Chapter 7
For how reluctant he'd been to leave the car and come up into the office with her, his mind goes to one thing very quickly. As soon as the door closed behind him and the faint, lingering smell of her body wash entered his nose, all of his coherent thoughts disappear, taking him from simply being interested in staying close to assure that nothing happens to her, to remembering that his sexual appetite has been suppressed for two painfully-long weeks in a matter of seconds. Everything changes so rapidly that when she turns to him, telling him something about the bedroom and where he can sleep, his brain isn't in control of his senses anymore.
His ears can barely make out what exactly she's saying, and where his eyes should've seen that she is sleep deprived and tired, they only see his very desirable wife stand less than a step from him, thus his first and very stupid question about why she called invited him up. His right mind would've allowed her the rest that she clearly needs, but with his skin tingling for the touch that he'd gone two weeks without, his right mind has become a potent mixture of nostalgia and desire. Even when she makes one of her questioning, slightly confused faces to answer that she didn't want him to freeze in his car, his desire doesn't clear away.
If anything, it hungrily latches onto her concern and warps it into a mutual desire from her end, which is just the perfect excuse to move into her personal space with an unwavering stare. With their eyes on each other, his, challenging her to stop pretending and hers, simply looking at his with tired curiosity, he immediately spots it when recognises his desire for her. And if not that, the change in her breathing gives her away. From up close, he sees as she, just like him, loses her mind to his affect on her, and he, feeling vindicated and satisfied, moves in to initiate what they both want, slowly starting on a particular part of her neck with his lips.
No sooner than he gets a feel of her pulse on his lips, does she succumb to him, dropping her keys to the floor as if her fate was always to fall into him from the start. Truthfully, it couldn't have been avoided if they tried to do it. For people who scarcely went consecutive nights or mornings without engaging each other, two weeks of a dry routine have clearly had the same effects on them with nearly identical intensity. He concludes this when she greedily accepts their first kiss in forever, her tongue driving into his mouth causing goosebumps to rise on his skin and leading them to make a frenzied rush to the bedroom to get their clothes off.
It's a mixture of hastiness and slowed moments to savour the little things in her bedroom. One moment they are stumbling inside it, barely keeping from bumping into the doorframe, with both of them reaching for the other's clothes, attempting to push them off and the next moment, she's gently gripping onto him as she slowly eases from him to catch her breath and cherish it when he kisses the weak spot on her neck. It's one of his weak spots too, always guaranteed to push him further into desire, and so the hastiness picks up again as they tumble onto bed together. Neither let go of the other, as both are that eager to touch without hindrance.
They slow down again as he kisses down her stomach and more so when he pulls off her panties to freely continue downwards with his mouth. After that, their coupling happens too quickly, ending in the same way too that he regrets not going slower or stopping when she started whimpering just so he could start from the beginning again. Damn it, he should've prolonged the part where his mouth was busy between her thighs, he should've taken all the time in the world to please her, because then they would still be engaged, not having come to the hard part where they have finished and slumped down next to each other to catch their breaths.
This part is hard, because the natural thing for him to do right about now is pull her into him and kiss her face. He could easily do it, and he doubts that she will push him away if he does, except that he isn't sure if he should do it. Although this isn't the first time that they're having sex while separated and on the brink of divorce, and from experience, it would be better if he just left her, he can't just get up and leave her now. Apart from not wanting her to think that he only came here for pleasure, he's also very worried that this new criminal will try something as soon as he leaves. If he can't hold her to sleep, he will at least tell her the truth.
'Ceylin?' he whispers into the almost complete darkness.
As he expected, she ignores his call, even though they both know that she hasn't fallen asleep yet. While there have been times when their lovemaking ended in immediate sleep, this isn't one of those times. She can try to act all she wants, but he knows that she, just like him is wondering how they will sleep, and if they will be able to do it at all.
'I know you're not asleep,' he tells her, being as bold as to turn onto his side to face her way.
