Chapter 9Love, love, business asideGiulliaWhen I got home on the evening of that request, I had to explain to my parents that I was going to Turkey. What a nightmare it was to convince them that I wasn't going to be kidnapped, raped, sold on a white slave ship, or anything scary like that. My father asked a million times why he needed to take me. I replied a million times that I was a contract translator for the company, and that's why he was taking me. But the reality was that I didn't even know what to expect. It didn't make any sense unless there was also an american or Spanish Albaf headquarters there. I went to sleep thinking about all this and that I needed to get up early to go to the federal police to apply for my passport. At 7am, to be precise. But how could I sleep? My head was spinning with a thousand thoughts about Turkey, the fear in my stomach wouldn't go away, and then there was ... him: that man who used to fill my waking Turkish dreams.Finally, the alarm clock on
Chapter 10CheatingSerkanI spent that day thinking about what Giulia had said about the trip to her parents. I'd never felt so guilty in my life for lying. I didn't know how much damage I'd do to the girl when she found out she'd gone to Turkey for a lie and not for work. She would hate me. But perhaps I could reverse the situation and try to convince her that she was saving my life from a meaningless marriage, promised to me many years ago by another Serkan who no longer existed. Giulia would understand, I had faith in Allah that she would. But even so, the phrases she said to her parents kept echoing in my mind all day. The only way to redeem myself a little would be to give her my full attention over the next few days, like taking her home in the middle of a storm. I didn't understand why she felt ashamed to show me her humble home. I came from a family that was p
Chapter 11The journeyGiuliaThat rude, vulgar boss of mine didn't even thank me for what I'd done. He just walked out of my office, leaving me in a deplorable state after talking loudly to me. I was afraid that I was in Turkey, a country I didn't know, that I didn't speak the language and that he was going to be rude to me. How was I going to get home? I didn't even have the money for my return ticket, because everything was his responsibility. I decided that I needed to think about my work first and foremost and started drafting Mr. Alberto's document. That man deserved a break from all the trouble those companies were putting him through. Lunchtime had arrived and I saw my office door open. When I realized it was Serkan, I shifted my gaze to the computer in front of me and didn't bother to look at it. More shouting? More attacks on my honor? I didn't even want to hear what he had to say."Giulia, I need to talk to you."I remained motionless." I need to apologize for the way I'v
Chapter 12TurkeySerkanThe journey was a little difficult.Giulia showed insecurity and fear during the first two hours of the flight, but then she slept on my shoulder and even drooled. I think she was so tired and had spent a sleepless, anxious night that at a certain point she couldn't take it anymore. Sleep and tiredness overcame her. I held her hand as she slept and turned my face to look at her angelic face. I had been so hard on her when I only wanted to help and now I felt like an insensitive ogre. I wasn't proud of what I was about to do, but she would soon forget. That was my most burning desire. The second was to get to know her better. I couldn't deny to myself that I felt a strong attraction to the Brazilian. As I carefully stroked her left hand, Giulia woke up and looked at me. Her gaze traveled the length of the plane and then back to my eyes. We stared at each other for a few seconds, saying nothing. I looked at her lips, she looked at mine. It wasn't right to play w
Chapter 13 The Princess's Tower Giullia I was scared to death and anxious too when I arrived in Turkey. It was a dream come true. Serkan's house was huge and beautiful, as if he could hide the fact that he was rich. That house gave away all the glamor in his life. I even wondered why he worked if he could live such a princely life in Turkey. If I had a house like that, I would never want to be bored with anything in life. It made me wonder why he was in Brazil. Boredom? Sex tourism? He didn't even look like a pervert. And I hoped it wasn't because I was staying at his house, with no one else around. That alone sent shivers down my spine. But then he gave me the most beautiful surprise of my life. The backyard of his house overlooked the Bosphorus Bay and the Princess Tower. I had seen that beautiful tower in Turkish soap operas many times. That tower and the Blue Mosque were strong symbols of Istanbul and Turkey. I felt like I was looking at history, at the ancient Ottomans, at a s
Chapter 14DisasterSerkanI was prepared for the almost foretold disaster that lunch would be.It was like preparing for a hurricane, when you know it's coming and you have to cover all the windows in the house with wooden siding like the Americans do. Earthquakes are unpredictable, but volcanoes were just like my mother, unstable, unexpected, even though all the gadgets say it could happen at any moment. And then, when it does, you can only run away from the wrath of the fire and the pyroclastic clouds. I had to take cover or run, because I knew disaster was certain. Knowing my mother as she did, she would try to ruin Giulia's reputation before the girl even opened her mouth. And if she managed to say anything, Eda would stomp on her head like they do with snakes, to make sure she died.I saw Giulia in the hallway as he closed the door to his room. She had made a ponytail out of her long chocolate brown hair and was wearing a long dress with high boots and a jacket. She knew how to
Chapter 15War GiulliaWhen we left that house, I was possessed.There was no better statement than being pissed off! Serkan had played me for a fool the whole time. He lied to me that there was work. He lied to me that I could trust him. He lied, cheated, deceived just to suit his whims and sort out his life. He literally dragged me to the country I was passionate about and turned it into a nightmare. I was hurt to deep levels. I didn't know if I was going to recover.When that lunch was over and my initial shock at being introduced to his mother as his fiancée had worn off, I turned my back on him and walked to the car."Giullia, wait!"Forget about me!" Wait!I felt his hand on my arm, holding me and bringing me back to him. The force he used was so great that as I turned my body towards his, we collided. He pulled away and held me by the wrists."Please forgive me! I had no other choice, I don't want to marry Asli." And what's in it for me?! You lied, Serkan! " At that moment I
Chapter 16AsliSerkanI couldn't have been a bigger bastard by doing what I did to that girl. Now it was clear to me how involved she was, how much she trusted me and how much I had let her down. I didn't realize how much damage had been done until I saw her crying as much as she was crying. I thought she'd fight, that she'd be offended, that she might even scream, but crying like that didn't even cross my mind.I wanted to disappear from the world. I was an abject man. But I couldn't do that. People depended on me, I couldn't just disappear, my mother would go mad losing her only male child, not knowing where I was. So I decided that I had to look for Asli that very day, before my mother's ferocious tongue blurted out all the things I had seen to Asli herself.I changed my clothes and went to Asli's house. I knew that only her mother would be home at that time. It would be better to face only her mother than her father. I rang the doorbell and put my hands together in front of my bo