't standing here in my existing predicament, I'd think it was sexy as fuck that he followed me. But, under my current circumstances, I don't have the luxury to indulge in a handsome Turkish billionaire pursuing me.

You see,

this isn't a page out of a romance novel, and if fairy tales were real, I'd be sitting in the high towers with my prince charming massaging my back right before he screws my brains out.

I sigh, "Forget about that. After I've finished telling you what I need to say, you'll be running for the hills arming yourself with every lawyer you can get your hands on." I step to the side, opening the wider and invite him inside.

His entire demeanour shifts and his body becomes visibly stiff as his eyes grow cold. He takes a step towards me, towering over me as his eyes slowly drink me in. I wrap my arms around my body, looking down at the floor until he finally moves towards the living room.

I close the door, "I'll be back in a second." I call out as I quickly dash into my room and get changed into something a little more appropriate.

As I exit the room, I pick up the small photo frame with a picture of Sandro and I hug it close to my chest.

>>>

I enter the living room to find him seated comfortably on the sofa with a glass of water in his hands. I sit on the sofa across from him, nervously twisting my fingers in my oversized hoodie.

I swallow and gaze up at him.

Emerald green with flecks of amber irises collides with hazel brown.

My breath catches in my throat.

I will never get weary of staring into his eyes, which remind me of Sandro, and the longer I do, the more driven I feel to come clean.

He leans forward and places his glass on the coffee table between us. "Something is troubling you."  He says gruffly.

"Aydem," My voice trembles as I address him by his first name.

The guy's probably gonna wanna strangle me by the time I've finished telling him that he has a son.

"I don't know how to come out and say what I need to say.. But," I look at the photo of Sandro and place it down on the coffee table, sliding it towards him.

A scowl crosses his face as his eyes briefly glimpse at the photo. "Is that your nephew?" He says, looking up at me.

I shake my head. "No."

(No?) "Hayir?" He replies looking confused.

"His name is Sandro. He came into the world earlier than expected after a tumble down a few flights of stairs and as a result, he was kept in hospital for one week under close observation as he swallowed some of the amniotic fluid under distress. He was born on the side of the road in the late evening as traffic was too busy to weave through. When the ambulance finally arrived, they tried to get as much of the fluid out of his system as they could."

"I don't understand why you're telling me all of this." He cuts in, leaning back in the chair and he crosses his left ankle over his right knee.

"You will." I breathe out. "He has hair that's as dark as midnight, eyes you can easily lose yourself in and the cutest little giggle that fills your heart with so much joy." I sob as I blink away the tears that threaten to overflow.

I clear my throat and take a long breath after wiping my nose with the sleeve of my hoodie.

"That baby." I slide the photo closer towards him. "Is your son, Aydem."