There's a short moment of absolute silence between them, one that reminds him how fragile this time is. Sex was the easy part, that they had it without trouble is proof enough, and in the morning, they can easily pretend that it didn't happen, but that leaves the time in between post-climax and the morning extremely delicate. Either they will lie here like strangers forced to share a bed or they will take advantage of the dark to expose their vulnerability to each other.
Naturally, her response will determine which of the two will happen.
Thankfully, her response is encouraging, albeit a small movement of adjustment on the bed – she doesn't turn, but at least she's communicated that she's open to listening to him.
'You can be very stubborn, but I'm scared that they will do something to you,' he confesses. 'I don't want anything to happen to you, so please promise me that you will be careful from now on.'
Apparently triggered, she roughly turns onto her side, a defiant, 'Why do I have to be careful and not you?' leaving her mouth.
Ah, Ceylin.
'Because they're calling you,' he gently answers, knowing that a controlled tone is less likely to send her out of bed, then out of the office entirely – the mistake of categorising her as a stubborn-head who needs to be careful doesn't need another triggering companion.
'They're calling me about you!' she rebuts, clearly agitated despite his gentleness. 'And you're the one doing careless things like sleeping in the car!'
Still using a gentle tone, he advises, 'Let's not fight about this, Ceylin. We both know that I could detain you if that's what it will take to protect your life.'
'We're getting divorced, why do you want to protect my life?' she asks, deliberately challenging him, except, precisely that decides it for him.
Was it in the morning and the sun was shining, he would've stood his ground and not allowed her to fish for the state of their relationship with sneaky questions and remarks.
Was it at a time when he wasn't conditioned to want her physically close, he would've said something about her being a prime and necessary accessory in the current case.
It being the night, and that after what they just did, however, he is too tender towards her to say anything that isn't, 'You know why - that will never change' and too used to their pattern of doing things not to propel himself forwards, reach out to comfortably pull her into him and tuck one arm under than around her to secure her in his arms.
Verbally translated, regardless of their separation, he would die if he ever lost her in that way.
It's that simple, and she knows it, which he supposes is why she tells him, 'All right, I'll be careful,' with her lips almost touching his chest, 'but you also be careful.'
'I will be,' he promises, adding a gentle kiss on the top of her head, which naturally prompts her to snuggle her head under his chin while sliding her leg between his into one of her preferred ways of sleeping.
26Chapters
Unless he is deep into an interrogation and he just happened to forget to silence his phone, he can never ignore the distinct ping of his phone. Whatever he might be doing, he will always reach for his phone even if he can't immediately attend to the message. This morning is no different. It's better in fact, because he hasn't slept this well in days, and though still a bit drowsy with sleep, he reaches for his phone on the nightstand. He only briefly registers that he definitely didn't put it there last night, getting a small flash of it falling wherever his jacket fell as it came off and then quickly dismissing it to see who wants what from him this morning.
Ever-so-slightly, he lifts his head from the pillow and with one eye cracked open, reads the name on the screen. As blurry as his vision is at first glance, there's no mistaking the name on the screen, which is why he suddenly perks up. His heart starts to beat fast, his breathing becoming shallow as the realisation that he never actually changed anything in two weeks washes over him. A wave of happiness also washes over him at the fact that My Love as she's saved, his actual love, has sent him a voice message first thing in the morning. After two weeks of no texts and calls, hearing her voice right after he's woken up will possibly be the highlight of his whole day.
'Good morning,' her sweet, intoxicating voice responds to the touch of his finger on the play button. 'I went to the station, and, uh, Tolga and Aylin will probably be at the office soon, so... Uh, I don't know if you will come, but I will see you at the station if you're coming. I'd appreciate it if I had my keys, and you will lock up, so...'
They'll have to see each other one way or another, he concludes with what the audio doesn't.
