ever the well mannered lady , ayla found herself accepting the gentleman's arm that was offered to her . what was the worst that could happen by accompanying him ? " it has been quite enjoyable watching all the young lovers and friends accompany one another by the lake . plus my daughter has been enjoying being able to go from vendor to vendor . " safiya had been enjoying her time at the fête , running from between herself and teddy . " have you not heard the saying that one catches more flies with honey than vinegar ? " she countered with a raised eyebrow .

the dark haired lady blinked in surprise as she heard the offer from the gentleman reach her ears . ayla's attention had been caught observing all the various couples on their picnics , imagining what it would be like to be in their spot whilst also keeping an eye on her daughter and her daughter's father . ayla turned her head to the male before she offered a soft smile , " is the summer fête not your idea of a good time , my lord ? however , it would be rude of me to deny your request . "

the moment their lips touched , it brought ayla back to when she had been young and naive and had just felt a man's touch for the first time . it almost made her feel like she was back in that barn on her family's estate , kissing the boy of her dreams in the hidden shadows that the building had provided them . as he moved away from her lips , a soft whine left her lips as she allowed for teddy to take control and pull her onto his lap . it did not take her long to adjust into a comfortable position as dark hues gazed down lovingly at the man he had become . " i do not wish to have anyone else but you . i never wanted anyone else but you . "

MELISA ASLI PAMUK   |   1.01 ﹣ Erkeğe Güven Olmaz (E.G.O)

his throat is dry, his tongue is raw. he thinks this to be a dream for a moment, it doesn't feel real. but the texture of her skin against the roughness of his hand, it is real. the smell of her skin. ❝ i will, i promise my love. ❞ he hushes softly, sweeping a strand of her hair away from her eyes. ❝ patience. ❞

❝ and i shall continue to apologise for that every day of my life. ❞ theodore tells her honestly. he watched from his seat, watching her move, watching her almost avoid his gaze. ❝ i didn't know, i would of been here. ❞ and that was no lie, but he didn't know. ❝ i don't know how to do this, but i've not wanted anything as much. ❞ it was true, having spent years building his name, his money, everything for her, when news of the late husband rose, he had never returned so fast. ❝ i need you back, i want safiya to know who i am, truly. ❞

" you don't need to apologise , teddy . we were children . it would only make sense that we would get involved in miscommunication , " miscommunication that would lead to her marrying another to ensure their daughter was not affected by society and their nasty rumours . frowning gently , dark hues finally gazed upon the male that sat before her , " if we are to tell safiya about who you really are , i need to make sure you're not going anywhere . i want nothing more than to have you here with me but i am scared . " the truth was spilling from her teeth . ayla was scared to give him her heart again only for him to disappear once more . she couldn't let their daughter experience such a heartbreak .

" i can understand where you are coming from . one marriage was one enough for me . however , if someone was to come along and sweep you off your feet , revealing themselves to be a great love , you would never marry them ? " ayla was curious to see her friend's reaction ; after all , she found herself in a similar situation that she spoke of but no marriage was on the cards . at this point in time . " he sounded like a good man . "

breath catches at the young girls hand. his fingers clammy before he wiped them on his pants a few moments after dropping them from ayla's face in order to take the small hand in his own, completely engulfing it and offering the girl a smile before looking up to her mother. ❝ what benefit would i have to lie to you, i will explain everything, ayla if you'll let me. ❞ he knew this would happen, it's why he had stayed away. he knew he could never walk away again.

there is a warm , fuzzy feeling that ran throughout her entire body at the sight of her former lover holding hands with their daughter . ayla knew she would eventually have to confess to safiya who her real father was but there was time . now was not the right time especially since the dark haired woman did not have all the answers to tell her daughter . nodding her head silently at theodore's question , she begun leading them in the direction of the manor . " how are you enjoying your time back in mayfair ? " they would have to settle for small talk until they were behind closed doors . " where did you travel to after we last saw on another ? "

“ well either i mature, or i end up in a hell of a lot of trouble.” he mused in amusement, shaking his head at her. this smile disappeared at mention of harry, exhaling slightly with a tilt of his head. “i am truly sorry for your heartbreak, i do hope you find happiness, you deserve it after all you have been through.”

" is it terrible of me to wish you had chosen the path of trouble ? i believe it would be quite amusing to watch , " an almost cheshire smile graced the younger woman's face as she continued to tease him . at his apology , ayla waved her hand dismissively , " we are both aware that i do not truly love him . at least not in the romantic sense of the word . "

“despite what lady whistledown says , i trust my sister , and for now , i will not question the intentions. “ perhaps this may not last long , but for now he was keeping his eye on things. “that you are , and i feel you will be nothing but perfect.”

" that is an extremely diplomatic response from you , kerem . do i sense you maturing in your old age ? " ayla could not help but tease her best friend . " you are too kind . i am trying my best for her especially since harry's death . she truly did love him . "

❝ no, it was there. i swear to you, i left it there, it explained everything. ❞ he babbled in disbelief, he wanted the think that her father, or even his wouldn't of found it, but that seemed to be the only explanation. he was also brought back to the notice that they were still in the eye of the ton. ❝ we should, i'm not ready to walk away from you again. ❞ he tells her, barely above a whisper, as to not alert their daughter. ❝ i would be a fool to decline the offer. ❞ and yes, his heart ached at the mention of her late husband, he knew she married, he knew she would, but it still hurt.

she silently shook her head , indicating that there had been nothing there when ayla had returned to their spot after everything had gone down . the dark haired woman required more pieces of the puzzle to see the full picture and she had a lot of puzzle pieces missing . " please do not say words you do not mean , " vulnerability was clear in both her tone and facial expression as dark hues glanced over at her former lover . ayla was not sure she would be able to move on from him again ; not that she ever moved on truly in the first place . surprise quickly coated her features as she watched as safiya offered her free hand to theodore , " saffy , " her tone soft as she waited with a bated breath to see if he would take their daughter's hand .

he could only dream to touch her again, each and every night to have her close, and yet here he was, cupping her cheeks and a gentle swipe of his thumbs, he stepped closer, very wary of the child beside her, his daughter. ❝ oh ayla, my love. he was your father, he only wanted the best for you. ❞ and we know that wasn't me. but those last words remained unsaid. there was a part of him that understood, at the time he couldn't offer ayla anything but himself and the shirt off his back, and to him, to her father that of course was no enough. she would say it was but he thought different. ❝ i did, i left it in our spot, you never found it ? ❞

" there was nothing in our spot . i checked every night until i was married . " she was so involved in the moment , in his touch that she had nearly forgotten that she held safiya's hand in her own . the tugs on her hand brought ayla back to earth as she took a step out of his embrace . " we should talk about this privately , " her words soft as dark hues glanced downwards at the smaller girl who seemed ready to head home . " we were heading back to our home . would you like to join us ? mrs gooding makes the best scottish desserts . my departed husband was of scottish lineage . "