26Chapters
'Eren, I'm not new to this,' he drives at his friend with incredible frustration. 'I don't care if they kill me! I'm-'
Used to threats like this, he never gets to finish with because a soft sound of something falling, a sharp gasp and the faint sound of liquid spilling across the floor abruptly cuts him off, making him turn his head towards the sounds, where he notices a distinct red coat, worn by a very horrified face.
'Ceylin,' he gasps, one part surprised and the other ashamed.
Outside the commotion of his car exploding, he never actually got to see her – he barely paid attention to her following them to the hospital. That's where his surprise stems from. His shame on the other hand, is the result of the look on her face. With that expression, there's absolutely no doubt about what she's thinking, and so to begin rectifying his callousness, he tries to step but she holds up her hand to stop him and then shakes her head before taking off away from them.
'Ag, Ilgaz!' Eren rebukes him, also hitting his arm. 'Look at what you've done.'
Eren is unbelievable. So unbelievable in fact, that charged with irritation, he whips his attention to Eren to remind him that, 'I'm not to blame for this,' deliberately pointing a finger at him. 'You know it.'
With a nonchalant shrug, as if completely innocent for frustrating him to that point, Eren tells him, 'You still have to fix it, that's all I'm saying.'
Doesn't he know it?
The universe in which Ceylin simply lets him off the hook concerning this has not yet been invented. If she doesn't rebel from him until he apologises, his name isn't Ilgaz Kaya and she doesn't care about him anymore.
26Chapters
Isn't his name Ilgaz Kaya, because why is she unsettling him like this?
Something's not right, and he really doesn't understand what's happening.
After running away from him and Eren, she somehow found them in Pars' room and joined them without any hostility. Since then, she's been following them around, listening to them and giving them her input as though nothing before then. Now especially, as she's walking off to a bathroom and finally giving them a private moment without her, it's all very unsettling to take in. He doesn't like her compliance one bit.
She is Ceylin. She clearly, visibly felt a very particular way about his comment yet she didn't bring it up again. It's as if she didn't hear him say what he said. Something is not right here.
'Eren?' he looks at his friend, hoping that he has a better idea than he does.
'Did you two talk?' Eren asks in return, apparently just as lost as he is.
'When?' he wonders as they watch her disappear. 'You've been with me the whole time.'
'I'm just saying,' Eren shrugs, 'she's being too calm, don't you think? What do you think happened?'
'I don't know,' he admits, half laughing in disbelief. 'Maybe she just doesn't care.'
It was something that he didn't even consider a possibility, but given the evidence of her behaviour, how can he dispute that she does care about him?
'Impossible,' Eren disputes rather sternly, sounding like he hasn't yet heard something as stupid. 'Something else definitely happened.'
Maybe, he silently thinks, or maybe she really just doesn't care.
26Chapters
He's still reeling from the image of someone placing a bomb under his car, and that had he been fast asleep in there, he wouldn't have noticed it, when Eren turns to Ceylin on his right side with a very relieved expression.
'I swear, I don't know what would've happened if you left him in the car all night, Ceylin.'
Strangely, she turns away from Eren to look at him, her face very passive as she answers, 'Don't worry, Eren, Mr. Prosecutor here doesn't care if he dies. He probably would've gotten his wish if I did. I wonder if I ruined it for him.'
Her words are like a punch in the stomach; they knock the wind right out of him, and for what seems like an eternity, the air around him becomes extremely heavy that he can't bear to take it in. Just as he's trying to catch his breath, she makes a face at him, kind of expressing that she did and said nothing wrong, which makes him quickly turn to Eren in confusion.
Did Eren hear the same thing that he did or is he just...? By the look on his face, Eren did hear her as well, surprised by it too, but not enough to keep him silent.
'Come on, Ceylin,' Eren looks at her, making him shift his attention to her too, 'don't say that. It's not like that.'
'It's not like that,' she dryly repeats with a nod, seemingly answering Eren, except that she's clearly staring him down.
Either she's daring him to say something and give her a proper reason to release what's beneath, or she's simply waiting for him to apologise for saying what he did, he concludes. Knowing her as well as he does, added onto the promise that he made her last night, it can only be one of those two things. As vocally and emotionally responsive as Ceylin can be, she is quite simple at heart, which is why he strangely can't decide how to respond.
Should he apologise and clear the air between them, or should he say something to make her explode?
He'd honestly prefer it if she shouted at him and made a scene, as that would demonstrate her love and care for him, but at the same time, shouldn't he just tell her the truth and confess that he didn't mean what he said? Would it be right to apologise in front of a policeman, though? Eren, sure, but the officer in charge of the video footage? He shouldn't witness something so personal – what if she brings up his promise? It's impossible how undecided he is, and more, his hesitation appears to conclude the topic for her – her face says that she's lost interest in his response.
'Excuse me, I'm going to make a call,' she resigns as well and then wastes no time in turning to leave them in the room.
'Ilgaz!' Eren urgently whispers and when he looks at him, Eren gestures to Ceylin with his head, clearly telling him to do something about her leaving.
'I'll talk to her,' he half-heartedly promises.
Half-heartedly because he doesn't know exactly what's keeping him undecided on what to do. He's only sure that he doesn't understand why she didn't explode if she's clearly bothered by what he said.
26Chapters
He likes this as much as the family does, but it needs to be done. To get to the bottom of the bride's death, he needs the family to keep repeating their statements in the hope that they remember something with each repetition, or if they slip up and confess to something. If only they wouldn't get too emotional about it, that would be helpful.
But there's Ceylin, thankfully - she's very helpful. Her empathic nature won't allow her to sit by and listen to the women in the family falling apart without offering them her own tissues and rubbing their back while they break down. Her presence at least gives him a short reprieve to gather his thoughts and ask the right questions once the crying stops.
'I wish that I had died instead of Ferda,' the aunt sobs, bringing her hands up to cover her face, and understanding the gesture well, he looks at Ceylin; unless she had something to do with Ferda's death, the woman shouldn't feel guilty for her death.
Ceylin lightly nods to him, signalling her understanding, but then she says, 'I'm sure that the prosecutor would die in your place first before it came to that,' with such a normal tone that it takes a few seconds for the resulting shock to find its immediate targets.
Before the shock, her comment stings him right in the chest, though, wrapping around his heart like an icy draught. And then Eren is the first to react, letting out a forced cough, which effectively directs everyone's attention to him for a second. To cover it up, he quickly makes an excuse for his sudden cough, and with that out of the way, the shock moves onto the aunt, who looks up at Ceylin in both shock and confusion. He can't even imagine what she must be wondering, but he will assume that she didn't like what she heard.
Of course, without prior context, the woman can't be expected to understand that Ceylin isn't necessarily saying that he won't allow innocent lives to be lost, she's only stating that he doesn't care about his own life.
'I mean to say that that the prosecutor would rather die himself than allow another innocent person to die,' Ceylin clarifies to the other woman's perplexed expression. 'Don't worry, he will get to the bottom of what happened to Ferda.'
'Ceylin!' he can't resist calling her as a warning, seeing as there's essentially no difference between what she first said and just now, and quite frankly, he doesn't appreciate the jab.
'My client needs a moment, dear prosecutor,' she looks his way to respond, obviously challenging him to dare try and call out what she said. 'Do you have more questions for my client, or may we leave for a break?'
'Go ahead,' he shows her the door with one hand, and with the other, reaches up to adjust his tie to accommodate the sudden lump in his throat, also pulling in a deep breath for some sort of relief, because this is starting to get out of hand now.
He doesn't know how much of it he can take anymore.
26Chapters
The discomfort persisted throughout the rest of the day and the only thing that made it better was that Tolga dealt with the rest of the family members, not her. The way in which she strategically stayed out of the meetings, choosing to stand in the corridors, he didn't think that she would accept Pars' invitation to dinner, much less take a seat next to him. The discomfort should've gone away from the fact that she hasn't protested to him putting bits of food onto her plate, but...
'You're not eating,' he comments on the untouched food.
Her eyes instantly dart to him, showing him a fiery stare, followed by her utensils dropping onto her plate.
'So?' she asks sharply, a hard frown decorating her face. 'Will you die if I don't?'
He swears on her life that if anything has ever hit him the hardest, it's that. It's like the country's sirens just went off and he's not even allowed to breathe.
'Ceylin!' he hears Pars' voice warn. 'What kind of question is that?'
'No, let her!' Derya says, sounding fed-up. 'She knows everything about everyone. She wants to dictate everyone's lives with her opinions without considering what someone else is going through!'
Really, he wants to pay attention to Derya's face, and finally figure out why the two women have been tense since they came from the bathroom, but he is still reeling from what Ceylin said that he barely hears her push her chair out next to him.
'I don't care, Derya!' Ceylin responds both as though she's defeated and on the verge of tears, not even angry. 'Go ahead and do whatever you want. In fact, take Ilgaz with you and do whatever you want. He's the perfect companion for you if you're going to do it. If you both think that life is unimportant, then go ahead and do it. I don't care!'
Hearing all of that, he comes back to himself, his head immediately going for her and just catching her pulling her bag with her as she storms away from them. Because he doesn't understand how things got to this point with Derya, he looks at her for answers. How is Derya connected to what he said about being killed, and what are they supposed to do together?
'What's going on?' Pars genuinely wonders, looking from him to Eren and finally Derya. 'I've been in the hospital all day, did I miss something?'
'Ceylin heard Ilgaz say that he doesn't care if he dies,' Eren explains to him, 'that's why she's angry.'
'That's not what I said,' he denies even knowing that the interpretation is the same.
'That's how she heard it!' Eren insists with an innocent shrug, leaving no doubt about whose side he's been on since the beginning; he's clearly pushing him to go and apologise to her, most likely hoping for a reconciliation.
'Igaz!' Pars rebukes, dropping his fork and knife onto his plate. 'Please tell me that this was before the car exploded.'
'After,' Eren calmly offers the answer on his behalf. 'At the hospital.'
'Ilgaz! Your car was destroyed, and you could've been inside!' Pars reminds him. 'What do you think we were all doing at the hospital? Me and Chief Metin were just there to have a friendly chat with the doctors, were we? I don't understand you, llgaz! Do you have any idea what you said?'
He doesn't want to get defensive, and he normally wouldn't be like this, but, 'This is the job, Pars. We all know how bad it can get!'
'But I told you about her concerns! She's scared that something will happen to you. This isn't an ordinary thing that happened, and then you say that. Did you apologize to her?'
'It's Eren's fault,' he gestures to their friend, a little bit frustrated. 'I said it in a heated moment. Besides, she didn't bring it up to me specifically, and there wasn't time to address it, so I thought-'
'Go after her and apologize!' Pars cuts him off. 'There's a criminal who has some kind of direct access to your wife, and you're driving her away from you?'
'It slipped out, I didn't even know that she was there!' he tries to excuse and show that the last thing that he would ever want is to push her away from him.
Pars won't have any of his excuses, his stern 'Are you still here?' demonstrating just how serious he is about this thing finally coming to an end.
Both Eren and Derya appear to support Pars, nodding at him when he looks at them, so feeling like he has no choice, he gets up from his chair. Knowing that this is where the night ends for them, he thanks all of them for the dinner and after bidding them a good night, he leaves. He notices her pacing outside her car as he exits the restaurant and spotting him, she opens to the door and gets in to sit.
Ah, Ceylin.
At least she didn't get into the driver's seat, which means that she has no intention of driving off, but he is still careful to knock on the window of the driver's seat before opening the door and sitting inside with her.
'You didn't leave,' he opens the conversation.
'That's what you wanted, isn't it?' she responds with. 'Too bad for you, because I didn't leave. You don't have a car anyway. How will you get home?'
Instead of naming any one of their three friends or even a taxi, he acknowledges that, 'You waited because you don't trust me to take care of myself.'
Nothing is more obvious than the fact that if she wanted to go after leaving them at the table, she would've. Her silence only confirms it, and for the first time since their promises to each other last night, he feels close to her, like they are using the same heart again. It turns out that being alone with her was what he desperately needed. It wasn't that he couldn't have done that at the hospital or the station, it was that he needed every air of intimacy to devote only to her without someone interrupting them. It's unbelievable that he didn't recognise it before. Now he has the space to be intimate with her, and he will make use of it.
'What happened with Derya?' he wants to know, his priority now being to ease her emotions.
'She wants to have an abortion without telling Pars about her pregnancy,' she tells him, even turning in her seat to face him properly. 'The man has no family left. Remember, he was devastated when he lost Neva, and now Derya just thinks about herself. She says she can't handle the pain, but what about Pars? It's his baby too. Shouldn't he have a choice in whether he wants to have the baby or not? Isn't life precious to everyone?'
He understands her more than he can say, and so reaches out to touch her shoulder, only interested in consoling her, but she shrugs away from his hand heatedly crying, 'Don't! You aren't any better! You don't care if you die! You're just like Derya! You don't care about life. You're selfish!'
'I didn't mean it, Ceylin,' he tells her gently, also taking a chance and touching her shoulder. Seeing as she doesn't shy from his touch, he goes a step further, moving his hand down to rub her arm.
'You said it,' she accuses him.
'Eren was pushing that I should be careful, and I got frustrated that he wouldn't understand what these people are doing,' he explains, still keeping a hold of her arm. 'It's the classic story of the criminal trying to intimidate the prosecution. Eren was talking like we didn't experience something like this before and I reacted. I didn't really think about what I said, I just said it.'
Frowning first and then removing his hand from her arm, she tells him, 'You can't just say things like that, Ilgaz. What if Defne or Çinar had heard you?And what about the people who are left behind, what happens to them? Do you really have nothing to live for?'
'Of course I want to live. I want to live with and protect those that I love.'
Her especially. That goes without saying. They can sit here and try to ignore that their love doesn't matter because they are getting divorced, but they wouldn't be here if it was that easy to walk away from each other. He wonders why they even fight when it's always so easy to get back to their usual selves.
'Then you can't say things like that even if you don't mean them,' she seems to resign, her tone very tired. 'Words affect people, Ilgaz, and they imagine things... You're very unfair to ask me to take care of myself and then treat yourself carelessly even with just words. You promised to be careful, but if you want to treat yourself carelessly, then fine! Just know that if something happens to you, I will never forgive you. And don't expect me to visit you either!'
His grave, she means, but they both know that she doesn't mean it.
'You've made that very clear throughout the day,' he accepts, 'but I don't understand what's different this time, Ceylin. You usually would've shouted at me or argued with me about it. I would've preferred that to you pretending that we were fine and then stabbing me with it every chance that you got.'
'You don't have the right to decide how I react to your provocations,' she rebuts with a finger pointing at him. 'I can't always have big reactions to everything. Some things are depressing to think about. Do you know how close you were to that car? You don't go anywhere without it, Ilgaz. I think about how... Look, Ilgaz,' she sighs, laying her head on the seat, 'there's a threat over your life and I can't be fighting with you every second. You may not believe it right now, but I don't even like fighting with you. What if something suddenly happens and the only memory that's left behind is a fight or anger? My father was angry with me, remember?'
That she can't bring herself to voice that he died angry with her is a pure reflection of her raw feelings on the matter, which incidentally puts everything into perspective for him. While he had been waiting for her to explode with anger, she was taking every little break between her reminders to tame her emotions and then come back to him with a calmed outlook. He can't believe that he didn't see it that way in the moment.
'I will be careful,' he promises. 'I just need your friend to stop pushing me about this case. It's frustrating enough without him breathing down my neck about the danger in it.'
'He has every right to worry about you. You can't stop him from caring. It's not up to you if people care about your life or not.'
'I know,' he smiles a little. 'I admit that I haven't been considerate while trying to solve this case, but I will be cautious from now on. Please forgive me for being reckless with my words. I wouldn't have liked to hear something like that either.'
She nods, accepting his apology and then straightens to ask, 'Can we go now? I want to sleep and forget about today. Hopefully Derya will come to her senses tonight, and tomorrow will be better. I just want to put everything behind me tonight.'
'Okay,' he agrees from a tired place as well – it's been an extremely long day and because he isn't letting her go off alone, asks, 'Are we going home or to the office?'
'We are not going to the office,' comes her reply, her tone both dismissive of and humoured by exactly the reason that she is refusing the office as their final destination.
She's a funny one, he thinks as he lets out a soft laugh of disbelief; who is she trying to fool here exactly?
'What difference does it make, Ceylin?' he wonders, also teasing her a little bit. 'What happened at the office can happen at home too.'
She knows very well that emotionally and physically, going home together is more dangerous than going to the office.
'What happened last night is not happening again, Ilgaz,' she adds to her disapproving look. 'It wasn't supposed to happen in the first place.'
Fine, maybe not, but, 'It happened,' he states without shame, and no, they can't just forget about it.
'I know,' she quietly, almost submissively answers him, unexpectedly touching the vulnerability that he's had locked up since she served him the divorce papers.
After everything today and her silently admitting that last night meant more than just passion, he is more than willing to open the lid that he'd put on his feelings since she served him the divorce papers. It suddenly doesn't make sense to him why they're separated when they're incapable of staying apart, and he needs to clarify their position already.
'What do you want then, Ceylin?' he questions earnestly. 'You don't want me to speak about dying, you don't want me out of your sight, but you also don't want me to be with you. I don't know what you want and it's starting to drive me crazy.'
'I want you to not say careless things about dying,' she immediately replies, cocking her head to the side and showing him a fake smile. 'I also want to see Defne and grandfather Merdan, and then I want to sleep. Alone.'
'As you wish,' he shakes his head, feeling a little sceptical about how the night could turn out, which is why he adds, 'I can sleep downstairs if you want.'
For the shortest second, it seems like she will answer or at least protest, until her phone suddenly begins to ring, instantly turning her attention to pulling it out of her coat pocket. In another quick second, her phone's in her hand with her eyes fixed on the screen, reading what's on it. He sees her eyes go wide before she thrusts her phone between them and looks up at him with alarm.
'Ilgaz, it's him!' she frantically says to him. 'He's calling again!'
He deduced as much from her initial reaction, yet it still startles him to see and hear her panicked to this extent. Just how intimidating is this criminal's voice?
'I'll answer it,' he assures her, making sure to look her in the eyes for her complete trust, before trying to snatch the phone from her hold, to which she not only scrambles to hold his hand so that he doesn't take the phone from her, she also shakes her head, refusing his suggestion.
'Put it on speaker and I'll answer him,' she offers instead. 'Your voice might scare him and then we don't know what he might do. I don't want to risk it, Ilgaz.'
Neither does he want to risk scaring her more than she already is, which is why to ease even a bit of her panic, he agrees with a curt nod, looking directly into her eyes so there is no mistaking his intention. As her other hand is still holding his, he adjusts his to intertwine their fingers for that little bit of extra reassurance. She seamlessly accepts his fingers between hers, going a step further and gripping his hand as though their connection will break if she doesn't. Gripping either tightly or lightly, if there's one thing that's clear, it's that he always wants to be there to hold her hand during the times that she needs him to; there is no way that he will ever allow her to feel alone during difficult times.
'I'm here,' he softly promises just before he presses the answer button, letting her know that he wouldn't go anywhere even if there was a gun to his head.